《A Demon's Journey》


 Chapter 1 - The Beginning

    It was a sunny day on the Frascoia Continent. The sun rays were reaching all parts of the world, illuminating the dark corners with brilliant radiance.


    The Frascoia Continent was a world with myriad races such as Celestials, Demons, Humans, Elves, Mermaids, Monsters, Dwarves, and so on¡­


    Celestials lived in a location called Heaven; It was considered beyond the Sky. The Demons lived in a ce known as Purgatory; it was also called Underworld. Meanwhile, Humans lived on the maind, known as the Frascoia Continent.


    ~~


    3rd day, 10th Month of Year 5,214,412¡­


    A young man of nearly 17-year-old was huffing crazily as he ran for his life within the Sinyalian Kingdom forest. Two vipers chased after him with bloodshot eyes in a zigzag manner.


    Blue, straight hair gently hanging over a fair, worried face. Dark red eyes, set well within their sockets. All in all, he could be considered quite handsome and was sure to be a heartthrob for women.


    This young man''s name was Edwin Rhodes. He was the son of the Marquis of the Kingdom of Sinyal.


    In his mind, he was cursing himself ''Why did I have to encounter two vipers at the 3 Stars Rank?! The two guards barely resisted before they died¡­''


    From the situation, it was clear that this young noble hade to hunt with another two guards. However, his guards were undoubtedly dead as they had been bitten by these two poisonous vipers.


    Suddenly, as Edwin was running, he heard a loud roar. It was a roar that scared him immediately and froze him on the spot.


    Instinctively, he knew that this was the roar of a Tiger!


    ''Oh shit! I can''t escape from such a Beast! If only I had more Ardor, I would be able to escape.''


    Suddenly, he remembered the two threats who chased after him. He turned around and almost breathed in relief as he found those two vipers nowhere.


    It appeared that this roar didn''t just startle him, but it had also scared off those vipers.


    "Well, this is one good thing, at least."


    Soon enough, he felt a drop of water hitting his head. Edwin raised his head with a frown and observed the clouds.


    The dark clouds had covered the entire Sky.


    "Just great¡­ Nowes the rain." He grumbled unhappily and jogged towards his east.


    He left the tiger''s territory and found a safe ce to rest until he could recover his Ardor and then return to his city.


    As he was jogging, he soon found a dark cave.


    A cheerful look appeared on Edwin''s face as he muttered, "Just great. I even found a cave. Let''s hope this is not the residence of some monster. If it is¡­ That would be tragic."


    Edwin cautiously approached the cave while picking up two stones.


    He also looked at his surroundings and was soon familiar with them. Without any hesitation, he threw the first stone in the cave.


    Edwin heard the stone strike the walls of the cave.


    Soon enough. Edwin was nowhere to be seen. Currently, he was hiding behind a tree while using a skill to conceal his aura.


    He didn''t feel any presence from that cave. But still, from that same spot, he threw another stone. The stone hits the outer walls this time. And Edwin continued to conceal his aura with a unique technique.


    After waiting for 5-10 minutes, Edwin concluded that the cave should be safe. If a beast did reside in this cave, it was probably in a deep sleep.


    As long as he was careful, he shouldn''t wake it up and would have a chance to escape.


    Taking one more look at the dark cave from outside, Edwin mustered up whatever bits of courage he had and entered the cave.


    As Edwin continued to walk, he had an eerie feeling. His instincts were screaming at him to run away¡­


    However, his curiosity forced him to dive even deeper and investigate exactly what it was.


    ''Have I found some inheritance ground left behind by some expert?''


    This question appeared in Edwin''s mind as he had read in some books that a few human experts left behind their inheritances before they were about to die. These inheritances were supposed to assist humans in fighting on equal grounds against monsters or demons.


    Edwin started to get more excited. If this was indeed an inheritance ground, then he had struck a lottery. His family might just rise further in the Noble Family Ranks of the Kingdom of Sinyal.


    He continued to head even deeper into the cave.


    Edwin had no idea for how long he had walked. It was to such an extent that he could no longer see any light rays enter the area. He was growing more nervous with each step forward.


    Soon enough, he did reach an empty room within this cave.


    Once Edwin reached this ce, he felt that he had arrived at the location because his senses told him that this was the spot with the densest energy.


    He raised his hand and used Ardor. A blue light started shinning on top of Edwin''s palm, and Edwin moved ahead while its light spread to the surrounding.


    The ce was unexpectedly clean. Edwin was sure that there was not even the presence of an ant.


    But still, if this was an inheritance ground, that would fit the description from the books he had read.


    He walked even further. Soon enough, the blue light fell upon some drawings on the walls. There were a few pentagons or some other formations. They were very unfamiliar to Edwin, though.


    Edwin decided to go along the wall, and soon the light reached a Wooden Statue that stood erect near the wall on the Western Side.


    ''Is this the person whose inheritance ground this is?''


    The wooden statue was quite tall. Edwin had to go near it and raise the Blue Ardor to see it wholly.


    Soon enough, the entire Wooden Statue was in his view. And as soon as he saw the whole Wooden Statue, Edwin''s expression changed from curiosity to dread. This was because he noticed that the head of the Wooden Statue was Giant Skull. Moreover, as he looked closely, this Giant Skull was wearing a few bones as its ne.


    Edwin knew what it was. This was a Demon God''s Statue!


    He had misread it as an inheritance of a Human expert, but in reality, it had turned out to be a Demon God''s Statue.


    ''Oh, no! If there is a Demon God''s Statue here, does that mean demons live here?! Howe the Kingdom has no idea about them?!''


    Edwin knew that he could think about the answerter. He immediately turned and ran towards the direction from which he entered.


    However, before he could take 3 steps, he felt a sudden burst of energy from the Totem.


    This sudden burst of energy froze him in his tracks. He wanted to run¡­ He tried to scream¡­ But Edwin felt as if his body wasn''t in his control.


    At this moment, he also heard an icy cold voice in his head, "It would have been better if you took 2 more steps towards the Totem. It is a pity that I had to use some Demonic Energy to restrain an inferior human like you. Never mind, I can''t really be picky at such a time."


    Edwin questioned in his mind ''W-Who are you?''


    "Demon God Azaroth."


    A cold voice resounded in his mind, and with that, Edwin''s consciousness vanished.

 Chapter 2 - Rebirth

    Demon God Azaroth, these words struck fear into the hearts of all individuals regardless of their race.


    The masses didn''t know that the Demon God Azaroth was a transmigrator who hade from Earth. For some reason, he never forgot the memories of his former and retained his intellect.


    Millions of years ago, Demon God Azaroth had gone on to battle against 3 Demonic Gods and 2 Gods. That battle nearly destroyed half of Purgatory and ended with 3 Demon Gods and 2 Gods corpses.


    However, the Demon God Azaroth was significantly injured, and he disappeared before his body gave in to his injuries. It was unknown where he had gone, but all the races let out a relieved breath as they knew that the Demon God Azaroth wouldn''t be able to survive due to the Holy Curse that had struck him.


    They were right. Even Demon God Azaroth''s Body couldn''t survive the Holy Curse. He was merely dying his death and remaining alive because of his impressive willpower.


    Before dying, he decided to sacrifice his body and preserve his soul. At the end of his life, Demon God Azaroth created a Totem where he hibernated his soul and stored all of his remaining Demon Energy.


    He had chosen a perilous forest on the Frascoia Continent and created the Totem in his hideout there.


    He hibernated his soul to preserve its strength. Because of losing his body, his soul would be fragile. He wasn''t sure when his soul would regain its strength, but he guessed that it would take nearly hundreds or thousands of years before his soul would regain consciousness.


    And now¡­ Nearly millions of years had passed, and Azaroth''s slumbering soul had already awoken and took over the body of a young noble named Edwin Rhodes.


    ~~


    "Edwin Rhodes¡­ He led a remarkable life until now." A voice left the throat of the guy with the same face as that of Edwin Rhodes. The voice was simr to before, but it seemed as if the person was speaking in amusement.


    "His memories will be helpful to know this era. But still, I never expected millions of years have passed since my'' death''"


    The words were naturally spoken by the former ''Demon God'' Azaroth.


    "His Spirit was rather strong for just a 2 Star Hunter. It was such a trouble to destroy his consciousness and fuse with the remnants of his soul."


    As Azaroth thought of how even Edwin could reach his cave, he let out a sigh.


    "How interesting that the forbidden forest I chose for my Totem has already downgraded into such a weak forest in these years. Well, it''s also better for me. If this Totem was discovered by even the lowest level of Angel, I would have been purged."


    He more or less understood the era because he had read Edwin''s memories.


    Unlike his time when the humans were weak, and no human had reached the 8 Star Rank and had to be dependent on Celestials to even prevent themselves from bing the demons'' food, they had now reached an impressive level. Right now, they also held a 9 Star Rank existence, which could be considered equal to a Demon Venerable.


    An existence almost equal to a Demon Venerable was the only one greater than Azaroth during his peak time.


    "But still, this is interesting. The humans will actually fight back and maybe allow me to enjoy myself." A smile broke out on Azaroth''s face as he turned his head towards the Demonic Totem.


    "Now¡­ Time to ept my powers." He raised his hands, and the Blue Ardor shone on his palm. Unlike the time when Edwin used this Blue Ardor, the size was nearly twice before even though the Ardor used was almost the same quantity.


    The credit for this could only be given to Azaroth''s superior control. Even though he hadn''t ever controlled the Ardor with a human''s attributes, his control over the Demonic Energy was significantly impressive.


    The Totem that Azaroth had left behind slightly shook. Suddenly, dark energy started to overflow from it.


    Azaroth nodded slightly as he noted that nearly half of the Demonic Energy he left behind had remained intact. This was good.


    ''I can probably reach the Demon Lord or perhaps a Demon King level straight away. Haha¡­''


    The Demonic Energy was tied to Azaroth''s Soul. Azaroth could control it with the slightest effort.


    The Demonic Energy soon condensed into a cloud that filled the upper portion of this cave. A dense beam shot towards Azaroth''s spot.


    Azaroth allowed the dense beam to strike his body, and soon enough, his entire body was bathing in this dense Demonic Energy.


    However, just as this Demonic Energy filled Azaroth''s body, a golden light suddenly flickered and appeared around Azaroth''s body.


    Azaroth was stunned for a few seconds before he muttered, "Holy Ardor? This human¡­ His body holds Celestial Blood?!" His mutterings turned into a shout at the end.


    He was genuinely startled at this discovery. Azaroth could feel the Holy Ardor purging his Demonic Ardor.


    He controlled the Demonic Ardor and forced it to remain on standby.


    After a couple of seconds of shock, he regained his calm. He analyzed quickly ''Even though the passage of time has weakened my energy, it should still be enough to overpower the Holy Ardor released from such a weak Celestial bloodline of a human.''


    The fact that Azaroth hadn''t sensed any Celestial Blood within Edwin''s body earlier meant that it was dormant until it felt that sudden influx of Demonic Energy and reacted. And he was well aware that since the Celestial Blood was dormant in Edwin''s body, it meant that it hardly reached the 1% density.


    However, even this tiny bit of Celestial Blood was giving him quite a bit of trouble.


    But still, now that he knew of this Celestial Blood. He could deal with it.


    However, just as he was thinking of dealing with the Celestial Blood, another thought appeared in his mind.


    ''This Celestial Blood must be from an Archangel or maybe even from a God. Purging it would be a waste. Perhaps I can forcefully fuse it with my Demonic Ardor.''


    Even though he was called a Demon God, Azaroth didn''t really hold great pride in his race. He was a human in his previous life and was a transmigrator. To him, what mattered the most was the benefit.


    For that reason, he was even willing to tie down his soul to a ''lowly'' human or be a hybrid.


    If he could be a hybrid, holding thebined powers of a Human, Celestial, and Demon, why shouldn''t he do so?!


    Azaroth was sure that he could surpass his peak in that way.


    "Alright. Time to start again. Though this time, I need to control this Holy Ardor, Humanely Ardor, and Demonic Ardor at the same time and even use my Spirit to force them to fuse. This might actually be interesting." He grinned fearlessly as he once againmanded the Demonic Ardor to form a beam and strike his body.


    The beam was nearly 10 times the size of before.


    Azaroth knew well enough that he couldn''t afford to be picky. On one side was a path he was entirely familiar with, and on the other side was an unexplored path possessing even greater potential.


    He was well aware that this was dangerous. After all, the Holy Ardor was an attribute that directly opposed the Demonic Ardor. Strictly speaking, either the Holy Ardor would purge the Demonic Ardor, or the Demonic Ardor could swallow the Holy Ardor, turning it into pure energy.


    However, the thing that gave confidence to Azaroth was this seemingly weak Humanely Ardor.


    In a direct confrontation, the Humanely Ardor could be considered weaker than the Holy Ardor or the Demonic Ardor.


    In simpler terms, Holy Ardor = Humanely Ardor + Holy Attribute, and Demonic Ardor = Humanely Ardor + Demonic Attribute.


    However, Humanely Ardor''s advantage was that it was entirely neutral, unlike the Holy Attribute or Demonic Attribute.


    Azaroth kept the Humanely Ardor in his body as a base and forcefully fused it with the Holy Attribute and Demonic Attribute.


    Initially, his control over these three energies was still rough, but after 20 seconds or so, he got used to controlling the three energies at the same time.


    The fusion went through quite smoothly.


    A smile broke out on Azaroth''s face as he thought ''Looks like my deduction was on point! The Humanely Ardor truly is neutral. However, because it is neutral, it can be anything. If I fuse it with the Holy Attribute, it would have the Holy Attribute, and if it was with my Demonic Attribute, it would have changed to that of a Demonic Attribute.''


    If Azaroth had to describe Humanely Ardor''s attribute, he could do so with a single word, and that was, ''Adaptable.''


    However, even though it was Adaptable, the Humanely Ardor couldn''t just fuse with anyone''s powers. If so, then many humans would have merged themselves with Celestials or Demons'' powers.


    The fundamental point was that the fusion would only seed if all these energies ''belonged'' to the body''s Spirit.


    The Humanely Ardor and the Celestial Ardor belonged to Edwin''s Soul, which had already fused with Azaroth''s Soul. Moreover, Demonic Energy was connected to Azaroth''s Soul¡­


    That was why the fusion went smoothly.


    After 3 or so hours, Azaroth sensed his power and was more or less sure that the Ardor had reached 4-Star Hunter Level, or it could be considered as the level of an Elite-ss Demon.


    [A/N: Just to refresh your memory of the ranks for Demons and Humans:


    Low-ss Demon: Equivalent to the 1 Star of Humans.


    Mid ss Demon: Equivalent to the 2 Stars of Humans.


    High-ss Demon: Equivalent to the 3 Stars of Humans.


    Elite ss Demon: Equivalent to the 4 Stars of Humans.


    Demon Lord: Equivalent to the 5 Stars of Humans.


    Demon King: Equivalent to the 6 Stars of Humans.


    Demon Emperor: Equivalent to the 7 Stars of Humans.


    Demon God: Equivalent to the 8 Stars of Humans.


    Demon Venerable: Equivalent to the 9 Stars of Humans.]

 Chapter 3 - Triquetra Ardor

    The Demonic Energy Azaroth had left behind at the end of his life force had now entirely exhausted.


    Even though Azaroth failed to reach the Demon Lord level, he was satisfied with his progress.


    The quantity of Ardor in his body was nearly 4-5 times that of an average individual. Just the quantity wasn''t great, but the quality was also wildly superior. If Azaroth had to assign it in numerical terms, it would be nearly 6 times denser than a normal Elite ss Demon.


    It was natural that the quantity would be quite great since the Ardor was created from the Demonic Energy of Azaroth when he was a Demon God.


    Meanwhile, the Holy Energy in Edwin''s body had just awakened and red up since it wanted to prevent the Demonic Ardor from flooding the body.


    "It''s time to test some things. I wonder if the Demonic Skills work efficiently with this energy or will I need to create some new skills." Azaroth mused to himself as he raised his arm.


    He could feel that the energy within his body still gave off the aura of Humanely Ardor. It would be a pity if his Demonic Attributes and Holy Attributes strength were lost while strengthening the Humanely Ardor.


    "Hmm¡­Let''s try ''Violet Hell mes.''"


    Once he whispered the name, Purple mes shot out of Azaroth''s body. These mes were quite dense, and once Azaroth saw these mes, he was surprised.


    "Interesting. Even the Violet Hell me that I found in Purgatory and fused with my Demonic Energy has grown slightly denser. Also, it is giving off the aura of Demonic Ardor. Can I keep the power constant but change what aura it should give out?"


    The mes'' color changed, and instead of the Purple mes, they were now Azure in color. The aura of these mes had changed from Demonic Ardor to Humanely Ardor.


    Azaroth was quite excited once he noted this. He immediately tried to change it to the Holy Ardor.


    The Azure mes had now changed their color to Golden. Now¡­ These mes gave off a Holy aura.


    He recalled the me soon enough.


    "This is quite an interesting thing. So, the Demonic Ardor skills have grown stronger, while I can effortlessly change its attribute technique. This is excellent. With this, whether I face a demon or a celestial, I can retain the upper hand all the time."


    "Moreover, with the number of techniques and secrets I know, it won''t be too difficult to return back to my peak."


    Azaroth had fought against many Celestials and Humans in the past. He studied their techniques in an attempt to create new ones for himself. The most effective way to learn new methods of other races was to mind-read their strong fighters.


    As he read their minds, he knew numerous forbidden secrets of Demons, Celestials, and Humans. This was also why the Celestials joined hands with the Demons to kill him once and for all.


    As he remembered how the Celestials and Demons joined hands to kill him and yet failed, a smile broke out on Azaroth''s face.


    Contrary to what anyone might expect, he held no real hatred for the Celestials or Demons for joining hands to kill him.


    Azaroth knew what he was doing and was aware of the risks. Since he was forced to such an end, he knew he only had himself to me. Perhaps he overestimated himself or maybe underestimated his enemies.


    No matter what, the fact remained that he was nearly forced to a dead end. Now that he had another chance at living, he would once again work hard for his grand ambitions.


    The one ambition he seriously wanted to fulfill was Invincibility. And not just invincible against an enemy¡­ Azaroth wished to be invincible against everything. Whether it was time, space, destiny, fate, and so on.


    When he was reincarnated of Frascoia Continent, Azaroth had felt as if the world was still too extensive. He wanted to be in control¡­ To be the one who would be capable of deciding everything.


    Perhaps it was an ambition far too great for an individual. Maybe his ambition could be considered stupid.


    However, Azaroth considered a rare stupidity to be better thanmonce wisdom. If nothing else, the journey might be entertaining.


    "I can check out the other skillster. Firstes the matter of what I should do now. Should I return to the Noble House of Rhodes or not?" This question puzzled Azaroth quite a bit.


    Edwin Rhodes''s father, Jonas Rhodes, had a power level of a Demon King. The authority this Noble House held was also quite significant.


    To grow, Azaroth knew that he needed resources, status, and kill¡­ Kill a lot.


    Each one of these things was interdependent on the other. If Azaroth had status, he would hold the resources and kill people for his growth as well, and it won''t affect him.


    However, an empty status that gave no resources or protection was useless. And this could be considered the position of Edwin Rhodes in his Noble House.


    There were multiple heirs of the Rhodes Family, so it was inevitable that there would be many enemies on the surface and underneath the surface.


    The question which puzzled Azaroth was whether it would be worth it to return to the Rhodes Noble House and try to fight these people now or should he leave for another Kingdom and do everything from scratch.


    As a Demon God who had once terrorized this world, he held many skills in his mind. With the strength of an Elite Demon, he shouldn''t have much trouble in starting over. He could join a Guild as an Adventurer or maybe find some of the Assassination Halls or perhaps some other secret organizations.


    However, this path had its cons as well.


    The path would depend a lot on luck. The Adventurers or Assassins were just underlings at the end. If the Noble Houses or a Kingdom feels that they are bing too strong, they are suppressed through force.


    This was why Azaroth wasn''t interested in working for a Guild. The rewards would be feeble aspared to the mission''s importance.


    "It appears that the choice is clear. To return." Azaroth calmly spoke as he stared at his Totem onest time and added, "Maybe I should take the thing I left behind first."


    3 purple rings were hanging on the Totem. These were Spatial Rings. They could be considered portable storage that he could carry around.


    The first ring held edible things that could be ingested. Well, those things had rotten by now. The second ring had a few of his weapons. And the third ring contained the resources, minerals, and other things.


    He had naturally made his preparations for this revival before his demise. The only thing outside of his calction was that he would fuse three attributes of Ardor.


    Once he had taken all the things he needed, silence followed as he started walking out of the cave.


    Once outside, Azaroth heard many footsteps.


    For their sound, Azaroth could feel that these footsteps wereing closer to himself. However, he wasn''t anxious.


    There was merely a calm smile on his face.


    Suddenly, an orange body appeared in front of Azaroth''s eyes. It was the body of a tiger. It was exuding an orange aura, killing intent glinting in its eyes.


    Before any warning, it pounced at Azaroth.


    However, just before it could touch Azaroth, its body stopped. In mid-air, apparently.


    "What a sad fate you have, beast. If not for you, I wouldn''t have awoken today. Perhaps my awakening would be dyed by another century."


    Azaroth calmly spoke to the tiger while looking straight into his eyes.


    If an onlooker were to see this scene from a distance. He would see a pure green aura shrouding the tiger and keeping it frozen in mid-air.


    At this point, the tiger couldn''t even open its mouth, much less growl or attack Azaroth.


    Azaroth slowly ces his hand over the tiger''s head. He seemed to be caressing its head, "What a pity that instead of thanking you, I need to kill you."


    Suddenly, the hand which was caressing the tiger''s head had a golden power around it.


    The tiger''s head was pierced easily by that golden energy around Azaroth''s hand and impaled its brain.


    Blood spurted out of him, but none of it drenched Azaroth''s clothes as a Purple Aura shielded him from this blood.


    The tiger''s body started shaking as it was held by that pure green aura, but he could still not move.


    Blood started to overflow from the tiger''s mouth, and it died instantly.


    "Perhaps the instant death could be my only gift to you."


    Azaroth finished speaking as the tiger''s body fell down.


    He looked delighted as he thought, "My energy is strong enough topletely overpower an Elite-Demon Rank Monster with the Golden Eyed Tiger''s bloodline. This was something I couldn''t have done with my demonic Ardor alone. This fused Ardor is truly strong.. Perhaps I should call it the Triquetra Ardor."

 Chapter 4 - Deep Anemone Inn

    Azaroth was returning back to the Wrihull City of the Kingdom of Sinyal. This city was situated under Rhodes Family''s territory and was in the northern part of the Kingdom of Sinyal.


    The Rhodes Family borders touched the Kingdom of Gler, so there were many cases of the Rhodes Family warriors to go assist the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army against the Kingdom of Gler.


    The forest where Azaroth was walking was on the western side of Wrihull City. He was quite surprised that the forbidden forest from millions of years ago, where even a Beast God, Sabertooth Tiger, resided, had dropped down to a level that humans could build a city here.


    Holy Attribute, Demonic Attribute, Humanely Attribute, and Beast Attribute. Among these four attributes of the Ardor, the Beast Attribute was the strongest if only pure power was considered, and the Humanely attribute was the weakest.


    And yet¡­ Currently, Azaroth was witnessing that the continent was dominated by none other than these weak humans. He could understand why the demons couldn''t conquer the continent, probably because of humans and celestials''bined influence. Unlike humans and celestials, demons were not united.


    They had fierce struggles even within their race. It was clear that they held no chance of ever dominating the entire continent, so most of them probably resided in Purgatory.


    The Celestials resided in the Heavens because they weren''t that interested in conquering the continent. They were abnormally arrogant and didn''t want to be in a human''s presence unless it was about killing a demon.


    Their pride and also deep hatred for the demons was one reason why a demon had never been able to take over a Celestials'' body. If a Celestial feels as if they were about to fall into a demon''s hands, they would immediately use their energy and explode themselves.


    Azaroth considered himself quite lucky to have taken over a human body that held that thin bloodline of a powerful Celestial.


    "Hmm¡­ The mother of this guy is already dead. And since the Celestial Blood had been trying to suppress his Humanely Blood, he has only shown a weak talent. Thus, the Rhodes Family has been rather cold to him."


    "If I suddenly show off the power of Elite-Ranked Demon to them, I wonder what their reaction would be. The humans won''t think that a Demon God has taken over Edwin''s body, right?" Azaroth had an amused smile once he thought that.


    Edwin hade to the forest to hunt a 2-Star Beast for its core. The savings he held had already exhausted, and he had to hunt the beasts to gain some wealth. As the Rhodes Family was quite cold to Edwin, he rarely received any support from them once his mother had died.


    "If it was the past, I would have just shown off the Holy Ardor and probably receive a lot of rewards just for possessing the Blood of Celestials. However, the humans of this era are truly quite ambitious. Once it''s found that a human possesses the blood of the Celestials, they capture half of his Spirit and force him to do his bidding."


    This was something that Azaroth came to know after he read Edwin''s memories. It appeared that Edwin hadn''t just lived all this life because of his good luck. Since he knew that he was weaker than the other heirs, he had tried to gather more information and stumbled upon this piece of information.


    Edwin had never really cared for this information since he didn''t think it would be useful. It couldn''t be helped as he never believed that he actually held that rare ''Celestial'' Blood within him.


    "I can''t really expect any allies over there. I can''t really expect good support in that family besides a few servants or maids that this brat knew."


    "I need to take control of the family. But with the strength I hold, it''s impossible to kill the Family Head. I will need to form connections."


    Azaroth knew that connections were a sort of strength in itself. Previously, the Demon Gods and Celestial Gods joined hands to kill him. If he had some allies who could fight against these beings, perhaps his body wouldn''t have been struck by that terrifying curse.


    If nothing else, through his connections, he might have known about that ambush and could have prepared himself.


    ~~


    10 hourster, Azaroth entered Wrihull City. Once inside the city, he didn''t go straight over to the Noble Family. Instead, he changed his direction towards a famous tavern in the city.


    Its name was The Deep Anemone Inn.


    From the outside, it looked snug, modest, and clean. Large stones and monumental stone pirs made up most of the building''s outer structure.


    It''s near impossible to see through the curtained windows, but the noise from within can be felt outside.


    Azaroth entered the tavern through the thick, wooden door.


    The bartender appeared extremely busy as he readied the customers'' drinks who were talking with each other.


    The tavern was as lovely inside as it was on the outside. Rounded, wooden beams support the upper floor.


    The tavern itself appeared packed, but still, Azaroth found an empty seat for himself.


    Once he took his seat, he raised his hand. Soon enough, a waiter neared him and asked respectfully, "What is your order, sir."


    The waiter was quite respectful because he noticed the clothes worn by Azaroth. There was also an emblem of two swords diagonally crossing each other. Even an illiterate person knew that this emblem was only worn by the Rhodes Family Descendants, the lord of this territory.


    Although the Deep Anemone Inn in the Wrihull City was set up by the Royal Family of Kingdom of Sinyal, the Royal Family hardly intervened in the Deep Anemone Inn''s matters now.


    The Royal Family was only interested in the Gold they would receive annually. As long as they continued to receive this Gold, they didn''t care much about this Inn.


    This provided quite a bit of freedom to the Deep Anemone Inn officials, and they hade to enjoy it. But this also reduced their powers quite significantly.


    Since there was no real support from the Royal Family, the Deep Anemone Inn Officials realized that they couldn''t go against a Noble Family Member.


    Nearly 4 years ago, there had been a case when an official of Deep Anemone Inn from another branch within Moondenn Town angered the Noble Family Head''s son. The next day, all the Deep Anemone Inn officials disappeared without a trace. The reason has remained unknown to this very day.


    The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Sinyal didn''t care even though so many officials had been killed. They didn''t pursue the matter and reced the whole staff as if nothing had happened.


    This seemed to empower the fear in the hearts of the ordinary people regarding Noble Family Members.


    "Get me your most expensive ale. As for food, bring me the pig meat with some sd. Make it extra spicy." Azaroth spoke with an emotionless tone.


    The waiter nodded his head and immediately went back to get the order ready.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth looked around and saw a few individuals taking quick nces at him.


    Once they noticed Azaroth''s stare, they immediately turned their heads in another direction. There were 3 men and a woman.


    After 15 minutes or so, Azaroth''s order arrived. A slight smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as the scent of ale and meat entered his nose.


    ''As a demon, there was no taste even when I ate food. The tastebuds of the demons are batshit annoying. And millions of years since reincarnating in this world, I will enjoy my food for the first time.''


    As the tes were ced in front of Azaroth, the waiter politely asked, "Is there anything I can do for you, sir?"


    Azaroth thought for a moment before he replied, "There is indeed something I want you to do. Ask around if someone is interested in buying a 4 Stars Beast Core."


    "What?! 4 Stars Beast Core?!" The waiter couldn''t help but exim that loud.


    However, surprisingly, it didn''t reach the ears of anyone other than Azaroth or the waiter.


    Azaroth had naturally been prepared for the waiter''s bbergasted reaction. He had immediately used his Ardor to seal the sound waves to prevent anyone from hearing about it.


    It was rtively easy to do, considering the waiter''s words weren''t empowered by Ardor. If they were, Azaroth would have to use some more energy, alerting all the other warriors here.


    Azaroth didn''t really fear them, but he didn''t want them to disturb his meal right now.


    "Yes. A 4 Stars Beast Core. Now, if you shout loudly again, you won''t have a head to shout the next time." Azaroth casually said as he took a bite of the food.


    Meanwhile, the waiter felt as if it was not the pig''s meat being cut but his own heart. He started sweating as he kept himself from saying anything.


    While the waiter was scared shitless, Azaroth continued to munch onto his food.


    ''How delicious! Fuck! I should have taken over a human''s body much earlier. Or maybe kept a human body as a puppet and use it when I wanted to eat some delicacies.''


    After Azaroth finished chewing the foot, he picked up the jar and gulped the ale directly from it.


    "S-Sir, can I tell this to the manager of this Inn? He might be able to assist you even more on this matter."


    The ale was quite good as well. Azaroth soon ced the jar back on the table and stared at the waiter.


    "Sure. That is not a problem. You can also give my name, Edwin Rhodes." Azaroth''s emotionless voice was heard by the waiter.


    "Thank you, sir." The waiter immediately left once he received the reply.


    Azaroth was wholly focused on eating his food now.


    After he was done with his food, he saw a middle-aged man approaching him. The man was dressed in a ck coat, a white shirt, a blue tie, and ck pants.


    Unlike the waiter, this man was rtively calm. Or at least he had reasonable control of his emotions.


    "This lowly citizen greets young lord Rhodes. If I knew that young lord ising to the Inn, I would have prepared some entertainment for the young lord." He spoke with a polite and respectful voice.


    "Skip these useless pleasantries." Azaroth calmly said before adding, "What about my task? Did you find someone willing to buy it?"


    A nervous look appeared on the manager''s face as Azaroth straight away skipped to his matter.


    "Actually, sir, for now, I have only found one person. And you see¡­ He is from the Merchant Union." The manager said with a rtively nervous expression.


    Azaroth now understood the reason behind this nervousness of the manager.


    Ordinary citizens weren''t aware, but there had actually been a cold war between many Noble Families and the Merchant Union. The Rhodes Family also held rather bad rtions with the Merchant Union.


    The Merchant Union was an entity set up by the Royal Family. Because of its existence, the business of the Noble Families would suffer quite a bit.


    In the hierarchy, this Deep Anemone Inn was below the Merchant Union.


    Azaroth neutrally said to the manager, "Bring him over. I will talk to him."


    The manager heard his words and looked incredibly relieved. He bowed once before taking his leave¡­


    Meanwhile, Azaroth turned his gaze towards his left. He didn''t just turn his head randomly. Just a bit earlier, he sensed someone intently staring at him.


    Once again, he focused on those 4 people. 3 men and one woman¡­


    ''Are they observing me, or am I just too self-conscious?''

 Chapter 5 - Suspicious Men

    Azaroth observed the individuals seated 3 tables away from him. However, soon enough, his interest waned, and he turned his head to the front.


    After some minutes, the manager returned along with an old man wearing luxurious clothing like Azaroth. In fact, this old man''s clothes seemed to be on an even higher tier than Azaroth.


    The old man''s clothes appeared to glow with a faint blue color.


    "This is Sir Ashton." Firstly, the Deep Anemone Inn manager introduced the old man next to him, and then he gestured towards Azaroth, "And this is Lord Edwin. He is the one selling the 4 Stars Beast Core."


    The old man focused his gaze on Azaroth and observed him quietly. Soon enough, the old man asked with a rough voice.


    "How much?"


    Azaroth had already decided upon what he wanted to buy. He said, "I want a grade 4 elemental weapon. Preferably, a sword or an axe."


    Sir Ashton appeared surprised and asked Azaroth, "You don''t want to exchange with the Gold Coins or Spirit Coins?"


    "No." Azaroth coldly replied. That sort of currency was useless to him.


    For some moments, Ashton continued thinking and then asked, "I only have a grade 4 sword with the lightning affinity. Will it work?"


    "Lightning, huh?" Azaroth fell into deep thought.


    ''ording to my analysis, my Humanely Ardor is attuned to Wind Attribute, the Demonic Ardor is attuned to Fire Attribute, and Celestial Ardor is attuned to Lightning. Possessing a sword attuned to Lightning Attribute isn''t a bad idea.''


    ''However, if I exchange for this sword, the news will definitely reach the Rhodes Family. They already know that I have a wind attribute and might question why I bought a sword with Lightning Attribute. Maybe they will even forcefully inspect me.''


    "No. I want a sword with the Wind Attribute." Azaroth firmly spoke.


    Ashton lowered his head and spoke, "That''s a pity then."


    The manager on the side was sweating nervously and spoke up at this moment, "Lord Edwin, maybe you can ask for something else. Sir Ashton is a Branch Manager of the Merchant Union''s branch in Wrihull City."


    Azaroth gave him a cold re. Instantly, the manager started regretting¡­ Why did he have to open his mouth here?!


    Azaroth then looked at Sir Ashton, "How about this¡­ If I require a Lightning Sword, then I will exchange this Beast Core with you. And if you find any Wind Attribute Sword or Ax, then bring it to exchange it with me. Is that eptable?"


    The old man named Ashton looked surprised. He then nodded his head, "Fair enough."


    Azaroth seemed satisfied with this and stood up. He was heading out of the Deep Anemone Inn. But before he stepped his foot outside the tavern, Azaroth heard Ashton''s voice, "I am curious. Why would a Rhodes Family Member decide to trade the 4 Stars Beast Core with me instead of cing giving it to the Rhodes Family?"


    Azaroth replied without even batting an eye, "Is it really that difficult to guess? I won''t receive anything much if I contribute this Beast Core to the Rhodes Family, but it''s a different matter if I trade it with you. Isn''t that right, Sir Ashton?"


    Slightly tilting his head, Azaroth stared at Ashton with a sharp glint in his eyes. Ashton looked impressed and spoke, "You have a good vision. It appears that not all the rumors about you were true."


    "Not all the rumors are to be trusted, Sir Ashton. Have a good day." With that, Azaroth pushed upon the gate of the tavern.


    However, he added while he walked ahead, "Next time, don''t think of sneaking up on me. I hardly restrained myself from cutting off your head."


    Sir Ashton remained calm even as he heard those words, treating them as passing wind. He kept thinking deeply ''This youth is only a 2 Star Warrior. How did he get 4 Stars Beast Core? Was he assisted by the Rhodes Family?''


    However, Sir Ashton immediately shook off that deduction. There were multiple reasons why he shook it off.


    Firstly, even if all the rumors about Edwin Rhodes were exaggerated, Ashton believed that there wouldn''t be smoke without a fire. Moreover, as a Branch Manager, he had kept notes of the Rhodes Family.


    There was no doubt that Edwin Rhodes was treated quite coldly by his brothers, cousins, and even his father. His mother''s former servants had been taking care of him. But they were all rtively weak. They couldn''t kill a 4 Stars Beast.


    Secondly, if the Rhodes Family was the one to assist Edwin so that he could get his hands on a 4 Star Beast Core, they definitely wouldn''t allow Edwin to trade this Beast Core with someone from the Merchant Union.


    Ashton continued to think with a frown.


    ''Who helped this boy and why?''


    Indeed¡­ What would anyone gain by helping this kid? This kid didn''t even possess any real status within the Rhodes Family, so Ashton failed to understand how it would be worth investing in him.


    However, a thought suddenly appeared in Ashton''s mind.


    ''Don''t tell me that someone wants to use this kid to spy on the Rhodes Family? Indeed¡­ With his sensitive situation, it will be easy to coerce him. Maybe this Beast Core was a gift from that person to let the kid believe him.''


    A smile appeared on Ashton''s face because this was too good to be true.


    Although the Merchant Union was set up by the Royal Family to manage the trade and handle the market. The officials of the Merchant Union were far from being satisfied with that.


    They wanted more power and influence. After all, even though the Merchant Union was quite influential, it was only because they relied on the Royal Family.


    The Merchant Union''s higher-ups wanted to free themselves from the Royal Family''s control, but they knew that they had to be subtle about it. That was why the Merchant Union targeted the Noble Families.


    They were trying to decrease the influence and power of the Noble Families. However, their primary motive was to steal the Noble Families'' secrets and give rise to their own martial artists whose loyalty would be pledged to the Merchant Union.


    It was quite a long-term n by the Merchant Union, and they had seeded in stealing the secrets of some Noble Families of the Kingdom of Sinyal. A batch of martial artists had already been formed, trained ording to the Noble Families'' secret manuals.


    ''It will be a good idea for me to remain in contact with this kid. Using him, I might grab hold of the secrets of the Rhodes Family.''


    ~~


    Azaroth had more or less anticipated what thoughts were going in Ashton''s head. This had been his primary aim.


    More interactions with Ashton meant that Azaroth could know more information and form connections with people outside Wrihull City. Moreover, Azaroth wouldn''t need to entirely depend on the Rhodes Family.


    He wanted to maintain a bnce between using the Merchant Union and the Rhodes Family to gain the greatest benefits. Perhaps he was too greedy, but Azaroth hardly cared about this fact.


    While Azaroth was walking towards the Rhodes Family Mansion, he sensed 2 individuals tailing him.


    ''That woman and the man from that group of four. Did they split up to follow me?''


    Azaroth knew that this was no coincidence that these two individuals left the tavern right after him.


    Moreover, he had seen their table, which was still covered with food. They hadn''t even eaten half of that amount, so why would theye out so soon?


    However, confronting them also wasn''t a good idea. These two individuals were 3 Star Warriors. Their aura was also quite simr to each other. This meant they used simr arts to cultivate their Ardor.


    This indicated that they belonged to the same faction that provided them the resources and secret art to be stronger.


    ''The other party still doesn''t know that I am aware of them. I need to investigate this in secret and figure out their motive.''


    Currently, Azaroth was walking in the market while these two individuals were following him, maintaining a gap of nearly 200-300 meters.


    ''How long will you pursue me? Or are you waiting for an opportunity to contact me?'' Azaroth was curious about this.


    He had kept on walking for nearly 15-30 minutes now, and these two were still persistently following him. Although they were clever enough to hide from his in sight, they couldn''t escape Azaroth''s senses.


    After another 20 minutes, the Rhodes Family Mansion was in sight.


    The two individuals following Azaroth stopped immediately and turned in the right direction, and ran off. It was as if theyplete their objective.


    Azaroth didn''t follow them.. For now, he wasn''t interested in his stalkers.

 Chapter 6 - In The Rhodes Estate

    The Rhodes Family Estate was massive.


    The walls were made up of dark brownstones that appeared extremely sturdy. There was also a faint glow around these stones. Dull windows were scattered thinly around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry.


    A moderate gate with a heavy iron door could be seen, which appeared to be the only way to get inside the Estate.


    The guards saw Azarothing towards them and bowed their heads. Azaroth acknowledged their bow and continued to walk ahead.


    A guard spoke out loud, "Open the gate. It''s Young Lord Edwin."


    "Roger!"


    The metal door creaked loudly as it slowly opened up. Azaroth walked inside without even saying a word.


    After he was gone, the metallic door was closed, and the guards began to gossip amongst themselves.


    "Didn''t Young Lord Edwin go out with Porter and Orson? But he returned alone¡­"


    "It''s clear that they died. Maybe they remained behind so that Young Lord could safely escape."


    "With those two servants gone, Young Lord''s life will probably get more difficult in the mansion."


    A guard sighed out after speaking that.


    "Shhh¡­ Let''s not talk about such things. If someone snitches us, Lord Rhodes will deduct our sry. Also, as you know, I need some money to make sure my mother continues to receive treatment for that heart disease."


    "Tch. Aren''t you too much of a coward? Here are all our people. No one will snitch on us here."


    Although one of the guards did say that, the other guards turned quiet, and this banter came to an end soon enough.


    Meanwhile, as Azaroth had already entered the mansion. As he walked towards his room, he saw 4 individuals walking towards him in a straight line.


    Azaroth knew all 4 of them. One of them was his half-brother Laurance, while the three women around him were his ymates.


    Laurance''s Ardor had reached a peak of 4 Stars Rank. As long as he spent a good time cultivating, his Ardor shouldn''t take too long before breaking through to the 5 Stars Rank.


    "Well-well, what do we have here? Oh, look, it''s my useless little brother." A mocking voice was let out by Laurance as he gazed at Azaroth.


    The girls around him giggled as they heard Laurance''s words. One of them spoke with an enchanting voice, "Milord, you need to be gentler with Young Lord Edwin or else, his fragile heart would break."


    "You are right, my dear." Laurance said with augh before asking, "So, what happened? You went to the White Swallow Forest, didn''t you? And you even brought along those pieces of trash with you. Don''t tell me they turned into beast food."


    Azaroth remained entirely calm as he continued walking. It was as if he didn''t even hear Laurance and was directly ignoring his words.


    "Hey, you! Lord Laurance is talking to you! Answer him!" One of the girls next to Laurance shouted at Azaroth with a sharp tone.


    Azaroth once again ignored their words as passing wind.


    Laurance clenched his fists and suddenly grabbed Azaroth''s cor, "Do you treat me as thin air?! Answer!"


    Laurance wasn''t actually interested in Azaroth''s answer. He had just gotten outraged when he saw how Azaroth had ignored him. It was as if Azaroth didn''t even consider him someone worth talking to.


    It made him feel slightly inferior.


    Azaroth looked into Laurance''s eyes as his cor was grabbed by Laurance.


    ''Confusion, anger, pride, and fear¡­ Why does he fear me? Is my aura leaking, or is he just psychologically weak?''


    Suddenly, Laurance firmly punched Azaroth''s face.


    Some blood dripped out of Azaroth''s mouth as he stared at Laurance with that same calm gaze. He didn''t care about this punch.


    If he was affected by a punch, he wouldn''t be much of a Demonic God.


    Azaroth knew when to endure and when not to. He adapted ording to the circumstances. Since he had entered the Rhodes Family Mansion, he had naturally anticipated such a situation.


    He hardly cared about a beating or two if it could conceal his identity as an imposter.


    The current him held little to no chance of surviving if someone at the Demon King level wanted his life.


    Suddenly, he thought ''Wait¡­ What if myck of emotions be the reason for someone to suspect me? It might be too suspicious if I suddenly don''t show any emotions.''


    ''However, I also can''t show off my aura or my true power. That will invite even more suspicion. I might need to reveal my Celestial lineage to go and take shelter under the church, but then my motive of infiltrating this Noble Family and taking control of it will go down the drain. I can''t ept that.''


    Azaroth wiped away the blood on his face and stared at Laurance with a mncholic expression, "They remained behind and allowed me to escape. I was just too lost in my grief. I apologize if I made brother angry."


    Laurance paused for a moment once he heard his words. He looked into Azaroth''s eyes for a couple of seconds before releasing his cor.


    "A trash needed another two trashes to save himself. Touching you will get my hands dirty. Now, scram!" Laurance shouted at Azaroth loudly.


    Azaroth turned his head and just walked off.


    The three women once againtched onto Laurance and seemed to continue their talk from before.


    Azaroth returned to his room soon enough. As soon as he returned, he jumped on the bed.


    It was soft and fluffy, made up of the feathers of grey pigeons.


    "I should temper the Ardor first."


    Sitting in a lotus position, Azaroth began to mutter something underneath his breath. He was muttering the incarnations of a meditation technique created by himself.


    Its name was Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique.


    Although his skills seemed to work well with the Triquetra Ardor, he was slightly worried regarding the Meditation Technique.


    After revolving the Ardor in his body ten times, Azaroth opened his eyes and let out a sigh.


    "It appears as if this meditation technique won''t work well with Triquetra Ardor. Its speed is nearly 9 times slower than in my previous life. Thews of the Heavens are fair. Since the Triquetra Ardor goes against the norm, it faces greater restrictions as well."


    Although it was an unexpected setback, it was nothing much to Azaroth.


    "The resources in the world are endless. Moreover, even those weak humans from before managed to break their limit and reach the peak. I can do the same as well.


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he added, "Fortunately, I never counted on this method. If quality doesn''t work, then I will rely on quantity. There is no end to such unorthodox means in my head."


    "Alright. Time to continue to train."


    Although Azaroth realized that his cultivation speed through this meditation technique was iparable to his previous life, he still decided to use it.


    One reason was that he didn''t have a better meditation technique than this one. Another reason was that even if he could raise his Ardor''s strength through unorthodox means, he had to make sure the Ardor in his body was sturdy enough to endure and not just copse at that time.


    Azaroth cultivated his Ardor for the rest of the day.

 Chapter 7 - Meeting Tronte

    The next day, Azaroth finished up his breakfast very early. And just as he anticipated, he didn''t encounter any of his brothers while he went to eat.


    Even though they were harmless to him, they could be considered annoying flies. And Azaroth was somewhat worried that he might identally crush them, so he decided to avoid them.


    After having his meal, Azaroth went out of the mansion.


    No one questioned where he was going. They just let him go out as they saw the empty look in his eyes.


    Azaroth was going towards the house of one of Edwin''s friends. His name was Tronte.


    This guy had helped Edwin quite a bit, so Azaroth was going to meet him. This man was an agent and held many connections with some shady people.


    He was Edwin''s friend from the Academy. Unlike many of his other friends who took up jobs in the Capital City of Sinyalian Kingdom, Tronte returned with Edwin.


    His power was rtively weak, but his connections made him a person to be feared in Wrihull City.


    From the outside, this house looked impressive. It had been built with burgundy bricks and had tan brick decorations. Tall,rge windows added to the house''s overall look and added to the house in a very asymmetric way.


    Azaroth entered Tronte''s house.


    "Tronte,e out," Azaroth called out for Tronte.


    A few minutester, Azaroth heard Tronte''s voice resounding in the house, "¡­Edwin? Howe you are here?"


    Tronte soon came down from the first floor.


    Brown, frizzy hair clumsily hanging over a long, lived-in face. Darting brown eyes, set a-symmetrically within their sockets.


    He stood towering among others, despite his muscr frame.


    He looked into Azaroth''s eyes with a surprised look on his face, which was quite natural, ording to Azaroth.


    Although Tronte and Edwin were friends, Edwin would rarely visit Tronte''s house since he didn''t want Rhodes Family to think that he had connections to someone who dealt with shady business.


    It was for Tronte''s and his own safety. So typically, it would be Tronte who organized a meeting with Edwin.


    And today, Azaroth hade straight to Tronte''s house, so how could Tronte not be surprised.


    "I had something to discuss with you," Azaroth said to Tronte with an anxious look.


    "Alright. Calm down. First,e inside. What will you have?" Tronte said with a small smile as he gave a soothing aura.


    "Jasmine tea."


    "Alright. Let''s talk in my room."


    Azaroth walked into Tronte''s room. If Azaroth had topare it to his own room, it could be considered rtively small. However, the room was well organized, with a bed on the left side, a study table, and two chairs.


    The walls were painted with blue color, the same as that of Azaroth''s hair.


    Soon enough, Tronte brought two cups of jasmine tea. Azaroth picked up his tea and took a sip.


    After one sip, he lowered his cup and looked at Tronte, "This is good tea."


    He was indeed happy to drink good tea.


    Tronte looked pleased when he received thepliment and spoke haughtily, "Obviously. It was made by me, not you. Hehe¡­"


    "The offer of bing my cook is still there. You up for it?" Azaroth cheekily said to Tronte, who justughed off.


    "Alright. What did you want to talk about?" Tronte decided to get straight to the topic.


    "Yesterday, my servants died while protecting me in the White Swallow Forest. And when I returned, the family''s reaction was cold once again. I then realized that you were right. Since the family doesn''t want to help me, I need to take action in my own hands." Azaroth spoke out while taking another sip from his tea.


    "See. I was telling you from the start that you need to stop depending on your family. I knew that such a situation was going toe sooner orter, but you were too stubborn." Tronte looked really unhappy as he said that.


    "Yeah, yeah. It was my fault. But I just didn''t want to enter into this shady business. However, now, I have no other alternative if I want to survive." After speaking, Azaroth took a sip of the tea once again.


    Tronte nodded his head and replied, "I perfectly understand your worries. Now tell me, how should I help you? Do you want me to introduce you to someone who can protect you? Or tell you the location of an expert who ns to take three new personal disciples in the next few days."


    Azaroth was slightly surprised. This Tronte guy indeed seemed to have a lot of connections. And not just links, but he probably also knew the secrets of many individuals.


    ''Should I read his mind?''


    This thought immediately entered Azaroth''s mind. However, he soon shook that thought off.


    Firstly, Azaroth''s mind-reading skill wasn''t that good. If he tried to forcefully read Tronte''s mind, there would be no way Tronte would be unaware of it. Even drugging him won''t help since he would feel like someone was poking a needle in his brain. The only remaining option would be to kill Tronte.


    And even if he could learn the secrets, he would need to invest quite a bit of his time on these matters, which couldn''t be considered very important. Entangling himself politically even further was thest thing Azaroth wanted.


    Secondly, it would be useful to have a subordinate or maybe a friend who could manage all this on the sidelines.


    Thirdly, there were more appropriate means to carry out this mind-reading skill. Just that Azaroth would have to control the situation quite a bit.


    Azaroth shook his head to Tronte''s suggestions and replied, "I don''t need a bodyguard or be someone''s disciple. I already have a n on how to get stronger. What I want you to do is introduce me to a merchant-"


    As soon as Azaroth stated his request, Tronte cut him off, "That''s easy. Do you want weapons, gems, or Ardor metals?"


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he heard Tronte speak, "Don''t be so quick in your judgement. I want you to introduce me to a wealthy merchant from Gler. I want to sell him Ardor Metals and gems."


    The Ardor Metals and gems Azaroth was talking about were the ones in his spatial rings. These were the things that he had prepared near the end of his previous life. He had many Ardor metals and gems in them. Some of them were even considered very rare in today''s era, and only the Noble Families possessed them.


    The Ardor Metals and gems also had a hierarchy ording to the number of stars assigned to them. Azaroth was naturally nning to only sell those that wouldn''t be too suspicious and help him achieve his motive.


    Meanwhile, Tronte showed a surprised look as he stared at Azaroth, "You will sell Ardor Metals and Gems? From where did you get these things? Did you find a mine or what?"


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he said, "Tell me, Tronte, don''t you see what I am wearing on my fingers? Or are you just pretending not to notice them?"


    A look of understanding soon appeared on Tronte''s face, "So, these are really Spatial Rings?"


    "No. Two are dummies while one is real." Azaroth replied calmly.


    Once Tronte heard his words, heughed out, "Haha¡­ I didn''t expect such a clever trick from you. Anyway, where did you find it? Don''t tell me that stony father of yours took pity on you and finally gifted you something? Or was this left behind by your mother?"


    Azaroth snorted, "As if that guy will gift me something. He is too busy having fun with his harem."


    Tronte replied, almost absent-mindedly, "Yeah. I heard that he married another woman. Moreover, this woman is just 24 years old and was considered as beautiful as a fairy. What a pity. A beautiful flower will be ruined by that man."


    "Anyway, Yesterday, when I was escaping from the vipers, I stumbled upon an inheritance ground left behind by an expert. Fortunately, there was no trial¡­ The residual Spirit just wanted me to do my best in killing any demons I encounter. And it gave me a spatial ring with lots of stuff. Most of them are of the first three stars ranked materials, while the higher-ranked stuff is quite rare. I want to sell this lower-ranked stuff since its quantity doesn''t really help me." Azaroth mixed truth with his lie and then told Tronte what he wanted to do.


    There was no point in keeping it hidden since he wanted good support from Tronte. If Tronte felt that Azaroth was hiding something, he might not help sincerely.


    "Okay. Then why a merchant from the Kingdom of Gler? Why not sell it to someone from the Kingdom of Sinyal or the Lamhilhan Theocracy? You should also be clear of the rtions between the Kingdom of Gler and the Kingdom of Sinyal." Tronte asked with a serious expression.


    It was natural for Tronte to be serious regarding this. Because there was quite a bit of bad blood between the Kingdom of Gler and the Kingdom of Sinyal.


    It was well known that the King of the Glerian Kingdom wanted to expand towards the south. And towards the south was naturally the Sinyalian Kingdom. The first region that received the Glerian Kingdom''s attacks was none other than Rhodes Family''s territory.


    In terms of numbers, Glerian Kingdom''s army could be considered nearly equal to the Sinyalian Kingdom. However, when it came to the fighting prowess of martial artists or soldiers'' quality, the Sinyalian Kingdom was superior.


    To effectively counter the Sinyalian Kingdom or even suppress them, the Glerian Kingdom had heavily invested in weapons and armors. However, although they were sessful in making rtively superior weapons and armors, their resources were limited.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom had requested its allies to stop any trade regarding the Ardor Metals or other resources to the Glerian Kingdom. In reality, the other kingdoms were also quite cautious of these new designs of the weapons and armors made by the Glerian Kingdom. They knew that their current King held a wild ambition. If they supported the Glerian Kingdom now, it woulde to bite themter.


    For that reason, many of the kingdoms did as the Sinyalian Kingdom had requested and put an end to any trades between them.


    With theck of resources, the attacks from the Glerian Kingdom had lessened and eventually stopped.


    It could be said that the Kingdom of Gler had declined quite severely.


    And now, Azaroth wanted to trade with the Kingdom of Gler, dealing with the Ardor Metals and gems.


    "I naturally am aware. And precisely because of this, I am choosing the Kingdom of Gler." Azaroth mystically spoke.


    "What are you nning, Edwin?" There was a serious yet curious glint in Tronte''s eyes.


    "To reignite the war between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom," Azaroth said with a small smile.. He enjoyed Tronte''s wide-eyed expression.

 Chapter 8 - Glerian Kingdom

    Perhaps Azaroth''s words were too surprising for Tronte that he remained speechless for some minutes.


    Azaroth took a sip of his tea once again as he stared at Tronte. He had expected such a reaction from this guy.


    The words he had spoken earlier weren''t a boast. This was what he really wanted to do. However, if he tried to do it alone while keeping Tronte in the dark, it would be impossible.


    If Tronte came to know of itter, he might even hold some suspicion, and distrust would worm its way into them.


    This was not an ideal situation at all. So, Azaroth decided to tell him the truth straight away and see what he decides.


    "Are you drunk? Or are you intoxicated by the tea? The fuck are you thinking. You want the Glerian Kingdom to wage war upon us? Don''t you know how those bastards have treated their newly acquired territories?! We will willingly seek death only to be denied by it as well." Tronte spoke with a harsh tone as he stared at Azaroth.


    Azaroth calmly ced the teacup on the table. He looked at Tronte in the eye and spoke, "I naturally know of this as well. But why should we be scared of some bunch of people who will just rot in some wastnd, along with other corpses?"


    "¡­ I don''t follow you." Tronte spoke with a nk look in his eyes.


    Azaroth calmly spoke, "Tronte, what do you think would happen if I run away?"


    Tronte remained quiet as he heard that question. His silence seemed to be a response that Azaroth counted on, and he continued, "I will be hunted. This family won''t leave me alive no matter which country I go to. Also, do you think that any person in the world would be willing to go against the Rhodes Family for me?"


    "But the Rhodes Family might leave you alone," Tronte spoke those words with a feeble voice.


    "Do you even hear yourself? Even you don''t believe this. Also, Tronte, I know some secrets about the Rhodes Family. Some secrets I never shared with you. Something I should have never known. The Rhodes Family might go to the ends of the world or even beyond just to make sure I keep my mouth shut." There was a sharp tone in Azaroth''s voice.


    "You know of such secrets?!" Tronte eximed out once he heard Azaroth. He never considered that the Rhodes Family was hiding such a big secret.


    Azaroth gave him a gentle smile and asked him, "I can give you a hint. Why do you think that the Rhodes Family is one of the only families to have a 6 Star Warrior? Why is it that the number never changes no matter how many generations have passed?"


    Tronte''s eyes widened with shock, and he immediately raised his finger, cing it on Azaroth''s lips, "Don''t speak anymore. I never heard anything."


    The gentle smile on Azaroth''s lips widened slightly as he heard Tronte, "You are quick on the uptake. I thought a few more hints are necessary."


    "You are bathing in the fire, and you have the mood to joke around?! Do you know how critical this information is?! If someone from your family finds out that you gave me a hint to this information, you will be ughtered. They will feed your body to the dogs!" Tronte showed a worried look as he stared at Azaroth.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was analyzing Tronte with a rxed look. If Tronte observed carefully, he would see a tint of purple light sh in Azaroth''s eyes.


    ''The emotion he is disying¡­ It seems genuine. He really is worried about me. At least I can trust him a little. If manipted carefully, he can be an excellent right-hand man.''


    "Alright, now keep your hands off me." Azaroth swats off Tronte''s hand and then spoke ahead, "This was the situation if I ran away from the Rhodes Family."


    He added with a serious look, "And if I continue to remain in the Rhodes Family, I believe I don''t need to tell you much about that. If you don''t even have this much information, your connections are a little too low."


    Tronte nodded his head, "In the past, once the Family Head of the Rhodes Family is decided, all other heirs will suddenly vanish. It''s clear that the Rhodes Family killed them all to prevent any future obstructions."


    "Not quite, but close. Anyway, this is one reason why the family makes sure there is enough hatred between us all. If there isn''t, they create it." Azaroth spoke with a grave expression.


    Tronte suddenly realized something and spoke, "I see now¡­ That''s why you want the Glerian Kingdom to wage war upon the Sinyalian Kingdom. You want to shake off the Rhodes Family''s influence using the Glerian Kingdom."


    Azaroth nodded his head, "That is correct."


    "Damn. If the Glerian Kingdom was half as bad, you could have just gone there. But going there now and requesting protection from them for the information you have would be a transfer from a butcher shop to another. Your fate will remain the same. Just wait to get cut." Tronte let out a sigh as he said this.


    "Alright. I understand your situation. I am willing to help."


    "¡­" Azaroth didn''t speak at all. He continued to analyze Tronte rather carefully. Once again, there was a purple sh in his eyes.


    ''Fear, worry, however, a strong resolve as well.''


    "Since you are willing to help, then you should introduce me to a merchant who can smuggle these metals and crystals to the Glerian Kingdom," Azaroth said.


    "Your request is not an easy one, though. A wealthy merchant who can buy raw materials from you and smuggle them to the Glerian Kingdom. Truly not easy." Tronte said with a forced smile.


    Before Azaroth said anything, Tronte added, "Give me some time. A day or two. I need to see if that man is still in the town or not."


    Azaroth''s eyes widened slightly as he heard Tronte''s words. He didn''t expect Tronte to actually know someone. He thought that Tronte would search for at least a week or a month beforeing with good news. But now, if his luck was alright, he might save quite some time.


    "Alright. I will return to the mansion now. Contact me once there is progress regarding this." Azaroth spoke to Tronte and soon got up.


    "Sure," Tronte replied back with a bright smile.


    "Also, tell me where I can buy 2 ves."


    "ves, huh? You want male ones or female ones?" Tronte suddenly asked Azaroth.


    Azaroth replied almost instantaneously, "The gender doesn''t matter. I will choose them based on their talent."


    Tronte looked at Azaroth with a slightly disappointed look, "Don''t regret itter."


    "Whatever." Azaroth turned around and started walking back to the Rhodes Family mansion.


    Meanwhile, Tronte went over to the market to meet with some of his contacts.


    ~~


    For the next 2 days, Azaroth was careful not to meet any other individual in the Rhodes Family. He remained in his room and continued to use the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique to temper his Ardor.


    However, just as before, the progress was still rtively slow.


    While he meditated using this Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique, he changed his physique to a Demon''s physique. Typically, it would have shown changes to his Ardor already.


    However, Azaroth was cultivating the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique using the Humanely Ardor. So, his energy signature over his body never changed.


    Changing his physique to that of a demon''s physique meant that he empowered it to contend a demon with raw strength without Ardor''s use.


    Contrary to his increase of Ardor, the progress of converting his physique to that of Heavenly Demon''s Physique had been rtively quick.


    Other than making his physique even stronger, Azaroth found out that his body had released many impurities. He didn''t expect that a human body had so many impurities in it.


    ''Even after spending 10-12 hours trying to change my body, I have probably only cleared 10% of the total impurities from my body. I need a Pure Cleansing Grass to seed in removing all the impurities in one go.''


    However, even though Azaroth had only removed 10% of his impurities that seeped within his body, it still showed astonishing results. The flow of Ardor within his body was quite a bit faster than before.


    It was nearly noontime, and Azaroth got up since he knew that he couldn''t spend all his time meditating. Unlike the time when he was a demon, this was a human body. He had to supply it with enough nutrients so it won''t get weak because of starvation.


    This was another reason why Azaroth was converting his body to that of a Demon''s Physique. Once he aplished it, his limits over such things as the need for nutrients to sustain himself would significantly decrease.


    Azaroth went over to the dining hall, where the servants had already served the food on the table. A servant was standing just beside the central chair, and he appeared to be waiting for Azaroth.


    He smiled when he saw Azaroth and spoke, "Young Master Edwin, today, your favorite dish has been made."


    Azaroth looked at the food on the table and indifferently nodded. It was a mixture of crab and an eel''s dish.


    The eel was a 4 Star rank thing that could enhance a martial artist''s body. And even the effect of Azaroth''s Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique was enhanced once he ingested this food.


    In reality, Azaroth quickly wanted to reach the 2nd Stage of the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique, during which he would no longer need to actively sit down and meditate. In fact, just by taking a breath, he would be enhancing his Ardor step by step.


    s, at his current pace, he would have to do it for another 3 weeks regrly.


    The advancement of this technique wasn''t dependent on how well you do or your talent. It was fixed for every individual. All Azaroth was doing was making this body entirely remember how to circte the Ardor in his body and enhance it.


    After 3 weeks, it would be an automatic process that his body could do unconsciously. Basically, building up the muscle memory for it.


    For this, good food and being regr with this meditation technique were the necessary requirements.


    After he was done eating his food, Azaroth stood up and left the mansion.


    Currently, he was going to the merchant union''s market. There were a couple of things he needed.

 Chapter 9 - Market

    After an hour or so, Azaroth reached the market that was controlled by the merchant union.


    There were quite some people here. This market had an area assigned for many items, like the food market, the jewelry market, the essory market, the weapon, and armor market, the clothing market, the spells shops, some fortune teller stands, etc.


    Azaroth hade here for the clothing market. The clothes Edwin had at home were not to his liking. Those clothes seemed to have been given to make Edwin seem inferior to others in the Noble Family.


    As guests arrive in the Rhodes Family Noble House, many of them had a bad impression of Edwin because of his low-ss clothing among the Nobles. They could tell that he didn''t possess a good status within his family just from his clothes.


    Edwin couldn''t really spend a lot on his clothing because his family hadn''t supported him all that much.


    So, it wasn''t a wrong deduction by the guests. Azaroth knew he had to change these little things as well.


    The first impression of people is quite frankly through judging the other person''s appearance. And if the appearance wasn''t noteworthy, the other person would have a slightly low impression of you initially.


    In the diplomatic or other talks, this low impression at the beginning makes quite a difference. The small details matter quite a lot in the grand scale of things.


    Besides, Azaroth also wanted to look good, so that was a factor as well.


    Since Edwin had rarelye into the market as he hadn''t been able to afford much here, Azaroth didn''t know much about this market.


    However, he wasn''t entirely helpless. He smirked a little as he remembered the connection he made a few days ago. It was time to use that connection.


    Instead of turning to the clothing market, Azaroth turned towards the Merchant Union''s headquarters here in this square.


    Now¡­ This was the administrative building that handled all the data and other customers'' problems here in this square.


    Moreover, this was also the headquarters of the Merchant Union''s branch in Wrihull City, so unlike the stalls, there were quite some guards stationed there.


    Although the number of guards was merely 10 or so. They were all at the 4 Star Rank. Also, Azaroth could sense the presence of a 5 Star Rank Warrior in the building.


    This energy signature wasn''t that of Sir Ashton, and this warrior seemed to be stationed near the entrance.


    Azaroth thought to himself ''This might be a guard captain.''


    Azaroth went over to the building''s entrance with a stony expression and said to the guards at the gate, "I want to meet with Sir Ashton."


    With a robotic expression, a guard asked, "Do you have an appointment?"


    "No. But Sir Ashton knows me. Inform him, and he will give you permission." Azaroth said, rather stoically.


    "No appointment means you can get lost!" Another guard stationed at the entrance said with a rough voice.


    Azaroth didn''t even look at the man and just stared at the guard with that calm gaze.


    "Brat, are you ignoring me?!" The guard who had been ignored angrily asked.


    Once again, Azaroth ignored this fool and asked the guard, who had a calm look on his face, "Can you really not even inform him that Edwin Rhodes hase to see him?"


    "You are from Rhodes Family?!" A guard at the side looked surprised as he spoke that out.


    Azaroth was a little relieved as he heard that surprised voice. This meant that this issue should be resolved without a problem. The Rhodes Family should have enough prestige over here.


    "So, what if he is from the Rhodes Family? I have also heard of the trash from the Rhodes Family."


    "Isn''t he that guy who went to the forest a few days ago and lost his servants? It''s said that he has no supporter in the Rhodes Family and no servant. In fact, he is a young lord of the Rhodes Family in name only."


    The guards started talking among themselves.


    The guard who had been talking to Azaroth rather rudely also heard those words and grinned. Hardly would there ever be a chance where guards like them could bully these young lords of the Noble Houses.


    That guard remembered how he had been humiliated by that young lord named Laurance from Rhodes Family. He was rather happy that the heavens have given him a chance to vent his frustrations on this man.


    "So, you are that trash from the Rhodes Family? Who do you think Sir Ashton is? You think he has time to meet trash like you? Just scram before I make you." Although the guard seemed to be telling Azaroth to scram, internally, he was praying for Azaroth to stay behind and get angry.


    Only if Azaroth did that could he push the matter ahead, or he would have to forget like this matter never happened.


    "Sir Ashton is meeting someone else right now. It''s not appropriate for us to go and interrupt his meeting." The man with the stone-cold face replied to Azaroth''s question.


    Azaroth let out a sigh, "Looks like I was the one who came at bad timing. Very well, I will return at ater date."


    All this while, he didn''t even give so much as a nce to that guard who had spoken rudely to him.


    To Azaroth, giving importance to such a person was like wasting his time to squash a bunch of ants. Simply unnecessary.


    "You¡­! You are ignoring me again?!" The guard shouted loudly in Azaroth''s direction.


    For some reason, Azaroth stopped. He turned around and looked at that guard for a few seconds.


    After that, he was once again on his way back to the mansion.


    Not just that guard, but the other guards were confused by this action from Azaroth.


    "W-What the fuck was that?! You bastard! Stop!" The guard looked like he would go berserk from all that anger as he stared in Azaroth''s direction.


    Azaroth let out a tired sigh as he turned around. He could deduce that if he avoided this anymore, this firecracker would just straight-up attack him.


    Letting his power known to the public was not what Azaroth wanted.


    "You seemed like a pitiful child who was going to cry unless I gave you some of my attention. So, I did just that. I gave you my attention, and then I was on my way." Azaroth said with a clear gaze.


    "Who are you calling a pitiful child?! How dare trash like you call me a pitiful child?!" The guard looked really angry as he shouted at Azaroth.


    Azaroth shook his head and then replied, "Not just pitiful but stupid as well."


    "You fucking bastard¡­" The guard growled while staring at Azaroth.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth went forward and stood in front of that guard. There was just a one-arm distance between them, and if the guard didn''t have reasonable control over his anger, he would have already pounced over Azaroth to beat him up.


    "Do you see this distance between us?" Azaroth started speaking with a rather cold tone, "This is your limit. This is the best you can do to me."


    "What did you say?!"


    "You can''t do anything to me unless I start it even though you can be considered much stronger than me. That''s just how weak you are." Azaroth said while showing a scornful look in his eyes.


    "You are like a dog who is chained to his house. And such a dog can''t bite others without the permission of his owner. So, spare me the useless threats. Also, just what can you do to me? You don''t dare to touch me unless I attack you. You don''t dare to touch my family even if you have a hundred times more guts. So just what can you do to me?" Azaroth finished speaking with a condescending gaze in his eyes.


    "I¡­ I will¡­" Just as the guard was about to continue, Azaroth turned his head towards the Merchant Union''s headquarters entrance.


    There he saw a familiar old maning out of the entrance. Along with him was a man in histe middle ages. One of them was naturally Sir Ashton, whom Azaroth wanted to meet.


    "Looks like fate is in my favor," Azaroth whispered with a small smile.


    As Sir Ashton hade out of the headquarters to escort the other man out, his vision naturally fell on Azaroth.


    He looked slightly surprised to see Azaroth here and quickly thought of why he could be here.


    Sir Ashton spoke with an apologetic expression, "Young Lord Edwin, I haven''t been able to find a wind affinity weapon just yet. Or are you here to exchange that thing for the Lightning sword in my possession?"


    The guards nearby were stunned as they never thought that Azaroth was really telling the truth.


    "I didn''te here for a weapon." Azaroth started speaking as he stared at Sir Ashton.


    Meanwhile, the middle-aged man stared at Azaroth with a rather curious gaze. He asked Sir Ashton, "Who is this young man?"


    "He is Edwin Rhodes, an heir to the Rhodes Family." Sir Ashton gave a rather basic introduction.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Edwin. I am Brynn Gaynor, the head of the Kloras town." Brynn Gaynor introduced himself to Azaroth. Once he was finished with his introduction, he even gave a short bow in Azaroth''s direction.


    He had to pay sufficient respect to the Noble Family that directlymanded him.


    Meanwhile, the rude guard who had been quibbling with Azaroth just a few moments earlier was now getting paler.


    He thought that Azaroth would be meeting Sir Ashton for the first time, but he never imagined that Azaroth actually knew Sir Ashton. He had been stationed as a guard here every day, but never did he see Azarothe here, so he had been very sure of his deduction.


    The guard thought that even if he did bully this guy a little, the noble family would look at Sir Ashton''s face and won''t make things too hard for trash like him.


    However, now that he realized that Sir Ashton actually knew him. Moreover, it seemed as if they already had a business deal with each other. He knew that his days were numbered.


    Azaroth nodded his head at Brynn Gaynor''s words as if he was acknowledging him. He then spoke to Sir Ashton, "I came here not for a weapon but for Spiritual clothes. I am willing to exchange that thing for these clothes."


    "Spiritual clothes?" Sir Ashton heard Azaroth''s request and muttered to himself. Soon enough, a pleasant smile appeared on his face as he said, "That works as well. However, just be careful to not take anything too expensive."


    "Rest assured, I know my limits," Azaroth said.


    "Let me lead you to the clothing shop with the best clothes avable for you." Sir Ashton said to Azaroth.


    "Sure. That works fine for me. After all, I rarelye here, so I don''t know this market as well as you do." Azaroth casually shrugged in response.


    Brynn Gaynor then turned to Sir Ashton, "Sir, I will take my leave now. My vige needs my presence. Please send the equipment as soon as possible."


    Sir Ashton turned towards Brynn Gaynor and replied, "Rest assured, Brynn. All orders to the Merchant Union are fulfilled without a doubt. I am willing to stake the reputation of the Merchant Union that you will receive your order in a week."


    "Thank you, Sir Ashton. With those words, I can rest assured."


    With this, Brynn Gaynor walked away.


    Sir Ashton then turned towards Azaroth, "Let''s go as well."


    "Sure." Azaroth casually said to Sir Ashton. And just as Azaroth was going to walk off, he added, "Also, Sir Ashton, just be stricter in recruiting the guards for the Merchant Union. Make sure to take amon-sense test. Because some of them don''t seem to have any of that."


    Sir Ashton frowned as he heard those words, "Did something happen?"


    At this moment, the guard with a calm robotic voice stepped forward and spoke, "Sir, Rupert had been behaving rudely to Young Lord Edwin and taunting him for some reason. He has even threatened Young Lord Edwin¡­"


    "You have quite some nerves Rupert," Sir Ashton spoke with an ice-cold voice.


    "This servant apologizes, Master."


    "A disobedient guard like you is unsightly. ELLIOT!" Sir Ashton shouted the name loudly.


    Instantly enough, arge man came running out of the headquarters.


    He had a frantic look over his face as he stared at Sir Ashton. Immediately aftering out of the building, he kneeled down in Sir Ashton''s presence.


    "What is your order, Master?" The man asked with a submissive expression, staring at the ground with a scared look.


    "Deal with Rupert. This guy has be quite disobedient. Make an example of him." Sir Ashton coldly said before turning to Azaroth''s direction, "Is young lord satisfied with this?"


    "Hmm¡­" Azaroth calmly blinked at the scene.


    In fact, he stared at the terror-struck expression of the guy named Rupert and spoke, "As I said before, this is the difference between us. But unfortunately for you, this is all toote for you."


    With this, Azaroth and Sir Ashton proceeded to walk towards the clothing market from where Azaroth could buy Spiritual clothes.


    In the background, they heard some screams and sounds of resistance.. People gathered towards it as they were curious to see what was happening.

 Chapter 10 - Spiritual Clothes

    Azaroth entered a clothing store along with Sir Ashton. As he looked around, he found regr clothing ced all over the store.


    There was not one item here that gave a Spiritual sense to him.


    "Are you sure you want to buy some Spiritual clothes instead of better armor? As you know, Spiritual clothes will hardly provide you with any defense against physical attacks." Sir Ashton asked Azaroth, telling him of the bad points of the Spiritual clothing.


    "The fact that it can weaken the elemental ardor attacks is more than enough reason for me to wear it. Moreover, unlike an armor, my mobility won''t be restrained as if I wear it." Azaroth gave his reasons casually.


    Sir Ashton epted his reasoning with a smile.


    Meanwhile, the store owner also saw just who hade into his shop. He was quite amazed to see it was Sir Ashton bringing someone along.


    "Greetings, Sir Ashton. It''s a pleasure to have you in my shop." The man said with a respectful voice.


    Sir Ashton waved off his words and spoke, "This gentleman here wants to buy Spiritual clothing. Show him tier 4 Spiritual clothing. And show him the best ones¡­I will be settling the bill."


    These words from Sir Ashton were quite surprising for the shop owner. He nced at Azaroth with an analytical gaze. To hear that this man was making Sir Ashton pay for him¡­His identity was bound to be unique.


    However, the shop owner knew he couldn''t just talk about it. He had to do what has been asked of him first.


    "Yes, sir. I will show you the absolute best of what is avable in my shop." He promised with a confident tone and added at the end, "Follow me."


    Azaroth and Sir Ashton followed him. Sir Ashton wasn''t worried since he trusted this man quite a bit.


    The shopkeeper took them to stairs that led to the basement where he had stored the Spiritual clothing.


    Unlike the ground floor that had been covered with various types of clothes, the basement didn''t seem to have many clothes.


    Even here, Azaroth couldn''t sense any Spiritual clothing.


    The clothes lying around here also appeared to be quite normal.


    Without saying anything, the shopkeeper grabbed hold of a specific robe and pulled it out of the polythene-like packing.


    Once the cloth was out of that polythene-like packing, the entire room seemed to be saturated with a dense quantity of Ardor.


    Azaroth was quite surprised as he thought ''This polythene thing¡­ It entirely blocked my spiritual sense. There was no such thing millions of years ago.''


    Azaroth really wanted to sigh as he understood that humans had progress not just in terms of power but also explored quite a bit.


    Truly, no matter what dimension it was, the human species would continue to evolve with time.


    "Try this out, sir." The shopkeeper said with a small smile.


    Azaroth wore the robe above his clothes. The brown robe covered nearly all his body and had a bluish aura around Azaroth.


    "This is a tier 4 robe which can resist elemental powers as long as you have Ardor stored in it." The shopkeeper spoke with a neutral gaze.


    Azaroth continued to gauge the material with his own spiritual sense. Now that the polythene-like thing wasn''t restricting his spiritual sense, he could analyze it himself.


    As he analyzed this material, he found out that this material seemed to be made by a mixture of constituents that held fire, lightning, wind, and other elemental crystals. The fire elemental ratio was the highest, and ording to Azaroth, the fire was the element that would be significantly restricted by this robe. It would have the weakest resistive power to wind elemental attacks.


    "Can I see any other?" Azaroth quietly said as he dismissed this product.


    The shopkeeper looked surprised and gave a look to Sir Ashton. Sir Ashton quietly nodded, giving a small hint to the shopkeeper.


    "As youmand, sir. The next product will be a little more special." The shopkeeper said as he picked up another polythene packet.


    This time, it wasn''t a robe but more like a set of clothes.


    It had a shirt, jacket, and trousers as well. It appeared quite good and reminded Azaroth of the branded clothes from Earth.


    Although its designs couldn''t be considered in the same league as the top brands on Earth, it was still quite good.


    "Alright, I will try this out."


    Azaroth was sent to the trial room to try on these clothes.


    While Azaroth had gone to the trial room, the shopkeeper looked at Sir Ashton and spoke, "Sir, that set was earlier made for a Noble Family Heir. Although the order was canceled at thest date and this order remained at our shop, this set''s value is a little higher than an average attire."


    "Don''t worry, put this on my tab. I will pay you the full amount of this thing." Sir Ashton spoke this with a solemn voice.


    At those words, the shopkeeper nervouslyughed, "How could I dare to think that Sir Ashton won''t pay off his debt. What I meant to ask was, is it worth it to spend so much for this man?"


    At those words, Sir Ashton smirked, and he replied, "For greater profits, we must remain ready to take some risks. Moreover, this amount is not something that can hurt me that much so I don''t mind spending it.


    Azaroth soon left the trial room, looking quite good in his new clothes. The ck jacket, the white shirt, and the brown colored trousers seemed to empower his aura.


    The shopkeeper started speaking with a smile, "Sir, this is a custom-made set. All these three items resist elemental attacks. But not just resisting the elemental attacks. They have specific functions as well. The jacket absorbs the Ardor from nature, increasing your Ardor regeneration quite a bit. The shirt and pants will boost the properties of your Ardor around your body. Meaning, if you have enough Ardor, you can easily block the physical attacks with them as well. But the consumption of your Ardor will be immense."


    Azaroth had already analyzed that much and knew that the shopkeeper''s words were real.


    "Alright. I like this. I will buy it. Is this alright, Sir Ashton?" He looked in Sir Ashton''s direction, who had an elderly smile.


    "Looks like we are done here. Let''s go out. I don''t suppose you want to change back into your previous clothes." Sir Ashton spoke to Azaroth, who gave a confirmatory nod.


    "Well, I would prefer not to. These clothes are much morefortable." Azaroth said while moving his arms a bit.


    Soon enough, they were out of this shop.


    Sir Ashton led him to an empty ground where Azaroth could sense no one besides them.


    "Now, it''s time to fulfill your end of the deal."


    "Naturally. It''s here." Azaroth pulled out the 4 Star Beast Core from his ring. Not much of its beast essence had escaped, so it was still in its best condition. He threw the Beast Core towards Sir Ashton''s hands.


    Now that Sir Ashton carefully held it, he could sense the Beast Core''s chaotic elements and figure out just which Beast''s Core it was.


    Soon enough, his eyes widened in shock as he asked, "This is a Tiger''s Beast Core? Moreover, it is of a Royal Bloodline even amongst Tigers."


    Meanwhile, Azaroth smirked a little and replied, "Who knows¡­ It''s not like I saw the tiger. I just received this thing."


    These words from Azaroth were meant to confuse Sir Ashton even further. And his n was working till now.


    With that, Azaroth returned back to the mansion.


    ~~


    2 dayster¡­


    A servant knocked on the door to Azaroth''s room.


    Azaroth asked from the inside, "What is it?"


    "Young Master, someone has given me this coin. He mentioned that you will know once you receive it."


    As soon as Azaroth heard those words, his eyes widened, and a small smile appeared on his lips.


    ''You found someone so quickly, Tronte? What a surprising guy you are.''


    Naturally, this was Tronte''s signal, saying that he had found someone from the Glerian Kingdom who could buy the resources and weapons from Azaroth inrge quantities.


    It had been less than a week, and Tronte had already found someone. This was beyond Azaroth''s expectations.


    "Looks like I need to get ready.. I should meet up with him as soon as possible."

 Chapter 11 - Merchant

    Once Azaroth had received Tronte''s signal, he got ready and went out of the mansion.


    He kept using his Ardor to sense his surroundings as he didn''t want to be unaware if someone was following him.


    That would be a blunder on his part.


    Fortunately, it appeared as if his presence in the Rhodes Family was weak enough to not warrant any followers.


    Azaroth wasn''t going to Tronte''s house but to the Deep Anemone Inn. The symbol of the Deep Anemone Inn was that of a coin with a hole in its center. It was identical to the currency sent by Tronte.


    Azaroth was smart enough to connect the dots and understand just where Tronte was calling out for him.


    Once he stepped into the Deep Anemone Inn, Azaroth sensed Tronte''s Ardor, and he turned his head towards that direction.


    He saw Tronte seated with a deathly pale old man at the corner of the Inn. There were three chairs ced right next to the table; Tronte and the old man upied two of them while one chair remained free.


    Tronte turned his head slightly and seemed to have seen Azaroth entering the Deep Anemone Inn. In fact, he had been sitting at such a position so that he could see all those who enter the Inn through the front door.


    Azaroth calmly walked towards Tronte.


    Meanwhile, Tronte turned his gaze back at the old man and said something to him in a low voice. There was a mixture of relief and fear visible on the old man''s face.


    The old man frantically stood up and then slightly bowed in Tronte''s direction before running out of the Deep Anemone Inn.


    He was in such a rush that he crashed into two people while running out of the Inn.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth took a seat at the table and spoke to Tronte, "Looks like you terrified that poor old man for no reason at all."


    Tronte dryly replied, "That old man isn''t some pitiful guy. He betrayed his master by helping the bandits kidnap his child. Naturally, he is scared to know that someone else knows of this secret as well."


    "I would like to know how you know this secret, but that''s not the point. So, what became of my task? You found someone?" Azaroth got straight to business.


    In turn, Tronte smiled back, "If your question is that if I found a wealthy man from the Glerian Kingdom, then yes, I did. But as for whether he will buy your things or not, that is still not clear."


    Just when Azaroth was about to ask his next question, Tronte turned his head and raised his arm, "Bring tequ for my man here. And some vodka for me."


    The bartender heard Tronte''s order and immediately got to work to get those drinks ready.


    "It has been quite some time since west came here and shared a drink. Good thing you still remember my preference." Azaroth said with a small smile.


    "Well, it''s me who pays off the bill. Haha¡­" Tronte chuckled a little as he finished speaking.


    Sometimeter, a waiter brought their drinks.


    Azaroth and Tronte raised their sses and spoke, "Cheers." They gulped down their respective drinks in a single go.


    "Yesh. This hits the spot." Tronte said with a delighted expression, and he stared at the waiter, "Bring one more."


    Azaroth ced his ss down on the table and spoke, "Alright. Enough about this. Tell me, who is the person? What''s his identity?"


    "The man''s name is Lennox Rees, and he is a rather wealthy merchant from a town named Veninza in the Glerian Kingdom."


    "Why did hee here? Also, how could hee here? I don''t suppose that the army stationed at the border will let him enter inside. The rtions with the Glerian Kingdom aren''t exactly neutral." This was Azaroth''s next question as he wanted to make sure he was aware of the situation.


    "He came for the Auction House that had been held by the League of Amity in Mesenana (The capital city of Sinyalian Kingdom). He entered the Sinyalian Kingdom under the church''s cover. He has some contacts within the church and asked the pope of our town to allow him an entry in the Sinyalian Kingdom." Tronte''s words surprised Azaroth quite a bit.


    "The church is also involved?!" Azaroth was truly stunned by those words.


    The church was an organization set up by the celestials to get the faith energy from humans. The celestials would rarely interfere with the internal matters of the humans¡­


    And to hear that the church is involved really was surprising. Were the Celestials thinking of some sinister n? If so, Azaroth wanted to be ready for it.


    "Yeah. Why don''t you shout it to the whole world?" Tronte sarcastically said to Azaroth, who realized his blunder and calmed down.


    "My bad. But that was surprising. I thought that the celestials won''t involve themselves with the humanely matters." Azaroth spoke to Tronte, who just scoffed in return.


    "Those arrogant Celestials look down on us. You think the Celestials will interfere at all? It''s not like that man named Lennox has something he can use against the Celestials, so it''s impossible for the Celestials to be involved." Tronte calmly replied to Azaroth''s words.


    "I see¡­ That means the pope here in Wrihull City doesn''t possess the Celestial Blood. He is still just a human with a slightly higher status than others." Azaroth summarized this from the information avable to him.


    "Yeah. The pope helped Lennox Rees in return for some benefits. I heard that they are secretly setting some kind of deal." Tronte gave some more information to Azaroth.


    Azaroth was still confused by one point, "I see¡­ And what of Lennox Rees. Why did hee here for the Auction House? There was no need for him toe to such a dangerous location just for an auction, right?"


    "You see, there was an information leak that someone was selling Demon Bay Leaf. This is something Lennox Rees urgently requires since his daughter has been struck by a demonic curse. Her life force is decreasing day by day, and only this Demon Bay Leaf can help her recover a part of the life force and drive off this curse."


    "I see¡­" Azaroth whispered with a low voice. He started thinking deeply ''A demon''s curse that can be cured by Demon Bay Leaf? The one who used this technique is probably just a Mid-Ranked Demon. How daring for a demon of that level to show his face on this continent. Or does this demon know of a portal to travel back to the Purgatory?''


    This possibility somewhat excited Azaroth.


    It wasn''t that Azaroth had some fond feelings about Purgatory, but there were some demons from his time who should have lived until now.


    A million years couldn''t be considered much to a Demon God. He was sure that some of his underlings have elevated themself to that of a Demon God Rank.


    ''Well, if I meet those bastards when I am at such a weak power level, I will just be begging to be tormented. I need to grow stronger. If only I had the life rings of Celestials that could store living things, then I could have stored herbs before my death.'' Azaroth let out a sigh as he thought of it.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t think of such an idea at that time but more because the Celestials'' Life Rings would only work with Holy Ardor. Holy Ardor was something Azaroth didn''t possess as a demon, so he couldn''t use those rings at all.


    ''My Triquetra Ardor should allow me to use those rings now.''


    Tronte continued ahead with his information, "ording to what I know, the reason the pope let Lennox Rees enter the Sinyalian Kingdom is that he wanted to get a rather expensive staff that has been auctioned in this Auction House. The staff''s name is Hailstorm Spirit staff."


    Azaroth was hardly interested in this staff, "So, did Lennox Rees get this staff?"


    "Well, he is certainly living, so that already gives us the answer. If he had failed to get that staff, the pope would have snitched him to the Rhodes Family and dealt with the guy." Tronte replied rather dryly.


    By this time, their next round of drinks arrived, and they gulped those down in one go as well.


    "Alright. How do we approach this situation?" Azaroth asked this question with a serious look.


    "First, tell me, where are those things, and how many do you have?" Tronte asked with a half-serious look.


    "Let''s say I have a lot and leave it at that. As for where they are stored, I will tell you about itter." Azaroth said with a calm look.


    Hearing those words made Tronte''s smile wider, "That was a good response. If you had actually answered my question, I would have smacked your head silly and advised you to give up on this."


    Azaroth didn''t mind his words and asked, "So, how are we approaching this situation?"


    Tronte had a smirk on his face as he spoke, "It''s pretty easy. Lennox Rees is forced to obey the pope''s orders since he wants to return to the Glerian Kingdom. The pope is using his secret and ckmails him into doing his bidding. Don''t you think we can do the same?"


    Azaroth remained quiet and let Tronte continue, "I already found out where he is living. Just write a letter ande along with me."


    "Sure," Azaroth said as he pulled out a letter from his coat.


    Tronte looked slightly surprised to see a feather, inkpot, and a letter in Azaroth''s hands.


    "You seem to havee prepared."


    "I considered it for some time and thought that it would be best I bring this along." Azaroth coolly replied to Tronte''s words.


    "I am impressed. You have be smarter. Is this because of the need to survive? Well, whatever the reason, it was necessary for you, Edwin." There was a smile on Tronte''s face as he spoke to Azaroth.


    Sometimeter, Azaroth spoke up, "Alright, I am done with this letter. Let''s go."


    "Follow me."

 Chapter 12 - Terrifying Demon

    Tranquil Summit Hotel was situated near the church. It was mainly for people who were on a pilgrimage. The pope of the church could be considered the head of this hotel.


    For this very reason, this hotel had a rtively low price for staying for the night. However, the only people who could enjoy this low price were devoted humans who hade to this Wrihull City for the church.


    Currently, Lennox Rees stayed in this hotel undercover as a priest.


    It was currently the night time now, and Azaroth and Tronte were quietly going towards this hotel.


    Azaroth was a little dissatisfied with their walking pace, but he knew he had to match Tronte''s speed. Only Tronte knew the precise room location of Lennox Rees.


    After an hour or so, Azaroth and Tronte reached the hotel. They hid in the nearby bushes as they saw some men ahead of them.


    In fact, these men were patrolling the perimeter of the Tranquil Summit Hotel.


    "Fifteen 3-Star Rank Guards. Moreover, two of them even have sensory skills. It will be tricky to get past them all without alerting anyone." Tronte softly summarized.


    Azaroth had naturally noticed them all as well. This security was just slightly below that of the Rhodes Family Mansion.


    "Good thing I came prepared. Take this. And under no circumstances are you to re your Ardor." Tronte pulled out a ss bottle and handed a ck-colored round pill to Azaroth.


    ''A minor suppression pill? This will only work for those with an Ardor of 3 Star Rank or below that power. I guess I will have to manually suppress my Triquetra Ardor.''


    "This pill will suppress your Ardor and keep it to the bare minimum level. It will be such that the sensors won''t be able to find us out. Alright, quickly take it, and let''s go." Tronte said while gulping down the pill immediately.


    Azaroth also gulped down that pill and started to suppress his Ardor.


    "Alright, wait for my signal. I will go ahead and tell you when toe in."


    "No. I have a better idea. Tell me where the room is, and I will deliver the letter quickly before returning." Azaroth sternly said to Tronte.


    "What are you talking about? It will be too dangerous for you alone! In fact, I didn''t even want to bring you along for this task. I could have done it alone." Tronte didn''t look convinced that he should let Azaroth do this task alone.


    Azaroth shook his head and confidently spoke, "Listen, if we both go in, it will be more dangerous. Just let me go alone. I assure you that I am more than sufficient to finish this task."


    "¡­" Tronte remained quiet for a short period before he finally nodded his head, "Alright. I will let you go in alone. But if something happens, I will distract the guards so that you can escape."


    "That''s eptable," Azaroth replied with a nod, "Now tell me the room number."


    "Third floor, 304 room. You can see it from the other side of this hotel. It''s on the top right corner of the hotel." Tronte replied to Azaroth.


    Just as Azaroth was about to leave, Tronte added, "Also, if Lennox Rees is there, make sure to not enter the room. We can''t let him know of your real identity."


    "Don''t worry about that. Let me handle this." Azaroth reassured him before running towards the other side of the hotel.


    He wasn''t going straight towards the other side, but he was circling his way to the other side of the hotel.


    Once he was on the other side, he stared at the guards in his way who were patrolling around.


    "Shadow Movement."


    A darkish aura flooded over Azaroth''s body as he ran towards the hotel. Even though he was mere meters away from the guards, they still took no note of him and let him get past themselves.


    Once he was near the Hotel''s walls, Azaroth concentrated some of his Ardor in his legs. He quietly started walking on the Hotel''s walls.


    This all seemed far too easy to Azaroth as he effortlessly reached Lennox Rees''s room.


    Just as his sensing skill had told him, there was indeed a man sleeping inside this room.


    Azaroth flooded Demonic Ardor over his body to keep everything as a blur to Lennox Rees''s eyes.


    Lennox Rees was merely a Rank 3 Warrior, so there was no way he could see through Azaroth''s skill.


    Now, Azaroth''s task was simple. He just had to leave the letter on the table.


    But instead of pulling out a letter, Azaroth went over to Lennox Rees and grabbed his mouth tightly.


    Lennox Rees was utterly astonished as he felt someone holding his mouth with great strength.


    He tried to open his mouth and let out a voice, but not even a whimper could escape from his mouth.


    Moreover, the person he saw was entirely shrouded with a dark aura that just scared Lennox Rees shitless.


    He had felt a dark aura simr to this one before. It was from the curse his daughter was infected with. And it instantly allowed him to conclude that this thing before him was a demon.


    The only difference between this dark aura and the dark aura he sensed from his daughter was that this dark aura was much more sinister. It meant that this demon was far superior to the one who had hurt his daughter.


    "You should know what I am, right human?" Lennox Rees heard that arrogant voice from the demon.


    Lennox Rees was far too scared right now. Moreover, because of therge hand holding his mouth, he couldn''t even speak right now.


    "The terror in your eyes looks rather sweet. It appears that you do know what I am." The hand that had been holding Lennox Rees''s mouth slowly loosened and Lennox Rees took deep breaths and coughed a little before staring at this dark thing.


    The dark aura was so dense that he couldn''t make out just how this demon looked. This wasn''t especially strange since demons did use techniques simr to this to scare humans.


    After he had coughed out for some seconds, Lennox Rees slowly raised his head and looked at what appeared to be the head of the demon, "Lord Demon, w-why are you targeting me? W-What have I done to earn your wrath?"


    "What have you done to earn my wrath? You are quite stupid, human. You think you can do anything which would anger me?!" Azaroth''s voice seemed to shake the room in that second.


    Lennox Rees was utterly scared, and he backed away once he heard those words.


    Azaroth looked at his pitiful look and finally said, "You can stand now. I didn''te here to kill you or curse you. Your importance lies in something much greater."


    Those words only served to confuse Lennox Rees as he began thinking of the meaning behind Azaroth''s words.


    Azaroth threw a ring at Lennox Rees and spoke, "Take this. Give it to the Glerian Kingdom''s King and tell him that I want to start a business deal with him. The things in this ring are just a tiny amount of what I possess. If he wants more, tell him to send a lot of demonic crystals holding a lot of energy."


    Lennox Rees was quite surprised when he grabbed hold of the ring Azaroth had given him.


    He used his spiritual sense to see what is inside. Momentster, he was utterly shocked as he saw hundreds of elemental crystals holding a lot of elemental energy. Some of them even possessed pure Ardor and could be used to recover a martial artist''s Ardor.


    ''And this is just a small hint of what he possesses?! Just how rich is this demon?!'' This question immediately appeared in Lennox Rees''s mind.


    Well, the wealth of a former Demon God was undoubtedly going to be iprehensible for a businessman such as Lennox Rees.


    "I-I will do as you order, Lord Demon." Lennox Rees knew well enough just what he had to do in this situation.


    The task he had been assigned wasn''t that dangerous for him. In fact, he realized that as long as he survived this situation, the future wouldn''t be all that bad for him.


    "Good. At least you have some sense in yourself. Get out of this town as quickly as possible. If I find you here tomorrow morning, I will kill you. Also, I will visit your town shortly. Until then, find the demon who has cursed your daughter. I need detailed information at that time." Azaroth''s eyes glowed a little as he mentioned thest part.


    Lennox Rees fearfully nodded his head and promised that he would have all the information at that time.


    Azaroth continued to stare at him and suddenly red up his demonic energy. Lennox Rees couldn''t handle all that power concentrated on himself and copsed on his bed.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth went out of the hotel from the way he came. Basically, through the window.


    He went the same way he arrived, so there was absolutely no problem.


    Tronte was in that same spot as before. He looked slightly surprised to see that Azaroth hade back without sounding the rm. In reality, he had been prepared to distract the guards and create an opportunity for Azaroth to escape.


    However, it seems that he was thinking only about the worst-case scenario while Azaroth had already aplished the best-case scenario.


    "You finished up?" Tronte dryly asked the question. He was just asking this for the sake of it.


    "Yeah."

 Chapter 13 - Dispute With The Pope

    Azaroth returned to his mansion.


    Next, he called out for a servant and ordered him, "Go and find out all the Kloras town''s information. Check if there''s an uing beast horde for them, or did they find a demon''s cave?"


    Azaroth asked for the information about this specific town because he remembered that Brynn Gaynor guy had met up with Sir Ashton of the Merchant Union.


    Moreover, from their conversation, Azaroth more or less understood that Brynn Gaynor had ced arge order and needed it quite urgently.


    The servant bowed once again and silently left his chambers. Considering theck of inte in this world, Azaroth knew he had to wait some days for the servant to return with any real information.


    Azaroth began to meditate peacefully since his next course of action would be decided after receiving the information. If it was just as he thought, then he might have something fun to do in the next few days.


    Meanwhile, after a few hours, Lennox Rees had woken up.


    As he woke up, he looked around with terror visible in his eyes. He looked relieved as he saw no one in his room.


    Just as he was about to wipe his sweat and breath in relief, Lennox Rees noticed a purple ring in his hands.


    It was something he was holding very tightly, so it was hard to ignore it.


    "It¡­It wasn''t a dream¡­" As he recalled that dream, Lennox Rees started quaking in fear. This was the second time he had interacted with a demonic being, and he has had enough.


    "The only good thing I can deduce from this is that he doesn''t want to kill me yet." Lennox Rees felt quite scared at the thought of dying. It wasn''t that he was that terrified of his own death. He just didn''t want to die before delivering the cure of the demonic curse to his daughter.


    "No. I can''t dy any longer. I need to talk to the pope and ask him to let me return to the Kingdom of Gler." With the threat of deathes a great resolve.


    He could no longer risk staying in this kingdom. The fact that this demon knew he was from the Kingdom of Gler meant that his identity was no longer a secret here.


    The fact that it was early morning didn''t stop Lennox Rees as he walked to the church.


    The pope and the other high-ranking members of the church resided in the church''s special rooms.


    Those rooms were filled with Holy Ardor released from some Holy Items or Herbs handed to the church by the Celestials.


    There were no guards or anyone else to stop Lennox Rees from entering the church. Once inside the church, Lennox Rees began to walk towards the pope''s room.


    The pope was peacefully sleeping at around this time. Lennox Rees knocked on the door a couple of times.


    As the pope was in a deep sleep, he naturally ignored these knocks. Meanwhile, Lennox Rees was getting nervous as he stood outside the room. He banged on the gate rather firmly, and this time, he heard a tired voice, "Who is it?"


    Almost immediately, Lennox Rees replied with an anxious voice, "Sir, it''s me. Please open the door. I have something urgent to discuss with you."


    "Emm¡­ What? Just let me sleep. We will talk once during the day." The pope replied with a sleepy voice.


    However, Lennox Rees immediately banged on the door a couple more times and said, "Sir, it''s really urgent."


    "Tomorrow!" This time, the pope replied in a semi-firm voice.


    Lennox Rees paused for a couple of seconds. He took this time to reorganize his thoughts and then spoke with a resolute voice, "Sir, if you don''t open the door now, I will be forced to break it open."


    It was at these words did the pope''s eyes snap open.


    He hadn''t heard Lennox Rees''s words all that seriously earlier, but now¡­he was quite shocked.


    "Alright¡­ I am opening the door." Once the pope said this, Lennox Rees felt his body calm down slightly.


    Soon enough, the door opened, and Lennox Rees saw a tired-looking pope staring at him.


    "Come inside, and this better is worth my time." The pope said with a threatening look on his face.


    Lennox Rees immediately nodded as he entered the pope''s room. Soon enough, the gate was closed, and Lennox Rees began to speak, "Sir, I was sleeping in the hotel you provided for me. But tonight, someone came to my room and mentioned that I must return to the Kingdom of Gler as soon as possible."


    "What?! Who was it?! How could they get inside your room? That hotel is guarded by 3 Star Knights. Or was this person a 4 Star Warrior or Assassin?" The pope immediately thought of multiple possibilities in a couple of seconds.


    "Neither¡­ It was a demon!" Lennox Rees informed with a terrified expression.


    "A demon? Hahaha¡­ You think this is the same Veninza where the demons can enter as they please? If there was a demon here, I would have been the first to be informed of it." The pope dismissed Lennox Rees''s words.


    "You think I will lie about this?!" Lennox Rees shouted with a frustrated tone.


    "Watch your tone. The only reason you are still alive now is because you did bring the Holy Hailstorm Spiritstaff to me." The pope said as he caressed his own white beard.


    Lennox Rees gave him an angry re and added, "You should remember that''s not the only thing I did. I am telling you, give me the pass to let me return to the Kingdom of Gler, or else, I will make some things known¡­ Some specific matters that you wish to keep secret."


    "You seem to have grown a nerve or two. But tell me, Lennox, do you think you can walk away alive by behaving in such a manner?" The pope spoke with an authoritative tone.


    Lennox Rees chuckled helplessly and said, "I will be dead either way, so I would rather die after at least trying rather than die with the regret of not even trying at all."


    Perhaps it was this tone that he used that somewhat frightened the pope and made him believe Lennox.


    His aura, which had been building up until now, suddenly lowered, and he spoke, "Alright. I will prepare something for you. It should be done in an hour. That is the best I can offer."


    Lennox Rees had to think for some moments before he could reply, "Alright. Just be as quick as possible."


    After this conversation, the two met onest time when Lennox Rees was about to leave for the Kingdom of Gler on a carriage with the church''s men and seal on it.


    ~~


    Currently, Tronte was seated in his room, eating some snacks, and someone knocked over his window.


    "It''s open. Pleasee in."


    The one who opened the window and entered Tronte''s room was a youth a little older than Tronte.


    "What happened, Julian? Didn''t I ask you to watch over the route to the Kingdom of Gler? Don''t tell me you returned because you got bored?" As Tronte talked to this guy, an authoritative tone was present in his voice.


    "Reporting to Sir, I just witnessed a church''s carriage going towards the Kingdom of Gler. Moreover, I followed this carriage until they stopped to take some rest, and I am sure that I saw Lennox Rees in this carriage."


    Hearing this report, Tronte first showed a surprised look, and then an impressed look appeared in his eyes.


    "Interesting. So Edwin''s letter scared him quite greatly since he managed to force the pope to send him as quickly as possible? Or maybe he was more paranoid about his identity being leaked to other people." Tronte began to think of the possible reasons why Lennox Rees had left so early.


    Suddenly, a resolute look appeared in his eyes as he raised his head and spoke, "Follow him to the Kingdom of Gler. Check if he knows that the one who wrote the letter is Edwin or not. If he does, then kill him before he spreads it to anyone."


    "Sir¡­ You are asking me to go to another kingdom and kill someone there. The previous deal wouldn''t cut-" Before he could say anything, Tronte threw a pouch of blue-colored spirit stones.


    "I know you have your ways to go to the Kingdom of Gler. Just do the task, and I will give you twice the amount you hold in your hand. Also, if Lennox Rees doesn''t know about Edwin, then simply return. The reward will remain the same, so you don''t have to take any extra action." Tronte spoke thest line with a threatening tone.


    "I won''t do anything unnecessary, Sir." With that, the man disappeared from Tronte''s room.


    Once he was gone, Tronte let out a sigh as he thought ''Looks like I need to earn more. Hmm¡­ Who should I target this time? Maybe I should visit Riya.. She must be missing me right now, and she should have some spicy information for me.''

 Chapter 14 - On The Way To Kloras Town

    It had been nearly a week or so since Lennox Rees had left the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Currently, Azaroth was readying some supplies and a horse to go on a journey.


    The servants had informed him of how Kloras Town was going to suffer a beast raid. He was on his way to Kloras Town.


    Since it came under the Rhodes Family''s influence, there shouldn''t be an issue with his appearance there. By the time he reaches the town, the beast raid would just be a day or two away.


    The servants only found out that the Merchant Union supplied the necessary equipment to the Kloras Town to prepare them for this Beast Raid.


    As for their history, it had been written in the Rhodes Family''s records that nearly thousands of beasts attack the town. Most of them were 1 Star or 2 Star Beasts. And there was also the presence of a Beast Lord, meaning a 5 Star Beast.


    However, the Kloras Town had no 5 Star Warrior to protect them from this beast lord. Until now, they depended on various traps, explosives, and equipment to rip apart the beast lord.


    Azaroth was curious about which beast would lead the attack on Kloras Town.


    ''As long as it''s not a 6 Star or higher ranked Beast, it''s only good news for me.'' Azaroth thought with a small smile on his face.


    Even though Azaroth could be considered quite strong for a 4 Star Warrior, he knew that his Triquetra Ardor was not strong enough to give him an edge against a 5 Star Beast and win just yet.


    The only chance he did have was using whatever trick the town lord of Kloras town had and tire out that beast. Then deal with it.


    Azaroth soon departed from the mansion.


    It was a 3 days ride to Kloras Town on his horse. Azaroth had stored enough supplies for himself, so he would be more or less okay until he reached Kloras Town.


    Even on horseback, Azaroth began to use his meditation exercise while keeping note of his bnce and surroundings. He didn''t want to miss it a single day as there were only a few days left until it would be an automatic exercise of his body.


    2 and half dayster, just when he was about to reach Kloras Town, he noticed that the road ahead was blocked.


    Moreover, it was blocked by some beasts. Azaroth also observed the humans who were fighting against these beasts.


    The Titanic Deer, the Crazed ze Viper, the Onyx Bane Ape were the ones who were blocking the route.


    Azaroth found that as soon as his horse''s vision fell over these three beasts, it stopped, and its legs started trembling with fear.


    It was very typical for the horse to stop and tremble with fear because these beasts were all at the 4 Star Rank.


    ''How strange¡­ Why did the Beast Lord let 4 Star Rank beastse here and block the route? Does he want them to die? Typically, all the higher-ranked beasts would vanish before a Beast Raid. Is there no Beast Lord here?''


    As Azaroth came to that conclusion, he was slightly disappointed. However, he soon let out a sigh and jumped down from his horse. All his things were in his Spatial Rings, so he had nothing left on the horse.


    Now that Azaroth was going closer, he saw over 7 or so people were fighting against these 4 Star Rank Beasts.


    Only a single one of them was a 4 Star Rank, while the rest were at the 3 Star Rank. He didn''t understand just why they came to hunt 4 Star Rank Beasts with such a vulnerable group in terms of power levels.


    In fact, now that he saw clearly, the 4 Star Rank guy wasn''t even fighting. He was watching the other 6 fight from a distance.


    Each beast was upied by at least two youths.


    The 4 Star Rank Warrior seemed to be a middle-aged man and was standing some meters away from the fight.


    ''Is this training for these children?''


    Azaroth was somewhat surprised. This sort of training reminded him of his time in Purgatory. The time when he had to ce his life on the line during every fight.


    The funny thing was that the beasts were actually pushed back by these children.


    Each pair was attacking the beasts in some sort of rhythm. When one attacked, the other was charging up for a big move. And once the other person was ready, the first one would retreat and let the beast be hit by that big move. After some rest, he would once again engage his opponent in a fierce closebat fighting.


    Only the fight against the Crazed ze Viper was different. In it, a girl was fighting at a mid-ranged distance and basically upying the viper for as long as she could, and at an appropriate time, she would switch with her partner.


    The only reason that these 3 Star Warriors could more or less gain the upper hand against these beasts was because of their rhythm. They just didn''t give the beasts any opportunity to attack. It was clear that as long as the beast''s attack hit them, they would be heavily wounded or even killed.


    Even though Azaroth''s steps were soundless, the beasts had smelled Azaroth.


    The Crazed ze Viper turned around and snarled as it saw Azaroth. It had been somewhat angry at how it had been pushed back by those little humans. Now that it saw Azaroth approaching, it immediately thought of taking some revenge against the humans.


    The middle-aged man saw how the Crazed ze Viper had changed its direction, "Oh no! Run! The beast ising at you!" He looked quite worried and immediately ran in Azaroth''s direction.


    His speed was quite impressive, but even then, the Crazed ze Viper was closer to Azaroth''s location. Even his remarkable speed couldn''t catch up to the viper in a short interval.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth remained on his spot and questioned, "Run? From this snake? How insulting."


    The Crazed ze Viper''s body was soon on fire. Azaroth raised his arm and thought ''Wind Cutter.''


    A sharp de of wind was released from his palm, and it immediately struck the burning viper''s body.


    Although Azaroth''s attack didn''t pierce its body, it did push him back a bit.


    "Looks like that fire cloak is good for something. It protected you from being cut into two." Azaroth casually spoke to the viper.


    Suddenly, he spoke with a look of disdain, "Oh right. Why am I bothering to talk to you? Unlike a Beast Lord, you are a beast without any spiritual intelligence."


    As if the viper could understand his words, its eyes turned red with anger, and it opened its mouth wide enough to spew out the mes.


    This was the fire breath of the Crazed ze Viper.


    When the middle-aged man saw this Fire Breath, he forcefully increased his speed since he knew it was hazardous.


    After the fire breath was released from the Crazed ze Viper''s mouth, it continued to get wider and upied quite a lot of area.


    Azaroth''s entire body was covered by this Viper''s mes.


    The two beasts and the youths who were fighting them had temporarily stopped their fight. This was because they sensed a massive amount of Ardor being used.


    The young warriors, a little younger than Azaroth in terms of age, clenched their fists in anger as they med themselves for not being able to save that man.


    However, the beasts were the ones who were trembling with fear. It was their instincts that were screaming at them to run away now.


    Even the beasts didn''t understand just why that was the case, but the Titanic Deer and Onyx Bane Ape didn''t hesitate to run away.


    Meanwhile, since the fire breath was being used, the Crazed ze Viper remained there and continued to empower its attack.


    Just as the middle-aged man was about to reach the Crazed ze Viper and behead it with one strike of his sword, three wind des, rather simr to the first one, appeared.


    Even though the temperature was rtively high because of this fire breath skill, it failed to stop the wind des that continued to pierce through the mes.


    Moreover, as the mes were pierced, the other humans could now see Azaroth''s body,pletely fine as he continued walking forward.


    There was a thin barrier of wind around his body that had kept him safe from the mes.


    The three wind des struck the Crazed ze Viper and sliced off its head, abdomen, and tail.


    A bright reddish-colored beast core of the Crazed ze Viper could be seen in his abdomen.


    Azaroth coolly went and picked up the Crazed ze Viper''s beast core.


    Just when Azaroth was about to ce this beast core in his spatial ring, he heard someone shout, "Hey! Why are you taking the beast core without even asking us?!"


    It was the voice of a teenager, a few years younger than Azaroth. He was one of the two youths fighting against the Crazed ze Viper.


    The girl near him also had a small frown, but she didn''t speak anything.


    Azaroth calmly ced the beast core within his Spatial Ring and spoke, "Don''t shout as if I stole something. I killed the beast, so I looted the spoils. I don''t see anything wrong with this."


    Well, even if he did see anything wrong with this, Azaroth would have still done it to benefit himself.


    He couldn''t be bothered with those morals or other bullshit. He just did whatever benefited him. And for now, he figured that this exnation would be beneficial to him.


    "You¡­ You only killed it so easily because we were the ones who exhausted it. You can''t just take its beast core without even asking us!" The teenager pointed at himself and the girl near him.


    Before Azaroth could reply, the middle-aged man, who seemed like their teacher, gave that guy a re and spoke, "Stop it, Jaden. This man is right. He is the one who killed the beast, so he gets to keep the core. No more argument over this topic!"


    "B-but¡­" The guy named Jaden didn''t seem convinced, but he quickly dropped the matter as the re from his teacher sharpened.


    Once he had calmed down his student, the middle-aged man turned his head to look in Azaroth''s direction, "Forgive my student. Jaden is a little hyper, but he doesn''t mean any harm. And also, thank you for dealing with that beast."


    Azaroth quietly nodded and replied, "No worries. I don''t take such matters to heart."


    "My name is Aidan. What should I call you?"


    "I am Edwin." He decided to use the name Edwin since the town lord of the Kloras Town knew this name. And since Azaroth hadn''t given away his family name, they shouldn''t rte him to the Rhodes Family at all. For now, they should be thinking of him as a Rogue.


    "Alright, Edwin. If I may be bold enough to ask¡­ Just what are you doing on this route?" Such a question was quite natural since Kloras town was near the border of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Kloras Towny near the forest that was between the Sinyalian Kingdom and Lamhilhan Theocracy. For this reason, it was one of the towns which periodically experienced beast raids.


    "I am going to Kloras Town. I heard that it''s about to suffer from a beast raid, so I thought of assisting the people here and also gain somebat experience." Azaroth''s answer relieved Aidan.


    "Looks like we have the same destination then. We are staying in Kloras Town. Since we have more or less dealt with the beasts who blocked this route, we can return now. Do you want to join us?" Aidan gave an offer to Azaroth.


    Without much thought, Azaroth decided to ept it, "Sure."


    He gauged that he could kill all these people if they became hostile to him.

 Chapter 15 - Miss Sophie

    On his way to Kloras Town, Azaroth got to know the names of all of them.


    Aiden, Jaden, Kai, Cillian, Bruno, Kasper, and Liliana.


    Liliana was the only girl amongst all of them, while the rest were men.


    Liliana was a rather shy girl because after greeting Azaroth, she didn''t speak anything else on the way


    From their appearance, these teenagers looked to be around 14-15 years of age.


    The fact that all of them were at the 3 Star Rank somewhat surprised Azaroth. It had to be known that even in the Acadia School Edwin had gone to, there were rarely any noble heirs with such cultivation at this age.


    To further inspect them, Azaroth ced his hand over Cillian''s shoulder.


    His Triquetra Ardor quietly infiltrated his bodies and began to investigate the reason behind this strength.


    Soon enough, Azaroth received the answer¡­


    Cillian''s body had bathed in ake of Spiritual Water and absorbed a lot of Spiritual Energy from it. His body seemed to have been permanently enhanced after that, and his talent was significantly raised.


    ''It would be beneficial to my spirit, as well. Once I reach the 5 Star Rank or a Demon Lord Level and form my battle spirit, this Spiritual Water will be useless. Better to make use of it while I still can.''


    Aiden, the only other 4 Star Warrior, didn''t understand that Azaroth had somehow found a secret that he desperately wished to keep hidden.


    ''Now is not yet the time.''


    Azaroth wanted to know the location of this Spiritual Lake, but he couldn''t rush it.


    For now, he had to reach Kloras Town and get what he wanted from there.


    Before he could ask for more information about them, they had reached their destination; Kloras Town.


    "Come with us. I will introduce you to our allies who are going to fight alongside us." Aiden said to Azaroth.


    Azaroth nodded his head and decided to follow this man. Instead of going deeper into the town, they remained on the edges, and Azaroth felt like they were walking along the town''s perimeter.


    Soon enough, he sensed hundreds of people ahead of his position.


    This camp was still some distance, so Azaroth looked at Aiden and asked him, "How many allies do we have?"


    "We have nearly hundreds of warriors alongside us. Moreover, we also have some array masters, alchemy masters." Aiden told Azaroth with a light-hearted tone.


    "From where have they studied these arts?" Azaroth asked.


    "I heard that a few of them graduated from the Acadia School of Martial Arts and Palm Valley School of Martial Arts."


    As soon as Azaroth heard the words Acadia School of Martial Arts, he paused for some moments.


    The other guys who were walking alongside Azaroth turned towards him, and it was Bruno who asked, "Is something wrong?"


    "Nothing¡­ Let''s keep moving." Although Azaroth''s expression remained stone-cold just as before, he was internally thinking ''Just my luck. They just had to hire someone who graduated from Acadia School, the same one I went to. Let''s just hope they don''t know me. Or else, this sudden increase in power from 2 Star to 4 Star in a single year will seem really weird.''


    ~~


    In the encampment some distance away from Azaroth and others, the Town Lord of Kloras Town gave one order after another to prepare for the beast raid.


    Many people were always on the move, while some remained in the cabin and worked on some other tasks.


    A beautiful woman with long ck hair was wearing a pink Chinese dress, but this dress revealed her long silky legs that stimted many males'' desires in this camp. She also had an impressive bust and a great curve of her ass.


    She was none other than the former top beauty of Acadia School of Martial Arts. Her name was Sophie Russel.


    She was the daughter of the Royal Guards Captain, Spencer Russel. Royal Guards Captain''s position could be considered above Rhodes Family except for Rhodes Family''s master. It was because the Royal Guards Captain had been His Majesty''s childhood friend. It was said that if he requested something from His Majesty, it would be granted without a second thought.


    Moreover, the man was entirely loyal to His Majesty, so there had never been any suspicion. It was for this very reason that he was tasked with the protection of His Majesty.


    In Noble Houses'' circle, they were also aware of just how this man spoilt his daughter. So¡­ Even Royal Princes don''t dare to test him by harassing his daughter, let alone some Noble Houses'' heirs.


    It was said that whoever became this woman''s lover would gain the capital to be fearless in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    s, no one has managed to enjoy this position yet. After all, this woman has kept her focus on her Array Studies.


    Sophie had mentioned her desire to use her Array Formations inbat. For that reason, her father, Spencer, searched for information on where he could send his daughter.


    The location wouldn''t be too dangerous and would let his daughter test her skills as well. As he searched for information, he found out about the Beast Raid in Kloras City, which led Sophie to this ce.


    Naturally, she hadn''te alone. Some Royal Guards were apanying her, and she was given some life-saving artifacts and a jade stone with which she could contact her father at any time.


    "Miss Sophie¡­ Is this really some great Array? Forgive ourck of knowledge, but we have never seen anything like this." Two old men continued to analyze the formation that had been drawn by Sophie.


    "It''s natural that you haven''t seen it. This is a Three-Layered Array Formation. This array would be a mixture of an Illusion Array, the Killing Array, and the Defensive Array if something went wrong. I am hoping that we will only need the Illusion Array and Killing Array''s powers." Sophie exined her words with a soft voice.


    In reality, she wasn''t sure if it would work or not. She had never tried out this formation, but ording to what she had read, it shouldn''t have any problems working if they did as it was written.


    "I will further inspect the Array Formation every day to check for any errors."


    "Thank you, Miss Sophie. We will immediately send it to the Town Lord and ask him to assign some men to do as you have drawn this formation." An old man respectfully bowed his head, and they all soon left.


    Sophie took a breather as she sat down on her chair and began thinking of what else she could do to increase their firepower against the beasts.


    Meanwhile, as she was thinking of what she should do next, the guard outside her cabin spoke out, "Young Miss Sophie, young master Myles Nelson wants to meet you."


    Hearing her guard''s voice, Sophie bit her lips in annoyance and replied, "I am tired now, and I will go to sleep soon. I will meet himter."


    Myles Nelson was the heir of the Nelson Noble House. Just like Sophie, he was also a student of the Acadia School of Martial Arts. During their school time, Myles had dered his feelings for her.


    Sophie didn''t hold the same feelings for him, so she rejected him using her father''s name. However, Myles still never gave up on her. He continued to train as much as he could to be stronger and ask for her hand from her father. It was well known that Spencer (Sophie''s Father) greatly respected powerhouses.


    If it was Spencer who asked Sophie to marry him, Sophie would most likely agree.


    As Myles was in his house, training hard to be a stronger warrior, he had reached the peak of the 3 Star Rank. At around this time, he heard that Sophie was leaving for Kloras Town.


    Investigating a little, he also found out about this Beast Raid and followed after Sophie under the pretext of gaining somebat experience and strengthening his foundation before breaking through.


    The other Acadia School students weren''t from the Noble Houses or from overly respected status. It was just a bit above that of ordinary people.


    There were also the students from Palm Valley School of Martial Arts. This was a school ranked lower than Acadia School of Martial Arts in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s ranking.


    The Noble Houses heirs who couldn''t pass the Acadia School of Martial Arts'' entrance test went over to the Palm Valley School to study.


    In reality, Edwin Rhodes had also failed the Acadia School of Martial Arts entrance test, but his father, Jonas Rhodes, thought that if it was known that an heir of the Rhodes Family didn''t pass the test, it would lower the Rhodes Family''s prestige. So¡­ He visited the Acadia School Principal, and soon enough, Edwin had received an invitation letter to study from the Acadia School.


    This information was only known to Edwin and the higher-ups of the Rhodes Family.


    The Palm Valley School of Martial Arts was quite near the Kloras Town, so the town lord went over and requested the principal to send his most talented graduates. Those from the Palm Valley School felt that they were considered Acadia School''s rejects and disliked the Acadia School''s students or graduates.


    Some of the Palm Valley School graduates who hade to the Kloras Town were heirs of their low-ss Noble Family. While many of them had an above-average or a wealthy family background.


    Anyway, after Sophie informed her guard that she wanted to rest, the guard ryed her words to Myles, who found this quite normal.


    Even then, he calmly bowed and replied to the guard, "Please tell her that I wish for her to have a good rest. If she wishes for my assistance, I will do my best."


    He went away from Sophie''s cabin after speaking those words gracefully. The guard spat on the ground nearby as he heard Myles'' words and just remained quiet as he returned back.


    The guard had seen many such annoying flies who wanted to get together with Sophie. He had been given a secret order from Spencer (Sophie''s father) that if Myles or any other guy went too far, the Royal Guards had to make them pay the price.


    After some minutes, Aiden and his group returned to the camp along with Azaroth.


    Aiden was one of the rare 4 Star Warrior in the encampment, so he was rtively well respected by the town lord, Brynn Gaynor.


    For this reason, he was given arge private cabin that was a little more luxurious than the typical huts of other soldiers. The only cabin that could be considered superior to Aiden''s cabin was that of Sophie''s.


    "I will go and meet Big Sister Sophie. She said as soon as I return, I have to go to her residence." Liliana suddenly said to Aiden, who gave her a nod of eptance.


    Aiden had met Sophie and was more or less sure that she didn''t have any ill feelings for Liliana and took great care of her. Moreover, Liliana was also quitefortable around her, so it was quite good.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth internally sighed as he heard the name ''Sophie.'' Just to rify, he asked Aiden, "Is this Sophie Russel?"


    Aiden seemed surprised, and he asked Azaroth, "You know Miss Sophie?"


    ''Fuck. Out of all the people, it had to be her?!'' Azaroth internally cursed his luck.


    "I have heard of her." Azaroth dryly replied.


    As he was talking to Aiden, Liliana had already left for Sophie''s cabin. Sophie''s guards were already familiar with how their young miss was fond of this little girl. They let her enter Sophie''s cabin without an issue.


    Meanwhile, Aiden stared at the other youths who were with him, "Go to your cottage. I will take Edwin to see the town lord."


    "Okay, Master!" Most of them replied excitedly while Jaden kept looking at Azaroth from the corner of his eyes with a challenging look in them.

 Chapter 16 - The Two Academy Graduates

    Just as Aiden had spoken, he took Azaroth to the town lord, Brynn Gaynor.


    The town lord was currently discussing some tactics with some generals and some strategists in his cabin.


    The guards stationed ahead of their cabin didn''t stop Aiden since they knew that he was one of the rare 4 Star Warriors of this camp, and he was entitled to special privileges. One of them was that other than the town lord, no one else could order Aiden.


    Brynn Gaynor, the strategists, and generals halted with their words as they turned their heads towards the cabin''s entrance.


    They looked slightly surprised to see someone along with Aiden there. However, their expressions soon returned to normal as if nothing had happened.


    "Sir, Brynn Gaynor, this is¡­" Aiden began to introduce Azaroth to Brynn Gaynor.


    "So it is Sir Edwin Rhodes? I never imagined we would meet each other so soon." Brynn Gaynor suddenly cut in as he stared at Azaroth.


    "I heard that Kloras Town was going to suffer from a Beast Raid and informed my family of this. The Rhodes Family is preupied with some other tasks, so I decided toe here independently. I hope Lord Brynn won''t mind." Azaroth politely and respectfully spoke to Brynn Gaynor.


    "Y-You¡­ You are the heir to the Rhodes Family?! Why did you not tell us?" Aiden looked utterly shocked as he asked this question.


    Azaroth dryly replied, "You never asked me."


    "How did you meet up with Sir Edwin, Aiden?" Brynn Gaynor asked the question which the other people in the cabin had been wondering as well.


    "As you know, Lord Brynn, my students, and I went hunting the three 4 Star Rank beasts who were blocking the route to the city. As my students were fighting the beasts, Sir Edwin arrived. He effortlessly killed one of the beasts and scared off the other two with his aura. Once he told us that his reason foring here was to join our defense against the Beast Raid, I invited him toe along with us." Aiden narrated the entire event, leaving minor details.


    Instantly, all the generals, strategists, and even Brynn Gaynor turned to look at Azaroth with some shock evident in their eyes, "He effortlessly killed a Four Star Rank Beast and scared off the other two with just his aura?!"


    Azaroth internally sighed since he knew that his secret was up. He couldn''t make an excuse and hope that it would work. Better yet, he should just tell them the truth to gain their trust.


    "That is true. I recently became a 4 Star Warrior." Azaroth affirmed it with a calm voice.


    Along with his words, a dense aura began to spread out from his body. This had more or less confirmed it.


    "We wee you to our camp, Sir Edwin. Please take a look around the camp while I order some men to set up arge cabin for you." Brynn Gaynor spoke with a respectful voice. The strong were to be respected after all.


    Azaroth nodded his head and recalled his aura, "I have also wanted to take a look at the whole camp."


    Aiden went along with him and let Brynn Gaynor continue his meeting with the generals and strategists.


    For some moments, Aiden remained entirely quiet. Azaroth noticed his silence and spoke, "You don''t need to be that conservative and mind my status that much. I just wanted you all to treat me the same as you treat others."


    "¡­Alright."


    "Let me bring you to see our otherrades," Aiden said with a light-hearted tone.


    Azaroth nodded his head while looking around, analyzing this location with his spiritual sense. What he had found until now was quite interesting¡­


    This location had no formation set up until now.


    ''Just amazing¡­ From what I see, this camp is going to be absolutely ughtered. There is really no 5 Star Rank Warrior here. No attacking formation or even a defensive formation around us.''


    Aiden took Azaroth towards the western part of the encampment.


    "This is the ce where the graduates from Palm Valley School of Martial Arts are staying," Aiden told Azaroth as he pointed at the area.


    A couple of students were out of their cabins, and their eyes fell on Azaroth and Aiden. They already knew Aiden but not Azaroth.


    Some men were curious about Azaroth''s identity now since he was being escorted by Aiden.


    "Who are you?"


    Azaroth spoke out, "I am Edwin."


    "Yeah, like that says a lot." The guy sarcastically spoke as he looked at Edwin.


    "You came here to join us against the Beast Raid?" Another guy spoke as he gauged Edwin.


    Because of no aura released from Edwin''s body, they had to rate his level ording to his age.


    "Yes." That''s all Azaroth said as he looked at them with cold empty eyes.


    "How about we spar a little. I want to see where you stand and whether you deserve to stand alongside us or not." The other guy spoke while getting into position.


    Aiden nervouslyughed as he heard these two. He was about to speak, but Azaroth suddenly stepped forwards and added, "Alright. Let''s spar. What will be the rules?"


    "The rules will be simple. The one who surrenders loses." The guy who was about to fight Azaroth spoke with a grin.


    "Let''s go to the nearby fields. If we fight here, I might identally destroy the residences of my fellow brothers." The guy looked quite arrogant and spoke as if only he was capable of destroying the residences here.


    Aiden went closer to Azaroth and whispered to him, "Sir, this guy is Rudy Burton, the heir to the Burton Noble House. The guy next to him is Carson Wright, from the Wright Noble House. Although you are also an heir of Rhodes Noble House, it might not be wise to anger both of them."


    Azaroth meanwhile smiled in response, "You don''t need to be worried about this, Sir Aiden. I know much about politicalplications like thispared to you. Also, the reality of a Noble House is far from what you think."


    Those words only served to confuse Aiden to no end.


    Also, Azaroth turned towards Rudy and spoke to him, "Since you want a fight. I will give you one. Let''s go to the empty fields."


    Rudy and Carson frowned slightly as they looked at Azaroth. They more or less understood that Aiden had informed him of their identities just now. How could thismoner still not pay any respect to them?!


    Rudy thought ''No matter. I will make him kneel in submission!''


    As Rudy led Azaroth and Aiden to the empty fields, Carson went to some cabins and brought along a few more of their friends.


    Most of them were their underlings from humble family backgrounds, while a few individuals had Noble Family backgrounds.


    It could be said that most of the graduates of Palm Valley School wereing along Carson to the empty fields.


    Meanwhile, in the fields, Aiden decided to judge the fight between Azaroth and Rudy.


    "This is just sparring. Please don''t heavily injure each other¡­" Aiden spoke while looking in Azaroth''s direction.


    Azaroth waved off his hands as if he was telling Aiden to knock it off.


    Meanwhile, Rudy replied with a hint of arrogance in his voice, "You can''t me me if he can''t even take on a single blow from me."


    "I want to say the same."


    "Hmph. Such trash talk¡­ You should have the strength to back it up!" With that, Rudy suddenly jumped towards Azaroth.


    "Palm of the Great Bear!" A strange aura of the great bear appeared around Rudy as he rushed towards Azaroth and attempted to strike him.


    Azaroth very coolly got out of the way by side-stepping him.


    Aiden thought Azaroth was in Rudy''s way one second and then realized his position had shifted significantly the next. They were separated by such a little space that they appeared to be in a straight line from afar.


    Actually, Azaroth was wondering whether he should y football now or not.


    ''Maybe I should just make him roam around like an idiot until his otherrades arrive. Once theye, I can start his beatdown. That will be hrious.''


    Anyway, the opening move was dodged by Azaroth, and Rudy managed to stop himself some secondster.


    He looked quite angry as he gazed at Azaroth.


    "Such fluke won''t happen again." Rudy said while gritting his teeth in anger.


    Azaroth remained quiet and just gave a neutral expression to Rudy.


    "Chasing Wind Movement Skill!"


    Rudy rushed towards Azaroth with a strange movement skill. From a nce, his movements seemed unrealistically profound as he crossed the distance between him and Azaroth rather quickly.


    "Astral Cyclone!" Ardor seemed to be shinning all over Rudy''s body as he started rotating his body with a quick speed, intending to hit Azaroth with a series of attacks.


    However, Azaroth just lowered his body and gave a simple low sweep. His kick had quite some power behind it, and it sessfully made Rudy lose his bnce.


    Once Rudy realized that he was going to fall down, he immediately got ready. Rudy''s palms touched the ground, and he ced his entire weight over his arms.


    Once Rudy could more or less control his body in this position, he immediately spoke out, "Double Kicks!"


    He forcefully pushed both his legs in Azaroth''s direction as if he wanted to give him a strong double kick for that stunt.


    In that position, Azaroth''s face would be struck by Rudy''s double kicks.


    Azaroth saw the kicksing towards his way and immediately rolled out of danger.


    As Rudy''s double kicks struck the ground, it cracked the floor slightly. Now, Rudy ced his entire weight over his legs and stood up.


    By the time he did stand up, Azaroth had already stood up and was waiting for Rudy.


    Instead of a neutral look, Azaroth''s face now had a victorious smile on his face.


    This slight activity seemed to have taunted Rudy as he immediately took action and went over to punch Azaroth.


    Although the punch was enhanced through his Ardor, Rudy had forgotten to use a skill in his anger.


    At around this moment, hisrades, led by Carson, had arrived. They were all rather excited to see how Rudy was beating the new guy.


    But just as they reached the location, and saw their friend Rudy fighting against Azaroth. They were shocked to witness that Rudy''s punch was held by Azaroth''s hand very firmly.


    "Let''s switch. Now I will be on the offensive." Azaroth spoke as he ces his power in his hand.


    Rudy felt the bones of his right-hand crackle one by one.


    "Aiyaaaa!!" He screamed in pain as, one by one, his right hand''s bones broke.


    Rudy immediately used his other hand and whispered, "Palm of the Great Bear." Although he mainly used his right hand when he used this move, he was nearly equally proficient with his left hand.


    Azaroth, though, suddenly kneed his stomach and whispered to him, "You seem to have not heard my words. I will be on the offensive now."


    Rudy spat out some saliva and blood. There were some internal injuries because of the knee attack from Azaroth.


    After that, Azaroth raised his right arm and tossed Rudy''s body in the air.


    Once Rudy''s body standing free-falling towards the ground, Rudy gritted his teeth and controlled his bnce to turn his body and somehow use a skill to attack Azaroth.


    However, just as he turned his body to look at the ground, a strong kick struck his head, which sent him in the ground''s direction.


    Rudy created a protective film of Ardor around him to defend himself from the impact once he crashed against the ground.


    However, surprisingly, he didn''t crash into the ground.


    It was because his body was once again flung into the air by Azaroth''s kick. This time, his chest was targeted as if Azaroth wanted to break his rib bones.


    Rudy coughed out a mouthful of blood as he was flying in the air. His condition was getting worse with each kick from Azaroth.


    Before Rudy even reached the full height in the air, Azaroth gave him a tornado kick and threw him back to the ground.


    This time, the target was Rudy''s backbone. And also, Azaroth allowed Rudy to crash into the ground.


    Fortunately, Rudy had protected himself using Ardor all around his body. But unfortunately, he found that he couldn''t even move his finger.


    "I-I s-surrender."


    Aiden looked slightly relieved once he heard those words, "Edwin wins this match." After saying this, he immediately rushed towards Rudy''s position.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth gracefullynded on the ground. Carson and the people alongside him stared at Azaroth with a hateful expression.


    Azaroth spoke out with a mocking voice, "And here I thought this guy could take a punch or two. How could I have known that he was so weak? Oh wait, maybe I should have known he was weak since he is from Palm Valley School of Martial Arts."


    "You! How dare you insult our school?!" It was Carson who yelled at Azaroth.


    Even Aiden looked surprised to hear those words from Azaroth. He didn''t think Azaroth was such a person who would mock the other person''s school.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth shrugged with a smile, "Why shouldn''t I? I am your better, after all."


    Carson and his group''s eyes widened slightly, and they all gritted their teeth in anger, "You mean¡­"


    "Yeah, I am a graduate of the Acadia School of Martial Arts," Azaroth spoke out with a proud tone.

 Chapter 17 - Hypocritical People

    The introduction of Azaroth seemed to give birth to another wave of anger in those Palm Valley School graduates.


    It stemmed from the fact that they had been considered inferior to the Acadia School''s students. Moreover, these weren''t just empty rumors, but the Acadia School students would usually crush the Palm Valley School students during every inter-schoolpetition.


    This inferiorityplex originated and continued to develop because of those inter-schoolpetitions. Generation by generation, it became a mental block for many of the students of Palm Valley School.


    And right now, many Palm Valley School Graduates had known that Acadia School''s graduates were also present. They had used all their contacts and brought twice the number of students from Acadia School''s graduates. There were even two 4 Star Warriors among them.


    Here, in this camp, they had finally felt somewhat superior to the Acadia Academy, whether it was because of their numbers or the higher cultivation of their superiors.


    However, now, as they saw their friend in that trodden state, they were seemingly told that nothing had changed. The situation was still the same as before, and they were still inferior to the Acadia School''s students.


    "You¡­! We won''t let you go for this!" It was one of Rudy''s friends as he hatefully red at Azaroth.


    Azaroth seemed to wee that re and even replied, "Sure. I will wee a challenge at any time. But I hope there won''t be such trash who would challenge me. That would just be insulting."


    "I will kill you!"


    A guyunched himself at Azaroth with a killing intent shing in his eyes.


    Azaroth raised his arm and waited for this guy to enter his range.


    However, Aiden appeared and stopped this guy from even entering Azaroth''s range.


    "Stop it! You aren''t his match. He is a 4 Star Warrior, and he can effortlessly kill a 4 Star Beast." Aiden informed these guys to make them give up.


    "What?! You are telling me that this guy, who seems to be near our age, is a 4 Star Warrior?!" Another guy shouted while pointing at Azaroth.


    Aiden replied with a solemn expression, "I don''t need to lie to you. If you still want to go forward, that''s sure. But I don''t want you to be injured for no reason."


    Those words did stop most of them in their tracks. Although they were angry, nobody wanted to be injured like Rudy.


    "Don''t think I won against this guy because I am a 4 Star Warrior. I only used the strength of a 3 Star Warrior. Isn''t that right, Aiden?" Azaroth spoke to Aiden as if they were friends already.


    Aiden was a bit ufortable as Azaroth spoke those words. This was indeed the truth, but he knew that if he did confirm it now, it would be adding oil to the fire.


    "Sir Edwin, I believe I was showing you the entire camp. Let''s leave this and continue our tour." Aiden decided to change the topic entirely.


    "Sure."


    Now, Azaroth didn''t even nce at these guys who picked up Rudy and took him to the camp''s healer.


    Although Azaroth had broken Rudy''s bones. He could still be treated in a single day by a healer. However, if Azaroth had used his Wind Elemental Attacks and then injured Rudy, leaving behind his Ardor in Rudy''s body, it would be quite tricky to heal Rudy.


    Rudy would be on bed rest for at least a week then.


    As they were returning to the camp, Aiden looked at Azaroth and asked him, "Was there a need to be so heavy-handed on them?"


    Now, all sorts of arrogance had seemingly vanished from Azaroth''s face. He replied with a calm voice, "Humiliating them meant a better standing and more eptance by the Acadia School''s students. And unlike these people, they are actually talented."


    "Also, this is a rivalry between our schools. If our positions were reversed, they would have done the same or worse to me without any guilty feelings."


    "Still¡­We are going to berades. It''s not a good idea to anger them." Aiden couldn''t help but lower his head and sigh. He knew that he couldn''t order Azaroth around. The most he could do was advise or request him.


    "You still don''t understand it. Once they know that I am a graduate of the Acadia School, they would already hate me. What I have done is willingly make them hate me but gain some advantages along the way." Azaroth said quite calmly as if he had nned this.


    "I shall be honest with you, Sir Edwin. I am not a fan of such schemes," Aiden replied with a solemn expression.


    "If so, it''s a good thing you aren''t a Noble or a Royal. Since our birth, we are thrown into an abyss of politics. The more you try to stay away from it, the quicker you will die." Azaroth gave a mncholic smile to Aiden.


    For some moments, Aiden remained silent. As if he was contemting Azaroth''s words.


    He spoke with a bit of seriousness in his voice, "Sir Edwin, please do not involve my disciples or me in this political battle."


    "Hahaha¡­ You worry too much. Why would I involve you in such battles? I have only been exining this to you as a friend." Azaroth said with a light-heartedugh.


    ~~


    As Azaroth returned back, his cabin was surprisingly ready. It was made of rather sturdy wood, and Azaroth was sure that it could easily take a punch from that guy named Rudy and shrug it off.


    Brynn Gaynor didn''t say anything about how he readied this house. It was as if he wanted to keep this information a secret.


    However, Azaroth didn''t need him to say anything. He already understood that there was a Wood Element expert in this location.


    As someone with a variant element, which differed from the basic elements, the wood element had many uses. Especially near a forest or in a forest, the Wood Element user could be considered to possess a source of inexhaustible energy. Even the strength of their techniques would be strengthened.


    During ancient times, the Elves races used their Wood Element in their Divine Forest with the amplification from their Guardian Deity, the World Tree, managed to force the Demon Race into retreat.


    Although the energy provided by this forest couldn''t be considered in the same leagues as the Divine Forest with the World Tree, it was still quite a lot for his current level.


    ''Well, I have the time to find this person. If this person can pledge loyalty to me, that would be quite nice.''


    Azaroth went inside his house and began to cultivate the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique.


    In the blink of an eye, it was nighttime. And it was unknown who it was, but somehow, the event that urred during the afternoon had spread to the entire camp.


    "Did you hear that news? Someone from our school beat that Rudy guy from Palm Valley School. Haha¡­"


    "Yeah. I heard that even after Madam Tia tried to heal him, he is still on bed rest for the rest of the day. Serves him right!"


    "Yup. Didn''t those bastards humiliate us just because they brought two seniors at the 4 Star Rank? If not for the presence of Goddess Sophie, we might have been bullied every day. This is what they fucking deserve!"


    "Not just this, but I also heard that this person from our school is also a 4 Star Warrior. If that''s so, then with his presence, we at least won''t be bullied anymore by those Palm Valley School''s graduates."


    "Does anyone know his name or where he is living? I haven''t seen a new face here yet. We need to thank him and invite him to our circle."


    "You are right. I was just too excited that I forgot about it. Let''s go and ask the town lord''s secretary. That bitch definitely knows where he is living. I heard that he just came to join the camp today, so it shouldn''t be that hard to find him."


    Many of the Acadia School''s graduates were quite happy to hear that a graduate from their school knocked down these graduates from Palm Valley School a couple of pegs.


    Not just that, but they met with the secretary of the town lord, who naturally informed them where Azaroth was living.


    And soon enough, these people were near Azaroth''s wooden cabin.


    The oldest among them knocked on Azaroth''s door.


    They received no response in return. But these people found it quite normal and knocked on the door a little firmly this time.


    This time, they heard a calm voice, "Who is it?"


    "Brother, we are also the Acadia School''s graduates. We wanted to meet you and thank you for helping us vent our frustration by beating those Palm Valley School''s graduates."


    "Oh. It''s my fellow brothers. Wait some time. I will get ready and open the door."


    The people heard his voice and stepped back and waited for Azaroth.


    After approximately 1 minute, Azaroth opened the door in his Spiritual Clothes. He looked at the people who hade and could more or less recognize half of them because of having ready Edwin''s memories.


    "Edwin Rhodes! It''s you?!" Nearly half of them whom Azaroth recognized also recognized him back. It was naturally because Edwin could be considered somewhat famous in the Acadia School.


    The other half of the people who didn''t recognize him remained puzzled over such a surprised tone from their fellow friends.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Albi, Ronan, Caleb, Reece, Sir Dous¡­"


    Those whom Azaroth called sir were his seniors when he was studying in the Acadia School.


    It was Dous who suddenlyughed, "To think that the one who was called the weakest amongst his generation has risen to be the strongest amongst all of us. Congrattions, Edwin."


    "Yes, Sir Edwin. You have truly surprised us. Also, we heard how you thrashed that Rudy guy. Hearing it was really satisfying. Hehe¡­"


    The ones called Azaroth senior were his juniors when Edwin was studying in the Acadia School.


    During those times, not a single one of these people respected Edwin. In fact, they even despised him. But now, all of them were seemingly talking with him as if they were good old friends back then.


    Azaroth didn''t find it strange. He had long be used to the fact that in the world of Martial Arts, strength was necessary to gain respect.


    Even though he knew that these people could be considered hypocritical. But did he really care about this?


    Their words, whether they praised him or ttered him had little to no effect on him. It could be considered some minor entertainment for him, though, so it wasn''t bad to let them continue.


    Besides, the world wasn''t a ck or white ce where everything was straightforward. It was made up of shades of grey. Each person does what he believes in. Azaroth didn''t want to waste his time contemting things from a moral standpoint. The ones who preach justice should be the ones who should waste their time on this.


    What he was interested in was invincibility! For that, no matter what his path led him to, he wasn''t going to shy away from making use of everything.

 Chapter 18 - Searching In The Outer Area Of Alpine Gerbil Woods

    Azaroth joined his Acadia School acquaintances and joined them on a bonfire.


    They continued to joke around, speak of their memories in the Acadia School or what they had been up to in thesest couple of years.


    Acadia School''s graduates didn''t know Azaroth''s identity since they had already graduated before Azaroth entered the school. They were informed of Azaroth by those who knew of him.


    Naturally, many of them lied quite a bit, but some truth mixed in their words, but Azaroth didn''t stop them. Since they were creating a false reputation for him, he didn''t feel any harm in it.


    Many of them who hade here were from respectable family backgrounds. Although those from the Noble Families couldn''t be considered in the same breath as the Rhodes Noble House, their families were still considered the lord of their respective areas. It was better to have a good connection with them than not at all.


    There were also a couple of women among this group, and they were secretly peeking at Azaroth from the corner of their eyes.


    A few of them were even from Azaroth''s generation.


    ''What is this? Edwin was handsome even when we were studying in Acadia School, but now, why does he have appear even more handsome? And that calm expression, he even looks cool right now.''


    A few of the girls were thinking along these lines.


    ''Is it because he has reached the 4 Star Rank?''


    Azaroth naturally noticed the looks he received from the females. He more or less understood the reason. This was probably because he removed that 10% filth from his body and his skin now appeared even more delicate and fairer.


    However, Azaroth urgently wanted to get a Pure Cleansing Grass to remove the rest of the filth in his body and finally upgrade to the Heavenly Saint Physique. It wasn''t just to raise his charm, but more importantly, he wanted better control of his Ardor in his body, and his cultivation speed would receive a significant boost.


    Anyway, while Azaroth had been eating a delicious dinner and drinking alcohol, the news of his appearance reached Myles Nelson''s ears.


    Within the group around Azaroth, who was happily talking to him and drinking along with him, Myles Nelson''srades immediately went to Myles''s residence and informed him of the entire situation.


    "What?! Are you absolutely sure it''s Edwin? And he has even be a 4 Star Warrior?! How is that possible?!" The look of absolute shock on Myles''s face was quite a sight to behold.


    "Yes, Sir Myles. We even talked with him, and other than the fact that he is calmer than before, he is definitely Edwin Rhodes." The people who informed Myles of this fact were entirely sure of this information.


    "This¡­" Myles remained in a state of speechlessness for some moments. He then spoke, "Alright, you can return now. I need to practice for some more time."


    The 3 individuals who hade to inform him of the situation looked at each other and then slowly stood up before leaving quietly.


    Meanwhile, Myles began to think ''Just how could this happen? It has only been a little more than a year since our graduation, and Edwin has elevated from 2 Star Warrior to 4 Star Warrior?''


    Although dumbfounded, Myles slowly began to think of the possible reasons behind such strange breakthroughs ''Is this some secret technique from the Rhodes Family? No, that''s even more impossible. If the Rhodes Family had such a technique, I would have surely been informed about this as the Nelson family''s inheritor. There hasn''t even been a wind of this until now.''


    ''Now, there are only a few possibilities. Either he got a forbidden technique or some mythical treasure or legendary herb or some fortuitous encounter with some higher-level entity.''


    ''If he reached the 4 Star Rank using some forbidden technique, then he probably paid a heavy price for it. Maybe his power isn''t stable at all, and his future cultivation has beenpromised. If so, then that''s no use to us. But if it''s because of some mythical treasure, then I need to find out and get it at all costs. This will be really helpful to me.''


    Myles wasn''t very fond of Edwin. This was mostly because when their batch was first formed, the two were on the same level, at the 1 Star Rank. Since they were in the same ss, they had shed more than once, and their results were nearly equal, but Edwin was improving at a tremendous rate.


    At that time, the two of them began to pursue Sophie Russel, using all their skills as she was their first love. Naturally, the result of the two remained the same as neither of them could move her heart.


    The two reached the 2 Star Rank at the same time, and their rivalry continued on. However, it was at this level that Edwin''s unawakened Celestial Blood somewhat weakened his Humanely Ardor and slowed down his absorption speed.


    Myles had no such restrictions, so he smoothly became a 3 Star Warrior and easily defeated Edwin. In fact, after that moment, their rivalry had basically ended with Edwin being crushed.


    Myles even began to despise Edwin and cursed himself how he could have been a rival of such trash for so many years.


    Myles had been the fastest to reach the 3 Star Rank within his generation, so he had been quite proud of himself. He was currently at the 3 Star Rank''s peak and somewhat looked down on other people from his generation.


    However, he had now been informed that Edwin, someone from his generation, was now a level above his own. Myles was well aware of the distance between the 3 Star Rank peak and the 4 Star Rank.


    Even at the current rate he was advancing, he would need at least 2 more years to advance to the 4 Star Rank. And that was only possible if his luck was good and he remained diligent.


    "I need to get this treasure from Edwin somehow. But how?" Myles began to think of a way to get Azaroth''s secret.


    As Myles continued to think on this¡­ Azaroth had already started roaming around the camp.


    It was midnight time now, and he was roaming under the moonlight. He was now going to the Alpine Gerbil Woods, the residence of the beasts who were going to attack the Kloras Town.


    Naturally, Azaroth hadn''t gone very deep in these Woods. He was merely in the outer edges and had entirely concealed his aura.


    He was also proficient in not leaving any tracks for the beasts or any human to follow him.


    Azaroth was currently roaming here to search for precious or rare herbs.


    He used his sensing skill to search for the herbs and naturally found a few of them, but he had no use for these herbs.


    Currently, at the level he was, these herbs wouldn''t affect his body at all.


    ''There are no useful herbs present here. Does that mean I need to take the risk and really enter the inner zone?''


    Azaroth frowned slightly as this was not in his ns. This forest was the territory of a 5th rank beast.


    Although Azaroth was confident that the beast wouldn''t be able to sense his aura, that was only on the condition that the beast wasn''t using his Spiritual Energy to search for an intruder. Moreover, the senses of a 5th Rank Beast were not to be underestimated.


    Although he wasn''t capable of defeating a 5th Rank Beast in a one-on-one fight, Azaroth was atleast confident in keeping his own life. However, it had to be known that he would be fighting this beast in its own area.


    If this 5th Rank beast received assistance from its fellowrades, even Azaroth would be in a perilous situation.


    ''No. It''s better to wait for one more day and gather more information. The fact that I can''t sense many beasts in the outer area means that many beasts have gathered in the Inner Area of this Alpine Gerbil Woods.''


    ''It will be best if I ask the town lord Brynn Gaynor tomorrow. It''s a pity that I was too optimistic regarding find some good herb in the outer area and didn''t ask him today.''


    Azaroth let out a sigh as he thought of the loot he had.


    With the herbs and the materials he had, the most he could create were 10 rejuvenation pills that could quickly recover his Ardor.


    Because of his Triquetra Ardor, it might take thrice more than regr pills for him to recoverpletely, but this wasn''t much of a problem.


    The quantity and quality of his Triquetra Ardor were well above ordinary. In fact, Azaroth could confidently say his capacity surpassed even that of elves who boasted the most quantity of Ardor in any particr rank.


    ''Wait¡­If I remember correctly, Aiden mentioned that there is also an Alchemy group here. This means Brynn Gaynor must have given an order for precious and rare herbs to Sir Ashton. It might have something I need.''


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as this thought entered his mind.


    ~~


    The next morning, Azaroth woke up quite early.


    He went to do some exercise and met up with some Acadia School Graduates and Palm Valley School Graduates along the way. Naturally, the Acadia School ones greeted him with a smile while those from the Palm Valley School gave him an ugly look as if he had pped them.


    After his quick exercise, Azaroth went over to Brynn Gaynor''s cabin.


    Azaroth asked the two guards, "Is the town lord up now?"


    "Yes, sir. He should be getting out any time soon."


    As soon as the guard had finished speaking, the door to the cabin creaked open.


    Brynn Gaynor appeared astonished to see Azaroth standing outside of his cabin, "Is something the matter, Sir Edwin?"


    "Yes, sir. I wanted to ask you something. Can we talk a little privately?" Azaroth asked the question quite politely.


    Brynn Gaynor didn''t even consider it for a second before agreeing and spoke, "No problem. Please enter my cabin. I shall answer any and all doubts you have, Sir Edwin."


    "I shall be impolite then," Azaroth spoke those words before heading into Brynn Gaynor''s cabin.


    Meanwhile, Brynn Gaynor gazed at the two guards stationed outside of his cabin and ordered sternly, "Do not allow anyone to enter the cabin. And make sure no one is listening to our conversation. Because if something happens, the beast raid would be thest of your concern."


    "Yes, milord!" The two guards spoke simultaneously. The two were actually quite scared of the town lord''s threat and were ultra-sensitive and attentive to their surroundings now.


    Besides, they had no intention of cutting their career short here.


    Once Azaroth had entered Brynn Gaynor''s house, he sat on the sofa and waited for Brynn Gaynor to take a seat on his chair.


    Once they were both on their seats, Azaroth began speaking, "So, town lord, I was wondering if you could give me more details about the Alpine Gerbil Woods."


    This question wasn''t that strange to be asked from Azaroth. In fact, Brynn Gaynor had expected Azaroth to ask this question way earlier.


    Coughing lightly, Brynn Gaynor began to narrate with a serious expression.


    "Sir Edwin probably already knows that Alpine Gerbil Woods is a location enriched by precious herbs and dangerous beasts. More than tens of thousand beasts reside in this forest. And every time, during a Beast Raid, nearly thousands of beasts attack the vige. The rest remain in the forest, protecting it from some unforeseen attack. At least that''s what we believe."


    This was fundamental information that had been narrated to Azaroth.


    "Please ask me what you wish to know.. Is this rted to how Sir Edwin had gone to the Forest at the nighttime?" Brynn Gaynor asked while carefully analyzing Azaroth''s expression.

 Chapter 19 - Alchemy Division

    Azaroth remained calm as water and replied, "It is indeed rted to that. I wished to know in what part I could find some herbs in the Alpine Gerbil Woods. The previous night, I roamed around the outer parts, and surprisingly, I found no beast or any good herbs there. Do you know why?"


    Azaroth didn''t find it strange that Brynn Gaynor knew how he had gone to the forest during the night.


    ''This guy knows someone who possesses Wood Element. It would indeed be easy for that person to sense me in the forest. The forest is like a backyard for someone with Wood Element. And the only way to fool this person would be to possess either Nature''s Blessing or Wood Element myself. Well, both of them are outside my reach for now.''


    Meanwhile, this was Brynn Gaynor''s turn to be surprised. He thought Azaroth would try to hide it or would be ufortable about sharing it.


    But the way Azaroth spoke, it was as if he had been nning to tell this to him from the start.


    After taking a moment to regain hisposure, Brynn spoke, "In reality, this is something we noticed a few months earlier. We investigated the situation deeply and finally came to a conclusion. The ones who took the herbs were none other than the beasts."


    "These herbs were taken to the Inner Area of the Alpine Gerbil Woods. Other than the herbs, even the beasts from the outer area we regrly used to hunt had disappeared. The beasts who disappeared did leave behind many tracks, and clearly, they had also gone to the Inner Area. It was through this that we understood that the beasts were up to something."


    Azaroth calmly listened to those words, and when he found a moment to speak, he asked, "Do you know who is the Beast Lord leading this Beast Raid?"


    A grim look appeared on Brynn''s face as he spoke, "¡­From what our scouts mentioned, it''s a Three-Eyed White Wolf."


    Azaroth''s eyes widened slightly as he heard the name of the beast lord.


    ''A Three-Eyed White Wolf, huh? Moreover, this one also has a rather good Spiritual Intelligence. I will need to tread carefully.''


    "I see¡­" Azaroth uttered these words and remained quiet for a short period.


    Brynn Gaynor looked at him for some time and finally asked, "Is that all Sir Edwin wished to ask me?"


    "No. Town Lord, tell me, do you not wish to know just what the beasts are doing in the Inner Area of the Alpine Gerbil Woods?"


    A bitter look appeared on Brynn Gaynor''s face as he replied, "How can I not be curious? But there is no way for me to find out about that. The Inner Area will have a lot of Beasts. It would be impossible to go in there ande out in one piece. No one is willing to go to that ce."


    Azaroth had a slight smile as he heard Brynn''s words, "What if I told you that I am willing to go to the inner part of the forest?"


    "What?!" Brynn Gaynor''s eyes went wide immediately.


    "It''s precisely what the town lord has heard. I am indeed willing to go to the Alpine Gerbil Woods''s inner area and figure out just what the beasts are nning." Azaroth repeated his words as if he was telling Brynn Gaynor that he was entirely sure of his decision.


    A bitter smile appeared on Brynn''s face, "Sir Edwin, you are a Noble House''s Heir. If you die here, I am afraid a town lord like me won''t be able to handle the consequences."


    "I am willing to form a contract using my personal seal to promise you that the Rhodes Family won''t make things any difficult for you if I die in the Alpine Gerbil Forest." Azaroth was very serious as he spoke those words.


    "¡­And what does Sir Edwin require?" Brynn Gaynor asked with a grim tone. He knew that since Azaroth was talking to him about it, it meant that he needed something from the town lord.


    "I need some herbs here in the camp so that I can make some pills to recover my Ardor immediately. Moreover, a map of the Inner Area that you have would also be appreciated." Azaroth didn''t shy away from asking what he needed.


    "How many pills would you need?" Brynn Gaynor asked Azaroth with a serious look. If it was too many, Brynn would have no choice but to reject this offer from Azaroth.


    "I merely need enough herbs to create a total of 100 pills. 20 will be for stamina, 20 will be for Ardor recovery, 20 will be for increasing mental energy, 20 will be for increasing my power for a short amount of time, and the final 20 pills shall be for recovering my blood essence." Azaroth told Brynn Gaynor the quantity and even a brief breakdown of what pills he needed.


    Now, Brynn Gaynor needed to think for quite some time. He was calcting whether he could give away so many herbs, and it would be worth it to do so or not. If it all turned out to be useless, would the town be able to afford it?


    This long pause from Brynn Gaynor already told Azaroth that he was seriously considering the offer. He internally smiled and thought ''Onest push then.''


    "Naturally, I will be buying those herbs. However, I will be using some elemental crystals to trade instead of currency." Azaroth gave the final blow to this deal.


    "Elemental crystals?! You mean you possess them right now?!" Brynn Gaynor appeared really excited as soon as he heard that Azaroth would trade using Elemental Crystals.


    It was quite natural for Brynn Gaynor to be so excited once Azaroth mentioned Elemental Crystals. After all, the array formations are formed by arranging these Elemental Crystals into some particr shape and more.


    If they had a substantial amount of Elemental Energy, then the killing formation that Sophie talked about would be twice or thrice more lethal.


    Azaroth knew that he had essentially got this deal in a bag.


    "Yes. I will give you an Elemental Crystal for each of the basic five elements. Moreover, all of those shall be of 5 Tier Rank. I suppose that should be sufficient to pay back for the herbs, right?"


    "Tier 5 Rank Elemental Crystals?!" At this point, Brynn Gaynor practically stood up in shock.


    Azaroth gave a slight smile in return, and seeing his smile, Brynn Gaynor realized that he had lost hisposure there. He immediately sat back down and tried to calm his excited heart.


    "¡­I agree to this deal. I will provide all the resources Sir Edwin needs to form 100 pills."


    "Thank you. Also, I would appreciate it if you don''t mention my name when you tell others how you got these Tier 5 Rank Elemental Crystals." Azaroth spoke this with a polite voice.


    Brynn Gaynor almost immediately nodded his head. He was a Town Lord, and he wasn''t some green guy who hadn''t seen the world yet.


    "I shall mention others that it was Sir Ashton who gifted these Elemental Crystals to help me protect the Kloras Town."


    Azaroth was well satisfied with this response.


    "Please lead me to the storage. I shall choose the herbs and inform the manager of the quantity. Once he has gathered them all, we can trade them here." Azaroth spoke to Brynn Gaynor.


    Brynn Gaynor gave his nod and replied, "That''s eptable."


    "Also, Sir Edwin, there is an Alchemy Division here in this camp. Are you sure you don''t want to join it? If Sir Edwin wishes it, I can easily arrange it for you to be at a prominent position in the Alchemy Division." Brynn Gaynor asked with a slightly hopeful tone.


    "I apologize, town lord, but it would be inconvenient for my status as an Alchemist to be revealed," Azaroth replied with a straight face, rejecting the proposal from Brynn Gaynor.


    ''Well, the ssmates I have now will find it pretty suspicious if they know that I can make pills.''


    "Alright, let''s meet in the afternoon here."


    After those words, Azaroth and Brynn Gaynor both stood up and walked to the door.


    Azaroth opened the door and walked out, and he was followed by Brynn Gaynor.


    Brynn Gaynor immediately stared at one of the two guards outside his cabin, "You¡­ Take Sir Edwin to the Herbal Garden of our Camp. Tell the manager to let Sir Edwin take away any herb he wants. It''s on my order."


    "As youmand, Town Lord!" The guard spoke out with a resolute tone.


    ''If this goes well, then I might be able to trap the beasts and ughter them all with minimal losses! Is it possible that I might leave my name in the history books of ros Town?!''


    Brynn Gaynor took deep breaths to calm himself ''I need to remain calm, or else I might take some rash decision in this excitement.''


    ~~


    Meanwhile, at around this time, Myles met some of his ssmates in the morning, the ones he trusted greatly.


    "Did Sophie find out that Edwin hase here?" Myles asked them with a slightly worried expression. He wasn''t sure what action Sophie would take. Although she didn''t have an impressive opinion of the two of them, it might be possible that she would take the initiative to meet him to know about his secret to his speed of cultivation.


    "No one has seen Miss Sophie meet with Sir Edwin yet. Even during the night, Miss Sophie never left her cabin." One of them replied to Myles and relieved him.


    "Phew¡­ That''s better." Myles breathed out in relief.


    "Actually, we did have something to inform you, Sir Myles."


    "Really? What is it?"


    "We just saw the Town Lord''s personal guard leading Edwin to the Herbal Garden." A guy spoke with a serious look.


    "Is that so?" Myles began to contemte deeply as he heard this information.


    ''Edwin never studied any alchemy in the School, so he can''t be an Alchemist. Don''t tell me he found a secret form, and his sudden cultivation speed is rted to it?''


    "Let''s follow Edwin and find out what he is doing," Myles suggested to his friends.


    "Let''s go then."


    After some time, they were outside the Herbal Garden. Nearly 15 guards were patrolling the garden, and they looked quite serious as they did so.


    All of them knew that the herbs in this garden were essential for the uing Beast Raid.


    They wouldn''t allow anyone to intrude into this ce.


    Myles had no intention of barging into this ce. He already knew that he won''t be allowed to go inside and take a herb from there. This was because all of them had signed a contract that stated that they would need to obey the town lord''s words. There were some restrictions to the town lord''s power as well.


    However, ording to the hierarchy right now, Myles could not do something against the town lord''s interests.


    After nearly half an hour, Azaroth came out of the Herbal Garden. There was a pleased smile on his face.


    Why could he not be pleased when he had taken nearly double the amount of what he had been initially expecting.


    This was because the Herbal Garden''s manager didn''t know that the amount he gave to Azaroth was enough for him to make double the original quantity of pills.


    Naturally, Azaroth wasn''t going to let such an opportunity slip from his fingers.


    Moreover, as he left the Herbal Garden, he looked in the west direction and smiled slightly. Instead of saying something, he left for Brynn Gaynor''s house.


    Myles had noticed how Azaroth had looked in their direction and faintly smiled. He was frightened to see that look on Azaroth''s face.


    ''W-What did that mean?! Did he know I was here?! Impossible! I am hiding my breath and my aura as well. Or was it because of these two that my position waspromised?'' Myles had an uglyplexion as he looked at his two friends.


    "Alright, looks like there is nothing to be seen here. Let''s go now."


    "Where?" One of the two guys asked Myles.


    Myles replied with a serious expression, "To the ce, Edwin should have gone. To the Alchemy Division here."


    ''That''s the only ce thates to my mind. If not there, then what else does Edwin n to do with those herbs? Don''t tell me he has to ingest them directly? If that''s the case, then it will be quite tricky. I need to atleast know what herbs he took so that I can draw some reasonable conclusion from there.''


    Myles continued to think deeply about this entire situation.


    Myles stayed near the Alchemy Division''s quarters for the rest of the day, but Azaroth never arrived.

 Chapter 20 - Controlling The Heavenly Aura

    Azaroth gave 5 Elemental Crystals with the Wind, Lightning, Fire, Earth, and Water elements to Brynn Gaynor.


    Brynn Gaynor''s face lit up as he continued to stare at those Elemental Crystals with a loving gaze.


    Now that Azaroth had officially taken those herbs and could begin working on them, he took his leave soon enough.


    He didn''t want to waste his time anymore and immediately headed for the Alpine Gerbil Woods.


    ''Are those guys waiting for me at the Alchemy Division? Well, I did anticipate that someone wille to the conclusion that I hold some super-secret form to sess. Right now, the logical decision would be to go to the Alchemy Division. But since I won''t go there, their ns have already been ruined.''


    He sped up as he headed into the forest. His quick speed was that he was using the Lightning element to increase the speed of his body. However, this had the side-effect of making his muscles numb for some time.


    But this was not without its benefits. Currently, in the entire encampment, no one could catch up to Azaroth no matter how hard they tried.


    ''I should use the Humanely Ardor mes to make the pills. If I use the Demonic Ardor here, then those Wood Elemental Warriors will know that I can use Demonic Ardor. Now, that would be quite troublesome.''


    After running for nearly 50 miles or so, Azaroth finally stopped and took a rest.


    He used his sensing skill to find if there were any beasts around him. And it seemed as if the area around him was clear.


    Azaroth sat on a stone and used the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique to recover his Ardor.


    It took him 20 minutes or so to be back at full strength. Moreover, the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique also strengthened the muscles that had be numb due to the Lightning Element.


    Azaroth stood up and pulled out all the herbs he had bought from Brynn Gaynor.


    As those herbs were essentially thrown out of his rings, Azaroth used his Triquetra Ardor to control those herbs and made them float around.


    Nearly all the herbs were moving around, grouping up with some other herbs.


    As Azaroth had stated earlier, he was making 5 types of pills. And 20 pills of each type. However, because of the increase in quantity, he would make 40 pills of each type, leaving behind a few herbs for some emergency situations.


    Meanwhile, streams of Azure mes began to leak out of Azaroth''s right hand.


    Soon enough, Azaroth covered all the groups of herbs flying in the air and started melting them.


    Making 200 pills simultaneously was taxing on his mind as Azaroth had to control the me temperature differently from all the five types of pellets.


    Because he had to keep his attention on every single one and refine the pills rather carefully, he took it slow and steady.


    After nearly half an hour, he had finally seeded with his mission. There were about 200 pellets. Most of them were of the top grade, while a few were of the perfect quality.


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to see this. After the Hell mes were used with the Humanely Ardor, they lost the destruction ability and gained the refining ability. In contrast, if these mes were used using Holy Ardor, Azaroth could heal himself or others. But healing with the mes used a lot of Azaroth''s Ardorpared to when he was refining something, and the least when he was using it for destruction.


    It was easy to exin this since these mes were originally Hell mes found in the Purgatory. They were most attuned to the Demonic Ardor and least attuned to the Holy Ardor.


    This Azure Hell me was the main reason why Azaroth could form top-grade pills or those of perfect quality. His own skills were naturally not sufficient to create perfect or top-grade pills.


    During his time as a Demon God, he hadn''t really studied the Alchemy profession that deeply. It was mostly because he never had the time as he was doing one thing after another.


    There was just no time to focus on Alchemy or any other profession.


    In the Alchemy World, he could at best be considered a grandmaster. Far below the great grandmasters or Supreme Grandmasters of Alchemy.


    Naturally, if it was in the killing, Azaroth would be considered among the Supreme Grandmasters of that art.


    Anyway, now that he was finally ready with all these pills, Azaroth took some minutes of rest and then rushed into the Inner Area of the Alpine Gerbil Woods.


    As he dashed into the Inner Area, he continued to use his sensing skill to find the beasts.


    Surprisingly, just 30 or so miles ahead, he sensed a herd. Judging by their aura, Azaroth was sure that they were a herd of Wild Bisons.


    Moreover, Azaroth further analyzed them as he ran ahead, and most of them were at the 2 Star Rank, a dozen of them at the 3 Star Rank while one of them was at the 4 Star Rank.


    Azaroth didn''t fear this herd. However, after some time, he sensed some more beasts here.


    There were snakes, vipers, wild boars, Pandas, Hyena, Horses, Scarlet Butterflies, Vigorous Apes, Dark Pigeons, Owls, Thunder Hawks, and so on¡­


    All these beasts were so close to their position as if they had packed themselves in the Inner Area.


    Many of these were territorial beasts, and to think they were sharing their territory with other beasts was quite surprising.


    This told Azaroth that the Beast Lord of this forest was quite well respected.


    He had no idea of the secrets he was going to unfold here.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, Brynn Gaynor took the Elemental Crystals he had received from Azaroth to Sophie.


    "Tell Miss Sophie that I wish to meet her urgently." Brynn Gaynor spoke to Sophie''s guard.


    The guard soundlessly nodded and then went to Sophie''s cabin before speaking those words to her.


    Soon enough, the guard returned back with that same neutral look, "You are allowed inside. But make sure you stay within your limits, or else¡­"


    This wasn''t the first time Brynn Gaynor was threatened by these guards, so he was more or less used to it.


    Brynn Gaynor soon entered Sophie''s cabin.


    In the living room, Sophie was seated on a sofa, cing one of her legs over the other. She had a gentle smile on her face as she stared at Brynn Gaynor.


    "Take a seat, Town Lord." Her tone was rtively light as if she considered herself somewhat superior to Brynn Gaynor.


    Brynn Gaynor didn''t care about it and took a seat. As he stared at Sophie''s beautiful face, her silky ck hair cascading down her shoulder, and her emerald eyes staring at him curiously, he couldn''t help but think in his heart ''Such a pity that I am no longer young.''


    "Miss Sophie, you were rather worried because of theck of elemental stones or crystals here in this town."


    "That is correct. Have you found some more elemental stones?" Sophie asked with a light-hearted tone.


    "That''s right, miss Sophie. Right now, I have acquired 5 Elemental Crystals, each one at the 5th Tier, possessing one of the five basic elements." Brynn Gaynor immediately pulled out the 5 Elemental Crystals given to him by Azaroth.


    Sophie was actually shocked as sheid her eyes on those 5 Elemental Crystals. She could sense the energy within these crystals, and it far surpassed those of 4th Tier Elemental Crystals.


    ''Does this mean that this guy is telling the truth? Just how did he get these 5th Tier Elemental Crystals? I am afraid that even father doesn''t have many of these with him.''


    Instantly, all sorts of light-heartedness vanished from Sophie''s face as she gazed at those Elemental Crystals earnestly.


    "How did the town lord acquire these Elemental Crystals?" Naturally, she asked this question very straightforwardly.


    "This was something that Sir Ashton, the branch manager of Merchant Union, sent me so that I can protect the Kloras Town." Brynn Gaynor said those words with his heart beating quickly.


    Even though he was incredibly nervous internally, his face had the same stone-cold expression.


    Sophie frowned slightly and began thinking ''A mere branch manager of the Merchant Union can actually bear to part with 5 Elemental Crystals for a town that has nothing to do with him? There is a low chance that he did this out of goodness¡­ But what else could be the reason? Don''t tell me the Royal Family is involved.''


    However, Sophie soon internally shook her head ''No. If the Royal Family was involved, they would have sent someone more reliable than me. So who could it be?''


    "Alright, I thank the town lord for bringing me these 5 Elemental Crystals. I will immediately head out and form the three arrays using these Elemental Crystals as the energy source. This is something I need to do personally as there can be no scope of error." Sophie spoke with a serious expression.


    "I shall forever be grateful, Miss Sophie. Please inform me if you need anything." Brynn Gaynor was all smiles as he stood up and left Sophie''s cabin.


    Sometimeter, Sophie called out her guard, who was stationed outside her cabin.


    "What is yourmand, young miss?" The guard immediately bowed as he stood in front of Sophie.


    "Immediately investigate what has happened in the past couple of days. Check if there has been any parcel from Wrihull Town after that initial delivery or not. Also, send someone to keep an eye on the town lord." She gave quick orders to this guard.


    "As youmand, young miss."


    The guard soon left the room with a solemn look in his eyes.


    He went to his fellowrades and assigned them their respective tasks.


    Meanwhile, Sophie got out of her cabin to create the Killing Array, Defensive Array, and Illusionary Array around this encampment, which would be attacked by the beasts.


    She was nning these three arrays of a higher tier than earlier, so she had to be absolutely careful while drawing them.


    ~~


    It had been some hours since Azaroth had been running in the Inner Area of the Alpine Gerbil Woods. It was nearly evening, but he was finally reaching the center of this forest.


    The closer he was to the center, the more he sensed the presence of herbs.


    ''Such arge quantity of heavenly aura?! Just why have all the herbs from all this forest gathered here?'' Azaroth questioned himself with a frown.


    Understanding that this question wouldn''t be answered by itself, Azaroth proceeded in that direction.


    The concentration of the beasts was only increasing. If not for Azaroth using a special skill to hide his presence, he would have been attacked by the beasts from all sides.


    The concentration of the heavenly energy from the herbs was also increasing. And once Azaroth reached a particr point¡­ He sensed something strange.


    He felt as if Heavenly Energy released from the herbs was being controlled.


    ''Just what is controlling this amount of Heavenly Energy?''


    At this moment, Azaroth suddenly felt a strong spiritual sense locking his body. He was well familiar with such a spiritual sense and immediately shouted in his mind ''The Beast Lord already sensed me?!''


    A few secondster, a loud howl resounded in the whole Inner Area of Alpine Gerbil Woods.


    All the beasts in this area were startled, and many started rushing towards the center.


    For a brief period, Azaroth was entirely dumbfounded. He was too surprised that he didn''t move from his position for a few seconds.


    However, soon enough, he facepalmed and began tough bitterly.


    "Just fucking amazing¡­" He cursed his luck as he sensed a horde of beasts charging at him.


    Azaroth got in a battle posture since he would need to fight his way out of here.


    "So be it.. I guess this will be my battle prowess test."

 Chapter 21 - Azaroth Vs The Beasts

    All sorts of Wild Beasts surrounded Azaroth and cut off all paths of retreat. In the air, arge flock of birds appeared, circling above Azaroth''s head.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was in his battle posture, this time ring his aurapletely as he enhanced his senses using Ardor.


    ''Mystic Eyes of Perception!''


    Azaroth''s eyes turned purple in color as he stared at all the beasts. Currently, he was analyzing the beasts'' every minute movement and anticipating their next move. Using this technique, he was even capable of reading their emotions.


    It was a Wild Boar who suddenly shot at Azaroth. It was a 4 Star Beast, but Azaroth sneered in response as he saw such a straightforward attack.


    The other beasts didn''t move as they continued to stare at Azaroth with a hostile and curious expression.


    The Wild Boar charging at Azaroth seemed to be the lone warrior from the Beast''s side.


    Azaroth changed his posture and gave a straight punch to the head of this Wild Boar that charged at him.


    As soon as their blows connected, a significant shockwave urred, forcing the weak beasts to skid back.


    Only hundreds of beasts remained around Azaroth now, but each of them was at 4 Star Rank.


    Meanwhile, the Wild Boar, whose head had been punched by Azaroth, was still rtively okay. Suddenly, its body began to grow in size as it pushed back Azaroth.


    ''Wind de!''


    Azaroth''s left hand was still free, and he created a de of Wind before immediately using it to slice off the Wild Boar''s body.


    However, surprisingly enough, that wind de barely pierced the Wild Boar''s body before it was stopped by some sort of brownish energy.


    ''So its element is Earth!''


    Azaroth understood why this beast was able to overpower him in pure strength.


    However, this only deepened the killing intent in Azaroth''s eyes as he stared at this Wild Boar.


    Suddenly, the wind de in Azaroth''s hand got even sharper, and its length increased as it slowly sliced the Wild Boar''s head.


    For some seconds, there was utter silence in the area. But that was merely the calm before the storm as all sorts of beasts charged at Azaroth at the same time.


    Azaroth dispersed the Wind de as he wasn''t proficient in using Wind to deal with these many enemies just yet.


    ''Currently, I am nearly 300 miles away from the encampment. Even that man with the Wood Element can''t sense me at such a distance. I can let loose here without an issue.''


    Purple mes was released from both of his hands as it swirled around Azaroth, emitting a dangerous aura.


    These were the Hell mes found only in the 49th Level of Purgatory!


    Azaroth was the only demon other than the Demon Venerable who possess this me¡­


    A sword appeared in Azaroth''s right hand, and he finally moved from his position. Currently, he was running towards a Leopard that was the fastest amongst all itsrades.


    Azaroth noticed that it was using Lightning to enhance its speed. Moreover, the boost it received was much greater than Azaroth, probably because it was built that way.


    Azaroth didn''t care about it at this moment, though. As long as he could see its movements, he was confident in striking it.


    ''Triple sh!''


    Soon enough, Azaroth and the Leopard used their respective attacks and went past each other.


    There was a scratch on Azaroth''s face as he kept running towards the horde of beasts.


    Meanwhile, behind him, a leopard''s body fell on the ground, missing half of its organs.


    This time, Azaroth was fighting against a Giant ck Bear that was nearly 3 times his height.


    The ck Bear attacked Azaroth with its w. It wasn''t a simple attack as it was enhanced by the Earth Element.


    Azaroth''s naturally met that attack with his sword, and even his destructive sword stopped for a couple of seconds.


    Suddenly, a Brown Ape pounced at Azaroth and tried to punch his face. Azaroth tilted his head so that he just barely dodged that attack.


    Currently, the Brown Ape was flying in the air, and Azaroth pulled back his sword that was stopping the Bear''s w and kicked the Ape''s gut very strongly.


    By the time the Ape was sent flying away, the Bear''s w, which was in motion, couldn''t be stopped, and it struck the ground powerfully.


    As it struck the ground, the ground near Azaroth began to shake as the beasts lost their bnce.


    Azaroth was currently in the air, so he was saved from this impact. He raised his right hand and immediately tried to slice the Bear''s head now that it was in range.


    Just as his sword was about to touch the Bear''s head, Azaroth was suddenly struck by a quick lightning beam.


    This was shot out by none other than a Purple Striped Lightning Snake as it hissed dangerously.


    The Lightning Beam wasn''t strong enough to hurt Azaroth, but it did throw him far away. Azaroth changed his body posture and controlled his body while he was in the air.


    By the time his body was about to strike a tree, Azaroth was in a perfect position to use his legs tond over the tree''s trunk. However, he didn''t waste all that momentum as he used a lot of his power and leaped towards the beasts.


    This was the same Brown Ape that had been kicked in its guts earlier appeared in front, its body shinning with a Golden Light as it slightly increased its body''s size and changed the color of its fur to a Golden.


    ''What the?! That''s the Golden Ape''s bloodline skill, Innate Strength!''


    A strong aura condensed over that Golden Ape as it threw out a punch at Azaroth. Azaroth knew he could no longer be stopped.


    ''Since there isn''t a way to dodge this now, I should use this opportunity to deal with this beast.''


    Azaroth''s whole sword was now covered with purple mes. He raised that sword and ced it so that his sword would block the Golden Ape''s punch.


    As soon as Azaroth''s sword contacted the Golden Ape''s punch, Azaroth felt as if the world was absolutely still for a brief time.


    He soon felt a strange shockwave that forced his body to fly back and roll on the grounds for a couple of seconds before he could stand on his feet.


    As he stood up, Azaroth touched his chest and thought ''Just the shockwave from that punch managed to break my ribs¡­ As I thought, this Golden Ape is one of the most dangerous beasts here. Still, to think there is a beast that possesses the bloodline of a Beast God here¡­''


    However, the Golden Ape hadn''t been any less damaged. Azaroth''s strength was also quite impressive as he managed to slice off its three fingers and even crack its right arm bone.


    Azaroth couldn''t remain on his spot for a very long time as a Bison was just a few meters away, and its horns were glowing with a bluish light.


    Azaroth rolled back and dodged that Bison before he stood up and raised his sword.


    ''Dark Spheres.''


    20 dense Purple me spheres were formed just ahead of Azaroth''s sword.


    Azaroth couldn''t keep charging them since the opponent was attacking him with their own long-ranged attacks.


    He immediately shot them at the beasts.


    The beasts shot their own long-ranged attacks at Azaroth. Those dark spheres were met by dense Ardor beams shot out by the rays.


    However, not all the beamsunched by the beasts could stop Azaroth''s Dark Spheres. 4 Dark Spheres managed to pierce the slightly weak beams shot out by the beams, and Azaroth smiled sinisterly.


    "Perfect. Now, explode!"


    Immediately enough, Purple mes exploded in that area. This explosion not only killed some beasts but also injured many other beasts in that area.


    Right now, the beasts in that area were more worried about running away rather than about fighting Azaroth.


    Azaroth finally found a moment to catch his breath.


    However, suddenly, he sensed quite a bit of Ardor gathering in the sky.


    Azaroth raised his head, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the bird''s wings glowing with different colors. Some birds'' wings were glowing with blue color, some with a reddish color, and some with golden color.


    Before he could even think something, the entire flock of birdsunched thousands, if not tens of thousands of feathers, imbued with intense elemental energy at Azaroth.


    It was feather rain.


    Each feather exploded as soon as it touched the surface, spreading the elemental energy in them. So the explosion consisting of tens of thousands of these feathers was indeed impressive.


    The beasts backed away slightly as they didn''t want to get caught up in this chain of explosions.


    Dust cloud covered their vision as some of the beasts were curious whether this human survived that attack or not.


    A few beasts suddenly growled angrily as they smelled it. The presence of that human¡­


    Azaroth appeared from the dust cloud, Golden mes surrounding his body, saving him from those explosions and healing him quickly.


    Once he had healed sufficiently, he recalled the Golden mes and brought out his Purple mes once again.


    Waiting no further, the Golden Apeunched itself at Azaroth, the Golden Hue over its body shinning even more brightly.


    Azaroth already understood the physical strength of this Golden Ape. Although this Golden Ape''s right arm was damaged, its aura alone was powerful enough to hurt Azaroth.


    "Nether me Dragon!" Azaroth coldly utterly as the shape of his Purple mes changed and transformed itself into a long Chinese dragon shape.


    The gigantic Nether me Dragon opened its mouth as it rushed towards the Golden Ape.


    The ck Bear that had fought against Azaroth earlier immediately arrived next to the Golden Ape, and it threw a massive sphere of Earth Elemental Ardor.


    However, all that was for naught as the Nether me Dragon opened its mouth and swallowed that gigantic sphere of Earth Elemental Ardor.


    It was as if it was just a small meal to it.


    The ck Bear felt intimidated as it witnessed its attack being eaten by that Nether me Dragon.


    The birds with the Lightning Element immediately shot a dense beam to stop this Nether me Dragon in its tracks.


    However, those Lightning beams turned out to be useless in stopping it as well.


    The Golden Ape raised its arm and threw out a punch just as the Nether me Dragon was about to hit him.


    A gigantic punch was formed of pure Golden Aura as it held back the Nether me Dragon.


    As Azaroth witnessed how his Nether me Dragon was held back by that Ape''s Golden Energy, he wasn''t surprised at all.


    While the Nether me Dragon was suppressed by the Ape''s Golden Energy, all the other beasts shot out their own attacks, finally dispersing those frightening mes.


    He knew that the Golden Ape''s Bloodline Skill would be strong enough to stop it¡­ It was, after all, the bloodline passed down by a Beast God. How could it be weak?!


    This Nether me Dragon was thrown at this Golden Ape to catch every beast''s attention so that Azaroth could charge up his energy.


    And his motive had been achieved.


    ''Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique!'' Suddenly, arge amount of dark aura exploded out of Azaroth''s body.


    This dark energy began to enhance each part of Azaroth''s body. His muscles seemed to have been inted with dark energy as they nearly doubled in size.


    His originally blue hair was now of pure ck color, while Azaroth''s red eyes had transformed into light purple. Moreover, a horn also began to grow on the right side of his head.


    There was a deadly and demonic aura surrounding Azaroth now. His violet eyes stared at the Golden Ape, and he raised his head and taunted it, "Come. Now let me see just how strong your bloodline is."


    As if the Golden Ape was angered at how it had been challenged by a mere ''human'', it immediately charged at Azaroth with a blinding speed.


    Azaroth suddenly raised his left hand and caught a quick punch from that Golden Ape. Just this created a strong shockwave that even pushed back the ck Bear.


    Azaroth now threw out his own punch with his right hand. Unlike how Azaroth had caught his punch, the Golden Ape just returned Azaroth''s punch with his own.


    As their punches shed, this time, there was another strong shockwave that pushed even the 4 Star Rank Beasts a couple of steps back.


    Azaroth had a neutral look on his face as he analyzed that his own strength and this Golden Ape''s strength were entirely equal.


    If that was the case, he was confident in winning this fight.


    He immediately gave a strong knee attack to the Golden Ape''s Abs. The Golden Ape coughed out some saliva, and before it could even respond to this attack, Azaroth had punched its face with his left hand.


    However, before the Golden Ape could fly out far away, Azaroth suddenly opened his right hand and grabbed hold of Golden Ape''s hand tightly.


    Without giving the Golden Ape any opportunity to even think of a counterattack, he brought down this Golden Ape using its arm and hammered its body against the ground.


    Azaroth didn''t stop with his attack and once again hammered the Golden Ape to the other side. He was relentless with his attack as he was using this Golden Ape to make the other Beasts give up the thought of fighting him.


    It appeared to be working for some short period¡­ Well, that was until Azaroth heard a loud howl. The howl that had started it all.


    Azaroth gripped the Golden Ape''s arm tightly and threw it towards the direction of that howl with as much power as he could muster.

 Chapter 22 - The White Wolf

    The Three-Eyed White Wolf, the Beast Lord of the Alpine Gerbil Woods, came out of itsir and was surprised to see so many of its subordinates dead at the hands of just one human.


    Moreover, it saw the Golden Ape flying towards it with a quick speed.


    The third eye on the White Wolf''s forehead glowed, and suddenly, the Golden Ape stopped just before it hit the White Wolf and was slowly lowered towards the ground.


    The beasts had barely blinked their eyes when they suddenly saw Azaroth standing on the other side of the Golden Ape, a ck lightning spear in his hand that was going past the Golden Ape''s robust body, targeting the White Wolf''s Third Eye on the other side.


    However, surprisingly enough, the ck lightning spear was annihted just before it could touch the White Wolf''s Third Eye.


    Azaroth was slightly surprised by this, but soon enough, he regained his calm. He should have expected this¡­ This was a Beast Lord, after all.


    However, to think that he couldn''t even scratch this Beast Lord even after going in his Demonic Form was slightly scary.


    "Why have you trespassed into my territory, human?" The White Wolf asked with a calm voice.


    "What use is talking when you are so intent on killing me?" Azaroth spoke with a dark chuckle as he replied to this White Wolf.


    The two normal eyes of the White Wolf shone with a blue light and threw Azaroth far away.


    Azaroth maintained his bnce, and his legs touched the ground.


    He looked around and observed his surroundings. The beasts who had been scared of him earlier were now blocking all paths of his retreat.


    "I am talking because I now understand that you are a powerful thing. Even if I personally fight you, you will still be able to kill more of my subordinates. That would be quite troublesome for me." The White Wolf stared at Azaroth with a calm gaze.


    The White Wolf didn''t say that Azaroth was a powerful human but a thing. It meant to say that it didn''t think that Azaroth was a human or a demon but something else entirely.


    Azaroth replied soon enough, "My reason foring here is simple enough. I need a few herbs from here."


    "However, it appears that I have encountered something quite surprising here. You haveid a Spiritual Gathering Array here¡­" Azaroth spoke while pointing at the cave.


    "Were you nning to break through to the Beast King level by absorbing the dense energy from the precious herbs using the Astral Ardor Gathering Array? No, even you should realize that it would be impossible for you to elevate yourself to the Beast King level that way. However, a better question would be¡­ How can a beast like you construct aplex array formation like this?"


    Azaroth sneered at the Beast Lord as he asked that question.


    The White Wolf seemed to react slightly to the word Beast with a dangerous look in its eyes. But the White Wolf calmed down soon enough.


    "Don''t provoke me any further. The result won''t be pretty for you." The White Wolf warned Azaroth.


    "Don''t y these word games with me then. If I get frustrated enough, I might as well end the Beast Raid before it even begins." Azaroth dered with a confident tone.


    "Now speak, what do you want from me?" Azaroth asked as his eyes studied this White Wolf.


    The White Wolf let out a breath and spoke, "It''s not me who wants something from you. It''s someone else. Follow me."


    The White Wolf spoke as it turned its head towards the cave.


    Azaroth frowned slightly.


    He began thinking ''That cave¡­ A lot of Heavenly Energy is condensed in it. My physique will definitely benefit if I absorb that energy. More importantly, just why did someone construct an Astral Ardor Gathering Array here. Absorbing the Heavenly Energy from the herbs would only be helpful to a certain extent. After that, it''s merely wasting energy.''


    Suddenly, another possibility emerged within his head ''Someone may be healing his injuries using this Array. That would make a lot of sense. However, why would the Beasts allow this person to live here? Just what has he promised them?''


    "Very well, let''s go," Azaroth spoke with a slow voice as he pulled out two pellets and ate them.


    One of them was for energy recovery, while the other would increase his power any time he wanted.


    This Three-Eyed White Wolf was far stronger than his expectations¡­ He couldn''t look down on this wolf.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf looked at the other beasts, "You all can go away."


    The reason he dispersed them all so that if he had to fight Azaroth after this, Azaroth shouldn''t be able to kill any more of his beasts.


    Azaroth snorted in response as he understood just what this White Wolf was doing but didn''t stop it. It wasn''t like he could even if he wanted to.


    Slowly, the White Wolf and Azaroth entered the cave.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth failed to sense it, but the Golden Ape''s injuries were now slowly recovering. This was all because he was thrown near the location with a dense amount of Heavenly Energy.


    The Golden Ape''s body shrunk in size as it was back to its normal form now.


    Meanwhile, the White Wolf stared at Azaroth and spoke, "Are you not worried that I might attack you here?"


    "I am not na?ve enough to entirely believe you. I havee prepared." Azaroth said with a confident tone.


    Currently, Azaroth was revolving his energy using the Heavenly Demon Breathing Technique. Although the absorption speed was slower than when he was meditating, it was still good enough.


    Moreover, now that he was in the cave, his Spiritual Sense could finally check this ce. Not long after, he found out that there was indeed a beast in this cave.


    Analyzing its quality of Ardor and its capacity, Azaroth was more or less sure that this was a 5 Star Rank Beast. However, it was entirely injured and was absorbing arge amount of Heavenly Energy to heal itself.


    Soon enough, Azaroth reached the location where he saw the injured beast. His eyes slowly widened as he stared at the beast.


    Ahead of him was arge body of an Abyssal Hound.


    "No way¡­"


    Azaroth muttered as he stared at this Abyssal Hound. The fact that this hound was here meant that it hade from Purgatory.


    But how could that be possible? Only someone on the level of a Demon King could open a portal to the Frascoia continent. Moreover, even a Demon King can only open the portal in locations that contained massive quantities of Yin Ardor.


    Right now, Azaroth couldn''t sense the abnormal amount of Yin Ardor in this location, which would be required to open the portal from Purgatory to the Frascoia Continent.


    ''Don''t tell me a Demon Emperor or a Demon God is involved in this?! I can''t beat them at my current level.''


    ~~


    It was the evening time in the encampment right now.


    Sophie had just returned, quite tired after finishing only one-fourth of her task, but she decided to take a small break at this timing and return.


    Her food was delivered to her cabin.


    After she finished with her food, a guard entered her cabin. This was the same guard that had been ordered to investigate all that had happened in the past 2-3 days.


    "Young Miss, we have more or less finished with our investigation." The guard spoke with a respectful voice.


    "Alright, speak. What have you found out?" Sophie ordered them while looking at the guard with a curious gaze.


    "Young Miss, the first thing we need to inform you that Edwin Rhodes, the young master of the Rhodes Family, had arrived in this encampment yesterday. He was brought by Sir Aiden and his group of students." The guard spoke with an entirely neutral voice.


    "I did hear that someone joined their group from Liliana, but I never imagined it was Edwin. Alright, you can continue." Sophie ordered the guard.


    "Young Miss¡­ It''s not just that. But he is also a 4 Star Warrior right now. He has already beaten Rudy from the Palm Valley School badly and used that battle to dere his power."


    "What?! A 4 Star Warrior?!" Sophie was quite shocked when she heard those words.


    She knew Edwin, and it has barely been a year since they graduated from the Acadia School of Martial Arts, and Edwin had already broken through from the 2 Star Rank to the 4th Star Rank?


    That was far too unreal for Sophie. However, since she was in front of her guard, she tried her best to maintain her calm.


    "As per young miss''s order, we investigated the entire vige, but there was no delivery from the Wrihull City or any other city in the past two days. No one has seen any delivery entering the encampment. Moreover, even the town lord hadn''t gone anywhere outside the camp."


    This sort of information surprised Sophie. She was now very curious about how the town lord got his hands on those Five Tier Elemental Crystals.


    "Continue."


    "As we were questioning a few guards, one of them mentioned that they had seen Edwin Rhodes go into the Herbal Garden. These were all the suspicious activities we could find out in this time, young miss." The guard finished his report with those words.


    Sophie began to think deeply ''Something changed today that allowed the town lord to gain those Five Tier Elemental Crystals. The only significant thing that has changed in this camp is the presence of Edwin. Moreover, why would the town lord allow Edwin to go into the Herbal Garden when even I am not allowed to do that?''


    A frown appeared on her head as she thought about Edwin ''Strangely, he didn''t try to meet me at all. He should have talked to our other ssmates and found out about me. Has he grown past that crush he had on me? Or is he trying to be distant to attract my attention?''


    Sophie shook her head and thought ''No. That''s not the point here. It doesn''t matter what he is nning. It would be more important to know if he was the one who gave away those Elemental Crystals to the town lord or not. And how did he reach the 4 Star Rank so quickly? This mystery also needs to be unveiled.''


    Sophie curiously asked her guard, "Haven''t you tried talking to Edwin? What did he say?"


    The guard lowered his head and replied, "I apologize, young miss, but we couldn''t find Edwin Rhodes anywhere in this encampment. He has likely gone away from the encampment."


    "Gone away? Didn''t hee here to fight against the Beast Raid? What''s the point of going away at this point?" Sophie couldn''t understand this at all.


    Even her guard was speechless and didn''t know how he should answer this.


    "Alright, you can go away. Inform me when you see Edwin again." Sophie finally dismissed her guard.


    "Yes, young miss."


    The guard took his leave.


    ~~


    The Alchemy Division here in the encampment was also set up by the graduates from the Acadia School. However, they were a lot senior to Sophie, Edwin, and Myles''s generation.


    There was nearly a gap of two decades between their generations. For this reason, they never really did anything against the Palm Valley School''s graduates because they felt it was beneath them to target them for those petty motives. At their age, they felt that there was little to no point in such fights.


    Currently, Myles stayed in the Alchemy Division under the guise of learning some techniques from his seniors.


    His seniors here knew that Myles wasn''t that serious about learning alchemy, but they still taught him the basics.


    It waste evening time, and Myles was frowning at this point. He just couldn''t understand why Azaroth hadn''te to the Alchemy Division after getting the herbs from the Herbal Garden.


    ''Does he only need the raw herbs?''


    This was not good news. Myles wouldn''t be able to find Azaroth''s secret like this.


    However, he was unwilling to give up. He continued to think of some way to get to know Azaroth''s secret.


    Suddenly, he was struck by a fascinating idea.


    "Yes¡­ This might work!"

 Chapter 23 - I Am Demon God Azaroth

    Currently, Azaroth was standing in the presence of a beast that is typically found in Purgatory. The Abyssal Hound¡­


    They were considered one of the superior demon beast races found in Purgatory. The ones above the Abyssal Hound were those with a Mythical Bloodline within Purgatory, so these Abyssal Hounds had quite some prestige there.


    Although he was surprised, Azaroth didn''t show it on his face. Such a reaction would only invite trouble.


    He observed its body with his Mystic Eyes of Perception and found traces of Holy Aura within this Beast''s body.


    ''This exins why that Astral Ardor Gathering Array was constructed here. This beast was using that array to counter the Holy Ardor and heal his body. From the rate of how he is healing, it''s clear that it would take only 1 more month for this beast to heal.''


    "As you told me, I have brought him here." The White Wolf spoke to the Abyssal Hound.


    The Abyssal Hound lightly nodded and replied with a weak voice, "You can return now. Use your ability to heal our injuredrades. I need to talk to this thing."


    "Are you going to be okay? This human isn''t weak." The White Wolf spoke with a serious voice. He was somewhat worried about the Abyssal Hound.


    "I still have that technique, and even if he kills me somehow, he should understand that he won''t be able to escape this forest alive." The Abyssal Hound replied to the White Wolf.


    Azaroth internally snorted upon hearing this conversation.


    ''What a stupid act. To think that even beasts would resort to such a roundabout tactic to threaten someone. The standards of the beasts have really fallen.''


    The White Wolf appeared to be thinking for some time and soon turned its body. It walked out of the cave, leaving Azaroth and the Abyssal Hound alone in the cave.


    "You wanted to meet me?" Azaroth asked, his voice remained entirely neutral.


    "That is true. I am curious about you. You clearly gave a human aura earlier, but the energy you are using right now is demonic in nature." The Abyssal Hound spoke with a curious tone.


    Instead of answering its question, Azaroth asked with a sneer, "And I wonder what a demon beast like you is doing here?"


    "Answer my question!" The Abyssal Hound spoke while releasing its aura.


    Azaroth snorted in response as he felt the suppression from a Beast Lord''s aura, "Is it worth it to burn your vitality just to try and scare me? This is so pathetic that I almost pity you."


    At those words, the Abyssal Hound''s eyes widened in surprise. It never imagined that the human ahead of him would be able to see instantly through this act.


    The pressure Azaroth was experiencing vanished soon enough. After all, since there was no point in trying to scare Azaroth, the Abyssal Hound didn''t wish to injure its own vitality for no reason.


    "What are you?" The Abyssal Hound asked while staring at Azaroth with a curious gaze. Now it was truly curious about Azaroth''s identity.


    Azaroth ignored that question and spoke, "I wonder, why hasn''t that White Wolf killed you yet. Have you ced a suggestion in his mind that you are its kin? Or are you controlling his mind through your superior spiritual energy? I wonder what would happen if I were to remove that."


    There was a slight grin on Azaroth''s face as he spoke those words.


    In fact, the Abyssal Hound seemed to appear quite fearful as he heard Azaroth. It was like Azaroth had just revealed a secret that he had been trying to hide.


    Unlike how it appeared, the beasts of the continent immensely hated the demon beasts from Purgatory.


    When Azaroth had been walking together with the White Wolf in the cave, with his Mystic Eyes of Perception, he had seen a faint demonic aura on the White Wolf''s body.


    It was so faint that even Azaroth hadn''t sensed it until he observed this White Wolf closely with his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    "How did you know of that?"


    "You are not the ones who should be asking the questions!" Azaroth spoke with an authoritative tone.


    For some moments, the Abyssal Hound remained silent. Azaroth smirked and continued, "You can''t just be a demon beast. I have never heard of a Demon Beast studying Arrays in Purgatory. So speak, who are you?"


    Now, Azaroth''s voice was rtively calmer than before.


    The Abyssal Hound spoke with a neutral tone, "How do you know that the Demon Beast don''t study Arrays in Purgatory? Have you been there? Or are you a demon?"


    Once again, Azaroth didn''t answer his question and spoke with a sneer, "Wouldn''t you like to know?"


    Before the Abyssal Hound said something, Azaroth spoke with a demanding tone, "Speak what I want to know because if I want to leave this ce, a being like you can''t stop it. It will take a single touch from me to remove your spiritual interference with that White Wolf. I want to see how long you can live then."


    "Now tell me how and why did youe to this ce! I want the truth, or you might not live to see tomorrow''s sun." Azaroth threatened with an angry voice as if this Abyssal Hound was getting on his nerves.


    "Very well¡­"


    "It was 6 months ago that I arrived in this world. My name is Talvin, and originally, I was a Demon Lord showing my talent in Arrays. One day, I was visited by a Demon King who required my assistance to form an array on this continent. He opened the portal to this forest using a forbidden technique. I arrived here with a dozen of Abyssal Hounds who were supposed to protect me. My only task was to create a part of the array and then form a teleportation array to return to Purgatory." The Abyssal Hound spoke with a gruff voice.


    Azaroth thought in his head ''This guy''s talent must be quite good if a Demon King specifically asked him to form an array here. The Demon King even used a forbidden technique to send him to this forest. Was it because he knew that no one in this area could resist thebined might of a Demon Lord and Abyssal Hounds?''


    "However, that stupid Demon King didn''t know that there were a bunch of Angels who were around this area. Because the Demon King''s forbidden technique to send me to this continent had red up quite a bit of Demonic Aura, it didn''t take long for the Angels toe and kill me." The Abyssal Hound sounded incredibly angry as it spoke this fact.


    "What happened next?" Azaroth asked as he was curious to know more.


    The Abyssal Hound replied with an angry voice, "What do you think happened? The Abyssal Hounds and I were absolutely ughtered by those fucking Angels!"


    Azaroth coldly asked, "And? That still doesn''t exin how you are in this body. Shouldn''t you be in your original body right now?"


    The Abyssal Hound growled and spoke, "My body was going to be destroyed soon because I was struck by that Holy Ardor. I used a technique to burn my vitality and faked my death. Once they saw how I was impaled by those couple of Holy Spears and knew that I had more or less died and how my body was going to be destroyed soon, they left the area."


    "Once I knew that the Angels had left, I immediately stopped using that technique and looked around. I saw an Abyssal Hound near me that was also about to die. However, it was in a better condition than me, and I immediately decided to take over its body."


    "I constructed an Array using the rest of my energy and switched bodies with the Abyssal Hound. However, the Abyssal Hound was also struck by quite a bit of Holy Ardor."


    "I couldn''t switch bodies with these beasts as there would be quite a problem withpatibility, and I wasn''t sure if their bodies would reject my spirit or not. If it did, then I wouldn''t return back to this body and could essentially be considered dead at that point. As for those beasts whose body I could forcefully take over, they were too weak, and it would be idiotic to take over such a weak beast."


    "Almost all my Demonic Ardor of my body was used to keep the Holy Ardor at bay, and I couldn''t recover at all. At that time, I thought of using Heavenly Energy from the herbs to annihte the Holy Ardor within my body. However, as you can see, the process is frustratingly slow as even after 6 months, I still haven''t recovered."


    The Abyssal Hound was seemingly done with his exnation, and Azaroth began to think deeply about those words.


    He knew that constructing an array with their own energy was quite possible for a Demon Lord or a Beast Lord or a 5 Star Warrior as long as they reached the Arrays'' grandmaster level.


    "I see¡­ Quite an adventure you had." Azaroth sarcastically spoke as he stared at that injured Abyssal Hound.


    "Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me¡­" The Abyssal Hound replied, but suddenly, there was a small smile on his face, "Finally, it''s done."


    "Huh? What do you mean?" Azaroth asked with a confused expression.


    Instead of answering Azaroth''s question, the Abyssal Hound muttered, "Hellish Chain Soul Suppressing Formation."


    Instantly, tens of chains were released from the ground as they grabbed Azaroth''s body.


    "What is the meaning behind this?!" Azaroth spoke while angrily staring at the Abyssal Hound.


    "You are so stupid that you never noticed I was constructing a formation right underneath you. Because I was acting frightened, did you actually think you had the upper hand? How na?ve!" The Abyssal Hound replied with a chuckle.


    "The Demonic Energy and the mes you possess, I believe that should destroy this Holy Ardor within my body. Moreover, I will now make you the same as that White Wolf and turn you into my spiritual ve! Haha¡­" The Abyssal Hound looked quite happy as he spoke that.


    Azaroth tried to move his hand, but the Hell Chains around him just got stronger as they sucked his Demonic Energy. Soon enough, his ck hair returned back to its original blue color. The color of his eyes changed from purple to red as well.


    "Hahaha¡­ This is a formation I invented in recent months while I was trapped here and recovering. It''s effective against Beast Ardor and Demonic Ardor."


    Azaroth gritted his teeth in anger as he hatefully stared at the beast.


    "Weren''t you very arrogant right now? Where did all that tyrannical aura of yours go?!" The Abyssal Hound looked really pleased as he saw the struggling Azaroth.


    However, internally, the Abyssal Hound was thinking ''This is strange. His energy seems to be quite a lot denser and greater in quantity than I originally thought¡­ If this goes on, my formation might reach its limits and break. That would be quite dangerous.''


    "Alright, I can recover my energyter. Time to get you under my control." The Abyssal Hound spoke confidently.


    "Spiritual ve Seal!"


    Once this technique was used, the Abyssal Hound felt his consciousness move away from his mind.


    It wasn''t the first time the Abyssal Hound was doing this, so he was quite confident.


    But as his Spirit reached closer to Azaroth, he heard Azaroth''s whisper, "Finally¡­"


    It was at that time the Abyssal Hound felt something strange. However, by the time he realized that something was wrong, it was all toote.


    He was sucked into Azaroth''s body and soon found himself in an unfamiliar ce.


    Darkness¡­ That was the best way to reply to Azaroth''s inner world.


    "T-This¡­ What is this ce? Where am I?" No matter how far Talvin''s spirit saw, it just saw never-ending darkness.


    Suddenly, a deep voice resounded in that darkness, "You are quite slow at making a formation. I was already getting tired of acting, and it was frankly getting difficult to continue our conversation without raising your suspicion. I needed you to finish the formation before we finish our talk so that you could use this technique."


    This was indeed the truth, as Azaroth knew he couldn''t initiate an attack on Talvin''s spirit. If he did try to attack Talvin''s Spirit, Talvin just needed to use his superior density Ardor and attack Azaroth''s body.


    That would be more than enough damage to Azaroth. So, he knew that he couldn''t initiate this Spiritual Attack.


    He had noticed how Talvin had suddenly begun to form a formation underneath his feet because of the Mystic Eyes of Perception. Although Azaroth didn''t know precisely what formation it was, he could more or less guess that it was for restraining him.


    He continued to talk and act gullibly while Talvin thought that he was the one who had the upper hand.


    "Did you think I don''t know that you nted a hypnotic suggestion in that White Wolf''s Head? Once I figured that you were going to use a restraining formation against me, I knew you were nning to use that hypnotic suggestion on me as well. This was precisely what urred."


    "W-What are you?! How can your inner consciousness be sorge?!" Talvin''s spirit asked with a frightened voice.


    "Right, I never did introduce myself, did I? Greetings, I am Demon God Azaroth¡­" The words were in a calm voice.


    However, Tavil''s spirit felt as if those words fell on him like Heavenly Thunder! No, in fact, even Heavenly Thunder won''t hurt him as much as those words did.


    "D-Demon G-God¡­ D-Demon God Azaroth?! Impossible! H-How can you be in the body of a human?!"


    Azaroth replied with the same calm voice as before, "The same reason why you are in the body of Abyssal Hound. Because I had little choice in that matter."


    "Anyway, that''s going to be the end of the questions." Azaroth calmly said to Talvin''s Spirit.


    Before Tavil''s Spirit could speak anything, Azaroth first used the "Soul Reading Technique."


    Instantly, a lot of information appeared in Azaroth''s head. He decided to look at itter. There was something more important he had to deal with¡­


    Currently, Talvin''s spirit had more or less shattered since Azaroth had forcefully used the Soul Reading Technique.


    As Azaroth gathered all the split particles of Talvin''s spirit, he also imnted a suggestion deep in its Spirit, "You are my ve."


    The suggestion he imnted was meant to allow Talvin to still have rational thoughts, but once Azaroth ordered him, he would be forced to obey it.


    "Just to be sure, though, I should add something else. Bone-Chilling Yin Parasite!"


    Instantly, a small part of the darkness from Azaroth''s mental scapebined with Talvin''s Spirit.


    "Now¡­ a part of my consciousness shall be present in your soul. This shall remain dormant nearly all the time unless you have some wicked thoughts about me, then this consciousness will activate and destroy your soul." Azaroth lightly spoke those words, and with this, he was finished.. Now, he could finally read those memories.

 Chapter 24 - Removing Impurities

    Azaroth let out a sigh as he opened his eyes and stared at that Abyssal Hound that had lowered its head in his presence.


    "Firstly, don''t make our connection too obvious to the White Wolf. Also,mand it to bring some Pure Cleansing Grass. Meanwhile, I will remove the Holy Ardor from your body." Azaroth went forward and ced his hand over the Abyssal Hound''s head.


    A yellowish aura shone on the Abyssal Hound''s body as a stream of Golden energy began flowing from the Abyssal Hound to Azaroth''s body.


    As he was healing the Abyssal Hound, Azaroth began thinking of what he had found out from its memories.


    ''That Demon King wanted to create a massive array, covering nearly 2 territories of the Sinyalian Kingdom and 3rge territories Lamhilhan Theocracy.''


    Just as Talvin had been sent to this forest to construct an array, other Array Masters were sent to the other 6 or so points and created the other Array points.


    Once it was formed, just a thought from the Demon King would have activated it and converted that area''s energy into Yin Ardor.


    And if this urred, Azaroth was could more or less understand what would happen next. Demon Race would take over that territory and establish a stronghold, beginning a battle against the human and celestials again.


    Moreover, in that Array Formation, all those at the 3 Star Level or lower will just die before they could even run away. All that death energy would be absorbed by that Demon King who controlled this Array Formation.


    This was the n of that Demon King.


    However, it appeared that he had miscalcted something. And that was, his forbidden technique red up his massive demonic aura, which attracted the Celestials. All that followed was more or less what Talvin had told him.


    Until now, Talvin hadn''t built up that formation which he had promised the Demon King.


    The reason he was forced to follow the Demon King''s words was that the Demon King had imnted a Heart-Eating Worm in his body. The Demon King could kill him with a thought.


    However, when he was at the end of his life, Talvin had changed his body, leaving behind the Heart-Eating Worm in his body. The Heart-Eating Worm died soon enough, and the Demon King should have thought that Talvin was dead.


    As for the reason behind his death, the Demon King hadn''t sent anyone else to investigate it.


    Now that his life was no longer under the Demon King''s control, Talvin decided to first heal his injuries and then think of doing anything else.


    "An entire territory made of Yin energy? This is interesting¡­" Azaroth thought with a smile on his face.


    "Let''s go out, shall we? I can then order Inorus to get you Pure Cleansing Herbs." Abyssal Hound further spoke, and Azaroth agreed to it.


    Inorus was naturally the White Wolf''s name.


    "The hypnotic suggestion you imnted in that White Wolf is quite weak. It merely gives him a sense of familiarity, and as long as your words don''t harm him, he will listen to you. However, if he feels that you are a little too chummy with me, it might not be that nice to you." Azaroth spoke grimly.


    "What do you n then?" The Abyssal Hound asked with a confused gaze.


    "Tell him that we havee to an agreement and follow my lead." Azaroth appeared to have a n, and all that was required now was the Abyssal Hound''s assistance.


    As he kept walking out of the cave, he looked at multiple beasts surrounding that White Wolf.


    One of those beasts was that Brown Ape, who growled when itid its eyes on Azaroth.


    Its aura turned Golden, and its fur was almost about to begin transforming to Golden when the White Wolf suddenly spoke, "Stop! No more fighting¡­"


    The reason why the White Wolf stopped the Brown Ape from fighting was simple. It was because it saw the Abyssal Hound was back on its feet. Moreover, other than some other physical injuries, it appeared to be doing quite well.


    Since the Abyssal Hound had healed after Azaroth had it were alone, it was simple to conclude that this human was theirrade for now.


    The Abyssal Hound stared at the brown ape and immediately ordered it, "Go and bring the blue herbs that had beenid near your house. Bring them all¡­"


    The Brown Ape jumped around and made some actions and spoke some words. In the end, it even pointed its arm at Azaroth.


    Azaroth knew what it was saying. It was asking the Abyssal Hound whether those blue herbs were for Azaroth or not.


    Abyssal Hound''s voice grew colder as it replied while releasing quite a bit of its aura, "That should not concern you. Now go!"


    The Brown Ape didn''t look satisfied, but it didn''t have any choice other than to go. It knew that even with all its strength, it wouldn''t be able to beat this dog yet.


    In reality, such a scene was rtively rare in the beast world. Mostly because the ones at the top of this food chain were the beasts with a stronger bloodline. However, the situation here was a little tricky¡­


    Although the Abyssal Hounds were mighty demon beasts from Purgatory. However, their bloodline could be considered one level inferior to the Golden Ape Bloodline.


    Because the Golden Ape Bloodline was superior, it was even capable ofbating against Rank 5 Beasts. However, theck of Ardor is what would cause it to lose.


    This Ape had fought multiple times against the White Wolf, and each fight led to his defeat. For this reason, this Ape was slightly submissive to the White Wolf and the Abyssal Hound.


    By the time the Ape returned, it was nighttime. In its hands, there were a bunch of herbs glowing with a faint blue light.


    Azaroth frowned slightly ''Their energy has grown weaker because this Abyssal Hound had kept using the medicinal energy in them to heal himself. Fortunately, this Ape has brought many herbs here, and I can use them to finally remove all impurities from this body.''


    Taking hold of those herbs, Azaroth turned to look at the Abyssal Hound, "I will go and absorb these and then discuss my proposal from before."


    The Abyssal Hound didn''t know what he was talking about but nodded with a neutral look in its eyes.


    The White Wolf stared at them with some interest as he wondered just what Azaroth meant.


    Azaroth went to a quiet ce in this forest and ate all those blue herbs.


    Bluish energy began to spread all over his body. Azaroth also felt a tingling feeling, as if he was being pricked by thousands of needles.


    However, he also felt something moving within the deepest parts of his body. That was the filth of his body that was being forcefully removed because of this Bluish Energy.


    Azaroth felt his Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique start automatically¡­ it was absorbing the energy from the surrounding.


    At this point, the Ardor continued to strengthen his body even though Azaroth wasn''t manually guiding the technique.


    ''Interesting¡­ Removing the filth from my body allowed me to break through to the second stage of the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique.''


    This was primarily helpful to Azaroth because now, the Heavenly Demon Transformation would be much more potent and stable than before.


    By the time Azaroth had opened his eyes, it was midnight time. He walked out of his location to discuss something with the Abyssal Hound and the White Wolf.


    ~~


    The next day, the entire camp had been gathered by Brynn Gaynor.


    Many people wondered why he had called them all together, but they remained quiet and just stood in the camp center.


    Once all the central individuals had gathered, Brynn Gaynor cleared his throat and spoke, "I have crucial information for us all¡­ The beast raid we will experience in the next couple of days would have two 5 Star Beast."


    This information was enough to stun all the individuals who had been gathered at this meeting.


    "What?! Didn''t you mention that there would only be a single 5 Rank Beast? How could you suddenly say that there are two 5 Star Beasts?" It was the Alchemy Division''s head who unhappily asked Brynn Gaynor.


    Someone from the Palm Valley School asked with a cold voice, "Were you lying to us when you told us that there was going to be only one 5 Star Beast?"


    Before these words could make the other people think wildly, Brynn Gaynor red at the man and spoke authoritatively, "You shouldn''t speak randomly. I had no reason to lie when I went to the Palm Valley School for help. The reason I know that there will be two 5 Star Beasts is that someone from our camp had personally gone to the inner area and confirmed it."


    "Who was it?" Myles asked, having a faint suspicion of who it was.


    "It was Edwin Rhodes. He mentioned that there was something off regarding this beast raid. And yesterday, he told me that he would be sneaking in the Inner Part of the forest to investigate this matter." Brynn Gaynor replied almost instantly.


    "Why did he think that there was something off regarding this beast raid?" It was Sophie who asked this question. Her words were spoken quite gently, and for a moment, all the individuals remained stunned as they heard her.


    Brynn Gaynor replied with an expressionless tone soon enough, "He found it strange that he found little to no herbs in the outer area of the Alpine Gerbil Woods. Moreover, not just herbs, but there were no beasts in the area."


    Those words made Sophie nod in understanding, "Thank you, town lord. Please continue. What did Edwin see in the Inner Part of the Forest?"


    "Edwin Rhodes mentioned that the inner area is surrounded by not just the herbs but by beasts as well. He had to use a special treasure to hide his presence and sneak inside. As he kept walking forwards, he sensed that the energy released from the herbs was getting stronger, so he followed it."


    "After some distance, he reached the location where he saw two beasts, peacefully sleeping. One of them was a dark hound with a significant injury to its body that was healing rapidly. Meanwhile, the other was a White Wolf with three eyes with no injury to it. Edwin Rhodes mentioned that he sensed a fearful aura from both of them, and their energy was undoubtedly at the 5 Star Rank."


    "Once he knew of this information, he decided to return as soon as possible. However, as he was walking, he didn''t realize it, but a beast smelled him and caught him. Knowing that the treasure was useless, Sir Edwin fought the beast and killed it before quickly escaping. However, in that fight, Sir Edwin has received major injuries and is recovering right now." With this, Brynn Gaynor finished the story that had been told to him by Azaroth.


    A 4 Star Warrior from Palm Valley School spoke with a distressed tone, "How can we fight against two 5 Star Rank Beasts?! I could think of some way to take on a single 5 Star Beast but two¡­ That would be too much for us!"


    "That''s right! We need the assistance of a 5 Star Warrior as well, or we won''t be able to survive at all!" Another guy added, making more people lose hope.

 Chapter 25 - Suspicions Regarding Azaroth

    Many individuals were losing hope as they were informed of this crucial information. After all, fighting against just one 5 Star Rank Beast and fighting against two 5 Star Rank beasts was entirely different.


    If the two 5 Star Beasts assisted each other, then they would be nearly unstoppable here.


    Brynn Gaynor clenched his fists, but there was hardly anything he could do at this point. He felt obliged to keep them updated about the situation.


    If they wanted to give up, he couldn''t stop them.


    However, fortunately for Brynn Gaynor, a savior emerged among this group of people.


    This savior was none other than Sophie Russel.


    "Calm down, everyone. The situation isn''t as bad as you all think it is." She tried to calm down the crowd with a gentle voice.


    However, at this time, all people, especially the graduates from Palm Valley School, were panicking. They were hardly affected by her beauty or her voice. After all, they felt that their life was more precious and they shouldn''t keep anything inside at this point.


    "The situation isn''t as bad as we all think it is? Are you going crazy?! This is like an absolutely worst-case scenario. Or what? Do you actually think your little arrays are going to hold on against two 5 Star Beasts?! What a na?ve little girl you are!" The one who had spoken against her was none other than a senior graduate from the Palm Valley School.


    As the Acadia School''s graduates heard those words, all of them hatefully red at the Palm Valley School graduate. None of them could tolerate those words spoken to their school beauty.


    "What did you say, bastard?! How dare you say those words?! Do you believe me when I say that I will absolutely tten you?!" A guy shouted quite loudly, and many other individuals joined him and supported him.


    On the other side, the Palm Valley School Graduates also replied with curses of their own.


    The intensity of this fight with curses was increasing with every second.


    "STOP!" Brynn Gaynor suddenly yelled out in an angry voice. He red up his aura as if to temporarily stun the crowd.


    Just when the people were about to say something to Brynn Gaynor, they sensed another burst of aura, "Let''s listen to what Miss Sophie has to say. I am sure she has her own reasons for speaking those words."


    The one who had released that aura and spoken those words was Aiden, one of the only 4 Star Warriors in the camp.


    Thebined pressure from Brynn Gaynor and Aiden did manage to suppress many people.


    Sophie turned her head towards Brynn Gaynor and then to Aiden before giving them a small smile of gratitude.


    "As I was saying, this does not change much for us. That''s because we also have a 5 Star Warrior with us." Sophie spoke with a confident tone.


    "You cane here, Peter," Sophie called out for a guy named Peter.


    A guy jumped down from a nearby tree and spoke to Sophie, "As youmand, young miss."


    Peter''s presence surprised many individuals here. He had standard ck hair and brown eyes with a beard covering half of his face. He appeared to be nearly 30-40 years of age.


    "Who are you?" Someone from the Palm Valley School asked with an apprehensive look on his face.


    "I am Peter, one of the Royal Guards under themand of Spencer Russel. I have been tasked to protect young miss here." His tone was entirely emotionless as he informed his identity and mission to that man from Palm Valley School.


    "Y-You really are a 5 Star Warrior, sir?" The one who had spoken in such a stunned yet happy tone was none other than Brynn Gaynor.


    This was undoubtedly the best surprise he could have received in this situation.


    A disdainful smile appeared on the man as he stared at Brynn Gaynor, "What do you think?"


    Suddenly, all the 4 Star Warriors sensed an intense pressure that forced them to the ground. This man named Peter specifically targeted them all since he wanted to give proof of his power.


    Even though Brynn Gaynor was also glued to the ground, the smile on his face continued to get wider.


    He was just too delighted at this information.


    Moreover, Sophie suddenly spoke, "Alright, Peter, it''s enough."


    The pressure over 4 Star Warriors'' bodies instantly vanished, and they stood up on their feet. Some were staring at Peter with a scared look, while some had a respectful look in their eyes.


    "Peter can handle one beast and force it away so it won''t be able to assist the other one. And the array formation I am constructing will be able to deal with 3 Beasts at the 5 Star Level, not to mention a single one. So¡­ The town lord can rest assured that we can definitely deal with this beast raid."


    As Sophie finished speaking, all the people who had lost hope felt as if they had some excellent chances now. The only ones who had an ugly look on their faces were those who had tried to lower the morale earlier.


    They looked embarrassed as if they wanted to find a hole and jump in it and hide.


    Sophie couldn''t be concerned about these people, though. She turned towards Brynn Gaynor and spoke to him, "Town Lord, I would like to meet Edwin. You mentioned that he is very injured."


    Once Edwin was mentioned, the excitement in Brynn Gaynor''s eyes faded, and it was reced by a grim expression.


    "Sir Edwin took a great risk and brought back some very crucial intel for us. If Miss Sophie has some way to heal Sir Edwin, I would truly be grateful to you." Brynn Gaynor requested Sophie.


    Brynn Gaynor felt indebted to Azaroth. One reason was that he had given away five Tier 5 crystals while asking for some Tier 4 resources at best. And even the quantity of herbs he took wasn''t thatrge.


    The other was that he had taken such a significant risk for a vige with almost nothing to do with him and had even gotten so heavily injured for them. He was feeling quite guilty right now.


    He asked Sophie if she had some way to heal Azaroth since her father had sent a 5 Star Warrior along with her, so there was a strong chance that he had also sent a healer alongside her.


    "I am also curious about meeting this guy who can go in the Inner Area of this Alpine Gerbil Woods ande out alive. Even I might not be able to do what he has aplished." Peter spoke with a nonchnt tone. However, Brynn Gaynor''s experience in judging people told him that this man was definitely interested.


    "Yes, although the town lord has already mentioned how he escaped the Inner Area, I am still somewhat unconvinced," Myles spoke his mind as well.


    "Alright. Let''s all go." Brynn Gaynor led them to the infirmary.


    The door creaked open, and one by one, four individuals walked inside.


    The infirmary was like a small cabin with two beds. One was empty, while on the otherid Azaroth''s body.


    Sophie ced a hand over her mouth as she saw Azaroth''s injuries.


    "When Sir Edwin came here, all his ribs had nearly broken. There was a major fracture of his left arm while two minor fractures in the right arm. The muscles of his legs seemed to have been forced to use more power than they could handle, and they have torn off, bleeding profusely. Only his head has remained somewhat unharmed¡­"


    Brynn Gaynor soon finished listing what problems Azaroth had.


    Even Myles was taken back when he saw the state of Azaroth''s body and his injuries.


    It could be said that the only one who was calmly staring at Azaroth''s injured body was Peter.


    ''He could escape in such a condition?''


    This was the only question in Peter''s mind. Unlike the others in the room, he held no pity whatsoever for Azaroth.


    The only thing in his mind was a question. Was Azaroth lying or not?


    He didn''t really understand why such a question appeared in his head. The situation felt a bit fishy to him¡­


    The first thing he found strange was that this guy went to the Inner Area of the forest due to some guess.


    ording to Peter, there was no point in putting your own life at risk for such a vague suspicion. In fact, the best decision at that point would have been to spread this information and basically ask Brynn Gaynor and other people to prepare more.


    The only reason why Azaroth went into the Inner Area of the Alpine Gerbil Woods was that he needed something from there. But when Peter tried to imagine what it could be, he again came up with little to nothing.


    Next¡­ These injuries were also suspicious to Peter. It was as if Azaroth had only fought a single beast in that forest and somehow managed to escape the forest sessfully after killing the beast.


    However, ording to what Peter imagined, if Azaroth''s position waspromised¡­ How could only one beaste after him? Why were there no injuries from the other beasts? Or was it possible that he took no injuries and managed to kill them?


    Such a thing was supposed to be impossible in that state.


    Even though Peter had a lot of suspicions, he didn''t speak those aloud. He knew that it would only invite Sophie and Brynn Gaynor''s ire right now.


    He could only discuss them with her in private.


    Meanwhile, Sophie continued to look at Azaroth''s body and spoke, "I will request Miss Zaria to heal him."


    "Thank you." Brynn Gaynor gratefully said.


    "Also, it appears we need to put a lid on our questions. It would be quite stupid to force Edwin to wake up and answer our questions." Sophie spoke to Myles without even looking at him.


    "En."


    Soon enough, they all left the infirmary, leaving Azaroth alone in there.


    After a few minutes, Azaroth opened his eyes and had a frown on his handsome face.


    ''So they have some questions for me? I can more or less anticipate what that guy Myles wants to know, but what does this woman want to know from me? But still¡­ How long do I need to pretend to be injured? Wasn''t this town lord preparing for a beast raid? How can he not have a good healer in this camp?!'' Azaroth seemed somewhat frustrated right now.


    ''Alright¡­ Hopefully, they will do something to allow me to recover in the next 2 or so days.. And if not, I will need to reveal one of my trump cards. I can''t be a sitting duck when the beasts attack!''

 Chapter 26 - Beginning The Act

    On that very same day, Sophie arrived in the infirmary along with Miss Zaria to heal Azaroth.


    Zaria was quite an impressive healer, and she had a rare skill named Heal Touch. Just by using this skill, Azaroth''s flesh and bones were healing at a rapid rate.


    After nearly 15 or so minutes, Sophie spoke to Miss Zaria, "This is alright, Miss Zaria."


    Azaroth was nearly healed, so Sophie thought there was no point in troubling Miss Zaria any longer.


    Sophie and Miss Zaria left the infirmary. A guard was stationed outside the infirmary by Sophie, and she ordered the guard, "Once he wakes up, immediately bring me here."


    "Yes, young miss." The guard gave his response immediately.


    Azaroth was already awake at this time. He used a slight bit of Holy Ardor to entirely heal himself.


    "If I go out right now, I will need to meet that woman," Azaroth whispered to himself.


    Since he knew what would happen if he went out of the infirmary, heid his back against the bed andzed around.


    Since his Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique had broken through the second level, he no longer needed to consciously revolve his Ardor. It was automatic from now on¡­


    Azaroth used this time to reorganize his thoughts.


    ''The situation is wildly different from my initial ns. The presence of this woman Sophie and that Abyssal Hound was entirely outside my expectations. Fortunately, the Demon King probably won''t take any action for one or two months. That should be enough time for me to prepare for that situation and take some benefits for myself.''


    ''Also, it appears that my guess was right. That woman is truly protected by a 5 Star Warrior. It was indeed the right decision to spread the information about the two 5 Star Beasts in the enemy forces. Though I think they will certainly be surprised when they fight that Golden Ape. In terms of pure physical strength and its aura, it can certainly match a 5 Star Beast¡­''


    ''How do I deal with that woman? Do I scare her? Bribe her? Or maybe act like Edwin?'' Azaroth wondered the best way to deal with Sophie.


    All of the possibilities he explored had advantages and disadvantages. And after some consideration, he determined that if he scared or bribed her, the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits.


    He wouldn''t be able to take maximum advantage of the situation that way.


    "Let''s see how it goes." Azaroth dryly spoke since he was more or less confident in dealing with this situation.


    At most, he just wouldn''t be able to glean maximum benefits from this situation. That was fine as well¡­


    ~~


    After nearly 3 hours, Azaroth walked out of the infirmary.


    The guard stationed outside by Sophie was standing still with an emotionless look over his face.


    "You are finally awake, Edwin Rhodes. Wait here, I will bring young miss here. She wanted to meet you." The guard spoke to Azaroth with an emotionless tone.


    Azaroth showed a surprised look and asked curiously, "Who is this young miss you are talking about?"


    The guard didn''t find this question strange and replied, "It''s young miss Sophie Russel."


    "What?! It''s Sophie who wants to meet me?!" Azaroth showed an astonished look and then said, "I can''t have here here to meet me. I am well enough to walk around. How about you take me to her?"


    The guard thought for some moments and found it better to take this guy to Sophie''s cabin rather than make Sophie walk here.


    "Are you absolutely alright? Young miss might me me and hold me responsible if something happened to you." The guard asked, just for confirmation. He wasn''t really that worried about Azaroth''s health.


    "Yeah. It''s okay. I will take full responsibility for this. So lead me to Sophie." Azaroth dryly said and managed to convince the guard.


    The guard gave a nod of agreement and began walking towards Sophie''s cabin. Azaroth followed the guard until they both reached Sophie''s cabin.


    The cabin was quite well guarded. Azaroth noticed that the guards ahead of this cabin were only 3 Star Warriors, but he also sensed few 4 Star Warriors hiding near this cabin.


    ''Such a difference in the heirs of the Noble Family and a doting father. The Noble Family heirs haven''t brought any 4 Star Warriors along with them while this woman''s father has sent Royal Guards to protect his daughter.''


    Azaroth could only sigh at this. He wasn''t jealous or mentally affected. He would rather have the freedom provided by the Noble Family than the protection it could offer.


    Many of his ideas wouldn''te to fruition if he was monitored by some guards.


    It was that guard who talked to the other guards and informed them of the situation. The other guards remained stone cold and let him go inside.


    Azaroth waited for some time, keeping his gaze at the door. He didn''t want those guards hiding near this cabin to know that he was aware of their positions.


    Suddenly, the door to the cabin opened, and heid his eyes upon a youngdy in herte teenage years. She was wearing a pink Chinese dress and looked quite surprised to see Azaroth here.


    "It''s nice to see you, Sophie," Azaroth spoke to her as if they were familiar with each other. Currently, his ruby eyes were staring right into her ocean blue eyes.


    Sophie had a frown over her face, though. She sternly spoke, "Miss Zaria mentioned that she had healed all your flesh injuries, but your internal injuries would still take some time to healpletely. She also rmended that he should take rest for one more day and not get up."


    "Miss Zaria? Who''s she?" Azaroth was quite confused by this name.


    Sophie then realized Azaroth had just woken up and wasn''t quite aware of Miss Zaria or anything else.


    She said, "Let''s talk inside."


    To Sophie''s surprise, Azaroth calmly replied, "Okay."


    It was natural for Sophie to be quite surprised. Because most of the time, when Edwin used to talk to her, he was pretty nervous in her presence. Moreover, he would take some time before responding to her words.


    ''He has changed.''


    This was her conclusion after those words from Azaroth. But it wasn''t that unbelievable that Azaroth had changed.


    Azaroth entered Sophie''s cabin. He was somewhat surprised that he sensed some arrays drawn beneath this floor.


    ''Interesting¡­ One of probably suppression array that would suppress the energy of whoever the enemy. The other is Absorption Array, and thest one is the barrier which would keep the enemy in the cabin.''


    Although he couldn''t see the array diagrams and could only guess their power through the presence of Ardor, he was more or less sure that their power wasn''t weak.


    A solemn expression appeared on his face as he thought ''If these Arrays are actually drawn by this woman, then she has quite a bit of talent in array formations. She must have at least reached the Master Rank to be able to stack up 3 arrays on top of each other.''


    Currently, Azaroth''s aplishments in the array could also be considered the same as alchemy. He was at the peak of grandmaster level in Array Formations as well.


    ''Fortunately, I have the Hell mes that can break any formations around me.''


    Azaroth soon took a seat on the sofa and satfortably.


    Sophie took a seat in front of him and then began exining who Miss Zaria was. Sometimeter, Azaroth understood the whole situation.


    "I see¡­ I must thank Miss Zaria as well. I initially thought that it was a healer town lord had hired." Azaroth spoke to Sophie.


    Sophie shook her head and then spoke, "I will convey your gratitude to Miss Zaria. I had something else I wanted to talk to you about."


    There was a serious look on her face as Sophie asked Azaroth, "Were you the one who gave the five 5th Tier Elemental Crystals to the town lord?"


    Once Sophie asked this question, Azaroth understood why she had wanted to talk to him.


    Internally, he thought to himself ''That town lord¡­ Don''t tell me he came to her with those Elemental Crystals on that very same day?''


    ''If only he had waited for one or two days, they wouldn''t have been able to connect it to me easily. Even if they did, they shouldn''t have been sure of it.''


    But there was no point in thinking of those things about what could be changed¡­


    Azaroth quickly thought of a way to salvage this situation.


    "Yes. I was the one who gave those elemental crystals to the town lord." Azaroth decided to admit it.


    Once again, Sophie was slightly surprised that he admitted it so quickly. She was ready with all her usible theories¡­


    But now, she felt that she was silly to prepare all that much when it wasn''t necessary.


    "I see¡­" Sophie didn''t ask Azaroth how he got these 5 Tier Elemental Crystals.


    It wasmon sense to such information a secret.


    However, she did speak up, "You have changed, Edwin¡­"


    "Time does force a change. Some just experience it earlier while some a littleter." Azaroth spoke with a small smile.


    "True. I do agree with your statement." Sophie agreed with him and added, "However, your sudden rise to be a 4 Star Warrior is like that of a miracle. Congrattions."


    Azaroth just shook his head but didn''t reply.


    "Alright¡­ You can leave if you want to."


    "Actually, I wanted to know, what formation are you working on?" Azaroth asked with a curious look.


    "Hmm? Edwin? Did you study array formations in this one year?" Sophie asked him with a surprised gaze.


    Azaroth, though, shook his head and replied, "Actually, I began studying it during the academy time. My skill with it was never good, so I never told anyone else about it. But this year, I think I made some progress. Also, I want to help you in any way I can."


    After thinking for some time, Sophie nodded her head, "Alright. I will bring the blueprint of the formation I want to construct. If nothing else, you will only learn something."


    Sophie got up from her sofa and went to her room. It didn''t take her too much time to find the blueprint of the formation she wanted to construct.


    Sophie soon returned to the living room with arge sheet of paper in her hand. Sheid the blueprint on the table ahead of Azaroth.


    Azarothid his eyes at the blueprint, and he was surprised to see that this was a blueprint of a 3yered array.


    Moreover, she had even included the Killing Array and the Illusionary Array, two of the most challenging branches within array formations.


    Azaroth began to analyze the blueprint with a serious gaze.


    He didn''t think that this woman was actually going to construct arge array like this. If she really did create such an array, these people might kill one of the 5 Star Beast.


    That would be troublesome for him.


    ''Overall, the blueprint appears to be okay. There are no obvious mistakes or any openings that the beasts can take advantage of.''


    Sophie continued to stare at Azaroth''s face as he looked at her blueprint. She couldn''t help but think absentmindedly ''He looks quite handsome when he is thinking seriously.''


    She shook off those thoughts from her head.


    Soon, Azaroth spoke to Sophie with a troubled smile, "I don''t perfectly know what this array is. But it''s abination of 2 or 3 arrays, right?"


    Sophie had actually shown this blueprint to test Azaroth a little. She thought that he might at most be able to point out some basic stuff, but he actually found out that it was a multiyered array.


    However, Sophie calmly asked Azaroth, "How do you know that?"


    "It''s these two points." Azaroth pointed at the points and continued, "Usually, this can only be drawn on the left side and never on the right side. However, on this blueprint, it''s on both sides. This means that this point is working for another array that''s drawn inverted to the first one. So¡­ This is definitely a two or moreyered array, right?"


    "You are right. This is a threeyered array. Do you know which types of arrays these are?" Sophie asked him with some interest.


    Azaroth shook his head and replied, "I can only guess that since it''s going to beid around this encampment, then it should at least have a barrier array."


    "I can at least give you full points inmon sense." Sophie began chuckling as she said those words.


    Azaroth said with a self-deprecating smile, "This array is a little tooplicated for me."


    Soon enough, Sophie had an idea and spoke, "Do you want to set up this array around the encampment along with me? I can teach you more about the array at the same time."


    ''Wouldn''t I be able to get the work done without actually doing it? Since Edwin has studied arrays, he should at the least be good at basics. Besides, I will be right beside him, so I can easily keep watch over any mistakes hemits and correct it at that time. This will not only save my effort but also my time. Also, I will at least have apanion from the school with whom I can talk and curb my boredom.''


    "Really? I will be really thankful to you, Sophie. I think I might learn a lot if you help me analyze this array." Azaroth looked really grateful to Sophie.


    "Hehe¡­ It''s not a problem. Come on, let''s start with the formation on the west side of the encampment.." Sophie grabbed Azaroth''s hand and took him out of her cabin.

 Chapter 27 - A New Leader Of The Palm Valley Academy Graduates

    For half the day, Azaroth was with Sophie, talking about random topics, while drawing the encampment formation.


    Sophie also exined to him how she came up with this formation. Actually, this theory lesson was somewhat useless for Azaroth, but he acted as if it interested him.


    He asked appropriate questions at the perfect timing. Sophie happily answered the questions he asked. She felt thrilled as she taught him¡­


    It made her feel superior in a positive manner. Like she was helping someone grasp the ropes of array formation.


    Azaroth was thinking with some amusement ''She really is just a little girl. Gaining her trust will be really easy.''


    This closeness with Sophie was not much appreciated by the other men from the Acadia School.


    They knew that they weren''t qualified to stay with Sophie, but many felt that if they weren''t qualified, Azaroth was even less qualified.


    Many people were thinking about how they should deal with Azaroth or split him from Sophie.


    One of them was Myles Nelson. He clenched his fists in anger as he saw Azaroth roam around the encampment with Sophie.


    Myles began remembering how they were pursuing Sophie in the Acadia School and when he finally surpassed him, he thought that he had left this guy in the dust. However, now, their positions were entirely reversed.


    Firstly, he couldn''t understand how Edwin had increased his cultivation to 4 Star Rank. Secondly, he never knew that Edwin studied array formations in Acadia School. At least, as far as he was aware of, Edwin had never mentioned it to him.


    ''Just what has he encountered that has changed his life so drastically?!''


    Myles continued to think deeply ''What should I say to those seniors in Alchemy division. I did tell them that Edwin has some secret recipe for a pill¡­ But now, it seems not so likely. It''s as if he has encountered a treasure more precious than this.''


    Myles didn''t know how wrong he was. Edwin did find something, but it was far from a treasure.


    After all, what treasure would destroy your consciousness and take over your body?


    Azaroth split up from Sophie and began walking towards his cabin.


    The formation was nearlyplete, and he was getting slightly worried about the beasts¡­


    If they did attack the encampment and Sophie activated this formation, the beasts wouldn''t even be able to run away sessfully.


    It was because each one of these threeyered arrays was at Tier 5.


    As Azaroth reached his cabin, he saw a few people standing over there.


    They appeared to be waiting for him.


    From their clothes, they were clearly the Palm Valley School''s graduates.


    "What are you doing here?" He casually asked them this question.


    "I think you should be aware of the reason." A somewhat familiar guy with a robust body spoke to Azaroth. This was none other than Rudy, who had been beaten badly by Azaroth earlier.


    "You think you are so awesome when you just bullied my brother, who is at a lower star rank than you? Why don''t you fight someone of your level?!" The man next to Rudy was evenrger than Rudy in size.


    Moreover, there were a few other Palm Valley School graduates who looked at Azaroth with glee. They hade here to watch him get trampled by a senior from their school¡­


    This would allow them to vent a bit as they would feel superior to the Acadia School''s graduates.


    "Are you sure you want to fight me? You should be aware that the beast raid is going to ur any time soon. It won''t be a good idea for any of us to be injured at such a timing." Azaroth spoke with a neutral voice since he didn''t feel like fighting against this weakling.


    "Only the weak make excuses. When you bullied my younger brother using your higher-ranked cultivation, you should have known that there would be someone who would take justice on his behalf." The man spoke with a sneer.


    He looked down on Azaroth since Azaroth was making excuses and not agreeing to a fight.


    Azaroth sighed out. He really was mentally tired right now.


    "You are right. Only the weak make excuses." Azaroth agreed with those words and then added, "That is precisely why I am asking you whether you really want to fight me or not."


    The other party sneered at Azaroth''s words and spoke, "You are too arrogant."


    Azaroth sighed and spoke, "Come at me, all of you. If you want to have a chance against me."


    "Hmph¡­ Don''t kid yourself. You aren''t worth-" Before the man could finish his words, Azaroth blinked to his position with blue lightning flickering around his body and punched the man''s face.


    Azaroth hadn''t held back in that punch. With that punch, he broke the nose of his opponent. However, that wasn''t all he did. Half of his opponent''s teeth also began falling down.


    "Y-You bastard! You just caught me by surprise?!" The 4 Star Warrior tried to attack Azaroth as he gave that excuse.


    Azaroth was still quicker and gave a kneed his gut very strongly and forced him to the ground.


    "As I said, if you want to have a chance against me, all of you need to attack me," Azaroth said with a terrifying killing intent leaking from his body.


    As they felt the brunt of his killing intent, the others fell down, not at all wanting to attack him now.


    "See¡­ This is what happens when I get slightly serious." Azaroth spat on that guy who was lying on the ground ahead of him.


    But he didn''t stop with that. He kicked that guy to his left side as if he was a football.


    Once that Four Star Warrior was kicked away, Azaroth red at the rest of the individuals near him and spoke, "You are going to scram now, or do I help you?"


    Those words appeared to be enough for them to immediately run away. They now realized that this guy was far more terrifying than they initially believed.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth went inside his house andid on the bed.


    ''Today was a tiring day¡­''


    ~~


    In a mere hour, the information that Azaroth beat up the Palm Valley School''s graduates spread to nearly every person in the camp.


    Naturally, this information reached the ears of Sophie, Brynn Gaynor, Myles, and all other people in the camp.


    All those from Acadia Academy who had a good or a neutral rtionship with Azaroth now had a broad smile on their faces.


    Did they care about the reason why Azaroth beat them? Not at all.


    They were just happy that those Palm Valley School graduates were shown their ce!


    Meanwhile, the other Palm Valley School graduates had an ugly look on their faces. Many of them gathered in the infirmary and watched over theirrade who had been injured by Azaroth.


    This guy was a 4 Star Warrior. And when they heard what urred from the other students who were present there, the Palm Valley School''s graduates'' expression turned even more ugly.


    The other 4 Star Warrior from their school was also present, and he was a little terrified of Azaroth just by hearing about him. He was aware of his own strength and knew that he would never be able to defeat his friend in such a manner.


    "You have made us look like a fool!" The guy looked at Rudy and speaks with a re, "Now, everyone in the camp despises us."


    Rudy shrunk as he was red at by this man.


    "I-I never thought he was so strong¡­" Rudy spoke with some regret in his voice.


    "Well, the opportunity has fucking passed now. There is no use in regretting. Now, I will takemand of our group. Stop targeting that guy, or else, before he can kick you, I will do so!" His authoritative voice was left behind as the man walked out of the infirmary.


    ~~


    From the next day, the Palm Valley School graduates kept their distance from the Acadia School graduates. In fact, they helped with all sorts of menialbor as if they wanted to regain some prestige for themselves.


    Brynn Gaynor didn''t mind this extrabor and made sure to take full advantage of them.


    As for the Palm Valley School''s graduates incident with Azaroth? Even Brynn Gaynor didn''t precisely know what happened and why it happened.


    However, he had already made up his mind to assist Azaroth if these Palm Valley School graduates try something else.


    He was very grateful to Azaroth and would naturally assist him as much as he could.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was spending his day making the array formation along with Sophie.


    Sophie was slightly curious about the incident she heard yesterday and asked Azaroth, "What happened? Why are they all saying that you bullied someone from the Palm Valley School?"


    Azaroth waved off casually and replied, "It''s nothing. Some of them were blocking the way to my house, and I just threw them away. The rest are just exaggerations¡­"


    While he was saying this, he didn''t ck off in making the array.


    "Oh. It was a pity I couldn''t see it myself. I wanted to see how you looked when you were angry." Sophie said with a lighthearted tone.


    Azaroth lightly shrugged and replied, "If you were there, they wouldn''t dare to block my way to my cabin."


    "That''s a pity," Sophie spoke with a smirk as she gazed at Azaroth for some time.


    Soon enough, Azaroth noticed her gaze and raised his brow while looking at her, "Something the matter?"


    Sophie shook her head and replied, "Nothing really. You have changed so much in this one year that you can now talk to me while looking at my face. Previously, you would always turn your face whenever I tried to talk to you."


    Azaroth was somewhat jolted awake as he heard those words. He didn''t let it show on his face, but he was now quite more alert.


    He didn''t think that she noticed such a small thing as well. And here he was thinking that he was perfectly imitating how Edwin would talk to her.


    "Haha¡­" Azaroth lightlyughed over the matter and didn''t try to give any reasons for it.


    Sophie lightly smiled and added, "It''s a good thing that you have grown more confident. It''s fun talking to you."


    "Likewise," Azaroth said before he continued working on the array formations.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, the beasts within the Alpine Gerbil Woods were ready now. The Abyssal Hound was entirely healed, and it gave a loud howl, catching the attention of all beasts in the forest.


    The beasts immediately gathered around that cave where the White Wolf and the Abyssal Hound resided.


    "Prepare yourself, myrades. Tomorrow, we shall ravage that human territory andy it to waste before moving to the next one."


    The beasts let out roars of excitement as they heard those words from the Abyssal Hound.


    The one who appeared to be most excited was a group of apes.


    If Azaroth had seen this group of apes, even he would have sweatdropped nervously.


    Although they weren''t the same as that brown ape at the 4 Star Rank, nearly all of them were at the 3 Star Rank, possessing the Golden Ape''s Bloodline.


    Their leader was the one who had previously fought against Azaroth and lost. That Ape looked ready for another battle against Azaroth¡­ The injuries from his fight against Azaroth had already healed.


    In fact, the ape felt as if his body was even stronger than before.

 Chapter 28 - Alchemy Divison Head

    The formation around the encampment wasplete. Now, all the fighters in the camp were ready for a decisive battle against the beasts.


    An elemental wood user sensed the beasts approaching and immediately informed this information to Brynn Gaynor.


    Once he heard this news, Brynn Gaynor''s expression turned solemn, and he gathered all the fighters in the camp.


    "Everyone, I am utmost thankful to all of you who havee to assist our weak town against this beast raid. I shall give out great rewards ording to your contributions against the beast raid. I care not about the method but the result."


    "The beast raid has alreadye out of the inner region and is in the Alpine Gerbil Woods'' outer region. After a few hours, they wille out and fight against us. Prepare yourself! Get all the weapons you need. Archers, make sure to carry lots of bolts with you! Also, Alchemy Division, it''s time you distribute the potions or pellets to everyone here." Brynn Gaynor gave these orders quickly.


    "Yes, town lord!" Nearly all the fighters from the Kloras Town spoke with a respectful look on their faces.


    Meanwhile, Acadia School graduates and the Palm Valley School graduates hardly cared about Brynn Gaynor''s speech.


    However, at this time, the Alchemy Division''s head stepped forward, "I had something to talk to you, town lord."


    "Speak quickly. We don''t have time to lose." Brynn Gaynor spoke with a stern voice.


    "Then don''t mind if I do. So, town lord, the Alchemy Division would be willing to relinquish any reward you might have for us." Those words surprised many people in the camp. After all, it was well known that they would get quite a bit of wealth and secret recipes that had been guarded by Brynn Gaynor.


    Brynn Gaynor still had the same neutral look, though.


    "In return, we request, we need the recipe of the secret pellet that Edwin Rhodes possesses, which has allowed his strength to rise so drastically." The Alchemy Division''s head spoke with a clever smile.


    "I don''t possess the authority of requesting for a Noble Family''s secret." Brynn Gaynor gave a quick and sharp response.


    "Please calm yourself, town lord. I can assure you that this is not a Rhodes Family''s secret. Isn''t that right, Edwin Rhodes?" The Alchemy Division Head turned his head to stare at Azaroth.


    Azaroth gazed at this man and replied soon enough, "You are right. This is indeed not a Rhodes Family''s secret."


    Those words had excited the Alchemy Divison Head and even Myles standing on the sides. They never expected that Azaroth would actually admit it so readily.


    Meanwhile, Sophie was quite confused as Azaroth never mentioned it to her these days. However, she didn''t care much about such a pill. She wanted to rely on her own effort instead of pills to get stronger.


    The Royal Alchemist in the Pce had told her that if she took too many pills to enhance her rank, the pill poison would start gathering in her body, making it much harder for her to ever break through to a higher rank.


    ''Looks like Edwin doesn''t know about it. I need to tell him about itter, or else it will be toote if his body is flooded by pill poison.''


    Sophie was worried about Azaroth just as a friend would be. She had a good opinion of him since he had seemed to grown out of his crush on her and had actually changed for the better.


    Meanwhile, the Alchemy Division Head spoke up, staring at Azaroth, "So, Edwin, do you have an issue with this?"


    "Wait a second, Sir Simeon. I don''t think it''s alright to ask for Sir Edwin''s secret. I don''t have any real power over Sir Edwin, and it would be quite inappropriate if you were to force it." Brynn Gaynor spoke with a stern look on his face.


    "Town lord, I can naturally understand why you are saying this. But do understand that if you don''t assure us about getting Edwin''s secret recipe, then the deal is off. You will get no pills from us." The Alchemy Division head responded with a slight smirk on his face.


    "What?!" At those words, it wasn''t just Brynn Gaynor but many other people who were startled and angered.


    "You mean you are pulling back aftering so far?! After using our precious herbs to make the pills, but you won''t give them to us?!" Brynn Gaynor looked really angry as he shouted at Simeon.


    Simeon calmly replied, "Please don''t shout as if we are stealing them from you. Our Alchemy Association would send you worthypensation for this, so it will be okay."


    Many of the Alchemy Division''s members were part of a gigantic existence in the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Alchemy Association.


    However, those words from Simeon made Brynn Gaynor even angrier.


    And now, just as Azaroth was about to speak something, a few people from the Palm Valley School began shouting, "Town Lord, I think you should get the secret recipe from Edwin and hand it over to Sir Simeon. Without pills, we would be ughtered by the beasts in a fight!"


    "Yes, town lord. You need to make Edwin give his secret to the Alchemy Division, or else we won''t be able to stop this beast raid! You don''t want the Kloras Town to be destroyed, right?"


    One by one, many people from the Palm Valley School were shouting at Brynn Gaynor, telling him to ept the offer.


    They didn''t entirely understand the situation, but they noted that the Alchemy Division was against Azaroth for some reason.


    Such reason was enough for them to support the Alchemy Division unconditionally. After all, they hated Azaroth much more than the other Acadia School Graduates.


    He had made them lose face twice in just 2-3 days.


    Now that the opportunity hade where they could force Azaroth to take some loss, they were naturally going to take full advantage of it.


    Azaroth suddenly started chuckling¡­


    Hisugh caught the attention of everyone who had gathered by Brynn Gaynor.


    "What''s so funny?" Simeon asked with a frown as he stared at Azaroth.


    "I thought it was fairly obvious considering how hrious you are, senior Simeon," Azaroth spoke with a light tone as he slowly stopped chuckling.


    Before Simeon could even reply, Azaroth added, "You had a good n. You mentioned something like this at such a time because you wanted everyone to understand just how important the pills are since there can be no substitute for those pills in such a short period. Also, in case I remained stubborn and refused to give away the secret recipe, you would also have enough time to run away."


    "Senior Simeon, do you want my secret recipe that much?" Azaroth asked Simeon while looking at him with a disdainful look. He slowly began walking towards Simeon.


    "Y-You¡­ Don''t nder me for no reason! You are just looking for excuses¡­" Simeon spoke when suddenly, he saw Azaroth raising his hand.


    Soon enough, everyone in the area listened to a loud resounding sound and had a shocked expression on their faces.


    It was all because Azaroth had just pped Simeon''s face very firmly. The sound was quite crispt, and it resounded in the area for some time.


    Simeon''s right cheek turned crimson after that p, and he immediately covered it with his hand. He could still feel the heat from his cheek because of that p.


    Azaroth raised his hand and stared at it, "You know, I never expected to feel such pain after pping you. But it does exin how you can be so shameless without even batting an eye. You have cultivated such a thick skin after all."


    He continued speaking with a light tone, "I am curious senior Simeon. Do you think that your subordinates are wholly loyal to you and they would fight for you to the death? Let''s suppose that you die an unfortunate death, then do you think your subordinates would obey yourst wishes and still persistently seek my secret recipe?"


    Simeon''s face turned ugly as he heard those words. After his death, he was sure that the one who would rece him would definitely offer all the pellets to Azaroth just to save himself from bing a pile of bones.


    However, not just him, but all the Palm Valley School''s graduates felt as if the situation had turned far too strange.


    "It appears that you have gained enlightenment. Now, either follow the original agreement, or I can help you in bing a ghost." Azaroth''s words were spoken with dense killing intent.


    Simeon now looked at Myles, who had a helpless expression on his face as he gave an imperceptible nod.


    "¡­Alright, the Alchemy Division is willing to follow the original agreement," Simeon spoke with a red face.


    Azaroth spoke with amanding tone, "Get the pills now and distribute them to everyone."


    Even before Simeon spoke anything, his underlings from the Alchemy Divison pulled out the pills'' bottles and began distributing them to all fighters.


    This scene made Simeon so angry that he wanted to kill Azaroth. He knew that this scene today had utterly destroyed his prestige even within the Alchemy Division.


    And he naturally med all that on Azaroth.


    Many Acadia School Graduates, the vige''s fighters, and the Palm Valley School''s graduates were shocked at what had happened, but they quickly stored the pills in their pockets or within their spatial treasures.


    Once all the pellets had been distributed, Azaroth spoke to Simeon, "That''s all you were needed for. Now, if you want to run away, you can scram. Unlike you, the Kloras town will fulfill the agreement and send you sufficientpensation for those pills."


    Simeon angrily raised his finger and pointed it at Azaroth, "Y-You¡­ You are taking it too far!"


    "So what?" Azaroth said while stepping forward, "You should have been prepared for such a scene when you were lusting after my secrets. Now though, it''s toote."


    "Scram!" Azaroth gave a firm p to Simeon once again. This time, it was strong enough to throw Simeon far away.


    However, after pping that guy, Azaroth suddenly held his hand and spoke, "Ouch. I forgot about that guy''s thick skin."


    Meanwhile, Simeon crashed into a tree with a crimson color hand-printed on his left cheek.


    Some of his teeth also fell on the ground, but he didn''t stay there any longer and ran away.


    Once Simeon was gone, many of the people from Acadia School who had a fair rtionship with Azaroth went over to his side and began speaking, "Damn. That was badass! You really made that guy look as if he was about to cry. Haha¡­"


    "Yup! He was getting on our nerves when he said he won''t distribute the pills. He deserved that p!"


    Meanwhile, Sophie was quite surprised at this whole scene, but at the end, she was slightly smiling. If Azaroth hadn''t actually taken action, she was the one nning to force out the pills from Simeon.


    Meanwhile, some of Acadia School''s graduates stared at the Palm Valley School''s graduates and said, "Didn''t you want the pills? Now at least prove your usefulness during the beast raid."


    The Palm Valley School''s graduates had no response to those words other than gritting their teeth angrily. They understood that they had once again made the wrong decision.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth cleared his throat and spoke, "Everyone, we have no time to fight internally. Get ready and take your positions. We must stop the beasts here¡­!"


    His voice resounded in the area, and all the fighters there agreed with his words.


    "You are right, Sir Edwin. Now, I will assign you all to your positions that you must guard at all costs." Brynn Gaynor stepped forwards at this moment. He turned his head towards Sophie and spoke, "Miss Sophie, would you please ask Sir Peter to join as well?"


    "He is here. He will listen to your words.." Sophie nonchntly replied.

 Chapter 29 - Formation Was Damaged

    Brynn Gaynor had a simple n. He assigned a position to everyone and their task was to defend as best as they could.


    A few of the 4 Star Warriors would be stationed in the camp center to reinforce the front lines as soon as possible.


    As for Sophie, she had to activate the barrier formation only once she felt that the beasts were too many to deal with at the same time.


    Azaroth and several other warriors were stationed at the west side, the direction from which the beasts would be approaching.


    On the other side, Aiden and his group of students were stationed. Considering that these children were the youngest in the camp, they were given the side which would be less targeted by the beasts.


    As for Peter, currently, he was along with Sophie, but he was ready to fight one of the two 5 Star Beasts.


    Soon, the camp fighters felt that the earth was shaking, and the sound of thousands of footsteps could be heard.


    Brynn Gaynor muttered underneath his breath with a heavy heart, "Here theye¡­"


    From Azaroth''s side, the beasts appeared and charged at him with a quick speed.


    There were many beasts in this horde. Many of them had been seen by Azaroth when he was infiltrating their territory, whether it was the red-skinned wild boar, the dark striped cat, yellow spotted leopard, bears, rhinos, a few species of snakes, and also all other sorts of beasts.


    However, fortunately, most of them were at the 2 Star Rank, and only a few were at the 3 Star Rank.


    Meanwhile, on Azaroth''s side, he was apanied by two 4 Star Rank warriors and 50 warriors of 3 Star Rank.


    ''Just the initial attack has hundreds of beasts, heh¡­''


    Azaroth knew he couldn''t use his Demonic Transformation here. Too many witnesses were present¡­


    However, he had no need to use his demonic powers on these beasts. He was perfectly capable of defeating them without using any of his primary skills.


    ''Phantom Steps.''


    Azaroth seemingly vanished from the vision of the other fighters.


    Only an intense wind current could be felt as Azaroth used this movement skill to maneuver from one location to another.


    In just a few seconds, Azaroth had killed nearly dozens of beasts alone only by punching or kicking the beasts and switching over to the next one.


    Naturally, since he had finished with the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique''s second level, his base body was also significantly enhanced.


    He was much more powerful than an ordinary 4 Star Warrior.


    The other warriors also got to work as they saw how Azaroth was killing one beast after another without stopping.


    In their hearts, their respect for him continued to grow to no end.


    They all pulled out their respective weapons and pounced at the approaching beasts!


    The frontline of the beasts filled with 2 Star Rank Beasts was getting ughtered by thebined efforts of Azaroth and the other warriors here.


    However, soon enough, Azaroth began facing some difficulty as he shed against the 3 Star Beasts.


    In terms of physique, Azaroth did admit that the beasts were the most superior race in the world. Even a demon''s physique could only overpower the beasts with the weak or mid-ranged bloodline.


    Due to possessing a weaker physique, he won''t be able to instakill the 3 Star Beasts.


    For this reason, Azaroth had to stop for a second as he attacked the brown bear. This was merely a 3 Star Beast with weak energy, but it had instinctively used all its Ardor to defend its body.


    And even Azaroth found it difficult to kill it with a single blow.


    A second might appear to be rtively low, but on this battlefield, flooded with the beasts. A single second was all the difference between life and death.


    It was even more so for Azaroth, who stood right in the center of this horde.


    A bull strongly hit him from the right side and forced Azaroth to skid back.


    After this attack, another attack followed as a Rhino charged at Azaroth with his horn glowing with a purple color. In fact, its horn even seemed to getrger as the Rhino charged at Azaroth with a quick speed.


    Azaroth naturally didn''t remain standing there, and he used the Phantom Steps again to get out of the way.


    Getting out of the way was good for Azaroth but not so much for hisrades. It was because the charged horn of this Rhino struck one of hisrades and pierced his arm before its head was cut off by another warrior on Azaroth''s side.


    Azaroth, though, couldn''t be bothered to think so much on this battlefield as he quickly went over to that brown bear''s direction and hit it with a strong palm attack.


    This time, he made sure to target the bear''s chest and put enough power that even if the bear defended itself with all its Ardor, its heart would still rupture because of the force.


    Just as Azaroth had dealt with that bear, he instinctively raised his hand and felt something hit his arm.


    It was none other than a ming Eagle.


    It had such a sharp vision and timing that it had sessfully attacked Azaroth right when he was about to use his Phantom Step to get away.


    However, the ming Eagle was merely a 3 Star Beast and could not pierce Azaroth''s arm.


    Azaroth immediately used his other hand and grabbed hold of the Eagle by its throat.


    When the Eagle felt that Azaroth would kill it quickly, the eagle''s body lit up in crimson mes.


    Azaroth nearly snorted as he saw that pitiful excuse of a me wanting to burn his hand. He suddenly clenched his right hand and broke the eagle''s throat, thus, ending its life then and there.


    Naturally, Azaroth didn''t stay at the same spot for too long. He immediately used the Phantom Step and threw the Eagle''s body somewhere else.


    Currently, it could be considered that Azaroth''s side was entirely ughtering the beasts on their side.


    ~~


    Azaroth''s side was not the only side that had seen fighting. The north side and the south side had also seen their fair share of fighting¡­


    In fact, even a 4 Star Beast appeared on the south side. It was none other than the ck Bear that had survived Azaroth.


    The ones who were fighting it were the Palm Valley School''s graduates. It could be considered their luck or bad luck to encounter the first 4 Star Beast from this beast raid.


    The 4 Star Warriors from the Palm Valley School managed to hold their own against this ck Bear.


    A few of the individuals even began taking pills and recovered their Ardor to fight at their full power.


    Brynn Gaynor received the information from all the sides and looked quite pleased, "Good¡­ We have dealt with many beasts with just a few casualties on our side. Inform them all that they just need to hold for another half an hour, and we will activate the barrier formation to let them rest for some time."


    "Yes, Sir!"


    The information was spread to all the sides in the form of Echo Transmission Skill.


    Many fighters were slightly relieved and fought with even greater vigor as they knew that they could rest half an hourter.


    ''Wind Domain!''


    Instantly, in a 50 meters radius around Azaroth, his Ardor''s thin film was spread, possessing intense wind elemental powers.


    There was a smirk on his face as he whispered to himself, "Time to pack this up."


    ''Limitless Wind des!''


    Suddenly, the streams of the winds transformed into des within Azaroth''s wind domain.


    Each one was exceptionally sharp as it cut apart the beast''s bodies like they were mere tofu. All the beasts in the 50-meter radius felt their bodies struck by these limitless wind des.


    Not a single beast possessed the ability tobat against these invisible and soundless wind des.


    In just 10 seconds or so, the horde of beasts around Azaroth''s body was instantly cut into thousands of pieces.


    The other beasts who were a little far away from Azaroth''s position saw theirrades dying in that wind domain and were utterly terrified of Azaroth.


    Azaroth had a thin smile on his face as he stared at those other beasts.


    Even the fighters of Azaroth''s side seemed to be somewhat ufortable as they saw how Azaroth had dealt with nearly hundreds of beasts alone with that one attack.


    His power rmed them and somewhat scared them.


    The beasts even took a moment to stop and throw attacks at Azaroth from a distance. They couldn''t risk getting into closebat with him.


    So¡­ Many Fireballs, Boulders, and even Lightning sts were thrown at Azaroth, who immediately used Phantom Step to avoid these attacks.


    He wasn''t stupid enough to try and overpower these attacks. He wasn''t sure if he could ovee thebined might of all these attacks alone, but even if he could, Azaroth didn''t want to show off all his strength to the fighters behind him.


    The other fighters immediately threw their own attacks to disperse the long-ranged attacks of the beasts.


    They didn''t want to get hit by these attacks.


    Azaroth used Phantom Steps consecutively to leave the range of the beasts or the other fighters. He was sitting over a tree, breathing heavily¡­


    From his position, he could easily see how the beasts and the warriors were fighting on his side and could assist them quickly if the situation turned dire.


    ''Making a Wind Domain just at the 4 Star Rank indeed takes a lot of Ardor.'' Azaroth pulled out a blood-red pill and a viridian-colored pill and ate them.


    "They can probably deal with the beasts until the barrier is put up so I can rx now."


    As the warriors fought the beasts, using their teamwork to assist everyone around them, most of them sessfully kept their lives.


    Those who lost their lives mainly tried fighting solo or couldn''t eat their pellets appropriately. Their Ardor had exhausted at terrible timing, and they had no one around to save them.


    Half an hour had already passed, and a loud echo transmission was heard, "All warriors are requested to return to the interior of the array formation. The barrier will be raised soon!"


    Brynn Gaynor looked at Sophie, speaking, "Miss Sophie, please activate the array formation and create a barrier around the camp."


    Sophie nodded her head and held arge blue orb in her hands.


    After nearly 10 seconds, the blue orb began glowing with a bright light, and the array formation set around the encampment activated.


    However, soon enough, a frown appeared on Sophie''s face as she spoke with a solemn expression, "Town Lord, there seems to be some issue in the array formation at the southern side. The barrier won''t activate at that point."


    "WHAT?!" The town lord shouted loudly as he heard her words.


    "How can that be, Miss Sophie?! Was it some error on your part?" He asked as if he wanted to be clear just why this had happened.


    "No. Edwin drew the formation around the encampment, but I made sure to recheck it twice. I also had Peter recheck the formation once we went to sleep." Sophie spoke with a confident tone.


    "T-Then how could such an error ur?"


    "Only the barrier formation has been sabotaged. The illusionary formation and the killing formation still works. I believe this was done by someone recently who has been stationed on the southern side. The person didn''t understand the killing formation or the illusionary formation and didn''t dare to touch them as the bacsh would be quite strong if they wrongly interfered. Hence, he just sabotaged the barrier formation."


    "Then what should we do?" Brynn Gaynor asked Sophie since he didn''t understand much about array formations. And not many in the town did. Even if they found the culprit, their main priority was to repair the formation.


    "I will need to remain here to keep the barrier formation active. And the only one who I know who is very familiar with the barrier formation is Edwin." Sophie gave her input on this matter.


    She then seriously spoke, "Town Lord, ask someone to relocate Edwin from the western side to the southern side.. Other than me, only he can repair this formation."

 Chapter 30 - Reading A Demon Kings Soul

    Azaroth was soon informed of his orders through the Echo Transmission Skill.


    On the eastern side of the camp, Azaroth was reced by two 4 Star Warriors.


    Overall, the eastern side was fine with these changes¡­


    As Azaroth was running towards the southern side of the camp with a small frown. He found this situation quite bizarre to understand.


    ''Someone sabotaged the barrier formation? The Abyssal Hound is still not here, so it can''t be from the beasts¡­ But why would someone from our side try to sabotage the barrier formation? Does he have a death wish?''


    Just who would benefit from sabotaging the barrier formation? It would undoubtedly be the beasts¡­


    ''It''s impossible for a beast to try and manipte someone who has studied formations. Normally, their spiritual strength is stronger than average, and they have a good sixth sense.''


    Even from Abyssal Hound''s memories, there was no mention of manipting a beast''s consciousness, so he shouldn''t be involved.


    ''Did I miss something?''


    This question did appear in Azaroth''s head, but he wasn''t overly worried. He felt confident in still handling this whole situation in his favor.


    Moreover, he smirked a little as he headed towards the encampment''s southern side. It was as if he had just received some sort of good news.


    After a quarter of an hour, Azaroth reached the Southern Side.


    He was slightly surprised to see that the beasts had broken past 4 blockades. In fact, thest two blockades set up to stop these beasts also appeared to be quite shaky¡­


    Azaroth also sensed just a few dozens of warriors alive. The rest had turned into corpses and were crushed underneath the beasts'' feet.


    In this situation, he couldn''t repair the formation. First, he had to clean up the area a little.


    Azaroth jumped past the blockades and immediately jumped into this ocean of beasts.


    "Wind Domain!"


    "Thousand des of Wind!"


    Azaroth had no time to gauge the power or have his fun here with these beasts. He chose the best option avable to him and killed any and all beasts in 70 meters radius around him.


    Fortunately, the warriors were a little behind him and weren''t caught up in his Wind Domain, or they would have also experienced the same fate as those beasts in Azaroth''s domain.


    Even the 4 Star beasts were cut apart into pieces in Azaroth''s domain.


    Only the strongest warriors of the Palm Valley School graduates had survived. They had even asked for reinforcements, and honestly, it wasn''t helping them much right now.


    They felt that they were going to be killed soon.


    However, when they sensed the sudden wind pressure and raised their heads to look at Azaroth, who had singlehandedly killed hundreds of beasts in his range. They finally breathed a sigh of relief¡­


    The Palm Valley School graduates never imagined that they would be saved by Azaroth.


    Many had held grudges against him, but it was at this moment where they felt utmost thankful to his presence.


    Azaroth wasn''t someone who cared about how these weaklings thought.


    As he had dealt with many of the beasts and intimidated the other beasts from charging at the encampment, he had some time to observe the warriors here.


    ''Mystic Eyes of Perception!''


    Azaroth''s red-colored pupils had changed into purple-colored pupils, and he gazed at each warrior very carefully.


    Suddenly, his eyes stopped on a specific individual. He was none other than the guy who imed to be Rudy''s elder brother and one of the only 4 Star Warrior from Palm Valley School Graduates.


    It wasn''t this guy''s power that surprised him. This 4 Star Warrior could only be considered below average amongst the warriors Azaroth had seen.


    The thing that surprised Azaroth was the faint demonic aura in this man''s body.


    ''Wait¡­ I didn''t sense any sort of demonic aura when he tried to fight against me. He did use Ardor at that time as well.''


    Azaroth was quick in his analysis soon came to a conclusion ''This means this is not his demonic ardor. Someone imnted this demonic ardor in him! Also, the fact that it''s still glowing means that it had been recently activated.''


    "Damn. I really stepped into some huge scheme of the demons¡­" Azaroth spoke with a grin on his face. He was naturally excited.


    The enemy was out in the open while he was in the shadows. This was an excellent opportunity to learn more about this enemy and make good use of him.


    Azaroth pulled out a red-colored pill and ate it immediately to recover at least half the Ardor he had lost using the Wind Domain and then the Thousand des of Wind.


    The beasts behind Azaroth had somehow gotten over their fear of Azaroth and finally started charging ahead.


    This was because their instincts told them that Azaroth won''t be able to use that same attack again.


    Azaroth shouted at the warriors from Palm Valley School, "Take care of these beasts while I go and repair the barrier formation. Just hold them back for 10 minutes or so, and I will be done."


    "¡­ Alright." Someone amongst this group of warriors shouted out.


    Azaroth had naturally not waited for this confirmation and was already moving to the array formation point here.


    As he was running towards that array formation point, he noticed several beasts near that position and turned his head, "Hey, you."


    He pointed at a guy who had just beheaded a monkey and turned Giant Rat. This man was none other than the 4 Star Warrior who had a hint of demonic aura within his body.


    As that guy heard Azaroth, he turned towards him and asked with some surprise, "Are you talking about me?"


    "Yes,e with me. Don''t let the beasts near me for some time. I will need some clear space as well. If I get disturbed by the beasts, the formation will never be repaired." Azaroth exined his reasoning very quickly since he was in a hurry.


    The Palm Valley School''s Graduates were also in a hurry as they wanted to get the formation repaired as soon as possible.


    The other 4 Star Warrior from the Palm Valley School immediately spoke out, "Go and assist him. We need to get the formation repaired as soon as possible."


    There was not much choice for that guy as he jumped back and turned to run at the spot where Azaroth was headed.


    After like a minute or so, the two had reached that spot.


    Since there were still some beasts around them, Azaroth went over to the formation''s center while the man exploded out his Ardor and began fighting against these beasts with his full strength.


    Currently, he couldn''t afford to focus on a single beast as he had to make sure that they remained away from Azaroth.


    While Azaroth was repairing the formation, he kept on observing this man and how he fought.


    It was rtively primitive, there was little to no skill in his actions, and he failed to understand why a demon would choose such a warrior for some sort of task.


    ''Wait¡­ Don''t tell me¡­''


    As Azaroth thought of a possibility, he immediately stopped repairing the formation array.


    Azaroth pulled out a sword from his Spatial Ring and threw it at the Brown Bear, fighting this man. The sword was thrown at such speed, enhanced with the Wind Ardor, that it pierced its head, killing it in one blow.


    Azaroth pulled out two more swords and threw them as if he was throwing knives and killed a Sky Blue Jackal and a giant me lizard. Once again, these des pierced their heads in one go.


    The area nearest to this man could be considered cleared right now. The other beasts were nearly 10 or so meters away from him.


    Before this guy could even turn, Azaroth''s hand was already on top of his head.


    "Now¡­ Time to get your secrets."


    Azaroth''s eyes began to glow with purple color as his hold over this man''s head tightened.


    Suddenly, Azaroth felt something pulling his spirit.


    He didn''t even need to think for a long time before knowing the answer to this question.


    "So, I was right. You indeed imnted a part of your soul inside this human and took control over his body to break this barrier formation, Demon King Zalvach." Azaroth knew the name of this Demon King because of Abyssal Hound''s memories.


    "Who are you?!"


    "You don''t need to know," Azaroth spoke as he caught hold of that spirit with his own spiritual energy.


    "You will regret it! I have locked onto your aura, and if you kill me, my real body will know about you and kill you as soon as it can. You won''t be able to run away!" The Demon King''s Spirit shouted at Azaroth quickly.


    "Shut your mouth. Even a weak soul like you dares to be so arrogant in front of me?! I have thousands of skills to make you disappear, leaving no evidence!" Azaroth snorted in response and replied.


    "I can''t be bothered to chat with you." Azaroth''s purple eyes glowed for a few seconds as he whispered, "Soul Reading Technique."


    A massive amount of information flew in Azaroth''s head as he filtered out the information he didn''t require.


    Meanwhile, he also crushed the guy''s head as he had no more use of this man.


    While Azaroth was learning new information from the memory of that Demon King''s Spirit, he began walking towards the barrier formation center.


    He repaired the barrier formation in about a minute or so.


    Azaroth shouted at the other warriors, "The formation has been repaired. Get back in the formation!"


    Meanwhile, an echo transmission followed soon enough, informing the warriors on the southern side of the encampment to get inside the barrier formation.


    After nearly 10 or so seconds, the barrier on the southern side was also activated.


    Azaroth and the other warriors of Palm Valley School breathed a sigh of relief.


    They looked shocked and somewhat sad as they saw that one of the 4 Star Warrior from their school had died, but they had no time to mourn.


    They immediately requested more reinforcements as after some rest, they would have to fight against the beasts again.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth utilized his free time to carefully analyze the Demon King Zalvach''s Soul''s memories.

 Chapter 31 - The True Target Of The Beasts

    Demon King Zalvach had a part of his soul within such an unimpressive warrior from the Palm Valley School. But the memories of this part of the soul were iplete.


    However, even from these vague memories, Azaroth did find out why this part of the soul was in this warrior.


    It was because this warrior''s father was a member of a demonic cult.


    Since birth, these demonic cult members each had a seed imnted within them since birth that made them entirely loyal to the Demon they worshiped.


    This soul seed within their mental consciousness wasn''t just a method of earning their loyalty but also twisting their user''s mentality.


    Their intense emotions, like lust, love, anger, guilt, fear, excitement, and so on, sent a constant stream of energy to the original soul and strengthened the demon.


    Many demons had different ways of gathering energy, and this Demon King Zalvach was increasing his power by feeding on his followers'' intense emotions.


    Azaroth knew a lot of demons of his time who would do the same. Unlike a demon, humans experienced strong emotions much more easily and frequently.


    Azaroth had tried this sort of method when he was a Demon Lord, but he grew pretty disappointed as the power he received would be very unrefined. He had to spend a lot of time refining it to a level he felt was eptable.


    Anyway, it seemed as though Demon King Zalvach''s motive for sabotaging this barrier formation was to kill all the humans within the Kloras Town.


    Since he had lost contact with Demon Lord Talvin, who was currently in the form of an Abyssal Hound, he had no choice but to be satisfied with what he can get.


    Basically, Demon King Zalvach wanted to kill all the humans of Kloras Town and then absorb their death energy through this part of his soul.


    "Because I forcefully annihted this part of his soul using my Spiritual Energy, the Demon King Zalvach is probably shaking in anger. I wonder if he will be angry enough to personallye here." Azaroth had an amused smile on his face.


    He didn''t fear this Demon Kinging to this ce. Firstly, there were no conditions for the Demon King to summon himself to this region yet.


    In fact, if the Demon King were to forcefully open a portal to this ce like he had done during the time when he sent Talvin here, he would be significantly injured.


    Azaroth feared a Demon King because of hisck of power, but he didn''t fear an injured Demon King. If Demon King Zalvach did dare toe here, he would be throwing away his life.


    Also, ording to the memories he read, this Demon King had a cautious nature. Considering that he had lost a part of his soul here, he might even overthink the situation and not daree to this region.


    There were a lot of things he could miscalcte¡­


    He might mistakenly believe that this part of his soul was incinerated by a Celestial. The second was being caught by some human expert, and the third was the death of the warrior, which indeed urred.


    Azaroth raised his head and sensed some warriors arriving on the Southern Side.


    These were the warriors residing in Kloras Town who hade to fight against the beasts.


    Once these reinforcements had appeared on the Southern side, Azaroth spoke, "I will go to Town Lord''s side. I need to inform him something."


    The Palm Valley School''s graduates stared at Azaroth, and although they still didn''t like him all that much, they were somewhat thankful to him for extending a hand and helping them when he could.


    After some minutes, Azaroth was soon together with Brynn Gaynor, Sophie, and the other warriors stationed within this encampment.


    He stared at Sophie and spoke, "I modified the barrier formation and added some traps."


    Sophie nodded her head, and the corners of her lips rose up, forming a beautiful smile on her face, "I noticed it when I activated the formation. That''s a clever trick you used. Maybe wasting all that time on you wasn''t a bad idea. You did learn something."


    Azaroth just chuckled, and his gaze soon turned serious, "Has there been any attack from a 5 Star Beast yet?"


    Sophie''s facial expression turned grave as she answered, "Surprisingly, no. In fact, the number of beasts that are attacking the barrier is quite lesser than the expected number."


    Brynn Gaynor spoke with a frown, "Maybe the beasts are just building up for a big attack."


    Standing a little far away from their position, Peter turned his head and spoke, "Miss Sophie, if I have the permission to say something¡­"


    "Speak." Sophie indifferently allowed him to say what he had in mind.


    Peter began walking towards them and soon gave his input, "I have seen some beast raids urring in our Kingdom and have heard of even more. ording to my experience, nearly all the beasts should have attacked by now."


    Sophie asked him seriously, "What do you want to say?"


    Peter gave his answer almost immediately, "I mean that since they haven''t attacked, it means they are nning something much more sinister. However, I find it weird that there have almost very few cases where the beasts actually nned a Beast Raid. Even a 5 Star Beast does not possess the intelligence to sessfully n a Beast Raid that can significantly damage us unless¡­"


    "¡­Either the 5 Star Beast is a Kitsune or rted to Fox through some mutations. However, ording to Edwin Rhodes, the two 5 Star Beasts are a White Wolf with three eyes, and the second one is a Giant Dark Dog."


    He looked at Azaroth with a distrustful gaze.


    "And? What do you want to imply?" Sophie asked him with a slightly sharp voice. It was clear that she didn''t like how Peter was staring at Azaroth with that suspicious look on his face.


    Surprisingly though, Peter shook his head and replied, "There is a second possibility¡­ And it would make the situation much more troublesome. The possibility of demons interfering with this Beast Raid¡­"


    Azaroth, Brynn Gaynor, Sophie, and a few other warriors who heard Peter stared at him with a wide-eyed look.


    They were shocked to hear that this might involve demons.


    However, Azaroth was shocked for a slightly different reason. He never imagined that this guy would strike the hammer on the nail so decisively!


    The second possibility he had stated was precisely the situation!


    ''This guy¡­ I wasn''t nning to pay much attention to him, but he has a sharp mind. At least much more than anyone else in this encampment! He considered this possibility despite so few hints! Also, he appears to be suspicious of me for some reason¡­''


    "Impossible! There is no way demons would try to attack a small town like mine! What would they even get from such a small town anyway?!" Brynn Gaynor almost shouted out with a terrified expression.


    "¡­You shouldn''t scare them for no reason, Peter. This will bring down the morale on our side and will only make things troublesome." Sophie spoke to Peter, wanting him to drop this topic.


    However, Peter had a forced smile as he shook his head, "I didn''t consider this possibility for no reason."


    He then remained quiet and somehow didn''t continue ahead.


    Sophie looked at Brynn Gaynor and the other warriors and was slightly worried since this new information might scare many inexperienced warriors here in this encampment.


    But¡­ At this moment, Azaroth stepped forward and spoke with a resolute voice, "So what the demons are involved?"


    All eyes focused on him and wondered what he wanted to say.


    One of them shouted at Azaroth, "You don''t understand the demons! Unlike the beasts, the demons are a hundred times more terrifying!"


    Azaroth began chuckling at those words. In this world, no one could say that he didn''t understand the demons. In fact, he was awfully familiar with demons, whether it was their anatomy, their thinking, or their power.


    But unfortunately, he couldn''t really say that here.


    "Perhaps you are right. But I know well enough that I will die fighting rather than give up before even battling those demons. Also, you are underestimating these three Tier 5 Arrays set up by Sophie. If there are demons involved, at most, they would only be at the 5 Star Rank. Otherwise, they would have already attacked and exterminated us. And this Tier 5 Array can deal with four 5 Star Beasts!"


    Azaroth then stared at the man who had spoken against himself, "Now tell me, do you think we have the better chances or the enemy does?!"


    Those words seemed to have uplifted the spirit of the warriors on their side.


    Sophie''s face was flushed red because of Azaroth''s words with which he had hyped her formation and made it seem much more incredible.


    Peter gazed at Azaroth and was slightly surprised that he was motivating all the warriors here.


    The morale that had been destroyed was now even higher than before.


    "Edwin is right. You all can rest assured that we are well prepared to deal with anything unexpected." Sophie further supported Azaroth''s words, which closed this topic.


    Sophie opened up the barrier and allowed the beasts to fight against their warriors.


    Currently, the number of warriors on each side seemed to be sufficient in dealing with the current number of beasts.


    Assume the creaturesunched an all-out assault with a sudden surge in numbers. Sophie nned to resist with theplete barrier mode, then utilize the illusionary array to let them fight amongst themselves before delivering thest blow with the Killing Array.


    They waited for another half an hour. However, there was still no all-out attack from the beasts.


    In fact, Brynn Gaynor found this situation quite troubling since if the beasts continued to do this, it would be their encampment that would fall into a predicament.


    It was because the quantity of the beasts attacking the encampment wasn''trge enough to activate the Killing Array and Illusionary Arrays yet, but if they didn''t use it, then their numbers won''t be able to keep up with the beasts.


    After a few more minutes, almost all the warriors present at the center of this encampment turned their heads towards the East.


    It was because they heard the footsteps¡­


    They saw Jaden''s figure appearing in their vision. Jaden was one of Aiden''s disciples and was slightly familiar with Brynn Gaynor.


    However, the surprising thing was that he was carrying a body and running towards them as soon as possible.


    "Please treat him. This man is heavily injured." Jaden spoke with a sense of urgency in his voice.


    This man''s face appeared entirely unfamiliar to the group here. They were pretty sure that he was not a warrior from this encampment.


    Brynn Gaynor knew that now was not the time to ask questions regarding this man''s identity. Since Jaden had brought him here, it meant that he was probably an ally, or else Aiden would have killed him already.


    "Kairo, take him to the infirmary quickly!" Brynn Gaynor immediately gave an order to his subordinate.


    The subordinate quickly carried this man''s body to the infirmary.


    The boy named Jaden took some quick breaths to calm down his body.


    Brynn Gaynor then asked him, "Who was that man? Why would hee to our encampment at this time?"


    Jaden spoke with a look of urgency on his face, "Town lord¡­ He told us that the beasts have attacked the Kloras Town! Why are you not defending the town from these beasts?!"


    "What are you talking about? Aren''t we fighting against the beasts, right here?" Just as Brynn Gaynor spoke those words, Peter''s eyes shed with shock and anger.


    Peter clenched his fists tightly as he spoke out, "Shit! Those beasts¡­ They split their forces into two and sent the main force towards the Kloras Town, moving around the barrier while they sent the smaller force towards us here!"


    "I did station many warriors in the Kloras Town. If it had been attacked, they should have informed me." Brynn Gaynor spoke with a grim look.


    At this point, Jaden spoke again, "The man mentioned that the warriors stationed in the town copsed before they could even send a signal for reinforcement. In fact, it wasn''t even a fight¡­ A single dark hound just broke our defenses all alone, and then the other beasts entered the town, ughtering everyone in sight."


    "Shit! That dark hound must have been the 5 Star Beast!" Peter suddenly eximed out with a look of urgency.


    It was at this moment Brynn Gaynor and the other people realized what the entire situation was.

 Chapter 32 - Leaving The Encampment

    "What''s the damage to the Kloras Town?!" Brynn Gaynor suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Jaden''s shoulders.


    He was distraught after hearing this shocking information.


    Jaden clenched his fists and spoke, "Before he copsed, the man mentioned that the town had nearly copsed. The beasts had all used strong elemental attacks and hunt all the humans."


    "Shit! Those damn beasts! How dare they attack my town?!" Brynn Gaynor cursed in anger.


    Many other warriors who were from the Kloras Town were absolutely furious. They looked in Brynn Gaynor''s direction and shouted, "Town Lord, we need to immediately go and fight those beasts attacking the city!


    "Yes, town lord! My family¡­ Maybe they are still alive! I need to go there and help them immediately!"


    One by one, the warriors began shouting, expressing their desire to go and help their family or friends at the Kloras Town.


    Meanwhile, Peter had a deep frown on his face as he continued thinking of this situation.


    ''These beasts waited for us to use the Barrier formation so that even our sensors will be restrained and won''t be able to sense them. Once the barrier formation was activated, most of the beasts immediately sped towards the Kloras Town, led by that Dark Hound. Since when did beasts get so smart? And why are they focusing on killing them without fighting us at all?''


    Although Peter held those suspicions, he didn''t speak them out. He knew that in the current emotional state of these warriors, they won''t listen to him.


    Azaroth had a shocked look over his face. He clenched his fists and turned to Brynn Gaynor, "Town Lord, I can feel the pain of these warriors. I believe it would be best to lead a group of strong warriors and attack those beasts in Kloras Town. We must save all the individuals we can."


    Brynn Gaynor and many other warriors focused on Azaroth. The fact that this hade from Azaroth''s mouth made Brynn Gaynor consider that he should take this course of action.


    Like other warriors from Kloras Town, he had his own family and property in the town. He couldn''t allow those beasts to trample over everything he had worked so hard to obtain.


    "How will we deal with the 5 Star Beast, though?" This question from Brynn Gaynor immediately killed the excitement.


    Many warriors unconsciously turned their heads towards Peter, and Azaroth was also one of them. Naturally, none spoke any words or asked him to help.


    Sophie let out a sigh at this scene.


    She looked at Azaroth and asked him, "What''s your view, Edwin?"


    Azaroth first nced at Peter and then at Sophie. He was slightly puzzled about what he should tell her.


    "¡­ I am not entirely sure how we should proceed with this situation. However, the best idea would be to have a 5 Star Warrior deal with that 5 Star Beast. As long as we stay within this formation, we have some countermeasures against the 5 Star Beast, but the same can''t be said about the warriors who are going to fight against the 5 Star Beast outside of this formation."


    Azaroth''s words resonated with other people as they were thinking along simr lines as well. The warriors here found it slightly ufortable to state their thoughts in front of Sophie.


    "I see¡­" Sophie softly whispered as she heard Azaroth''s response, and her gaze lingered over Peter, the only 5 Star Ranked Warrior in this camp.


    "Miss, my primary mission was to protect your life. It would be inappropriate for you to send me away." Peter spoke as he noticed Sophie''s gaze over his body.


    The people around who were eager to return to Kloras Town and protect their family were slightly disappointed. Sophie noticed this scene, and she had a determined look, "If you don''t go, then even more warriors will die. We will have lesser people to resist that beast tide. That will be even worse for our side."


    Peter found himself speechless as he heard Sophie''s words. He knew she was absolutely right regarding this.


    Even he couldn''t deal with a whole beast raid alone. Besides, there were also two 5 Star Beasts in this Beast Raid. With the remaining forces, it would beughable to challenge them.


    Since Peter was silent, Sophie continued, "ording to the information we possess, the two 5 Star Beasts have split up. The second one will probably attack this encampment any second, but we have the location of that ck hound right now. Go and kill it. As long as you can kill that beast, much of our pressure will be lessened."


    Before Peter could even object to this, Sophie turned her head towards the other warriors, "I will allow Peter to apany you so that he can y that ck Hound. Once he has done that, he will assist those he can and return. If someone has an issue with this n, then speak up."


    There were naturally some people who were unhappy with this n. They wanted Peter to stay on the battlefield and help them until they had rescued their family, but none of them spoke up at this moment.


    It was mainly because they knew that if they tried to take a yard for an inch, this woman might change her mind about helping them.


    After some moments, a fit middle-aged man replied, "This is all we could ask for. Thank you, Miss Sophie."


    Sophie then stared at Peter with an intense gaze, "This shall be your order. Go and y that ck Hound, the 5 Star Beast terrorizing the Kloras Town, and return as quickly as possible."


    Peter didn''t want to ept this order at all. He didn''t know why but he had a bad feeling about this particr task. However, he knew that he couldn''t refuse it at this moment.


    So, as a loyal retainer, he was on his right knee and spoke, "As youmand, mydy."


    Once Peter had epted the task, he turned towards Brynn Gaynor, the town lord of Kloras Town, and spoke, "Let''s not waste any more time. Gather the men you can right now, and let''s depart for Kloras Town. If we wait any longer, then the beasts might tten the entire town."


    "Yes, yes!" Brynn Gaynor looked somewhat happy that Peter was going along with them.


    It took Brynn just 15 or so minutes to gather 70 warriors who were still stationed inside the encampment and could be considered reinforcements for the warriors fighting at the different outposts.


    These 70 or so warriors soon departed for Kloras Town under the leadership of Brynn Gaynor.


    Other than the warriors fighting on their respective outposts, only 40 warriors remained at the encampment center.


    Azaroth had an emotionless face as he stared at the remaining warriors.


    He decided to stay behind under the exnation that he was the only one who knew how to operate the formation other than Sophie. He would be of more help here than fighting on the front lines.


    This exnation earned him curses from the warriors who thought of him as a coward and someone scared of death.


    Azaroth heard them but found it pointless to reply to these corpses.


    The only person who threatened him was Peter. Even though Azaroth had observed him quite intensely, he was still unsure what power he had and how strong he was.


    An unknown opponent was quite dangerous. And losing due to underestimating his opponent would just beughable.


    Now that Brynn Gaynor had departed, Sophie was the one managing the centralmand. She opened and closed the barrier around the encampment at her own discretion.


    As time passed, the warriors fighting at their respective outposts were injured or even killed. Out of the 40 warriors, 10 warriors had already been sent to different outposts as reinforcements.


    Sophie received another request for reinforcements from the outpost in the Northern Side, and Azaroth immediately stepped forward, speaking up, "I will assist them as well."


    Sophie was surprised to hear him speak at this point. She nodded her head and then turned towards four warriors, "Alright, you four will go and assist the Northern Side."


    Azaroth nodded his head and was about to run towards the Northern side that Sophie gave him a signal toe close.


    The other warriors turned their heads and got busy with their respective tasks while Azaroth got close to Sophie''s position.


    Sophie had a slight smile on her face as she looked at Azaroth, "Let''s hope we both survive this." She moved forwards and gave him a quick peck on his cheeks.


    Azaroth''s eyes widened for some moments, and he instinctively licked his lips after Sophie''s lips had parted from his lips.


    "¡­Why?" Azaroth stared at Sophie with a nk expression.


    Sophie had a smile on her face as she whispered, "You should understand by now."


    Before Azaroth could ask anything else, Sophie spoke, "Alright, you need to go now. I hope you won''t take too much of a risk and prioritize your own life."


    "¡­Very well." Azaroth nkly nodded his head before he turned his body and began moving.


    As soon as Azaroth turned his body, there was a devious smirk on his face as a n formed in his head.


    He didn''t tarry any longer and immediately left for the Northern Side to assist the warriors there.


    Three warriors joined him on this expedition, and they looked ready to assist the Northern Side.


    This was also the side where Myles and hisrades had been stationed to prevent the beasts from entering the encampment.


    Azaroth hardly cared about the presence of Myles and hisrades. He was just looking for an opportunity, and he found this one rather appropriate for himself.


    Also, considering the feelings Sophie held for him, he was pretty confident in dealing with any unexpected situation.


    After 10 or so minutes, Azaroth and his group reached the Northern Side.


    Without greeting anyone, they immediately moved towards the edge of the barrier and began fighting the monsters.


    Azaroth used a long-ranged Wind Elemental Ability to attack the monsters from a distance.


    Meanwhile, the other warriors pulled out their swords or axe and sliced the monsters with each swing. These warriors were entirely fresh and were at the peak of their strength.


    Even though the beasts had better stamina than the humans, they were still slightly tired and could hardly resist these warriors'' attacks.


    The wind shockwaves from Azaroth that struck the beasts imbnced their bodies and some warriors used that opportunity to finish them off.


    The fighting went on for nearly half an hour more. There was no time for the warriors to even turn their heads and look in theirrades'' direction. They just kept on fighting and fighting¡­


    However, they finally earned their well-deserved rest as the barrier around them activated again.


    Once they were inside the barrier, they breathed a sigh of relief. They were all tired and began recovering their Ardor and also looked for theirrades who survived.


    The three warriors who had apanied Azaroth to the Northern Side were surprised when they found no trace of Azaroth around them.


    For some moments, they looked at each other''s faces. One of them shook his head with a sigh, and the other two nodded.


    Even though none of them knew where Azaroth was or if he was even alive, they decided to keep it among themselves. They believed it would be better to not create amotion because of this.


    Because of this very reason, the other warriors stationed in the Northern Side didn''t know that Azaroth was stationed here as well. Even Myles and his group remained unaware of this specific piece of information.


    Meanwhile, outside of this barrier surrounding the encampment, a ck-clothed figure ran towards Kloras Town quickly. He was jumping from one tree to another and keeping the noise rtively low.


    There was a serious look on his face as he ran towards Kloras Town.


    "Time to kick things up a notch." As he whispered those words underneath his breath, a dark aura surrounded his body.


    A thin smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he used, "Demonic Transformation!"


    His entire body was giving off a dangerous demonic aura. He boosted his body to the limit and didn''t care about holding back at this moment.


    ''Sophie will keep the barrier up for nearly 15-30 minutes.. I need to finish everything by then.''

 Chapter 33 - Azaroth And Abyssal Hound Against Peter (1)

    After 5 or so minutes, Azaroth reached Kloras Town through the forest.


    He used his sensing ability to limit and search for the group of warriors led by Brynn Gaynor.


    He found that they had formed some sort of formation, and Brynn Gaynor led them. Peter''s presence was nowhere near them.


    Azaroth felt a warrior near Abyssal Hound, and it seemed that they were already fighting.


    A broad smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he sensed how the beasts had absolutely demolished this town.


    Even as he gazed around while standing above a high building, he saw the corpses of the people all around them.


    Dark Ardor moved towards Azaroth, and his body unconsciously absorbed that dark energy. Azaroth''s demonic transformation became even more powerful¡­


    Azaroth stopped utilizing the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique as he didn''t want to absorb this dark energy just yet.


    The potential of this dark energy was much greater¡­ Absorbing it all now would be a waste.


    "First, I need to deal with that man Peter," Azaroth spoke with a frown on his face as he sensed the battle between Peter and Abyssal Hound.


    He could feel that the man named Peter was dominating the fight right now.


    Azaroth used multiple Phantom Steps and immediately disappeared in that direction, ignoring the other human warriors.


    He ignored them all because no matter what they do, they were bound to die.


    After all, the Three-Eyed White Wolf was going to join this battle very soon.


    In about a minute, Azaroth reached the location where he witnessed Peter in white robes, holding a brown-colored flute in his hand.


    Meanwhile, he saw the Abyssal Hound jumping around and dodging Peter''s attacks.


    Azaroth was slightly shocked when he saw the weapon in Peter''s hands. A flute¡­?


    Azaroth had personally experienced a tough battle against the warriors whomanded sound powers.


    It was even more exaggerated for the Abyssal Hound as his senses were much more enhanced than humans. The sound attacks were super effective against him.


    The power, range, and speed of the sound-based attacks were quite impressive.


    Azaroth clicked his tongue as he observed this situation ''Sophie''s father really chose an appropriate person to guard his daughter. Dealing with this man is quite troublesome in itself. Because of his control over sound and vibration, he can even deal with two 5 Star Beasts at the same time.''


    If someone looked from a distance, they would notice how there was not a single injury on Peter, and the Abyssal Hound''s body had multiple injuries as it bled profusely.


    Suddenly, Azaroth''s eyes focused on the blood falling on the ground.


    He was slightly confused as he saw all that much of Abyssal Hound''s blood on the ground.


    ''The Abyssal Hound possesses great control over the demonic element. Why is it not healing its body using the demonic element? Considering the amount of death energy around him, it''s easy for him to use the demonic element to heal himself to full health.''


    Soon enough, Azaroth realized what the Abyssal Hound was doing.


    A thin smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he thought ''I see¡­ I nearly forgot that the soul within this Abyssal Hound is that of an Array Grandmaster rarely seen even in the Purgatory. Looks like he is trying to create a strong barrier that suppresses Peter''s abilities using his own blood.''


    Azaroth continued to observe the fight for some more time and noticed that Peter''s eyes were also on the lookout for all that blood.


    ''This guy doesn''t exactly understand what the Abyssal Hound wants to do, but he seems prepared to deal with it.''


    Peter was holding the flute with both of his hands, and each time he blew air in it, mysterious energy was released from one of its ends.


    Sometimes it was sharp needles that targeted the Abyssal Hound, or sometimes it was a wave of sound energy, and sometimes, it was just a strong shockwave that threw the Abyssal Hound away.


    The Abyssal Hound dealt with those attacks using its own demonic power. Sometimes nullifying it or letting out a stream of hot demonic mes. Its prominent ability to deal significant physical damage couldn''t be used as Peter didn''t let the Abyssal Hound get close to his body.


    As Peter attacked the Abyssal Hound once again. This time, his attack consisted of multiple invisible threads of energy.


    Azaroth could see those invisible threads using his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    ''Those threads consist of strong spiritual energy as well as wind elemental powers. It will not only tear apart the Abyssal Hound''s body but also his spirit. Looks like I need to help him out.''


    Before those invisible waves of energies could strike Abyssal Hound''s body, multiple dark wisps targeted them. It hardly resisted for a second, but this was enough time for the Abyssal Hound to look at them and dodge that attack.


    Naturally, this sudden attack out of nowhere surprised Peter as well. He whispered with a low voice, "Someone else is here. Moreover, he found out about my hidden attack and even intercepted it."


    A determined look appeared on Peter''s face as he ced one of the open ends of his flute against his lips and blew into it.


    Nothing seemed to have urred, but as Peter opened his eyes, he raised his hand and pointed his finger on the building where Azaroth was standing, "You should get down. I know you are there."


    Azaroth knew that his earlier action hadpromised his location, but he was ready for it.


    ''Phantom Step!''


    Instead of getting down and having a frontal fight against Peter, Azaroth changed his location.


    Before Peter could use his flute to figure out his location, the Abyssal Hound suddenly attacked him.


    Peter jumped back and narrowly dodged that w that was empowered by demonic ardor.


    And just as Peter was getting ready to attack Abyssal Hound, multiple dark spheres targeted him from his left.


    Peter immediately blew into his flute and created a barrier around himself. This barrier was struck by those dark spheres, but it effortlessly resisted them.


    Peter slowlynded on the ground, and a grim look appeared in his eyes. He could foresee his defeat if he kept on fighting in this manner¡­


    His main priority was to bring that other person in the open and deal with the Abyssal Hound and him simultaneously.


    However, this was proving more than a challenge for him as when he was about to target the other person hidden in the shadows, the Abyssal Hound would attack. And while he was dealing with the Abyssal Hound, the person hidden in the shadows would interrupt him.


    Their coordination was nothing less than bothersome for Peter.


    Peter continued to jump back for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath and blew all that air into his flute.


    Suddenly, an ear-splitting sound was heard that paralyzed all the beasts in a 100 meters radius of Peter.


    Azaroth had already prepared a counter-measure for that, but this sound attack was much stronger than his defense. His demonic energy barrier slowly shattered as the intense vibrations struck his body.


    Peter turned his head in his direction and whispered, "So there you are!"


    He still had no idea about Azaroth''s identity, but he had sensed his strong demonic energy.


    "You are the perpetrator who initiated this Beast Raid, right?" Peter continued to gaze in that direction as he asked this question.


    Azaroth kept his mouth shut as he was sure that no matter how well he changed his voice, he wouldn''t be able to fool a warrior whose abilities were rted to sound.


    His identity would be revealed in a second.


    "Looks like you are not in a mood for talking. I need to bring you out in the open and ask you by my style." Peter spoke as he ced his flute against his lips.


    "Green Jade Song."


    As soon as this sound was heard, Azaroth felt as if his entire world was shaking.


    For some moments, he thought it was merely an illusion. But when he increased the output of demonic energy, he realized that this was not an illusion.


    This song from Peter seemed to be resonating with different particles and making them shake violently.


    Azaroth could feel his own internal organs shaking slowly, injuring themselves in the process.


    As his body was shaking, Azaroth grabbed hold of his left hand with his right hand and gritted his teeth, "HAAAAH!"


    He lit up his own body with the Hell mes and forcefully destroyed any and all sound particles that neared his body.


    With this method, he prevented any further damage to his own body. However, many of his vital organs had already been damaged. Especially his heart and lungs¡­


    Currently, Azaroth found it difficult to remain standing as he whispered, "Even after enhancing this human body so greatly through the Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique, its internal organs are still so frail. I need to do something about this."


    He vomited a mouthful of blood as his demonic aura all but disappeared. Azaroth turned his head towards the battle and saw how the Abyssal Hound was in an even worse shape.


    Unlike Azaroth, who possessed the Hell mes, the Abyssal Hound had barely created a weak array barrier using his Ardor.


    However, his own Ardor also shook because of that Green Jade Song and unleashed a relentless attack on the Abyssal Hound.


    The Abyssal Hound''s body was down on the ground as it continued to leak blood.


    Peter stared at that Abyssal Hound''s body and looked surprised as he felt some signs of life in this Abyssal Hound. He slowly regained his calmness as he whispered, "As expected of a demon beast. You still possess this much vitality even while being injured to this extent."


    Peter then turned his head towards Azaroth''s direction and spoke, "Now then, let''s see the mastermind of this Beast Raid."


    Peter created a sonic st through his flute and sted the entire building on which Azaroth was sitting.


    As the building was destroyed, Peter was slightly astonished to see no signs of a corpse.


    "So you can still run, huh?" Peter asked this question as he gently caressed his flute.


    "Let''s see how much power you still possess." There was a grin on his face as he immediately prepared another attack andunched it.


    "Sonic st!"


    This sonic st once again destroyed a building. However, Azaroth was no longer there.


    Peter continued to change his directions and target Azaroth with quick and strong attacks, while Azaroth used the Phantom Step to swiftly get out of the way.


    As Azaroth consecutively used the Phantom Steps, he felt his organs shaking wildly, making him experience significant pain, but he could not stop.


    The blood was gushing out of his body nonstop, but Azaroth had to ignore it as if he even stopped for a moment to treat it; he would greet those sonic sts.


    As a 4 Star Warrior, he didn''t possess the strength to deal with those sonic sts.


    Peter also began to frown as Azaroth continued to sessfully dodge his sonic sts.


    ording to him, the person should be heavily injured. So why was he able to execute such quick movement techniques? Did that mean he could nullify his Green Jade Song and didn''t take much damage from it?


    Even as he was thinking, he didn''t stop attacking Azaroth with those sonic sts.


    Peter was also curious about the reserves of this guy who could dodge his attacks so many times. Was he actually nning topete against him in reserves?


    As this thought appeared in Peter''s head, he shook his head and spoke with a smile, "How foolish."

 Chapter 34 - Azaroth And Abyssal Hound Vs Peter (2)

    Instead of a single Sonic st, Peter''s flute released three consecutive sonic sts, each one of them further split into three sonic sts, covering a wide range.


    This time, Azaroth couldn''t wholly dodge these attacks, and one of them struck his body, throwing it away.


    The smile on Peter''s face widened as he felt his attack strike Azaroth.


    "Time to capture you!" Peter jumped in Azaroth''s direction, nning to hold him as a prisoner.


    Suddenly, three dark spheres targeted Peter, and he had to stop for a moment to dodge them.


    A frown appeared on his face as he turned his head to look at that Abyssal Hound that had opened its eyes and was intensely staring at Peter.


    Despite the severe injuries, it stood on its feet and was ready for battle once again.


    "It seems I ignored you for too long. I won''t make such a mistake again." Peter spoke with a solemn tone as he got ready to battle the Abyssal Hound.


    "Green Jade Son-" Just as Peter was about to sing the Green Jade Song and deal with the Abyssal Hound once and for all, he suddenly felt an attack strike his back.


    These were three dark bullets shot by Azaroth in a hurry.


    Even though they weren''t strong enough to significantly damage Peter, Azaroth focused more on the speed part than the power.


    It did shake Peter''s body and prevented him from singing the Green Jade Song.


    This was all the time the Abyssal Hound needed as it pounced at Peter with a ferocious expression.


    "Ominous Dark Domain!"


    Demonic Ardor spread in a 200 meters radius of the Abyssal Hound as it pressurized the beasts, humans alike.


    Peter stumbled for a second as he was near the center of this domain, where the pressure was maximum.


    "Wild w!"


    The Abyssal Hound''s ws were covered with dense demonic ardor as he shed at Peter.


    Peter immediately raised his flute and blocked that attack. However, once he stopped that attack, he understood just how foolish it was to do so.


    The ground underneath him cracked as he felt the boost in Abyssal Hound''s strength within this domain.


    ''This Hound isn''t my only enemy, though.'' Peter thought as he felt some dark bullets strike his back once again.


    He was honestly surprised that he was having so much trouble against just two opponents. One of them was only a 4 Star Warrior¡­


    Also, it wasn''t as if he was taking it easy on either of them. But their coordination was truly worrisome for him.


    When he was about to attack one of them, the other would interrupt him and prevent him from utilizing a move.


    He just needed a small bit of time to deal with one of them. The other one should fall pretty quickly.


    "Dark Webs!"


    Suddenly, he felt strong demonic threads grabbing his arms and legs. Moreover, as he used more energy to free them, those threads continued to get tighter.


    Peter understood that he had to suddenly increase his force or else these threads would continue to tighten while absorbing his energy.


    "st him open now!" These were the first words that Azaroth spoke which Peter heard.


    Even though Peter vaguely recognized Azaroth''s voice, he didn''t have the time to even think orment on it.


    This was because he saw the Abyssal Hound charging up a dense quantity of Demonic Ardor in its mouth.


    "Demonic Cannon!" The Abyssal Hound spoke to himself as itunched that attack at a point-nk range.


    Meanwhile, dense Violet me Spheres were thrown at Peter''s back.


    These were none other than the Hell me Bombs created by Azaroth. Hebined them with the Dark Bullet attack so that they possessed an incredible amount of explosive power and impressive speed.


    As Peter was bombarded with both these attacks on his body, it hurt him this time.


    As the smoke rose in the air, Azaroth and the Abyssal Hound had a slight smile on their faces. It was because their adversary should have taken some heavy damage from their attacks.


    As Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception, his pupils widened with shock as he saw a faint figure standing within that smoke.


    He saw the posture, and a grim expression appeared on his face. Knowing what was about to ur, he immediately lit up his own body on Hell mes.


    A secondter, a faint sound could be heard. This sound seemed to be sung rhythmically as it continued to resound in the area.


    As Azaroth heard that song, the grim expression on his face converted to that of shock and horror. He realized that even with his preparations, he was stillte.


    This was not the Green Jade Song. Instead, it was something much stronger than that song¡­


    Azaroth''s body was immediately suppressed and fixed against the ground.


    Soon, the dust cloud began to settle, and Azaroth saw Peter walking towards himself, "To think I would be using my Submission Song against you, Edwin Rhodes. The fact that you have joined hands with the demons would break Miss Sophie''s heart."


    Azaroth was suppressed to the ground, and he couldn''t even open his mouth because of the effects of the Submission Song.


    He now understood that, unlike the Green Jade Song that affected his body externally, this song targeted his mind.


    With the Ardor of a 5 Star Warrior, it was easy for Peter to suppress Azaroth.


    Not just Azaroth, though. Even the Abyssal Hound was in a state where it could no longer move its body.


    Its Demonic Domain had dispersed as well.


    Azaroth could only move his pupils as he stared at Peter, who was slowly nearing him.


    "What do you have to say in your defense?" Peter asked Azaroth as he lowered the pressure on him to let him talk.


    Azaroth continued to stare at Peter even as he gained the ability to open his mouth, "I have nothing to say. You can think whatever you want."


    Peter didn''t seem impressed by his answer as he impassively asked him, "Really? But I am not satisfied. I don''t understand just why a Noble Family Heir would join hands with some lowly demons. Did they promise you some extravagant reward? I wonder what it was."


    From his tone, Peter only seemed mildly curious and amused.


    He seemed pretty surprised to have caught Azaroth here, assisting this Abyssal Hound.


    "It doesn''t seem as if speaking will help me at all. So I would prefer to not give you the satisfaction to know my reasons for joining hands with demons." Azaroth spoke with a slight smirk on his face.


    Peter replied to him just as impassively, "Do you really think I care about your reasons? I was just asking them as a Royal Guard since you are a Noble Family Heir. If your familyes asking me for an exnation why I killed you, I can tell them it wasn''t my fault that you didn''t open your mouth."


    Suddenly, they heard an angry growl, and without even turning his head, Peter just shook his flute.


    An intense de of energy was released from the flute, which sliced the Abyssal Hound''s head, killing it instantly.


    "Now, no one can save you," Peter spoke as he stared at Azaroth with a serious look.


    However, he was surprised to see that Azaroth was smiling at this time.


    "Why are you smiling? Don''t you see the situation we are in?" Peter asked him, somewhat puzzled by his expression.


    "The tables have turned. You just haven''t realized it yet." Azaroth spoke as he suddenly got up from the ground.


    It was as if he had freed himself from the effects of the submission song.


    And Peter finally noticed what Azaroth was talking about. He looked at the ground and saw how the red-colored blood was shinning.


    "I see now¡­ You activated an array?!" Peter looked utterly shocked as he stared at Azaroth.


    "This is a 5 Point Array. I am sure even you should know what this means." Azaroth calmly exined as he suddenly utilized the array''s energy and created thousands of swords in it.


    "What were you saying? No one can save me? I think you should worry more about yourself, Mister Peter." Azaroth spoke this with a grin on his face as the blood trickled down from his abdomen.


    The thousands of des in the air suddenly fell on Peter.


    Peter didn''t even have the time to curse before he was forced to jump away and dodge these swords.


    However, these des were not under the effect of gravity. They were in Azaroth''splete control.


    They immediately turned and attacked Peter while he was in mid-air.


    Their speed was so quick that before Peter could ce his flute on his lips, they had already reached his body.


    He moved the flute and tried to deflect these des. Peter sessfully deflected a few of those des, but the majority of them still pierced his body.


    As Azaroth saw Peter being pierced by so many des, there was no sign of happiness on his face. Instead, there was a grim look as he thought ''One-Third of the death energy has already been utilized to deal with this guy.''


    Moreover, one of his loyal subordinates in the form of the Abyssal Hound had already died. This meant he could no longer effectively control the beasts¡­


    This was bad news even for him.


    He controlled the des and attacked Peter''s body again, breaking his flute to make sure he had no chances to counter-attack.


    Because of his previous injuries from those des, Peter''s movements were sluggish, and he could hardly deflect these des.


    They pierced his head soon enough, killing him instantly.


    Once Peter had died, Azaroth dispersed the Array Formation immediately so that it wouldn''t absorb any more death energy.


    Azaroth went forward and collected Peter''s body along with the Abyssal Hound''s corpse. He carried them in a spatial ring before evacuating from the area.


    He wasn''t returning back to the encampment. Instead, Azaroth went even deeper within Kloras Town.


    He was trying to find a ce where he could peacefully absorb the Death Energy spread all over this location.


    Soon enough, he found such a location and created a field around himself that concealed his presence even from a beast''s sharp senses.

 Chapter 35 - Eternal Icicle Rainfall

    While Azaroth was peacefully absorbing the death energy that had spread in Kloras Town, the Three-Eyed White Wolf and his army of beasts appeared in the area.


    These were the ferocious beasts that had still not shown themselves on the battlefield just yet.


    Purple Horned Rhino, Seals, Apes, Giraffe, Wild Cats, Red Spot Leopard, Wolves, Bull, Bears, or the birds such as Vulture, Hawks, Sparrows, Eagle, Kingfisher, and so on were some of the species that showed up at this moment.


    Azaroth remained concealed because of the unique location and array, but the same could not be stated about the rest of the human warriors who had ughtered the beasts in this area.


    "Exterminate all humans."


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf howled as he gave this order to all the beasts and birds.


    The beasts let out loud, excited roars as they charged in Kloras Town.


    The ground rumbled as they charged forwards¡­


    Azaroth was disturbed while he was absorbing the death energy, and he frowned ''They wouldn''t identally go past this spot, right? Looks like I need to stay alert. I might need to jump away at a moment''s notice.''


    The ground continued to rumble as the other humans also turned their heads and caught sight of a horde of beastsing at them.


    Needless to say, none of the warriors could deal with so many beasts at the same time. Even the best amongst them could only prolong their deaths as they were either shed to death or stomped underneath the beasts'' feet.


    In this way, other than Azaroth, not a single warrior in Kloras Town survived the beasts'' second wave.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf didn''t feel any need for him to personally deal with any human warriors. Instead, he went over to the location where the Abyssal Hound had died.


    However, surprisingly, he couldn''t see its corpse or its enemy''s corpse.


    It was as if their presence had suddenly disappeared from the face of this world.


    "Interesting¡­ So there was still someone else who took their corpses." The Three-Eyed White Wolf was quite curious about this individual who possessed the Abyssal Hound''s corpse.


    In reality, the Three-Eyed White Wolf had known that the Abyssal Hound was in danger because his Third Eye allowed him to sense and see better than other beings.


    However, he didn''t give the order to charge because he wanted the Abyssal Hound to die.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf''s main motive was toe and kill the enemy Abyssal Hound was fighting and eat the Abyssal Hound''s corpse.


    The beasts had some simple ways to power up. Some were strong from birth because of their bloodline, and they merely needed time to process that energy. Meanwhile, the other beasts needed to eat and umte enough energy until they could evolve.


    The things they could eat were fossils, heavenly herbs, and mainly corpses of fellow beasts.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf had multiple opportunities to attack and eat the Abyssal Hound. Still, it had resisted them since it knew that if he took advantage when the Abyssal Hound''s Spirit was injured so heavily, he wouldn''t benefit much from it.


    He needed to first make the Abyssal Hound''s Spirit recoverpletely and then kill it and devour its corpse.


    Currently, the Three-Eyed White Wolf was a mid-ranked 5 Star Beast. But he was quite sure that if he swallowed the Abyssal Hound''s corpse, he could reach the high-ranked 5 Star Beast or maybe even get to the peak as a 5 Star Beast.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf activated his spiritual eye and began to look for clues.


    Unfortunately, as the White Wolf opened his spiritual eye, all he saw was a dark haze that effectively blinded him for a couple of seconds.


    It was as if this dark gaze was covered all around this area where the Abyssal Hound had died.


    The White Wolf was stunned for some seconds as he thought ''This wasn''t present earlier when I peeked at the fight between that Abyssal Hound and that warrior. Just what is this haze?''


    This was something left behind by Azaroth. Before Azaroth dispersed the formation that effectively killed Peter, he used thest bit of Death Energy to cover the entire area so that no one could find his clues by investigating spiritually.


    Even a 5 Star Beast such as this Three-Eyed White Wolf wouldn''t be able to disperse this spiritual haze easily. To remotely affect this death energy flooding this area, the White Wolf would first need to gain insight into this death energy.


    And such a thing was impossible for someone to do so in mere hours or even days. Even the humans with the most extraordinaryprehensive power would require months to gain insight and control the death energy.


    Azaroth needed years to gain insight and then more years to control the death energy as a demon. And that was when he regrly dealt with the death energy because of how he advanced as a demon.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf had little to no chance to find Azaroth with his Third Eye.


    Azaroth had already masked his scent, so no beast could use their senses to find his location.


    Soon, there appeared to be a grin on the Three-Eyed White Wolf''s face, "So that being thinks it can use such a trick and hide from me? Interesting¡­"


    In Kloras Town''s center, Azaroth suddenly opened his eyes as he sensed a strange killing intent. His senses that had been refined by testing himself against death screamed at him that he needed to run immediately!


    Azaroth somehow calmed down his racing heart.


    "Another issue of being a human. They are so easily excited or frightened." Since Azaroth was absorbing the Death Energy, he was in his standard form.


    He understood that since his senses were warning him, something extraordinary was going to ur very soon.


    Azaroth suddenly sensed different me and water elemental attacks from the west.


    He was surprised because these attacks were shot in the air.


    "Huh? What are these beasts doing? Are they going crazy? Or is there something in the sky they are targeting?" Azaroth continued to nce at the sky to find who they were targeting.


    In that area, he saw no birds even with his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    He then looked down and saw many beasts standing near the White Wolf, and most of them were Water elemental beasts or Fire elemental beasts.


    The water and the mes collided with each other and produced a lot of steam.


    Suddenly, it clicked in Azaroth''s mind!


    ''I see¡­They are trying to create artificial rainfall!'' Azaroth soon figured out a part of their motive. However, he soon questioned himself ''But why? Just what type of attack are they nning that they need rainfall?''


    Azaroth then sensed the White Wolf near those beasts.


    His eyes widened in horror as he understood just what these beasts were nning ''Oh shit! Is this thing actually serious?!''


    Now that he noticed it, the beasts had already killed all the human warriors in Kloras Town and were retreating from this city. Only the beasts with the Fire Ardor and Water Ardor remained near the White Wolf.


    A small sweatdrop appeared behind Azaroth''s head as he had a forced smile, "It''s a pity that I won''t be able to absorb all of it today. Well, I have already absorbed two-third of the death energy created by the deaths of Kloras Town civilians. I guess I can''t be too greedy."


    Azaroth went in his Demonic Transformation Mode. It had gotten much stronger after Azaroth had absorbed all that Death Energy and added it to his reserves.


    "I hope my body is strong enough for me to use this move."


    "Phantom sh!"


    As he spoke those words, Azaroth vanished from the spot.


    His speed was nearly twice aspared to when he used the Phantom Step.


    Meanwhile, the White Wolf''s preparations wereplete now.


    The sky above Kloras Town was covered with ck rainy clouds¡­


    The White Wolf howled loudly. It was so loud that the beasts outside of the Kloras Town also heard it.


    Azaroth kept his nerves as steady as he could since he knew what this signified.


    "Eternal Icicle Rainfall!"


    Each raindrop that was about to fall down on the earth was crystallized into hard ice. As it fell down towards the ground, the icicles'' speed continued to increase.


    All the Kloras Town buildings that still stood were now reduced to rubble as this Ice Rainfall urred.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was using the Phantom sh to run away from this area, and he felt three Icicles scratch his body.


    Fortunately, he possessed the Hell mes, and he could immediately heat up that part of his body, or else that part of his body would have caught frostbite and be dead skin.


    Recovering from frostbite that urred because of a 5 Star Beast''s attack would require a lot of effort.


    Even though Hell mes assisted him with preventing frostbite, Azaroth had to feel the burn from these mes.


    As he experienced those burns, he was reminded of when he was trying to force these mes to acknowledge him as its master.


    "Phantom sh!" Azaroth used this technique even though the previous one''s effect hadn''t finished yet.


    He wanted to increase his speed beyond the limit, or else, if one of these icicles hit his head, he would be done for.


    Currently, Azaroth''s speed was so high that even amongst the 5 Star Beasts, only a Lightning Cheetah could catch up to Azaroth while it runs at its full speed.


    Even though Azaroth was sessfully going past this area with this Ice Rain, he wasn''t happy at all. Much of his skin began to tear apart as he ran at such high speed¡­


    Especially the skin on his legs¡­ Quite a bit had been burnt, and Azaroth was already feeling the muscle pain of pushing his body beyond its limits.


    Combining that pain with that of the burning sensation in his right hand, it was challenging for Azaroth to get past this Ice Rain.


    Even though it only took Azaroth 6-7 seconds to get out of that area, he felt as if he had been suffering for eternity.


    Moreover, as Azaroth left Kloras Town, he saw many beasts in his way.


    Azaroth''s speed was so high that he couldn''t make a sharp turn at such a moment, so he did the sensible thing¡­


    He decided to go past them, killing anyone in his way.


    For a second, the beasts also remained stunned as they saw a being covered in dark aura charge out of the city.


    Because of no one tomand them at that moment, they couldn''t reach an immediate decision. However, most of them still got ready to fight. This was their basic instinct¡­


    When Azaroth noted their reactions, he had a disdainful smile on his face.


    To him, as he stared ahead, he only saw fodder that looked ready to die. It was pretty regretful since he wouldn''t be able to collect their corpses.


    A de appeared in Azaroth''s hand¡­ This was a very normal sword.


    However, as it was flooded by Azaroth''s demonic energy, it was reinforced, empowered into a demonic sword that wouldn''t lose to exceptional swords of its own rank.

 Chapter 36 - Returning To The Encampment

    Azaroth soon shed against the beasts who had somewhat prepared themselves to kill this speeding being.


    With a tight hold over his sword, Azaroth swung it with a quick speed and shed the beasts in his way.


    The speed and the power at which Azaroth moved his arm was as if he was unstoppable. However, as Azaroth swung that sword around at that high speed, the skin on his arm tore at an unbelievable rate.


    Azaroth didn''t falter though, he knew that stopping at this moment meant nothing less than death.


    These beasts would tear him apart.


    Because of his speed, Azaroth managed to blitz past many of these beasts, so he didn''t need to fight them at all.


    He was pretty fortunate since some of the beasts were quite strong, and if his speed was slow, he would have needed a bit of time to y them.


    The beasts were hardly able to react to his movements before his sword moved and killed them.


    In just 5-6 seconds, Azaroth passed that entire line of beasts that were in his way.


    After getting past those beasts, Azaroth started slowing down. It was because he knew that he was getting closer to the barrier.


    He couldn''t risk hitting himself against the barrier. Better would be to wait for Sophie to open up the barrier again and then get in.


    Azaroth''s speed decreased rapidly, and soon, he was walking on the ground. In front of them, he saw a horde of beasts attacking the barrier, paying not much attention to the consequences.


    Currently, the distance between Azaroth and the barrier was that of 5 miles or so.


    With his impressive vision, Azaroth saw Aiden and his group of students resting within the barrier.


    All had an ashen look over their faces, and it made Azaroth wonder just what happened.


    When Azaroth counted the number of Aiden''s students, he understood that one of them was missing.


    It was that boy named Cillian. Azaroth looked around and tried to find him, but there were no signs of his body.


    ''Looks like he has turned into Beast Food already.'' Azaroth calmly analyzed the situation.


    He didn''t care much about the death of this child.


    Azaroth stared at Aiden and thought ''What a weak resolve this man has. Since he dared to bring his disciples to this Beast Raid, he should have been prepared for the consequences. Getting depressed at such a moment won''t help his other students or himself.''


    After some moments, Azaroth saw that the barrier was opening up once again.


    "Good." He whispered as Azaroth crouched down and then jumped.


    As soon as he jumped, he used the Phantom sh to increase his eleration to the limit.


    Once his speed had reached the limit, Azaroth went like a bullet above the beasts, Aiden, his disciples, and the other warriors.


    Azaroth had surrounded himself with a blinding light that prevented anyone from recognizing him.


    It would be pretty suspicious if they saw himing from the direction of the beasts.


    Aiden did see a sh pass by from above his head, but he couldn''t gauge that thing''s figure. And before he could warn others, he noted that one of his disciples was in grave danger and required assistance.


    Meanwhile, after Azaroth''s body had entered the barrier, he immediately stopped using the Phantom sh and waited for his body to slow down so that he could stop.


    Currently, he wasing down towards the ground in a parabolic motion.


    Soon, his feet touched the ground. However, his momentum was so great that it still forced his body forward.


    Azaroth, though, didn''t n on moving his body one bit. He applied intense pressure using a lot of his Ardor vertically downwards!


    This was his idea to stop his body. And it was working¡­


    However, the ground beneath him had started to crack because of the pressure. The crack continued to get bigger as the ground absorbed all of Azaroth''s momentum.


    "Phew¡­" Azaroth let out a breath of relief as his body had finally stopped.


    The Phantom sh really had two significant disadvantages. Firstly, the strain it ced on his body was just too much.


    Secondly, it was pretty troublesome for Azaroth to halt his momentum.


    Azaroth deactivated his Demon Transformation Technique since he didn''t need it now.


    His blue hair felt the gentle breeze as Azaroth remained at that spot for a few minutes.


    "Alright, time to move."


    Azaroth turned his direction to the center of the encampment. Meaning, he was going towards Sophie''s current location¡­


    As for Sophie, she believed that Azaroth was still at the northern outpost of the encampment, fighting against the beasts.


    Currently, the center of the camp where Sophie was residing only had 10 warriors. And 6 of them were Sophie''s personal guards, so it could be said that all the reinforcements had been used up.


    Soon, Azaroth stepped into the camp center.


    Not a single one of Sophie''s guards stopped Azaroth as they had seen that their miss was fond of this man.


    Azaroth slowly went into the building where Sophie was seated while holding that Blue Crystal Sphere that controlled the three gigantic arrays.


    Sophie heard Azaroth''s footsteps and raised her head in his direction.


    She was struggling to control her smile and maintain a calm expression, but she failed miserably.


    Before Sophie could ask anything, Azaroth spoke, "The situation at the Northern Outpost is more or less stable now. I thought it would be better to return and help you in controlling the formation since you have probably exhausted yourselfpletely."


    "I see¡­" Sophie spoke with a calm look and a smile on her face.


    Azaroth went forward and touched the Blue Crystal Sphere, "Now, give it to me and take some rest."


    "¡­Alright." From her tone, it was clear that Sophie was quite reluctant about taking a rest, but as she looked into Azaroth''s eyes, she felt as if she had no choice but to do so.


    Once Sophie had fallen on the ground, Azaroth looked towards his left and spoke, "Can one of you take her to bed? She must be quite exhausted right now."


    A man appeared in the room soundlessly. He picked up Sophie and took her to a room with a bed in the same building.


    Azaroth had a smile as Sophie, and 3 of her guards left the area.


    Now, only 3 guards remained here who kept an eye on Azaroth.


    Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to take note of the exact positions where these three guards were hiding.


    ''Killing them and revealing myself right now wouldn''t be wise. They can be good shields.'' Azaroth grinned as he thought in this direction.


    For some time, he did just as Sophie was doing. Closing the barrier for the warriors to take some rest and then opening it to let them fight against the beasts.


    Azaroth had taken control of these arrays because now, the beasts'' final attack was about to arrive.


    ording to his calctions, they should arrive in nearly 15 minutes or so¡­


    However, Azaroth didn''t know from which direction they would attack.


    If it was a human, he could say that a human would analyze the formation and choose to attack the array at its weak point. But for a beast¡­ It was all a random guess.


    They trusted their instincts more than their intelligence.


    Azaroth sat on a chair and rxed his body. Unlike Sophie, he didn''t feel much pressure as he controlled the array. He hardly cared about someone''s life other than his own.


    After nearly 20 minutes, the beasts were led by the Three-Eyed White Wolf, who was rather angry.


    It was because a human had sessfully run away with the Abyssal Hound''s body right under his nose. This was extremely humiliating for him¡­


    And the warriors in the encampment were now going to experience this rage first hand.

 Chapter 37 - All Beasts Attack

    All the warriors at the northern side of the encampment were slightly bewildered as they felt the entire ground rumble.


    It surprised them because they shouldn''t have been affected by the beasts'' attack while they were in the barrier. It meant that the barrier was soon going to copse.


    Myles and some of his friends there gulped a mouthful of saliva as they looked on the other side of the barrier.


    They witnessed a huge dust cloud rising in the air¡­


    Typically, it signaled a storm or a massive army.


    In this case, the Beast Horde was going forward, shaking the ground with their charge as they looked ready to tear apart all humans getting in their way.


    The warriors on the Northern Side were shocked to see a Three-Eyed White Wolf leading these monsters.


    "Shit! That''s a 5 Star Beast! Let''s send the information back to the headquarters."


    They used the Echo Transmission Skill to send this information to the center of the encampment.


    Azaroth was jolted awake as he heard that Echo. He was surprised that the Three-Eyed White Wolf had chosen to attack from the Northern direction.


    ''Before heading to the Kloras Town, was this beast analyzing how the warriors have been deployed in the four outposts? It probably chose the northern outpost because of the lowest number of remaining warriors there.''


    "Send this Echo Transmission to all other outposts except the North. We must immediately prepare to y those beasts." Azaroth handed a slip to a guard near him.


    The person he wasmanding was one of Sophie''s guards. The man was slightly puzzled whether he should obey Azaroth''smand or not. After all, he was also one of the Royal Guards, and his pride prevented him from following Azaroth''s order.


    However, after giving the order, Azaroth just fell back into his chair with that smirk on his face. He was just staring at that Blue Cyrstal Orb and didn''t seem to care if the guard obeyed him or not.


    Another guard spoke up, "This is not the time to let ego control you, Jake. Just do as young lord Edwin has spoken. Young miss might get angry at you that you didn''t follow young lord Edwin''smand when it could have prevented many casualties."


    The guard named Jake let out a sigh before replying, "Alright." Suddenly, there was a fierce expression on his face as he added, "But do not think you are the boss of me!"


    Azaroth waved off his right hand as he didn''t care about it that much, "Whatever."


    The words Azaroth had written on the slip were soon resounded in the East, West, and the Southern outposts.


    "All warriors are ordered to move to the Northern Outpost. The final wave of this beast raid has attacked us from the Northern direction, so we must immediately prepare to counter it."


    As the different outposts received this order, they gulped down their saliva nervously. They ingested some pills to recover their energy and began moving towards the Northern Outpost.


    Azaroth stared at the Blue Crystal Sphere and whispered with a feeble voice, "The time hase¡­"


    The Blue Crystal Sphere shed with a bright light that blinded the other guards.


    This Blue light kept everyone blinded for nearly a minute before a vermillion color emerged that dyed the sphere in its color.


    Now, the Blue Crystal Sphere had converted to the Vermillion Colored Sphere.


    The aura it gave off was simply too contradictory to the Blue Crystal Sphere that the guards observing Azaroth were wondering whether it was the same object or not.


    "What did you do?!" The guard named Jake returned and asked Azaroth angrily as he saw how the Sphere had changed color.


    "Calm down and let me do my job." Azaroth monotonously replied as he used this Vermillion Colored Sphere.


    Meanwhile, outside the barrier, the beasts that had earlier gathered felt Earth rising up, preventing them from escaping.


    As the beasts moved around and used their skills to break that Earth, a heavy rainfall sprinkled their bodies with water.


    After some moments, reddish-colored thunder fell down the sky as if it was a heavenly judgement sent by the gods.


    Due to thebination of the red thunder with the rain earlier, there were many casualties on the beast''s side.


    This same scenery had urred around the entire encampment barrier, so all the warriors witnessed this moment.


    This was the strength of the 5 Star Killing Array!


    Just as the beasts felt that the attack on them had ended, there were multiple tornados all around the barrier.


    This barrier naturally targeted the beasts and attempted to kill them by using its wind des, but some beasts endured this attack with their elemental defense.


    The beasts believed that if they survived this attack, they might have survived it all.


    It was only when they saw a small me spark transforming up that entire tornado to a me tornado did they realize just how na?ve they were.


    After this attack, not a single beast around the barrier survived.


    The Red Color of the Sphere faded as it returned back to being the Blue Colored Sphere.


    The guards at the center of the encampment had also witnessed those colossal tornadoes that converted the beasts into ashes.


    Even the Three-Eyed White Wolf had witnessed that entire attack sequence, and it could be said that he was pretty stunned.


    From what he sensed, the Ardor within those attacks wasparable to a Mid to High Rank 5 Star Beast.


    Moreover, the area those attacks covered was also quite wide¡­


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf was sure that he wouldn''t have been able to achieve the same with his own power.


    The White Wolf used its Spiritual Eye to check the flow of energy of this barrier once again. He was surprised once again¡­


    His surprise emerged from the fact that he saw so many Ardor particles bizarrely flowing in that barrier.


    Thest time he had observed the barrier, it possessed a uniform flow of energy.


    As time passed, that atrocious flow of energy seems to be improving and returning back to normal.


    "Monkey, go and attack!" The White Wolf ordered with amanding tone.


    It didn''t mean that the beasts had stopped charging. This order meant that the White Wolf wasmanding the Ape to go ahead of them with an even faster speed to attack that barrier.


    The Ape didn''t care much about the power it saw.


    Soon, the hairs on its body turned Golden, and its speed increased tremendously.


    It left the rest of the beasts in the dust as it charged ahead at the Barrier.


    The human warriors at the Northern Outpost who witnessed that the beasts had still not halted their charge were slightly shocked, but they still retained their confidence in this barrier.


    They had just witnessed its power after all.


    Azaroth''s sensory range was limited because of the barrier. After all, it didn''t allow the Ardor from the outside to affect it, but it also prevented the sensors from sensing outside of it.


    Azaroth had used this fact to sneak out of the barrier, but now, this was proving to be a disadvantage for him as well.


    Suddenly, he felt the Blue Crystal Sphere shaking violently.


    He was shocked because this meant that the beasts had attacked the barrier with at least a 5 Star Ardor attack. ording to his estimates, this was just a low 5 Star Ardor in terms of power.


    And Azaroth didn''t know why but the image of that Golden Ape appeared in his head.


    ''The Bloodline of a Beast God is indeed extraordinary. If this was the attack from that Golden Ape, then it has grown much stronger since the time I fought it.'' Azaroth grimly thought.


    Meanwhile, at the Northern Outpost, the warriors saw that Golden Ape create a crack on the barrier with just a single punch. This was absolutely shocking for these warriors as they had seen many beasts attack the barrier earlier, but no one was even able to scratch it, yet this Golden Ape created such a giant crack on it.


    However, just a whileter, the Giant Crack closed up as the barrier healed. It allowed the warriors to breathe a sigh of relief.


    Their faith in this barrier was restored as some of the warriors began shouting, "Hahaha¡­ This is all useless. This barrier won''t break!"


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was thinking deeply about this situation ''I only sensed a single attack on the barrier. Does that mean this Golden Ape charged ahead of the other beasts? Was it on its own vition or on themand of the White Wolf?''


    Azaroth had a rxed look as he thought along that line.


    ''If this was on the White Wolf''smand, then this White Wolf sure is much more intelligent than I gave him credit for. This Golden Ape will force me to use a lot of energy to force me to repair the barrier.''


    A smirk appeared on Azaroth''s face as he thought, ''How naive.''


    Meanwhile, the Golden Ape pulled back his arm and used all its power to punch that barrier again.


    There was a stupid grin on its face as it felt that pounding this barrier was quite satisfying.


    The Golden Ape''s arm moved at a blinding speed to hit the barrier.


    This time though, it was as if the Golden Ape''s punch went right through the barrier and continued to strike the ground!


    As the human warriors saw this scene, they were too shocked to respond.


    Did the Golden Ape''s punch actually break that barrier?!

 Chapter 38 - You Are Already Dead

    The warriors at the Northern Outpost felt their beliefs shatter into pieces. The barrier they had trusted so significantly had just broken.


    The Golden Ape had just done what they thought was impossible.


    Meanwhile, the Golden Ape lifted his fist and stared at it with a puzzled expression for some time.


    However, soon, the Golden Ape lifted his head and stared at the humans ahead of him.


    As he noticed the shock on their faces, a wide grin spread on his face.


    To a human warrior''s eyes, that grin was ferocious as a wild beast that threatened to tear him apart.


    And immediately after showing off that grin full of excitement and ferociousness, the Golden Ape pounced at the human warriors ahead of him.


    As the Golden Ape pounced on them, the human warriors finally regained control over their bodies and realized that they needed to fight or flee.


    A few warriors used their attacks simultaneously as the wind bullets and the lightning bullets struck the Golden Ape''s body.


    However, these attacks didn''t even make the Golden Ape''s body budge a little. These attacks were absolutely useless in halting the Golden Ape''s advance.


    Finally, the Golden Ape reached their location and punched the first warrior who stood ahead of him.


    The warrior raised his arm and made an X sign to block the Golden Ape''s punch, but as soon as the punchnded, the man felt his arm bones shatter as the Golden Ape''s punch went on and pierced his chest.


    The other warriors were wide-eyed as they saw that ur. They were shocked because this man was a rather mighty 4-Star Warrior from Kloras Town. To think that he couldn''t even block a single punch with both his arms¡­


    However, two warriors attacked the Golden Ape at this moment. One wielded a sword, and the other wielded a spear.


    "Assault Sword Stance: 33 Hitbo." The man wielding the sword whispered underneath his breath.


    Meanwhile, the warrior wielding the spear remained quiet as he emotionlessly went on to strike the Golden Ape.


    The Golden Ape looked at those two warriors while pushing away the corpse hanging over his right arm.


    The spear warrior was closer as he immediately struck the Golden Ape''s arm and pierced it with incredible ease.


    The spear warrior had not attacked any random point of the Golden Ape''s arm. He had pierced the part that prevented the Golden Ape from moving that arm.


    And it was working wonderfully as the Golden Ape realized that he couldn''t move his arm.


    The other warrior using the sword technique immediately struck the Golden Ape''s body with that 33 Hitbo sword stance.


    The Golden Ape used his left arm to block a few of those sword shes, but most of them were still hitting his body.


    Suddenly, the Golden Ape''s eyes shed with a dangerous glint as he took a step forward and used his left hand to suddenly grab hold of the sword warrior.


    The Golden Ape had just grabbed the sword warrior''s head as the sword warrior had shown an opening while attacking him.


    As the Golden Ape held that man''s head, he slowly began to apply more of his strength in his left hand.


    The Sword Warrior''s skull began to give out crackling sounds as his face was deforming at a quick rate.


    The emotionless look on the spear warrior immediately changed as he pulled his spear out of the Golden Ape''s right hand. He threw out his attack at the Golden Ape''s throat since this was the only way to save the sword warrior.


    The Golden Ape suddenly moved his body and changed his body position so that the sword warrior''s body blocked that attack from the spear warrior.


    That quick movement from the Golden Ape was absolutely shocking that even the spear warrior needed a few seconds to understand what had happened.


    The Golden Ape then applied more force in his left arm as he threw the sword warrior into the spear warrior.


    They were skidding on the ground, leaving behind a bloody trail.


    The Golden Ape changed his target as he stared at the other warriors.


    The other warriors prepared for a fierce fight as they saw that Golden Ape looking at them. Many of them organized their attacks in case this beast attacked them suddenly.


    However, what none of them expected was the loud howl of the Three-Eyed White Wolf.


    The warriors were forced to turn their heads from the Golden Ape to the iing Three-Eyed White Wolf and the beast army.


    Around this time, the humans from the other outposts had nearly arrived at the northern outpost as well. They were shocked to see that the beasts had already broken past the barrier, and an entire army entered through the barrier.


    Several warriors even began to think of an escape n. They knew that they couldn''t fight and win against this beast army with their current numbers.


    Meanwhile, using the Echo Transmission Skill, the Northern Outpost''s current status was sent to the encampment center.


    The man who was sent the information using the Echo Transmission Skill was one of Sophie''s guards.


    He was absolutely shocked to hear that the beasts had broken past the barrier at the Northern outpost.


    Moreover, they were now going to start attacking them all.


    The man turned towards the room where Azaroth was seated. He wondered just what was happening¡­ Why did he not activate the killing formation and kill them all?!


    Why would he allow the beasts to get inside the barrier?!


    Gritting his teeth in anger, the guard went forward to the centralmand room.


    Azaroth raised his head slightly to see who it was that entered the room. As he saw who it was, he smirked slightly as if he knew what was going on and then lowered his head.


    The guard clenched his fist in frustration and anger as he went forward, grabbing hold of Azaroth''s cor, and questioned him, "Just what is so funny?!"


    "Remove your hand or¡­," Azaroth spoke those words with an emotionless tone.


    "Or what?!" The guard spoke as he used even more strength and show off his killing intent.


    The guard shouted at Azaroth with great anger, "What are you doing?! How could you let the barrier break?! Why have you not yet activated the killing array?! Are you waiting for the beasts to kill all our allies, you bastard noble heir!"


    "Your anger has clouded your mind. If not, you would have felt the consequences by now." Azaroth sighed out as he informed the guard.


    "What are you talking about?" The guard asked with a puzzled expression.


    "Lower your head and see for yourself." Azaroth casually shrugged.


    As the guard looked down, he was shocked to see a hole in the left side of his chest.


    He finally began to realize what Azaroth was talking about. And suddenly, he also heard a terrifying whisper, "You are already dead."


    Before the guard even had the time to say anything back, the light in his eyes vanished, and his body fell on the floor.


    Soon, the smell of blood spread throughout the entire building.


    The other two guards who were near Azaroth''s room immediately entered to see what had happened.


    They were shocked to see Azaroth seated on his chair with that same casual look on his face while one of their friends was lying on the floor.


    Moreover, as the guards observed closely, their friend had a hole in his chest, and it seemed as if his heart had been pierced.


    They both asked at nearly the exact timing, "What happened here?!"


    Azaroth nced at them before sighing, "Looks like it''s more blood on my hands."


    "What?!" Once again, they both asked him at the same time.


    "Phantom Step."


    Azaroth disappeared from his location and was standing in the corridor. Meanwhile, the two guards who stood near the entrance of his room had been beheaded.


    Azaroth looked at the sword in his hand now. It was quite a bit rusty and frail now.


    "3 down, 3 to go," Azaroth whispered to himself as he went back to his room.


    Those three corpses were destroyed using the Hell mes.


    Meanwhile, the scenery at the Northern Outpost wasn''t all that pleasant.


    Nearly all the warriors had turned into corpses by that massive beast army led by the Three-Eyed White Wolf.


    Even Myles and his group had turned into corpses¡­


    The ones who had survived were the Aiden''s group. This was mainly because Aiden had already observed the situation from a distance and immediately led his disciples away from that battleground.


    Azaroth did sense that they were going somewhere else he hadn''t nned, but he didn''t care. He put down the barrier around the encampment.


    This didn''t mean he was surrendering against the beast army.


    The bluish-colored sphere had now turned into green color.


    A thin green-colored gas was released in the entire encampment¡­ It was undetectable even by the beasts with sharp senses such as the Three-Eyed White Wolf.

 Chapter 39 - The Killing Array Activated!

    The beasts attacked those humans that hade from the other outposts.


    Naturally, the humans had resisted with all their might, but it was all for naught. They still died¡­


    However, before the beasts could have the chance to let out celebratory roars, another group of humans appeared.


    This was quite surprising as the beasts thought they had annihted them all. Their faces and smells were different, so they believed that this group of humans was probably observing them earlier.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf let out a howl that seemed to signal the beasts tomence their attack.


    This time, both sidesunched their fiercest attacks. There were quite a few casualties on the beasts'' side, but still, they had sessfully managed to destroy this group of humans as well.


    Once all the humans had been killed, another group arrived. This time, their numbers were much higher than before.


    The Three-Eyed White Wolf frowned as it believed that this was the final group of these detestable humans.


    The beasts began fighting with all their might and annihte the humans.


    The beasts didn''t even realize these three waves took nearly 2-3 hours of their time. Even the high-ranking beasts'' reserves, such as the Three-Eyed White Wolf, were depleting as it kept on fighting.


    Meanwhile, in the encampment center, Azaroth had a clever smirk on his face.


    "These foolish beasts¡­ They really went on for 2 hours. Such a great result was far beyond my expectations."


    Azaroth sensed the beast army had been reduced to one-tenth of its original size. And even within that force, only 10 or so beasts were of Four Star and just a single tired Five Star beast remained.


    Suddenly, Azaroth''s expression turned serious as he sensed that Sophie was up. He was sure that she was going to question him about the disappearance of her three guards here.


    And he had no proper excuse regarding that¡­


    As he wondered what he could do, Azaroth''s vision fell upon that Green Crystal Sphere in his hands.


    "Hehe¡­"


    The green color faded back to its bluish color¡­


    It was as if a veil had been lifted above the beasts'' eyes at the northern outpost.


    They looked at their surroundings and were utterly confused as they saw the scenery change rather drastically.


    The first one who understood what happened was none other than the Three-Eyed White Wolf. And as he understood what had urred, his eyes shed with dangerous, murderous intent.


    He was filled with pure rage at the humans who had seemingly made fun of him and the beast army.


    It was because what was around him was not the humans'' corpses but the beasts'' corpses!


    It forced him to understand that the beasts weren''t using their power to fight against the humans¡­ No! They were actually fighting amongst themselves!


    "The humans had us trapped in an illusion!" The Three-Eyed White Wolf felt a great shock because he had used his Spiritual Eye and still could not detect it.


    This was the first time that had happened.


    As the Three-Eyed White Wolf used his Spiritual Eye, he was surprised to see the Ardor in the surroundings more clearly.


    He noted that humans who operated this entire barrier far in the south of his current position.


    As the Three-Eyed White Wolf gritted its teeth in anger, his eye on his forehead began storing an unreal amount of energy.


    Once the Three-Eyed White Wolf was satisfied, it shot off that beam without any hesitation.


    With no obstruction in between, that ray flew with an unreal speed.


    Even Azaroth was caught off guard as he felt that raying close to him.


    Sophie and her three guards were also shocked as they sensed an attack nearing them. They immediately raised their hands to create a defensive barrier around Sophie.


    That white beam soon struck the building in which they were seated. For a second, nothing happened¡­


    However, a warrior with hyperactive senses such as Azaroth felt as if time had stopped at that moment.


    A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he thought ''You just couldn''t wait, could you?''


    Such a quick attack was not within his prediction. He had already thought of a way to hold his stance in front of Sophie while not being suspicious.


    But it was all for naught.


    Once that one second had passed, the entire building exploded.


    This was the power of the destructive ray of the Three-Eyed White Wolf.


    Anything it touched would explode upon contact.


    Azaroth, Sophie, and her three guards were caught in this explosion. They were all in extra close range, and it would gravely injure them.


    Well, Azaroth wasn''t as worried as Sophie and her guards were.


    Azaroth used Heavenly Demonic Transformation Mode to use a lot of demonic Ardor and protect himself from the explosion.


    He was sure that Sophie and her guards would create a defensive barrier around themselves and won''t sense his demonic ardor at this moment.


    As Azaroth had expected, this was what did happen.


    Sophie and her guards were in the room above Azaroth, so their spherical barrier fell on the ground.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth had covered himself in the demonic aura with his Heavenly Demonic Transformation Mode and quicklynded on the ground safely before his Ardor returned to normal.


    Sophie and her guards were also on the ground, covered in a weak yellowish-colored barrier.


    One of those three was injured as his side of the barrier had remained weak. He was forced to take on the impact of that explosion with his robust body.


    Sophie was on the ground, feeling some pain in her legs, but it was something she could ignore.


    As she opened her eyes and saw her surroundings, she was surprised to see the mes all around the barrier.


    "Just what happened right now?" She asked that question aloud.


    "This was an attack from a 5 Star Beast." One of her guards spoke with a grim tone.


    As Sophie heard those words, she was utterly shocked, "The beasts broke through the barrier?! Oh no! Where is Edwin?! Is he safe?!"


    None of her guards could answer those questions¡­ They were together with her, so they didn''t have the time to check up on Azaroth.


    Before they could answer, they heard a loud howl.


    From the voice, they could feel the beasts'' anger. It seemed that the fact that they had survived did not please the wolf.


    "Oh no! Young miss, you must run! The beasts are going to charge at us!" The guard with thergest build spoke to Sophie seriously.


    "What about you?" Sophie asked them with a worried expression.


    The man clenched his fists and spoke, "Please survive and speak of our sacrifice to your father. If the three of us are together, we can hold back this beast army long enough to allow you to escape."


    "But-" Sophie was about to speak again.


    However, another guard interjected quickly, "Staying here is not helping us at all! If you survive today, you can repay us by taking care of our families. Boss ordered us to protect you, and this is what we are going to do! Now, GO!"


    As Sophie heard that loud shout from her guard, she ground her teeth but was soon standing on her legs.


    She turned around and shouted, "I will make sure to take care of your families!" Once she said that she quickly ran away!


    As she reinforced herself with Ardor, the mes were unable to hurt her. Her guards sprinted towards the direction of the beasts¡­


    They knew that they had to hold back those beasts for enough time to allow Sophie to escape.


    Meaning, atleast for 10 minutes or so¡­


    Meanwhile, as Sophie was running towards the east direction, she was surprised to see Azaroth sitting on the ground.


    "Edwin?! You survived?!"


    "Sophie?!"


    Both of them looked very surprised at the other''s survival.


    Some tears began to leak out of Sophie''s eyes as she leaped at Azaroth to hug him. She whispered while sobbing uncontrobly, "I am so happy that atleast you survived."


    "I apologize¡­ I never thought that the beasts would break the barrier and then break out of the illusion as well. This is all my fault¡­" Azaroth whispered in return as he stroked Sophie''s head.


    "No! It wasn''t your fault! In fact, I was the one who was supposed to control it. It was my fault for working myself beyond the limits. If only I was awake earlier, maybe this wouldn''t have urred." Sophie spoke as she rubbed her cheek against Azaroth''s face.


    She could smell a fragrant scent from Azaroth and found it very rxing to be in his arms.


    Suddenly, the two heard another loud howl and a roar apanying it.


    This seemed to tell the two of the delicate situation right now.


    Sophie got out of Azaroth''s arms, and she spoke, "Let''s go now. If we stay here any longer, the beasts will attack us."


    Azaroth continued to look at the ground as he slowly nodded. If Sophie could see his face, she would have seen that triumphant smirk as if he had won.


    All the pieces were finally in ce.


    And the Crystal Sphere within Azaroth''s purple ring was shing Red. The Killing Array had already been activated!

 Chapter 40 - The Golden Ape Vs Azaroth (1)

    While Sophie and Azaroth were dashing towards Mesenana City, the Capital City of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Fortunately, Wrihull City was in the same direction, so it was natural for them to go along this path.


    The howls and the roars from the beasts soon stopped as they dashed towards the encampment''s outer edges.


    Sophie thought that this was because the beasts had killed her guards and finally vented thest bit of their hatred.


    However, it was Azaroth who knew the actual reason behind those final howls by the beasts.


    ''Looks like that final attack did the trick. All the beasts should be dead now.''


    But just as Azaroth thought of this, he suddenly sensed a faint aura bursting with energy.


    ''What was that?''


    He didn''t understand just how the aura of a beast near-death could suddenly burst with such Ardor.


    Suddenly, that burst of energy increased once again. This time, nearly doubling in Ardor.


    Sophie looked at Azaroth''s face and noticed a worried expression on his face, "What happened? Why do you look so worried?"


    Azaroth didn''t answer her question. Instead, his mind continued to focus on that beast that was steadily growing stronger.


    He increased his concentration to check which beast it was, and he soon received an answer to that question.


    ''That''s the aura of that Golden Ape! But even it shouldn''t possess such quick healing. How is it growing stronger so quickly?!''


    This question puzzled Azaroth and worried him immensely. He felt as if he was missing something in this riddle.


    "I hope we are out of the range of the 5 Star Beast," Sophie dryly spoke those words as she saw how worried Azaroth was.


    Suddenly, the answer clicked in Azaroth''s mind as he understood what he was missing. And this answer didn''t please him one bit.


    "Shit! We need to run!" Azaroth uttered as he grabbed Sophie''s hand and used one of his quicker skills to dash forward.


    "Eh? What happened?" Sophie was confused by Azaroth''s words, but she didn''t resist him.


    Meanwhile, at the center of the encampment, the Golden Ape had an ecstatic look as he ate the Three-Eyed White Wolf''s corpse.


    His hunger was sated, and he felt as if he had enough energy to go and fight an army alone.


    This sudden energy truly made his battle instincts go crazy as his body demanded a fight now!


    To have a fight, the Golden Ape''s senses, sharpened to their limits, searched for another warrior in the vicinity.


    Soon, after 10 or so seconds, the Golden Ape had a bright smile on its face as it sensed the aura of the warrior who he had wanted to fight the most.


    The man he had been searching for thest few days to have that rematch against him!


    Once the Golden Ape sensed Azaroth''s location, it immediately jumped high in that direction.


    Naturally, this high leap covered an awfully lot of distance for the Golden Ape but reaching Azaroth''s location was still next to impossible with a single leap.


    Even for this Golden Ape, he would have to take multiple leaps simr to this since Azaroth was running at a rtively quick pace while taking Sophie with him.


    However, fortunately for the Golden Ape, he had nock of stamina, while Azaroth''s stamina couldn''t be considered good by any means.


    After the exhaustion of his Ardor, he would be forced to take a break to recover it.


    Meanwhile, the Golden Ape utilized low Ardor while taking leaps like this. He could go on and y this game with Azaroth for a month without getting tired.


    So, it was easy to see that Azaroth fighting against Golden Ape in reserves was just a losing battle from every angle.


    ording to Azaroth''s calctions, if they went on to run like this, it would take the Golden Ape nearly an hour to catch up to them.


    And Azaroth was well aware of the cold truth that he won''t encounter any assistance from some warrior capable of fighting against this Golden Ape within this hour.


    The farther and faster he tries to run, the quicker his Ardor would be exhausted. If he fought the Golden Ape at that point, it would genuinely be a losing battle.


    Once he had calcted his chances against the Golden Ape, Azaroth stopped moving.


    "Why did we stop? Is the beast not following us anymore?" Sophie asked Azaroth with a confused expression.


    Azaroth heaved out a long sigh and exined, "A beast is after us. As far as I can sense, it''s a 4-Star Beast with an exceptional bloodline."


    Sophie observed Azaroth''s facial expression and then spoke, "It seems this beast is strong."


    "Yes. It''s a rather troublesome one. This was the beast that beat me to a pulp when I had gone to inspect the Alpine Gerbil Woods'' Inner Area. As far as I remember, its main ability was its exceptional strength and speed. I am unclear about its elements, though¡­" Azaroth patiently exined his words.


    "I see¡­This must be a beast sent by the Beast Lord to pursue after us. We need to make sure to y it quickly and run or else that Beast Lord might pursue the trail and reach us." Sophie solemnly spoke to Azaroth.


    Azaroth couldn''t tell Sophie that the Three-Eyed White Wolf was dead now. In return, they had an even more annoying enemy in the form of this Golden Ape.


    Although this Golden Ape had ingested the Three-Eyed White Wolf''s corpse. The Three-Eyed White Wolf was massively injured, and only half of its energy could be absorbed by the Golden Ape.


    However, this was still more than enough energy required by the Golden Ape for its next breakthrough.


    Breakthroughs didn''t ur suddenly, though. They needed time. And in the case of beasts, they needed to hibernate for a period that varied depending on the bloodline.


    The stronger the bloodline was, the less time required for its breakthrough.


    For a Golden Ape, it would probably need only a week at most to be a 5-Star Beast.


    "You are right. If we continue to run ahead and the beast catches up to us, I won''t be in the peak condition to fight it. At that time, we will probably die without a chance to resist." Azaroth solemnly spoke as he turned towards the encampment''s direction.


    It would take another ten minutes for the Golden Ape to reach their location.


    During this time, Azaroth calmed down his Ardor and peaked to fight against the beast brimming with energy.


    Naturally, Azaroth had his own worries against this Golden Ape.


    ''I can''t use the Demonic Transformation Mode in front of Sophie. If she knows of it, this woman won''t hesitate to turn on me. The Hell mes or Demonic Ardor is also no go. That means I got the Humanely Ardor or the Celestial Ardor in my arsenal. My Celestial Ardor training isn''t as good as the Demonic Ardor, so it wouldn''t be helpful against this Golden Ape. It seems I can only rely on my Humanely Ardor.''


    ''The only element I can use in front of Sophie is wind. I am forced to hold back too much ahead of this girl. Let''s hope that the gains are superior to the injuries I suffer today.''


    Sophie continued to stare at Azaroth''s back while she pulled out something that appeared to be a wooden doll.


    She clenched it tightly as she was at a fair distance away from Azaroth.


    Azaroth didn''t want to get her caught up in his fight¡­


    Nearly 7 minutester, Azaroth lifted his head, and his eyes shed with Purple Color as he saw a Golden Dot slowly ergening in the sky.


    "It is here¡­"


    As the Golden Ape was diving down from the sky, he also knew that its awaited opponent was waiting for him on the ground.


    ''Monkey King''s Fist!''


    No words were spoken, but the Golden Ape raised his arm, and it began glowing with a fierce orange light.


    This was the Monkey King''s Fist attack!


    When Azaroth saw that attack, he saw some shbacks he wished to forget.


    In his previous life, he had suffered not a few times under the hands of the Golden Ape. As a Beast God, it was one of the strongest beasts in the world.


    Its divine abilities easily made it superior to any beast on its level¡­


    "It''s a pity I won''t be able to fight you to my heart''s content today," Azaroth whispered as he saw that battle-thirsty intent in the Golden Ape''s aura.


    "Aero des!"


    Suddenly, as the Golden Ape was diving down while reading a strong punch, Azaroth countered with a wind elemental attack that attempted to not only slow down the Golden Ape but slice it as well.


    The Aero des were sessful in slowing down the Golden Ape but as for slicing it? Other than a few scratches on its body, there were no significant injuries on its body.


    Such a result was in Azaroth''s calctions as he moved from his spot to dodge the Golden Ape''s punch.


    Sophie just saw Azaroth blur away right when he was about to be struck by the Golden Ape''s punch. She understood that he had probably left behind an afterimage using the Wind Element and his quick speed.


    The fact that Azaroth knew such a skill shocked Sophie.


    She was now sure that he had definitely encountered something special.


    Meanwhile, the Golden Ape was far from happy to see his adversary dodge that attack. He had believed that his adversary would meet his blow head-on.


    It was as if he was the same as those weak humans who would try to dodge his attacks. The ones with no nerve or power!


    Currently, in this dire situation, Azaroth couldn''t be bothered to act ording to his ego.


    He was just going along the flow.


    The Golden Ape''s punch caused the entire ground to rumble as if some sort of Earthquake was urring.


    Even Sophie, far away, felt this Earthquake as she held her wooden doll even more tightly.


    She knew that this was not the perfect time to utilize it. She didn''t possess any more than one of these things, and it was the only thing strong enough to neutralize her target, so she couldn''t afford to waste it.


    As the dust clouds rose, that prevented Sophie from having a perfect vision for this battle, but it was good enough for her to know what was happening and who was winning.


    The Golden Ape had just stood up after punching the ground, and suddenly he felt someone''s appearance behind him.


    As soon as the Golden Ape turned around, he felt a brisk wind.


    This time, before the Golden Ape could react, a strong cutting edge of the wind suddenly targeted its throat.


    This was Azaroth''s attack on the Golden Ape''s throat as he congealed his hand with a sharp de-like wind.


    He had used quite a bit of Ardor in it and was surprised to see that it had barely scratched the Golden Ape''s throat.


    ''Is it using more Ardor in its entire body now?''


    The Golden Ape quickly rotated and punched Azaroth''s body, but it was empty air.


    Azaroth already ran away and was nning his next sequence of attacks.


    While Azaroth was trying to use the dust cloud as his cover, the Golden Ape had different ns.


    With its sharp senses, the Golden Ape found out Azaroth''s correct position. And without waiting any longer, it leaped at Azaroth.


    Azaroth had more or less expected the Golden Ape to attack at any moment. He had already begun to utilize the Mystic Eyes of Perception, which gave him some idea of how the Golden Ape would attack.


    Azaroth jumped on his left while dodging a punch from the Golden Ape. The Golden Ape was far from pleased, so it kept on rotating in Azaroth''s direction and began to give out quick blows sessively.


    These sessive blows were bing faster as the Golden Ape was getting ustomed to Azaroth''s movements.


    After nearly a minute or so, Azaroth knew he would have to fight back, or else this Golden Ape would just demolish him.


    As soon as he found the opening, Azaroth struck the Golden Ape''s left side of the chest with a palm. Moreover, that palm also held a Wind Sphere that was now grinding as it was pressurized against the Golden Ape''s chest.


    After a momentary pause, the Golden Ape grabbed Azaroth''s hand.


    ''This guy¡­ is too strong. I really need to be in the Demon Transformation Mode to beat him.''


    The Golden Ape pounded Azaroth on the ground so intensely that the floor broke apart, creating a gigantic crater.


    Azaroth saw the glint in the Golden Ape''s eyes and knew that it didn''t have any good ns ahead for him.


    ''Oh damn! Best to use that attack now, or I won''t be in a condition to take advantage of it!''


    "Wind Tornado!"

 Chapter 41 - The Golden Ape Vs Azaroth (2)

    "Wind Tornado!"


    This was an attack that Azaroth was trying to set up since the start of this fight.


    He had been controlling the Wind Ardor all around his surroundings, and he felt that he finally possessed enough control to use this technique.


    The Wind Ardor was moving at an extremely high pace as it lifted the Golden Ape and Azaroth off the ground.


    The Wind Tornado used its pressure to split apart Azaroth and the Golden Ape, which eventually happened.


    Azaroth was soon out of this Wind Tornado and concentrated hard as he sent the Golden Ape high in the air.


    Once the Golden Ape had reached the apex of the tornado, the tornado began to change shape.


    In certain terms, the tornado seemed to be shrinking rapidly, far more quickly than the speed at which the Golden Ape fell.


    "Aero Dragon."


    The entire tornado had beenpressed to form a 10-meter long Chinese Wind Dragon as it raised its head and charged at the falling Golden Ape.


    Before crashing into the Golden Ape, it roared out loudly, as if showing off its power.


    The Golden Ape braced itself for the impact as it saw the Wind Dragon charging at itself.


    The Aero Dragon soon struck the Golden Ape''s lower body.


    This time, Azaroth''s aim wasn''t to slice the Golden Ape but shake its internal organs so vigorously that it would be unable to fight ahead.


    The Golden Ape did feel its internal organs, and even its joint bones shake a little. However, after a second, it felt as if its body was absolutely normal. Not a hint of the pain could be felt by this Golden Ape as its fists were enveloped with its radiant golden aura and it showered a flurry of punches on Azaroth with blinding speed.


    This was the Golden Ape''s attack known as Meteor Shower.


    Truly, the force behind it was exceptionally strong and there seemed to be no end to these attacks.


    If someone looked from Azaroth''s position, all they would see are gigantic balls showered at him. The name Meteor Shower fit the technique quite well.


    Even though this was an exceptional attack, Azaroth seemed somewhat prepared for it.


    A Wind Barrier formed over his head with a half convex shape and blocking that Meteor Shower sturdily.


    Azaroth still felt the shockwave of those attacks even as he blocked the fists heading his way. Those shockwaves were more than enough to break the ground underneath him but he didn''t let up.


    The Wind Barrier wasn''t going to withstand this any soon. Another 2 seconds and it would copse¡­


    Since the Wind Barrier was going to copse anyway, Azaroth decided to take a risk.


    He pushed the Wind Barrier towards the Golden Ape that was still in the air. His main aim was to just throw away the Golden Ape from such a good position and break his momentum.


    However, as Azaroth raised his Wind Barrier, the shockwave he felt increased tremendously. He remained standing on the ground as he understood its significance.


    His resilience showed results as the Golden Ape was struck by that Wind Barrier and his momentum did break. The Golden Ape was forced to stop his technique and he was thrown away by the Wind.


    But before Azaroth could take a relieved sigh, his body tensed again as he saw the direction the Golden Ape was thrown.


    It was the direction in which Sophie was hiding.


    Azaroth knew that this Golden Ape''s senses were quite active. Once it senses Sophie near him, he will immediately attack her.


    The distance between the Golden Ape and Sophie was quite close, while the distance between Azaroth and Sophie was quiterge.


    Well, it could be consideredrge if he only used Wind to cross it. If he used his Lightning element, that would be another matter altogether.


    However, the big question for Azaroth was if he should show off his Lightning Element to Sophie or not.


    Considering that she was Edwin''s ssmate, there must have remembered that he only had a wind element and no affinity towards the Lightning Element.


    There was little to no time to think as the Golden Ape was looking at Sophie''s direction nkly for a couple of seconds before grinning fiendishly.


    The Golden Ape didn''t mind killing this human first and then dealing with that annoying one.


    The punch enveloped by the Golden Aura was thrown at Sophie.


    Sophie clenched her wooden doll tightly with a fearless look. It was as if she didn''t fear this Golden Ape at all. Naturally, her faith resided in that wooden doll she was holding tightly.


    But before the Golden Ape could even take a proper step towards her, Azaroth suddenly appeared with a red flicker.


    Azaroth blocked the Golden Ape''s punch with his own chest. As the punchnded, Azaroth felt that he heard some cracks in his bones and was thrown towards Sophie.


    Sophie was stunned to see Azaroth suddenly appear ahead of her.


    The hand with which she was clenching her wooden doll rxed slightly as Azaroth crashed into her body.


    While they were in mid-air, Azaroth held Sophie''s arms and pulled her towards him while throwing his own body towards the ground to prevent Sophie''s body from sliding against the ground.


    However, the momentum was still too great and Sophie wasn''t able to stay bnced even as she was pulled by Azaroth. She fell in Azaroth''s arms and was on top of his body as he slid against the ground.


    Their bodies eventually halted. Sophie looked into Azaroth''s eyes with a shocked look as she hadn''t expected Azaroth to jump in and take the attack on his body.


    This action was so surprising despite their close rtion. She never imagined he would put his own life on the line for her.


    As for how he had managed to cover the distance was beside the point. She couldn''t be bothered to think deeply about it.


    She was just greatly touched to see this action from Azaroth.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was groaning in pain because that punch from the Golden Ape broke his ribs.


    His eyes widened in shock as he saw that Golden Ape jump at him.


    Quickly, Azaroth raised his right hand and pointed it in the Golden Ape''s direction.


    "Greater Paralysis!"


    Weak red lightning flickered around Azaroth''s palm before it was shot at the Golden Ape.


    The lightning attack appeared so weak that the Golden Ape didn''t even raise any defenses against it.


    However, this was a costly error.


    In mid-air, the Golden Ape felt as if its whole body was entirely paralyzed. It crashed down into the ground.


    Currently, this Greater Paralysis had halted any instructions from the Golden Ape''s brain to his body parts.


    "Let''s run now¡­" Azaroth murmured with a weak voice.


    Sophie heard him and immediately stood up. Azaroth stood up while ignoring the pain of his broken ribs.


    He couldn''t afford to stay down¡­


    Sophie stared at the fallen Golden Ape and suggested, "Let''s kill it. Otherwise, it would again follow us."


    However, Azaroth held her hand and prevented her from making any rash moves, "If you attack him, his survival instincts and Ardor will overpower my attack. Also, we don''t have an attack that would definitely kill this beast."


    "No. I have an attack that should probably be able to deal with him." Sophie showed her wooden doll to Azaroth.


    Azaroth calmly exined to Sophie, "I saw this wooden doll. And I understand that this holds an attack from your father. However, from what I can sense, the Golden Ape can survive this attack. And one of the most terrifying abilities of a Golden Ape is its ability to adapt to a stronger power. Also, after it recovers from such an injured state, it would be significantly stronger than before. It''s better to leave it here."


    Sophie gauged Azaroth''s state before she spoke, "Then what if he pursues us right now? You aren''t in any condition to fight."


    Azaroth shook his head negatively, "He can''t pursue us now since I have torn its ligaments. It can''t feel the pain because of the adrenaline rush. As long as we don''t antagonize it too much and not activate its survival instincts, it won''t be in a condition to follow us."


    "Alright. But when did you tear his ligaments? I never saw you do that." Sophie was surprised to hear that news.


    "The Aero Dragon that struck the Golden Ape was what tore its ligaments. I am sure it would soon feel the pain as his body calms down." Azaroth calmly answered.


    However, Azaroth was in a simr state. As his own adrenaline rush had stopped, he was beginning to feel even more pain in his ribs.


    "Let''s leave."


    "Mhm~" Sophie nodded her head and immediately grabbed Azaroth''s hand as they both began running in the capital''s direction.


    It went without saying that because of his injuries, Azaroth couldn''t run at a fast pace. And since Sophie herself wasn''t very quick, they were both running at a moderate pace.


    As they were running, Sophie suddenly inquired Azaroth, "You used the Red Lightning, didn''t you? How can you use the Celestial Lightning?"


    Azaroth suddenly stopped as he heard Sophie''s question.


    Sophie stopped as well and stared at Azaroth''s face that was full of hesitation.


    She had a gentle smile as she added, "If you don''t want to answer then you don''t need to. I was just slightly curious, that''s all."


    Azaroth gazed at her gentle smile and a resolute look appeared in his eyes. It was as if he had made up his mind, "This is a secret that even I came to know just recently so I would appreciate it if you keep it to yourself, Sophie."


    "I told you didn''t I? If you aren''tfortable sharing it then you don''t need to." Sophie told Azaroth with a straight face.


    Azaroth shook his head and replied, "No. I trust you. And I also wanted to share it with you earlier but was a little nervous and scared."


    "Recently, when I went hunting with a few of my servants, I unknowingly activated the dormant Celestial Blood in me. It was at that moment I understood that I am a hybrid possessing the human and celestial powers." Azaroth finally told her the truth.


    Even though Sophie had expected this answer, she still showed some surprise on her face.


    She also understood why he was hesitant and a little scared about sharing it with her.


    The hybrids were looked down on, no matter what race it was. The Celestials would abhor the hybrids possessing Celestial Blood while the humans wouldn''t ept them.


    "I understand if you don''t wish to have any contact with me from now on." Azaroth suddenly spoke before turning his head away.


    Suddenly, he felt something soft and warm pressed against his lips.


    His eyes remained widened in shock as Azaroth saw Sophie pressing her lips against his own, kissing him passionately.


    Her tongue entered Azaroth''s mouth as she began a tongue battle against him.


    After a few minutes, Sophie''s lips finally parted.


    She had a mischievous yet sincere smile as she spoke, "This should give you my answer. To damn with those annoying customs. I like you, no, I love you, Edwin. I don''t care if you are a hybrid or not. To me, you are the man who has stolen my heart. Your secret shall forever remain safe with me."


    Azaroth looked at her with a relieved yet shy expression, "T-thank you."


    However, meanwhile, in his heart, Azaroth was thinking calmly ''Finally this is over with. That was really cringe-acting from me. But with this, I have a useful piece to interfere in the capital.''


    "Let''s get going now," Sophie added as she held Azaroth''s hand and they continued their run.


    "Hmm."


    With this, both of them began running at a simr pace as before.


    While running, Azaroth was quickly healing his ribs using the Golden mes.. Considering Sophie''s Ardor sensory abilities, she shouldn''t sense his Golden mes as long as he doesn''t bring it out of his body.

 Chapter 42 - Staying In The SilverBlood Inn (R18)

    Azaroth and Sophie took many breaks as they moved towards the capital''s direction. This went on for nearly half a day and in this time, Azaroth had perfectly healed his injuries. His Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique and already changed his physique significantly that had enhanced his healing. Also, he had been actively healing his bones with the Golden mes so it was natural for it to be back to normal in half a day.


    At this time, the two had finally reached a tavern on the way that was specially made for the travelers on their journey.


    The Silver-Blood Inn¡­


    The inn was a three-story stone-walled building, with a small fenced yard and arge cer. Amodations consist of severalrge rooms with beds and straw mattresses.


    Its location was at the entrance of a vige named Beetham.


    Azaroth and Sophie took a good look at the inn and soon decided to walk inside. Once they were inside, they saw that the ground floor had a lot of open space which was used as a dining hall.


    From the entrance, the reception was a couple of steps ahead. The innkeeper appeared to be a middle-aged man with a rough look.


    "Let''s get something to eat first." Azaroth gave his suggestion to Sophie.


    These days, they had been eating the supplies in Sophie''s rings. As the two smelled this delicious aroma in this Inn, they instinctively knew that their food would be much better than the supplies they had been eating.


    The two upied a table and a waiter soon appeared to ask for their order.


    "Roasted Mutton and Millet Bread, Tankard of Mead." Azaroth gave his order.


    "Salted Lamb and Soft Cheese, Tankard of Ale." Sophie gave an order.


    The waiter nodded his head and headed back to get their order.


    Now that they were safe in the inn, Sophie began to think back about what had happened.


    She remembered that everything was fine before she lost consciousness because of exhaustion. But after she woke up, the entire situation was far too crazy for her to understand.


    "What happened after I fell asleep?" She asked Azaroth since he was the one who was managing the barrier after she lost consciousness.


    Azaroth was ready for this question and began to narrate the entire story with a few lies mixed in it to make himself seem somewhat helpless in the situation.


    Since Peter had not returned or contacted her, it already told Sophie that he was dead. However, when Azaroth informed her that only a single 5 Star Beast was leading the Beast Raid, she understood that Peter had already killed the 5 Star Beast before his own death.


    Sophie was feeling quite mncholic as she remembered how her guards had given up their very lives to buy time for her and escape.


    When she hade to deal with this Beast Raid, she had never expected that all her guards would die and she would be returning to the Capital City with Azaroth.


    It was then she stared at Azaroth. She remembered how he had jumped forward without hesitation and taken a strong blow for her. If he had wanted to, he could have easily escaped the Golden Ape alone while leaving Sophie to deal with it.


    But he had stayed behind and tried his best to protect her.


    She was touched by those actions.


    Sophie was aware that she was beautiful. Many men had approached her and confessed to her with cheesy lines. Many were rather extravagant about it as they would do anything for her to return her feelings.


    However, she knew that those people would abandon her without a second thought when they were up against that Golden Ape.


    She was fondly gazing at Azaroth while thinking ''I was just thinking of having some fun and try a rtionship. Who would have expected that I would really fall in love with him.''


    Even now, Sophie wasn''t exactly clear about her feelings. She didn''t know whether it was an infatuation or love since this was the first time she had experienced such strong feelings rted to romance.


    The waiter soon brought their orders¡­


    Once the food had arrived, Azaroth and Sophie began salivating at the same time.


    Azaroth was truly waiting for the food as he was really hungry. As soon as the waiter had ced the tes down, Azaroth picked up the Roasted Mutton and took arge bite, and chew it properly.


    In contrast, Sophie was eating her food rather calmly.


    As she looked at how Azaroth was eating his food, she couldn''t stop herself from smiling mischievously and speak, "I have never seen a noble family heir eating his food so crudely."


    Azaroth first chewed the food in his mouth and then picked up the tankard of Mead that had arrived before gulping down a lot of it in one go.


    He then replied to Sophie''s words, "Say what you want but I am damn hungry right now. If you don''t hurry up, your order is gonna be in my stomach as well."


    Although Sophie''s expression remained calm on the surface, her speed of eating her food did increase.


    The first thing they finished was their drinks. Azaroth immediately asked for a refill and Sophie did the same.


    Soon, the two requested another serving.


    Sophie drank more Ale and soon the alcohol began to show its effect on her as her cheeks turned reddish.


    Her eyelids dropped as she began chuckling suddenly, "Hehe¡­ Your face is so red. I didn''t think that you had such low tolerance for alcohol, Edwin."


    "Speak for yourself, woman." Azaroth countered with a smirk as he chugged down the Mead in that turn.


    Sophie seemed to be gettingpetitive over this as she also picked up her tankard and chugged her Ale.


    After she had strongly ced the tankard on the table, Sophie''s smile seemed to have grown wider.


    "This is our first date. Hehe¡­ I am so happy to finally have this date with you. During our Academy time, I was waiting when you woulde and invite me to a meal but you never even talked to me properly. It''s nice that you have grown out of your inferiorityplex, Edwin. You were too shy to even talk to me while looking in my eyes." Sophie revealed one of our inner thoughts to Azaroth.


    Azaroth didn''t find it that surprising but he still made an embarrassed look in front of Sophie as he replied, "¡­Myles will probably burn in jealousy if he knew that I am sharing a meal with you right now."


    The two chuckled together for some moments.


    Sophie also added to his words, "Hehehe¡­ True."


    Suddenly, her entire mood switched, and instead of that smile, she had a mncholic look on her face, "It''s because of everyone''s sacrifices that we cane of it alive. And instead of mourning them, we are seemingly celebrating our survival. We really are degenerates and heartless people, aren''t we?"


    Azaroth heard her words but he still picked up another bite of his food. It was as if he was ignoring those earlier words from Sophie.


    Sophie wasn''t happy to see this and she frowned before asking Azaroth, "Why are you ignoring my words? I am genuinely confused as these thoughts appear in my head. Please¡­ Say something!"


    "I didn''t reply not because I was ignoring you but because I believed that there was no point in replying," Azaroth spoke as he raised his head before looking into Sophie''s eyes with a calm expression.


    "You feel guilty because you are enjoying your survival while those warriors had sacrificed their lives? Tell me, how has the situation changed from before?"


    "The peace that you and I enjoy in our cities is because the soldiers and the warriors die during the war. Do you feel guilty while you enjoy your life at that time?" This question seemed to have struck Sophie''s mind immediately.


    She knew in her heart that she had never once considered the life or the work of a soldier or a warrior fighting on the battlefield. However, as she thought of it now, she found that it was more and more simr to her current situation. The only difference was that the soldiers or the warriors weren''t just dying for her, they were dying for their country. But she was still enjoying the rewards of their sacrifices without giving it any thought.


    Azaroth was still not done yet.


    "The situation is the same. However, in this, only the two of us have survived. I can more or less understand why you even feel sad or guilty about this situation. It''s because your guards went ahead to hold back the Beast Raid, allowing you to escape, right?"


    Once again, Azaroth nailed his target with his hypothesis. Sophie turned away her head as she couldn''t bear to look into Azaroth''s eyes.


    "Allow me to give you a clear exnation why they went ahead, weing their death. It''s because they wanted you to survive so that you can return and take good care of their families and return their favor of saving your life."


    "When the beast army was approaching, they must have realized, if you stayed behind, you wouldn''t be helpful at all. The beast army would absolutely kill all of you and their families in the capital wouldn''t even receive the news of their demise any soon. Moreover, even if they did receive the news, do you think your father will take special care of the families of the soldiers who failed to protect his only dear daughter?"


    Even under the effect of alcohol, Sophie understood that her father wouldn''t have cared one bit about those families.


    "Keep this in your heart that other than those who love you dearly, the others will never sacrifice anything for you unless they get something in return." These words from Azaroth strongly resounded in Sophie''s mind.


    There were a lot of thoughts going on in her head now. Her mind was recalling all her recent events and unconsciously connecting them to Azaroth''s words and surprisingly, in most situations, Sophie found that Azaroth''s theory was absolutely correct.


    "¡­Thank you. I feel a lot better now, Edwin." Sophie said from the bottom of her heart as she looked at Azaroth with a sincere expression.


    Azaroth replied with a matter-of-fact tone, "I naturally need to help my girlfriend during such moments."


    As Sophie heard him call her his ''girlfriend'', she found a strange liking to this word.


    Soon, Sophie smirked as she saw Azaroth was done with his food. She asked him, "Are you ready to get the main thing now?"


    Azaroth was confused by her words.


    Sophie raised her arm and called for the waiter.


    After the waiter arrived, she spoke, "Get us 6 shots of vodka. Also, prepare another round of 6 shots after this one."


    The waiter nodded his head and returned to get the order ready.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was thinking calmly ''It seems this woman really wants to drink herself until her mind copses.''


    But a clever smirk soon appeared as he added in his mind ''Other than slightly decrease my focus, alcohol can do nothing to me. I wonder her limit though.''


    Soon, the waiter returned with 6 shots of vodka.


    One by one, Azaroth and Sophie finished those 6 shots. Azaroth drank 3 and Sophie drank the other 3.


    They ordered another 6 shots. It was finished as Azaroth drank 3 and Sophie drank the other 3.


    Soon, they continued to order those vodka shots until Sophie''s eyelids began to drop. She was truly sleepy now.


    Azaroth noticed this and after finishing up the shots, he paid the bill.


    He had quite some money since he had looted Peter and other Sophie''s guards so it wasn''t difficult to settle the bill.


    Soon, Azaroth went over to the reception while Sophie stood in his arms.


    As the receptionist nced at them, he saw Sophie snuggling up in Azaroth''s embrace. As heid his eyes on Sophie, even the innkeeper couldn''t help but have lustful thoughts about her.


    Sophie had fair-white skin, an exceptionally beautiful face that seemed perfect from every angle, and her breasts were also ratherrge that enhanced her sexy charm greatly. Moreover, as the innkeeper''s eyes lowered down, he saw those long milky-white legs that just made his mind go crazy with desire.


    The innkeeper even began thinking boldly ''This girl ispletely drunk. I just need to deal with this annoying guy and I can y with this woman how I want. Keke¡­''


    Suddenly, the innkeeper''s dirty fantasies were interrupted as he was thrown back by a sudden burst of Ardor.


    It naturally came from Azaroth.


    The innkeeper soon returned to his senses as he was struck by that shockwave. He stood back up and looked at Azaroth, speaking with an awkward look, "¡­Yes sir? What were you saying?"


    "I said, give us a room for tonight." Azaroth coldly spoke.


    "Yes sir. Definitely sir." The man quickly replied. He then turned to a servant and ordered him, "Quickly show sir the room number 107."


    Azaroth soon followed that servant up on the stairs while Sophie just continued to hang around him in that drunken state. Her grip on Azaroth''s arm was tight and it prevented her from falling down multiple times.


    After getting in the room, Azaroth asked the servant to return. Soon, he went to the bed and just fell on it.


    The exhaustion his body had built up until now was showing its effect. Azaroth just wanted to continue sleeping for a long time to recover his energy, whether it was the physical energy or the mental energy.


    Sophie had already stopped holding Azaroth''s arm once she entered the room.


    As Azaroth turned his head to look at what she was doing, he was surprised to see that she had already removed her top and was in a in red bra that held herrge breasts.


    Once Azaroth saw that sight and then the motion of how Sophie was also removing her shorts, his body temperature increased suddenly.


    The exhaustion from a few seconds earlier was going away as his hormonespletely activated and he felt his dick react to that sight.


    Soon, Sophie was just in her bra and her panties. And as she raised her head to look at Azaroth, she found that he was no longer on the bed but right in front of her.


    There was that lustful look in his eyes as his lips immediately captured Sophie''s mouth before she could even speak anything. Their tongues battled out against each other as Azaroth slowly turned Sophie towards the bed.


    Once their kiss ended, Azaroth suddenly pushed Sophie on the bed and lustfully said, "Let''s have some fun, my dear seductress."


    Soon, Azaroth''s hands moved towards Sophie''srge breasts as he held them and fondled them expertly.


    Sophie began to release loud moans from her mouth as she felt Azaroth''s hand movements on her chest even when he was fondling her breasts while she was still wearing her bra.


    Sophie didn''t even realize when her bra was removed and Azaroth was soon fondling her raw breasts. Sometimes pinching her nipples, nibbling or licking her breasts, or sometimes just fondling them expertly as she felt extreme pleasure from this.


    However, this wasn''t all she was feeling. Azaroth''s fingers were already inside Sophie''s pussy and he was surprised that it was so wet.


    "You really are a temptress," Azaroth spoke before licking his lips as he removed his clothes.


    In her drunken state, Sophie saw Azaroth standing ahead of her, with his 10 inches dickrge dick that just made her wonder ''Is it normal to be so big?''


    And once Azaroth had used his true weapon, Sophie realized that the pleasure she had been receiving earlier was nothing but the mere tip of the iceberg.


    In that night, Azaroth took Sophie Russel''s virginity and still went on to pound her pussy for half a day until it was midnight time.


    It was only then that Azaroth''s lust was satisfied.. After that, Azaroth used his Ardor to clean the sheets effortlessly and the two slept in each other''s arms naked.

 Chapter 43 - Leaving Separate Ways

    The next morning, Azaroth woke up as the sun rays fell on his face. He opened his eyes and his vision fell on the naked woman sleeping in his embrace.


    He wasn''t surprised to see Sophie still sleeping as she was bound to be quite tired because of their sexual activityst night.


    Azaroth slowly got up and wore his clothes. He sat down on the ground and began to meditate using his Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique to digest the Death Energy he had absorbed.


    His Demon Transformation Mode''s power had increased quite significantly. He was more or less sure that if he could use the Heavenly Demon Transformation Mode against that Golden Ape, he could have defeated that beast.


    However, it would also be quite foolish to give up the long-term gains for a fleeting victory.


    Although having sex with Sophie wasn''t in his ns, but Azaroth was sure that having a strong bond with this woman will only assist him in the future.


    It had to be known that Sophie had quite an influence within the capital. Her Father, Spencer Russel, had quite a fame because he was the youngest Royal Guard Captain.


    However, not just this but her beauty and her friends contributed to Sophie''s fame as well. Many princesses and other noble heiresses of the Kingdom of Sinyal were her good friends¡­


    As long as Azaroth had her support, he would have a lot of choices on what he could do in the capital.


    The first thing Azaroth wanted to know was just how had humanity grown to the level that they could fend off the beasts, demons, and the Celestials on their own on this continent.


    Although from Edwin''s memories, he understood that some major revolution had urred in the human world after his death but he still wasn''t clear about what it was.


    Moreover, even Edwin had no idea about the powers of the Royal Family.


    It was extremely important for Azaroth to know the secret of the Royal Family''s powers.


    This could give him another clue on how he should further enhance his power.


    An hour soon passed and Sophie opened her eyes and yawned. She stretched her arms to their limit and slowly raised her upper body and sat on the bed.


    She suddenly felt a cold breeze strike her body. As Sophie lowered her head, she saw that she was wholly naked.


    Not just her upper body but her lower body. And then, she heard a voice greeting her, "Looks like you finally woke up, sleepyhead."


    As Sophie turned her head, she saw Azaroth seated on the ground in a cross-legged posture and her mind froze.


    ''What happened?! Why are we in the same room?! Most importantly, why am I naked right now?!''


    Sophie seemed to be screaming in her mind while on the surface, she just showed a dead calm look.


    "So, are you fine now? It was your first time after all." Azaroth seemed to be asking those words with a slightly concerned tone.


    Sophie slowly recalled everything that had urredst night and her face flushed pure red due to embarrassment.


    ording to what she remembered, she was the one who was clinging to him after gettingpletely drunk. Moreover, she was also the one who had began to remove her clothes after getting into a room alone with Azaroth.


    Her feelings, her lust at that moment. The pain after that and most importantly the pleasure she experiencedter¡­ She remembered all of it now.


    "I¡­" She didn''t know what she should speak. She was nervous, embarrassed, and somewhat angry.


    Her anger''s target wasn''t Azaroth but herself.


    "You look annoyed. Is it because of what happened yesterday?" Azaroth asked Sophie as he looked at her with a small frown.


    Sophie looked at Azaroth and noticed that small frown. She thought that he was probably feeling guilty about it.


    She didn''t like seeing him like this.


    Some momentster, she softly whispered, "Yesterday was fun¡­ No, it was amazing. I never imagined I could feel so much joy. Thank you, Edwin."


    "Hehe¡­ I loved it as well." Azaroth replied with a slight smile.


    Sophie ced her feet on the floor and began walking. She winced as she felt some pain because of the sexual activities yesterday.


    On the third step, she stumbled.


    Azaroth stepped forwards and held her shoulders before she could fall.


    Currently, Sophie and Azaroth had a very low distance between them. Sophie''s breasts with her erect nipples seemed to invite Azaroth to touch them.


    Azaroth''s vision fell on Sophie''s breasts and her curvy ass but he changed his focus immediately.


    "Thanks¡­"


    Sophie whispered to Azaroth and he soon released her from his hold.


    Sophie pulled out her clothes from her Spatial Ring. She looked at Azaroth who seemed to have returned to his meditation.


    Sophie wondered whether she should ask him to move out of the room so that she could change her clothes or she should just change it now.


    After some contemtion, she decided to not care about Azaroth''s presence here.


    He had seen and done much more than this yesterday.


    As Sophie wore her clothes, her racing heart was finally calming down.


    "Are youing to the capital with me?" Sophie was curious about this so she asked Azaroth straight away.


    "Are you nning to introduce me to my father-inw?" Azaroth spoke with a joking tone.


    However, Sophie wasn''t in the mood for jokes. In fact, she even nodded her head as she replied, "I do want you to meet my father. It would be near impossible to have his consent or support regarding our rtionship so we both need to try our best and make him ept it."


    "Mhm~." Azaroth just released a sound of confirmation from his throat.


    A few secondster, he spoke, "I do agree that meeting your father is somewhat necessary to convince him but I can''t meet him yet. I have my hands full with some tasks back at home. After dealing with them, I will immediately begin my journey to the capital."


    These words were spoken rather seriously.


    Sophie looked slightly disappointed as she heard his words, "You mean you won''t return together with me to the capital?"


    Azaroth noted her slightly sadness and raised his hand to caress her cheeks, "If it was any less important, I would have definitely agreed. It is rted to my dead mother¡­ My father should fulfill his promise now that I have returned alive from this mission."


    "Rted to your mother?" Sophie immediately understood that it was going to be impossible for Azaroth to give up the chance of learning more about his mother.


    She no longer tried to convince him and spoke, "Alright. But promise me that you wille as quickly as possible."


    Naturally, Azaroth gave her a confirmatory nod.


    Once Sophie had received his confirmation, she was rather delighted.


    And soon, her stomach grumbled due to hunger.


    "Let''s go get something to eat. I was also quite hungry."


    With this, the two went down to eat in the bar of this Inn.


    ~~


    After half an hour, Azaroth and Sophie left the Silver-Blood Inn.


    As the two were walking on the path, Sophie asked Azaroth, "You will go straight to the Wrihull City?"


    Azaroth gave his nod and replied, "Yeah."


    For some moments, both of them were silent since they didn''t know what they should talk about.


    Azaroth finally opened his mouth and asked, "Are you going to inform your father about our rtionship?"


    As Sophie heard his words, the corner of her lips rose and she asked, "Getting cold feet?"


    Azaroth casually shrugged as he replied, "Who isn''t scared of your father in the Sinyalian Kingdom? Even the King won''t dare to provoke your father."


    "Hehe¡­ Don''t worry. I won''t mention it to him. You need to be the one to prove to him that you hold the capability to date me. I can just put in an asionally good word about you otherwise he will get suspicious and might ban you from seeing me. Worse yet, he might even kill you just to prevent any future troubles." Sophie spoke to Azaroth who looked to be in deep thought after hearing those words.


    "Alright."


    Currently, Azaroth and Sophie were walking towards the vige. They were nning to hire carriages and horses.


    Initially, Azaroth nned to apany Sophie in the carriage and once they had to split, he would ride the horse and return to the Wrihull City.


    Sophie didn''t object to his words. She was thinking and calcting for how long they could be together in the carriage.


    And the answer turned out to be 4 days.


    After 4 days, Azaroth would be on his own way riding his horse.


    Sophie would have to return to the capital alone on the carriage. This was going to be her first time traveling alone without any guards around her. It would be a lie to say that she wasn''t nervous.


    Azaroth wasn''t thinking about Sophie though. He was more curious about what had urred in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Was the King going to ept his offer or not? If the king does ept the offer, Azaroth could finally use his mountain of wealth to entangle the two kingdoms in his schemes.


    He wasn''t worried about exhausting all his wealth. Instead, he was worried about not using it all¡­


    There were many ways he could get those crystals and Ardor metals back or maybe earn it in the future.


    Stealing the Royal Treasury of a Kingdom focusing on trade was bound to fill his reserves up.


    The one who paid for the carriage and horses was Azaroth. Naturally, Sophie still had no idea that this money Azaroth had was looted from her guards.


    Anyway, the two were on their way in a single carriage.


    Azaroth closed his eyes and had begun to cultivate his Ardor.


    Meanwhile, Sophie continued to stare at Azaroth''s face and felt her heartbeat getting faster. She didn''t know why but she found him very attractive at this moment.


    Soon, her thoughts drifted to the previous evening when the two had sex. Azaroth pounded his huge cock in her pussy and took her virginity.


    Maintaining her virginity was considered a symbol of purity in the Frascoia Continent. And it would be wrong to say that Sophie didn''t regret it¡­


    She did regret it as she didn''t want to lose her virginity so soon. She was just 18 years old after all.


    However, both of their inner desires were let loose yesterday and she found it hard to only me Azaroth for this.

 Chapter 44 - The Rhodes Family Head

    Azaroth and Sophie continued to stay together for the next few days. They continued to have their little dates in the bars of the inn or taverns. However, this time, Sophie didn''t drink alcohol too much.


    She didn''t want a repeat of the earlier situation in which her desires overpowered her rational mind.


    And as a young woman, she was quite shy and didn''t want to take the initiative regarding sex.


    If Azaroth did take the initiative and express that he wanted to do something, she wouldn''t be able to reject him.


    However, Azaroth''s mind wasn''t focused on sex. He was more dedicated to digesting the deathly energy within his body.


    It was nearly done¡­


    However, there was something that confused Azaroth. The amount of energy he had processed was enough for him to advance to the Demon Lord level twice. So just why hadn''t his energy to the 5 Star Rank?


    This did worry him a bit. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.


    He was sure that this wasn''t some sort of bottleneck created because of ack of understanding of the energy but something else entirely. He was looking at the situation from the wrong angle.


    ''Just what it is that I am missing? I need to figure out it quickly or else I will remain stuck at this 4 Star Rank.''


    Many of his important skills could only be used at the Demon Lord Rank so he was longing to reach that stage.


    ''I have already used the humanely and the Demon''s methods of breaking the bottleneck but it doesn''t seem to work. The way to rise in the ranks of the Humanely Ardor is to train the body and absorb the surrounding energy.''


    ''For the Demonic Ardor, it is to train the body and absorb the surrounding energy. However, if the user can absorb the death energy, then the person would need much less energy and would be a lot faster while advancing to the next rank.''


    ''The basic condition of the Celestial Ardor must be the same as that of the Demonic Ardor. If this goes on, then it would take me nearly 3 times of that death energy to finally raise my rank to the 5 Star Rank.''


    ''If my theory is correct then using the method of Celestials should shorten the time and lower the energy required but if not...''


    Azaroth had no other choice than to go along with it since he could no longer change what had happened¡­


    These days, Azaroth was preparing a n to use the method of Celestials and harvest a lot of energy.


    After all, this method of Celestials was much trickier in application than the Demons.


    What he had to do was harvest a lot of faith energy from living beings.


    Unlike the death energy that could be easily harvested after killing someone, Azaroth would have to form a sort of religion and people would have to offer a sacrifice on his totem or alter. Depending on the value or energy held within that sacrifice, it would then be converted into faith energy and add to the recipient''s Ardor.


    Naturally, how he should make such a religion was quite tricky for Azaroth. He was wondering whether to create this new religion in the form of a demon, a celestial, or a wandering sage?


    This identity would be crucial for his life ahead so he had to n it properly.


    ''First, I might need to train more with the Celestial Ardor. I am still not proficient enough in it to even defeat a lower-ranked Angel.''


    Soon, the time came when both Sophie and Azaroth had to split apart.


    Azaroth was out to leave the carriage when Sophie suddenly hugged him. She whispered with a low voice, "Meet me soon."


    "Yeah, sure," Azaroth muttered before leaving the carriage.


    He took the reigns of the horse and then rode off in the Wrihull City''s direction.


    The carriage driver and Azaroth seemed to have left at the same time.


    One moved in the northwest while the other in the west direction.


    The route ahead was supposed to be clear of monsters or any forest so it was rather safe.


    ~~


    A few days earlier in Tronte''s house, Wrihull City.


    Tronte received a slip from a white pigeon. He held that slip in his hands while drinking his water.


    As he read the contents in the slip, he spat out the water in shock.


    "What the?! Edwin and Sophie are booking just a single room when they stay in an inn?! Since when did they get so close?!" There was indeed a hint of jealousy in Tronte''s tone as he couldn''t believe that his best friend had stolen the heart of their school beauty.


    "Damn. I need to know just what happened at that Kloras Town." Tronte was quite curious just how things had reached such a point.


    Suddenly, another thought entered Tronte''s head and a serious look appeared in his eyes ''That woman better not be thinking of making Edwin a shield. If so¡­''


    Tronte''s eyes shed with killing intent as he wasn''t going to have any mercy on her.


    Tronte flipped the slip and wrote some instructions before tying it to the white pigeon''s leg and held it up in his hands. Soon, the pigeon knew it was time to return and began pping its wings to fly away.


    A few days earlier he received the message that Lennox Rees had no idea about Azaroth''s identity. Though the man had met up with the King of the Glerian Kingdom, there had been no mention of Azaroth''s name.


    Tronte was happy as he heard this news. It was because it meant that whatever disguise Azaroth had put up while meeting that man was effective.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, a day had passed since Azaroth and Sophie split up. He was on his way back to the Wrihull City and Sophie was on her way back to Mesenana City, the capital.


    Azaroth had built a camp on his way as he and his horse took some rest there. The horse ate the grass in the area while Azaroth ced his back against a tree for a short nap.


    When he woke up, his eyes made contact with a rather astonishing individual.


    The one who stared right into his eyes was none other than Edwin Rhodes''s Father, Jonas Rhodes.


    Unlike Edwin''s blue locks, the man ahead of him had blonde hair with some stripes in purple color. ording to Azaroth''s analysis, that purple color was not the original hair color of this man but those purple color seemed to be because of the side effect of a specific technique.


    As for the face, the man was exceptionally handsome and Azaroth could understand why Edwin looked rather handsome from the start. He was truly endowed with impressive genes.


    And now that Azaroth had also removed all the impurities from his body, his own charm had increased significantly. Such that even Jonas Rhodes was internally surprised as he saw Azaroth''s fair skin and appearance.


    At a nce, the garments worn by Jonas Rhodes appeared to be absolutely simple with no rtion to Ardor.


    However, Azaroth vaguely guessed the true reason for hisck of any spiritual clothing.


    Jonas Rhodes was a 6 Star Warrior and his pure power could bepared to a Demon King from the Demon Realm. He could ignore most attacksunched by someone below 6 Star Rank.


    And if Jonas wanted to use his clothes to assist him in a fight against an equally proficient opponent then their price would be far too great even for the Rhodes Noble Family.


    Most importantly though, Azaroth guessed that this man didn''t want to grow dependent on external power like clothing or weapon. Personal growth was the best way to go¡­


    While Azaroth was observing Jonas Rhodes, the same was true conversely.


    Jonas Rhodes was gauging Azaroth and noted that his son had changed quite significantly.


    He guessed that the change must have urred because of the death of those servants left behind by his mother.


    "You have be a changed man. It seems that the cruel experience is finally teaching you stuff you should have known long ago." Jonas Rhodes spoke with apletely emotionless voice.


    "Yes, father." Azaroth turned his head as if he didn''t want to meet Jonas Rhodes''s eyes.


    Hearing Azaroth''s words, Jonas didn''t rx at all. Instead, his gaze grew colder as he asked, "Why did you not inform the family that you were going out? Moreover, you actually went to Kloras Town to provide them aid in their beast raid?!"


    Azaroth looked somewhat startled as he heard Jonas''s words. Just why was this man angry over this matter? The Rhodes Family should have nothing to do with this matter, right?


    "I didn''t think it would be such a big deal." Azaroth sharply replied to Jonas.


    The tone and the words made Jonas raise his right brow in return. It was rare for his son to talk to him in such a tone.


    "So, you have also learned to talk back," Jonas spoke with the same cold voice as before.


    Azaroth clenched his fists but he still lowered his head and stayed silent.


    Jonas noted that reaction but chose not toment on it. Instead, he added, "Six months ago, I investigated it earlier and knew that this ce had some rtion with the demons. I sent my contacts to the Alpine Gerbil Woods and all of them mysteriously died."


    "It was at that time I got the idea of luring this demon out and also strike the foundation of our rivals." As Jonas revealed this information, Azaroth connected the dots.


    He now understood why there were so many heirs of the Noble Families present to provide aid. It was because Jonas was specifically providing the information of the beast raid to the Noble Families.


    Moreover, he seemed to have deliberately yed down the threat of this beast raid. The fact that the Noble Families had trusted that information meant that they must have received it from their own intelligenceworks.


    Azaroth was somewhat impressed since this meant that Jonas seemed to know quite a few secrets of the other Noble Families. No wonder the Rhodes Family was progressing steadily under this man''s leadership.


    "The beast raid was much stronger than expected. Sophie and I barely escaped with our lives intact." Azaroth informed Jonas of this information calmly.


    "Sophie? Who is this woman?" Jonas looked puzzled at hearing this name from his son.


    "Sophie Russel, the daughter of Spencer Russel," Azaroth replied to Jonas.


    Jonas''s eyes narrowed at those words as he whispered softly, "Even Spencer''s daughter was entangled, huh? It''s a pity she survived."


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to hear this from Jonas''s mouth. Jonas and Spencer could be considered to have a fierce rivalry.


    The two were from the same generation and had risen up with nearly the same speed. However, Spencer had grown up without any resources of a Noble Family and even then, he had eventually exceeded Jonas in terms of strength and cultivation.


    Currently, if Jonas could be considered a high-level Demon King in the Demon Realm then Spencer was at the peak of the Demon King.


    The King of the Sinyalian Kingdom also favored Spencer more than Jonas.


    "You mentioned that only you and that woman barely survived. When did you split up?" Jonas asked Azaroth with a curious gaze.


    Azaroth knew why Jonas was asking such a question. As long as Sophie wasn''t too far away, he was going to go ahead to capture her or maybe kill her. It was most definitely to mess up with the emotional state of Spencer Russel so that his breakthrough to the 7 Star Rank would be dyed.


    His rtionship with Sophie was necessary for a few of his future ns so he couldn''t have her die just yet.


    With a straightforward gaze, Azaroth replied, "6 days ago, we both traveled together for two days until we reached the vige named Gremur. After that, we split up as she bought a carriage and began her movements towards the capital meanwhile, I bought a horse and began my return journey as well."


    Jonas appeared to be indifferent to Azaroth''s exnation. ording to his own calctions, if that woman didn''t encounter any bandits or other reasons then she should be quite near to the capital.


    It was rather risky to show his appearance there and deal with this woman.


    At most, he could contact his men in the capital and order them to deal with her if they could.


    "What of the status of the beast raid?" Jonas asked casually.


    "There were more than thousands of beasts above the 2 Star Rank who fought against us in this beast raid. Moreover, there were also two 5 Star Rank Beasts. One of them was killed by Sophie''s guard while the other was still alive before I ran away. I don''t know what has happened after that." Azaroth chose his words very carefully as he gave the beast raid''s status.


    "You managed to survive a beast raid led by two 5 Star Beasts? Impressive." Jonas casually praised his son but Azaroth''s expression hardly changed.


    "I can''t take credit for that father. Many warriors sacrificed their lives that allowed me to escape in one piece. Otherwise, I am afraid I would be nothing more than a rotting corpse right now." This was not what Azaroth was actually thinking. However, Azaroth was sure that this was an answer that Edwin would have given in response to that question.


    Although Jonas appeared to be asking that question quite casually, his senses and intelligence could not be underestimated. If this man had even a slight suspicion that Edwin''s soul had already been swallowed by someone else, he wouldn''t hesitate to pull out Azaroth''s soul and torture it for information.


    If it was a battle of spirit in his own mindscape, Azaroth was more than happy to fight against Jonas. However, if it was outside of his body, then he wasn''t so sure of his victory.


    Jonas seemed to have expected such an answer from Azaroth and spoke seriously, "What matters to me is that you survived. You should think that it''s their honor to sacrifice their lives for you since you are my son."


    ''What a narcissistic and self-centered man he is.'' These were Azaroth''s thoughts about Jonas Rhodes.


    "Yes, father." Still, Azaroth replied with a rather submissive look.


    "Let''s return to the mansion now," Jonas spoke as he grabbed hold of Azaroth''s arm.


    The two began to fly in the sky. Azaroth looked down at the horse that had been left behind and sighed.


    Suddenly though, Jonas''splexion turned slightly ugly as he turned towards Azaroth and asked him coldly, "How are you a 4 Star Warrior already?"


    This question was so sudden that Azaroth was rather astonished and the rate of his heartbeat increased exponentially.


    ''Have I been found out?!

 Chapter 45 - Joining Family Meeting

    For a few seconds, there was a strange yet suffocating silence around the Jonas and Azaroth as they continued to fly towards the Rhodes Estate.


    Jonas was utterly shocked that he had actually failed to sense the fluctuations of Ardor from Azaroth earlier. He had only found out about Azaroth''s true strength when he had used his energy and fly together with him.


    Just a month or so ago, he had personally checked Edwin''s energy and was sure that Edwin was just a 2 Star Warrior. Just how could two great breakthroughs ur in a month?!


    "Speak?! Was it during the time you went out hunting and your servants lost their lives? Did you encounter something heavenly there?!" The man frantically asked Azaroth.


    Azaroth understood that Jonas was more curious about the breakthrough than his true identity.


    ''Damn. That gave me a scare.''


    As for Jonas''s questions, Azaroth already had an answer prepared beforehand.


    "No father, it''s just that blinding light was released from my body that killed a few beasts in the area before I copsed out of exhaustion. After I woke up, I was really dirty and then took a bath in the nearbyke. When I used my Ardor, I felt as if it was much greater than before and also much stronger. When I returned to the mansion, I read a couple of books and understood that it was Celestial Ardor." As if to give proof, Azaroth raised his right hand and golden energy enveloped his entire hand.


    "I began to look for ways to train it and slowly get more proficient in it." Azaroth slowly lowered his hand and the golden light dimmed as well.


    "You possess the Celestial Bloodline and awakened it?!" Jonas looked astonished as he came to know of this fact. He was more or less sure that this Celestial Bloodline couldn''t havee from his lineage. This meant it was from his concubine who was dead now.


    "Make sure to keep this Celestial Bloodline a secret. You should be well aware of how the hybrids are treated in this kingdom, right?" Jonas looked at Azaroth with a serious gaze.


    "Yes. I haven''t told this secret to anyone else but you, father." Azaroth spoke with a convincing tone.


    Jonas slowly nodded his head as he seemed satisfied with Azaroth''s answer.


    "Good. Now, let''s return."


    The two picked up speed as they flew towards the Rhodes Estate.


    Azaroth felt it rather refreshing to fly at such speed. Currently, he could only fly by controlling the Wind Element but even then, his flying speed was far slower than Jonas''s flying speed.


    On the horse, it would have still taken Azaroth another 3 days to return home. But flying with Jonas, it only took him half a day to return back to the mansion.


    The two hadnded on the balcony that was next to the great hall of the Rhodes Estate.


    As the two stepped within the great hall, many servants saw how Azaroth and Jonas had entered the great hall from the balcony.


    One of the servants silently left the great hall to inform this information to his master.


    Although all the servants in the Rhodes Estate were working for Jonas Rhodes, most of them were assigned to different members of the Rhodes Family and were naturally more devoted to them.


    Edwin also had his own faithful bunch of servants who were now dead.


    Zachariah Rhodes, one of Edwin''s uncles, was the first one to arrive in the great hall. He was the little brother of Jonas Rhodes and was a 5 Star Warrior in the family¡­


    His authority in the family was only below that of Jonas Rhodes and on more than one asion, he had tried to belittle Jonas and take control of his political authority.


    Naturally, his efforts had been in vain as Jonas''s authority in the family was still unshakable. The most important reason was his talent and power. Moreover, his bold personality would prevent anyone from taking things too far against him.


    Zachariah seemed to be surprised to see Jonas and Azaroth standing so close to each other.


    However, the man remained quiet as he waited for the other members of the family to arrive.


    Jonas seemed to have expected this as he went over to a nearby chair and sat on it, cing one of his feet on top of his other leg.


    Azaroth looked at Jonas and noticed that he was hinting at something. Azaroth also took a seat on a seat next to Jonas.


    It was considered quite impolite in the Noble Family to sit while someone senior to you was still standing.


    However, it was something that Jonas had asked Azaroth to do. Clearly, this indicated that he was dead set on humiliating Zachariah.


    Zachariah knew what his brother was attempting but all he could do was keep his mouth shut at this moment.


    Soon, the other members of the family gathered at that ce.


    They included the other uncles of Edwin, Laurance, and the other older children of his uncles.


    It was at this moment that Zachariah finally asked Jonas with an ugly scowl, "Why did you return so soon, Jonas?! Were you not going to investigate Kloras Town because of the reports of the beast raid? Moreover, what is he doing here?" The man ended his series of questions while pointing at Azaroth.


    Edwin Rhodes was considered quite a trash in the family. It was well known that any important or crucial information regarding the Rhodes Family wouldn''t be passed onto him.


    "He went to the Kloras Town and aided them in their beast raid and has even survived it. I encountered him while he was returning home and heard about the result of the beast raid from him." Jonas Rhodes gave a brief answer to Zachariah''s questions.


    As the other members of the Rhodes Family including Zachariah heard Jonas''s answer, they turned their heads in Azaroth''s direction.


    Many of them began whispering among themselves. Their talks mainly exhibited their ridicule towards Azaroth.


    "He provided aid to the Beast Raid? I hope this guy didn''t pull them down by too much."


    "Yeah. A mere 2 Star Warrior also thinks he can make a difference by going alone. How na?ve¡­ It seems that the death of his servants has just traumatized him."


    "It is surprising though that the family head returned along with Edwin. ording to my estimation of Family Head''s character, he should have ordered Edwin to return before going over to investigate the scene personally."


    Azaroth had no choice but to remain absolutely silent as the individuals ahead of him kept judging him.


    Laurance also held his doubts over why his father had allowed Edwin to remain at this scene.


    Normally, his father would have made sure to dismiss Edwin first before continuing with the family meeting.


    This was also a sign that Edwin couldn''t threaten his position in family politics and had always relieved him. But today, a faint sense of fear appeared in his heart.


    However, he quickly calmed himself by thinking ''Hah. How can this trash take over my position as the next head of the family?! I am thinking too much into this.''


    It was Zachariah who asked the crucial question though, "And what is the result of the Beast Raid in Kloras Town."


    Jonas appeared quite rxed as he replied back, "All the warriors who turned up to fight against the Beast Raid died except for Sophie Russel and Edwin."


    All the family members of the Rhodes Noble Family were shocked to hear that statement. Azaroth or more precisely speaking, Edwin was merely trash for them. Just how could he survive the beast raid when many other stronger warriors than him had perished.


    "You mean all the other noble family descendants also died?!" Even Zachariah found it far too inconceivable.


    He knew that a beast raid was incredibly dangerous but the noble family heirs had many things to protect their lives.


    Their status was so distinguished that they could treat a beast raid as a mere trial. How could so many heirs of the noble families die so easily?!


    Moreover, not just that, butbining it with the fact that Azaroth had actually survived when the others hadn''t was even more unbelievable.


    "Do I need to lie to you?" Jonas spoke with a haughty tone.


    The Rhodes Family members were incredibly familiar with this tone from Jonas. They knew that he was absolutely sure of this oue¡­


    As Azaroth observed their reactions with his Mystic Eyes of Perception, he understood that their shock was genuine. It clearly indicated that they were unaware of the n put into motion by Jonas.


    This alone signified that Jonas didn''t just rely on thework of Rhodes Family but his own personalwork.


    The first one to break out of his trance was Zachariah. The man asked with a sharp tone, "Are you not going to clean up those beasts then?"


    "Why should I?" Jonas coldly asked Zachariah.


    The two began to re at each other intensely.


    At this moment, a middle-aged man, who was, in reality, an elder of the family spoke with a warm tone, "You don''t need to re up so much Jonas. Zachariah is merely curious about why you won''t kill those beasts and extract their cores for the Family. The King might also reward our Noble Family for dealing with a beast raid."


    Azaroth analyzed this man deeply as well. On the surface, this man seemed to be stepping up for Zachariah, but he was also condemning Jonas for not killing those beasts.


    As the other members of the family heard those words, they also felt that their Family Head took the wrong decision to return with Azaroth.


    However, even this question didn''t faze Jonas, "I have my own reasons for this. For now, it''s better to not deal with the beast raid of Kloras Town. It is rted to something rather troublesome that even the Rhodes Family can''t deal with."


    Such words from Jonas were rather rare. Nearly all the members who had appeared for this meeting were convinced. Zachariah though was more and more curious about this Beast Raid. Just how could it threaten the Rhodes House?


    The topic of this Beast Raid was now over so the other members were thinking of returning soon.


    Only Jonas and his 4 children, Azaroth, Laurance, Lucas, and Bryon, remained behind.


    In reality, Jonas had way more children than these four but only those who attended the meetings simr to the one earlier could possess all the benefits with that identity.


    "Give some more information about the House to Edwin. From now on, he will also attend the meetings."


    Jonas soon left after leaving that message behind.


    Laurance sneered at Azaroth as soon as Jonas had gone out of sight, "And here I thought you wouldn''t go any lower. But to beg father just to let you attend the meetings, you are truly disappointing."


    Lucas and Bryon both had annoyed looks on their faces as well. They were annoyed because from their perspective Azaroth hadn''t done anything to be rewarded so greatly by Jonas.


    Now, the monthly allowance of the three would be shared among the four until the next Family Head was announced.


    Currently, the one in the lead of the rankings was none other than Laurance.


    "Don''t get in my way or else, the result won''t be pretty," Laurance warned Azaroth before he left the Hall.


    Lucas and Bryon stared at each other before nodding. They decided to leave as well.


    They didn''t want to strengthen theirpetition by exining things to Azaroth. They only hoped that he would be forced to drop out soon.


    However, none of these three individuals knew that Azaroth possessed the strongest martial strength amongst the four of them.. And that was the very reason why Jonas had allowed Azaroth to join this meeting and throw him in this race for the next Family Head.

 Chapter 46 - Info About The Slaves

    Azaroth hardly cared about how the Rhodes Family members treated him.


    The one thing he did find shocking was that there was not a single woman in this family meeting.


    He knew that this was a male dominating society but the females weren''t oppressed to such an extent. There was definitely a specific reason for this¡­


    Jonas had gone over to his personal pce that was some distance away from the Rhodes Estate. It could be said that all his concubines including his wives lived in that pce.


    That pce could be considered a heaven for some hot-blooded men.


    Today''s meeting also allowed Azaroth to look at the whole picture rather clearly.


    Jonas was using him to bnce this race of the next family head.


    ording to him, Jonas was in his peak years. And would continue on to live at this peak for the next 50 years. And if by any chance he broke through to the 7 Star Rank then he might even live for another 400 years. However, it wasn''t that easy to break through to the 7 Star Rank, or else there would have been many existences of that level.


    So, Edwin or his brothers had little to no chance of getting his seat until either Jonas was very old or Jonas died due to some reason, or Jonas was crippled.


    Clearly, there was a low possibility of any of the three options to ur. In fact, Azaroth would go on to say that no one in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom could cripple or kill Jonas.


    Well, except for that man named Spencer Russel.


    Other than over-exaggerated rumors of that man, Azaroth didn''t know anything much. So, he couldn''t gauge the strength of this man. However, ording to his understanding, Jonas should be capable of running away even if he can''t have a one-on-one battle against Spencer.


    After having thought about things rted to the Rhodes Family, Azaroth began to think about how to evolve his Ardor to the 5 Star Rank.


    ording to his instincts and reasoning, the shortcut would be to use the Celestial Method.


    He required a tremendous amount of faith energy.


    A few dayster, Azaroth received a message from Tronte to meet him.


    ''Why does he want to meet me?''


    Curious about the reason behind this meeting, Azaroth left the Rhodes Estate and went to meet up with Tronte at his house.


    He had to take a detour and lose his pursuers before going to meeting Tronte. Because of his presence in the meeting, Laurance and his other brothers were taking him as a serious opponent.


    They wanted to keep an eye on him at all times or deal with him quickly without dirtying their own hands.


    Just as Azaroth reached Tronte''s house, the door to the house opened up. The one who opened the house was naturally Tronte and surprisingly, he was standing with a young woman right behind him.


    The woman was wearing ck clothes and was quite a beauty. Her dark hair flowed down to her waist and her blue eyes focused on Azaroth.


    At first nce, she appeared to be an ice-cold woman who would remain calm and emotionless in any situation.


    Tronte seemed to be smiling as he invited Azaroth inside, "I have been waiting for you, Edwin. You finally found the time to visit me."


    Azaroth replied with an amused tone, "You seem to have quite apany with you in the form of this beauty. I hope I am not a third wheel here."


    Tronte smirked at Azaroth''s words and gave a casual response, "She is Evelyn. Don''t worry about her. She is just my newly hired secretary."


    "Oh, I see¡­"


    "Come now. Let''s talk inside."


    Soon, Azaroth, Tronte, and Evelyn were seated on three different chairs in the living room.


    Tronte and Evelyn were seated on the same side while Azaroth was seated on the other side.


    "Let''s get straight to the topic. Why did you call for this meeting?" Azaroth asked with a serious voice.


    He had multiple reasons for asking this question. However, the main reason was to check whether Tronte was actually willing to speak anything ahead of Evelyn or not.


    Meaning, Azaroth wanted to know whether Tronte actually trusted Evelyn or not.


    Tronte''s response would indicate just how much he trusted Evelyn.


    "It''s been quite a long time since west met. I just wanted to meet up with you and introduce you to Evelyn." Tronte spoke with a thin smile.


    "Evelyn, this is Edwin Rhodes. He was one of my only friends in Acadia Academy and it''s only thanks to his protection there that I have survived till now." Tronte first introduced Azaroth to Evelyn.


    Azaroth was surprised to see a flicker of emotion in Evelyn''s eyes as she gazed at him. It was as if her gaze had turned rather gentle.


    The woman who hadn''t spoken a single word to Azaroth until now finally spoke rather softly, "Greetings, Lord Edwin. As Lord Tronte has spoken, I am Evelyn, his new secretary. I hope to be useful to Lord Tronte."


    ''Lord Tronte huh?'' Azaroth naturally noted the title this woman used for Tronte.


    ording to his understanding, Tronte had no rtion to a Noble Family and was only an ordinary man. Why would this woman refer so respectfully?


    ''As expected Tronte isn''t simple at all.''


    "Nice to meet you, Evelyn." Azaroth''s greeting was polite and respectful as he looked into Evelyn''s eyes.


    Once Evelyn had slightly nodded, Azaroth turned his head to Tronte''s direction and asked him, "Anyway, what about those ves I mentioned? I need them urgently now."


    There was a flicker of disdain and disappointment in Evelyn''s eyes but she remained quiet.


    However, Tronte merely smiled and replied, "Have I ever disappointed you, bro? I searched all the nearest cities for the best ves in the underground and found out an organization that deals in this business of selling ves. We can go there if you want."


    "For that, get me some clothes to conceal myself. It won''t be good if someone recognizes me there." Azaroth spoke to Tronte who was more than delighted to hear this.


    "Well, what would you like to have? Tea or coffee?" Tronte asked with a hint of a smile on his face.


    "As you already know, Jasmine Tea." Azaroth dryly replied to Tronte''s question.


    Before Tronte even gave an order, Evelyn went to make the tea. She was making three cups of jasmine tea; one for each of them.


    Just as Evelyn had gone away, Tronte began speaking, "I received a report from the Glerian Kingdom. The King seems to be quite suspicious of the offer received from Lennox Rees but he is willing to take some risk in this trade."


    Azaroth more or less understood that Tronte didn''t want to talk about this issue in front of Evelyn. It meant that he didn''t trust her that significantly yet.


    "Why did you hire this woman as your secretory? She appears to be rather cold and doesn''t seem to be your ideal type of woman. In fact, her chest area also appears to becking¡­" Azaroth asked Tronte with a casual tone.


    Tronte had an embarrassed smile on his face as he replied immediately, "Get your head out of the gutter. She is a valuable assistant, that''s why I hired her as my assistant. Her ability as a martial warrior is praiseworthy enough and her ability in handling the budget would be second only to me."


    "My head is in the gutter? Even a blind man would see your intentions." Azaroth spoke a voice full of disdain.


    "Haha¡­" Hearing Azaroth''s words, Tronte justughed aloud.


    "On a serious note, do you have some useful information about what the Glerian Kingdom''s ruler has decided? Will he ept my offer or not?" Azaroth casually asked this question.


    He didn''t really expect an answer from Tronte''s side though. After all, how could Tronte know what the King of the Glerian Kingdom had decided?


    Azaroth was waiting for Lennox Rees''s letter or news of another individual from the Glerian Kingdom. Those would be the best way to signal that the King was considering Azaroth''s offer.


    However, even if the king didn''t ept his offer, Azaroth had another method to force the Glerian Kingdom to wage war upon the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    For that, he required some servants.


    While these thoughts were revolving in Azaroth''s head, Tronte suddenly began speaking in a calm yet serious manner, "The King is quite tempted by the offer. The general and the prime minister of the Glerian Kingdom though were against this offer."


    "They gave the reason that this sudden surplus of resources had a rather suspicious origin and felt that it was a trap dug by the Sinlyalian Kingdom. After all, no matter who it was, there was no way an individual can give off so many resources to satisfy a kingdom so this meant that it was either the Sinyalian Kingdom or some other kingdom behind this conspiracy."


    "However, the King was still not convinced by them. He seemed to be quite confident about taking this risk. If not for his son, Prince Vir Barker, stopping him then he would have already epted the deal and sent his people here to trade with you. The King then decided to first investigate the source of those resources and also investigate the person who gave that offer to Lennox Rees before making any further decision. First, they questioned Lennox Rees and then they found out another issue."


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to hear that the King of the Glerian Kingdom had nearly epted his offer. What he was more shocked was that Tronte seemed to possess detailed information of what urred in the court of Glerian Kingdom as if he was sitting there when the proceedings went on.


    As for the part that the King was now using his connections to investigate him?


    "What did Lennox Rees say when the King questioned him about my identity?" Azaroth asked Tronte as he was now curious just how deeply was his spywork iid in the Glerian Kingdom?


    Tronte calmly whispered, "Lennox Rees mentioned that he had that deal with a demon."


    Tronte then acutely observed Azaroth and seemed to be making a mental note of all his movements.


    "Why would he describe you as a demon? Just what did you do that horrified him so badly?" Tronte was quite curious about this matter. Although he knew the methods to mentally break someone, he didn''t think Edwin would know or use any of them.


    "It''s surprising how a blindfolded man can believe a couple of lies so easily." Azaroth gave a weak excuse.


    Before Tronte could ask any more questions regarding this topic, Evelyn returned with a tray. In that tray were 2 cups of tea; one for Tronte and the other for Azaroth.


    Azaroth nced at Tronte and signaled him to talkter.


    Tronte understood that Azaroth didn''t trust Evelyn. And he was right to hold his doubts over her.


    Speaking of such a delicate and risky n in front of someone unfamiliar was just shortening your own life.


    Azaroth changed the topic by asking Tronte, "So, you have any info about the special ves that I might find out?"

 Chapter 47 - A Grave Secret

    Azaroth''s question didn''t surprise Tronte and instead of answering him, he questioned back with a shrewd smile, "What do you think?"


    "Damn. Howe you know everything?!" Azaroth eximed before taking a sip of his tea.


    Tronte ignored the question and began speaking, "Most of the ves are probably demi-humans. Don''t be surprised to see some half-demons. But there are also some rare ves with a pure and royal bloodline of their race."


    "Amongst all the ves, I have my eyes on 3 of them. Those three will be invaluable for you in my opinion."


    "Hoh? Brief me of them."


    "Two out of those three are demi-humans. One has a mixed bloodline of a human and a brown cougar. From the analysis of the vepany, the origin of his beast blood was from a 5 Star Beast who was possibly his mother."


    "As for the other demi-human. His situation is somewhat trickier since his father appeared to have been a demon."


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to hear that there were demon kins in this ve market. Most demons had the tendency to go along with their desires.


    The cases of **** and murder were rathermon in the purgatory.


    "ording to the analysis by the ve Company holding him, the child seems to be aware of his own lineage but he refuses to speak. In fact, his bloodline is quite special as no matter the effort this ve Company puts, they can''t get his secret out of him." Tronte gave that piece of information quite casually as he saw that thoughtful look on Azaroth''s face.


    Azaroth nodded his head and gestured for him to continue.


    "Thest one, and probably the one with the greatest value amongst all the ves. It''s a woman with pure Elven Blood. Not just that, but the instrument to measure her Bloodline Power broke before it could gauge the strength of her bloodline. You understand what it means right?" Tronte finished speaking while asking a question from Azaroth.


    "She possesses the Divine Bloodline of the Elves?!" Azaroth was truly shocked by this information.


    This information meant that this elf who had been captured was a member of the Royal Family of Elves!


    Azaroth knew full well just how prideful and protective the Elves were about the people of their own race.


    "Why hasn''t the Elven Kingdom attacked the Sinyalian Kingdom yet?!" Azaroth asked with some surprise evident in his voice.


    Although the humans had taken control over the entire continent and drew their own political map, it actually wasn''t entirely urate.


    There were many zones on the continent that wasn''t actually under the humans but rather under the beasts, demons, elves, or the dwarves.


    Naturally, there were special reasons why humans couldn''t conquer those bits ofnd.


    Like the Elf Kingdom¡­


    In terms of pure individual strength, the strongest expert they had was their Elf Queen. And in Azaroth''s time, the Elf Queen was at most at the level of a Demon God.


    He wasn''t sure of the power level of the Elf Queen in this era, but he was sure that the humans must have managed to give birth to a 9 Star Warrior of their own. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have taken over such arge part of the continent.


    However, as far as Azaroth was aware of, even a 9 Star Warrior or someone like the Demon Venerable would be hard-pressed to actually win against the Elf Queen in her territory.


    This was because the Elves received a rather strange boost in the forest where they resided. The forest of the elves was known as ''Nature''s Abode.''


    This forest seemed to have been blessed by a strong expert or perhaps someone at the level of a Demon Venerable or a Supreme God. This blessing was known as Nature''s Blessing.


    This Blessing had two main properties. One was that as long as the Elves are in Nature''s Abode, Nature''s Ardor would continue to empower them. That is why, when the Elves are fighting on their home ground, their attacks are 20-30 times more powerful.


    For the Royal Family of the Elves, their attacks get 50 times more powerful.


    However, this wasn''t the ability that scared Demon Venerable or the other experts.


    The second ability was the truly terrifying one. It was known as the ''Absolute Kill''!


    It was a sacrificial ability activated upon the sacrifice of a Royal Member of the Elves. Naturally, the individual who is being sacrificed must be atleast a 4 Star Warrior before meeting the requirements to use this skill.


    It was a sacrifice to their Guardian Deity, the World Tree. The mysterious World Tree seemed to possess a great strength as it had actually killed a Demon Venerable back in ancient times.


    Azaroth remembered this incident because he had taken part in that war against the Elves. He was merely a Demon Lord at that time but he still remembered how that red light struck their Demon Venerable who lead them.


    Even that Demon Venerable found it impossible to resist that red light and soon died.


    In fact, it was precisely due to this that the Demons immediately retreated and never dared to attack the Elven Kingdom again.


    Not just their Divine Wood Ardor, but also such a strong trump card would prevent anyone from even thinking of conquering that location.


    Well, Azaroth hadn''t given up yet in trying to find a way to conquer that unyielding kingdom. However, even he was out of ideas against the Elven Kingdom.


    "The Elven Kingdom still isn''t aware of the fact that their princess is here." It was Evelyn who answered Azaroth''s question.


    "If this ve Company is aware of her origin then how can they even dare to capture her. Also, I doubt she didn''t resist so they must have treated her rather roughly. They should know that they are just digging their own grave." Azaroth looked quite confused.


    It was Tronte who answered Azaroth''s question, "That is the reason the ve Company won''t reveal that she is actually a princess of the Elven Kingdom. In fact, they have also used some seals to prevent her from revealing this information to anyone else."


    "I see¡­ Then how do you know this?" Azaroth asked with a serious look on his face.


    At that question, Tronte had a yful smile as he answered, "Who do you think they contacted for the seal?"


    "You? Naah. You didn''t know anything about sealing in the Acadia Academy."


    As Azaroth spoke those words, Evelyn looked at him with contempt visible in her eyes.


    Tronte justughed at those words and spoke, "Haha¡­ You are right. But I do know the person who possesses this sealing ability. So that ve Company had to give me the entire story as well."


    "That might be possible." Azaroth hmmed in response as he agreed with Tronte.


    He had naturally noticed Evelyn''s reaction but acted as if he missed it.


    "Yeah. They are passing this woman as a regr Elf. Her cultivation has already been abolished to prevent her from resisting her new owners." Soon, a knowing smile appeared on Tronte''s face as he added, "Also, she is a virgin."


    "How do you know that for sure?" Azaroth casually asked him.


    "Well, objectively speaking, the ve Company has already reduced the price of this ve by abolishing her cultivation base and even passing her off as a regr Elf. To maximize their profits, it''s natural that they allow her to retain her virginity."


    "But damn¡­ She is a real beauty. I doubt I have ever seen anyone so beautiful in all my life. You definitely have to buy her bro." As Tronte spoke those words, Evelyn''s brows twitched in some irritation.


    From what Azaroth observed, she seemed jealous. Her jealousy stemmed from how Tronte was talking and praising that woman so zealously.


    Azaroth sneered in response and asked, "If she is so beautiful then why haven''t you bought her yet?"


    At those words, Tronte had a slightly embarrassed look as he rubbed the back of his head, "Although I want to have her, her price is something that just forces me to give up."


    "The only way to buy her is to give three Rank 5 Red-Violet Cesnesia crystals."


    Azaroth now understood why Tronte had no choice but to give up.


    These Red-Violet Cesnesia Crystals grew in the passage between the Purgatory and the Frascoia Continent.


    Because of the Spatial Disturbances in the passage, even a Demon King was hard-pressed to move in this passage let alone gather these crystals.


    These crystals were immensely helpful to humans since they could empower their element irrespective of what it was to a certain degree. But this was still not its greatest use¡­ It was mainly used by the warriors at the 5 Star Rank to gain insight into the Space Laws.


    Among the Rank 5 Materials, these crystals were one of the best things to not just empower their own elemental energy but gain insight into the Space Laws.


    And the side effects of using these crystals were temporary so the warrior could use these crystals without thinking too deeply.


    Azaroth actually possessed these Red-Violet Cesnesia Crystals in his Spatial Ring right now. In fact, he had actually used some crystals of a higher rank than these Red-Violet Cesnesia to create his own Spatial Rings.


    Although Azaroth possessed these Red-Violet Cesnesia Crystals, he didn''t want to reveal his personal belongings to Tronte.


    Moreover, buying a ve for these Red-Violet Cenesia Crystals was definitely a scam. How could he be willing to fall into such a scam?


    Besides, if Azaroth just gives away Rank 5 Materials, then he would just be shouting to the world toe and rob him.


    "Too expensive," Azaroth grumbled with an unhappy look.


    "Right. I know bro. But still, when I think of her looks and then her identity, I think it''s a good deal." Tronte spoke, giving his own view on this matter.


    "Oh really?."


    However, soon enough, an idea did appear in his head. He asked Tronte with a clever smirk, "You know the location where this woman is being kept?"


    Tronte looked shocked upon hearing this question. He partly understood what Azaroth was nning and in his opinion, it wasn''t a good idea at all. However, he still truthfully replied, "Sure, I do. But what are you nning to do? Kidnap her?"


    Before Azaroth could even speak, Evelyn spoke with tant disdain and contempt in her eyes as she stared at Azaroth, "A weakling at the 2 Star Rank should give up the thought of abducting a ve from the Silent Death organization."


    From its name, it was clear that this Silent Death Organization didn''t just deal in selling the ves.


    "Let me worry about that." Azaroth gave a sharp reply to Evelyn''s words.


    Azaroth then focused on Tronte and spoke, "Let''s first go and get the other two ves. Maybe I could find some hidden talent there as well."


    "Sure. We can go now." Tronte spoke as he suddenly stood up and prepared to move out.


    Azaroth and Evelyn also stood up as they followed Tronte out of his house.


    As the three were walking, Evelyn remained entirely silent while Tronte kept on having some idle chatter with Azaroth, informing him of the other things that urred in the Wrihull City while he was gone.


    Most of it seemed useless to Azaroth but one particr bit of information caught his attention.


    Jonas''s concubine whom he had recently married had suddenly fallen ill. It seemed as though the Rhodes Estate was trying to hide this information while discreetly buy some medicines for her strange illness.


    The strange thing about this illness was that no physician could understand the symptoms of this illness. The only thing they understood was that this illness wouldn''t spread through air or skin contact. This was quite relieving for the other members in the harem since they hade in contact with her one time or another.


    This woman was Tiana Rhodes. And each day, her body would turn reddish during the noontime and blue during the nighttime.


    During the noontime, her temperature would rise so greatly that it felt as if she was practically burning. But during the nighttime, it would fall so sharply as if she was going to turn into ice.


    The only reason she could survive until now was Jonas''s Ardor that was preventing her body from copsing apart.


    This was all that Tronte knew.


    Azaroth remained calm as he heard this information. He understood that this was not a natural illness but the effects of poison.


    ''Twin Elemental: Fire and Ice Poison huh? A troublesome poison but I should be able to solve it using the Heavenly mes. However, how can I extract the maximum benefit from that situation.''


    Azaroth never did something which wouldn''t benefit him so his mind was already working out a way in which he could take advantage of this situation.


    This wasn''t the only valuable information Tronte informed Azaroth.


    The information that truly caught Azaroth''s attention was about the Merchant Union. It seemed that they had gained a rather rare artifact. Even Tronte had no idea about what this artifact was but this was the rumor spreading in the Merchant Union.


    It was because the security had shifted even within the storehouse of the Merchant Union.


    But soon, he threw the situation at the back of his mind as he had reached the location.


    From the outside, it was arge building with a grey color on its outside and made from cement.


    Azaroth also sensed some spirit energy from it and was sure that it could take a beating and remain standing.


    ''Interesting¡­ So many 3 Star and 4 Star Guards. Moreover, I can even sense the fluctuations of 5 Star Warriors underground?!''


    It was truly impressive that there was such a force in Wrihull City.


    ''If this is an Assassination Organization then this might not even be half of their true force. In fact, the truly strong members must be out on a mission.''


    "We are here now," Tronte spoke to Azaroth.

 Chapter 48 - Selecting The Slaves (1)

    The guards outside saw Tronte and Azaroth. They immediately went over to greet Tronte as if he was their son-inw.


    "Good day, Sir Tronte. It''s nice to see you. What brings you here sir? Should I call over the manager?" One guard approached the group and acted rather cheerfully.


    "It''s nothing much Mr. Uriel. I am here to get some ves for my friend. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be kind enough to lead me there." Tronte spoke with a calm tone while pointing at Azaroth.


    Azaroth was wearing a hood and a mask so the guards couldn''t see his face properly. But they weren''t overly bothered by this.


    The other guards who heard Tronte''s words immediately began to shout excitedly, "I will lead you Sir Tronte."


    "No, he is asking me so I will be the one to lead him," Uriel replied back somewhat angrily but he couldn''t hold back the excitement in his heart.


    It was well known among the guards here that every time someone leads Tronte to his destination, the guard would be rewarded with 3 Spirit Coins.


    For such a menial task, they would be rewarded with half their monthly sry so who wouldn''t be eager to get it.


    But unfortunately for most of the guards outside, Tronte seemed to have already chosen Uriel this time. Uriel was a lot excited as he led Azaroth, Evelyn, and Tronte.


    "What''s your name, good sir?" Uriel seemed to be asking Azaroth.


    "Azaroth¡­" Azaroth just gave this name before he turned silent. He had already discussed with Tronte that he would give this name away.


    After all, it would be stupid to give away his real identity here. There was no point wearing the mask or the hoodie then.


    The fact that Azaroth had hidden hisst name didn''t surprise Uriel. He just nodded and replied with a smile, "What a good name sir. Your voice and name give me a feeling as if I am meeting an exceptional hero."


    Azaroth smirked underneath his mask as he thought ''Well, I don''t know about that. A demon would have been more urate.''


    Uriel continued on to praise Azaroth. He was putting such a great effort into his ttery because Azaroth hade along with Tronte.


    A man who was called a friend by Tronte meant that he had an exceptional identity as well!


    "What about you, miss?" Uriel then looked at Evelyn who had an ice-cold expression.


    "Evelyn, I am Lord Tronte''s secretary," She looked somewhat proud as she revealed this information.


    The guard immediately nodded and began to speak, "An exquisite name, madam. Your appearance and voice give me a feeling ofplete calmness. Sir Tronte must be blessed to have a secretary like you."


    Even though Evelyn had an ice-cold temperament, her cheeks couldn''t help but heat up because of thosepliments.


    She shyly nced in Tronte''s direction from the corner of her eyes and found that Tronte was focusing on something else.


    The guard had naturally noticed how Evelyn sneaked a nce at Tronte and was nning on using this information to tter more.


    It could be said that the ttery skill also required a great deal of observation and cleverness. Not just anyone could be a tterer.


    Thinking this, Uriel couldn''t help but feel prouder for having mastered this skill.


    He had no idea that Azaroth and Tronte were merely amused and were hardly affected by his fake ttery.


    They all never realized when they reached the main office where the manager was seeming to talk with another individual.


    It seemed as though they were arguing on something.


    Tronte threw 5 Spirit Coins towards Uriel who had begun to dance internally as he received those Spirit Coins. He immediately left the area while Tronte led Azaroth and Evelyn inside the room where they saw two men arguing with each other.


    "Mr. Zac, I have been rather kind to you and I shall say those words again. You cannot buy that Elf for a price other than three Rank 5 Red-Violet Cesnesia Crystals or something more valuable than it." It was a rigid tone that Azaroth and others heard.


    "And I am asking for a reason, Sir Finley. Just why won''t you lower the price for that Elf? As far as you have informed us, she is merely an Elf with no cultivation base. So I don''t understand such a high price for that Elf. You think just because she is a virgin, she deserves such a high price?!" The man named Zac seemed to be unsatisfied with the exnations provided to him.


    "You should go, Sir Zac. I have other people to entertain now. But let me be clear of my stance, our organization, the Silent Death Organization won''t sell her off for such a cheap price." Sir Finley spoke, showing nopromises once again.


    Zac clenched his fists and knew that this man won''t budge now that he had made his decision, "So a price of ten Rank 4 materials and valuable objects is a cheap price for an Elf?! You have truly made me open my eyes, Sir Finley. I shall be on my way then."


    The man named Zac bumped into Azaroth as he was heading out.


    He was about to speak something when he noticed the look in Azaroth''s eyes. Those purple eyes were peering into his soul and freezing his blood from a strange power.


    Zac understood that this was a man who should not be angered. It was best to just get away from this ce.


    As Zac left, Evelyn spoke up, "You were lucky. It''s a good thing that the man didn''t shower his frustrations at you or else it would have been bad for you."


    It was as if Evelyn wouldn''t let go of even one opportunity to belittle Azaroth.


    And most surprisingly, it was none other than Tronte who red at Evelyn and coldly ordered her, "Do me a favor and shut up!"


    Those cold words froze Evelyn for some moments before she slowly lowered her head. She didn''t know why Tronte was suddenly so cold to her.


    How did she anger him?


    And then she nced at Azaroth and somewhat understood that Tronte favored him more than her.


    "It''s nice meeting you, Sir Finley. It seems that you continue to have some trouble over that Elf. Why don''t you give it to me? I can take care of her for you." Tronte spoke thest sentence rather jokingly.


    "As you know, Sir Tronte. We paid a huge price to acquire this Elf and to sell it at such a low cost would be a great loss for us. Unfortunately, the Ivory Slicers Squad Captain is dead set on obtaining this Elf but he can''t fork out the price listed by us. I have tried reasoning with them but they fail to understand our difficulty at all. And it''s not just them, even the delegates from the Crimson Thieves and many other gangs havee for that ve particrly but no one can fork out the price listed for her." Finley spoke with a bitter smile on his face.


    "Oh right. What brings you here today, Sir Tronte? Thest time, you did request a list of exceptional ves we possessed. Have you already made up your mind on the ve you are choosing?" Finley immediately connected the dots and guessed the reason for Tronte''s appearance here.


    "It''s not me who will be buying a ve. It will be my friend Azaroth." Tronte pointed at Azaroth, who stepped forwards.


    "Please lead me to the ce where you store the ves. I would like to personally choose them." Azaroth spoke with a polite tone.


    Finley immediately nodded his head and replied, "Please follow me, Sir Azaroth."


    With that, the three of them followed Finley to the location where they stored the servants.


    Unsurprisingly, the ce where they stored their servants was in their underground dungeons.


    The manager Finley was a 4 Star Warrior and more than powerful enough but he had another special identity. He was the younger brother of the head of the Silent Death Organization.


    The difference between their age was more than 10 years and the difference in their martial ability was even greater but still, the two brothers were rather close.


    After all, how could the man give away the position of the manager to someone untrustworthy?


    Soon, Finley unlocked the door leading to the underground dungeon.


    Azaroth sensed the aura of the 5 Star Rank Warrior getting closer. It seemed as though most of them remained here to keep watch over the ves.


    Naturally, most of the guards present here in the dungeon were those of the lower ranks. The 5 Star Rank Warriors remained hidden from in sight¡­


    As long as they didn''t purposely show themselves, an average ve or a warrior won''t even sense them.


    Once they entered the dungeon, Tronte whispered to Azaroth, "Don''t make any rash moves. We are being monitored by some 5 Star Warriors."


    Azaroth affirmed with a nod and they continued walking.


    Finley began to speak about the description of the ves.


    The first one he pointed at was a dark-colored man with a rather robust build.


    "Sir, this is a 2 Star Warrior. He is what you can call an average warrior who would be rather proficient in carrying your stuff."


    Azaroth nced at the ve and rejected him without a second thought. There was no hidden talent he could gauge from this ve. It would be absolutely useless to have him.


    "Let''s go ahead, Sir Finley." Azaroth calmly told the manager of this Silent Death Organization.


    Finley seemed to have expected this reaction and took Azaroth to the next ve.


    Once again, Azaroth wasn''t satisfied. Whether it was the power or the talent, it was far from his satisfaction.


    After another 6-7 ves were rejected by Azaroth, Finley seemed to understand just what Azaroth was looking for in a ve.


    The ve must be young, possess a good talent, or some unique ability useful to him.


    Finley then took Azaroth and his group deep underground. It was atleast 4 floors down below the ground floor.


    On this underground floor, the most talented and young ves were being kept.


    Two out of the three ves mentioned by Tronte were chained over here.


    The Demi-Human with the bloodline of the cougar was one of the first ones that Finley showed to Azaroth.


    "Sir, this is a Demi-Human whose father was a cougar that had probably shapeshifted into human appearance and had a child with a human. Although his talent isn''t particrly exceptional, he does possess the skill of partially transforming into a beast. In that state, he regains his senses and also the special powers of the cougar."


    The little child appeared to be of 15 years of age. He had an oval face with red hair and yellow eyes.


    His cultivation was merely at the 2 Star Rank but this wasn''t what Azaroth focused on.


    He was using his Mystic Eyes of Perception to check up on his bloodline. Indeed, this boy held the bloodline of a cougar, moreover, this cougar was just at the 6 Star Rank. Not very exceptional in his eyes.


    As that child saw Azaroth, he growled angrily.


    Azaroth looked into those eyes containing boundless anger in them.


    Finley frowned slightly as that child was making a bad impression in front of a customer. Just when he was about to pick up the whip that was ced on the side, Azaroth asked, "What''s the price for this child?"


    For a second, Finley was stunned. He thought that this child''s actions had infuriated or forced Azaroth to rethink his decision but to think that Azaroth was actually interested did stun him.


    However, he regained hisposure quite quickly and replied, "We have priced him at the 10,000 Spirit Coins. His potential and his transforming ability¡­"


    Before Finley could finish up his words, Azaroth''s purple ring shone and 2 Fire Kilin Crystals were released from it.


    "I do not have the Spirit Coins. Will this suffice?" Azaroth asked with an indifferent tone.


    "This is Fire Kilin Crystals?!" Finley was more than surprised to see those 2 Fire Kilin Crystals.


    Other than Finley, it was Evelyn who was quite surprised to see the Fire Kilin Crystals in Azaroth''s hands. Azaroth had already told Tronte about a bit of the wealth he possessed so he wasn''t that surprised.


    But Finley quickly regained his calm and replied, "The price of these 2 Fire Kilin Crystals would be 12,000 Spirit Coins in the current market. I shall take them on their market rate and give you a sufficient discount for any other things you buy from us."


    Azaroth indifferently nodded and then stared at that boy with the bloodline of a cougar.


    "When will I receive him?"


    Finley immediately responded, "We will use some medicines and heal all his injuries. Before you leave the building, this ve would be more than ready, Sir."


    "Good."


    After that talk, Finley gave some specific instructions to the guards nearby. Soon, a couple of guards left the floor and went to bring the elixirs and medicines to heal that child back to his full health. All his physical scars were going to be healed.


    Meanwhile, Finley brought Azaroth, Tronte, and Evelyn to the next ve.


    This ve was also quite young, nearly 15 years of age.


    "This ve was born with innate divine strength. In pure physical strength, he is stronger than a 2 Star Warrior."


    Azaroth observed him with his Mystic Eyes of Perception and noted that this was indeed the case.


    However, he didn''t care about this Innate Divine Strength. Its presence would be felt in the early stages of the warriors. However, in theter stages, the Innate Divine Strength would lose its value.


    Most of the individuals who reach the level of a Demon King would greatly reduce the gap between them and the warriors who possessed Innate Divine Strength.


    The only way for the warriors to use the Innate Divine Strength to its full potential was by using the cultivation form of the barbarian race.


    However, even Azaroth didn''t have those cultivation forme. He did try to get it but the barbarians were truly unyielding and would die before being captured.


    Their cultivation technique was quite special and they could explode themselves with a single thought.


    If not for this skill, Azaroth would have had several Barbarians as his ves in his previous life.


    Finley noted that Azaroth wasn''t interested. He then moved onto the next ve.


    This time, it was a young woman, seemingly 16 years old. She had a broken expression on her face.


    Just as Finley was going to give a description of her, Azaroth calmly spoke, "Let''s check out the next ve. I don''t have a good feeling about her."


    Finley was slightly surprised by Azaroth''s decision but he chose to respect his decision and moved over to the next ve.


    It was once again a woman. This woman though appeared to be in her twenties. She had a voluptuous body withrge boobs and a great ass.


    Her body gave off a bewitching aura as she stared at Azaroth with a flirtatious look.


    Her dark hair and purple eyes peered into Azaroth''s spirit and wanted to charm him.


    However, Finley used some Ardor in the gold armament in his hand and the woman fell on the ground, grabbing her head while groaning in pain.


    Azaroth though saw through the identity of this woman. This woman possessed the bloodline of a subus.


    ''A pure demon heh.''


    "Let''s go ahead." Azaroth indifferently stated.


    This surprised Finley a lot as he gave the description of this woman, "Sir, this woman is a subus. And subus is one of the few demons that can be kept as a servant and the kingdom won''te after you. Also, rest assured, she hasn''t been touched by any men here or before. We are absolutely sure of this."


    Azaroth though remained calm and told Finley, "I want to see the other ves, Sir Finley."


    Finley looked somewhat helpless as he heard Azaroth. He stared at Tronte and seemed to be asking for some exnation but Tronte shrugged his shoulders as well.


    A subus was one of the ves that were guaranteed to be sold. Especially among the affluent customers.


    This was one of the first times in Finley''s career that he had brought an affluent male customer here and he decided against buying a subus.


    The Subus Race was quite popr amongst the humans because of their sexy appearance, their exclusive race skills, and the fact that as long as they were provided with some resources, they would grow in strength quite quickly.


    They were considered as a sex ve and a bodyguard at the same time.


    However, it seemed as though Azaroth had made up his mind about not buying her.

 Chapter 49 - Selecting The Slaves (2)

    Even the top ves that Finley was somewhat proud of were being rejected one by one.


    Finally, they reached the location of the ve that had been mentioned by Tronte earlier.


    He was a fair child, with dark hair and red eyes. Moreover, Azaroth could sense a faint sense of pride and arrogance from him.


    "Hmph. You seem to have brought another one. You think he can handle me?" There was a cheeky look with a trace of arrogance on it.


    He seemed to look down on Azaroth.


    Azaroth was somewhat speechless as he felt that pride and arrogance from this guy ''Just how can he stay this prideful and arrogant when he has been captured and is being sold as a ve?''


    Azaroth came to a conclusion of his own ''There really are all kinds of people out there. Even stupid ones like this.''


    This time, Finley was somewhat helpless. No matter what techniques they used, they didn''t affect this child at all so even the Silent Death Organization had no means to deal with this child.


    Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception and analyzed this child.


    When that child ahead of Azaroth saw those Mystic Eyes of Perception, he froze due to shock.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was also shocked. It was because of what he had seen with his Mystic Eyes of Perception!


    Moreover, Azaroth had also kept note of this child''s reactions and was surprised to see that this child recognized his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    ''If he can even recognize my mystic eyes then he definitely possesses a high status in the Purgatory.''


    "What''s his price, Sir Finley?" Azaroth asked straightforwardly.


    Finley had somewhat expected this question from Azaroth. However, he looked at Tronte with a troubled expression.


    It was Tronte who sighed out and ced his hand over Azaroth''s shoulder, "Bro, this servant hasn''t been tamed yet. He might harm you. I think we shoulde and take him away at ater date."


    Azaroth pushed away Tronte''s hand and looked into his eyes before speaking, "You don''t need to worry about his loyalty. I have my own way of taming my servants."


    Evelyn muttered underneath her breath, "Just overreaching himself. You wille asking for my lord''s help in half a day."


    It was a good thing that Trotne didn''t hear her words because a re wouldn''t be what he would do at this time.


    Azaroth then turned towards Finley and asked him resolutely, "Name the price."


    "7,000 Spirit Coins." Finley gave the price for this child.


    "Will the Fire Kilin Crystals suffice?" Azaroth asked calmly.


    "Yes, Sir. That would be most appreciated."


    "Good." Azaroth then pulled out 1 Fire Kilin Crystals and handed them to Finley.


    Finley carefully stored them in his storage pouch.


    Finley was greatly excited but he hid it well.


    "Do you need any more servants? Or perhaps weapons and other things? We deal in all sorts of things, sir." Finley spoke with a smiling face.


    The earlier procedures for healing the injuries weren''t needed for this child.


    Azaroth asked Finley with a curious tone, "Actually, I am quite curious about this Elf as well. Can I see her?"


    For some seconds, Finley hesitated. It was because this Elf''s identity was quite special, known only to him and some other trusted few in the Silent Death Organization.


    Each one was hiding this matter deep in themselves as they know that if this is revealed, they would all be in an ocean of trouble.


    Finley was hesitating quite a bit and Tronte realized that his interference was required here.


    "Sir Finley, you can rest assured that we won''t harm that Elf. My friend here hasn''t seen an elf and is merely curious about her." Tronte exined their intentions with a calm expression.


    The manager was finally relieved as he received the assurance from Tronte.


    "Please follow me, sir."


    Azaroth and the group were led by Finley to an even lower floor.


    And as soon as Azaroth stepped on that floor, he could sense the presence of that Elf Princess. The entire lower floor seemed to be filled with a great amount of Nature Energy.


    Soon, they continued to move forwards and came across a metallic door.


    Azaroth noticed three seals that were probably created by a grandmaster formation expert.


    He could break these seals but he would require some time to analyze them.


    Finley''s back covered those three seals and after some time, the door opened on its own.


    Azaroth, Tronte, and Evelyn soon took a look at the Elf Princess.


    As Tronte had spoken earlier, this Elf Princess was truly the most beautiful woman he had seen.


    It wasn''t just her face, but her body could make some subus cry in shame. This Elf Princess hadrge breasts that would probably not even fit in his palm. Azaroth couldn''t gauge the curve of her ass since she was seated right now but he guessed it was probably quite good as well.


    Her long blonde hair reached down to her knees while her emerald green eyes had an empty look as she stared looked at Azaroth and the group across the bars.


    The Elf Princess had an empty look in her eyes as she stared at Azaroth and the group standing across the bars.


    She couldn''t help but regret the actions that had led to her capture.


    If only she wasn''t that rebellious and had listened to her mother, she wouldn''t have left the Elf Kingdom and ventured into the human territory.


    Here, she was trapped and was being kept as if she was a thing who would be sold to the customers appearing every now and then.


    She was quite distressed about this situation earlier but had gotten used to it by now.


    Tronte was tempted by her beauty and he didn''t hide it one bit. Even Evelyn who was quite proud of her own beauty couldn''t help but feel greatly inferior to the woman ahead of her.


    The only one who still had that same emotionless look was Azaroth.


    ''Although thin, she does possess the Royal Bloodline of the Elves.''


    Now that he had confirmed the identity of this elf, he was thinking of a n to get her out of here. Also, he had to ensure that she would be willing to serve him.


    Unlike the other servants, he couldn''t use the same approach with her.


    ''I guess I will see how it goes. For now, I need to focus on bringing her out of this prison.''


    His eyes shed with purple color as he focused on the Elf Princess for some moments.


    After he was finished, Azaroth turned to look at Finley and spoke, "Let''s leave. I have sated my curiosity."


    The fact that Azaroth was already done when it hadn''t even been 10 minutes since he came in surprised Finley. He was the first person who was leaving so soon after seeing this Elf Princess.


    Tronte looked a little reluctant to walk away as he kept staring at the Elf Princess. But unfortunately, Azaroth had already spoken and they had to leave now.


    As they walked out of that room, Finley asked Azaroth with a curious expression, "What do you think about her, Sir Azaroth?"


    "If her price is the same as what you told Mr. Zac then I only have one word to reply to that, Sir Finley. Overpriced."


    Those words were expected by Finley but other than a bitter and forced smile on his face, he was helpless in this situation.


    Tronte looked at Azaroth and wondered just what his friend was nning. Had he given up on the Elf Princess after seeing the security?


    Azaroth and the group were slowly returning to the ground floor.


    When they were on the 3rd basement floor, Azaroth sensed strange energy. It was quite familiar to him¡­


    He also heard a metallic sound. It was the sound of metal striking a stone.


    "Hmm? What is this sound?" Azaroth asked Finley curiously.


    "It''s nothing. It''s just that an idiot has the habit of breaking the rocks in his cell and try to break out of here." Finley had a disdainful look on his face as he talked about this person.


    "There is such a person, huh? Can I see him?" Azaroth casually asked as he wondered who this entric guy was.


    He hadn''t seen any servants on this floor as they had skipped the floors between the first basement floor and the fifth basement floor.


    Finley didn''t think much of it and nodded.


    Soon enough, Finley led Azaroth in front of the cell where Azaroth saw a child of just 9 years old, striking the stone walls with a metallic rod.


    The child appeared to be unusually ordinary with short ck hair and brown eyes. His eyes didn''t move away from the wall for even a single second.


    There was an empty look in his eyes as he continued to strike the wall. At a nce, he appeared to be a robot.


    Finley continued to stare at this ve with his eyes full of disdain. It was as if he wanted to say that no matter what this child did, he couldn''t escape with this method.


    Even Tronte and Evelyn didn''t have any good impression of this kid.


    The only one who was absolutely shocked here was Azaroth. Other than shock though, he was very excited as well.


    ''This child possesses the Enlightened Sword Heart?! Amazing! Amazing!''


    Enlightened Sword Heart¡­ This was a state for a Sword Cultivator who would be fully focused on the way of the sword.


    His advancements in sword techniques or anything rted to swords would be way quicker than even the greatest genius in the world.


    The Enlightened Sword Heart didn''t differentiate between any race. You just needed to possess enoughprehension and have an infatuation with the sword.


    Also, this Enlightened Sword Heart was necessary for a man to be a Sword Venerable!


    ''If just in terms of their individual ability, this child''s potential is greater than any I have ever seen.''


    ''He hasn''t even begun his cultivation. It will be easy to manipte him.''


    Azaroth though couldn''t show off his excitement on his face or else Finley would realize that this child wasn''t trash but actually a treasure. A treasure whose value far surpassed the Elf Princess!


    Azaroth cleared his throat and spoke nonchntly, "Can I get this ve for the remaining Spirit Coins you owe me?"


    "Does Sir Azaroth want this ve for that price?" Finley was also pretty excited.


    He could throw out a trashy ve for nearly 1000 Spirit Coins. If this wasn''t good business ability then what was?


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was mentally dumbfounded as he thought ''I just bought a future Sword Venerable for 1000 Spirit Coins only? If those demon gods or the Demon Venerable know of it, they will probably think of it as a joke andugh themselves to death.''


    "We have a deal, Sir Finley," Azaroth spoke before shaking Finley''s hand.


    With this, the transaction was finished and both parties were happy.


    Tronte didn''t stop Azaroth from buying this child.. Having an average servant was also alright in his mind.

 Chapter 50 - Educating The Servants

    Nearly half a dayter, in Azaroth''s courtyard, the three servants he bought were lined up next to each other.


    Each one had a different expression on their faces, one was indifferent, the second was angry while looking at Azaroth, while the third one showed an arrogant look as if he was the master here.


    "My name is Edwin Rhodes and I am your master. What are your names?"


    "My name is Noah¡­" Only the child with an indifferent look answered Azaroth, the other two remained refused to answer him.


    In fact, the arrogant demon spoke up, "You aren''t worthy of knowing my name. Just kneel down and give your respects to me. If I am in a good mood, I can let you know my name."


    Meanwhile, the demi-human and beast just growled in anger.


    "I guess I first need to break someone''s delusion."


    Azaroth stared at the arrogant demon child and slowly made his way towards him.


    Before the arrogant demon could say anything, Azaroth punched this guy very strongly.


    Moreover, it was to such an extent that this demon''s face crashed into the ground.


    Azaroth spoke with a cold and arrogant tone, "I believe pain is the best tool for discipline. And you know, it''s easier to kick you while you are kneeling like a dog."


    With that, Azaroth proceeded to kick him. He kicked his face, his chest, and then stomped on his hand and cracked his bones.


    As Azaroth kicked his face strongly, the demon''s teeth flew out.


    Azaroth hit the demon''s chest so many times that it was about to break.


    And the feeling in Azaroth''s mind right now? It was Euphoria!


    He was enjoying beating this kid to a pulp!


    For a second, Azaroth stopped.


    At that moment, the demon sneered and spoke out, "What? Tired already? My wounds are already closing though. No matter what you do, it will never be enough."


    Azaroth though gave a crazy smile as he answered while licking his lips, "You misunderstood, kid. The reason I stopped was so that your healing could actually proceed. After all, where would I find such a punching bag that won''t break no matter how hard I hit it?"


    The three ves who saw Azaroth gulped down a mouthful of breath. Especially the demon who was being beaten badly and the demi-human who remembered he had shown off his rage in front of this crazy master.


    Meanwhile, Noah was somewhat worried ''Master won''t beat me to satisfy himself, right?''


    With that, the demon experienced another session of Azaroth beating him to a pulp.


    Azaroth noted that this demon still had quite a bit of pride left in him.


    He sighed out and spoke, "I guess I should quit this gentle way and start with my personal favorite method."


    The three ves ahead of Azaroth were shocked to hear him call this a gentle way. Just how was this gentle?!


    But when they saw Azure mes burning in Azaroth''s hands.


    "So¡­ I wonder just how long the child of a Demon Emperor can resist this pain. There should be a limit to your healing ability." Azaroth showed an excited smile as if he was undergoing an experiment and was going to get its result soon.


    "W-What?" The demon was utterly bbergasted. He didn''t think that Azaroth actually knew of his identity.


    And more surprising was that Azaroth was still being so ruthless to him even after knowing that he was the son of a Demon Emperor?!


    Soon, the Azure mes shrouded the demon and began to burn his whole body.


    This time, the demon couldn''t help but scream out in pain, "AAAhhhhhh¡­ NO¡­ Please stop¡­!"


    Those loud screams resounded in Azaroth''s entire courtyard.


    Noah and the Demi-Human covered their ears because of the loud scream from this demon.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth licked his lips as he spoke while staring at that burning demon, "What a melodic sound. I missed hearing these. You can continue with your singing, my dear servant."


    Azaroth then turned his head and looked at the demi-human who was quivering with fear. With an almost gentle smile, Azaroth asked him, "Don''t you have something to say?"


    The demi-human realized that he had been given a chance now. If he doesn''t take it, then he would probably have a worse end than that demon.


    While shivering in fear, the demi-human spoke out, "M-my name is Ralph, master." As he spoke those words, Ralph also kneeled down and paid his respects to Azaroth.


    "Good. You better not forget this. If I even think you are a disobedient servant, I will roast your leg and force you to eat it." Azaroth''s words were spoken with a cold voice.


    Ralph was truly scared as he heard Azaroth and nodded quickly to save his dear life, "Y-Yes, Master."


    Azaroth then stared at Noah.


    He was curious what expression Noah would have now. Was he scared of him now? Would he be disobedient as well?


    But surprisingly, Noah remained the same as before. In fact, he just had a hint of pity for that demon who was being burned to death right now.


    Azaroth asked Noah coldly, "Are you not afraid of me, Noah?"


    "I am a little scared master. But you are the one who pulled me out of that prison. Even if I am scared of you, I won''t hesitate to do what you want. Even if you want to torture me for your satisfaction, I won''t resist at all." Noah sincerely replied.


    Azaroth coldly harrumphed as he walked closer to Noah, "So you won''t resist even if I want to torture you? Let me see how true those words are."


    Noah''s heart was beating crazily as Azaroth stepped closer to him. He was truly scared because he had seen what happened to that demon ve earlier.


    Maybe Azaroth would punch him and start kicking him relentlessly as well. He didn''t have the regeneration, the vitality, or the defense of a demon so the effects would be more evident on him.


    But still, he didn''t take a single step back and remained rooted on his spot. Instead, he even raised his head and looked into Azaroth''s eyes. It was as if he wanted to say that he was scared but he was determined to keep his words.


    Azaroth moved his hand closer and the punch Noah was waiting for never arrived. Instead, Azaroth''s hand was over his dark hair and seemed to pat him gently.


    "Good. You are my first retainer and will be my right hand from now on. Understood?!" Azaroth spoke loudly as he gathered Ralph and Noah''s attention.


    Noah was shocked to hear this deration from Azaroth. In fact, he was somewhat ovee with happiness as he heard those words.


    Almost all his life, he had heard people call him useless. He didn''t really know his parents. He had never met them for as long as he could remember, he was serving under a lord in another territory far from this ce.


    He had seen the lord practice these sword skills and thought of them rather cool


    When he started practicing those same skills with his wooden stick. Once the other residents saw him practice the sword skills, they came forward to teach him a lesson.


    He had no idea that servants were not allowed to practice the sword skills.


    One day, he surprisingly defeated a few servants. Even the young master of that manor was defeated by him.


    When he was 6 years old, he remembered being sold to some shady men.


    They grabbed hold of him then threw him in a prison. Since that day, he had lived in those brown-red walls¡­


    With nothing to do, he began to practice the sword techniques he had found interesting in his childhood.


    He had no sense of hunger or pain or even exhaustion. It was when his body copsed that he would get his rest or else, he would just keep on practicing his techniques.


    The reason he was practicing those techniques wasn''t to get out of the cave. It was mainly because he found them quite fun. With nothing else to do, he was just practicing them to pass his time.


    He didn''t realize that he had gained a treasure that others are unable to get even if they pursued after for 10 lifetimes.


    The first requirement of the Enlightened Sword Heart was to have an empty heart and hold nothing but the sword in it.


    Even those sword fanatics were unable to reach such a state.


    Today, as Noah heard from Azaroth''s mouth that he epted him as his retainer, he couldn''t help but smile brightly and reply, "Yes, master. I definitely won''t disappoint you!"


    Azaroth had been observing the emotions of this kid using his Mystic Eyes of Perception. He had seen how this kid was quite scared earlier but still hadn''t run away, proving his bravery.


    Now, the genuine color of pure happiness on him just proved how delighted he was. In fact, such a good result was somewhat unexpected for Azaroth.


    This was the first time he was dealing with someone possessing an Enlightened Sword Heart and wasn''t sure of his approach. All he had heard were rumors about the character of the people possessing the Enlightened Sword Heart and made this n using it.


    Good thing it proved to be useful.


    Azaroth then instructed Noah, "Go and change your clothes. I have already prepared a set of clothes for you. Also, take a bath, a servant will soon enter and show you the way to the bathroom."


    "Got it, Master." Noah was a little excited toplete his first assignment that he couldn''t help but run towards Azaroth''s room.


    He was still a little kid, after all.


    Amongst these three, Azaroth ced the most importance on this child. He wanted this child to be so emotionally connected to himself that even when he reaches the peak, he would still listen to his orders.


    Well, this was atleast what Azaroth intended. No one could urately read the flow of time.


    Soon, Azaroth had a cold expression as he turned towards Ralph, "As for you¡­ Do as you are told and I won''t roast you before eating you. Follow Noah and take a bath. You are smelly¡­"


    "Y-y-es master." Ralph was still rather scared of Azaroth and immediately ran towards his room and followed Noah.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth then turned to look at the burning demon. The screams from his mouth had long stopped. It was mostly because he was in too much pain to even let out a squeal.


    Azaroth recalled those Azure mes and then looked into this Demon''s eyes.


    The Demon was lying on the ground, his clothes burnt and the skin over his entire body had been burned.


    Azaroth could see that this demon''s regeneration was working but on a smaller scale. It was probably healing his internal injuries first.


    "Looks like you are in the mood to listen. Aren''t you?"


    There was no response from the demon. After all, in his condition, it was impossible to even move his mouth.


    But Azaroth didn''t seem to care. He spoke somewhat angrily, "I asked you a fucking question!"


    He then proceeded to kick the demon so strongly that his organs that had just healed immediately burst apart.


    "Still so disobedient?!" Azaroth then continued on to beat the shit out of the charred body of this demon.


    "N-no¡­ n-no¡­ I-I g-give up¡­P-please¡­ no¡­more¡­ I¡­ give¡­ up¡­" One by one, the demon let out that pitiful voice and begged Azaroth to stop.


    "Your brain began to work, heh." Azaroth sneered as he stared at this pitiful demon.


    "Your father is just a Demon Emperor. Moreover, the fact that you have been captured by such a low-ranked organization in the human world means that you have been abandoned by your family. Was it one of your father''s wives? Well, I hardly care. But remember, your previous identity means jack-shit to me. You annoy me and you will live while wishing for death for every second!" Azaroth gave this final threat to this demon.


    "Yes. Yes. I will obey. I won''t dare to think of anything else." The demon quickly spoke while preventing himself from screaming due to the pain.


    "Master, my name is Sargan Bach."


    "Remember, Sargan Bach, I am Edwin Rhodes, but I am also Azaroth." As he spoke those words, his eyes turned purple.


    Seeing those eyes, Sargan muttered with a low voice, "¡­The Mystic Eyes of a Demon God?"


    "It seems you know some things. The Evil Eyed n of the Purgatory, the Bach n." Azaroth nonchntly spoke the title of this Bach Family in the Purgatory.


    It was at this moment that Sargan understood that the man ahead of him possessed a background far beyond his imagination.


    Even a Demon Emperor was not worthy of talking on equal terms with the subordinate of a Demon God, let alone a small demon-like him who was relying on the power of his bloodline.

 Chapter 51 - A Request To The King

    While Azaroth had returned and even bought a few servants in Wrihull City, something entirely out of his expectations was urring in Mesenana City, the Capital City of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Sophie had returned safely to her manor.


    When she returned, the entire manor was worried because Sophie had returned with dirty clothes and not a single guard with her.


    Sophie''s mother, Bianca had already summoned her husband and asked him to talk to Sophie.


    It didn''t seem like Sophie was willing to share anything with Bianca because Sophie knew how her mother liked to worry unnecessarily. But Sophie did say that she would tell everything to her father.


    Such a response was indeed what Bianca had expected from her daughter. Internally though, she was thinking ''Hmph¡­ I will see how that brute will hide this from me. See if I don''t make him sleep on the couch.''


    Spencer Russel heard the entire story that transpired in Kloras Town from his daughter Sophie.


    Naturally, Sophie left out the parts where her rtionship with Azaroth would be revealed.


    Spencer was stunned to hear that Peter didn''t return signifying his death. He was sure that Peter could have even defeated two 5 Star Beasts at the same time. If not that, atleast escaping shouldn''t have been an issue.


    ''Was there a 6 Star Beast at the scene? But no. It would have been impossible for Sophie to escape if there was a 6 Star Beast there. Moreover, I should have received a report of a Beast King in that area.''


    Also, another question appeared in his head as he asked Sophie, "How did you construct the 5 Star Array? From where did you gather those materials? I don''t think that the town lord could have materials needed to construct a 5 Star Array."


    Suddenly, Azaroth''s face appeared in Sophie''s head and she blushed a little. Before her father could notice, she tried to speak with a calm tone, "It was Edwin Rhodes who brought 5 Star Materials to construct the array."


    "Edwin Rhodes? Jonas''s son?" Spencer frowned as he remembered his rival, Jonas Rhodes.


    If Spencer was asked whom he feared the most in this country, then Jonas''s name was in the top 5 on that list.


    It wasn''t Jonas''s strength that scared Spencer. Spencer was more talented and powerful and was more than capable of dealing with Jonas, but if theypared intelligence or cunningness, he wasn''t Jonas''s match at all.


    The one advantage Spencer held over Jonas was that he had very good rtions with the King.


    If not for this, Jonas would have found one way or another to deal with him.


    ''Why would Jonas give such wealth to his younger child? Was he that worried about him? But even then, what''s the use of it when his child doesn''t know how to create formations? Why didn''t he send some formation master along with him?''


    Soon, Spencer''s frown deepened as he considered another possibility.


    ''Did he know that Sophie was going to the Kloras Town to deal with that Beast Raid? Was that his n so that his child could try and connect to Sophie?''


    Spencer then asked Sophie with a worried face, "He didn''t do anything bad to you, right daughter?"


    Sophie pouted as she asked him, "You have so little confidence in me, papa?"


    Spencer hurriedly replied back, "No, no. My daughter is indeed the smartest, no one can do anything to you. I just wanted to be sure."


    "Then¡­ How did the beasts break your barrier?" Spencer asked with an impatient voice.


    Meanwhile, Sophie grumbled with some dissatisfaction, "I was getting to that but you interrupted me before I could finish."


    "The energy empowering the barrier was already getting weaker because I used it to attack the beasts surrounding the encampment 2 times. So one beast managed to break the barrier and before I could repair the barrier, the beasts entered and unleashed hell upon us. Especially when that 5 Star Beast entered¡­"


    Sophie began to shiver unconsciously as she remembered how her guards had gone to hold back the beasts to allow her to escape.


    Noticing that his daughter was remembering some painful memories, Spencer gently caresses her head and spoke, "I trained those men and I can''t be any prouder of them. I am d they died while facing their adversary."


    "All the guards who went with you are going to bepensated monthly money and also well protected. Although this doesn''t substitute the lives of the guards, this is the best I can do." There was a helpless look on Spencer''s face.


    "Father¡­ Why¡­ Why did they all have to die while I escaped, taking along this heavy guilt with me?!" Sophie spoke while she clenched her fists in frustration.


    She remembered Azaroth''s words to her but quite some time had passed and once again, the heavy guilt surfaced within her.


    Spencer hugged his daughter tightly and gently spoke, "Let it all out. I will shoulder all your worries and guilt¡­"


    The scene ahead of him was something he had seen many times. Mainly when the new recruits would see a senior protecting their life.


    But no matter how many times he had seen, Spencer couldn''t get used toforting them. He was also sad about the death of hisrades and subordinates but there was no other way around it.


    If it was his daughter who had died in ce of his subordinates, perhaps he wouldn''t have been able to take it and vent his frustrations in an improper ce.


    He was feeling even guiltier than Sophie as he was secretly happy that his daughter survived while his subordinates died.


    ''Mates, I will take on any punishment you in store for me in the afterlife but for now, I shall be enjoying this moment that had been earned through your sacrifice.''


    Soon, Spencer realized that his daughter had fallen asleep. He gentlyid her on her bed and covered her with a thin quilt before leaving slowly.


    As hees out of Sophie''s room, he soon meets up with his wife, Bianca. She signaled him to tell her what Sophie had told him.


    With a heavy heart, Spencer began to narrate all that Sophie had told him.


    After Spencer finished narrating the entire scene, Bianca spoke, "I think you should take permission from the King and exterminate those beasts. It would be bad if they are allowed to upy that ce for any longer."


    Spencer nodded his head and replied, "I was thinking of the same, dear."


    Just when he was thinking of going over to the King''s side, a servant entered the hall and spoke urgently, "Commander, Jonas Rhodes is requesting to see King Valliadis."


    "Jonas? What''s he doing here?" Spencer muttered underneath his breath. But he couldn''t think of an answer.


    Knowing that he had to leave, he looked at his wife and spoke, "I will go then, dear. When Sophie wakes up, don''t ask her anything rted to this. Just take her around shopping to divert her mind."


    Bianca rolled her eyes as she replied to her husband, "You don''t need to tell me what to do. I know how to handle my daughter."


    With that, Spencer left the hall to get to the King''s side.


    ~~


    After Spencer was by King Valliadis''s side as Jonas was invited inside and allowed to see the King.


    Once inside, Jonas''s vision well on Spencer who was standing just beside the king. A sneer appeared on Jonas''s face but he quickly hid it and kneeled down, paying his respects to the King.


    "I, Jonas Rhodes, pay my respects to King Valliadis," Jonas spoke with a respectful tone.


    The King had red hair with deep green eyes. There were some wrinkles on his face indicating his old age.


    "You can stand now." Once Jonas had stood up, the King asked him with a puzzled expression, "What brings you here, Marquis Jonas?"


    "King Valliadis, I am sure you must have heard of the beast raid in the Kloras Town. My son, Edwin went over there to fight against that Beast Raid and he informed me that the entire Kloras Town had been demolished by those filthy beasts. Thatnd is not under any administration right now." Jonas spoke with a respectful tone.


    "That''s correct. I have indeed heard of his incident. It seems that only your and spencer''s offspring survived this beast raid." The King replied with a deep and powerful voice.


    Jonas then raised his head and spoke with a smile on his face, "King Valliadis, I am granting this piece ofnd to my son, Edwin Rhodes."


    The King still remained puzzled as he spoke. "Why consult this matter with me though? Thatnd is under your Noble House, you have the power to decide who should rule it."


    "Naturally. The reason I appear here is that I wish to request you to remove any taxes or restrictions in the Kloras Town for 3 years." Those words from Jonas made King Valliadis frown in dissatisfaction but he still let Jonas continue, "I request you to remove these taxes to build up the infrastructure and develop that town from scratch. After 3 years, the Kloras Town shall pay double the tax for the next 10 years."


    "Double its tax for the next 10 years?" The King heard that statement and fell into some deep contemtion.


    Jonas had a confident look in his eyes as he saw the King fall into deep contemtion.


    Even a fool could calcte that this was a very profitable deal. Also, if thend continued to remain as it was, it wouldn''t benefit the Kingdom at all. Instead, the beasts would expand their territory and make it their home. It would be troublesome to drive those beasts away from that location.


    Spencer was astonished to hear that Jonas was giving away that territory to Edwin.


    As far as he knew, Jonas never paid any attention to this child. So why this sudden change?


    What was he ying at? Was it rted to that beast raid at the Kloras Town or something else entirely?


    The King thought for some moments before answering Jonas, "Request granted."


    Jonas''s face lit up as he heard those words and immediately stood up before leaving the Hall.


    The guards outside the hall saw Jonas leaving and soon closed the door.


    Once Jonas had left, the King looked in Spencer''s direction and asked him, "What do you think of this?"


    "I apologize, your majesty. I can''t understand Jonas''s thoughts behind this request. On the surface, it appears to be quite profitable for your majesty but it might possess some sort of secret for Jonas to actually rebuilt that town from scratch." Spencer spoke with a serious voice.


    King Valliadis nodded his head and replied, "I believe the same. I will send some men to keep an eye on this town."


    Spencer didn''t reply anything in return. He was merely wondering whether Jonas truly nned on giving this empty piece ofnd to his son or use it himself under his son''s name.


    Maybe he was nning something illegal and doing it under his son''s name out of caution.


    Those words couldn''t be spoken to the king though. The gravity of such spection could lead to all kinds of deductions.


    Firstly, Spencer wasn''t sure if Jonas was actually doing something bad or not. But as long as it wasn''t against the Kingdom, he could pretend to ignore it.


    ~~


    Spencer returned and talked to Sophie about this. He thought that since Jonas was nning on making his son a Mayor of that town, it might have something to do with that beast raid.


    His daughter might recall something once she hears this information.


    Unfortunately for him, Sophie didn''t recall anything.


    As far as she could remember, the only thing that was good about that town was its highly fertilend.


    Those words confused Spencer as he wondered ''I thought he found some sort of elemental vein over there. But Sophie didn''t feel anything out of ordinary. Her spirit is rather sensitive to an Energy Vein and I doubt that even Jonas can seal the presence of an Energy Vein.''


    Meanwhile, Sophie was quite surprised to hear that Edwin was going to be the mayor of Kloras Town.


    ''Isn''t the Kloras town destroyed by the beasts? There is no one living there at the moment so what will he do? Is this his own idea or his father''s?''


    Those couple of questions appeared in Sophie''s head but she didn''t dare to ask her father. She knew that asking such questions that would disy her curiosity towards Edwin wouldn''t be good for their rtionship.


    It would be harder for her to meet him.


    Now that she knew he going to be the mayor of Kloras Town, she could go and meet him anytime.


    In fact, Azaroth would definitely be required toe to the capital for some tasks. She could meet him at that time.


    Sophie continued to calcte how to maximize her time with Azaroth. She was also thinking of what excuses to use at that time.


    After some moments, Sophie froze as she thought ''Since when did I start thinking so much about a man?''


    Sophie answered that question herself after a couple of seconds as she sighed out ''So this is what people feel when they are in love. I rejected so many people who probably felt something simr to this and now, I have fallen into the same hell. How ironic.''


    This was the only answer she could think of for that question.

 Chapter 52 - Deal With Jonas

    Azaroth''s three retainers, Noah, Ralph, and Sargan, were in the fields of the Rhodes Estate and running at the perimeter with their full speed.


    Ralph was the fastest and the one with probably the most stamina, Sargan with the second, and Noah was the third.


    Azaroth observed them and thought ''Sargan hasn''t inherited the physique of a demon. It seems he has only inherited the Evil Eyes of the Bach n.''


    However, even the evil eyes possessed myriad abilities. He was curious about which abilities did Sargan unlock.


    Azaroth''s Mystic Eyes of Perception could be considered Spiritual Eyes, a skill imprinted in his soul. Even though Edwin had no rtion to Azaroth''s bloodline, Azaroth could still use his Mystic Eyes of Perception effortlessly.


    In fact, the only thing that was restraining his Mystic Eyes of Perception was his own cultivation base.


    It was far too low to takeplete advantage of its abilities.


    As for the Evil Eyes inherited by Sargan, this was a skill passed through blood. Sargan wouldn''t be able to use it if he possessed some other person.


    This Bach n was created by one of their ancestors whose title was Evil Eyed Emperor. He gained his reputation by continuing to empower his eyes using certain divine resources found in that era.


    It was also said that he took the eyes of the Abyssal Dragon to gain the power of death inducement.


    This was the ability that had earned him great renown.


    Unfortunately, this Evil Eyed Emperor failed to be a Demon God otherwise, he would havebined his Evil Eyes with the Myriad Eyes.


    His descendants who inherited this bloodline didn''t inherit all his abilities. They all unlocked different abilities.


    Some very talented individuals inherited three abilities of the Evil Eyed Emperor at the same time.


    Such individuals were too rare though. And now, Azaroth was wondering if Sargan was talented or not.


    Or else, he would have to artificially activate that bloodline so that Sargan can fully make use of it.


    Soon, Azaroth''s vision fell on Ralph and thought ''His physique is good enough but his spirit appears to be weak. He probably can''t maintain his transformed state for very long.''


    Andstly, Azaroth looked at Noah, who had a slightly anxious look on his face as he tried his best to increase his speed. But it was to no avail. In fact, as the exhaustion caught up to him, the distance between him and Sargan widened greatly.


    Sargan and Ralph noticed that Noah wasgging behind greatly. They had smug looks on their faces as they looked in Azaroth''s direction.


    They wanted to see a look of disappointment on Azaroth''s face. After all, Azaroth had made Noah his right-hand man. And this guy was losing to them in this exercise.


    A sense of pride and aplishment flowed through the two. But unfortunately, Azaroth remained calm-headed.


    This was something Azaroth had expected from Noah. He was merely a little kid who had been starved quite a long time, even though he was training with that rod in the prison, how could he possess a stronger body than these two demi-humans possessing the bloodline of a beast and a demon?


    All three of them continued to run for a few hours. It was after nearly 3 hours that Sargan copsed. And then after another 2 hours, Ralph copsed as well.


    The only one who was still making rounds was none other than Noah. Because of his speed, he hadgged behind them greatly and in the time it took them toplete two or even threeps, he would barelyplete one.


    Thinking that he was still behind arge margin, Noah continued his run. Another reason why he didn''t stop was that Azaroth had still not ordered him to stop.


    An hour ago, he had already felt his lungs and heart giving out. His brain was hurting badly while his entire body was dead tired as he dragged his body forwards.


    Currently, he was in a half-dead state, with only a single thought moving his body words. And that was to not halt unless ordered.


    Soon, he lost his sense of bnce and fell. As his face crashed into the ground, Sargan and Ralph instinctively closed their eyes.


    They could already imagine how hard it must have hurt him. Unlike them, this kid didn''t know how to use Ardor at all.


    His muscles must be throbbing from all this sudden running. He must have fallen unconscious because of exhaustion.


    As they opened their eyes, they were shocked to see Noah still trying to crawl forwards.


    Then, Azaroth spoke out, "Stop. It''s enough now."


    He soon went over to Noah''s side and ced his palm over that kid''s body.


    Soon, a refreshing aura enveloped Noah''s body and was activating his self-healing. Azaroth knew that if he healed him through his mes, Noah''s body won''t benefit from all this running.


    The torture he had endured must bear good results as well.


    He picked up Noah and soon walked towards his room. As he passed by Ralph and Sargan, he spoke with an emotionless voice, "1 year. All it will take him is 1 year to surpass you to the point you won''t even have thoughts of ever catching up to him even with your special bloodline abilities."


    Ralph raised his brows in surprise at those words while Sargan snorted in response. Sargan believed that Azaroth was just saying those words to motivate them into working hard.


    How could a kid like him who didn''t even know of Ardor surpass them in just one year? It wasn''t like they wouldn''t train hard to keep getting stronger. And it would be absurd to even think that Noah would be able to surpass them with the already great gap in them.


    However soon, his expression changed as he recalled that Azaroth was someone who possessed Mystic Eyes of a Demon God. His background was too mysterious¡­ Maybe he did possess a skill to increase Noah''s abilities greatly in this one year.


    Azaroth did possess some of those skills but he didn''t think it would be worth it to use them on Noah.


    He was now convinced of the rumors of the Enlightened Sword Heart.


    Even though Noah''s body had already exhaustedpletely in just one hour, he still kept on running because of that Enlightened Sword Heart. His willpower was truly in a ss of his own.


    Without using Ardor or receiving prior training, Azaroth had no chance of achieving something like this.


    The willpower wasn''t even the main aspect of the Enlightened Sword Heart though. The Enlightened Sword Heart''s true abilities were toprehend and use the sword techniques perfectly.


    A swordsman with the Enlightened Sword Heart would possess terrifyingprehension and perfectly use Sword Techniques in a fight.


    It was evening time now. Azaroth''s three retainers had been provided amon room which was apparently quiterge enough to hold 10 retainers at the same time.


    The three retainers were resting. The food had been delivered to them in their room.


    Although their bodies were sore, they still got up and ate their food. They were really hungry after all.


    Around this time, Azaroth went to Jonas Rhodes''s room.


    After knocking on his door a couple of times, he heard an authoritative voice, "What is it, Edwin?"


    "I had something to talk to you, father," Azaroth spoke with an emotionless tone.


    "Alright,e in."


    Once Azaroth received the permission, he entered Jonas''s chambers.


    The room was ratherrge, nearly twice the size of Azaroth''s room.


    Azaroth''s vision fell on thatrge king-sized bed. The bed was decorated well with some flowers on it. Soon, Azaroth turned his head and nced at the study table on his right. Ahead of this study table was a chair and Jonas was seated on it.


    "What is it?"


    "Father, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to be the mayor of Kloras Town," Azaroth asked Jonas with a cool tone.


    Jonas frowned as he asked Azaroth, "Kloras Town? Hasn''t it been demolished by the beasts and its people killed? What will you do even if you go over there as its mayor? No people are living in that town anymore."


    "That''s not an issue. I will hire some builders and rebuild it from scratch. Once there are houses, I can set up cheap rates so that people would be more epting to move into the town." Azaroth gave his own idea regarding Kloras Town.


    However, Jonas didn''t think it was such a great idea.


    He sneered and replied to Azaroth, "If you do this then how will you find the money to pay the taxes to the Kingdom? In fact, how will you even pay for the services or security of the town?! You will never be able to pay off your debts."


    "And that''s why I need your assistance father. Please convince the king to not take taxes for the next 3 years. After those 3 years, I will pay him twice the taxes for the next 10 years."


    Jonas snorted and asked him, "You seem to think of it as a game. You think it''s so easy to earn money? Also, twice the taxes? I doubt you can pay off even half the taxes."


    "That''s my problem. I just want to ask if you will help me or not." Azaroth''s response was ice-cold as he faced Jonas.


    Jonas narrowed his eyes as he stared at Azaroth, "¡­Very well. Let me see just how you will do as you have spoken. Remember that I will keep my eye on you."


    This was a promise along with a threat.


    Azaroth disregarded the threat and turned around to get out of the room.


    Azaroth chose Kloras Town for two main reasons. One was because he saw a huge profit at that location and another was because he wanted to get away from Jonas.


    He knew that as long as this man was here, he won''t be able to do much.


    Azaroth had to use the demonic ardor very carefully in the Rhodes Estate. It would be better to relocate to a ce where he would have more freedom.


    Meanwhile, Jonas had his own ns. He was also thinking of rebuilding and administrating Kloras Town. But other matters required his presence¡­


    Now that Azaroth had asked for that town, Jonas nned to let him do what he wanted with that town and then assign it to someone trustworthy.


    Jonas then went on to some of his trustworthy advisors and asked them to keep an eye on some of the individuals he had in mind.


    These individuals were all working for the Rhodes House. And they had the necessary talent and skill in administrating a territory. However, because of no empty position, they never rose from their posts.


    But now, an empty position was avable in the form of Kloras Town''s Mayor.


    Jonas was pretty adamant about bringing this territory under his direct control mainly because it bordered with the Lamhilhan Theocracy and also because this territory had something to do with demons.


    He guessed that either the demons were hiding in the nearby area or there was a channel between the underworld and the Frascoia Continent had opened up.


    Both of these were extremely favorable to him. If he killed some demons and brought their corpses to the king, then he would be rewarded quite handsomely.


    And if he gave the location of the channel between the underworld and the Frascoia Continent then the King might even give him a Royal Reward.


    A Royal Reward meant that he could ask for anything that the King possesses and the King would have to give it away. The only thing he couldn''t ask for in this reward is the King''s life.


    This was a sort of reward that had continued from ancient times in many kingdoms. If a King refused then he would soon begin to lose the support of the Noble Families.


    After all, if a Noble Family wasn''t rewarded even after doing such a great job, what was even the point of serving such a king?


    Other kingdoms might value them more than this.


    For this reason, the Royal Reward was highly valued.


    And Jonas was especially very interested in this Royal Reward. He had realized that he had more or less reached his limit while using the Rhodes House''s skills.


    Now he required the Imperial Techniques of Ardor to advance his skill.


    Once he bes a 7 Star Warrior, he could put his n in motion.

 Chapter 53 - Conflict Among The Retainers

    Ralph, Noah, and Sargan were in theirmon room. They had finished eating their food and were going back to sleep.


    Ralph asked Noah, "So, what do you two think about this master of ours?"


    Sargan looked at Noah who seemed to be thinking something.


    "Master? I think he is really good. He gave us a ce to stay and even so much food. I have never seen so much food in my life." Noah spoke with his eyes glittering with excitement.


    Seeing that innocent twinkle in those eyes, Sargan and Ralph didn''t even doubt his words.


    Sargan rolled his eyes and spoke, "Hmph. This is nothing. He is merely an heir of a Noble Family in this kingdom. I had ten times more property than this."


    Ralph shrugged his shoulders, "Yet you are just a servant here. What a pity."


    Sargan hatefully red at him and spoke, "Keep your mouth shut, feline. You know nothing."


    "Stop it. Don''t fight!" Noah suddenly spoke out with a fierce expression.


    At those words, Sargan and Ralph both turned towards Noah.


    Sargan spoke with a disdainful look in his eyes, "Just because that guy favors you doesn''t mean you are our boss. If not for those seals, I would have killed you as well as him."


    At that moment, a cold voice spoke out from the entrance of the room, "¡­Hoh. Is that so? You would have killed me if I remove your seals?"


    That cold voice made Sargan and Ralph shiver in fear. They didn''t even sense him entering the room.


    "Come then. It appears that I haven''t disciplined you enough." Azaroth spoke while stepping forwards.


    Sargan was utterly scared as he saw Azarothe closer to himself.


    He backed away unconsciously but how could he get away from Azaroth? Azaroth immediately grabbed his arm and dragged him out of his room.


    Ralph was scared as well while Noah clenched his fists while ring at Sargan. He didn''t seem to like what Sargan had spoken.


    Soon, the three were in the courtyard. Sargan didn''t have fond memories of this area.


    He remembered how he was tortured here and no matter how loudly he screamed, nobody came to save him.


    Suddenly, he felt Azaroth press his fingers on his forehead and the seals in his body breaking apart.


    He was utterly shocked as he then saw Azaroth speak with a look of contempt, "Go on. You can resist with your full power. Let me see if it''s of any use."


    For some moments, Sargan was surprised but after that, he slowly regained his arrogant look.


    "Yes. I can feel it. The seals are really gone¡­" There was a look of pure pleasure on Sargan''s face.


    His Ardor had been sealed to the bare minimum. The only thing he could with it was to heal his injuries.


    But now¡­ His power had returned. He was now at the level of a Middle-ss Demon.


    His faint red eyes shed as they glowed mysteriously, "You are going to regret removing my seals because of your arrogance. Even though you possess the Mystic Eyes of Demon God, you are still not at the level of a Demon Lord. I doubt you can even use them to their full potential. At this stage, my Evil Eyes hold a much greater advantage."


    Meanwhile, Azaroth just yawned in return, "Can we just fight. I am getting sick of your monologue now."


    "Hmph. If you are in such a hurry to die then sure. I will go along." Sargan spoke as he used more of his Ardor in his Evil Eyes and used its long-range techniques.


    "Petrifying Gaze!"


    As soon as he spoke those words, Azaroth noted white-colored demonic energy appearing on his body, spreading on his skin and turning it into stone.


    But he wasn''t flustered by this technique.


    "An interesting technique but unfortunately, it won''t affect me that much," Azaroth spoke as he used the Holy Ardor to effortlessly purify that bit of demonic energy.


    "You are a Celestial?!" Both Sargan and Ralph shouted in shock.


    Actually, Sargan experienced a much greater shock because he had seen Azaroth''s mystic eyes. Those mystic eyes were definitely from a demonic god. So, he failed to understand just how Azaroth''s body could possess Holy Ardor!


    But still, Sargan didn''t have the luxury to remain shocked as he saw Azaroth slowly stepping towards him.


    Sargan then suddenly regained his calmness as he spoke, "The fact that you can use Holy Ardor was unexpected. But my next move is going to finish this."


    Sargan closed his eyes for a few seconds. And when Azaroth saw him do that, he stopped moving.


    He was curious what sort of ability he was going to use as he sensed a strong build-up of Spiritual Energy in Sargan''s eyes.


    As Sargan opened his eyes, he whispered, "Hypnotic Vision."


    "From now on, I am your master." Sargan looked straight into Azaroth''s eyes as he sent that instruction to Azaroth''s spirit.


    For a few seconds, Azaroth remained stationary.


    As he saw that Azaroth hadpletely stopped moving, Sargan showed a victorious smile. He was quite rxed now as he looked towards Ralph and Noah with a smug expression on his face.


    ''Looks like it''s finally over. Even though he was a 4 Star Warrior, his spirit isn''t strong enough to guard against the hypnosis from my Evil Eyes. Even amongst the inheritors of the Evil Eyes, the power of my hypnosis is the best. If not for awakening this rare and useful ability, I wouldn''t have been thrown out of the family by that husky bitch!''


    Then he nced at Azaroth and continued thinking ''Having him as a ve will be useful. Atleast in this ce, he seems to possess some status that can prevent my identity from being discovered. Also, it seems that he possesses some great secrets regarding the Celestials and a Demon God. I can use him to take my revenge on the Bach n.''


    Then, Sargan looked at Ralph and Noah before speaking up, "So, what are you going to do from now? Are you going to obey me or not? If not, I can easily ask my new ve to throw you out."


    Sargan spoke with a confident and arrogant tone. He hadplete trust in his hypnosis technique.


    ''If only the time limit for using this technique wasn''t a month, I would have used it against these two and turn them into my ves as well. That would have made my life easier. Atleast this demi-beast would have been capable enough to carry my things around for me.''


    Ralph was on guard against Sargan while Noah looked furious.


    Noah stepped forward with his small feet and shouted at Sargan, "Return him back to normal!"


    "Shut up, useless runt." Sargan coldly replied to Noah, "It seems I need to throw you out first. You are annoying me."


    Before Noah could speak any further, another voice resounded in the area.


    "The ability is good but what a pity. The user is too conceited." Those words gathered Noah''s attention and let him sigh out in relief.


    "What the?! How are you still okay?!" Sargan asked with an utterly bbergasted expression.


    He felt as if his reality was shattering as he saw that Azaroth had a clear look in his eyes. It meant that his hypnosis had failed!


    But the surprising thing was that he didn''t feel at all when it failed.


    "You used both of the best techniques from your famed n. Now let me show you one of mine." Azaroth spoke with his eyes turning purple.


    It was as if Azaroth wanted to show off the difference between the two of them.


    "Kneel!"


    Azaroth ordered with an imposing tone.


    Sargan immediately felt the strength in his legs vanish as he got on his knees. He raised his head to look at Azaroth but failed to find him.


    Suddenly, he felt someone grabbing his hair strongly from the right and then a kick straight on his face.


    Sargan''s teeth broke but it didn''t seem as if Azaroth had any intention of going easy on him. He kicked him again and forced Sargan to eat his own teeth.


    Blood was dripping from his mouth but before Sargan could even scream out, Azaroth continued to kill him relentlessly.


    "Hmm. Where did all that imposing manner go now?!" Azaroth asked in what seemed to be an angry yet excited tone.


    He loved torturing. Especially the brats of those from the Noble ns. It was just too satisfying as he was literally crushing him underneath his feet.


    "Woah. Master is strong." Noahmented as he stared at this scene.


    He didn''t feel even a bit of pity for Sargan. That guy wanted to make Azaroth his ve, he was on Noah''s hit list.


    Meanwhile, Ralph''s legs were trembling as well. It was because themand that Azaroth had used on Sargan was also used on him.


    He understood that this was a warning to him from Azaroth.


    Azaroth continued to kick Sargan until the guy genuinely surrendered under his might.


    Using the Mystic Eyes of Perception, Azaroth was sure that he was genuine while surrendering. But still, he kicked him a couple more times just to be sure.


    "Now then, I am sure that this has made it clear about who is the boss here. Isn''t that right?" Azaroth''s voice was calm as he asked this question.


    His question was naturally directed at Sargan, the one who had been on the receiving end to his kicks.


    "Aye, sir. I sincerely beg you to forgive me. I shall never even think of going against you, my lord." Those were the words spoken by Sargan. To Azaroth''s mystic eyes, it appeared that this guy was quite genuine right now.


    However, he didn''t know whether he appeared genuine because of the pain or he truly had a change of heart.


    But at this moment, Azaroth didn''t care.


    "Good. You don''t double-cross me and I will treat you as a living being. The next time you think of going against me, your state will be just slightly worse than a handicapped beggar on the streets. And believe me when I say that if I want, I can effortlessly take away that healing granted by your bloodline." Azaroth gave onest threat.


    This threat scared Sargan and he immediately lowered his head, "I do believe you, my lord."


    "Good." Azaroth then turned towards Ralph.


    "Come over here!"


    "Yes, my lord." Ralph immediately arrived, speaking with a humble tone.


    "Take him away. Use the healing kit provided in your room." Azaroth touched Ralph''s head and unsealed him as well.


    "Huh? I¡­ I don''t intend to fight you, my lord. Please seal my abilities." What Ralph had witnessed had turned out to be a thorough thrashing.


    He wasn''t stupid like Sargan to even think of fighting against Azaroth.


    Azaroth smiled slightly and replied, "You misunderstand me. I never nned to keep your abilities sealed. What would have been the point of me buying you then?"


    "But you shouldn''t think of running away though. I have nted my own spiritual seeds in your soul. As long as I wish to, I can blow apart your soul at any moment." Azaroth casually told Ralph, Sargan, and Noah.


    At this point, Sargan wasn''t even surprised that this man knew such a technique. The fact that he could break those pesky seals and even ignore his hypnosis technique so effortlessly, it proved that his spirit was sufficiently strong to use such a technique.


    Ralph was hearing about this technique for the first time and showed a surprised expression. He never knew that there was even such an annoying technique.


    The first thought he had after recovering his Ardor was to run away as soon as an opportunity presented itself.


    Meanwhile, Noah just innocently blinked. He thought that there was no way Azaroth would want to kill him so it was okay.


    After all, even though Sargan had wanted to kill and even make Azaroth into a ve yet he was still alive so he didn''t think of this threat as a big deal.


    Soon, Ralph and Sargan left the courtyard and returned to the room. Ralph began to apply the medicinal potion on Sargan''s face.


    Meanwhile, Sargan continued to think of what happened earlier.


    Azaroth and Noah were standing next to each other. Azaroth noted that Noah had a strange expression and asked him, "What is it?"


    Noah hesitated a little before asking Azaroth, "Please make me strong, master." He knelt down in front of Azaroth.


    "Why do you want to be strong?" Azaroth asked Noah with a straight face.


    "I want to be of help to you master. I don''t want anyone to ever threaten you." Noah sincerely spoke.


    Azaroth began to chuckle, "What a weak resolve and reason." Those words somewhat disappointed Noah but before he could even lower his head, Azaroth added, "But it will do for now."


    Soon, Azaroth pulled out a short sword that appeared to be a perfect fit for Noah''s height.


    Azaroth had naturally prepared a sword for Noah after buying him from the Silent Death Organization.


    "Let''s start with the basics.. Come, attack me."

 Chapter 54 - Noahs Skills

    Noah hesitated slightly beforeunching himself at Azaroth.


    His small body was rather agile and he immediately targeted Azaroth''s gut with his iron sword.


    Azaroth effortlessly deflected the sword swing and kicked Noah away.


    Noah rolled on the ground a couple of times before he stood up, grabbing the sword in his hands.


    "Get serious. I don''t need someone who hesitates in following my orders." Azaroth coldly spoke to Noah.


    Those words seemed to have struck Noah more than that kick. A serious expression dawned on his face as he nodded.


    Noah didn''t know but the aura around him hadpletely changed. Azaroth could feel that even the aura near his de was seemingly vibrating.


    Soon, Noah was running towards Azaroth at his full speed. Well, even his full speed was slow as a turtle to Azaroth''s eyes.


    Noah swung his sword at Azaroth and Azaroth casually dodged it, nning to kick him back on the ground.


    Yet, he was shocked when the sword swing that he had dodged suddenly changed direction in mid-air and targeted him.


    ''Incredible. This kid can actually perform the Swallow Counter technique at such a young age?!''


    But still, Azaroth reacted rather quickly and grabbed the sword that was targeting him.


    As he held the sharp sword de in his hands, he was once again surprised to feel the de actually pierce his skin.


    It had to be known that his physical body was nowparable to that of a demon after using the Demon Transformation Method. His durability was off the charts whenpared to an ordinary human.


    Also, Noah still hadn''t officially begun his cultivation. He had no Ardor in his body and hence couldn''t strengthen his sword attacks.


    ''Sword Qi. He possesses Sword Qi. And not a weak one.''


    Azaroth understood that he had to get serious as well or he might really get injured here.


    He used his other hand and punched Noah away.


    Noah''s body skids on the ground.


    However, he rolled backward and got up while wasting little to no time.


    Azaroth moved forwards and attacked Noah with a karate chop.


    Before he could even touch Noah though, his hand was whipped away by Noah''s quick sword strike.


    Noah then shed at Azaroth''s body.


    Azaroth raised his leg and nned to kick the sword.


    However, as his leg shed with the sword, a shockwave urred and froze the two of them in their current positions.


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to see that Noah had managed to hold his ground even though he had used some Ardor in his kick.


    The Sword Qi was a form of energy that couldbat all sorts of energies.


    Azaroth was quick in his movements as he rotated his body and kicked Noah''s gut.


    Even though Noah saw it and tried to parry it with his sword, his body failed to react quickly.


    Azaroth didn''t let up and threw some lightning arrows at Noah from a distance.


    These were Lightning Arrows formed through Holy Ardor.


    He couldn''t really use his Demonic Ardor in the Rhodes Estate and since Jonas Rhodes already knew about his Celestial Blood, he thought it would be a good idea to use this element.


    Noah rolled away from the danger and was on his feet again. He looked at Azaroth from a distance with that same serious expression on his face.


    Azaroth lightly smiled and once again formed multiple Lightning Arrows and threw them at Noah.


    This time, the number exceeded 10.


    Noah rxed his grip over his sword for just a moment before clenching it tightly.


    In the next moment, Azaroth saw a series of movements from Noah as he quickly shed those Lightning Arrows with a quick burst of speed.


    When Azaroth saw that move, he began to think ''He is truly tapping into his potential now. He probably used his Sword Qi in his arms and legs to get that burst of speed. And it was rather impressive. He doesn''t have a scratch even when I attacked him with 13 arrows.''


    Noah suddenly jumped and shed while spinning his body.


    Azaroth kept his eyes focused on him and he noted a small spark on Noah''s sword.


    It was a white spark and before he realized it, a lightning sword sh was heading down his way.


    Azaroth side-stepped to dodge that sh attack. As he turned his head towards Noah, he failed to find him.


    He heard a faint sound and lowered his head to see Noah standing with his right hand holding the sword stretched out towards him.


    As Noah was moving his sword to attack Azaroth. Azaroth didn''t stay still, he moved his right hand to grab that sword.


    This time, he used more of his Ardor to prevent himself from being injured.


    The Sword Qi was truly a dangerous thing. It was the result of gaining insight into the way of the Sword.


    However, before Azaroth could even touch that sword, Noah tossed the sword in the sky.


    Azaroth didn''t understand why Noah did this but he didn''t have the luxury to think about it.


    Noah attacked him with a chop as he used the Sword Qi to enhance the edges of his hand.


    Azaroth grabbed that hand and picked him up with one arm before throwing him away.


    As Noah was in the mid-air, he moved his arms and seemingly pointed them at Azaroth.


    Azaroth''s eyes widened with realization as he looked up and saw Noah''s swording down, intending to thrust deep in his body.


    ''This is no mere Sword Insight! This kid has already reached the Man and Sword as One level.'' Azaroth thought while narrowly dodging that sword.


    Azaroth had fought against multiple sword users who had achieved the same level. But none possessed the Enlightened Sword Heart. Meaning, their attacks were nd and predictable.


    The same couldn''t be spoken about those possessing the Enlightened Sword Heart. Noah had already reached the level of Man and Sword as One. And his Enlightened Sword Heart allowed him to use his Sword with purely his Sword Qi.


    The other Swordsmen have to endure bitter training to get the same result.


    Also, Noah was merely 9 years old!


    He hadn''t even officially begun his path as a Swordsman.


    Noah''s talent in the sword was so great that even Azaroth envied it a bit.


    He had trained so hard, fought against all kinds of people to acquire this sort of battle sense and experience but looking at Noah, it was clear that he was just starting his path.


    But s, there was nothing he could do regarding this.


    Enlightenment couldn''t be forced. Or else, there would be many individuals possessing the Enlightened Sword Heart.


    Suddenly, Noah moved his right hand and the sword near Azaroth immediately turned in his way.


    Azaroth was well prepared for it though as he forced his body to rotate backward and kick the sword away.


    Soon, Azaroth was standing on the ground while the sword stabbed into a nearby tree and seemed to be jammed.


    Azaroth then moved quickly and he grabbed hold of Noah''s throat while picking him up.


    He used his other hand to grab his right hand and prevented him from controlling his sword.


    "It''s time to stop. I understand your level now." Azaroth softly spoke.


    And suddenly, that impressive aura around Noah dispersed as if it was never there.


    Noah nervously asked Azaroth, "H-How did I do, Master? I didn''t disappoint you, right?" He looked rather scared as if Azaroth was going to throw him on the streets.


    "It was alright. You need to train more and learn more techniques." Azaroth spoke with a straight face.


    Noah seemingly breathed out in relief as he understood that his master wasn''t angry at him for performing badly.


    "Take these techniques and study them." Azaroth''s purple ring shed and soon scrolls appeared in Azaroth''s hands.


    These were scrolls that Azaroth had prepared just the previous night. He had recorded and given a rough description of the sword techniques he remembered.


    They included Heaven Rending Stance, the Quick Draw Technique, the Phantom Step, and so on¡­


    Noah happily grabbed those scrolls as he promised himself to study them and master them as quickly as possible.


    "As for your sword, I will get a better sword for you but for now, you can train with it," Azaroth spoke with a monotonous sound.


    However, Noah unexpectedly shook his head and replied, "¡­Master, I don''t want another sword."


    As Noah spoke those words, he stretched out his right hand and the sword that remained fixed in the tree shook a little before it sliced the tree and moved to Noah''s right hand.


    "I will take good care of it, master. I don''t want any other sword. Please, master." Noah requested with that child-like glint in his eyes.


    "Whatever." Azaroth also shrugged his shoulders as he didn''t n to think about it too deeply.


    He knew that once Noah''s sword broke, he would demand another one. He could give him a better one at that time so it wasn''t a big deal to him.


    "I will give you a cultivation form. Make sure to remember it and use it to strengthen your Ardor." Azaroth spoke with a serious gaze.


    Noah nodded his head and spoke, "I will definitely remember it, master."


    "Alright."


    Soon, Azaroth imparted one of the only human cultivation forms that he knew. It was known as the Mysterious Qin Form.


    He knew other ones but this one was used by the strongest humans during his era. So he guessed that it should be quite good for humans under the 7 Star Rank.


    What Azaroth didn''t know was that this Mysterious Qin Form had been upgraded by another talent within the humans after his death and was one of the most heavily guarded secret forms of the humans. It was cultivated by the Royal Family of the Qin Empire in the East.


    Noah was sent away after Azaroth imparted him with this cultivation form.


    He was thinking with a serious expression ''When will it activate?''


    Azaroth let out a sigh as he decided to wait for some more time.


    Meanwhile, Noah returned to his room with those scrolls in his hands. His gaze fell on Sargan and Ralph¡­


    Ralph was applying some medicinal ointment on Sargan''s body that was healing rapidly.


    Noah''s right hand was on his sword''s handle as he spoke with a cold voice, "The next time you dare to hurt Master, you will deal with me. And I give you my word, your state won''t be pretty."


    The cold light shooting out of Noah''s eyes seemed to have stabbed Sargan''s body.


    Even Sargan felt that cold light piercing his organs and he instantly understood that this was a Sword Qi.


    He clenched his fists angrily but didn''t dare to speak anything. He wasn''t in any condition to speak. He didn''t know what Azaroth had done but for some reason, his bloodline wasn''t healing him as quickly as it should.


    "Even a dog dares to bark in front of me."


    Sargan weakly responded with a self-ridiculeugh.


    Noah snorted and was unenthusiastic to reply.


    "You haven''t learned your lesson, have you?" Ralph spoke with a condescending look.


    Sargan fell silent at those words as he remembered how it was this very arrogance that had hurt him.

 Chapter 55 - Spiritual Imprint

    A few days had passed since Jonas went to the king regarding the matter of the taxes of Kloras Town.


    Even though the King had agreed, Jonas had to deal with all sorts of formalities and he also had some other tasks so he had to stay in the capital for some time.


    During this time, Azaroth trained Noah and also took time to train Ralph.


    Ralph had an impressive reaction speed, clearly because of the cougar''s blood within him. The Bloodline within him seemed to originate from a Beast King¡­


    Although impressive in the Kingdom of Sinyalian, it wasn''t enough in Azaroth''s eyes.


    Ralph''s fighting style didn''t seem to fit with a weapon so Azaroth had begun to teach him martial arts that would fit with his body style.


    It was an inferior model of the fighting style created by Azaroth bybining Karate, Taekwondo, and kickboxing.


    He also ordered Ralph to undergo training special training for his legs.


    The only one who didn''t train along with Azaroth was Sargan. He just continued to observe Azaroth''s training from a distance each day.


    There seemed something on his mind but he didn''t talk about it to anyone at all.


    He was in reality thinking deeply about the reason why Azaroth had bought them.


    ''This man hasn''t even asked us to do a task for him. Even though we are his retainers, he has provided us with a good ce to sleep, and a fine meal. He is also training us. Just what does he n to do with us?''


    ''A man with the Mystic Eyes of a Demon God and the Holy Ardor. Just what is this guy? Is he a demon or a human? Or a Celestial? He also seems to know about my n but there hasn''t been any news of Bach n appearing in this ce in search of me. Otherwise, they would have easily ughtered this weak kingdom.''


    ~~


    Meanwhile, in another ce, 100 meters beneath the ground, a young blonde-haired woman was seated with her emerald eyeszily looking around.


    There wasn''t anything she hadn''t seen hundreds if not thousands of times but still, she had nothing to do while she was trapped here.


    This was the Elf Princess trapped by the Silent Death organization. She had a mncholic look on her face as she remembered how she was captured by these men.


    The Elf Kingdom was facing a threat and she had sneaked out of the Elven Forest, hoping to find help while traveling around.


    Her personal guards were rather weak and they couldn''t make use of their boost from the World Tree so they failed to defend their Princess when the Silent Death coincidently bumped into them.


    Although they had defeated the first wave of warriors from the Silent Death, they were quickly surrounded by the members of the Silent Death.


    Her guards fought to their deaths while the Elf Princess was captured alive.


    One of the warriors had used his unique skill to prevent her from moving.


    With this skill, the Elf Princess couldn''t even choose to die using her Ardor.


    And once she was captured, they sealed her Ardor and then brought her to this dungeon.


    It had been nearly a month since she was captured and there have been many men who were brought to see her.


    Yet, there was seemingly little to no hope in getting out of this prison.


    Fortunately, she was allowed to move freely without her hands or legs tied up.


    The Elf Princess got up and held the bars of this prison. She used her entire strength but couldn''t budge the bars at all.


    As she removed her hands, her finger seemed to touch some faint purple energy on the bars.


    Once that purple energy was touched, Elf Princess sensed another aura ring ahead of her.


    The Elf Princess backed away as she was surprised to see a lot of energypressing at a particr point.


    Soon, thepression stopped and the aura expanded from that point into a particr shape.


    It was a face.


    And she recalled that this face belonged to that man who hade to see her just a few days ago.


    "Y-You¡­ Who are you?!" The Elf Princess asked while her voice trembled with fear.


    She didn''t know what motive this guy had for leaving behind a spiritual imprint.


    "My name is Azaroth. And I n to free you out of here."


    This spiritual imprint left behind by Azaroth remained neutral as he replied to her.


    Once the Elf Princess heard him say that he nned to get her out of this prison, her nervousness vanished, and instead, she was getting excited at the prospect of leaving this prison.


    "How will you get me out of here? What do you want to get me out of here? As long as it''s something I can do, I will definitely do my best." Elf Princess spoke out with no hesitation. She knew that getting her out must be troublesome for this guy as well so she nned on luring him with some benefits.


    Azaroth faintly smiled and spoke, "Just take a pledge that you will fulfill my request. Naturally, I also promise not to give you a request that would threaten elves."


    The first sentence from Azaroth somewhat scared the Elf Princess while Azaroth''s second sentence relieved her quite a bit.


    She nodded her head and spoke, "I, Laura Vajor, pledge that I will fulfill any request Azaroth might have as long as it does not endanger the Elves."


    As Azaroth heard her full name, he wasn''t surprised to hear that herst name was Vajor. During his reign as a Demon God, the Royal Family of Elves had also used Vajor as theirst name.


    Once Azaroth heard Laura''s pledge, he nodded in satisfaction. If there was one thing he knew quite clear, it was that the Elves would never break their oath.


    It was considered very disrespectful to the World Tree and the Nature Goddess.


    "Are you proficient in controlling the wood?" Azaroth asked Laura with a curious gaze.


    Once Laura heard his words, she had a proud face as she revealed, "I can easily control the Wood without using any signs or symbols. Hehe¡­"


    She proudly smiled as this was a rather rare skill even amongst the Royal Family of the Elves.


    But instead of praising Lura, Azaroth merely blinked his eyes as he heard this fact and then asked, "And what about presence concealment? How good is it? Can you blend with nature?"


    "How do you know about this skill?!" Laura was surprised to hear those words from Azaroth''s mouth.


    The presence concealment was a skill unique to the Royal Family and it was something that shouldn''t be known to the humans.


    It was at this time she noticed that this person was talking through a spiritual imprint. He must possess a lot of secrets.


    "¡­I don''t know that skill. If I knew it, I wouldn''t have been captured." Laura spoke with her cheeks turning red because of embarrassment.


    "I see." Azaroth calmly replied. He spoke after some time, "Getting you out of here without the Presence Concealment skill will be tricky. You will need to wait for nearly half a day then."


    "Just half a day?" Laura asked, utterly shocked to hear this time frame. She had expected him to say a week or even a month. Maybe even then, he would have to leave things up to fate.


    But here Azaroth was actually telling her that she only needed to wait for half a day to get free from this prison. Her excitement immediately went off the charts!


    "I will disperse now. I need to pass this information to my real body." Azaroth''s spiritual imprint informed Laura.


    Laura immediately replied to him, "Pleasee soon, I will wait for you." From her tone, she seemed to be begging him.


    Soon, that spiritual imprint dispersed into thousands if not millions of particles.


    ~~


    In the Rhodes Estate, Azaroth was sleeping peacefully. He was giving his body some well-deserved rest after his own and his servant''s training.


    Suddenly, some amount of information entered his mind and woke him up.


    Once he was awake, he remembered that conversation his Spiritual Imprint had with Laura Vajor.


    "Alright. I guess I need to begin my preparations then." Azaroth whispered to himself as he got up from his bed.


    He wore a blue cloak with straight cors and brown trousers that seemed to be perfectly hidden underneath that dark blue cloak.


    Azaroth jumped out of his room through the window. He was on his way to the Merchant Union!


    That''s right, instead of going to the Silent Death Organization''s base, he was moving towards the storehouse of the Merchant Union.


    Azaroth naturally hadn''t just trained in these few days. Because of his new identity as being recognized by Jonas, he was now allowed to receive some ssified information.


    Such as the location of this storehouse of the Merchant Union.


    Considering that this was the Rhodes Family''s territory, it was obvious that the location of the Merchant Union''s storehouse would be known to the Rhodes Family.


    However, the Rhodes Family had no idea about the contents stored inside it. Thus, they had no idea about the rumor that a rare artifact had appeared in the Merchant Union.


    Even though it was merely a rumor, Azaroth didn''t care. His intention was never to steal that thing.


    Few things would reach Azaroth''s standard. His intention was rather simple, which was to raise a ruckus. And he had a good n on how to achieve that.


    The cold smile on Azaroth''s face indicated that he had an evil n in his mind.. It was worth noting that thest time he had such an evil smile, the massacre of the Kloras Town urred.

 Chapter 56 - Involving The Merchant Union

    It was morning time. The market was opening up as people arrived and set up their shops.


    During this time, a group of men, led by Sir Ashton was walking towards the base of the Silent Death Organization.


    They had grave looks over their faces. They also gave off a rather aggressive aura as they scared the people around who nced at them.


    Among Sir Ashton''s group, a man with a pointy nose spoke with a serious voice, "It leads inside, Sir Ashton."


    The building he was pointing at was the base of the Silent Death Organization.


    Sir Ashton clenched his fists as he heard the confirmation. Even though he had been informed of this already, he had personallye and rechecked the entire way. There was truly nothing out of ordinary.


    The individual who ransacked their entire storehouse and also stole their elite treasure was in this location.


    Naturally, the Silent Death Organization had also be aware that the manager of the Merchant Union wasing over.


    They gathered their experts in the bar and were waiting for Sir Ashton to open the door.


    Sir Finley was the one who stood in the center. Even now, their head hadn''t appeared. It was unknown whether he was choosing not to appear or he was truly unavable.


    Sir Ashton opened the door and soon entered the building swarming with the men from Silent Death Organization.


    Not a hint of fear could be felt from him. Whether it was his confidence in his own ability or his confidence in his backer was unknown.


    "What brings you here, Sir Ashton?" The manager Finley spoke with a calm voice, intending to find the reason why Sir Ashton hade here.


    For some moments, Sir Ashton merely observed everyone''s faces. He could read their faces like a book. And he noted emotions like bewilderment, confusion, and some hostility on their faces.


    This momentarily stunned him as he asked himself ''Have they done it or not?!''


    His face-reading skill was quite good and it was only through this that he had generated a momentous profit in his life.


    But still, he couldn''t just make his decision by this face-reading skill.


    "The entire storehouse of the Merchant Union had been ransacked by some intruders yesterday. In fact, they have even stolen some treasures that were supposed to ship soon from this city."


    Sir Finley and the group of experts from the Silent Death Organization quietly heard those words. And they didn''t understand how it was rted to them.


    "You might not be aware of this Sir Finley but on our products, we use a special power that continues to release its aura and a faint fragrance through which we can track it. And only those with unique senses can track it."


    Sir Ashton then gestured towards one of his men and spoke, "This is Jan Owen. His bloodline makes him very sensitive towards the smell. While tracking the scent, we havee here."


    Sir Finley now fully understood the situation. But he frowned as he realized that the situation was rather unfavorable to him.


    "Please calm down, Sir Ashton. There is definitely a misunderstanding here. Maybe someone wants to frame us." Sir Finley solemnly said to Sir Ashton.


    Sir Ashton remained unfazed and replied, "Perhaps. But the fact remains that the stolen goods had indeede here. I will search this building and if we find nothing, we will return peacefully."


    His words even drew the ire of Sir Finley and some other elite warriors from the Silent Death Organization.


    In the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Silent Death Organization was inferior to the Merchant Union. Because the Merchant Union''s true backer was none other than the Royal Family.


    The Silent Death Organization had tried to expand its businesses but the presence of Merchant Union harassed them greatly.


    And now, the manager of the Merchant Union hade and was even nning on checking their whole building. Moreover, his tone suggested that he wasn''t even asking for permission.


    But rather telling them that he was definitely going to check this building. If they opposed him then he was prepared.


    Naturally, Sir Ashton had spoken in such a tone intentionally. He wanted to inform Sir Finley that he was utterly serious.


    If Sir Finley failed toply then it would result in a war between the two corporations.


    "¡­Very well." Sir Finley clenched his teeth somewhat angrily but gave him permission to check their headquarters and also added, "However, our experts would apany you in your search. And if you find nothing, you will need topensate us for this, Sir Ashton."


    "Suit yourself." Sir Ashton replied coldly.


    It was clear to both parties that the Silent Death organization could hardly trouble the Merchant Union in the Sinyalian kingdom. The most they could do was pressure them and make sure they don''t suffer a loss.


    Those words from Sir Finley were just for salvaging some bits of respect for the Silent Death Organization ahead of his subordinates.


    "Jan. You are sure that all our things are in here, right?" Sir Ashton looked at his tracker who soundlessly nodded.


    Soon, Jan Owen began walking. He passed the bar and entered the hallway of the building. He was followed by Sir Ashton and arge group of experts from the Merchant Union.


    Meanwhile, Sir Finley spoke out with a serious face, "Gather the experts and keep an eye on this group. They might have a hidden n against us."


    "Yes, Sir!"


    All the warriors scattered and gathered their experts who were stationed in different parts of their headquarters.


    In just 10 or so minutes, nearly all the strong experts within the Silent Death Organization''s headquarters had gathered and were keeping an eye on Sir Ashton''s group.


    After walking for some time, they finally entered a room.


    In the room, they opened some drawers and saw some bottles of red-colored liquid. Clearly, it was an expensive elixir.


    "Whose room is this?" Sir Ashton turned and asked Finley.


    Before Sir Finley could reply, a man amongst the group behind Sir Finley spoke out, "This is my room."


    It was a warrior by the name of Luka Barnes. He was a 4 Star Warrior of the Silent Death Organization.


    Sir Ashton took a good look at him and then began speaking, "This is the Red Smander Elixer created to boost the strength of the body. This was supposed to be shipped to Wales. How did it get to your room inside of your drawer?"


    Even though it was Sir Ashton who asked the question, he quickly added, "The proof that this is an item from the Merchant Union is very easy to see." Sir Ashton held the ss bottle of the Elixer and rotated it at the right angle.


    On the bottom, Sir Finley and his whole group of experts saw a seal of the Merchant Union.


    "This is the seal we ce on our things stored in the warehouse. Only after we deliver the thing do we remove this seal. Now, do you have something to say in your defense?" Sir Ashton spoke somewhat angrily.


    Luka Barnes had also no idea how this thing could get inside his drawers, "Someone might have left it inside my drawer? Maybe someone is framing me."


    "Who? And why would they do it?" Sir Ashton spoke while tapping his foot on the floor.


    "I have no idea, sir." Luka Barnes truthfully spoke.


    But in response, Sir Ashton replied angrily, "Then find out. I don''t care whether someone is trying to frame you or not. The hard fact is that I found one of the stolen things in your drawer within your room!"


    There was nothing Luka Barnes could say to that.


    Meanwhile, Finley had a headache as he understood that there was some truth in Sir Ashton''s words that the things from their warehouse had been stolen.


    Soon, Sir Ashton began walking to pursue another lead and Finley followed them around.


    However, right now, Finley didn''t know why but he had a feeling that he had missed something.


    ~~


    During this time, the experts guarding the dungeons where the ves were held had already returned above the surface. In ce of those experts were other warriors, who were just slightly inferior to them in power.


    Currently, a man wearing Blue Cloak was going down the stairs rather silently. It was Azaroth who had created this whole situation.


    At midnight, he went to the warehouse of the Merchant Union.


    Although there were many guards in the area, he killed one of them and quietly took his ce.


    After that, during the time of patrolling, he quietly used the dark threads and stuck them at the appropriate locations.


    He also found out that there was indeed a rare treasure in this warehouse. It was the egg of a special beast.


    This egg had been disguised as an egg of an ordinary beast. Perhaps because of this, Sir Ashton had kept it with the batch of simr-looking eggs. But how could such a trick fool Azaroth''s Mystic Eyes of Perception?


    Just for surety, Azaroth also nced at the treasure that many experts were guarding in the warehouse, and just after a nce, he was sure that it was a fake.


    Quietly, Azaroth stuck one of his dark web on the real egg of a special beast.


    After reaching an appropriate ce where he would remain unseen, he pulled the dark webs and ransacked the entire warehouse.


    It was to such an extent that nearly all the items in the warehouse were flying around.


    Azaroth picked up a few of those items and sneaked into the Silent Death Organizations'' Headquarters.


    It wasn''t hard to enter their headquarters since he just had to disguise himself as an old man who was looking for a bar to drink some alcohol.


    And when the bartender or the other warriors weren''t looking at him, he quietly sneaked inside the building and nted these items at various ces so that Sir Ashton would go around and buy him quite some time while gathering these things.


    As for Azaroth, he was heading towards the 5th basement floor to free Laura Vajor.


    As he was going through the 4th floor, he noted that there were more guards stationed here. It would be virtually impossibly to get to Laura while keeping himself hidden.


    And he also couldn''t waste too much time since Sir Ashton or Sir Finley might realize his motive any time soon.


    He didn''t hesitate in changing his n and began walking without any intention of hiding his identity.


    The men here were either 3 Star Warriors or 4 Star Warriors.


    The Demonic aura red up around Azaroth as he used his Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique.


    Before the guards could even shout in surprise or sound out the rm, Azaroth used his Hell mes and burnt them to ashes.


    The prisoners saw him and held their bars as they called out to Azaroth, "Please¡­ Get me out. Please¡­"


    Azaroth ignored their pleas as he moved quickly using the Phantom Step. He had no time to spare right now.


    And just when he was about to reach the stairs for the second basement floor, he noticed that very same subus who was shown to him by Finley.


    When he had analyzed this subus using his Mystic Eyes of Perception, he had realized that even though she was aplete demon, she merely had a trace of her bloodline.


    Her only use was to pleasure men using her body. Perhaps that''s why the subi were sold at a high price. But Azaroth wasn''t interested in using his money to buy a slut.


    However, the situation was different now.


    An idea emerged in his head as he swiped his arm and cut open the bars entrapping that subus.


    "Ehh?" The subus looked surprised when she saw the bars broke.


    She felt a strong and dominating demonic aura from the man ahead of her.


    ''Why has he freed me? Is he already infatuated with me?''


    Before she could think ahead, Azaroth spoke with a cold voice, "Follow me."


    After speaking those words, he went towards the stairs leading to the very bottom.


    The subus remained frozen for a short period before she quickly ran and followed Azaroth.


    She believed that following him would be the best decision for now.


    This subus had seen how those guards were turned to ashes.. She clearly didn''t want that to happen to her.

 Chapter 57 - Escape

    Azaroth and the subus were on the stairs that led to Laura''s location where she was imprisoned.


    While on their way, the subus tried to strike up a conversation with Azaroth.


    "I am Yrellea. What''s your name, handsome?"


    Azaroth ignored her question and just went on forwards. There were guards in their way again but he noted that there was no 5 Star Warrior.


    ''It seems that my n worked. All the 5 Star Warriors are now following Sir Ashton.''


    Sir Ashton was a 5 Star Warrior and he had also brought many experts from the Merchant Union. To not appear weak, the Silent Death Organization had to have atleast the same number of elite warriors to keep an eye over them.


    Currently, the strongest experts down below were 4 Star Warriors. And in Azaroth''s Heavenly Demon Transformation, he could bully them as long as they didn''t possess a special ability that could deal with Hell mes.


    But special abilities that could deal with Hell mes were rare. So no one could stop Azaroth at this moment.


    As Yrellea saw Azaroth use his Hell mes to burn the guards, her body couldn''t help but heat up.


    ''He is such a strong man. His dominating aura¡­ Just how exhrating will it be to be dominated by him?''


    Yrellea licked her lips with anticipation. She was getting horny as she saw those Purple mes.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth continued to ignore the subus. He had other ns in taking her along with him.


    And these ns didn''t include socializing or getting chummy with her.


    Soon enough, they reached the 5th basement floor where Laura was entrapped.


    The door opened and Laura was shocked to see Azaroth d in hisplete Demonic Aura. It was so thick that she couldn''t even see his face.


    "A demon?! What are you doing here?!" Laura eximed out as she saw Azaroth and then that subus behind him.


    Instead of replying, Azaroth dispersed the Demonic Aura around him and showed his face to Laura.


    Before Laura could ask another question, he dauntingly spoke, "I will exinter. First, we need to get out of here."


    Laura swallowed the questions inside of her as she felt that demonic aura disappeared to nothingness. She remembered that this was the guy whose spiritual imprint she saw yesterday.


    She then began to think deeply about whether she should ept assistance from someone using Demonic Ardor. If her mother came to know about it then she would definitely be very angry at Laura.


    Azaroth understood her worries and reassured her, "I am a human. There is a special reason why I can use this power. I promise to tell it to you once we get out of here."


    That soft tone from Azaroth somewhat relieved Laura and she finally nodded, "Okay. Let''s first get out of here."


    Meanwhile, Yrellea was somewhat surprised as she felt that demonic aura disperse. It was to such an extent that she couldn''t feel the demonic aura from this man ahead of her.


    Also, when she saw his face, she recalled that he was the same man who had seemingly refused to buy her a few days ago.


    A smile appeared on her face as she thought that he had also fallen under her charm.


    A sword appeared in Azaroth''s hand as he cut open the bars.


    Laura ran towards Azaroth as if she couldn''t wait to get away from this ce.


    Once she was close to him, Azaroth ced his hand over her head.


    When Yrellea saw this scene, she thought Azaroth was merely petting this Elf.


    Now that she seriously nced at this elf, she saw her body and found out that it wasn''t inferior at all to her.


    In fact, those long beautiful golden locks and then gentle green eyes, along with her exceptionally pretty face. It seemed to perfectly fit with her voluptuous body¡­


    Even as a subus, she felt a sense of inferiority whenparing her own body to this woman.


    Laura also didn''t understand why Azaroth was gently patting her head. She somewhat disliked it because she felt that he was treating her like a child.


    But soon, she could sense her Ardor again.


    Her Spiritual Core was unsealed!


    When she gazed at Azaroth, she looked shocked since he had just broken a sealing ability cast by a formation grandmaster.


    Did that mean he was older than he looked?


    That was the conclusion she arrived at.


    Laura then gazed at Yrellea. She had a beautiful face and a sexy body that could arouse just about any man in the world.


    "Can you use your Earth Abilities to create a tunnel for us to run away?" Azaroth asked Laura as he was unsure about her abilities.


    Controlling the wood and the ground was a basic ability for any elf. Let alone a Royal Elf. But still, he had seen too many things and knew that expectations could betray him at any point.


    If she couldn''t, he would have to use his other method to escape. Although riskier, it was the only other method with which he would have some good chance of sess.


    Fortunately, Azaroth''s expectations didn''t betray him today.


    Laura proudly nodded her head as she extended her arm, "It''s a piece of cake!"


    As a 4 Star Elf, Laura was quite powerful in her own regard.


    As she used some of her ability, the three were seemingly swallowed by the ground.


    Azaroth knew that he wouldn''t be able to survive under the ground because of low air so he quickly said to Laura, "Just get us above the ground nearly 500 meters away from this spot."


    He stopped speaking after giving those instructions. There was still some air in the dome-like cavity underneath the ground so he could use it.


    Laura and Yrellea weren''t as troubled by theck of air since they were of different species. Laura could easily extract the resources needed by the aura through the ground while Yrellea was a demon so she didn''t need to breathe at all.


    After nearly 20 or so minutes, the three saw the blue sky again. Although Azaroth''s face showed that he was normal but in reality, his body was about to copse from theck of air.


    Azaroth took some deep breaths of fresh air as soon as he was out of that tunnel.


    "Good," Azaroth spoke that word unconsciously.


    Laura had a rather delighted look as she looked at the clear sky. It had been more than a month since she saw this scenery.


    While she was gazing at her surroundings with a curious glint in her eyes, Azaroth spoke with amanding aura, "We can''t stay here for too long. We need to leave now. Grab me with all your might. Make sure to not let go of me."


    Laura immediately hugged Azaroth from behind while Yrellea grabbed Azaroth''s right arm.


    Azaroth felt two pairs of breasts pressing his body. Two were pressing him on his back while the other two on his right arm.


    The pair of breasts on his back appeared to be very soft and squishy. As for the breasts pressed against his arm, he could feel the erect nipples from them.


    Without any more thinking, Azaroth used quick sessive Phantom Steps to run.


    His speed was so great that Laura and Yrellea''s feet didn''t even touch the ground. They were actually flying while Azaroth ran forward.


    Their hold tightened as Yrellea''s nails had unconsciously dug into Azaroth''s right arm while she kept a strong hold over him.


    Meanwhile, some vines seemed to havepletely tied him to Laura so she couldn''t fall off.


    Laura had done this just now because she realized that she had underestimated his speed. If not for how strongly she had been holding him, she would have definitely slipped by now.


    Azaroth increased his speed some more as he was at some distance from the Market now.


    Although many people must have seen him running away, he was sure that none of them must have caught sight of his face.


    Even if the Silent Death Organization and the Merchant Union came to question them, there should be no one who could give his name.


    As for Azaroth''s current destination, it was the forest near Wrihull City.


    This was the best destination to lose any pursuers who might follow his trackster.


    Once Azaroth stepped into the forest, Laura was rather happy. As an Elf, she had a warm feeling whenever she was near trees.


    Even though she didn''t receive a boost in terms of martial ability, the emotional stability this forest provided her was quite good as well.


    After running for nearly half an hour at his top speed, Azaroth finally stopped.


    This was near the location where he left behind his totem. If the Silent Death Organization and the Merchant Union manage to track him to this position then he nned on his using Totem to destroy them.


    Although its offensive use wasn''t unrivaled; however, it should be enough to deal with individuals at merely Demon Lord Level. And if he pushed it then even killing an early Demon King Level Warrior isn''t going to be a huge problem.


    Once the three stopped, Azaroth first turned towards Laura and then towards Yrellea. He pulled his arm away from her grasp and somewhat frowned as he saw that Yrellea''s nails had dug deep in his arm.


    He suddenly felt his heart pumping blood rather quickly. His temperature was rising and he felt like vomiting.


    ''Disease? Impossible. Disease won''t work on my body so quickly. Then this can only be poison.''


    Azaroth made a calm deduction amidst these symptoms.


    When he gazed at Yrellea, there was a glint of killing intent in his eyes.


    He now understood why he couldn''t sense anything exceptional from this Subus. Her true ability wasn''t the ability of the Subus to give pleasure to any man but the Ten Thousand Poisonous Body!


    Azaroth quickly chopped her neck and made her unconscious.


    Laura was surprised to see this happen.


    ''Aren''t they partners? Why did he strike her?''


    Azaroth didn''t have the time to exin as he closed his eyes and concentrated deeply.


    Most of these poisons appeared to be demonic poisons. And Azaroth possessed the perfect weapon to deal with any demonic poison.


    Holy Ardor illuminated Azaroth''s body as it began to obliterate any sort of poison in him.


    Meanwhile, Laura who stopped next to him and observed Azaroth rather quietly felt blown away as she saw that Holy Ardor!


    ''Such dense Holy Ardor?! It''s nearly as dense as that Demonic Ardor I saw on him in the prison?! Just who is this guy?!''


    After a couple of minutes, Azaroth had finally cleared his body of nearly all the poisons.


    It was a good thing that Azaroth was training his body by using the Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique or else, he won''t have been able to persist until now. He would probably have turned unconscious and would be unable to concentrate and annihte this poison.


    Azaroth opened his eyes and calmly stared at Laura, "Sorry to make you wait for so long."


    As he stood up on his feet, Laura felt a calm yet oppressive air around her.


    ''Such pressure that can even overwhelm my Royal Aura? Truly, just what is his identity? Is he one of those people mother told me to watch out for? A Royal Prince of the Great Qin Empire?''

 Chapter 58 - Realization

    The serious aura in the atmosphere prevented Laura from speaking.


    It was Azaroth who initiated their conversation once again, "I remember that you took an oath that if I free you, you will follow any request I have as long as it''s not against the Elven Kingdom."


    As Laura remembered this promise, she somewhat regretted taking such an impulsive oath.


    If he asked for something personal, she wouldn''t be able to deny him.


    She blushed as she thought that she knew what Azaroth was going to ask of her.


    "Yes," Laura affirmed with a low voice.


    Azaroth could guess what she was thinking just by hearing her tone and observing her expressions.


    In fact, any adult with some experience could see it.


    "I want you to be my subordinate for the next 30 years," Azaroth spoke this with a straightforward look in his eyes.


    Laura heard his request and blinked her eyes twice. It seemed as though she had heard something unbelievable.


    "Me? Be your subordinate? Do you even know my identity? I am-" Azaroth raised his hand before she could finish speaking.


    He waved off with that hand and spoke, "Yeah, yeah. I know that you are a Princess of the Elven Kingdom. But let me ask you. What use was your identity in that prison? Could you have gotten out of that prison without my assistance?!"


    As his expression turned a little fierce, he scared Laura quite a bit. But his words forced her to think about this matter deeply.


    Azaroth spoke a little more fiercely then, "Let me tell you the answer. No. You would have remained there until someone bought you for his sick purposes. You are outside the prison because of me. You can enjoy this fresh air because of me! You owe me your life!"


    ''He is right. Also, if my identity was released, the big kingdoms in this human society would have targeted me and use me against Mother.''


    ''30 years isn''t a lot of time. Mother did say that Elves live up to thousands of years. And the Royal Elves live for even longer. So 30 years should be a breeze. But I still have to help a little brother in 12 years.''


    If Laura''s mother knew her daughter''s thoughts, she would have definitely smacked some sense into her head. But unfortunately, she had no idea what was going on in her daughter''s head.


    So Laura dly replied to Azaroth''s request, "Okay. I agree with your request. I will be your subordinate!"


    Azaroth had expected this response from her so he wasn''t even surprised.


    He had some basic knowledge about the wood elves and after analyzing Laura using that Spiritual Imprint, he was more or less sure what she would decide.


    He just needed to phrase his words carefully.


    Such as ''Requesting'' her to be his subordinate.


    On the surface, he seemed to be requesting her but he was quite forceful about it. To an onlooker, it might have seemed like an order rather than a request.


    And the second important thing was to give her a time frame she considered short but would be enough for Azaroth to do what he wanted.


    30 years was the approximate time he thought that might be epted by this girl.


    For a human though, 30 years was a lot of time unless they reached Emperor Level or the level of a Saint.


    After reaching such a level, even humans would live on for centuries and a millennium.


    "I am d you agree. You won''t live to regret it." Azaroth promised with a gentle smile.


    Laura had a faint blush on her face as she saw his gentle smile. Her ears were beet red but she broke eye contact with Azaroth and replied, "¡­Enough of this. Where will I stay until then?"


    Azaroth heard her question and was somewhat confused.


    In reality, he had a n of taking her along with his other servants to the Kloras Town that would be under hisplete control.


    He was nning on starting apletely new administration with that ce as its center. However, it seemed as though the formalities were taking longer than expected.


    The territorial and tax collecting departments were assigned to some individuals who weren''t all that fond of Jonas Rhodes so it was somewhat expected.


    All Azaroth could do was wait.


    But during this time, where should Laura stay? She couldn''t return with him to the Rhodes Estate.


    If the servants saw her, they will definitely inform Jonas.


    At that time, Jonas would definitely grab her from him. If not for her identity then due to her beauty.


    If Jonas was said to be a rather great talent in the Sinyalian Kingdom then lust was a temptation he couldn''t resist at all.


    ording to Edwin Rhodes'' memories, there were rumors that Jonas Rhodes had even tried to hook up with one of the concubines of the King.


    But these were mere rumors and there was no clear proof so the King hadn''t taken any action against Jonas yet.


    Although even Azaroth wasn''t sure if these rumors were true or not, it did tell him that he couldn''t allow Jonas to meet with either Laura or Yrellea.


    Azaroth couldn''t tell Tronte about Laura or Yrellea just yet. He seemed rather infatuated with Laura and he wouldn''t take aposed decision.


    Suddenly, an idea struck in his head as he smiled cunningly.


    "¡­I do have a ce for you. A ce where you can stay hidden easily until we move to a different ce."


    ~~


    Meanwhile, it had been quite some time since Azaroth ran away from the headquarters of the Silent Death Organization.


    The Silent Death Organization and the Merchant Union had realized they had been duped.


    It was only after Sir Ashton found 10 treasures hidden in different rooms on different floors.


    Finley was growing anxious as they kept on finding one treasure after another in his subordinates'' rooms.


    Each one seemed to deny any charges of stealing. Moreover, each one had an alibi that they were guarding the perimeterst night.


    Also, it felt as if they were being led away from their basement. The location where they store all their merchandise. Just to be careful, Finley ordered his men to go and check up on his merchandise.


    Their merchandise being their ves.


    However, when the man returned, he spoke with an agitated and angry tone, "Boss, something has urred! I can''t find any guard in the basement. And there seems to be ck sand flying in the basement!"


    "What?!" Not just Finley but Sir Ashton disyed shocked faces as well.


    Suddenly, the gears in their minds began to move nearly at the same time and they realized it.


    ''Shit! We fell into a trap! Someone was diverting our attention!''


    When they began thinking in this direction, strangely enough, everything fell into ce.


    Why the treasures from the Merchant Union were stolen? Why were these treasures scattered in random rooms of the guards?


    Now, the question remained just for whom this trick was created.


    Was it the Silent Death Organization or the Merchant Union?


    Both hade to their own conclusions.


    Sir Ashton immediately spoke to Finley, "Forgive me, Sir Finley but I need to return to check up on something. I shall make up for thister."


    Finley was more than relieved to hear this since he personally wanted to check the scene in the basement.


    "Let''s continue this conversationter. If this is what I think it is, then whoever this is, they made aplete fool of us, Sir Ashton."


    Sir Ashton gritted his teeth but didn''t deny. This was a fact. There was no point in being struck over their pride and refuse to ept it.


    They first had to catch the culprit responsible for this!


    As the delegates from the Merchant Union left, Finley immediately went to the basement. The other Silent Death Organization experts following him on his face.


    They were shocked to see the ashes on the floor. But the shock was just a secondary emotion, the main emotion they felt right now was anger.


    Rage that red them up greatly.


    Finley was surprised that other than the death of his guards on the first basement floor, there was no one missing from the ves.


    ''Was that a tactic to lure out the Merchant Union''s men? Let''s check the other basement floors.''


    And they found a simr situation on the second and third basement floors. On the fourth basement floor, they found that a cell had been broken.


    If Finley remembered correctly, it was the cell where the Subus was trapped.


    But soon, his face turned pale. It wasn''t because of losing the subus. Although the subus was quite useful in generating their profits, they knew about where they lived so it wouldn''t be much of a trouble to get more of them.


    Finley''s face had changed because he remembered another individual who had been under guard.


    Moreover, her value was above that of anyone else they had ever captured.


    Naturally, her disappearance was going to make him even angrier.


    On the other hand, Sir Ashton had returned to the warehouse to know whether anything else happened or not.


    However, Azaroth didn''t want anything else from the Merchant Union''s warehouse.


    The only thing he wanted was with him.


    A blue striped egg.


    The only reason he kept this egg with him and didn''t nt this treasure in some other room of the Silent Death Organization''s base was that his Mystic Eyes of Perception also couldn''tpletely see through it.


    The only thing he saw was pure golden electricity.


    It didn''t mean that this egg contained a beast that was possessed some sort of bloodline equal to a Demon God. Azaroth couldn''t use his Mystic Eyes of Perception to their true potential because of his low rank.


    But still, Azaroth was convinced that whatever this beast was, it wasn''t weak. It was a mutant!


    Perhaps this was to be disyed in an uing auction nearby but now that Azaroth had stolen it, there was nothing they could do other than search for him.


    The problem for them was that they had no idea about their opponent''s identity!


    Was he one of their own? From the rival organization? Or someone else who took advantage of their rivalry?


    Firstly, what both the organizations did was sent arge number of their men outside and search for anyone running away.


    The Silent Death Organization''s grunts were told to search for the individual with the elf. Also, any news about the Subus was to be reported to the main base!


    But it was somewhat more troublesome for the Merchant Union to search for their robber.


    After all, they had no idea about his physique and his motive.


    For that reason, Sir Ashton was conducting a search amongst the men who were in the warehouse that day.


    And very quickly, they found theirrade''s dead body.


    This raised more questions than it answered.


    Although the Silent Death Organization and the Merchant Union had a different approach, their target was the same. However, because of their suspicions, they couldn''t just trust the other party so easily.


    So, they weren''t sure if the other organization had genuinely suffered as well, or were they absolutely uninvolved or maybe they were the ones orchestrating this entire event.


    This sort of confusion had done more harm than good to both of their organization.


    If they had calmed down and tried to gather every piece of evidence, they might have followed up on Azaroth''s location but unfortunately, emotions guide the humans.


    It''s impossible topletely ignore one''s emotions.


    Well, it''s definitely true for those who haven''t undergone strict training or firm discipline.

 Chapter 59 - Sargans Blood Essence

    In the forest, Azaroth was leading Laura to the location where she will be staying for the next couple of days.


    As they were walking towards that location, Laura asked Azaroth, "Are you really a human? Why can you use the Demonic Ardor and the Celestial Ardor? I have never heard about someone using both of them at the same time."


    Azaroth had been expecting this question from her ever since he first showed her his Demonic Ardor and the Celestial Ardor. He wasn''t nning on hiding the Demonic Ardor from her even if it might brew distrust between them.


    But hiding this and herter finding it would make it even more dangerous. It was better to remove such an issue as soon as possible.


    "My Celestial Ardor is because of the bloodline I possess. As for the Demonic Ardor¡­" Azaroth suddenly stopped moving and turned quiet. He looked at the ground as he stayed quiet with a sullen face.


    Laura suddenly bowed her head and apologized, "I didn''t mean to ask something personal."


    Azaroth heard her response and internally smiled. He was happy that his first excuse was sessful. If not, he would have to proceed with a weak exnation with some weird examples.


    A weak smile then appeared on Azaroth''s face as he replied, "I will tell you when I am morefortable, Laura."


    "Where are we going, though?" Laura then asked him the next question.


    Azaroth heard her and wondered whether he should reply or not.


    ''It seems that she is rather fond of talking to others. Guess it can''t be helped¡­''


    "I have rescued you by using the Merchant Union. If not for their expertsing over, the Silent Death Organization''s true experts wouldn''t have moved up to keep watch over them. And right now, these organizations have probably realized they have been fooled so they will thoroughly search the city."


    "Don''t be surprised if their search leads them to this forest," Azaroth spoke rather seriously as he continued walking deeper into the woods.


    Just when Laura was about to ask something again, Azaroth spoke with a low tone, "We are here."


    Currently, this was a location somewhat away from his totem. It was their of the Golden Eyed Tiger who was killed by Azaroth as soon as he had revived in Edwin''s body.


    Even though it had been months since the Golden Eyed Tiger''s death, the aura here still prevented the other beasts from approaching this area.


    Laura''s senses in the forests were even more sensitive than his own so if nobody could sneak up on her without her realizing.


    Azaroth then moved towards Laura and ced his hand over her head, "Stay here along with this woman for the next couple of days. We will leave after a few days."


    Touching Laura''s head, Azaroth injected some bits of his spirit inside her. He was nning to track her using it or even kill her if she decided to escape.


    This could be considered a sort of test of whether she was willing to fulfill hermitment or not.


    If not, then there was no point in keeping her.


    Azaroth had already done the same to Yrellea.


    "She is a subus, so stay careful. I haven''t unsealed her Ardor so you can easily defeat her."


    "Alright."


    ~~


    While Azaroth was returning, he sensed multiple warriors roaming in the market and checking up the houses and stores.


    ''Once they have interrogated the prisoners, they will know I used the Demonic Ardor. They should then divert their search towards Demonic Beings and because I have revealed Holy Ardor to Jonas, I will never be one of their targets.''


    After returning to his room in the Rhodes Estate, Azaroth began to examine the egg he had stolen from the Merchant Union.


    The egg of a rare beast was incredibly precious. Because after hatching, the beast would imprint the individual and think of it as its parent.


    It would be incredibly difficult or even impossible to break that bond.


    ''Well, it needs arge amount of electricity to hatch though. Fortunately, I do have a lightning element. But which lightning should I provide it? The Heavenly Lightning, Demonic Lightning, or the Humanely Lightning? This beast already possesses the Golden Lightning of the Beasts.''


    He continued to think for some moments and had an idea.


    ''I should try out all these three. I will use the Lightning variant that is epted by this beast.''


    And the Lightning epted by this egg turned out to be the Heavenly Lightning.


    ''How surprising that even though it possesses the Golden Lightning of the Beasts, it also epts the Heavenly Lightning. Does that mean there is a scope that it can turn into a Holy Beast?''


    The possibility of this beast turning into a Holy Beast pleased Azaroth quite a bit. A Holy Beast was one of the most respected kinds of beasts on the Frascoia Continent.


    ''After mutating into a Holy Beast, its bloodline wouldn''t be much inferior to that Golden Ape Bloodline.''


    Azarothpared the bloodline of this beast with that Ape possessing the Golden Ape Bloodline back in Kloras Town.


    The Golden Ape Bloodline was a top-tier Beast God Bloodline. It won''t lose even against the Bloodlines of the likes of Dragons, Phoenix, the White Tiger, and other mythical beasts.


    Unfortunately, he could sense that the energy this egg required to hatch was unbelievably high.


    Also, it wasn''t as if he could continue to provide his energy to this egg at all times. So, making a schedule in his mind, Azaroth deduced that he would need atleast a month to hatch this egg.


    After having made this n, he called up Sargan, Noah, and Ralph.


    Noah was already a one-star warrior and was beginning to understand the power system of the world.


    It was Ralph who had exined it to Noah.


    Ralph and Sargan weren''t surprised to see that Noah had already be a one-star warrior. They had seen how Azaroth favored him and must have handed him one of the best skills for cultivation.


    It would have been weirder if he took a long time for a breakthrough.


    Meanwhile, Noah was quite delighted as he felt that he had managed to pass Azaroth''s test.


    "We will depart for another town soon. Don''t be surprised to see two more women joining us. One of them is a subus while the other is an Elf. The Elf possesses a special identity within her race so don''t rile her up. Understood!" Azaroth spoke while ring at Sargan.


    Sargan looked visibly upset but he nodded his head. He knew well enough that there was no point in disobeying this man. Azaroth could effortlessly kill him or torture him. He would experience no real loss by choosing either option so it was best not to annoy him.


    "You will each have your tasks there." Azaroth then spoke with a serious voice.


    "I will teach you some movement skills. It shouldn''t be too hard to learn with your dexterity and agility. I will give you your next tasks after you master them." These instructions were for Ralph.


    "¡­Umm. Alright, master."


    Azaroth then turned towards Sargan, "I don''t trust you a lot but I am sure you realize just what will happen if you betray me."


    Sargan fearfully nodded.


    "Good. Keep that fear within you. It will save your life and prevent you from making any foolish decision. Now, let''s get to the topic. Your spiritual attacks are somewhat impressive but I am sure you have realized that you just have an average physique for a demon. It''s so weak that you might even lose to a human in hand-to-handbat." Azaroth calmly spoke to Sargan.


    Sargan was quite embarrassed as he heard Azaroth. The frustrating thing was he couldn''t even retort against that. His physique was his weak point that he couldn''t improve no matter how hard he tried.


    "Take this skill. Begin practicing it every day. It will be painful but worth it for you." Azaroth threw a scroll with the technique, Vajra Body Technique written on it.


    Sargan casually took a nce at the technique and was more surprised as he continued to read it. By the time he finished reading this skill, he concluded that this was a Demon Emperor level of Body Cultivation Method.


    Even in his Bach n, only the n Head and his most precious sons were allowed to cultivate the Emperor Level skill. But here Azaroth was just casually throwing it to him.


    ''He really has some connection with a Demon God.''


    "Thank you, milord."


    Andst was Noah.


    "As for you, you will start fighting these two every morning in a one-on-one fight. The skills I have provided you should be more than enough. Once you can beat them individually, you will fight the two at the same time." Azaroth casually ordered Noah.


    Noah nodded with his eyes shining at the prospect of fighting.


    He had continued to practice his sword skills and wanted some opponent now.


    ''Noah''s Ardor is too weak right now. Even if I find precious herbs and other things to grow his realm, he needs to keep the foundation strong. This is the best I can do for now. The rest can be managed once we reach Kloras Town.''


    Jonas had sent news back to the Estate that he was going to return in a couple of days.


    Azaroth asked Sargan to stay behind while the other two returned.


    Sargan nervously asked, "What is it you require me to do, milord?"


    "I need three drops of your Blood Essence." Azaroth seriously spoke to Sargan.


    "My Blood Essence?!" Sargan nearly shouted out as he heard Azaroth''s order.


    His surprise was natural as the Blood Essence contained the power of his bloodline and cultivation. If he gave away three drops of his Blood Essence, his cultivation base would fall and his bloodline would be weaker.


    Recovering his lost Blood Essence would take a lot of time and effort.


    "Yes. Three drops of your blood essence. I willpensate youter. Are you willing or not?" Azaroth nominally asked Sargan.


    Azaroth didn''t care whether Sargan wanted to give away his Blood Essence or not. If Sargan refused, he would just take it from his body. But if he gave it away on his own ord¡­


    "I will give it to you, milord," Sargan replied, steeling his mind.


    Now that he knew that this man ahead of him possessed connections with a Demon God, he had to sacrifice something to even think of gaining something.


    "Milord, would youpensate me by giving me a helping hand against the Bach n?" Sargan asked with some hope evident in his voice.


    His hatred for Bach n was much greater than anything. He was willing to sacrifice anything if it meant taking his revenge against the Bach n.


    Azaroth decisively answered, "No."


    That tone made Sargan give up at that instant. But Azaroth continued, "I willpensate you by giving you the blood essence of the Evil Tyrant Eyes. As for the Bach n, I always had nned on taking control of it so it can''t really be a suitablepensation for you."


    Even though Azaroth was quite emotionless, he knew that there was a world''s difference between a servant willing to work for him and a servant being forced to work.


    The efficiency of the servant willing to work would be definitely higher.


    And if a few words from him could control that, he naturally chose the option more favorable to himself in the long run.


    In fact, when Sargan heard Azaroth''s words, he was quite touched. The Evil Tyrant was a type of demonic beast that possessed Eye Abilities along with impressive physique strength.


    Drinking its blood essence would not just recover Sargan''s Blood Essence but his Evil Eyes would evolve as well!


    Also, Azaroth had even stated that he was going to take action against the Bach n. There was no better condition for Sargan than this!


    Soon, Sargan pulled out a knife and then stabbed his right hand strongly.


    He focused with all his might and condensed three drops of the Blood Essence.


    Three red drops of blood that appeared to be zing with fire were released from his hand. These three red drops entered Azaroth''s ring and then vanished.


    Sargan instantly experienced his peak 3 Star Warrior strength falling to the 2 Star Warrior level. Before long, he fell unconscious.


    Azaroth called for some servants and sent Sargan to themon room shared by his three retainers.

 Chapter 60 - Three Yin Physique

    After Sargan had left, Azaroth pulled out those three drops of his Blood Essence.


    This Blood Essence was useful to him because it contained the power of a Demon Emperor. It would massively help his Heavenly Demon Transformation Method and he might even reach the 3rd Layer with it straight away.


    After reaching the thirdyer, his recovery speed and his Ardor absorption would massively increase.


    Moreover, his Mystic Eyes of Perception might also get some abilities of the Evil Eyes.


    That petrification skill would be very useful in a fight. It would be able to inhibit the movement of someone even stronger than him so he could use it as thest resort.


    The Mystic Eyes of Perception already possessed a mild hypnosis effect so he didn''t really want that skill.


    The three drops of blood essence entered Azaroth''s body through his forehead.


    Azaroth sensed raging demonic energy within his veins. It seemed as if it was struggling with all its power to get out of his body.


    Holy Ardor red up in Azaroth''s body as a safety measure and was about to extinguish the three drops of Blood Essence.


    However, Azaroth immediately used a lot of Humanely Ardor and suppressed the Holy Ardor.


    The Raging Demonic Ardor was slowly but surely fusing with his blood.


    Around this time, Azaroth felt massive pain in his eyes.


    As he felt some liquid on his face and wiped it, heter saw that it was his blood.


    Blood was squeezing out of his eyes and then Azaroth felt another burst of pain in his eyes.


    He felt his eyes were transforming. Even though it was a slight transformation and not aplete evolution, it didn''t hurt any less though.


    His Heavenly Demon Physique immediately broke through after hepletely fused with those three drops of the Blood Essence.


    He was now at the Third Stage of the Heavenly Demon Transformation Method.


    His Demonic Ardor had also grown stronger.


    After an hour, the fusion wasplete and stable.


    Azaroth finally opened his eyes and sighed out ''I failed to get the petrification skill and Sargan''s blood essence merely unlocked the hypnosis ability of the Mystic Eyes of Perception.''


    The hypnosis ability granted by his Mystic Eyes of Perception wasn''t as strong as Sargan''s hypnotic eyes. It only worked on those equal to him or weaker than him spiritually.


    However, it did have its own pros. Unless someone checked up on that person''s spirit, nobody would find out that the target had been hypnotized.


    ''I guess I have more options now.''


    Although this skill was useless in battle, it had quite some use in his daily life.


    And as he was thinking about who he should hypnotize first, he remembered a piece of certain information he heard from Tronte.


    A devilish smile appeared on his lips as he walked out of his chambers.


    ~~


    Some distance away from the Rhodes Estate was anotherrge mansion. At a nce, it was evenrger than the Rhodes Estate.


    This was none other than the Mansion where Jonas Rhodes lived along with his wives and concubines.


    The Rhodes Estate could be considered a mansion where the important meeting took ce while this Mansion was his personal abode.


    Currently, Azaroth was moving towards this abode very silently. The clothes he was wearing looked very simr to the clothes worn by the members of the Silent Death Organization.


    He had his reasons for wearing such clothes. If someone caught sight of him, their first suspicion should be the members of the Silent Death Organization.


    On the surface, Azaroth had no real enmity with the Silent Death Organization so it would be next to impossible to even consider him as a suspect.


    If the higher-ups of the Silent Death Organization knew just what Azaroth was thinking, their heads would explode with anger.


    Azaroth soon reached the perimeter of the mansion. The entire ce was swarming with guards, servants, and other individuals.


    ''I need to keep my timing perfect.''


    Using his sensing skill, Azaroth easily passed the guards outside the walls. He soon climbed the walls when he sensed that nobody was nearby who could see him.


    After climbing the walls, he sensed the presence of the nearest guard to his position. It seemed as though the guard was making patrolling, he was moving from the left direction.


    Azaroth threw the stone with all his might and the stone struck the wall behind that guard. After having thrown the stone, he immediately jumped down on the ground.


    His timing was perfect because just as his feet touched the ground, the stone created a loud sound, catching the attention of that guard.


    Azaroth had chosen to jump from this direction because the guards were rtively thin around here and the second reason was that this was the spot nearest to his target.


    He could faintly sense the presence of the poison. The Twin Elemental: Fire and Ice Poison!


    It was on the second floor of this building just ahead of him.


    The question was, how he should get inside this building. If he went into the building from the ground floor, a guard or a maid might see him. Azaroth would have to silence them which would further create another big scene.


    Azaroth then focused on his sensing skill and found that there were only two individuals in the room the woman was staying.


    That woman was suffering Fire and Ice Poison while the other waspletely cure.


    ''One of them is Tiana Rhodes while the other must be her attendant.''


    Azaroth concluded quickly and thought of his next action. He focused his vision on the window attached to that room.


    The wind gust suddenly focused on that room and forced it open.


    From a nce though, it appeared as if the wind strongly blew and had opened the window. It was apletely natural phenomenon¡­


    In the next second, Azaroth took his highest jump and entered Tiana Rhodes'' room silently.


    However, this skill was pretty much useless because the woman next to Tiana Rhodes saw him enter and her eyes widened.


    She opened her mouth and before she could even let out a squeal, Azaroth had grabbed her throat tightly.


    As that woman looked into his terrifying purple eyes, she lost consciousness.


    Azaroth released her throat and then turned towards the other woman in the room. Her bodyid on afortable bed and it didn''t seem as if she had noticed Azaroth entering her room.


    Her eyes were closed and her palms had morphed into fists that tightly held the bedsheets.


    Her spirit and physique were experiencing unbearable pain.


    She was tall, had a pair of beautiful eyebrows, single-edged eyelids, a slim waist, a towering chest, and a pair of slender legs. Her entire person radiated seduction and charm.


    Jonas had fallen in love with this woman, and Azaroth could see why. She was just 21, but her enticing body and matured aura were hard to resist. Many men would want to dominate her or show off their authority in front of her.


    And right now, this woman was quivering because of utter pain.


    Azaroth moved forward and touched her forehead.


    He was surprised when he felt the energy within Tiana trying to freeze his Ardor. However, it was far too weak and he easily suppressed it.


    ''I see¡­ This woman possesses the Three Yin Physique that can naturally gather Ardor from nature and create Ice. My deduction was wrong. This wasn''t a Fire and Ice Poison. Instead, she was fed merely a me Poison. However, once the me Poison came in contact with the Ice in her meridians, it red up her physique leading to these disastrous circumstances.''


    The me Poison was quite special as ittched onto Tiana''s energy center and regain its strength. Tiana had managed to survive not just because of Jonas'' energy injected into her but also because of the Ice in her body.


    Even though solving such a situation would be quite challenging for even a 5 Star Alchemist, Azaroth just released a hint of Heavenly mes. The Golden me entered Tiana''s body and effortlessly suppressed the Three Yin Physique and the me Poison.


    After what could be considered an eternity, Tiana''s face eased up. She was relieved as she hardly felt pain anymore.


    It was at that moment she felt someone''s hand touching her skin. It was someone''s palm over her forest. She was loving this touch because her pain lessened after she felt it.


    She wasn''t really worried about the identity of the person. As far as she knew, either it was her maid Cassie or some physician hired by Jonas.


    But when she opened her eyes, she was definitely not expecting to see a young and handsome man.


    Moreover, it was a man who seemed somewhat familiar to her but she couldn''t ce her finger on it.


    "It seems I was sessful in suppressing your poison." Azaroth softly spoke to Tiana.


    Tiana found his gentle voice very pleasing to her ears.


    "Huh? Yes." Tiana though soon regained her senses and then asked him while raising her eyebrows, "Um. Who are you?"


    Azaroth had already considered which identity he was going to reveal to this woman.


    "I am Edwin Rhodes. You should know me as one of Jonas'' children." Azaroth spoke those words calmly.


    Tiana frowned slightly as she heard Azaroth''s words. He was one of Jonas'' sons meant he was one generation lower than her. However, the devious glint and that smile on Azaroth''s face made her anxious while facing him.


    Tiana looked around for her maid. And was surprised to see her maid fallen on the ground.


    The red marks on her neck showed that she had been strangled forcefully.


    Azaroth naturally noticed that Tiana saw the condition of the woman in the room.


    Tiana spoke with disbelief evident in her voice, "You managed to sneak into my room?!"


    "It seems that you understand the situation. Not bad." Azaroth affirmed by speaking those words.


    "G-" Before she could even start speaking, Azaroth recalled his Golden mes, and the me poison in Tiana''s body red up.


    "Shouting for help? That was a bad move." Azaroth spoke with a sneer as he initiated the me poison''s outburst.


    Since the me Poison and the Three Yin Physique had been suppressed forcefully, their outburst was more terrifying than before.


    Consequently, the pain was also much greater.


    Tiana felt as if half of her body was burning with raging mes while the other half was freezing her to death.


    And she suffered while these two elements battled.


    Before she could even scream out due to pain, Azaroth ced one hand over her mouth andpletely covered it.


    Azaroth wasn''t worried that anyone would enter her room because of these screams.


    "You should better understand your situation now. Isn''t that right, Tiana?" Once again, his voice was gentle, but as Tiana heard it, she felt as if Azaroth was looking at her with a sneer.


    Soon, Azaroth slowly released his hold over her mouth to let her speak.


    "¡­Y¡­Yes. Please¡­ Please stop this pain." Tiana begged with tears leaking down her face.


    "A pity though. The sight of you writhing in pain is also quite lovely." Those words just made her aware of the sadistic nature of this man.


    But still, the Golden mes appeared and suppressed the me Poison along with her Three Yin Physique.


    "¡­Thank you¡­" Tiana didn''t know what else to say.


    "Alright. Now I will begin to exin my intention toe here."


    Tiana didn''t know why but she gulped nervously as she heard Azaroth''s serious voice.

 Chapter 61 - Hypnosis

    "I have a single condition to treat you," Azaroth said to Tiana.


    "What is it?!" Tiana asked somewhat anxiously.


    "Be my subordinate and work in my organization," Azaroth spoke with a serious expression.


    Tiana was stunned to hear that condition and then spoke with a bitter smile, "You can''t joke around with those words. Also, even if I do want to work in your organization, your father would never agree to it. And if you try to bring me away, it will implicate you as well."


    "I can deal with these minor troubles. My question is¡­ Are you going to serve me or not?" Azaroth was quick to get to the point.


    Tiana thought carefully for some moments but she soon nodded and spoke, "I don''t have any choice, do I? If I refuse, you are going to re up the poison again."


    Azaroth coldly nced at her. It was obvious what he would do.


    A forced smile appeared on her face, "I don''t want to suffer anymore. I will serve you¡­"


    "You can call me, young master or milord." Azaroth casually spoke.


    "Alright, you can get up. The poison won''t re up any time soon. I have a task for you." Azaroth spoke with a smirk.


    Tiana wondered just what task he would give her and when she heard it, she was sweating nervously.


    Azaroth actually wanted her to invite Josephine Rhodes to her courtyard.


    Josephine was one of Jonas''s most beautiful women and the woman he adored the most. It was because of her gentle nature that she was well-liked by almost everyone she met.


    She was one of the main reasons why Tiana had been able to survive until now. If not for the protection she provided, Jonas''s other concubines, especially udia, would have killed her already.


    However, instead of replying, Azaroth just intensified his gaze. Tiana shuddered in fear of the poison''s outburst and stood on her feet.


    She looked at her maid nearby and spoke to Azaroth, "Please hide her, y-young master. I will ask someone to summon Miss Josephine."


    Azaroth nced at that maid and stretched out his arm. Purple mes released from his palm and swallowed that maid''s body.


    Tiana nervously gulped as she sensed demonic energy from those Purple mes.


    But this fear only enforced her decision of not going against Azaroth.


    Soon enough, she walked out of her room and asked a guard to call out for Josephine Rhodes.


    Azaroth looked at her with amanding gaze, "Close the doors now."


    Tiana quietly closed the doors and then sat on a chair nearby.


    Azaroth gazed at her and spoke mildly, "Tell me about yourself. From where you are and your family information."


    Tiana began to state the answer with a somewhat fearful tone.


    It seemed as though she was from amoner before marrying into the Rhodes House. She studied at the Golden Oak College of Fine Arts in Borves City.


    She was well versed in calligraphy, dancing, and singing. During their annualpetition at their college, she was one of the participants in a singing and dancing event.


    Jonas Rhodes was invited to the Golden Oak College in Borves City during this annual event as a chief guest. At that time, his vision fell on Tiana, and was adamant about having her.


    He effortlessly got her information from the principal of the Golden Oak College and then met up with her parents.


    Tiana''s parents were too happy to hear that Marquis Jonas showed interest in their daughter. They happily epted the marriage offer and sent their daughter to serve him.


    But after entering the Noble House, instead of the life filled with happiness, what awaited her were the days and nights filled with dreadful pain.


    Not long after she entered the Rhodes House, her temperature began to rise. Initially, it wasn''t considered a big deal as some medicines could suppress them but slowly, they began to trouble her more.


    And it was Jonas who found out that the disease had spread to her spirit as well. It would be impossible to treat her without permanently injuring her spirit.


    "How boring," Azarothmented on her life with a dry look.


    Tiana was angry at those words. She had just narrated her life to this man and he actually called it boring.


    But because of her fear of this man, she didn''t dare to say anything.


    By the time the story entered, they heard a knock on the door, a pleasant voice could be heard, "Little sister, are you well now? A servant came to me and told me that you wanted to see me."


    Tiana turned towards the door and was frightened greatly. She didn''t know how she should exin Azaroth''s presence to Josephine.


    As she looked towards Azaroth, she found that he was missing from his position.


    And when she looked at the door, she saw that Azaroth was standing just behind the door. He was in such a position that he would be covered once the door opened.


    Azaroth gave her a signal to open the door.


    Tiana nodded somewhat fearfully and nervously before standing up and walking towards the door.


    She soon opened it while showing off a big fake smile on her face.


    Josephine Rhodes¡­ The woman was wearing rather expensive-looking and vivacious clothing aspared to Tiana.


    In fact, her body was even more mature and gave the person a gentle motherly aura.


    Josephine was quite happy as she saw Tiana opening the door, "Looks like the servant wasn''t lying to me. You have really gotten better, little sister. How did this happen?"


    "I will exin everything, elder sister. Pleasee inside." Tiana invited Josephine inside.


    Josephine stood along with her other maids and soon entered her room. She was a little excited to hear how Tiana had recovered.


    But she never imagined that as soon as she and her maids entered Tiana''s room her maids would be attacked deviously.


    Azaroth grabbed Josephine''s throat and prevented her from screaming while he killed her other maids.


    Josephine lowered her eyes to see the face of the man who was actually making a move against her. She had tried to use her cultivation base but it proved to be futile against Azaroth.


    As she was surprised to see that this man surpassed her 3 Star Rank, she looked into his eyes and was about to ask him a question.


    However, she had no idea that the battle was already over as soon as she looked into his eyes.


    Azaroth gave her a mentalmand, "Submit to me!"


    He gave her this mentalmand while using the Hypnosis Skill. The power of his hypnosis skill was strong enough to immediately work on Josephine.


    An order was deeply rooted in the back of her mind now. That she was Azaroth''s ve.


    Once Azaroth had formed the ve imprint over the woman, he let go of her throat.


    Tiana didn''t know what had happened. All she saw was Azaroth suddenly grabbing Tiana''s throat, beating her maids, and then releasing her.


    Tiana was very nervous as she didn''t know what Josephine would do.


    "Behave normally in the Noble House and give me weekly updates of what goes on in the Rhodes House. If there is an emergency then you can contact me through our spiritual link. Also, prepare to handle Tiana''s disappearance from the Noble House." Azaroth gave her a set of instructions through their spiritual link.


    Azaroth could easily control Josephine''s body if he wanted but he felt that it would be a waste to spend too much time controlling her body. Instead, Josephine should keep control of the body while giving information that Azaroth needed.


    "Emm¡­" Tiana nervously spoke. She was nervous because of her confusion. She couldn''t anticipate Josephine''s charm.


    "I will make sure to obey yourmands, milord," Josephine spoke while giving a light bow.


    Azaroth nodded in satisfaction.


    The hypnosis skill had worked better than he hoped for. It seemed that getting Sargan''s Blood Essence was a good idea.


    Meanwhile, Tiana was utterly shocked to hear Josephine refer to Azaroth as milord. Josephine''s position in the harem was much higher than Tiana yet she was also addressing Azaroth so respectively. Tiana was now less reluctant to call him young master.


    "You can leave now."


    "As youmand, milord." Josephine left without wasting another second.


    After Tiana closed the door, she breathed out a sigh of relief. She felt as if she had just dodged a disaster.


    Azaroth thought while analyzing Tiana ''The Three Yin Physique isn''t a bad physique for cultivation. Maybe I can try and upgrade her physique to the Seven Yin Physique.''


    Azaroth had quite some knowledge on upgrading the Yin Physique because he possessed a Mysterious Yin Physique in his previous life. He had upgraded it to Seven Yin Physique which wasn''t too bad aspared to a Legendary Nine Yin Physique.


    He left behind his instructions to Tiana, "Follow Josephine''s instructions. She will contact you 2 dayster. Be ready."


    Josephine was absolutely under Azaroth''s control and with her identity as one of Jonas''s most adored women, he could do almost whatever he wanted in the Rhodes Estate.

 Chapter 62 - The Racial Differences

    Two days had passed since the incident between Azaroth and Tiana.


    Jonas had finally returned to the Rhodes Estate. The first person he met up with was Azaroth.


    He directly went to Azaroth''s room and spoke, "I have the permission for you to control the Kloras Town and also asked the king to exempt you from the taxes for the next 3 years. Make good use of these 3 years."


    Jonas had spoken thest sentence with a hint of a sneer.


    Azaroth remainedpletely neutral and replied, "Alright, I will take care."


    For some moments, Azaroth remained silent before he suddenly spoke, "The Silent Death Organization and the Merchant Union seem to be creating chaos in the city. How do we deal with them?"


    Jonas''s expression turned colder as he heard Azaroth, "Yes, I saw their men publically harassing the citizens. It seems they don''t n on showing us any face. It''s time to remind them just who is the Lord of this Territory."


    Suddenly, there was a serious look on Jonas'' face as he stared at Azaroth, "I went to Kloras Town, and surprisingly, there is no longer any 5 Star Beast living in that area."


    Azaroth showed a surprised expression. When Jonas saw that surprised look, he was somewhat relieved. It meant that even Azaroth didn''t know what had urred there.


    However, Azaroth was surprised for a totally different reason. He didn''t expect that Jonas had already gone to the Kloras Town and investigated the surroundings. He was nning to ask for a 5 Star Warrior to deal with the 5 Star Beast but it seems that he couldn''t do that anymore.


    "I have no idea." This was the only response Azaroth could give to Jonas.


    Jonas though looked satisfied and left his room. His focus was on the Silent Death and Merchant Union organizations. He was intent on teaching a lesson to these two organizations.


    Even though Merchant Union was under the Royal Family, it couldn''t do as willfully in the territory of a Noble Family.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth ordered his servant to summon his retainers. The three were training right now and it was time to put their training on hold.


    Amongst the three, Sargan was the one who had rejoined the training. He was recovering from his loss of Blood Essence for thest 2 days and only today had he recovered enough to begin his training.


    Soon, the three received orders to gather in front of Azaroth with all their things.


    They didn''t have a lot of things so a single back for each of them sufficed.


    Azaroth went out and met up with his retainers, "It''s time to leave." He spoke those words before walking outside the Estate.


    The three retainers understood that they were finally going to move from this ce. They were probably moving to the ce mentioned by Azaroth earlier.


    A carriage was stationed outside the Rhodes Estate for Azaroth. Other carts were used to carry his personal belongings and supplies. 10 guards were apanying him; 7 guards were three-star warriors while 3 of them were four-star warriors.


    Noah, Sargan, and Ralph were given horses but embarrassingly, only Sargan knew how to ride a horse.


    Ralph and Noah had no idea about what to do.


    The guard captain stared at Azaroth, wondering what to do about them.


    "Sir, these children can''t ride the horses. Do we have them sit along with the guards?" The guard captain asked Azaroth.


    Azaroth nodded and then proceeded to enter his carriage.


    The carriage was quite spacious from the inside. From his estimate, 8 people could sit inside itfortably.


    The carriage soon began to move.


    Other heirs of the Rhodes House saw Azaroth leave from their respective rooms or balcony. They were happy to see that Azaroth had left the Rhodes House.


    The fact that he was leaving for that demolished town meant he would be busy solving the issues in that area and won''t have time to gather enough funds for the campaign for the inheritance of the Rhodes House.


    Azaroth also knew that he was leaving behind a wonderful opportunity. However, even if he remained behind, the actions he could take were limited.


    He had to first form an organization and expand it. It would be impossible to do it within the Rhodes House where he would be under the eyes of many experts.


    He wanted to get some freedom to expand the organization and strengthen it.


    But still, the fact didn''t change that he had to sacrifice the inheritance of the Rhodes House.


    He was sure that hispetitors will do everything in their power to grab the necessary political influence and prevent Azaroth from returning or regaining any power here.


    ~~


    A few days earlier in the Wrihull Forest¡­


    Laura and Yrellea were left in that den of the Golden Eyed Tiger''s cave by Azaroth.


    Laura was an elf princess who had lived all her life in the forest. He was sure she could survive in the forest without any difficulty. It shouldn''t be hard enough to look after Yrellea as well.


    But there were things he couldn''t anticipate as well.


    Such as the scene of Yrellea and Laura ring at each other.


    The reason for this was quite obvious. The two were from different races. And each one was taught since childhood that the other party is evil.


    Laura hated demons with a passion. Her mother often told her stories of how the demons had once attacked their homnd and burned it to the ground.


    If not for the World Tree giving its blessings to the Elf Queen at that time, the entire elf race might have been annihted or be their ves.


    As she grew up, she had read quite some information regarding the demon''s abilities. The elves recorded the evil abilities that the demons possessed and made sure to guide their children to be careful of them.


    Now that Laura was alone, facing Yrellea, a subus demon, she remembered her teachings and disyed her annoyance openly.


    As for Yrellea, since her childhood, she had seen that the other races like the humans, dwarves, giants, angels, elves, and even demons looked down on their subus bloodline.


    They were considered weak demons and were only useful as ves.


    Yrellea had lived all her life on Frascoia Continent so she wasn''t sure of how the demons viewed the subus n but she had personally seen the contempt in the human''s eyes.


    And when she opened her eyes, she had seen how Laura was ring at her.


    Somewhat tired of the res and contempt showed by people towards her, Yrellea returned the hostility by ring back at Laura.


    And this was how they were in this situation.


    Before long, Yrellea finally asked Laura, "Where is he?" She was naturally referring to Azaroth.


    Instead of replying, Laura asked a question while sneering, "Why should I tell you?"


    When Yrellea heard Laura''s words, she was a little ticked off. But then she soon noticed something.


    She spoke with a clever smirk on her face, "You don''t actually know, do you?"


    Those words hit the mark but Laura was quick to shout at Yrellea, "Shut up you demon! I just don''t want to tell you!"


    "Then why are you here and not by his side?" Yrellea was long used to such words from humans and so she asked her second question.


    Laura was getting nervous and hade to realize that she wouldn''t win in a battle of words against this woman.


    "Whatever. But he did unseal my Ardor and not yours, though." Laura counterattacked with a smile.


    At this point, even Yrellea had to pause as she was surprised to hear that. Wasn''t that mysterious individual worried that the two will run away?


    "Isn''t someone keeping an eye on us?" Yrellea asked with an uncertain voice.


    "Nopes. I can sense everything in the forest. Even a rat won''t escape my senses. No one is keeping an eye on us." Laura proudly dered.


    Even though it was the first time Laura was entering this forest, she knew it as a backyard because of her senses.


    She could sense where the water supply was, the location of the beasts, and where they could find edible food.


    Yrellea though didn''tpletely believe Laura''s words. She had felt Azaroth''s aura closely and remembered it.


    She was sure that such a man wouldn''t take the trouble of freeing them from that prison for free. There had to be a catch.


    Or was he just that trusting? That was the only possibility that remained for such a situation.


    She looked at the foolish woman ahead of her, "How will he contact you then?"


    Laura once again had no answer to her question and frustratingly replied, "Just shut up. I don''t know, okay!"


    For a second, Yrellea nkly stared at Laura as if surprised at her response.


    "¡­Alright. Then why aren''t you running away if you are basically free right now?" Yrellea asked onest question.


    Laura though proudly replied, "I took an oath that I will work under him for the next 30 years. As an Elf, I can''t break my oath to the Nature Goddess."


    Yrellea sneered at those words but she didn''t reply. She understood that this was a simple-minded bimbo and it seemed that Azaroth had chosen to trust this woman''s word.


    It was quite illogical.


    ''The aura I felt from him was that of a cold-hearted individual. But is he someone who acts on his feelings? Someone who takes his decisions instinctively.''


    Yrellea truly found it hard to believe that they had been left here with no one to keep an eye on them.


    "Do you want to leave?" Laura asked somewhat curiously.


    "No!" Yrellea immediately replied. She was giving such an answer because of her fear of Azaroth.


    There was no way to know what would be her result if she tried to run away. It was best to wait for a couple of days and confirm whether they were truly free or not.


    Laura though misunderstood her answer for something else. She thought that Yrellea had also pledged to be Azaroth''s subordinate and was just abiding by it.


    She was somewhat happy to see that even though Yrellea was a demon, she was still abiding by her pledge. Maybe she wouldn''t be all that bad.


    "My name is Laura. What''s your name?" Laura asked with a thin smile.


    Yrellea replied some momentster, "¡­I am Yrellea."


    "Since we are going to stay here for the next couple of days, let''s be friends." Laura gave out the offer with a cheerful look.


    Just as there were evil demons, Laura had also been told stories that there were some rare demons who were actually kind. But there were so few of them that it was rare to meet them in a lifetime.


    Currently, Laura felt as if she had encountered one of those so-called kind demons. Since Yrellea wasn''t an evil demon, she didn''t mind looking past her race and be friends with her.


    However, those simple words from Laura seemed world-shattering for Yrellea, "Friends? Friends with me?"


    All her life, she had been looked down on because of her bloodline. No matter what race it was, they would look down on a subus.


    Yet here this elf was, wanting to befriend her.


    But soon enough, Yrellea replied while turning her head, "No. I don''t know you."


    "That''s the problem? What do you want to know? I will tell you as long as it''s not a secret of our Elf Race." Laura gave a serious response.


    Yrellea was somewhat overwhelmed with frustration and confusion and yelled, "I don''t know, okay! But anyway, we can''t be friends. Not yet atleast."


    Laura was somewhat upset but stopped speaking for the moment.


    Soon, Yrellea''s stomach grumbled, making her hunger known.


    Yrellea sighed out and then turned towards Laura, "You can sense the whole forest, right? Where can I find some edible food?"


    When Laura heard her questions with that pleading tone, she had a smirk as if she had just received a new toy.


    "I~won''t~tell~you~" Laura replied with a singsong voice as she left the den.


    Yrellea gritted her teeth but didn''t move out of the den.. More than hunger, she was scared that someone would assassinate her as soon as she moves out of the den.

 Chapter 63 - Bond

    As Yrelleaid on the ground, enduring her hunger. She heard some noise from outside the den.


    Curious to know who it was, she moved her tired body and walked towards the entrance of the den.


    Sheid her eyes on Laura who wasfortably walking towards her with some vines carrying many fruits and even herbs.


    But Yrellea''s surprise faded away as she recalled that Laura was a pure elf. Her identity probably wasn''t as simple as just a high-ranked elf.


    Laura entered the den and continued to eat the fruits she had brought. Yrellea gazed at those fruits from a distance.


    Laura noticed her gaze but still continued to eat her fruits.


    Yrellea''s gaze was intensifying at those fruits as she also wanted to eat. Her stomach grumbled but this time, Yrellea managed to suppress it to an inaudible volume.


    Laura then soon asked Yrellea while a vine with a pear stretched towards her, "Do you want to eat it?"


    Yrellea ignored her but Laura continued speaking, "My mother had strictly ordered me to not share my food with a stranger."


    Yrellea seemed to have expected that answer and thought nothing of it.


    But Laura still wasn''t done and continued, "So, all you have to do is be my friend. Then we won''t be strangers." She finished speaking with a bright smile.


    Her smile was so bright that Yrellea felt blinded for a moment.


    Perhaps it was hunger that forced Yrellea to open her mouth and ask, "Will you really share these fruits with me?"


    "I promise!" Laura unhesitantly answered.


    Yrellea thought for some time and then spoke, "¡­Alright. I will be your friend. Please share your food with me."


    She thought it wouldn''t be too bad to go along with this kid game as long as she could get some food.


    There was no point in holding onto her pride if she was going to starve to her death.


    "Hehe~ You should have agreed from the start." Laura stood up and moved near Yrellea.


    The fruits were brought by those vines along with her.


    As soon as the fruits were in range, Yrellea grabbed hold of them and began chomping quickly.


    She was eating at a very quick speed and it stunned Laura. It was as if it had been days or even weeks since shest had a good meal.


    And that was scaringly true. The Silent Death only provided her with enough food to get her through the night. They were not going to treat her as well as Laura had been treated. They had a reliable supply of subuses. They were unconcerned if she died of malnutrition or suffered from any other ailment.


    Soon though, Yrellea''s eating speed reduced and the two began to converse. She was in a much better mood now, and she answered most of Laura''s queries.


    Most of Laura''s queries were rted to where Yrellea lived and what was the scenery. How her family members were and so on¡­


    Although somewhat ufortable, Yrellea did share her past history with Laura.


    "How were you captured by that evil organization?" Finally, Laura took a leap of faith and asked this question.


    Yrellea nkly stared at the food in her hands and it seemed as though she was recalling that day.


    Laura remained silent for some moments. She realized that she had asked a really stupid and maybe personal question.


    "As you know, we lived far from civilization and near one of the demon areas on this continent. Humans would rarely approach that ce and maintain their distance. Because of this, our n had managed to live on in peace. In this generation though, my grandmother died before she could appoint a sessor of the n. Thus, our n was split between my mother''s faction and my elder aunt''s faction."


    "My eldest aunt''s side was extremely powerful, and my mother realized we didn''t stand a chance. So... She sought the human''s assistance. When she was a teenager, she met a human and became good friends with him. The person belonged to a Noble Family and possessed significant influence."


    "However, this was a significant error on my mother''s part. Once she invited the human experts to deal with my eldest aunt''s faction, those human experts instead ughtered my mother and all the experts in our n and captured us all. They selected the ones with the best appearances and cultivation amongst us and then sent us to their respective branches where they could earn a fortune. That was how I ended up here."


    Yrellea was soon finished telling her side of the story.


    When she looked up, she saw tears in Laura''s eyes and found that she was actually sobbing.


    "The humans are really evil. They broke their word and actually turned against you. Mother was right that there was no limit to how low a human can fall." Laura spoke with some anger in her voice.


    Yrellea chuckled at how simpleminded this girl was but she then asked her with a curious tone, "How were you captured?"


    Laura was the one who kept her mouth shut now. She was thinking of herpanions who tried everything they could to fend off the attackers, but it was all in vain in the end.


    Soon, her lips parted, and a distressed tone sounded out, "My little brother is 7 years old. And he was diagnosed with a chronic illness. The Curse of Spirit. He possesses an abnormallyrge amount of spirit energy. It is so huge that his body isn''t strong enough to handle that much spirit energy. This sort of problem is very normal in males within our n amongst the elves. The males would experience a strong outburst of their spirit at two ages. At 6 years of age and 15 years of age. Within the millions of years of history, only 4 or 5 men have actually managed to survive the spirit outburst at 15-year-old age."


    "It is said that if a man survived this Curse of Spirit at these two ages, then he would possess the most supreme talent among the elves. But there is also another legend. It stated that to increase the chance of surviving the spirit outburst at 15-year-old age, the boy must eat one of the nine legendary herbs, the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng."


    "Last year, I saw my brother endure that Spiritual Outburst. And I was really scared. I don''t think my little brother can endure another of that Spiritual outburst. I asked my mother and other elders to find that herb but they were adamant about not leaving the Elf Kingdom. It was as if they were prepared for my little brother''s death. I wasn''t convinced at all so I looked for an opportunity and secretly left the Elf Kingdom with some of my followers to grab that Legendary Herb. However, we soon encountered a group of humans who somehow managed to see through my identity. They even sent a 7 Star Expert after us. My subordinates sacrificed their lives for me to escape but the humans still managed to capture me."


    A self-mocking smile appeared on Laura''s face as she spoke, "I am pretty pathetic, aren''t I?"


    "You are simple-minded and stupid." Yrellea''s cold words rained down on Laura''s ears, "But¡­ you are also admirable for going out and looking for a cure for your younger brother. So hold your head high. You are free from that prison, you have another chance to look for that legendary herb. I am sure that all your followers wanted your little brother to recover as well. That was why they sneaked out of the Elf Kingdom with you."


    Laura''s eyes began to well up with tears almost instantly. When she heard Yrellea''s remarks, she became ovee with emotion and drew very close to her, weeping hysterically.


    "Thank you. Thank you. I have been thinking of them all this time, feeling so guilty. Your words helped me more than I could imagine." Laura sincerely spoke.


    "I can say the same to you. Also, thanks for the food." Yrellea spoke while taking another bite of an apple.


    "Hehe. It''s nothing. Just leave the gathering of food and water to me. You just rest here, elder sister." Laura spoke with a cheerful expression.


    "Hmm. Oka- wait. What? What did you call me?!" Yrellea was stunned to hear Laura''s words.


    "Hmm? I said I will take care of the food and water." Laura was slightly confused and repeated her words from before.


    "No. What did you say after this?" Yrellea spoke somewhat anxiously.


    "Elder sister?" Laura asked while raising her eyebrow.


    "Yes. Why are you calling me an elder sister?" Yrellea asked with a confused expression.


    "You look a little older and also more knowledgeable than me. I figured it would be best if I referred you as elder sister." Laura replied in a rxed manner.


    Yrellea''s expression turned slightly red as she was quite embarrassed to be called an elder sister by Laura. But no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she did like being called an elder sister by Laura.


    And this was how a subus and an Elf Princess turned into sisters.


    If anyone from the world heard of such a story, they would probably think of it as a bard''s tale or just utter nonsense.


    But this had happened! And it would lead to terrifying consequences in the future.

 Chapter 64 - Future Tasks

    Meanwhile, Azaroth was already aware of Laura and Yrellea''s whereabouts. They shouldn''t be far from here.


    Azaroth disregarded the guard captain''s question about whether they should go. He looked as if he was expecting someone.


    Soon enough, he sensed someone getting closer to their camp.


    Even the guards sensed someone''s presence nearing them. They were immediately on guard and were prepared to battle.


    Azaroth''s voice resounded out, "Don''t move. It''s an ally."


    Those words forced the guards to sheathe their swords or put down their spears.


    The person who appeared was in a carriage as well. It was a woman who left her carriage and soon joined up with Azaroth''s group.


    This woman was Tiana Rhodes!


    Many of the guards around Azaroth recognized her and wondered what she was doing here. But they were smart enough to not ask any questions.


    "You have finally arrived. Alright, go get some food. We will move soon." Azaroth calmly ordered Tiana.


    "En," Tiana muttered out before grabbing some bread and roasted chicken from a guard.


    Azaroth waited for her to finish eating before he ordered the guards, "Alright. Pack up. We are going to change our route."


    The guards immediately started packing everything, meanwhile, the guard captain approached Azaroth, "Sir, which route will we take?"


    Azaroth smiled slightly and pointed towards the Wrihull Forest.


    "Through the forest."


    Hearing Azaroth''s remarks startled the guards to the point where whatever they were holding dropped to the ground.


    Even the guard captain was stunned. He didn''t think Azaroth would ask them to go through the forest.


    "But sir¡­"


    "This is my order. Get to it!" Azaroth spoke, scowling a little at the guards.


    The guards sighed in defeat. Before leaving, the guards had been ordered to follow all of Azaroth''smands. So they couldn''t disobey Azaroth.


    Azaroth said to the guard captain, "Just follow my instructions and we will encounter no beast."


    The guard captain wasn''t entirely convinced. He assumed Azaroth was simply saying that to make him feel better. But still, he smiled and replied, "As youmand, young master."


    The only ones who weren''t scared were Azaroth''s retainer. They had seen his strength first hand, especially Sargan. He refused to believe that some lowly beasts could actually trouble this man here.


    The other carriage that had brought Tiana turned around and began to return.


    However, after a few hours, a few men appeared who surrounded that entire carriage and the men. They killed all the individuals silently. These individuals further burnt their bodies and the carriage.


    It was as if they wanted to fully destroy any trace of them.


    These mercenaries were bought by Josephine Rhodes on Azaroth''s order. He had ordered her to silence all individuals who knew Tiana was leaving the Rhodes Pce.


    This carriage driver and hispanions were the most dangerous people. It was necessary to silence them!


    ~~


    On the other hand, Azaroth''s group was soon about to reach the den where he left Laura and Yrellea.


    He could sense that the two were still in the den.


    Laura could feel Azaroth''s presence as soon as he walked into the woods.


    She informed Yrellea almost immediately, "Big sister, the man who freed us hase. Also, he seems to have brought a fewpanions along with him."


    "Let''s wait here for some time. If he is here for us, then he will give us a signal." Yrellea advised Laura with a calm expression.


    In thesest two days, she had more or less gotten used to Laura calling her elder sister. Laura would usually tell her of the situation and ask what they should do ahead.


    When Azaroth reached the den, he got out of his carriage and walked towards the den.


    The guard captain spoke to Azaroth, "Should Ie along, young master? I can sense the aura of a high-ranked beast around here."


    Azaroth shook his head and continued walking.


    He saw Laura and Yrellea inside there. They two were wide-awake and stared at Azaroth collectively.


    Laura pouted and spoke to Azaroth, "You are finally here for us. I thought you forgot about us."


    Azaroth disregarded her words and continue to observe how close the two women were.


    ''Interesting. An elf princess and a subus bing friends.''


    "Alright. It''s time to leave. Also, first, let me hide those ears." Azaroth went forward and touched Laura''s ears.


    As soon as Azaroth touched Laura''s ears, she lightly moaned out.


    When Laura realized she had actually moaned out, she was pretty embarrassed. She looked at Yrellea and exined, "My ears are really sensitive. Hehe~"


    "I can see that." Yrellea calmly replied and didn''t think of it as a big deal.


    Azaroth then removed his hands from Laura''s ears and Yrellea saw how her pointy ears looked just the same as human ears.


    It was a minor illusion technique but it should hold out for some time.


    He then gave them each a big ck cloak to totally conceal their bodies. He even provided them with masks to conceal their identities.


    ,


    "Let''s go." He instructed them before slowlying out of the den.


    The two women werepletely covered from top to bottom. They followed Azaroth to his carriage.


    The guard captain and the other guards, including Sargan, Noah, and Ralph, were confused regarding the identity of these two women.


    But then they remembered Azaroth''s words to them a few days ago. He had mentioned that an Elf and a subus were going to join them.


    However, they stared at Tiana with a confused look. Just who was she then?


    "There is no need to think so deeply. We will knowter." Sargan whispered to his other twopanions.


    They agreed with his words and decided not to think so much about it.


    Laura and Yrellea sat together in front of them, while Azaroth sat on Tiana''s side.


    "Let me introduce you all. This is Tiana. She will be yourpanion from now on." First, Azaroth introduced Tiana to Laura and Yrellea.


    Tiana had a forced smile as she met her panions.''


    Azaroth then pointed at Laura, "She is Laura. And her real identity is that of an elf. Next to her is Yrellea, she is a subus."


    Tiana spoke with some fake politeness, "It''s nice to meet you."


    "Likewise," Yrellea calmly replied.


    Surprisingly, Laura said nothing to Tiana. She instead focused on Azaroth, asking him, "Where are we going?"


    "To Kloras Town. It''s on the borders of the Sinyalian Kingdom and Lamhilhan Theocracy. A few weeks earlier, it had been demolished by a beast raid. My mission is to restore it and turn it into the base for my organization."


    "Organization? What sort of organization are you nning to form?" Yrellea asked Azaroth with some curiosity.


    Azaroth stared at her for a few moments and then replied, "An organization with its own army and intelligencework. You all will train the new recruits andmand them."


    "Ooh. Commanding people. I can do that easily. I have lots of experience." Laura spoke with a proud voice.


    Tiana remained silent as she didn''t know what her task was. She wasn''t that strong and would hardly be capable enough to train the new recruits. How could shemand them?


    However, she did have a doubt.


    "How will you hide this from the king? The king won''t just allow you to form a force of your own like that." Tiana asked with a puzzled look.


    "The King will have far more pressing concerns than dealing with us." Azaroth confidently replied.


    His confident tone relieved Laura. But Tiana and Yrellea caught the meaning behind Azaroth''s words.


    It signified that something major was about to happen in this country that would take everyone by surprise.


    Moreover, this man seemed to even know what would happen and was nning to take advantage of it.


    ''Dangerous.''


    This was the word that appeared in Yrellea''s head.


    "Anyway, enough of that. Let''s talk about your tasks." Azaroth spoke, rxing the atmosphere.


    Azaroth first told them, "Firstly, you will be trained to the ground by me. I can''t have weak subordinates. This is one of the main reasons we are going to Kloras Town. Nobody will disturb us there."


    "After your training isplete, Laura, Noah, and Ralph will train the new recruits''bat skills. Laura, you will teach them the way to utilize Ardor. Your control should be exceptional amongst everyone here."


    Laura responded cheerfully, "Leave it to me, boss!" She felt her pride being stroked by Azaroth and was naturally happy.


    He then turned towards Yrellea, "After your training isplete, you and Sargan will form a Pavillion to gather information. I don''t care about the method you use. I need information. No matter how insignificant it might seem, I want to know everything that happens in this kingdom."


    Yrellea was somewhat overwhelmed by the task assigned to her.


    Firstly, she didn''t understand why Azaroth would assign such a huge task to her. Did he not save her to turn her into his sex ve?


    Was he actually giving her an important task? Did that mean he didn''t look down on the subus race?


    Even Azaroth didn''t know that his casual words had caused such great waves in Yrellea''s mind. She was truly touched that Azaroth didn''t look down on her.


    "Oh right. Yrellea, gain the ability to control that poison of yours. It can be a useful weapon." Azaroth left onest instruction from Yrellea.


    Yrellea was surprised to hear that he knew about her poisonous ability. How did he find out but she still spoke out, "Alright, boss." Since Laura had called Azaroth boss, she thought it would only be appropriate if she did the same.


    She''d forgotten that while Azaroth was carrying her and Laura and rushing with all his strength, her nails sank into his flesh and she unintentionally poisoned him.


    "As for you, Tiana. You will be assigned a special task." Azaroth had a tense tone to his speech.


    "What will it be?" Tiana asked somewhat curiously. She was quite worried that her task would be hard as well.


    "I want you to start a new sect and traindies who haveparable physiques to you. Naturally, I''ll provide you some cultivation forme and techniques to pass on to your disciples. You''re not allowed to show your face in this kingdom anymore. So I''ll make a mask that won''te off your face until you want it to."


    The mask wouldn''t be too hard to create. He already possessed the required materials in his rings and also knew the required array techniques to create this mask. Although he was merely a grandmaster in the array formations, he was confident that no one in this kingdom would be able to break his array formation.


    Simr to Yrellea, Tiana was overwhelmed by the task assigned to her. She spoke out with a nervous voice, "I-I don''t think I am qualified to teach anyone."


    "Naturally, none of you are prepared to take on these responsibilities. That is why you will begin working on these tasks only when you havepleted your training.." Azaroth casually replied.

 Chapter 65 - Laura Amazes Noah

    Yrellea, Tiana, and Laura continued to talk more.


    The talkative Laura babbled how she befriended Yrellea and everything that she did in the forest.


    Tiana also informed them a little about her past. It was her past before she met with Jonas.


    Laura and Yrellea listened to her stories keenly. They were surprised that humans had so many cultures and so many things to do. Especially this college thing.


    There was no such educational institute in the Elf Kingdom. And the same was the case with Yrellea. They had a family system where the parents would teach their children.


    To them, studying in a college was a foreign concept. So, they were quite excited when hearing Tiana speak about her life in school and college.


    Tiana was also somewhat happy that these two women were interested in hearing her out. When the other party is interested in listening, the storyteller would feel great joy.


    Azaroth had already sealed his ears and had begun cultivating. He wasn''t going to waste his time gossiping with them.


    Nearly half a dayter, Azaroth''s group halted to take a break.


    During this time, Azaroth introduced the women to Sargan, Ralph, and Noah.


    Laura, Tiana, and even Yrellea were surprised to see Ralph and Noah. The two were just kids.


    Were they also going to be part of this organization?


    Moreover, Yrellea noticed that there was a sparkling and worshipping look in Noah''s eyes when he talked to Azaroth.


    It seemed even more exaggerated than Laura''s excitement.


    Azaroth also informed them of their tasks just like he did with Tiana, Laura, and Yrellea.


    Sargan and Yrellea began talking to each other. They could be considered in the same department so they had to break the ice.


    "Master did inform me that a subus was going to join us. To think he nned on having you form an intelligencework with me." Even though it was unintentional this time, Sargan still couldn''t conceal the arrogance in his tone.


    Yrellea was used to talking to humans like him. But she found a rather familiar feeling from him and asked him, "You are a demon?"


    "Yes. I am a member of Bach n!" Sargan proudly dered to Yrellea in an attempt to awe her.


    "Yet you are working under a human?" Yrellea questioned, nkly staring back at him.


    Her words were provocative and were meant to anger Sargan. But unexpectedly, Sargan drylyughed and replied, "That status means nothing now."


    Sargan then extended his hand and spoke, "Let''s start anew. My name is Sargan Bach."


    "I am Yrellea." Yrellea shook his hand.


    Laura, Tiana, Ralph, and Noah were also conversing amongst themselves. Well, it was mostly Noah asking the questions.


    "Who are you? Why did master recruit you? Was he unsatisfied with me? Did he say anything about me? He doesn''t n on throwing me out, right?" Noah began with his list of questions.


    These questions overwhelmed Ralph and Tiana so greatly that they were speechless. Only Laura seemed to be able to match Noah''s frequency.


    "I am Laura, an Elf. Boss saved me from the prison of the Silent Death Organization. He did say that you were going to train the new recruits and thenmand them." Laura replied to all of Noah''s questions.


    "Woah! What techniques do you have? Sargan knows some really cool lightning skills and Ralph knows some cool fire techniques. I don''t know any technique like this though." Noah whispered thest words with a distressed tone.


    Laura noticed how Noah seemed disappointed. She first proudly replied to Noah''s first question, "Hehe¡­ I know wood techniques! It''s definitely the coolest and strongest out there. Also, don''t worry, you will unlock your element when you reach the 2 Star Rank."


    Laura''sst words were an attempt to cheer up Noah. Her words worked like a charm. The bright smile on Noah''s face was back again.


    She didn''t know why but when she looked at Noah, she was reminded of her younger brother and it made her want to protect him.


    "Right, I didn''t mention myself. I use sword techniques. Master taught me a bunch of them and I have nearly mastered them all! Hehe¡­" Noah spoke pulled out his sword from his sheathe.


    To someone of Laura''s age, this sword seemed like half the length of a normal sword but she didn''t look down on Noah.


    She sincerely said, "I am sure you are really good. How about you show me your sword techniques?"


    "Really?! Come, I will show you my coolest techniques!" Noah cheerfully said to Laura.


    Ralph and Tiana were left behind to face each other.


    The two were quite shy and couldn''t talk in the presence of those two easily excitable fellows.


    Tiana was the first one to speak, "I am Tiana. It''s nice to meet you¡­"


    "¡­I am Ralph. It''s also nice to meet you." Ralph spoke after some time.


    After their introduction, they remained silent.


    Tiana didn''t know why but she felt inclined to continue. She asked him, "Umm¡­ Do you have any idea how Edwin is going to train us?"


    Ralph gave a single-line response, "It''s going to be hard."


    Although it was a short answer, it was urate. He had already witnessed Azaroth''s training. And even with his great physique granted by his bloodline, he could barelyplete the drills.


    He doubted Tiana would be able to survive that training.


    The two continued on to have some small talk.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was talking to the guard captain.


    The man was quite curious about all these retainers under Azaroth and finally couldn''t hold himself and asked him, "Who are these people, young master?"


    Azaroth knew it was a big problem that this guard captain had seen Tiana. He remainedposed and answered, "One of them is Tiana Rhodes, my father''s newlywed wife. My retainers, which I purchased from the Silent Death Organization, are the others."


    "However, why were two of them within the Wrihull Forest?" The captain of the guard inquired casually.


    Azaroth spoke in a bone-chilling voice, "I don''t suppose I need to answer that. Right?"


    Fearfully nodding, the guardmander walked away. He realized he was in over his head with his curiosity.


    There was actually another question in the guard captain''s mind. Why did Tianae here and join them mid-way and not right from the start?


    On another side of this camp.


    "Woah! You are really good with the sword. Especially that Heaven Rending Stance! It was so powerful and you even cut apart all my vines!" Laura excitedly spoke to Noah.


    Noah was slightly embarrassed as he heard Laura''s praise and replied, "Master taught me that technique. He said that if I continue to train hard with that skill, I can defeat anyone in the same rank. You also just used 1 Star Rank Ardor in your wood so it was really weak. If you use your full power, I won''t be able to cut them right now."


    Laura still praised Noah, "But still, it''s very amazing that you have mastered this skill to such an extent."


    "Thank you. You are really skilled at controlling the wood element as well." Noah politely replied to Laura.


    The two then talked some more before showing off more of their skills to the other person.


    Laura opened up to Noah since he reminded her so much of her younger brother.


    The two were soon called back as the group was about to begin moving.


    Azaroth, Tiana, Laura, and Yrellea took their seats in the carriage before they began to move.


    ~~


    The next three weeks were quite long¡­


    But these three weeks were enough for Azaroth''s retainers to familiarize themselves with each other.


    After arriving, the entire group seemed stunned at the destruction of the buildings in Kloras Town.


    The beast attack had nearly destroyed all of the houses and shops. The hamlet was littered with corpses, some of whom were dressed casually. Some wore armor, and their bodies wereced with many holes. It was as if they had been struck with multiple needles.


    Azaroth, Sargan, and Yrellea were the only ones who remained calm after seeing this scene.


    "Martin." Azaroth called out for the guard captain and ordered him, "Get the guards to clear the bodies from this town and burn them."


    Martin was slightly unhappy with that order. He was in charge of protecting Azaroth, not clear the bodies.


    But he further gave this order to his subordinates and soon got to work.


    Azaroth stared at Laura, "Use your wood techniques to build arge house. I will give you one day for that. If you need anything, talk to Ralph and Noah."


    He then looked at Tiana, Sargan, and Yrellea, "You three,e with me."


    Laura pouted as she was given a task to build a house. She didn''t think he would ask her to use her wood techniques for this. But she was happy that Noah would join her for this task.


    She could show him another cool trick and amaze him!

 Chapter 66 - Giving Cultivation Skills

    Azaroth led Yrellea, Sargan, and Tiana to an empty field. It was some distance away from Kloras Town.


    "Yrellea, I don''t have perfect skill for a subus but I do possess a cultivation skill for your poisonous physique. If you continue practicing this skill, you can enhance your cultivation by absorbing the Ardor in nature or poison in general. If you absorb poison and increase your cultivation, there will be no repercussions to your foundation. You can advance as long as you find poison. It will also upgrade your physique to Ten Thousand Poisonous Physique." Azaroth gave a basic description of the skill he was about to hand to her, "It''s called Heavenly Poison Scripture."


    Even though Yrellea was a somewhat calm individual, she was still very excited upon hearing Azaroth''s words. She didn''t think Azaroth would actually grant her a cultivation technique.


    She didn''t know its level, buting from the subus n, she was well aware of how umon cultivation techniques are. To think Azaroth was teaching her such a valuable skill simply because she was his retainer.


    "For now, begin running around this ce. In a few days, I will draw gravity arrays on your bodies. You have lived far too much time in that prison which has dulled your senses and decreased your physical fitness."


    Azaroth then stared at Tiana, "The cultivation technique for you will be rted to Ice Element. I am pretty sure this is the element you have awoken or will awaken. This is Nine Yin Cultivation Art." He threw a scroll with the technique in it towards Tiana, "Just begin cultivating it. It will be painful in the beginning but you will soon experience rapid progress."


    Finally, Azaroth turned towards Sargan.


    This guy had given away his Bloodline Essence to him and dropped down to 2 Star Rank. It also seemed that the technique Sargan was cultivation wasn''t as effective as he initially believed. Otherwise, he would have broken through the 3 Star Rank by now.


    "You will cultivate the Nether Devil God Mantra." Azaroth paused when he observed Sargan''s startled expression.


    "Nether Devil God Mantra?!" Sargan had naturally heard of this cultivation technique. This was something used by a Demon God millions of years ago. This demon god was one of the most mysterious beings in the world and it was impossible to find his whereabouts.


    He used the Nether power and tormented his enemies. He possessed many skills that had been spread in Purgatory.


    Moreover, his Nether Energy was one of the strongest kinds of Ardor that existed in the world. However, the most annoying part of Nether Demon God was that as long as even a trace of his spirit survived, he could easily recover back to his peak. No amount of physical damage could bring him down!


    To kill him, his entire body and spirit had to be purged!


    For this reason, this Nether Devil God Mantra was quite valuable in Purgatory. Many of Nether Devil God''s ruins had been explored but there have been no signs of this skill making the demons think that it had been lost in the flow of time.


    Yet, here Azaroth was, handing over this skill to him!


    ''Is this just a skill with the same name? It''s possible.''


    Azaroth soon handed over the skill to Sargan.


    Sargan soon began to read it and was utterly shocked as this skill was indeed a cultivation art left behind by a Demon God. Some parts even resembled the rumors regarding the Nether Devil God Mantra.


    Sargan was immediately on his knees as he faced Azaroth, "I shall never forget this favor, milord."


    Azaroth lightly smiled but didn''t say anything.


    He wasn''t worried about Sargan bing stronger than himself using this skill. After all, he was the one who killed the Nether Devil God and read his soul to get this skill. If he could defeat the original Nether Devil God at his peak, he was confident in suppressing Sargan as well.


    His own Heavenly Demon Breathing Technique and Heavenly Demon Physique were of an even higher rank than Nether Devil God Mantra. The skills hecked were actually the high-ranking cultivation skills of Celestials and Humans.


    Demon Cultivation Techniques, however, were sufficient for the time being.


    Azaroth continued to give them more instructions regarding cultivation arts. He understood it was unrealistic to expect these three to be able to employ their skills right away.


    After a basic round of meditation, Azaroth also ordered them to begin running. They weren''t allowed to use Ardor and the second instruction he gave them was to keep until they copse.


    He wanted to test how far they could go. He was well aware of Sargan''s limitations, yet he still wanted him to run. Perhaps seeing someone sprinting may inspire these two women to run till they are exhausted.


    Azaroth continued to observe their training for some time before taking his leave.


    He was moving towards the Gerbil Alpine Woods. It had been some weeks since he hadst been here.


    The death aura he had failed to absorb in Kloras Town hadpletely disappeared.


    ''Someone came after me and absorbed it.''


    Azaroth was quite toe to this conclusion. He knew that the amount of Yin Aura left behind wouldn''t have dissipated so quickly.


    So it was reasonable to assume that a demon arrived and absorbed that remaining aura.


    Yet, even after searching for half a day, Azaroth couldn''t find any tracks left behind by this demon.


    ''He is certainly smart enough to conceal his tracks. No point in wasting my time to search for this individual.''


    There was something he found unreal though. The presence of that Golden Ape had disappeared from this forest.


    It must have been more than a week since that Golden Ape left.


    ''Has it left for some other area? But why?''


    Azaroth had no idea that the Golden Ape had actually unlocked a part of its memory after that fight against him. The Golden Ape had left for the mountain where the previous generation of its bloodline had left behind its inheritance.


    Since the Golden Ape was no longer in the Alpine Gerbil Woods, Azaroth took a tour of the outer area of the Alpine Gerbil Woods and grabbed whatever herbs he wanted.


    At the moment, no beast in the Alpine Gerbil Woods can kill him. Although certain creatures would be difficult to ovee, all he had to do was collect the herbs and go. This was unquestionably simple.


    The biggest problem, even for an expert, was that he couldn''t possibly know where all of the herbs were located. Because of his Mystic Eyes of Perception, this was no issue for Azaroth.


    Even a faraway herb concealed underneath some rocks wouldn''t escape his notice!


    After a few hours of gathering herbs, Azaroth turned back towards Kloras Town. He was more or less sure that Laura must be finishing up. And Sargan along with Tiana and Yrellea must have copsed as well.


    ~~


    When Azaroth arrived in Kloras Town, he was dismayed to see that Laura had yet to construct the home. In fact, it seemed as though she was teaching Noah some new tricks. Using Wooden Ardor, she created something like a yground for him.


    Azaroth feltpelled to facepalm himself.


    "Why aren''t you working on the mansion as you were ordered?" Azaroth asked, keeping his voice calm andposed.


    Laura and his other retainers turned towards him, somewhat surprised to see him here.


    However, Laura wasn''t scared of Azaroth at all. In fact, she stared right into his eyes and answered, "Didn''t I have a whole day for this? I willplete it before the time limit. I wanna have some fun until then."


    Azaroth sighed out and then turned towards Noah, "Make sure she does the job."


    "Y-yes, boss!" Noah decisively said to Azaroth. He then turned towards Laura and gave her a somewhat angry look.


    "I won''t y with you until you finish master''s task," he told Laura.


    Laura was more than ready to start taking her task seriously after hearing those words.


    Azaroth then turned towards Ralph, "Check up on Sargan and others. Bring them back here and then cook some food. I brought the required materials."


    Ralph had been training his Ardor since the start of the day. Laura had tried to make him y in that yground but he was quite stubborn about cultivating.


    He was very serious about bing stronger.


    Azaroth was internally pleased to see that atleast one person amongst this group had utilized his time well.


    The exhausted bodies of Sargan, Yrellea, and Tianay on the ground. Sargan was still awake, but he couldn''t even move his tiny finger due to exhaustion.


    Since he could no longer move his body, Sargan recalled the Nether Devil God Mantra and began using it to cultivate.


    It was also Sargan who had forced Yrellea and Tiana to run until they had fallen unconscious. He had repeatedly urged them with his taunts that forced them to move even though their bodies had gone past their limits.


    When Ralph came on the scene, he grabbed the three of them and carried them to the location specified.


    Azaroth took a look at the three of them but didn''t say anything. He handed over the carcasses of the beasts to Ralph, "You can start cooking now."


    "Okay, boss." Ralph obeyed Azaroth''s instructions and went away to start a fire.


    By the time the food was prepared, Laura was surprisingly done with her task.


    She had created a huge Mansion with many rooms in it. There were nearly 25 or sorge rooms in it.


    The rooms were quite in though but that wasn''t a problem for Azaroth.


    "I can go y now, right?" Laura inquired, prompting Azaroth to dismiss her.


    He then went to find the guard captain Martin.


    "Set up the things we brought in the rooms." Azaroth gave his order and was about to walk off.


    Martin though ced his arm over Azaroth''s shoulder and applied some force to show his power and spoke, "Young master, we aren''t someborers. If you wanted someone to do such low-ss work then you should have brought someborers or other ves. Maybe you should ask your retainers to do this task."


    Azaroth grabbed Martin''s hand and slowly turned. There was a furious re in his eyes as he uttered, "I believe my father told you to obey all of mymands. You should not hesitate even if I were asking for your life. However, I am not requesting that you give up your life. It''s just easy activities that can be finished quickly if you really perform them. You, on the other hand, areining to me. Do you really believe you have the authority or the face toin to me?!"


    Azaroth wasn''t just ring at the guard, he twisted that hand and forced Martin to experience some great pain.


    Even with the use of Ardor, this man was too weak to contend his strength against Azaroth.


    "But we are guards who havee to protect you not yourborers, young master." The guard captain still spoke out while squealing in pain.


    The other guards also heard their captain and joined him, "Yes, that''s right. We didn''te here to be your damn ves! Don''t disrespect us like that."


    And soon, a few more joined in and began bashing Azaroth.


    These guards looked to be preparing to abandon him. Azaroth, on the other hand, had a chilly and almost amused smile on his face as he stared at this scenario, contrary to everyone''s expectations.


    "Martin, do you think I''m unaware of your identity? You''re one of Laurance''s dogs, and you''vee here to cause me trouble, right?" With a light tone, Azaroth spoke.


    Martin''s heart raced wildly as he heard Laurance''s name from Azaroth''s mouth. "Aren''t you simply attempting to divert the matter, young master?" He said calmly, in keeping with his position as guard captain.


    "My patience has limits. Either youplete the task or I just take it one step further." Azaroth spoke before twisting his arm a little more strongly.


    Martin remained silent when it came to Laurance. He appeared to be a really loyal person.


    The other guards also wanted to save Martin, but most of them were three-star warriors. There was no purpose in fighting Azaroth if a 4 Star Warrior like Martin couldn''t match his power.


    The two vice-guard captains, on the other hand, were hoping Azaroth would defeat Martin.. They would have a chance to be the guard captain if Martin was demoted. That would be really beneficial to them!

 Chapter 67 - Jonass Guesses

    When Martin recognized Tiana, Azaroth had already made up his mind to deal with him.


    He was merely wondering whether he should assassinate the man or wait for him to do something.


    Martin didn''t seem to be able to keep himself from causing some havoc. It spared Azaroth the time he would have spent looking for a cause.


    "It seems you are quite unyielding. Then sure. I hope you are this persistent in the underworld."


    Azaroth struck Martin in the chest hard before Martin could fullyprehend what he was saying. His arm punctured his chest and burst out the other side due to the force of the strike.


    Martin''s death bewildered the guards who observed it.


    Even the two vice-guard captains who actually wanted Azaroth to deal with Martin were utterly shaken.


    Azaroth turned towards one of them and spoke, "Rampo, you are going to be the new guard captain. You have the same order as I gave to Martin. Also, clean up this body and dump him with the rest."


    Rampo gulped down some saliva nervously and nodded his head.


    Azaroth didn''t even stay on the scene any longer and began moving towards Ralph and others.


    He was sure that this new Vice-Guard Captain knew what he was getting into. At the very least, he wouldn''t have to worry about the loyalty of these guards for some time.


    ~~


    Nearly 3 weeks ago, since Azaroth departed from the Rhodes Mansion, there was another incident that urred that triggered Jonas Rhodes''s anger. Tiana Rhodes, his newlywed wife had been kidnapped!


    Not only that, but the kidnappers had left a note saying, "This woman is ideal for our cultivation process, thus we, the Snow Ice Pce, are taking her away."


    The Great Qin Empire''s Snow Ice Pce was a vast sect in the east. The pce mistress of the Snow Ice Pce was reputed to be a Seven Star Expert, far more powerful than Jonas.


    The fact that he could do nothing further intensified Jonas'' anger.


    The anger clouded his reasoning and prevented him from thinking calmly.


    "Lord, the manager of the Merchant Union hase and is requesting for your presence." A maid soon appeared and informed Jonas of this information.


    Jonas kicked a chair nearby and easily smashed it to bits. He clenched his fists but soon began to move towards the meeting room where Sir Ashton was waiting for him.


    Before departing, Azaroth revealed something to Jonas, and Jonas recalled it. In broad daylight, the Merchant Union and the Silent Death Organization''s troops appeared to be wreaking devastation in Wrihull City.


    ''He had better have an excellent cause, or else...''


    Jonas'' eyes had a tinge of murder in them as if he was ready to vent his rage on anybody who irritated him even slightly.


    Such show of anger was perfectly normal from a man of his stature. In the Sinyalian Kingdom, there were only a couple of people who would dare to do something to utterly enrage Jonas.


    As a result, Jonas wasn''t used to taking such a hit.


    Sir Ashton waited for Jonas, ready to unleash his fury on him and tell him how the Merchant Union had suffered a major loss. When Jonas entered the chamber, though, he felt as if he were being smothered by pure aura.


    ''What happened?! Is he that angered by our actions in Wrihull City?! Since when did he be so impulsive?!''


    "W-What is the meaning of this, J-Jon-" There was another burst of aura from Jonas, and Sir Ashton was pinned to the ground.


    It was a tremendous amount of aura that even prevented him from speaking.


    Jonas gave a menacing re to Sir Ashton and spoke coldly, "Is my name something you can call casually? It seems you forget your position."


    Sir Ashton was absolutely stunned because this was the first time Jonas had spoken such arrogant words and this tone with him.


    "Just because I was allfortable with you, did you think you were actually me equal. Don''t make meugh. Now, tell me what I need to know or even I don''t know what I will do to you."


    When Sir Ashton looked into Jonas'' eyes, he felt as if he was staring into an abyss. Jonas lifted the suppression just slightly enough so Sir Ashton could move his mouth and talk.


    "...The Beast Emperor Egg, which was supposed to be handed to the Royal Family, was stolen."


    "What?!"Jonas'' astonishment was so strong that it overwhelmed his rage.


    The suppression lowered significantly and Sir Ashton could atleast stand now and take his seat.


    "You talk about forgetting your position again," Jonas hissed at Sir Ashton, "Do you have any idea how rare a Beast Emperor''s egg is? You''re lying to make that egg more valuable."


    But Sir Ashton replied in all seriousness, "This is most definitely a Beast Emperor''s egg. It was something I saw in an auction and bought it on a whim. However, the lightning released from that egg was something that burnt the hand of the leader of our branch. The lightning had been so potent that even after 3 weeks, he hasn''tpletely neutralized it."


    "The Lightning King injured by lightning? Hahaha¡­ This will be the joke for ages!" Jonasughed at the information. Even if Sir Ashton was serious, he was more than happy to know that the Lightning King was injured.


    "We were aware of our abilities. We couldn''t have hidden its facts and kept it for ourselves, no matter how hard we tried. As a result, we alerted the Royal Family and were ready to send it off."


    Jonas took a seat and still wasn''t impressed by Sir Ashton''s words, "Then why did you not send it sooner?"


    "Recently, there had been a bunch of bandits who would intercept all our deliveries," Sir Ashton said, his hands clenched firmly, "It''s as though they knew our path and the best technique to assault and then flee along with the shipment."


    Jonas sneered and spoke, "A bandit group making even deliveries hard for you? Maybe it''s time for you to go into retirement."


    Sir Ashton had no choice but to ignore Jonas'' taunts and continue, "A few days ago, the egg along with many other things were actually stolen from our warehouse. And tracking the location of those things led us to the Silent Death Organizations'' base."


    This time, Jonas didn''t insult Sir Ashton. He now realized this had be a lot more serious.


    "The Silent Death Organization, huh? So you must have investigated them by now. What were the results?" Even though Jonas wasn''t insulting Sir Ashton, he was still talking in a casual tone.


    Even though the matter was more serious than he initially anticipated, it was still something he could handle.


    "There were some things scattered in their members'' rooms but those seemed to be nted by someone. If the Silent Death Organization really wanted to raid us, they would have stored the things in a better and safe location." Sir Ashton replied while clicking his tongue in annoyance.


    Jonas looked at Sir Ashton in amusement and spoke, "Someone made a fool out of you? Interesting."


    This time, Sir Ashton had no reply. He had no excuses.


    "I guess I can understand why your men are getting a bit too rowdy for their own good. But what is the case with the Silent Death Organization? Why are their men on the move as well?" Jonas asked as his eyes narrowed while staring at Sir Ashton.


    Sir Ashton was quite hesitant to reply to this question. This was a matter that didn''t concern his own organization and he also didn''t know all the details.


    But Jonas was irritated by the silence, and the tension in the room began to rise. "It appears you enjoy the taste of the ground," he threatened.


    "Just as we have lost a precious treasure, the Silent Death Organization appeared to have a precious treasure that they lost," Sir Ashton said as his mouth moved quickly.


    Jonas raised his brow once he heard those words.


    ''If what this man has said is true then does that mean someone devised a n to fool both these organizations? It seemed that unknown to me, someone troublesome has entered the city.''


    Jonas angrily thought ''First those Snow Ice Pce people and then this¡­''


    As he was thinking of these answers, a thought struck him like a bolt of lightning ''Why did I not think of this earlier?!''


    ''If the Snow Ice Pce had indeed taken Tiana away, they wouldn''t have left behind a message. They would have rather taken her away quietly, leaving no traces. It must have been someone else who took Tiana away whilst putting the me on Snow Ice Pce.''


    Now that he somewhat understood what had happened, Jonas was slightly delighted. He was confident in his ability to find Tiana if she was in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    With a new burst of confidence around him, Jonas looked at Sir Ashton and ordered him, "Tell your Lightning King that I am willing to hand over Supreme Rejuvenation Pill to him on one condition."


    Sir Ashton had a bad feeling about this condition but he still mustered the courage and asked him, "What is the condition, Marquis Jonas?"


    A scheming smile appeared on his lips as he answered, "Exterminate the Silent Death Organization."


    "Wait, what?! " Sir Ashton eximed, no longer caring about manners.


    Jonas remained calm and repeated, "Exactly as you heard. Exterminate the Silent Death Organization."


    "This is Silent Death Organization. Its base is set up in Lamhilian Theocracy. How will we destroy them from here?! Also, do you want the Sinyalian Kingdom and Lamhilian Theocracy to be at odds with each other?!" Sir Ashton exploded out in rage.


    This outburst was expected by Jonas so he let it continue for some while. He then spoke, "I merely meant the branch in Wrihull City. Exterminate it. Why would you think that I would ask you to destroy their main base? You are mere dogs of the Royal Family, you don''t have the guts or the power to destroy their main base."


    "You-!" eximed Sir Ashton. He came to a halt in the middle of his speech, his jaws gritted and his gaze fixed on Jonas.


    He realized the man was attempting to agitate him. Perhaps he had a different goal in mind. Could it be true that he wanted to deal with the Merchant Union? If that''s the case, using it as an excuse would be excessive, but this man is powerful enough to do so. It''s best not to y right into his hands.


    Unknownst to Sir Ashton though, he was thinking exactly as Jonas wanted him to think.


    Jonas left, leaving those words behind for Sir Ashton, "I await the good news, Merchant Union."


    Soon, Sir Ashton took his leave from the Rhodes Estate and returned back to their headquarters.


    Around this time, Jonas organized his guards to go and check up every part of the city. Their task was to find anyone suspicious and bring back Tiana who had been abducted from the Rhodes Mansion.


    He knew that in the eyes of other leaders, it might seem foolish to ask his guards to search the city. Through this, the rumor would spread even more quickly and people might look down on the Rhodes Family and make jokes about their ipetence.


    However, Jonas wasn''t one to trouble himself to care about the thoughts of some lowly beings.


    The only thing he was curious about was the identity of the perpetrator.


    Even Azaroth hadn''t expected that Jonas would get so far so quickly. He had underestimated this man quite a lot.


    And in the next couple of days, Jonas found a lead regarding the disappearance of a cart driver and a couple of guards.

 Chapter 68 - New Training Regimen

    Even though Jonas had found a lead regarding the disappearance of the cart driver and a couple of guards, there was no follow-up.


    He didn''t find just who made them disappear. There were too many mercenaries who had entered the Wrihull City in that period.


    It was impossible to find and interrogate all of them within a short period. He had to be patient about it.


    Azaroth had already ordered Josephine to subtly gather information from Jonas. Jonas casually narrated the information to Josephine and hence, Azaroth became aware of the fact that Jonas had already calmed down and was calmly searching for the perpetrator. It wouldn''t be easy to fool him.


    But any more actions from Azaroth''s end would only make him more suspicious. In his opinion, the best action would be to do nothing.


    The more time passes, the less evidence would show up.


    The fact that themunication system in this world was so mundane aided Azaroth greatly.


    It had been about two weeks since Jonas began his investigation, and nothing significant about Azaroth had surfaced since then. Clearly, Josephine''s hired assassins were able to cover their traces and escape Wrihull City.


    Neither Azaroth nor Josephine were suspects so life was going smoothly.


    Azaroth''s retainers were training keenly except for maybe Laura. Azaroth was also preparing a few array formations to train himself and his retainers.


    The guards had considerable leeway, which was a good thing.


    But this was merely the calm before the storm. Because this smooth life continued only for one week.


    Azaroth sensed the presence of a couple of aurasing closer to Kloras Town.


    These couple auras were plenty strong. They were 4 Star Warriors in strength and seemed quite proficient in stealth.


    After all, they were just a mile away from Azaroth when he began sensing them.


    ''They should possess some sort of bloodline that enhances their stealth.''


    Since they weren''ting from the forest, even Laura couldn''t pinpoint their position.


    ''Who are they?''


    Azaroth wondered with a frown.


    These two didn''t seem to be regr men under the Rhodes House. Atleast, Azaroth had never sensed their auras there.


    It''s conceivable that they were dispatched on a long-term mission or stationed on the battlefield and Azaroth''s senses were never exposed to their auras.


    Azaroth called out for all his retainers.


    "I am going to change your training method. From now on, you won''t use your elements and will only work on your physique until I am satisfied." Azaroth ordered them, not telling them the time they needed to train their physique.


    He kept the time hiddenrgely to ensure that it didn''t damage their morale daily.


    The one who was the happiest about this training was only Ralph and Noah. The rest of them, especially Laura had a scowl.


    Laura spoke with some dissatisfaction, "What use is training my physique when I can just deal with my enemies from a distance using my Wood Attribute? In fact, what I need to do is be more proficient in using the stronger techniques of my race."


    Azaroth remained emotionless at Laura''s protests and then turned towards the other warriors, "Anyone else has any issues?"


    Despite their dissatisfaction, Yrellea and Tiana agreed to persevere for the time being. They reasoned that Azaroth should have a reason for them to change their training regimen.


    When he noticed that no one else objected, Azaroth proceeded to enlighten them about the physical training.


    "I will draw an array on each one of your bodies. This array would increase the gravity''s effect on you by nearly 10 times. Your body will be subjected to ten times the gravity it is now experiencing. The first thing you must do is get ustomed to it. This is your physical training. Physical training, however, is only the beginning. Once I feel you are ready, we will move to the next part of the training regimen."


    "The second, and perhaps more important, the task will be to push your elements beyond their limitations. Your boundaries should never be determined by your element, but rather by your own strength. Your elements must never be the cause of your failure. There should never be a circumstance where you me your element for being ipatible with your opponent''s elements. If that''s the case, you''re doomed. There is no longer any chance for progress."


    "I will suppress your cultivation to the 2 Star Rank for this training. In training ground numbers 1-6, I have prepared an array for each of you. In this training regimen, your surroundings will be theplete opposite of your elements and will be formidable enemies for you. But at the same time, you will also need to defeat the minions generated by the array. For example, the ones with Ice or wood elements will find themselves in a desert with a hot temperature, theva plumes will be created and attack you. The one with me element will find himself in Arctic Region and ice golems attacking him."


    "The Lightning or Wind Element User would be in an area surrounded by forests and rocks with gnomes attacking him. For the Earth User, it would be as if they are floating on a cloud, with air des attacking you. Andstly, the one with the Water Element will find himself in near the clouds, with lightning snakes attacking you."


    "You will have only one task. 1000 of your enemies in one hour. If you can''t do it, then the trials will be restarted and you will begin from scratch."


    "Any questions?!"


    Azaroth asked thest question in amanding voice.


    Everyone, including Laura, was surprised at how Azaroth was nning to train them.


    Laura was not shocked by the training approach. The use of an array to train was alsomon in the Elf Kingdom. They did, however, uniquely use the arrays. The elves didn''t try Azaroth''s counter element array way of forcing one''s body''s potential out. The elves used a gentler approach, surrounding the person with a dense amount of that element and gradually empowering it. This strategy, which was generally acknowledged amongst the Elven Race, would result in the warrior''s development being steady.


    The method Azaroth spoken incurred an innate abhorrence within her.


    Even Azaroth didn''t know that there was such a difference in their training method and Laura seemed to hate it.


    But even if he did know, he wouldn''t have changed his training approach. He was a firm believer that change was universal. Staying rigid was never a good idea.


    The gentler approach of the elves had worked for them because the elves were at peace. They had no immediate enemy who intended to kill them.


    The same couldn''t be spoken about Azaroth. He intended to fight in a battle. He didn''t have time to waste in making them stronger, so he didn''t bother with the usual procedure.


    Sargan wasn''t surprised by Azaroth''s methods. He had seen such a training regimen in his n but it was considered an extreme difficulty for even the greater demons. They were only allowed to attempt it once they had some good control over their elements. But this wasn''t the case with Azaroth''s training regimen.


    It was like being tossed over a cliff and having no idea how to fly.


    "Boss, Boss, I have a question!" Noah was the one who enthusiastically raised his hand.


    Azaroth asked him in a neutral voice, "What is it?"


    "I don''t know my element. What will be my training regimen in that elemental training?" Noah asked very curiously.


    "I know of your element already. And also, you will have a very special training regimen. Yours will be the toughest one." Azaroth calmly informed him.


    Laura gasped when she heard Azaroth''s words. It didn''t seem like he was lying.


    A somewhat unhappy look appeared on her face as she faced Azaroth, "What are you thinking? Noah is just a little kid. You can''t just shove such an intense training regimen on him!"


    In response, Azaroth said, "His training is the hardest because I have faith that he can handle it."


    As soon as Noah heard those words, he closed his eyes and lightly bowed, "I won''t disappoint you, boss!"


    Instead of his usual enthusiastic voice, it was a serious tone filled with conviction.


    "Alright, everyone except Laura can leave now. Eat yourself to full and I will begin drawing the gravity array on your bodies."


    With those words, all except Laura began to leave the area.


    Before leaving though, Noah looked at Azaroth with a pleading gaze and requested sincerely, "Please don''t punish her too heavily, boss."


    During these days, Noah had grown rather close to Laura. He had connected to her very deeply and thought of her as a friend or an elder sister. The emotion waspletely unknown to him and he was still figuring it out but he knew that he didn''t want to see her get hurt.


    Yrellea also spoke up, "Please master. I promise she won''t disobey you anymore."


    Laura unhappily stared at Yrellea and wanted to protest but turned silent when she saw her foster elder sister ring at her.


    "Alright. I will think about it." Azaroth dismissed them almost immediately.


    Once they had left, Azaroth red at Laura with a deadly aura emanating from his body.


    Laura wasn''t scared at all as she faced him with a royal aura leaking out of her body.


    "I won''t stop using my elements. It is how I will train at the fastest speed most easily." Laura seemed ready to go into a debate against Azaroth using this argument.


    "Wood element? Feel free to use it. But do remember that some spies are arriving to keep an eye on me. Maybe all of us here. If they see you using Wood Element, they will try to figure out your identity. The news will sooner orter reach the Silent Death Organization and if that urs, we are all dead."


    Azaroth finished speaking with a serious face. The confident look on Laura''s face immediately turned pale.


    She definitely didn''t want to be captured by the Silent Death Organization again.


    "Now, you have two choices. Follow my orders or die. Because if news spread that you are along with me, I will be killed for freeing you." The deadly aura condensed over Azaroth''s body and he seemed ready to attack Laura as soon as she was done making her choice.


    Laura was scared. Not from the Silent Death Organization this time but Azaroth. The killing intent she sensed was intense.


    She was sure he would attack if she chose to disobey his order.


    There was a slightly ufortable look in her eyes and she asked him, "Why did you rescue me?"


    She was now wondering whether this guy wanted to use her identity to harm the elves or not.


    It was typically stupid to ask a question from the other person. However, Laura was somewhat proficient in her emotion-sensing skill. She could sense when someone was lying. And if Azaroth did lie to her, she would rather die.


    Azaroth coldly replied, "Because I thought your abilities would be beneficial to me. However, my own life is most precious to me."


    This response was truth spoken by Azaroth. It was because of her abilities as a member of the Royal Family that he rescued her.


    However, Laura was somewhat relieved to hear his response. To know that he had actually rescued her for her abilities and not to put her up against the elves was relieving.


    "Alright, I will follow your orders."


    Azaroth was carefully observing Laura''s emotions using his Mystic Eyes of Perception as well.


    She appeared to be reluctant but still speaking the truth.


    This was more than enough for Azaroth.


    The deadly aura vanished and he coldly instructed her, "Join the others."

 Chapter 69 - The Spies

    Gibson and Sean were the two individuals tasked with keeping an eye on Azaroth.


    "Why do you think the king asked us to keep an eye on a kid?" Gibson began talking coolly.


    Sean replied while he moved with a moderate pace, "Maybe he holds some sort of secret. Or the king is feeling threatened by the Rhodes House. Perhaps Marquis Jonas has done something to incur King''s suspicion."


    "The two of us just returned afterpleting a 4 months-long mission in Lamhilion Theocracy. Yet, the king orders us to be on the move immediately and keep an eye on a spoiled brat." Gibson rambled for quite a bit, "If not for this job, I would have been spending my time with my cute little daughter."


    "It''s a challenging job to be a spy. Not only is high sensing skill and concealment skill is required but possessing great patience is also necessary. Any time we let our emotions slip, there is a chance our concealment could fail."


    "Yeah, yeah. I know."


    The two sped up significantly.


    After reaching a certain distance though, they stopped moving forwards.


    They grabbed hold of some binocrs like objects and began to observe Azaroth and Kloras Town.


    The two split apart and took positions and covered different directions. Gibson covered the north while Sean covered the south.


    Since they took their positions in between trees, Laura could sense them now. She understood that Azaroth was truly speaking the truth.


    But soon, another question appeared in her head.


    Why wasn''t he dealing with them? From their auras, they weren''t that strong. Once Azaroth takes them down, nobody will find out about her identity.


    She decided to talk to him about itter.


    First, she had to fill her stomach with lots of food. She had a feeling that today was going to be a long day.


    Soon enough, they were done with their lunch.


    Azaroth then gathered them up and began drawing some symbols on their hands.


    These were array characters and Azaroth then pulled out a few Ardor crystals and tapped them on those characters.


    Once the Ardor crystals touched those symbols drawn with nk ink, all the energy within the crystals vanished and they turned into dust.


    The same urred to the other crystals as well.


    All of Azaroth''s retainers were pinned to the ground as soon as those symbols were triggered.


    The ten times gravity was too much for them so suddenly.


    "Get up!" Azaroth ordered them with amanding tone.


    Nearly everyone groaned mentally as they tried to force their bodies to get off the ground. They found out that their Ardor waspletely suppressed by an unknown force. Perhaps, the only one who could get past that force effortlessly was Noah using his Sword Qi to cut apart the array.


    However, Noah didn''t do that. Azaroth ordered him that he couldn''t use any of his abilities and had to just use his physical body to endure it.


    The only one who somewhat seeded was Ralph. All others were trying without getting any results.


    Ralph used all his strength and finally managed to stand upright!


    Ralph looked a little proud that he was the first one who managed to aplish this task.


    But soon, his face turned pale as Azaroth ordered him, "Now, help others get on their feet."


    Ralph had barely managed to stand on his feet and he now had to help others get on their feet as well. He wanted to cry but had no tears in his eyes.


    Azaroth then walked away and continued to form his Array for his personal training.


    His training wasn''t to increase his Ardor. It was already at the max stage of the 4 Star Rank. He had to fulfill some requirements to break through to the 5 Star Rank.


    For this, all he required was some time and Azaroth didn''t mind waiting some more.


    Azaroth''s training consisted more of enhancing his Demon Blood Essence within his body. He nned to use it to re up his Celestial Bloodline within him.


    Maybe it would lead to some unexpected results.


    Meanwhile, Sean and Gibson were wondering just what Azaroth was doing. They were surprised to find out Azaroth was knowledgeable about arrays and he could construct them on someone''s body without much issue.


    Such proficiency in the array was highly valuable even in the Royal Court.


    Sean also followed Azaroth and found out he was creating a massive array in a distance as well. It was covering an entire training ground.


    He returned and informed Gibson about it.


    Gibson was also startled and he grew serious, "It seems that this task assigned to us by the King isn''t as lowly as we initially believed. We need to be careful. The array masters possess a refined spiritual mind and can sense much better than an average warrior."


    "Keep an eye on this man while I will keep an eye on the individuals he is training. We will change targets after every 3 days."


    "Agreed."


    ~~


    It was nighttime now.


    All of Azaroth''s retainers were finally on their feet because of Ralph''s support.


    But once they stood on their feet, they felt extraordinarily strong energy acting on their entire body. It felt as if their weight had increased so drastically that their body strength couldn''t handle it.


    The one who had it the worst was Noah.


    His body was hadn''t even finish developing and hence he possessed rather weak strength aspared to Azaroth''s other retainers. The ten times weight was too much for him.


    Yet Noah didn''t protest one bit. He used every bit of strength that his little body could muster and try to stand up.


    It was only with Ralph''s support that he was on his feet.


    However, Noah realized that standing up was merely the first step. The true hell began now.


    Just remaining still ced considerable pressure on his leg muscles.


    He felt that if he continued to remain still, his muscles would burst apart and his body would copse on its own.


    Yet, Noah became stubborn and clenched his fists while nning to endure it.


    Suddenly, the muscles in his legs gave out and he copsed on the ground.


    Azaroth saw the scene but didn''t offer him any help.


    Laura forced her body to move towards Noah. She touched his head and analyzed Noah''s body. A frown appeared on her face and she turned towards Azaroth, and spoke, "His muscles are already torn. His body can''t handle such training."


    ''Annoying.'' Azaroth sighed out and then turned towards Noah, "Do you want to stop, Noah?"


    Noah turned his head and replied immediately, "No! I will continue this training. I won''t disappoint you, boss!"


    "You heard his answer." Azaroth shrugged and replied to Laura.


    Laura grimaced as she heard Noah and ignored Azaroth''sments.


    "Why are you pushing yourself so far? If you continue this, you will experience more pain. He isn''t training you but torturing you." Laura spoke with a gentle voice to Noah.


    Noah weakly smiled and then turned towards Azaroth, "I want to be his sword. To be the man who will kill all my boss''s enemies. To do that, I need to be strong very quickly. I will undergo whatever I have to. Also, the boss is really training me. I have already seen how he tortures someone."


    Those words made Sargan recall some painful memories.


    "Laura, you have only seen a speck of the world, so don''t go judging everything ording to that little knowledge you possess," Azaroth said.


    "What?!" This was the first time Laura had been told such a thing and so she was naturally dumbfounded.


    "Amongst everyone here, the one with the greatest ability and value is Noah. Noah''s value far surpasses the value of the entire Elf Kingdom. He is special and so his training will be especially difficult as well." Azaroth spoke those words with apletely serious voice.


    Once again, Laura was dumbfounded as she heard Azaroth.


    He had just stated that Noah was more valuable than the entire Elf Kingdom! It was such a ridiculous statement yet he seemedpletely confident about it!


    Meanwhile, when Noah heard those words, his morale was boosted to the point that he forced his body to move and stand up.


    The adrenaline surge had bolstered his stamina and masked his difort to the point where he was able to get up without assistance.


    "I promise to never disappoint you, boss."


    Perhaps these words could only be considered a light promise from Noah, but every individual around Azaroth sensed the gravity of this promise.


    Azaroth lightly patted Noah''s head and spoke, "Well, with that said, it''s time to eat."


    This time, the guards were the ones who cooked the food.


    In this one week, they had understood that there was no one to protect Azaroth from. It seemed as if because of the beast raid, even the bandit camps had left the location.


    Because of no poption here, no one nned to return and set up their base because there was no one to loot from.


    The guards understood what Azaroth wanted from them. They were not here for protection but to be cheapbor.


    Azaroth deactivated the gravity arrays for everyone to eat their food, "I will only stop the gravity array for the first three days. After that, you will need to eat your food while the gravity arrays are active."


    "Todays'' dish will be fish. Eat lots of fishes and drink the purple berry juice prepared for you. These will enhance the recovery of your muscles and strengthen your bones."


    Azaroth didn''t really need to give any description as his retainers would have eaten anything ced ahead of them.


    After they drunk the juice, Azaroth activated everyone''s gravity arrays.


    Each one immediately copsed on the ground as the gravity arrays activated. Even though they had just eaten so much, they found out they had no strength to move.


    Azaroth returned back to constructing his array. He told the guards to not carry them to their beds.


    After Azaroth was gone, Ralph began to talk, "This is really hard training."


    Yrellea answered his words while rolling her eyes, "No kidding. I don''t think I can everplete or master this training."


    "Same." Laura agreed with Yrellea, "However¡­" She turned her head towards Noah and saw how he was struggling to stand up.


    Currently, that weak young kid appeared to be the one inspiring them to keep going with their training.


    They reasoned that it would be a disgrace for them to give up when such a small child was not willing to do so.

 Chapter 70 - Merchants Arrive

    Sean and Gibson continued to observe Azaroth and his retainers every day. They only took a small break for lunch and defecation.


    The two were very confident about their stealth so they weren''t worried that Azaroth had detected them. Moreover, they also noticed that their target hadn''t made any suspicious movement.


    His daily life seemed quite average. He got up early and would go to construct an array.


    He would return at noon to speak with his retainers and eat food. Meanwhile, Gibson saw that the retainers were barely able to stand on their feet.


    The gravity arrays were too much for them.


    After the noontime, Azaroth would return to constructing his array while his retainers trained to get used to those gravity arrays. This continued until dinner time.


    Currently, Sean and Gibson were together and eating their food. They had to cover up the smoke while cooking the food and make sure it wouldn''t give away their position.


    It was some rice chicken porridge.


    Sean began to talk to Gibson while eating his food, "It''s already the fourth day and yet nothing interesting has happened."


    Gibson rolled his eyes and replied, "You wanted something to happen? It is good for our kingdom if he isn''t involved in some suspicious activity."


    "But man. It feels as if there is no need for us here. It''s not like we are sending some useful information to the Kingdom. It would make no difference whether we do this job or not." Seanined while eating.


    Gibson sighed out but he didn''t reply anything. He was used to such words from Sean. The guyined about every job they went on.


    Even when the job was interesting, Sean would beginining about how this job required so much effort and all.


    If not for his skills and his coordination filling perfectly with Sean, he would be changed his partner long ago.


    Well, if Sean knew what his partner was thinking, he would have thrown that bowl of rice porridge at him.


    The two were eating their food when they sensed the presence of some people. The group seemed to be consisting of 20 people or more.


    At the same time, Azaroth also sensed these people. He smiled shrewdly ''They finally arrived.''


    Azaroth wasn''t precisely waiting for these people. He knew some people woulde but not their identities.


    It was nearly the noontime so Azaroth returned to Kloras Town from the training ground.


    Meanwhile, those people met the guards and also saw Azaroth''s retainers.


    Some peopleid their eyes on Yrellea, Laura, and Tiana, and began to rate them in their mind. ording to them, they must be mere ves under the Mayor here.


    "The mayor has good taste. I find that golden-haired woman quite attractive." A man who was slightly obese stated as he leered at Laura.


    Another man next to him conversed while leering at Yrellea and Tiana, "You need to have better taste. That ck-haired woman has a much more seductive feeling while that silver-haired woman seems much more mature."


    "You can have the ones you like while I will grab hold of the one I like." The man shrugged while he continued to gaze at Laura.


    Laura did sense the gaze of degenerate men but she ignored it. During her time in the prison of the Silent Death Organization, she had gotten used to such gazes.


    She felt that it wasn''t even worth reacting to them.


    Yrellea was the same as Laura. She was also used to the gazes from degenerate men. But the same couldn''t be true for Tiana.


    She felt very ufortable when men stared at her with lustful motives in their minds. She felt like they were going to eat her whole or maybe force themselves upon her.


    Soon enough though, Azaroth came out and met up with these people.


    Sean and Gibson were both keeping an eye on Azaroth from different directions. They couldn''t miss this meeting.


    ~~


    The meeting took held in an open space, with Azaroth''s chair on a pedestal and the other attendees'' seats on the ground.


    Just the fact that Azaroth seemed to be seated on a spot higher than them displeased them.


    One of them conveyed those feelings, "Why are you sitting on the pedestal? Do you intend to state that you are above us? You might not know ''Mayor'' but we are some famous merchants and agents. Treating us like this might not be a good idea for you."


    The other merchants were in agreement with those words but no one spoke out their minds like this.


    "Is there anyone else who has the same problem as this gentleman over here?" Azaroth asked the other people who had gathered here.


    Even though many of them agreed with those questions, no one spoke up.


    Azaroth waited for some time but no one seemed to stand up and agree to those words. He then began speaking while turning towards the man who had spoken his mind, "I will now answer your question. I am sitting on a pedestal because it is a fact that I am above you. Whether it is the social standing or my family background, both are iparable to any of yours."


    Those words were highly provocative yet the men here couldn''t do anything but mentally agree with Azaroth.


    The truth was revealed. This was a well-known fact! This was the reason they hadn''t backed him up before. They weren''t idiots, and they weren''t easily swayed by their feelings.


    "I am Edwin Rhodes, the Mayor of Kloras Town. It is nice to meet all of you here today." With those words, Azaroth introduced himself and also conveyed his identity to these individuals.


    His earlier words had already made an effect on these people. They now knew he wouldn''t be an easy pushover.


    Those who thought they could make use of his young age and fool him were now hesitant. They decided to observe more which was a wise decision indeed.


    A man in histe middle age years stood up and began speaking, "I am Jake Stone. I, along with almost everyone else here, heard rumors that a part of thend in this town will be given away for free to anyone who arrives first. Is this true?"


    Azaroth nodded his head and exined, "Let me rify more. The size and location of thend that shall be granted for free will be decided by me. You can request a location but it depends on whether someone else is using it or not. If someone is indeed using it, then I will give it to the highest bidder. And if it''s useful to me, then the part of thend will be non-negotiable. If you want morend, you will need to buy it at 1.5 times the base market price. You will receive no help in constructing your house. Also, for the next year, agriculture will be the main focus of whoever lives in Kloras Town."


    Many of those who heard Azaroth''s speech appeared dissatisfied. It was as though they had arrived with high expectations just to be very disappointed.


    Jake Stone was the one who spoke, "I see. Then whatnd is going to be non-negotiable?"


    This was, of course, the question that everyone else was curious about as well.


    Azaroth was quick to reply though, "Thend in the forests, the center of the town, and thend in the left portion of the town."


    In the left portion of the town was the Alpine Gerbil Woods. No one wanted to get theirnd so close to the forest.


    The people were relieved to learn that Azaroth only wanted the territory in the forest, the town center, and the area near the Alpine Gerbil Woods.


    It seemed as if they didn''te here for nothing.


    When Jake Stones noticed the reaction of hisrades, he frowned slightly.


    He then looked towards Azaroth and thought ''He has seized the initiative. First, he gave a description that made it seem as if we all came here for nothing but now, it seemed as if we can indeed get some gains. Now, we can''t negotiate the price or the location of thend.''


    "Then if I may know, how will Lord Mayor grant thend to us?" This time, another man stood up and asked Azaroth.


    He was quite respectful with his speech and was actually one of those merchants who possessed a good rtionship with the Rhodes House.


    "40 thousand sq. ft," Azaroth spoke, having already calcted everything. This was nearly an acre.


    As Mayor of the Kloras Town, he had nearly 20,000 acres ofnd. Well, if he included the training grounds and the agriculturalnd as well.


    Out of this, Azaroth only wanted houses on just 2000 acres ofnd. The rest was to be used either for his personal purposes or for agriculture.


    He wasn''t going to ask them to grow up crops to sell them. He wanted them to focus on agriculture to make Kloras Town independent from the Sinyalian Kingdom to some extent.


    They should have means of survival without receiving assistance from the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Once the people here knew that Azaroth was going to give away nearly an acre ofnd, they immediately stood up and began speaking, "I need one."


    "I want one too."


    "I don''t care about the location, just give me one."


    Initially, they had imagined that Azaroth would only give away a small piece of hisnd but who would have thought it would be one whole acre.


    Even though they were all reputable businessmen or brokers, they thought getting an acre for free was a great deal.


    "I am pleased with your response. Don''t worry, you won''t regret it." Azaroth spoke with a cunning smile, "I also have a suggestion for you."


    When Jake Stones heard Azaroth, he had a forced smile on his face. He could almost anticipate Azaroth''s words because he had used them against other merchants as well but s, he knew no way to counter them.


    "For this one year, just create a building here and let someborers stay here. As I want to focus on agriculture in this one year, it will help me ifborers are avable in the town. In return, I will exempt you from taxes for one whole year." Azaroth''s words were rather calm but it sent waves in the minds of the merchants.


    None of the merchants here had ns of living in Kloras Town. They had heard that this ce was demolished by the beasts sometime earlier. There was no telling when the beasts would attack again.


    However, buyingnd in this ce wasn''t a bad idea. Particrly when they would receive it for free.


    It would also be a great idea to send theirborers here. They could use them to build their mansion or estate.


    Jake Stones subtly nodded as he had thought the same.


    ''He has a good n. The workers would be virtually free once they hadpleted their separate tasks. They could then be used by the Mayor if they were paid separately. In this way, he can further expand the town without having to go through the effort of recruitingborers.''


    But now, Jake Stones was stumped. He understood that Azaroth was going to use thoseborers to expand the town but then what? Just what was he nning ahead?


    "Let''s begin the paperwork. Submit your detailed copies of your identities and you can leave. Once I have verified them, I will send thend papers to your address." Azaroth spoke with a calm voice.


    Such a scene was expected by all the merchants and brokers and they ordered their servants to pull out the papers from their carts.


    The servants were on work immediately.


    And in just one day, Azaroth granted thend to 6 individuals including Jake Stones.. The rest of the people who came with them were their servants after all.

 Chapter 71 - Gravity Array Training

    Azaroth had his ns for giving away thend for free. He knew that as the condition of Kloras Town currently was, no one would want to buynd here.


    The only way he could get humans to settle here was to give them special perks. However, he had to select the perks carefully so that they would benefit him and not be counter-productive to him.


    The first step was to give away thend to merchants.


    Now, the merchants will send theborers here to build their respective vis or estates. Azaroth could also make use of thoseborers.


    Furthermore, the merchants'' aid would be extremely beneficial to Azaroth''s next phase of his n.


    Azaroth fetched out some beverages from the Rhodes Mansion once all of the merchants had presented their papers to him.


    He had brought wine, beers, and ale.


    The merchants and even those brokers were quite happy. The servants poured the drinks and soon enough, Azaroth along with the merchants and brokers were drinking in celebration.


    Azaroth talked a bit with the merchants and gathered some information regarding their hometown.


    Three of them were from Wrihull City while the others were from towns near Wrihull City. Although to a warrior, this kind of information was somewhat useless. It wasn''t the same for Azaroth.


    Now, he was an administrator of this town. In a certain sense, the Mayor was a leader of the town. He could make some independent decisions regarding his own territory.


    Moreover, Azaroth also had Rhodes House behind his back. Although his family wasn''t unconditionally supporting him, this influence was enough to stop a majority of people from scheming against him.


    Among these merchants, the least talkative man was Jake Stones. Azaroth got a feeling that this man was waiting for an opportunity.


    "When we came, Iy my eyes on a fairy-like woman with Blonde Locks," one of the merchants who hadid his eyes on Laura said while drinking, with a trace of yearning in his eyes, "Lord Mayor, I was wondering who she is."


    Azaroth remained calm and answered him, "Her huh? She is my retainer. What of it?"


    "Ah right. There was also a devilishly seductive woman." Another merchant joined in and asked Azaroth, "Is she also Lord Mayor''s retainer?"


    "That''s correct." Azaroth could easily guess what they were about to say next. He didn''t interrupt them though. He was about to witness an interesting show after all.


    "At what price would Lord Mayor be ready to leave with the blonde-haired retainer?" the guy said, his voice husky, "I think she''d be a good fit to be my maid."


    Azaroth smirked and replied, "Hmm. An interesting proposal. But s, you don''t possess the capital to buy her."


    The man thought Azaroth was merely joking. He smiled in return and confidently spoke, "Name the price, Lord Mayor. You might be surprised."


    "Haha¡­" Azaroth beganughing all of a sudden.


    His abruptugh perplexed the merchants and everyone else around him. They were unsure if he had gone insane or not.


    Azaroth''s arm suddenly moved and a crispy sound resounded in the area. A momentter, his arms returned to their original position while the red side of the merchant''s face ahead of him was zing red.


    For some seconds, the merchant even felt that the right side of his face was burning.


    The other merchants and people were instantly shocked. They never expected Azaroth to suddenly p that merchant so strongly. Even the merchant felt as if he had sobered up after that p.


    Azaroth then red at the other merchants who were also interested in buying his retainers, "Anyone else in the line?"


    The other merchants who had spoken began to chuckle while sweating nervously. They didn''t want to be pped as well.


    The merchants soon stood up and began leaving. This scene just now showed that Azaroth wasn''t afraid of using force against them.


    They had already received quite some advantages. It was best to withdraw since staying here anymore wouldn''t provide them any benefits.


    Jake Stones was about to leave as well. But before leaving, he paused for some moments and turned in Azaroth''s direction, "I have a connection with many households buying the food supplies. As long as it''s above a certain level of quality, I can provide a good price for it."


    Azaroth nodded his head and spoke, "I will contact you when it''s time."


    "The next batch of people who will receive the information regarding the sale in this town will be farmers. I know quite a few of them in my town." Jake Stones further added.


    Azaroth raised his brows and more or less understood that this Jake Stones knew of what he was nning ahead.


    But still, it wasn''t that hard to guess. So he didn''t need to think so deeply regarding it.


    "I will be thankful for your help then."


    At those words, Jake Stones frowned. ording to his deduction, Azaroth should have requested him to talk to the farmers.


    Why was it that he merely thanked him?


    Soon though, Jake Stones had a forced smile on his face. He understood that this indicated Azaroth knew someone who had a widework.


    And this was the truth.


    Tronte was the one spreading the news about Kloras Town as Azaroth asked him to.


    The merchants soon left the area. They nned to send theirborers and begin construction for their vis here.


    Azaroth bid them farewell while thinking ''This administration business will waste too much of my precious time. Fortunately, I have already broken through to the 3rd Stage of Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique or else my cultivation would have slowed down because of managing this town.''


    Before evennding in this town this time, Azaroth had a detailed strategy of what he wanted to do and how he would do it.


    The two spies in the distance were somewhat disappointed. From what they understood, these merchants heard of some sort of special offer and personally appeared to im it today.


    The only thing they found surprising was that they all arrived at the same time.


    Sean and Gibson met with each other and Sean couldn''t hold it in any longer, "He is clean till now. The only thing that might be slightly suspicious is how he treats his guards. But that''s a subjective matter, not at all useful for the King."


    Gibson though felt that something was wrong but he didn''t exactly know what it was. He seriously looked at Sean and told him, "Let''s send this information to the King and await further orders."


    "Hmm. Alright."


    ~~


    Soon, 3 more days passed.


    It had now been a week since Azaroth''s retainers began their gravity training regimen. And unsurprisingly, they were slowly getting used to it.


    The person who showed the greatest improvement was actually Sargan. The time he spent on training his body using these gravity arrays was almost as much time as spent by Noah.


    This showed that his determination to be stronger was second to none.


    After Sargan, it was Noah who improved the most.


    His weak muscles were now developing rapidly. The process of tearing and rebuilding his muscles was undergoing so quickly that Noah would constantly experience great pain while doing any action.


    Whether it was moving his arm, walking, running, or jumping.


    Yet, he didn''t rest at all. He was adamant about growing stronger as well.


    Ralph improved greatly as well but his improvement wasn''t as drastic as Noah''s or Sargan''s improvements.


    Azaroth advised him to take proper rest and his meals were also different from others.


    All of Azaroth''s retainers except for Ralph were eating food that would enhance their physical strength, meanwhile, Ralph was given the food that would enhance his spiritual strength along with helping him keep his lean body.


    A lean body possessing great strength was a deadlybination. It could be considered the best of both worlds because the person would possess impressive agility and great strength at the same time.


    Maintaining this kind of physique was extremely difficult though. The individual must have strict diet control and know just which exercises he has to follow. He must also know when to train and when to rest.


    Azaroth also followed this kind of training but in a different manner. He had designed his Heavenly Demon Physique in such a manner that it would digest any extra energy in his body and convert it to Ardor.


    Azaroth wasn''t going to give away his personal techniques to these people. They were worth a hundred times more than a skill like Nether Devil God Mantra.


    Naturally, this value wasn''t because of how good the skill was. But because if it was revealed, many of his secrets would be known.


    Every Demon who reached the level of Demon God would have reached that stage by creating his own cultivation technique. It might have been modified using other techniques but they mostly tried to keep their techniques unique and prevent them from spreading.


    Once a cultivation technique spreads, its strengths and weaknesses would be known quickly.


    This information would generally be the cause of the fall of a Demon God.


    Naturally, although the Heavenly Demon Physique and Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique worked for increasing the Demonic Ardor of his Triquetra Ardor, the speed of cultivation wasn''t satisfactory.


    He had to modify his techniques. Azaroth possessed multiple cultivation forme of Demons and Humans but he didn''t possess any cultivation forme of the Celestials.


    When he had tried to mind control them or soul read the celestials, they would mostly explode or their memories would seem to be sealed by a higher entity.


    Azaroth couldn''t unlock the seal in their mind and thus, he never managed to gather their cultivation forme.


    Among the women, Yrellea showed the maximum improvement while Tiana and Lauragged behind the two.


    Laura was the only one of Azaroth''s retainers who hadn''t yet be ustomed to the gravity arrays.. Although she was making improvements, Azaroth was dissatisfied with her progress.

 Chapter 72 - Tianas Advice

    Laura was depressed today. It had been nearly one week since this gravity array training started. All her closerades here had gotten used to the gravity arrays yet she hadn''t.


    Even Yrellea and Noah had gotten used to these gravity arrays.


    Yrellea realized her friend was sad and went over to cheer her up, but no matter what she said, she couldn''t make her feel better.


    Lauraid under a tree as she gazed in the direction of Noah and saw how he was even running while his body was under the influence of the Gravity Arrays.


    Sargan and Ralph could run quickly even under the influence of the gravity arrays as well.


    Laura was somewhat jealous of them. She wondered if it was because she was an elf that her strength was rising so slowly.


    At a distance, Tiana looked at Laura. She had an emotionless look on her face.


    Unlike Azaroth''s other retainers, she had basically been threatened and then brought here. Although she had somewhat gotten used to her surroundings and living arrangements, it didn''t mean she liked it yet.


    But she neverined to Azaroth about these things. Because she owed him a massive favor.


    He healed her body of that terrifying poison. Although it was for his own motives, the fact didn''t change that she didn''t need to experience that excruciating pain every day.


    Moreover, she didn''t have to be worried about being poisoned by someone here. This was another fact that truly relieved her.


    For this reason, she was following all of Azaroth''s orders here.


    She also tried to maintain a good rtionship with everyone here. Tiana had seen how Azaroth ced Josephine under his hypnotic control, there was little chance Jonas could find her.


    Tiana reasoned that since she will be living here for the foreseeable future, it would be better to maintain amicable rtions with everyone.


    Now that she saw Laura somewhat distressed, she was thinking of how to help her.


    Soon enough, it was lunchtime.


    Azaroth usually ate together with his retainers. He would ask them how they were training. Depending on the method narrated by the person, Azaroth would give them a few tips on how they could train more efficiently.


    Their training would then show results much quicker.


    The only one who never asked Azaroth any question was Laura. She wasn''t happy with this training method and felt it was forcing the body too much.


    There was no point in training the body if the enemies couldn''t near her at all. This was her view on this point.


    Many long-rangebatants, in fact, would agree with her. The majority of them would continue to hone the abilities in which they excel. This resulted in speedy results, which thrilled them.


    As a result, when asked to practice in non-traditional training methods, these individuals would vehemently object.


    Once the lunch was over, Tiana called out for Laura, "Laura, can we talk?"


    Laura was quite surprised to hear Tiana call out for her.


    Even though Tiana had a good rtionship with everyone, she was quite introverted. She wouldn''t usually talk to someone else.


    Thinking that it might be serious, Laura nodded her head, "Alright. Let''s go near the tree where I rest."


    Soon enough, the two girls were under arge tree.


    Laura was the one to ask the question first, "What is it you wanted to talk about, Big Sister Tiana."


    Tiana smiled slightly and spoke, "It''s about you."


    "About me?"


    "Yes. I noticed how you seemed depressed. Is it because you still haven''t gotten used to these gravity arrays?" Once Tiana asked this question, a frown appeared on Laura''s face.


    "¡­I apologize, big sister but I am not in the mood to talk about it." Laura was also normally very polite with Tiana but right now, she appeared distressed.


    She really didn''t want to talk about that topic with anyone.


    Tiana, however, didn''t budge from her spot. She looked neutral as if she had expected Laura''s response.


    "If you say so, I won''t talk about it. But remember that if you don''t talk, it will keep building up in your mind. The difference between you and everyone else will just keep widening. Just listen to my words and decide whether they are right or not." After speaking so much, Tiana took a small pause.


    She observed Laura and noticed that she was looking at her curiously. Once Tiana knew that she had Laura''s entire attention, she continued speaking, "I am sure you feel distressed that you can''t get used to the gravity arrays. You must even feel jealous when you look at the guys who are running around."


    There was a frown on Laura''s face as she heard Tiana. This was true but she knew that herself as well. She wanted a solution and not someone to keep on repeating this question again and again to her.


    The thing she wanted even less was for someone like Yrellea to try and motivate her.


    "In my opinion, the fact you still can''t find a solution to this issue even after staying depressed for an entire day shows that you are really stupid." Tiana began off by berating Laura.


    Those words displeased Laura quite a bit but she still kept her mouth shut and continued to hear Tiana, "You are sad because you haven''t gotten used to the gravity array. But what right do you have to feel sad when you haven''t even tried at all."


    "What? I did try-" Before Laura could even finish her words, Tiana raised her arm.


    "Don''t kid yourself into thinking you did your best. Once you feel that your body is slightly tired, you will immediatelyy on the ground. You never try to get up from the ground on your own. It''s always either Yrellea or someone near you who helps you to get up from the ground."


    "Also, instead of ever asking help from Azaroth, you just try to discredit the training method because you aren''t proficient in it." Tiana mercilessly stated her thoughts about Laura.


    Laura looked quite shocked and replied while looking at the ground, "T-That''s not true."


    Tiana though snorted in return, "But this is true. You think that you are still in your Elf Kingdom where the people will obey your orders. And since Azaroth ignores your words or suggestions, you wanted to ignore his training regimen since, in your opinion, it will be useless for you."


    "However, now you see how it had helped Noah and others and it makes you jealous of them. Internally, you feel regret why you hadn''t trained. If you had done so, you would also be enjoying the fruits of yourbor."


    Tiana had basically broken down Laura''s entire character with those sentences.


    It was so detailed that Laura was utterly speechless. She had no excuses to give this time.


    Laura gently asked Tiana, "¡­What do I do then, big sister? You have observed me in such detail. You must have a solution."


    "Solution? You have it with you for a long time. The only thing youcked was the motivation or the willingness to put your pride aside and follow his orders." Tiana spoke while rolling her eyes.


    "I know this as well, big sister. But it''s not so easy¡­" Laura spoke with a hint of helplessness, "I get really nervous and it prevents me from speaking my mind. At that moment, I feel as if it will be okay to give up."


    Hearing Laura''s words, Tiana sighed out. Then, a very serious look appeared on her face, "Nervousness? You mean, you forget about the chronic illness of your little brother because of something as worthless as nervousness? Wasn''t he so precious to you that you disobeyed your mother''s orders and left the Elf Kingdom? Were you not nervous at that time? I am sure you were. But that didn''t stop you. So why is it stopping you now?!"


    Laura waspletely taken aback when she heard thosements. She had never considered it from this perspective before.


    This time, Tiana was speaking a little more fiercely, "Tell me, if the situation goes on like this, do you think you can even help your brother in time? What if Azaroth refuses to take you to the Elf Kingdom because of your bad attitude? What will you do then?!"


    Laura cowered as she heard Tiana''s fierce tone. She didn''t think Tiana would lose her calm and begin shouting at her.


    But she wasn''t angry at Tiana. She wasn''t stupid enough to not recognize that Tiana was shouting at her for her own good.


    "From what I have noticed, Azaroth allows us freedom as long as we follow his orders and be stronger. If you continue to disobey him or try to act over-smart, your chances of saving your brother will be really low."


    "If you feel embarrassed or feel that your pride is hurt then remember your brother. Remember that you have to save him!"


    Soon enough, Tiana was done speaking.


    There was a short period of silence.


    Tiana suddenly bowed politely and spoke gently, "That''s all I had to say. I sincerely apologize if my words hurt you but I really hope instead of wallowing in despair, you would actually try hard."


    "Thank you for listening to me, Laura." Tiana turned around and left the area.


    Laura remained underneath the tree with a slightly happy smile on her face.


    ''It''s been such a long time since someone scolded me other than mother.''


    Tiana would have had a heart attack if she learned she had actually reprimanded and shouted at the princess of the Elf Kingdom.


    Other than Azaroth, no one else knew that Laura was actually an Elf Kingdom''s Princess. Everyone else had been informed that she had a unique identity in the Elf Kingdom. They all figured that she was probably Noble''s daughter.


    The difference between a Noble Heir and a Royal Descendant was the difference between Heaven and Earth.


    As a woman who had married into a Marquis'' Family, Tiana understood that much quite well.


    Because her previous identity was Marquis'' Wife, she wasn''t opposed to reprimanding Laura while thinking of her identity as the daughter of a Noble Elf. Even if it was only for a short time, Tiana had grown ustomed to conversing with Nobles and could hold a regr conversation with any Noble Family member.


    The Royal Family was another matter altogether.


    They ruled an entire nation and no matter how great a Noble Family''s prestige was, it couldn''tpare with that of the Royal Family.


    Laura tried to get up on her feet without any help.


    She mustered all her force in her legs and stood up.


    Once she was on her feet, she began to walk towards Yrellea.


    Yrellea was surprised to see Lauraing towards herself.


    She immediately walked towards Laura and asked her with some concern evident in her voice, "Are you alright? Your face looks pale. Maybe you shouldn''t force your body too much, Laura."


    Laura was feeling slightly guilty when she heard Yrellea''s concern-filled voice. She lowered her head and sincerely spoke, "I apologize elder sister. I haven''t been nice to you these days. I promise to never be rude to you."


    Yrelleaughed and flicked Laura''s forehead, saying, "You little girl, you think I mind those minor things? You really look down on your elder sister. Now tell me, are you fine?"


    "Mhm~ I am really okay. I actually feel better than ever. Please help me train, elder sister. I want to grow strong too."


    And thus, Laura began her training seriously as well.

 Chapter 73 - Dealing With The 2 Spies

    Laura had begun working hard in training as well. She asked for advice from Yrellea, Noah, and even Sargan.


    After hearing them out and applying their rmendations, she found that her body was rapidly growing stronger.


    In just 2 days, she could feel the difference in her strength.


    Azaroth was surprised when she asked him for advice during their lunch session. But he gave her an authentic answer that further increased the speed of her training.


    He had noticed that Laura was depressed a few days ago and was nning to talk to her about it. He couldn''t have one of his servants stay down like that.


    But it seemed that talking to her was no longer necessary.


    It had been nearly one and a half weeks since Azaroth made them all begin their train using the gravity arrays. All of them, including Laura, had gotten used to the gravity array training by now.


    And today, Azaroth had finally finished with his own training array.


    ''Finally, it''spleted.''


    Now that the Array was sessfully constructed, Azaroth focused his mind on Sean and Gibson.


    These two individuals were still keeping an eye on Azaroth. The two had found nothing even after keeping an eye on Azaroth for so long. They were more or less sure that the king''s suspicions on Azaroth were groundless.


    Azaroth had thought that after keeping an eye on him for more than a week, the two would leave sooner orter.


    But surprisingly, they were still here.


    ''It seems I really do need to eliminate them.''


    Azaroth had a special means to eliminate them though.


    The two were 4 Star Warriors and their spirits were much weaker than his own.


    Azaroth summoned Sargan and Ralph.


    ~~


    It was dinner time.


    Sean and Gibson were preparing their dinner. They were a lot rxed after deducing that Azaroth was innocent and there was no need to keep an eye on him so seriously.


    Sean was about to grab a bite of his food when suddenly, he shouted to hisrade, "Something''sing!"


    Gibson had sensed something strange as well. The two suddenly ducked and barely dodged the ws of an extremely quick individual.


    Sean was a bit faster and he raised his head. He noticed that their ambusher was actually a demi-beast.


    The hair of their ambusher was flowing down to his waists. His eyes seemed to be glowing in the dark and his legs showed well-toned muscles.


    But one look at the face and Sean knew who it was.


    It was Ralph, the kid with the best physique amongst Azaroth''s retainers.


    "You!" Sean shouted as he saw Ralph.


    He didn''t expect this kid to suddenly attack them.


    Gibson shouted at Sean, "Mission failed! They have found us! We need to get out of here fast!"


    Sean wanted to attack Ralph but hearing Gibson''s words, he gritted his teeth angrily but ran in the opposite direction.


    They couldn''t waste their time pursuing this guy. Since their location had beenpromised, they had to leave!


    While they ran forward, they were surprised as they sensed that Ralph wasn''t pursuing them.


    The two were ready for Ralph or some other warriors to pursue them. But it seemed that nobody was chasing them.


    However, they still didn''t rx. In fact, they were much more alert.


    After running for 10 minutes, they suddenly entered a clearing. They noticed two people sitting in what appeared to be an array.


    Azaroth and Sargan sat on some of the stones in that arrangement.


    When Azaroth saw Sean and Gibson, he smiled. "You two sure arete," he said, a smirk on his face, "I was expecting you to arrive 5 minutes early. But I guess you weren''t running at your top speed since you were cautious on your way."


    "Don''t do something you might regretter, young master. We are not your enemies." It was Gibson who warned Azaroth with a serious tone.


    Azaroth continued to smile at the two of them and spoke, "Sure, I can believe that. But you should tell me on whose order were you keeping an eye on me."


    "I cannot speak." Gibson coldly replied to Azaroth.


    Those words didn''t disappoint Azaroth. In fact, the devious smile on his face widened and he spoke, "Oh you will."


    Suddenly, Sargan''s eyes turned blood red while Azaroth''s eyes turned purple. The two spoke almost at the same time.


    "I am your master!"


    "Obey me!"


    Azaroth and Sargan used their hypnosis ability and took control over Gibson and Sean''s minds.


    Azaroth looked at Gibson and Sean with a cold expression, "Now¡­ Tell me everything."


    ~~


    Some hourster, Azaroth understood the situation.


    It wasn''t the Rhodes Family who was keeping an eye on him. It was the King.


    He didn''t know how he caught the King''s eye but it seemed that the King was quite intent on keeping an eye on him.


    Sean and Gibson possessedrge-distancemunication talismans. They would speak the message and a specific individual from the information department of the kingdom would receive it and report it to the King.


    The reports were scheduled every 3 days.


    "Continue reporting that there is no suspicious activity going on in Kloras Town but also report some useless stuff regarding me every time. Just think of it by yourself. Also, when you receive the order to return, thene and meet me."


    Azaroth gave his orders to the two and left the area along with Sargan. The two soon joined up with Ralph.


    While they were walking, Sargan asked Azaroth, "These guys were keeping an eye on us for such a long time. Why didn''t you hypnotize them earlier, boss?"


    Azaroth answered him mildly, "Because I thought there was no need and they would leave after some time. But now, your physical training is almost over, I can''t have them spying on your elemental training. That would reveal some sensitive info."


    Ralph though chirped up and spoke, "Killing them should have solved our problems then. Why did boss have to hypnotize them?"


    Before Azaroth could reply, Sargan began speaking up with a casual tone, "Because killing the two meant that the king would stop receiving information about us. This meant that something had happened to these two individuals and the King would have sent warriors to investigate us. This time, it would be a forceful investigation though led by some warriors stronger than our Boss."


    "Oh¡­"


    "I am curious though. What will you do once they receive the order to return? Are you going to ask them to be your spies, boss?" Sargan asked with some interest evident in his voice.


    "I will kill them." Azaroth decisively replied.


    "Kill them?!" Both Sargan and Ralph eximed at the same time.


    Ralph quickly followed up with more questions. "Why? Wouldn''t the King realize that something is wrong then?"


    Even Sargan didn''t understand the motive behind Azaroth''s decision.


    Azaroth didn''t reply this time. He began thinking ''If I let them return alive, they will undergo the spirit and ardor inspection upon their return. Because of the hypnosis skill, their spirits'' properties have changed. And this will definitelye up after the inspection. At that time, they will be much more hostile towards me than before.''


    Azaroth had always been aware of the weakness of his hypnosis skill. However, he still took the risk and used it on Josephine.


    It was because he was sure that no one would actually inspect her spirit. She was one of the most beloved wives of Jonas. Who would dare to check her spirit?


    Not even Jonas would do that. Inspecting the spirit of his own beloved was considered very impolite.


    But these two spies had no background or reason to speak against that spirit inspection. So it was better to kill them than to let them return.


    As for the investigation that would follow, Azaroth couldn''t do much about that yet.


    He couldn''t n everything so early. There were still a lot of variables at y.


    Sargan and Ralph shrugged as they saw Azaroth ignore the question.

 Chapter 74 - Crimson Lightning Phoenix

    It had been just one week since Sean and Gibson had been hypnotized.


    Azaroth was sitting in his room with the sun rays striking his blue hair and making them shine brightly.


    There was an egg ced on the table where the sunlight could barely reach it.


    Azaroth walked over to its side and ced his palm over that egg. He gently infused his Red Lightning in that egg.


    This was his daily routine. Azaroth would infuse his Heavenly Lightning until it would reach the egg''s limit.


    It would take a full day for the egg to digest that amount of Heavenly Lightning.


    It had already been a week since this egg gave the feeling that it was about to hatch.


    ''Maybe the mutation is going on right now.''


    It would be wrong to say Azaroth wasn''t excited. Even he had no idea just what sort of beast it will be after mutation.


    The egg began to wiggle slightly just as Azarothpleted infusing his Heavenly Lightning.


    Azaroth immediately stopped infusing his Heavenly Lightning as he understood that the beast was about to get out.


    As the monsters'' gorgeous crimson wings expanded, the upper sides of the egg split. The next thing to break was the front side of the egg because of the bird''s peck.


    The crimson wings and the beak began to shine with vermillion lightning as the entire covering of the egg was destroyed.


    Azarothid his eyes on a tiny bird with crimson wings and stripes of golden hair on her head.


    When Azaroth noticed the body of this bird, he couldn''t help and exim with excitement, "The Queen of Lightning, the Crimson Lightning Phoenix?!"


    Azaroth now understood that the egg he had stolen possessed the bloodline of a sparrow or someone within that species.


    After absorbing the Holy Lightning, it had evolved to its strongest form, The Crimson Lightning Phoenix.


    The Crimson Lightning Phoenix was the holy form possessing the densest Phoenix Blood within it.


    The Crimson Phoenix''s lightning was considered the bane of all demons. Its lightning would deliver 10 times more damage to the demons.


    Moreover, because of its strong affinity towards lightning, no other lightning attack could harm it. Its superior bloodline suppressed the bloodline of all beasts with weaker bloodlines.


    This tiny bird nced at Azaroth for a short period. It was analyzing Azaroth deeply.


    After some seconds, the tiny bird began to chirp cheerfully.


    Azaroth extended his hand towards the tiny bird and it soon got on Azaroth''s hand before making its way towards Azaroth''s shoulder.


    It started cuddling up to Azaroth''s face.


    Azaroth also lightly patted the tiny bird and thought ''To think I would own a divine beast so early in this life.''


    He soon began to walk outside of his quarters. The bird had just been born and it should be thirsty.


    The only ones living in the wooden mansion were Azaroth and his retainers.


    His retainers were already in the dining hall and serving food for themselves. The ones who cooked the food were the guards.


    From guarding to cooking, their daily routine had shifted. They had made so much food in the previous ten days that they were convinced they couldpete with any Wrihull City chef.


    Some even nned to quit their guard job and be a chef. The pay was nice and there was no danger involved. Moreover, they were pretty skilled at it now.


    When Azaroth entered the dining hall, all his retainers saw him. They also noticed a tiny bird on Azaroth''s shoulder.


    "Woah! You even had a pet, master?" The first one to ask the question was Noah.


    He immediately went over to Azaroth''s side.


    Azaroth replied, "It hatched just today. I brought it here to get it some food."


    "Can I hold him?" Laura asked, her eyes twinkling at the sight of that little bird.


    "I won''t rmend it," Azaroth replied with a shrug but he grabbed the bird. The bird didn''t resist his touch and Azaroth soon handed the bird to Noah.


    Well, since Noah was standing closest to him, he figured it would be best to give it to him.


    Noah looked very nervous as the little bird stood over his palm. He felt as if this little bird had no weight. He brought his other hand and gently patted the bird.


    Its fur was so soft that Noah felt he wouldn''t get bored of caressing it.


    Soon, Laura, Yrellea, Sargan, Tiana, and Ralph approached Noah.


    "I want to hold her next!" Laura excitedly spoke as she brought her hands close to the little bird.


    Soon, the little bird was on top of Laura''s palm. She began to exim, "This bird is so cute. Also, it has such soft fur."


    At this moment, Laura didn''t hesitate to turn towards Azaroth and ask him, "Master, master, I want one as well."


    Azaroth rolled his eyes and ignored Laura. This girl was just hopeless.


    This was a mutated Holy Beast. It was good enough they possessed even one of these beasts.


    Laura soon turned the little bird towards Yrellea and wanted her to hold it.


    However, before Yrellea could even touch the little bird, red sparks were released from the bird''s body and struck Yrellea''s hand.


    Yrellea winced in pain as she felt the red sparks hit her hand.


    Sargan narrowed his eyes when he saw those red sparks and mentally shouted ''Heavenly Lightning?! This little bird is a Holy Beast?!''


    He couldn''t believe his eyes at all.


    He had assumed it was just Azaroth''s pet at first. Perhaps it had noble ancestry, but to think it was actually a Holy Beast with Heavenly Lightning!


    Yrellea was somewhat sad as the bird hit her with its red lightning. She wanted to hold this little bird as well.


    Azaroth spoke at that moment, "This is a Holy Bird. Its instincts are probably mistaking you as enemies since you are a demon. The same thing will happen to Sargan. I think you should wait for some time until it gets used to you."


    "Have you named it yet, master?" Laura asked with some interest evident in her voice.


    Azaroth understood that she probably wanted to name the bird.


    "Zena, the Crimson Lightning Phoenix."


    Once the little beard heard its name, it pped its wings and tried to fly. However, it could only hover slightly above Laura''s palm.


    Laura''s shoulders dropped as she understood that she won''t get to name the little bird, now named Zena.


    Azaroth brought his palm forwards and Zena soon hovered over it and stopped trying to fly.


    "Alright, return back to eating. Today I will deactivate the gravity arrays. Your physique has massively changed so get used to it. Practice your attacks."


    "Sir, boss/master!" All of them replied at the same time.


    Since eating food was somewhat impossible for Zena right now, Azaroth only had it drink milk.


    ~~


    Just as Azaroth had told them, the gravity arrays deactivated.


    All his retainers were surprised when they felt the suppression on them disappear. It was as if a massive load had been lifted.


    They had felt that load for so long that they even felt something was missing. It was as if their body was iplete.


    "Woah! My body is so light now." Noah spoke as he jumped with all his might. He jumped nearly 4 meters high and this was without the use of Ardor!


    The others were experiencing simr effects.


    Their muscles had grown quite strong to adapt to the 10 times gravity they experienced all this time.


    "Hey, Ralph, Sargan. Let''s race to that tree." Noah excitedly shouted at the two.


    Ralph and Sargan looked at each other. And the two held challenging looks on their faces, "Bring it on!"


    They ran with all their might to run towards the tree. The Tree was nearly a mile away from their position.


    No one of them used Ardor to increase his speed. They werepeting with their pure physique.


    Unsurprisingly, Ralph was the fastest among those three.


    He reached that tree in just under a minute. While it was a close match for Noah and Sargan.


    However, if observed carefully, they would notice that Noah was just slightly behind Sargan.


    The two were running with all their might and finally reached the finish line.


    Ralph announced the results, "Sargan second, and Noah third."


    It was a close call but Noah lost to Sargan.


    However, Sargan couldn''t help but grow more serious. He and Ralph personally knew just how bad Noah''s physique was aspared to them. Yet, he was now capable of nearly overtaking him in speed.


    It showed how much his physique had improved.


    Sargan and Ralph remembered Azaroth''s words when he dered that in one year, Noah would surpass them both.


    ''I need to train harder.'' Ralph and Sargan thought simultaneously. They didn''t want to lose!


    Even though they just ran 1 whole mile, none of them was panting or was out of breath.


    They looked ready for another round!


    Noah picked up his sword and went away, "I am going for some sword practice."


    Sargan and Ralph also went to their respective locations and began cultivating their Ardor.. It had been nearly 2 weeks since theyst cultivated.

 Chapter 75 - Assigning Different Tasks

    Azaroth was taking care of the Crimson Lightning Phoenix. After some time, he observed the training of his retainers.


    Since the work on his array waspleted, he could be considered free.


    He could go and begin his personal training in that Array but he stayed behind and continued observing his retainers.


    However, observing them was not his primary reason for not attending andmencing his training. He was expecting to see someone soon.


    ''All of their movements are unrefined because they can''t control their strength. They need to think too much to get the results they want. Once they master their strength, it will increase their power by a notch.''


    ''But still, in a few days, they might be ready for the next phase.''


    While he was thinking to himself, he sensed several individuals.


    There were more than 10 carriages. Nearly 40 individuals got out of the carriage and walked in Azaroth''s direction.


    They were dressed in pretty average-looking attire, and it was evident that their social level was low.


    Azaroth remained on his seat as he saw them, "Rampo. You know where to assign them, right?"


    "Yes, milord," Rampo spoke while bowing slightly.


    He then went over to talk to these men and slowly led them to thends assigned to their respective masters. They wereborers who were tasked to build the manors for their respective lords.


    Azaroth had no intention of meeting them. The ones Azaroth had been anticipating arrived a littleter.


    Their attire looked simr to those of theborers with a slightly torn shirt, rough trousers.


    These people numbered 70.


    "Greetings, I am Edwin Rhodes. I am the Mayor of this Town." Azaroth introduced himself to them with a smile.


    The people ahead of him looked nervous as they met Azaroth.


    One of them spoke up, "We met with a man named Tronte. He told us you would give us work if wee here."


    Tronte was the one who had gathered them all and then sent them to the Kloras Town in one go. Naturally, this was all under Azaroth''s instructions.


    "That''s correct. Tronte had been tasked with gathering persons who were farmers or had worked on a farm. I''m confident you fall into one of these two categories." Azaroth stated with a confident expression.


    The people ahead of him were slowly understanding what Azaroth wanted from them.


    "I am sure you now have a slight inkling of what I want from you. Yes, I want you to start farming in Kloras Town. There is a lot of farmingnd avable. ording to your abilities, I will assign specifd to you. And the rest will work under you. You all will have just one job, and that''s to take care of the farm. My aim is for us to possess enough rations to support an entire country within 3 years."


    Someone among the people asked, "Supporting an entire country on the rations produced in 3 years? That''s impossible!"


    "That''s right."


    Azaroth calmly replied, "You don''t need to worry about whether it''s impossible or not. The question is whether you are willing to work or not."


    There was another question from someone, "What will be our advantages?"


    "Advantages huh? Well, you won''t get to die." Azaroth spoke with a deadly serious expression.


    When the people saw his face, they were scared shitless. Some even thought it was a bad idea to havee here.


    However, Azaroth''s face changed and it showed a rxed look now, "Just kidding. Why would I kill my farmers for no reason?"


    Even though Azaroth seemed to be speaking casually, the people couldn''t rx yet. They noticed something in Azaroth''s words.


    He stated, "Why would I kill my farmers for no reason?" This meant he would kill them if they gave him a reason.


    And not obeying his word seemed a fair enough reason.


    "Alright, let''s talk seriously. I can''t guarantee you great profits because the money received after selling the grain will be used by me for other things. However, I can guarantee you that as long as you are here, the food, residence, and other utilities will be absolutely free for you. In this town, you won''t ever feel unsafe." Azaroth spoke with absolute confidence in his voice.


    A person snorted in contempt, "You think we will ept those condition-"


    Azaroth coldly interrupted him, "You have the time until I count to three."


    "One."


    "Two."


    A few people had already spoken up, "I ept the conditions."


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to see this.


    He knew that majority of them will ept his conditions.


    In reality, he had told Tronte to only look for those farmers or workers who had been thrown out of their old jobs.


    Many of the farmers among this group had theirnd falsely usurped by merchants or the lords reigning over that territory. They were used to poverty and just wanted someone to provide them a stable shelter, protection, food, and some ie.


    Azaroth was providing them these 4 things. Thus, all he had to do was make them take a quick decision.


    Unsurprisingly, all of them decided to work under Azaroth.


    Azaroth smiled and spoke, "Let me take you to show you thend. I will provide you with the supplies. I don''t care about the method used. Just show me the results."


    He had already brought the seeds along with him when he departed from Wrihull City.


    There were 17 farmers and 53 were workers. Azaroth assigned 20 acres ofnd to each farmer. This meant that he had given away 340 acres of farmingnd.


    The 53 workers were divided among those 17 farmers. On average, each farmer had about 3 people working for him.


    Naturally, this was far too less for the farmers but Azaroth informed them that they didn''t need to work on the whole field from the start.


    They could begin working on part of theirnd and show him the result.


    Azaroth also had another card underneath his sleeve. And that card was Laura!


    As someone who possessed the bloodline closest to that of nature, she could assist in increasing the growth rate of the nts.


    Only the Royal Blood of the Elves possessed this ability.


    All they had to do was drip a drop of blood into the water and soak the seeds in it.


    The seeds would be blessed by the Royal Elves'' Blood and their growth rate would be much greater.


    Azaroth had not yet notified the farmers of this knowledge. By the time they figure it out, he''ll have put in ce sufficient protection to prevent the knowledge from leaking.


    Laura''s identity was too sensitive. He couldn''t have anyone leak it out.


    ~~


    The next day, Azaroth was standing in front of all his retainers.


    They had been specifically gathered for an announcement.


    "Yesterday, I told all of you to get used to your strengths. I hope you have done that because that was nothingpared to what you are going to experience from now."


    "I only have a single instruction for you. Do whatever you can to endure and continue fighting."


    Azaroth finished speaking and nced at the faces of all his retainers.


    They looked nervous and somewhat scared. Especially Laura and Sargan. These two knew just what sort of training they were about to witness.


    "Training Ground 1 is assigned to Noah."


    "Training Ground 2 is assigned to Ralph."


    "Training Ground 3 is assigned to Sargan."


    "Training Ground 4 is assigned to Laura."


    "Training Ground 5 is assigned to Yrellea."


    "And Training Ground 6 is assigned to Tiana."


    "Alright, you can go and check out your respective training grounds."


    Once Azaroth was done speaking, he dispersed them all. All of them split in different directions and headed for their respective locations.


    The first one to reach his spot was Noah.


    After he entered his training ground.


    For some seconds, nothing urred.


    Noah even wondered whether the array formation was malfunctioning or not.


    He then heard an automated voice of Azaroth, "Destroy 1000 minions of each element within one hour. The timer starts now."


    Noah suddenly felt the ground rumbling. It was shaking so violently that he had to use Ardor to prevent his body from shaking.


    Heid his eyes on the 10 Lava Plumes thatunched their fireballs at him.


    Just when Noah was about to take a step forward, he felt that his feet were getting colder.


    When he lowered his head, he was surprised to see his feet already frozen. He looked around and saw 10 Ice Trolls some distance away from him. Soon, he felt something stab his stomach.


    Currently, 3 Earth Spears stabbed his stomach. Noah turned his gaze and saw 10 gnomes made from mud staring at him with an empty gaze.


    It was at that moment Noah understood why Azaroth spoke that his training would be the hardest.


    Instead of falling into despair though, Noah smiled.


    His body burst with a strong aura. The ice that trapped his feet shattered and the Earth Spears that had stabbed his stomach were instantly shed by some invisible de before they all turned to dust.


    Noah released a strong battle intent and spoke, "Bring it on!"

 Chapter 76 - Noahs Trial

    Noah released his sword qi and shed all the iing attacks. He then focused on the Lava Plumes and charged at them without wasting any second.


    Theva plumes noticed that he wasing closer and began charging up for a strong attack.


    However, Noah anticipated that he would be quicker and could interrupt them before they finished charging up their attack.


    He had covered half the distance when suddenly, the Ice Troll raised a massive Ice Wall ahead of Noah and alsounched some Ice Shards at him.


    Noah had to stop for a second and jump away before proceeding towards the Lava Plumes.


    This time though, two Earth Hands emerged and suddenly grabbed his feet.


    Before Noah could use his Sword Qi to cut them apart, the Earth Hands threw him towards the Lava Plumes.


    Noah grew serious as he was actually going towards his target. He controlled the trajectory of his body and used the Heaven Rending Stance in mid-air.


    Just as he was about tounch the sword sh, the Lava Plumes raised his head and spouted a torrent of mes that enveloped Noah.


    These mes then suddenly burst apart, sending Noah in the opposite direction.


    Noah''s body soon touched the ground and he raised his head, staring at these Elemental Essences.


    Noah changed his target and immediatelyunched at the Ice Trolls.


    The Ice Trolls awaited Noah and then suddenly used the ''Ice Floor'' skill to freeze the ground.


    Noah''s footing slipped and his little body was struck with multiple punches from the Ice Trolls.


    Even though he was punched so badly, Noah grinned.


    "Quick Draw Technique!"


    Noah quickly drew his sword and attacked the nearest Ice Troll to him.


    The power of his Sword Skill wasn''t to be underestimated. He was using it while empowering it with his Sword Qi so it was quite strong.


    The Ice Trolls though remained emotionless. The three of them nearest to that Ice Troll immediately used a skill to counter Noah.


    This skill was a rare Ice Technique called "Absolute Zero Defense!"


    This skill required the three Ice Trolls to lower the temperature of their ice and created an unbreakable defense.


    Noah''s sword struck against that Absolute Zero Defense but other than creating a crack, he couldn''t move his sword any further.


    Before he could attempt another skill, another Ice Troll approached him and punched him away as if he was a rag doll.


    When Noah looked up, he was shocked to see that ahead of him were the gnomes.


    Taking a quick decision, Noahunched his swords at the gnomes ahead of him.


    His attack was quite swift and through this, he managed to take the head of two gnomes.


    However, one gnome actually caught his sword using the Earth Palms.


    His sword stayed frozen in those Earth Palms no matter how hard he attempted to recall it or employ the Sword Qi.


    "Be quicker," Noah muttered himself as a gigantic Earth Hammer struck his body.


    This time, he was thrown in the Lava Plumes'' direction.


    Because Noah no longer held his sword, he had to resort to using pure Sword Qi.


    But he didn''t target the Lava Plumes. In fact, he changed his direction to the Ice Trolls andunched dozens of sword qi at them.


    The sword qi was incredibly quick. And before the Ice Trolls could raise their shields, their heads had all been pierced.


    However, attacking the Ice Trolls meant giving up the defense against the Lava Plumes.


    Those Lava Plumes didn''t give up the opportunity tounch multiple fireballs and burn Noah!


    Fortunately, Noah had kept just enough sword qi around his body to reduce the damage he received from the mes or else, he would have burned to death.


    Noah''s body soon touched the ground and he continued to roll because of therge momentum.


    By the time Noah stood up, he noticed that the Ice Trolls had already regenerated. Also, the 2 gnomes he had killed with his sword were back to normal.


    A forced smile appeared on Noah''s face as he thought ''This is really difficult.''


    Currently, he was best aware of his physical condition. Because of taking on all those attacks, there were multiple serious injuries on his body.


    His skin had been shredded by the ice and earth strikes, resulting in serious damage to his body. And the mes had burned his skin badly.


    He was now losing so much blood that he was unable to stay conscious.


    Noah then remembered Azaroth''s words, "I only have a single instruction for you. Do whatever you can to endure and continue fighting."


    "Mysterious Qin Technique."


    Noah began to absorb the Ardor in nature ording to the cultivation form given to him. As he entered his battle state, he concentrated on the cultivation form while also observing the battlefield.


    The Ardor around Noah continued to get sucked into his body as heunched himself at the Gnomes.


    His priority was getting his sword back. Even though he was capable of using the sword qi, it was nothingpared to when he used the sword and sword qi together.


    The gnomes were prepared for him andunched rocks at Noah.


    Noah observed them all and used a movement technique named: Shadow Dance.


    This movement skill allowed Noah to narrowly dodge the rocks and slowly make his way towards his sword. This movement skill wasn''t for increasing speed or give the user speed bursts.


    It was specifically used forbat so that the user can dodge whatever the opponent throws at him.


    As the user of Enlightened Sword Heart, Noah could disy this skill perfectly even though he was under such high pressure.


    One of its main drawbacks was that it required a lot of Ardor. For a 1 Star Rank Warrior, that''s a lot of Ardor.


    Just after employing it once, Noah felt as half of his Ardor was exhausted.


    But he didn''t care. Because he had reached his destination.


    The hilt of the sword was in his grasps.


    Noah tried to pull the sword out of those Earth Palms but his strength wascking. Even after training with the gravity arrays and increasing his strength greatly, he still couldn''t pull the sword out.


    Once he realized that strength wouldn''t do the trick, Noah changed his approach immediately.


    Behind Noah, the gnomes were also preparing tounch their attacks at him.


    Noah strongly nted his feet on the ground and strengthened his grasp over his sword.


    He controlled his breathing and waited for some moments.


    At this moment, the gnomes hadunched their rocks at Noah. Innumerable rocks and stones were tossed at Noah.


    Noah remained fixated on his position for a second more before he suddenly whispered the name of the technique in his mind ''Heaven Rending Stance!''


    His sword began to glow as it was strengthened by dozens of Sword Qi.


    The Earth Palm that held the sword began to crack and in one swift movement, Noah cut apart the Earth Palm that held his sword.


    However, cutting the Earth Palms wasn''t his main objective. He had always been thinking of destroying the gnomes.


    He continued to use the Heaven Rending Skill while turning his body towards the Gnomes.


    The multiple sword qi was released from his Sword as it destroyed any rock or stoneing at him.


    If a Swordsman had seen this scene, he would have surely eximed "Sword Domain" in excitement.


    What Noah was using wasn''t exactly a sword domain but it could definitely be taking the first step towards creating a sword domain.


    Meanwhile, the sword discharged a slice towards the gnomes, overflowing with Sword Qi, thanks to the tremendous velocity he had acquired by rotating his body 180 degrees.


    It appeared as if its power was increasing as it traveled more distance.


    The Absolute Zero Wall suddenly appeared ahead of the gnomes, intending to protect them. In the distance, all the Ice Trolls cooperating to make the Absolute Zero Wall as strong as they could.


    The Heaven Rending Skill and the Absolute Zero Wall shed for a couple of seconds. In the end, it was the Absolute Zero Wall that won.


    However, even though it had won, the Ice wall was badly damaged.


    The Ice wall was badly damaged so the gnomes checked Noah''s position.


    Surprisingly, Noah wasn''t at that spot at all.


    The trail of blood seemed fresh and the gnomes turned their heads towards the Lava Plumes.


    Noah had already reached the Lava Plumes'' location and unleashed the fastest wide-range technique he possessed.


    ''Fleeting Cresent sh- Horizontal!''


    After activating this technique, Noah released pure sword force from his sword. It was a mixture of his Ardor and Sword Qi.


    This time, Noah used a Horizontal sh to sweep the entire area.


    If it was against a single enemy, Noah would have used a vertical sh since it dealt more damage.


    All the Lava Plumes vanished without leaving any trace.


    Noah didn''t remain on his spot for long. He had learned from that previous beating that he had to constantly be on the move.


    Fortunately, because he had trained like a demon with those gravity arrays, the stamina wasn''t much of a problem.


    The Mysterious Qin Technique was recovering his lost Ardor and also healing him. By now, the blood had stopped flowing.


    He had only fought for 10 minutes or so.. He still had 50 minutes left.

 Chapter 77 - The Other Trials (1)

    In Training Ground 2, Ralph was trying to stay bnced on the Icy Floor while he fought against the Ice Trolls.


    Ralph''s main skills were to use his me Element together with his closebat skills and use his superior physique to reign supremacy over his opponents.


    However, he realized that he couldn''t use his speed or his physique to fight against these Ice Trolls.


    The whole floor was frozen with Ice. He couldn''t even stand properly, let aloneunch an attack at the Ice Trolls.


    The Ice Trolls continued to try and catch Ralph. Once they caught him, they wouldunch multiple Ice Shards or other kinds of Ice Skills at him.


    Ralph had already used his beast-transformation mode and found that it wasn''t much help to him.


    He couldn''t even use it to avoid the Ice Trolls'' blows, let alone strike them. Moreover, Ardor consumption was extremely high.


    As a result, far from being beneficial, the Beast Transformation had more drawbacks.


    Ralphcked Noah''s Enlightened Sword Heart, which allowed him to keep his cool and to actively think of methods to counterattack.


    He was extremely anxious and couldn''t calm his raging heart. All he could focus on was to not get hit by the attacks.


    Ralph was jumping from one location to another. However, soon, he found that his leg had actually been trapped by the ice.


    It seemed as if the Ice Trolls were ready for Ralph tond on the ice and had purposely weakened the ice in that area so that the ground would break and Ralph''s feet would fall in the water underneath the ice.


    Ralph felt his body growing colder as his legs contacted the icy cold water.


    He used his arms to apply the force on the ice to get his body out. However, the ice he was applying force broke as well.


    Soon, his body began to submerge in water as he struggled in water to get out.


    The Ice Trolls soon approached his location and immediately sealed his ability to move by lowering the temperature in water and turning it back to ice.


    Ralph felt his body temperature decreasing at a quick rate. He was getting more anxious. He couldn''t even turn his head.


    What should he do? How could heplete this mission if he couldn''t even get out of this ice?


    Ironically, this cold ice that had fixed him to a spot was exactly what he needed to cool off.


    It gave him the time to actually stop and think. All this while, his body was on the move while his mind remained fixated on trying to dodge or run.


    But now, his body was fixed while his mind was running at full force to find a way to free himself.


    And soon, Ralph found the answer.


    Just when the Ice Trolls were very close to him, Ralph''s body began to increase in size.


    This was his Beast Transformation Skill along with a minor shapeshifting technique.


    He was attempting to grow in size to burst through the ice that had trapped him.


    The ice began to fracture slowly but steadily.


    "X sh."


    Ralph used this technique and threw it out towards two Ice Trolls that wereing from the north direction.


    The two Ice Trolls saw an X-shaped pure Ardor attack that charged towards them.


    Ahead of the Ice Trolls, a robust Ice Wall was quickly formed, easily dispersing the X sh.


    However, the X-sh wasn''t Ralph''s main attack. When the Ice wall was raised, he used another skill, "zing ws."


    With that, he immediately charged over and broke the Ice Wall and shed the Ice Trolls behind it.


    Once the two Ice Trolls ahead of him were destroyed, he quickly turned around to focus on the other ones.


    However, he found out that he was showered with a lot of Sharp Icicles.


    Ralph muttered, "zing Arms."


    Soon, both of his arms erupted in mes, and he made a hasty cross with his arms in front of his chest to block the approaching Icicles.


    Ralph felt the Icicles strike his arms and winced in pain.


    He could feel that his mes were somewhat weaker because of the surrounding so it was harder for him to block his enemies'' attacks.


    ~~


    In Training Ground 3, Sargan was fighting against some gnomes.


    He had already tried out his petrification ability and found that it had no effect on those gnomes.


    It seemed that Azaroth had already nned for his eye powers while designing this array. Unlike Ralph though, Sargan remained calm.


    He knew that the very ground he stood on was perhaps his enemy. It could suddenly attack him at the worst possible moment.


    He gazed at the gnomes formation and noticed that they were in 6-4 formation. Basically, 6 gnomes were behind the 4 gnomes.


    Clearly, the 4 gnomes ahead were to intercept any attack he released and once these 4 gnomes dealt with that attack, the 6 gnomes would each unleash an attack at him.


    There was no point in trying to attack them from the sides. The ones in the center kept their directions covered.


    Sargan understood that taking them out with a cheap trick was unlikely. Azaroth had clearly designed them with basic intelligence.


    He created a small lightning ball in his hand and threw them on the ground.


    Dust cloud suddenly rose up and covered up.


    Some might consider this move foolish. Because even if Sargan had hidden from the gnomes'' eyes, the gnomes should still be able to find him with their affinity to earth.


    However, the gnomes sensed nothing from Sargan''s spot. They increased their search radius yet they found nothing.


    Soon, a couple more lightning balls were shot towards them. The gnomes reacted quickly to the attack and raised an Earth wall to block it.


    As the Lightning ball crashed against the Earth Wall, it raised another dust cloud. This time the dust cloud very near to the gnomes.


    A couple of lightning balls were shot near the gnomes but none of them struck them. However, the dust cloud was growing denser and soon it was no longer possible to see more than 10 meters with a naked eye.


    Naturally, it wasn''t a problem for the gnomes as they could sense each other using their affinity with Earth.


    However, it had to be known that the gnomes could only sense the opponent if his feet were on the ground.


    And the gnomes had still no idea about Sargan''s location. This clearly meant he wasn''t standing on the ground.


    The dust cloud around the gnomes was rather dense and it was quite difficult to see through it.


    At that moment, Sargan suddenly appeared in between them. Within a short time interval, he turned towards the 6 gnomes at the back and shot his 6 lightning balls at them at the same time.


    He had decided to eliminate these 6 first.


    The lightning balls were fast enough to eliminate his targets. Another reason was that the gnomes didn''t sense Sargan''s attack until it was toote. The timing and distance he chose tounch his attack were perfect.


    But a secondter, Sargan''s feet touched the ground. As soon as that urred, all the 4 gnomes ahead of him turned around to face him.


    Sargan was sure they would be ready to face any attack heunched at them. However, he had no other choice than to attack them head-on. He was too close to them and if he remained here, they could attack him in any way as they pleased.


    He quickly made his decision and his entire body released purple lightning sparks. Four of his fingers werepletely enveloped with his purple lightning.


    ''Four Lightning Fingers!''


    He immediately thrust out that arm with all his might.


    However, before he had even thrust out his arm, four extremely sturdy-looking Earth Walls were raised.


    Sargan felt his attack pierce those Earth Walls but the gnomes had somehow managed to dodge it.


    A robust rock struck his body and threw him far away.


    While he was flying, he was thinking about what had just happened.


    ''Those Earth Walls'' purpose wasn''t to block my attack but to deflect it. It slightly shifted the direction of my attack towards the ground. These gnomes are actually crafty.''


    While Sargannded on the ground, he noted that the 6 Gnomes he had destroyed had already been recreated.


    They lookedpletely fresh and they soon raised their hands.


    Sargan immediately rolled away from his sport and he was right to have done so at that moment. Because multiple Earth Spikes were raised at the spot he had fallen.


    Sargan had no time to even check on those Earth Spikes as he immediately jumped as high as he could and caught the branch of a tree with one hand.


    He began thinking of another way to attack those gnomes on the ground.


    The gnomes this time weren''t blinded by that dust cloud. They looked at Sargan and immediately hurled several rocks at him.


    Sargan swiftly swung his body around and let go of his grip on the branch. He was soon perched upon a limb of another tree.


    The gnomes shifted their targets but Sargan was also quick in climbing the tree.


    Sargan quickly climbed to the summit of the tree. With such a massive gap between them, the gnomes couldn''t assault him.


    This was Sargan''s original idea, but he observed how swiftly the gnomes gathered.


    He had no intention of fighting them over their ns. It was preferable to counterattack with his own onught.


    Sargan leaped from the top of the tree not long after. He sped his hands together, bracing himself for the collision with the earth. His position was simr to that of a swimmer diving into a pool from a great height.


    Except, he was going to crash against the hard ground.


    Something simr to an aura construct formed around his body. It was thin in width but it possessed a lot of Sargan''s Ardor.


    "Asura Avatar."


    "Flying Press."


    As he neared the ground, Sargan''s speed increased. The power of his attack also increased.


    Once he crashed into the ground, he created something akin to a giant explosion that destroyed all the gnomes around him.


    Sargan was delighted as heid on the ground. There were multiple injuries on his body that urred because of the fall. Currently, his Asura Avatar wasn''t perfected.


    If it had been wless, he wouldn''t have been hurt while falling from that height.


    His delight was short-lived though. Because he saw several gnomes regenerating around him.


    There was a sour look on his face as he thought ''Let me rest a little, damn you!''

 Chapter 78 - The Other Trials (2)

    In Training Ground 4, Laura was stationed in a hot desert.


    She was running at her top speed while dodging the fireballs from the Lava Plumes.


    These Lava Plumes were here nemesis along with the surroundings.


    Because of the extreme heat in this desert, her wood element was severely weakened. And anyva plume me assault would quickly destroy the wood that had been produced.


    Her movements were slowed by the scorching sand underneath her feet.


    Fortunately, her gravity array training had trained her to walk with more energy, so she didn''t have a hard time adapting to sprinting in the sand.


    Laura manipted her wood element to dodge theva plumes attacks. She had managed to dodge plenty of attacks sessfully but had little to no idea of how she should counter-attack.


    She was scared of those mes hurting her.


    But from what she understood about the array, if she didn''t work hard, she won''t benefit from it.


    She remembered how hard it was for her to catch up to others in the gravity array training regimen. If she got left behind here, there would be no more opportunity to catch up.


    Once that thought appeared in her mind, Laura halted her movements. She began to gather the Ardor using the Royal Elven Cultivation Technique.


    ''Although they have a really scary attack, their bodies look weak. As long as I cannd a solid blow, they should be destroyed.''


    She immediately moved towards her right to dodge an iing me arrow.


    ''If I attack them with my wood element, they will intercept it with their me element. In these surroundings, the me element heavily dominates. Wait¡­''


    She had a brilliant idea and was eager to put it to the test.


    Laura began to move towards the Lava Plumes but she was careful of their long-ranged attacks. She dodged all the iing attacks and smiled in delight.


    After a few seconds, under the ground underneath the Lava Plumes, the vines were expanding in such a manner that they covered all of them at the same time.


    Laura concentrated a little and activated them all at the same time.


    Before the Lava Plumes senses could alert them, they were all stabbed by those wood vines.


    After stabbing theva plumes, the vines began to burn. However, Laura noticed that theva plumes were also disappearing.


    She was ecstatic when she realized that her method had worked.


    ''I won''t remain behind this time!''


    Theva plumes soon began to regenerate.


    With a determined look, Laura walked closer to the Lava Plumes. If she was closer, she could control the vines more efficiently.


    However, in her excitement, she had wrongly estimated her own reaction speed and was struck by a couple of fireballs.


    Before she could stand and understand her situation, 3 Lava Plumes immediately charged at her body with their bodies ring with mes.


    Just as Laura stood up, those threeva plumes crashed into her body. Fortunately, she had already reinforced her entire body with Ardor or she would have some nasty burns.


    Laura understood that this time, it wouldn''t be as easy asst time. For some reason, these Lava Plumes remained at their positions and attacked her from a distance. But this time, they were taking the initiative for the close-rangedbat as well.


    But she wasn''t as scared as earlier.


    She thought that if she could deal with them one time then it was definitely possible to do so again.


    She promptly lifted her palm and released wooden branches from her hand as she saw the threeva plumes ahead of her.


    The threeva plumes spouted out mes from their mouth and tried to burn the branches before they could strike them.


    Laura was prepared for their counter-attack. She controlled the branches in such a way that they would dodge those mes and strike the Lava Plumes.


    Even the Lava Plumes probably hadn''t expected it as their mes struck Laura while their bodies were pierced by those branches.


    Laura was more or less unfazed even when the mes struck her body. She had used plenty of Ardor in her defense.


    There were no injuries on her body because she was proficient in healing as well.


    She nced at the remaining Lava Plumes in the distance.


    Laura realized after her most recent bout that she had a chance to win even if she fought them all.


    Vines began to release from her body as they approached the Lava Plumes from two directions.


    One set of vines was going through the air while the other set was going through the ground.


    Theva plumes were aiming toward the vines in the air, but their bodies were quickly prated by the vines that covered the space through the ground.


    Laura almost jumped excitedly as she destroyed another batch of the Lava Plumes without many injuries. The only problem was her loss of Ardor but she was recovering it quickly by using her cultivation technique.


    "This is fun!"


    Perhaps she was the only one until now who thought of this training as fun.


    ~~


    In Training Ground 5, once the Array had activated for Yrellea, she found that she was slowly flying in the sky.


    Soon enough, she was so high in the sky that she could see everything in her surrounding. Even the other training grounds¡­


    She saw the training ground next to hers were both deserts. These were of Laura and Tiana.


    Meanwhile, when she looked in Training Grounds 1-3 direction, she saw two of them were thick forests while one was an Icy ne.


    Yrellea found it difficult to understand just what sort of Array Azaroth had constructed.


    How could he construct such diverse arrays in just 2 weeks? These were arrays she hadn''t even heard of when she lived together with her n.


    Slowly, she tried to move around and found that she could fly quite easily. It was as if she had to strongly will herself to move in a specific direction and her body would respond automatically.


    Her opponents were yet to materialize, maybe because she was the only one whose training was in the air. She was instead given some time to learn how to fly.


    After a couple of minutes, Yrellea found her opponents in the air.


    She noticed ten Golden Lightning Snakes in the air, flying just some distance away from her. These Golden Lightning Snakes had a horn on their head and their entire bodies seemed to be made of Lightning Element.


    ''Isn''t this a Python? Why would master call it a snake?''


    Yrellea didn''t understand this. ording to what she remembered, a snake with a small horn was called a Python. Its'' face and length also matched that of a Python.


    In reality, Azaroth considered python, flood dragons, and other lesser dragon species as snakes. So for simplicity, when he talked of any of them, he would call them snakes.


    If any of the Flood Dragons or the Pythons knew of Azaroth''s thoughts, they would strongly wish to tear him apart.


    There was a massive difference between a Python and a Snake.


    A python possessed a trace of Dragonic Bloodline while the same wasn''t true for a Snake.


    Anyway, it didn''t matter much to Yrellea right now.


    Her opponents didn''t give her too much time to contemte her method of attack.


    The Lightning Pythons thundered lightning at Yrellea and intended to kill her.


    Yrellea hadn''t even moved before a bolt of lightning struck her body. She clenched her teeth and endured the pain.


    Before the second set of Bolt of Lightning could strike her, Yrellea had already strongly willed to move away.


    This time, she was a split second faster and managed to dodge the lightning attack.


    Once she dodged the lightning attacks, she saw that the Lightning Snakes were seemingly charging up for another attack.


    ''Water Stream.''


    Yrelleaunched a high pressured water attack at the Lightning Snakes.


    It struck three of the Lightning Snakes and pierced their bodies.


    But Yrellea had no time to get happy as the other Lightning Snakes attacked that water stream and passed their electricity through water.


    Yrellea was electrified as a result of their attack, and she felt paralyzed. Her thoughts were racing, but her body remained still.


    This was not a good idea against these Lightning Snakes.


    One of the Lightning Snakes approached her while she was paralyzed and struck her gut with its tail.


    Yrellea felt as though she had been hit by a substantial brick, even though the Lightning Snakes'' bodies were formed of lightning.


    However, she found out that she could the paralysis effect had vanished and she could move her body.


    While she faced the Lightning Snakes, Yrellea spent the majority of her time dodging their attacks.


    She was quick in attacking them when an opportunity presented itself and would immediately stop using her water element once the enemy had been defeated.


    This way, the Lightning Snakes wouldn''t be able to use the earlier method to be able to strike her body in the same manner.


    Azaroth had given her Heavenly Poison Scripture. Even though it was mainly a technique to refine poisons and infuse them with her body and increase her cultivation base, she could also use this technique to absorb the energy from the surrounding. Just that she was somewhat slower than others with the cultivation art of the same level.


    However, Yrellea didn''t mind it in the slightest. This cultivation art was still countless times better than the cultivation technique she saw in her n.


    Using this technique, she began to absorb the energy from the surrounding. But because she now had to concentrate on cultivating and flying at the same time, she couldn''t dodge the attacks as effectively.


    Her body showed signs of burns as the lightning continued to strike her body.

 Chapter 79 - Divine Holy Devil Physique

    The training ground 6 and 4 were simr. Tiana was standing in a hot desert with scorching sand underneath her feet.


    The Lava Plumes were attacking her with their mes.


    Unlike others, Tiana hadn''t fought all that much so she was definitely the weakest in terms ofbat strength.


    She was an art student and she only began to cultivate after entering the Rhodes Mansion.


    She knew no cultivation technique or a way to control her element. Her 2 Star Rank Cultivation was a result of eating rare herbs and also her natural talent as Three Yin Physique.


    Azaroth''s gravity array training was the only actual training she had received.


    Tiana found out that one thing she could do was run away from the attacks. Because of the gravity array training, she was confident in her speed and stamina even in this desert.


    Unlike others, she had no real motivation toplete this training.


    Before Tiana had reached her training ground, Azaroth met up with her.


    Azaroth was clear about her situation and had thus ordered her to take it easy and survive.


    By ordering her to practice in this array, he had no intention of sending her to her death. After all, a ve who was dead was less useful than one who was living.


    However, even if she remained in this array and persisted for one hour, she would receive some benefits atleast.


    Tiana was dodging nearly every attack as she saw through the timing of the Lava Plumes.


    Every time theva plumes would be about to attack, she would unconsciously have a dreadful feeling and dodge in the opposite direction.


    Her sixth sense was unusually strong!


    And as she dodged more attacks, her confidence in dodging and grasping the timing of these Lava Plumes increased.


    Her sixth sense that was a god-gifted talent was being polished by repeatedly dodging the Lava Plumes'' attacks.


    Naturally, it would be wrong to say she had dodged them all.


    There were some attacks she couldn''t dodge because of the sand slowing her down so she had learned to use Ardor to defend her body.


    Just as Azaroth had stated, even if she didn''t attack and just focused on defending or dodging, she would benefit immensely from this training regimen.


    ~~


    While his retainers were training, Azaroth was feeding Zena, the Crimson Lightning Phoenix. Once Zean was full, she began to sleep on Azaroth''s bed.


    Azaroth left the little bird in the wooden mansion and proceeded to walk towards the fields.


    He was inspecting what the farmers were doing.


    For a few days, it was necessary to show them he won''t tolerate any indiscipline. Any other matter could wait but the food was very necessary.


    Depending on eating the bodies of the beasts was a very crude idea. He wanted some diversity and a stable source of food.


    Also, once he had enough, he could begin exporting the food to the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    ''If my guess is right then Sophie should arrive in a week or two. Using her, I can take the n to the next phase.''


    After some minutes, Azaroth soon went towards his personal training ground.


    Forbidden Array: World-Breaking Bloodline Extention was alreadypleted. Just three drops of his blood were required and it would activate.


    He braced himself for what was going to happen.


    Soon, Azaroth dropped three drops of his blood onto the Array.


    The Array activated as the red color began to glow on the ground, forming some strange pattern.


    The patter was so strange that it sparked a little as it activated. Azaroth sat in the middle of this array while using the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique.


    Blood Red stones embedded in the ground were shining and their powers were concentrating in the air.


    While this urred, the clouds darkened. Clearly, whatever Azaroth was attempting, Heaven had also sensed it. This was a Forbidden Array that vited the rules set by the Heavens.


    Without any warning, Heaven sent down a massive bolt of lightning at Azaroth, intending to kill him and destroy this heretic array.


    Azaroth didn''t even move as a reddish bolt of lightning targeted him.


    He remained seated as a barrier immediately formed, blocking the Heavenly Lightning. In reality, the barrier hadn''t actually blocked the Heavenly Lightning but split it and redirected it into the ground.


    It was made of valuable materials, and it was primarily to establish this barrier that Azaroth spent so much time here.


    Azaroth was initially doubtful whether this barrier would hold up against the Heavenly Lightning or not. But it seemed that the Heavenly Lightning thrown at him wasn''t a high-leveled one so he was somewhat relieved about it.


    The blood-red-colored energy suddenly enveloped Azaroth''s body and slowly disappeared.


    Currently, this energy was ring the demonic essence present in his blood and empowering it.


    Because this was Edwin''s body that possessed the Celestial Blood, the three drops of Demonic Essence were quitecking inparison to the Celestial Blood.


    Hence, he first nned to increase the Demonic Blood Essence within his body.


    Azaroth''s body red up with Demonic Ardor as his Heavenly Demon Physique began to undergo a massive change.


    The dark energy had grown denser while his muscles had decreased in width.


    Another horn on the left side of his head sprouted in the same way as the one on his right side.


    Both his horns were now of the same length.


    Azaroth couldn''t focus on such details though. He was concentrating on his Demonic Blood essence that seemed to grow in strength by swallowing his Human Blood.


    He could halt it but Azaroth allowed it. He felt pain in his body as it began to change.


    His organs and his bones absorbed a lot of Demonic Ardor and were permanently enhanced with it.


    His body was now at the same level as a warrior who focused on Body Cultivation.


    This was pretty impressive considering his Cultivation Art gave top results for Body Cultivation and Ardor cultivation at the same time.


    Nearly 20 minutes passed and the speed at which the Demonic Blood devoured his Human Blood was increasing.


    Azaroth was growing somewhat worried whether he could even stop his Demonic Essence Blood or not.


    If he became aplete demon, he would have to return to Purgatory or find demons''irs on Frascoia Continent as he didn''t think that humans would let a pure demon live on thisnd.


    Azaroth''s Demonic Blood Essence concentration reached nearly 2-3% of the total blood in his body.


    However, Azaroth found out that his worries were for naught as he felt a Holy Power within him activate.


    Azaroth wasn''t using his Holy Ardor so this was his pure Celestial Blood that activated and prevented the Demonic Blood Essence from expanding more.


    In fact, as his Celestial Bloodline awoke, it shed against the Demonic Blood Essence, purifying some of Azaroth''s Demon Blood Essence back to Human Blood.


    Azaroth grinned as he controlled his Celestial Blood Essence and slowly forced it away from the Demonic Blood Essence.


    In this entire process, Azaroth''s only fear was that his Celestial Blood Essence wouldn''t react and also get swallowed by the Demonic Blood Essence.


    But it seemed that he was worried for nothing.


    The Celestial Blood began to purify the Human blood around it into the Celestial Blood while the Demonic Blood continued to swallow Azaroth''s Human Blood and expand.


    Azaroth was focusing on his entire body and kept note of the concentration of his blood.


    After 20 more minutes, Azaroth''s Demonic Blood had reached 20% of the concentration in his body.


    Once that had urred, Azaroth used his Humanely Ardor and forcefully contained the Demonic Blood.


    Azaroth also controlled a part of his Celestial Blood and ced it near to the Demonic Blood. Now, the Demonic Blood wouldn''t be able to expand itself.


    Soon enough, the Celestial Blood also reached 20% of the concentration in his body.


    Azaroth then forcefully connected the Celestial Blood and the Demonic Blood using his Human Blood as a bridge.


    He was bing a hybrid not just in Ardor but bloodline as well.


    Outside his body, his Heavenly Demon Physique had changed greatly! In fact, it had changed so greatly that it couldn''t be considered a demon physique at all.


    The Demonic Ardor that covered Azaroth''s body had vanished. However, the horns remained on Azaroth''s head that did release a faint bit of Demonic Ardor. A pair of pure white wings sprouted on his back that released Holy Ardor.


    Azaroth''s Heavenly Demon Physique had permanently changed. It had now evolved into Divine Holy Devil Physique.


    Azaroth slowly opened his eyes. One eye was of Purple color while the other was of Golden Color.


    His horns and wings gradually faded away, and he reverted to his normal human shape. If someone were to observe him carefully now, they would notice that not only his skin had turned fairer but his face had changed slightly.


    It was a very gradual change but it had somehow made him look much more attractive. In terms of numbers, if his charm value was 70 earlier then it was nearly 100 right now.


    This pretty face was because Azaroth''s Celestial Blood had activated. This was a passive ability possessed by the highly pure bloodline of Celestials, known as Absolute Beauty.


    When he peered up, he saw that the Heavenly Lightning was still pounding his barrier.


    The barrier didn''t seem to be capable of holding up for another ten minutes.


    Azaroth deactivated the array but kept the barrier active.


    He didn''t want to be struck by the Heavenly Lightning.. Once the array was deactivated, the dark clouds began to disperse.

 Chapter 80 - Silent Death Organization Branchs Destruction

    A massive fight had erupted in Wrihull City, as the Merchant Union and the Silent Death Organization fought under Jonas'' supervision.


    The Silent Death Organization had caught wind of the fact that Jonas had joined forces with Merchant Union to annihte them.


    Riley, the leader of the Silent Death Organization branch in Wrihull City, had immediately sent his loyal subordinates to the Lamhilian Theocracy.


    His motive was for them to inform their organization head and make Jonas pay for this action in the future.


    Jonas knew that Riley had sent some of his men back to the main base to protect them but he didn''t intervene.


    He wasn''t scared of the vengeance of the Silent Death Organization. This was the Sinyalian Kingdom, if they wanted to make a big move against a Marquis Family, the Royal Family wouldn''t just sit and let the show go on.


    The Silent Death Organization was also causing havoc in the city. Jonas was correct in his approach to them.


    Whether morally or politically, Jonas had multiple ways to keep the dirt off himself. He had involved the Merchant Union to have a safeguard.


    It was well known among the Noble Families that the Merchant Union was created by the Royal Family. If Silent Death Organization tried to target Jonas, he would bring the Merchant Union down with him.


    At that time, the King would surely be forced to protect them.


    The news of this battle reached the King''s ears. He was surprised that Jonas suddenly took such a ruthless action against the Silent Death Organization.


    He ordered his subordinates to gather more information regarding this incident.


    Meanwhile, Riley''s body riddled with injuriesid in front of Jonas. He showed an angry look and red at Jonas.


    Jonas returned that re with a smirk.


    "I recall your arrival in this courtyard thest time. You requested that I remain out of your affairs and release your soldiers to you. I also recall warning you that if you cross me, your face would taste this ground." Jonas spoke with a mocking look.


    Riley trembled upon those words and tried to raise his body to attack Jonas but a lightning spear pierced his stomach before he could get up.


    "Stay down."


    Just besides Riley, a rather buffed man stood with an impassive look on his face. His name was Alred Massey, also known as the Lightning King. He was the leader of the branch of Merchant Union in Wrihull City.


    Currently, other than an impassive expression, hisplexion was somewhat pale as well.


    Jonas nced at Riley and spoke, "You should know that even if you get up in this state, defeating me would be impossible."


    Riley looked angry as he shouted at Jonas while coughing some blood, "Why did you deal with the Silent Death Organization, Marquis Jonas? Was it because of our differences?"


    Jonas sneered in response and replied, "Aren''t you the one who was acting as if the Rhodes Family didn''t exist in the past couple of months? You think I don''t know about your actions? Just because I stayed silent didn''t mean I was unaware."


    "Then why take an action now?" Riley inquired, more out of interest and sorrow than out of anger.


    Jonas responded casually, "Because it was a rare situation when both you and Merchant Union had been fooled by someone else. It would be foolish to let go of such an opportunity and not destroy one of my adversaries."


    His response also somewhat red up the Lightning King standing right ahead of him. But the Lightning King didn''t dare to show it on his face.


    Although Jonas seemed to enjoy influencing others from the sidelines, he was far from weak.


    The Lightning King wasn''t even sure if he could defeat Jonas in his peak state let alone in his current state.


    He was forcefully suppressing that Golden Lightning from that Beast Emperor''s Egg.


    If the Lightning King knew that Azaroth had already mutated the beast and turned it into Crimson Lightning Phoenix and hatched the egg, his face would be quite a sight to behold.


    "I also have a question for you, Riley. What were your men searching in the city? What treasure have you lost that you were so adamant on breaking the rules and killing anyone who refused toply with you." Jonas'' tone was solemn, and it was clear that he was looking for answers.


    Riley heard Jonas and began to chuckle for some reason. The Lightning King also turned his head towards Riley and was wondering just what he had lost.


    "I won''t tell you~" Riley replied with a singsong voice.


    The Lightning King was about to use some of his Lightning and torture Riley but Jonas raised his hand to stop him.


    Jonas suddenly stood up and neared Riley.


    There was a look of pity as he gazed at Riley. He spoke, "Riley, you must have heard that when I was young, I used to torture the criminals. I want to ask you if you have heard about a criminal who hasn''t talked after I began to torture him. Can you guess the number?"


    Riley experienced goosebumps as he heard Jonas. But he didn''t reply. He just braced himself for any pain he was going to experience.


    "I hope you can be the first one who can endure the torturepletely." Jonas held the Spears'' shaft that had pierced Riley.


    His hand began glowing with a blue color.


    Riley suddenly felt mysterious energy in his body.


    "Now then¡­ How would you like to die?" The energy in Riley suddenly began to tear apart his body.


    The Lightning King stood there, observing Jonas. He understood that Jonas was using Spear Qi to inflict internal damage to Riley.


    In Riley''s current state, the Spear Qi was more than enough to deal with him.


    Riley still didn''t give in. He gritted his teeth and hatefully red at Jonas, "I will never give you the satisfaction of knowing the answer."


    "Let me deduce something for you. You will tell me. And it will be after this." Jonas replied with an amused look.


    Even Lightning King looked in surprise and wondered what Jonas was going to say.


    Soon, Jonas pulled out a ss jar from his Spatial Ring.


    He stopped using his Spear Qi and let Riley take a moment of rest. All of this was to let Riley take a look at the ss jar.


    When Riley looked at the jar, he gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he saw it was filled with ants.


    But these weren''t those regr ants he crushed under his feet. These were Bone Eating Ants.


    "What will happen if I throw them all on your body?"


    There was a hint of pity on the Lightning King''s face as he saw this. He spoke to Riley, "You should speak now than to endure the torture. Even if you stay silent, your direct subordinates might not be able to endure the torture. What if they open their mouth even after all you have endured? Wouldn''t it all be a waste?"


    Riley hesitated after hearing the Lightning King.


    The information about Laura was known to him, his brother, and some other higher-ups of the Silent Death Organization.


    He knew Finley won''t be able to endure torture from either the Spear Qi or these Bone Eating Ants.


    With a forced expression on his face, Riley spoke, "Promise me you won''t torture my brother or anyone else from our organization."


    Jonas replied offhandedly, "You think I am so free to torture your subordinates for fun?"


    Some momentster, Riley spoke, "¡­The thing we lost wasn''t a treasure. We lost a ve. And we were searching for that ve in the city."


    "You raised such greatmotion in the city because you were finding a mere ve?" Jonas grew somewhat angry at Riley.


    Riley chuckled at Jonas and soon responded, "The identity of that ve was quite special you see."


    "Consider me curious," Jonas replied with his voice dripping with sarcasm.


    "She was an Elf. Moreover, a Royal Blooded Elf." Riley dropped the bomb in the courtyard.


    The courtyard was deafeningly quiet for a few seconds.


    "¡­What did you say? A Royal Blooded Elf?!" The Lightning King shouted in shock.


    Riley looked amused when he saw the Lightning King react with such shock and replied, "That''s correct. Our men were trying to find her after she suddenly disappeared when your manager appeared in our base while searching for his ''treasures''."


    The Lightning King didn''t look so convinced as he asked, "What''s the guarantee you are telling the truth?"


    Riley replied, "Take a guess."


    Soon after, the two heard a burst of loudughter. When the Lightning King and Riley nced at Jonas.


    "Alright. You can leave now." He suddenly dispersed the Lightning King.


    Both were surprised at his sudden decision. The Lightning King spoke with a solemn voice, "The Merchant Union did as you asked, Marquis Jonas. Now it''s your turn to fulfill your end of the deal."


    The deal was to receive a Supreme Rejuvenation Pill in exchange for the Silent Death Organizations'' destruction.


    Suddenly, the Lightning King saw Jonas throwing a pill at him. He was shocked to see that it was the very same Supreme Rejuvenation Pill promised to him.


    "This is a 6 Star Pill. Ingest it and heal yourself. Our cooperation ends now." Jonas spoke.


    The Lightning King was somewhat excited as he held that pill and nodded his head, "I shall take my leave then."


    Soon, the Lightning King departed from the courtyard.


    Jonas looked at Riley and then summoned a servant, "Use the Ardor Locking Metals and throw him in the prison underground."


    "Yes, milord."


    ''To think there was a Royal Elf in my territory. And the Silent Death organization was even selling her as a ve. What a waste. This matter''s importance far overtakes the Beast Emperor''s Egg. Now, where should I search?''


    In reality, as Jonas thought about the situation. This matter urred nearly a month ago. No matter who the perpetrator was, he should have already left his territory by now.


    After all, why would he stay in the territory when he had the goods? He must have already prepared an escape n and was in some other part of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    ''Has this opportunity really slipped my fingers?''


    There was a hint of dissatisfaction on Jonas'' face.


    ~~


    The very next day, the King received news that the Silent Death Organization had been destroyed in Wrihull City and Jonas had imprisoned their branch leader Riley.


    Moreover, Jonas even reported a piece of spicy information the King Valliadis. The Silent Death Organization had kept a Royal Elf imprisoned along with their ves. However, a month ago, the Royal Elf had mysteriously escaped.


    She was the reason behind the Silent Death Organization''s chaotic actions.


    The King was visibly excited when he heard that there was a Royal Elf present in his Kingdom.


    He immediately sent his order to Jonas and asked him to send Riley to Mesenana City.. He also released a notice that Jonas would be handsomely rewarded for this information.

 Chapter 81 - Rankings

    The destruction of Silent Death Organizations'' branch in Wrihull City soon spread in the entire Kingdom.


    Such information couldn''t possibly be kept hidden for long.


    The entire Kingdom was talking about how Marquis Jonas had suddenly destroyed the Silent Death Organization''s branch as a show of power.


    But the other Noble House knew that the situation was not as simple as it seemed. Whenever Jonas took action, there was a precise reason for it. He was never one to act impulsively on such a grand scale.


    Each Noble House sent their spies to find the details regarding this incident. If possible, they wanted to reap some benefits along the way as well. But more importantly, it would allow them to gain deeper insight into what urred between Jonas and the Silent Death Organization.


    The King had also released a statement within his spies and other informants. They were to find an Elf at all costs. He further added that she had stolen something of great importance and it was absolutely necessary to capture her and bring her to the Pce. Whoever aplished the task would be allowed to choose a treasure of their own choosing from the Treasure Pce.


    The King had already rewarded Jonas with a Treasured Spear named Stormedge, Soul of Storms. Jonas had his eyes on this Spear for quite some time and was thankful to the King.


    Using this Spear, hisbat ability had increased greatly.


    This spear possessed one ability that Jonas urgently required. The wielder of this spear would be immune to all illusions.


    Jonas kept the knowledge about the Royal Elf hidden from the rest of the group. The info about the Royal Elf was known only to the King, Jonas, the Lightning King Alred, and a few of the King''s loyal acquaintances.


    Jonas and the King didn''t want the other Noble Families to catch wind of this information. If they joined in as well, it would be difficult for the Royal Family to grab hold of the target.


    Naturally, this meant that Jonas hid this information from his harem as well.


    However, Azaroth still managed to deduce that Jonas had found out about Laura''s true identity. Moreover, he had given up on trying to find her and had already informed the king in return for a reward.


    These were his guesses from the information he received from Josephine. But soon, his guesses turned into facts as he heard the King''s new orders to Sean and Gibson.


    They had been tasked to find an Elf in the area and immediately report it.


    Even after learning that the King had started looking for Laura, Azaroth remainedposed.


    <em>''The King has no lead on Laura''s location. Even if he finds a shaman, it won''t lead him to this town. However, I still need to remain cautious. Maybe it''s time to fix their residence to a little more in the outskirts of the town.''</em>


    ~~


    The training of Azaroth''s retainers had ended soon enough. The one who had destroyed the most minions in the array was Noah.


    The second-ranked person was Sargan.


    Third-ranked was Laura.


    The fourth-ranked was Ralph.


    The fifth-ranked was Yrellea.


    Thest ce was Tiana with just 3 kills.


    A massive amount of energy was sent into their body ording to the results gathered in the array and each one of them spent half an hour assimting it.


    This energy not only increased their cultivation but also healed their bodies back to full health.


    Noah''s body absorbed so much energy that he easily broke through the 2 Star Rank. Sargan had recovered his 3 Star Rank Cultivation because of the energy absorbed by him.


    Ralph had reached a peak 2 Star Rank while there was not much change in Laura, Yrellea, and Tiana''s cultivation.


    Each one was feeling differently about this training array.


    Noah wasn''t happy even though he had done much better than hisrades. He lookedrgely unsatisfied as he felt that he could have done much better.


    Sargan had a calm expression as he was analyzing the entire battle. He wondered where he had to improve next.


    Laura was just delighted to know that she wasn''tst this time. She felt confident in dealing with those Lava Plumes next time much quicker.


    Ralph was confused as he thought back to his time in the array. He felt as if he had done his best yet it wasn''t enough. He reached the conclusion that he needed to remain calm.


    Yrellea and Tiana were somewhat dissatisfied but for different reasons. Yrellea was frustrated because those Lightning Snakes were hard to defeat with her water attribute.


    While Tiana didn''t know how to use her element so she couldn''t fight back at all. She was frustrated about herck of ability to fight.


    Azaroth soon appeared before each of them and gathered them in his personal training ground.


    He looked at their expressions, their emotions, and guessed their thoughts.


    Meanwhile, his retainers observed him as well.


    Yrellea wondered as sheid her eyes on Azaroth ''Did he get even more handsome?'' She found out that she couldn''t move her eyes away from his body.


    Her heart was beating rapidly and when she looked at Laura, she noticed a simr blush on her face.


    These were the effects of Absolute Beauty!


    "The levels of this elemental training regimen were designed while keeping your cultivation and potential in mind. I am sure you must have noticed that after you defeat a batch of these minions, the next ones will be trickier to defeat."


    "Yes. I felt as if I had to change my n every time I encountered a new wave." Laura spoke unhappily. She had to trouble her mind to think of a new n while dealing with a new wave.


    Sargan added, "As we kill more waves, the minions begin to perform individually while also coordinating their attacks with each other. That is when it bes really difficult to take out even one of them."


    Azaroth then looked at Noah and found out he wasn''t speaking.


    "Don''t you have anything to say, Noah?" Azaroth asked him with a smile.


    "...I will beat them all the next time," Noah said as he raised his head and peered into Azaroth''s eyes.


    The smile on Azaroth''s face widened slightly and he nodded in satisfaction, "Good. This is the confidence I needed to hear."


    He then regained a solemn look and added, "You will train in this Elemental Array next week. In this time, master the skills you can and form more attack patterns. This elemental array training isn''t just so you can increase your Ardor but more so that you can enhance yourbat experience."


    "Alright. Everyone but Yrellea and Tiana can disperse now."


    Everyone except Yrellea and Tiana left the area.


    Yrellea was nervous. She thought Azaroth was perhaps disappointed by herck of ability and nned to reprimand her.


    She looked at Tiana and noticed how she was still rather calm.


    Azaroth first talked to Yrellea, "I understand the issue you faced in your training. Firstly, you aren''t used to flying, and secondly, the lightning is the bane of your element. Isn''t that right?"


    Yrellea slowly nodded her head.


    Azaroth smirked and replied, "The first point is merely your inexperience. As you fly more in the array, you will grow better at it. However, it''s absolutely rubbish to think that Lightning is the bane of Water."


    "Let me tell you a secret. Water is the bane of Lightning. Pure Water that is¡­" Before Yrellea could ask him what he meant, Azaroth ordered her, "Think about it deeply and you will have your answer. You can leave now."


    Yrellea couldn''t remain behind now that she had been dispersed.


    Finally, it was Azaroth and Tiana who remained behind.


    "I did ask you to defend yourself. It''s good that you learned to use Ardor defensively." Azaroth spoke.


    Tiana neutrally replied, "It wasn''t as hard as I initially thought. Also, the gravity array training helped me in dodging the attacks."


    "Remaining on defense isn''t a bad idea. Especially when you have no way of attacking. Among everyone, perhaps you are the only one who understands this perfectly because of yourck of skill."


    "However, what if you gain the ability to attack as well." Azaroth looked at Tiana with a smirk.


    Tiana saw his smirk and somehow had the urge to ask him a question, "Why did you heal me and then get me here, training me with others?"


    "Because you possess a rare talent and a subordinate with your talent is valuable," Azaroth replied without even batting an eye.


    Azaroth noticed that Tiana didn''t seem convinced with this exnation.


    He decided to add more context, "In reality, my original n was to heal you and hypnotize you into my ve. You were supposed to be my eyes in the Rhodes Manor. However, when I noticed that you possess the Three Yin Physique, I decided that it would be better for me to train you and get a subordinate with good talent."


    Tiana''s eyes widened at the revtion. She asked him anxiously, "Does that mean you will hypnotize me if I disobey your orders?"


    Azaroth began tough, "You worry unnecessarily. If I wanted to hypnotize you, I would have done it already. But still, do remember that the price of disobeying me isn''t falling under my hypnosis skill but death."


    In actuality, Azaroth would have used the hypnosis talent on Tiana by now, but it had a significant disadvantage.


    If he forced her spirit under his control, her cultivation talent would be greatly reduced. No matter how great her physique, it would turn average because of the submissive spirit.


    Also, he wanted an individual as a subordinate, not a puppet. He wasn''t against having puppets but they were clearly not ideal for battle. They had their own jobs they were good at.


    Josephine was one such individual. Azaroth didn''t require herbat ability at all. Her only job was to gather intel and act normally in the Rhodes Mansion.


    Tiana''s thoughts began to recall Azaroth''s final statement. She was now much more terrified of Azaroth.


    Azaroth noticed her emotions and spoke soon, "As I said earlier, you worry unnecessarily. Thinking about the consequences won''t help you. Just remain focused on following the orders."


    Once Azaroth was done speaking, he ordered her to return as well.


    <em>''I need to personally intervene and quicken their pace.. Perhaps it will be better to teach Tiana and Noah how to use their elements.''</em>

 Chapter 82 - Training Noah And Tiana

    During dinner time, Azaroth was eating with his retainers.


    It was a quiet one as all his retainers were thinking of something. Their thoughts were linked with the fact that they wanted to be better.


    By destroying the minions in that elemental array, they understood that they already possessed the power to destroy their opponents. However, they hadn''tpletely mastered their powers yet.


    Atleast, that training had provided them a direction in which they needed to work on.


    Noah and Tiana another issue though. They had to learn to use their element and fight with it as well.


    For Noah, it couldn''t be considered much since he possessed the Sword Qi already but for Tiana, it was a point of great importance.


    "Noah, Tiana,e to the practice area. I''ll show you how to use both of your elements." Azaroth stated to the two in a tone that made it impossible for them to say no.


    Noah looked excited as he heard Azaroth. He was exceptionally curious about his element. He resisted the urge to ask Azaroth right now.


    Meanwhile, Tiana nodded slightly as she acknowledged hismand.


    Yrellea showed a slightly jealous expression as she nced at Tiana.


    <em>''I want to be personally trained by master as well.''</em>


    As she realized her thought, she blushed in response.


    Laura, who sat on the opposite side to Yrellea, noticed how her cheeks had turned red, "Eh? Elder sister, your face is all red. Maybe you trained too much today."


    Yrellea was even more embarrassed as she realized that Laura caught onto her blush.


    Sargan looked at Yrellea and spoke, "Come to the training groundter. I want to try something I have in mind."


    Yrellea looked surprised as she heard Sargan but quickly nodded.


    Laura noticed how everyone was going to train in pairs. She looked at Ralph and said, "Let''s train together as well!"


    "Alright."


    Azaroth gave a nod of satisfaction to Sargan. He had performed wonderfully. He wanted them to form pairs with theirrades. But he also wanted them to reach this conclusion by themselves.


    This was where Sargan came in. He understood his part and asked Ralph


    Training alone and training in pairs led to different results. Training alone would allow an individual to develop physically.


    His thoughts would be more singr and he would try to do everything on his own. There were many merits to this training. The one that stood out the most was that it increased the abilities of an individual greatly.


    Training in pairs would result in good results as well.


    If two individuals of nearly equal ability were to fight against each other, they would learn to formte strategies. Their mind would work faster as they would try to beat their opponent.


    Fighting against a human was much different than fighting against a minion created by an array.


    No matter how well an array designed a minion, it would neverpare to the intelligence or unpredictability of a human.


    However, this training had its share of disadvantages as well.


    Firstly, the individuals who form a pair must be of nearly equal ability. Otherwise, one would dominate too strongly and defeat the purpose of the training.


    Secondly, this sort of training would begin to lose its effect after a certain period. The pair of warriors would be used to each other and know each other''s tricks.


    Hence, Azaroth nned to change their partners every week.


    In this manner, they would learn to fight a variety of warriors. Although this was negligiblepared to the warriors they will fight in the future, he could only give them a start. Walking down the path was something they had to do on their own.


    ~~


    Nearly 2 hours after having dinner, Azaroth was found standing in his training field.


    Noah and Tiana were near him. But they weren''t on their feet.


    Rather, they were out of breath, and their bodies riddled with injuries.


    Azaroth had a cold look as he nced at them with a look full of contempt, "What happened? I still didn''t sense any sort of elemental response from you. Do you want a repeat of what you went through just now? If not then use it! Use your element!"


    A purple aura was released from Azaroth''s body as it targeted the two.


    Tiana looked at Azaroth and felt her terror intensify.


    <em>''H-He is just like a demon. If I don''t use my element, will he kill me?''</em>


    Tiana remembered her conversation with Azaroth earlier during the day. She began to feel as if she was going to die.


    But at this moment, she heard an immature voice that shouted, "Again!"


    When Tiana looked up, she saw Noah standing right in front of Azaroth, raising his arms and trying his best to manifest his element.


    However, nothing happened. Noah failed in using his element once again.


    A whip of dark ardor struck Noah and he fell on the ground. Yet, the little boy didn''t stop. He grounded his teeth and stood up with greater resolve than before.


    To Tiana, she felt as if she was seeing someone struggle against the terrifying demon relentlessly. Not giving up at all.


    Slowly, she felt her consciousness return to reality.


    "Focus! If you wish strongly, your element will undoubtedly respond!" Azaroth abruptly shouted up in a loud voice.


    "Hyaaah!" Noah yelled while raising his arms.


    This time, he felt it. Some sort of mysterious energy released from his palms. The feeling was quitefortable.


    To Tiana''s eyes, she felt as if she saw a burst of wind that shook away that Dark Ardor.


    When Azaroth felt that strong wind current, he soon had a smile, "Took you long enough. To grab hold of that feeling and practice. Do it until you can summon it with your will alone!"


    "Yes, boss!" Noah spoke with an excited voice before he jumped high in the air in happiness.


    Azaroth then looked in Tiana''s direction and noticed she had stood up as well, "Well, well. Looks like he lit up a fire in you as well."


    After trying for another half an hour, Tiana finally managed to summon Ice and used it!


    Azaroth gave her the same instructions as he gave to Noah.


    He then went on to observe his other retainer''s training.


    The pair he decided to visit first was Sargan and Yrellea.


    Sargan possessed Lightning Ardor and Yrellea possessed Water Ardor.


    To Yrellea, Sargan''s Lightning was simr to those Lightning Snakes. If she managed to learn how to use pure water in this training with Sargan, she wouldpletely nullify the Lightning Snakes.


    In a way, her element had been pitted against the element over which it had both enormous weakness and immense superiority.


    If she learned to make good use of her element, she would be able to reverse the situation.


    For Sargan though, it didn''t matter much. His opponents were gnomes¡­ He had to use tricks to kill them so sparring against someone would be better for him than training alone.


    Azaroth observed their sparring for some time. Sargan was the one clearly winning here.


    It was natural for him to be winning. Yrellea didn''t know how to make use of her elementpletely. Thus, she was hesitant about using it for defense.


    Even though her offense against Sargan was decent, there was almost no point when she couldn''t defend against Sargan''s attacks.


    Even when she dodged Sargan''s attacks, she was forced to move along his tune.


    Azaroth continued to observe the two for some more time but clearly, there was nothing more to see here.


    He proceeded towards Laura and Ralph''s training area.


    For Laura, Ralph was a perfect opponent since he was quick, strong, and used the me element. Laura was confident that she couldplete her training as long as she trained with Ralph.


    And for Ralph, Laura''s long-ranged attacks were perfect to get used to the long-ranged attacks of Ice Trolls.


    It was just that in this situation, his element possessed some supremacy while in his training array, the surrounding temperature would be so low that his mes would be weaker than Ice.


    But still, it was a good experience for both.


    Azaroth observed for a short period only and he noticed that Ralph was winning but only narrowly. It seemed that Laura knew how to use tricks and traps as well.


    Atleast, he could be relieved about their training now.


    Soon, Azaroth began to think about what was going in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    ording to the rumors, the Inquisitors were on the move.


    These were the elite guards directly under the king. It was said that if the Royal Guards were the shield of the Kingdom then the Inquisitors were its sword.


    Each one of its members was specially trained to perform the most important tasks of the King.


    They wore a mask to conceal their identity, and it was stated that they possessed supreme authority on the field. They could evenmand a general if they were present on the battlefield.


    "The king is getting really serious in acquiring Laura. Interesting."


    Azaroth smirked as he guessed what would happen to him in the future.


    Unknown to him, within the kingdom, a certain inquisitor knelt in front of the King as he epted the King''smand.


    Violet, short-hair, neatlybed to reveal a full, good-looking face. Hooded sapphire eyes, set wickedly within their sockets,y his eyes on the King.


    This was Shun Gordon. The youngest Inquisitor of the Sinyalian Kingdom in its history. This was a piece of information that was only known to the selected few in the Royal Pce.


    However, this young man possessed another peculiar title known as "<strong>The Golden Mayor</strong>" in the southern part of the Sinyalian Kingdom.. And he also possessed another unique title famous in the nobility "<strong>The Temporary Noble.</strong>"

 Chapter 83 - A Clever Child

    Shun Gordon was merely 20 years old. Yet he possessed an extraordinary prestige and status that he gained by relying on his intelligence.


    He had a rough childhood as he remembered being beaten by his mother, who was a prostitute. He remembered how she would go crazy every time she looked at his face, calling him a monster and all other sorts of names.


    Being beaten by her was far too normal.


    But in the end, he couldn''t even find it in himself to me her. He had seen how people would berate her. Every time she would return home, she would have a foul mood with a new bruise.


    She mentioned to him that she didn''t even know who his father was. He was just a mistake.


    Sometimes he even wondered why she gave birth to him. Was it his mistake to be born?


    But he soon deduced the reason. She was using him to gain the necessary funds to raise a child from the Kingdom.


    The policies made by the King were being exploited while he was starved and could only eat half a piece of bread every day.


    When he was 4 years old, he found out how his mother was treated in the brothel, Shun felt that he had to learn to do something.


    He had to do something to earn some ie or else their life would sooner orter end.


    By sneaking into the public library, Shun soon began to read. He learned thenguage and soon began to read the books avable in the public library. He would remember every line he read by heart.


    This was the only thing he could do. Read.


    Acquiring knowledge was merely the first step though.


    He then began to think of ways to use this knowledge to earn money.


    Firstly, he observed the town he lived in. It was named Cestia. He observed the people, the guards, and finally the kids.


    Soon, he made his move and began to tell stories to the kids in the park. These were kids around his age but they were impressed by the knowledge acquired by this kid near their age.


    Shun easily befriended them. The parents of these kids met with Shun as well and they heard of him through their kids.


    They soon found out about Shun''s tough life. Some women were sympathetic towards the kid who had befriended their child.


    They offered him a few coins in charity. But Shun refused those coins and spoke, "Please allow me to earn them by my merit."


    One of the parents was quite amused by his words and even asked him, "How are you going to do that?"


    Shun nced at that woman and paused for some time. He then finally spoke, "Your husband is a cksmith, isn''t that right, madam?"


    The people were astonished when they heard him.


    The woman was shell-shocked at his words. But she still quickly regained her calm and replied, "¡­What makes you think so?"


    Shun in return gave a confused look. As if he was wondering just why she would ask such a question, "Isn''t it obvious?" He asked, looking at the other people around him.


    The people nkly stared at him, having a feeling that this kid was most likely looking down on them.


    Before someone could scold him, the woman added, "I still want to know why you would think so."


    "Your hair isn''t styled properly and you haven''t used any cosmetics so it''s clear to assume that you came straight from home. In fact, if I am right, after leaving Michael here, you went straight to sleep and woke up just recently. Those dark spots around your eyes give away that you didn''t sleep enough yet."


    "The soot on your clothes and the smell of coal is fresh. It''s as if you came from a ce where someone burned coal in the building. Clearly, someone wouldn''t attempt that during the daytime. And even if someone did, it would be hard for you to sleep soundly. This meant that you are used to the smell of coal. It''s possible that your husband''s smithy is just next to your house and the smoke enters the house as well, leaving its scent on you."


    "The smudge on your clothes didn''t bother you much that meant you regrly came into contact with it so you didn''t care much about washing it before leaving the house."


    Shun then looked at the faces of admiration all around him and was confused once again. He noticed that the woman had opened her mouth in shock and asked her, "Should I continue?"


    He didn''t even ask whether he was right. It was as if he waspletely sure of his deduction.


    For him, it was as if this was just amon fact that he couldn''t get wrong.


    "N-No. You were right¡­ About everything."


    The other individuals and the kids looked at Shun in amazement. He was actually right?!


    There was another person who spoke out, "Guess mine. What do I do?" This was one of the members of the crowd who had gathered after Shun began his deduction.


    Shun looked at him carefully and then replied, "You are a teacher."


    "W-What''s your reasoning?" The man asked, quite amazed by those calm words.


    "You passed by this park while is somewhat away from the residential part of the city. You don''t appear to be here to pick up a child. You are carrying a briefcase which suggests and you wear well-sewn clothes that meant you are someone who earns well. Someone of your standing would have to detour toe here around this hour. This meant you would have taken a detour to get here. Or you have a job that would require you to pass by this park during this time. The only job I can think of is a teacher."


    "Extraordinary." The man couldn''t help but give this praise to Shun.


    "I am Euan Watts, a botanist in this school. Take this card. With this, you cane to the school and meet me at any time." The man appeared quite kind-hearted as he gave his card.


    Shun ced the card in his pocket while thanking the man.


    Soon, the other people also began to ask Shun to guess their profession. And without making any mistake, Shun guessed their professions.


    Once he saw that the sun was just about to set, Shun bowed and requested some donations from the parents.


    The people who had been amazed by Shun''s deductions didn''t feel it was bad to donate a coin or two for this child.


    And thus, Shun earned nearly 15 Silver Coins all by himself in a single day!


    This was enough for him and his mother to stop worrying about food for a whole month. He was delighted and returned home with those 15 Silver Coins.


    As he returned back home, he saw his motherid in the corner of the room. There was a cheap ale ced next to her body.


    When she saw Shun, she seemed to have grown angry and threw the bottle at him in her rage.


    "Stay out of my sight!" She yelled at Shun.


    Shun dodged the bottle by ducking slightly. He was used to his mother yelling at him and ignored it.


    "Mother, I earned 15 Silver Coins. We won''t need to worry about food for a month now." He tried to speak in the most cheerful voice he could muster.


    His mother nkly stared at Shun. It was as if she had heard something cursed from his mouth.


    "You earned money for us? We don''t have to worry about food now?" As she spoke those words in a calm voice and slowly stood up, Shun stepped back fearfully.


    He could anticipate what would happen next.


    The woman suddenly charged at Shun and threw him on the ground. She began to p his face, punch him, andstly, even grabbed his throat and tried to suffocate him.


    "Are you looking down on me too?! You think I can''t earn for us?! Don''t you get that half piece of bread for nothing?! Do you want more?!" The woman seemed to have gone absolutely crazy.


    Even though she suffocated Shun for a good minute, he still managed to survive.


    As heid on the ground, blood flowing out of his body, he looked at his mother with eyes full of pity and sorrow.


    Perhaps this wasn''t even half of what she regrly experienced.


    Also, he would heal quickly so he had gotten used to these beatings and injuries.


    ~~


    In a week, Shun managed to amass 70 silver coins by entertaining the people with his observation and good deduction skills. He also began to learn more about gardening because he loved to take care of nts.


    The gardener was more than kind enough to respond to whatever questions Shun asked.


    He was fond of the boy and found that he had good talent in this field. His son and Shun were also good friends.


    However, within this week, Shun''s life at home had be increasingly difficult. His mother was somehow getting more violent.


    She had even begun to use a knife and hurt Shun.


    This continued for some time until a few individuals noticed his injuries while he entertained the people.


    The gardener was the first one to react as he asked Shun how he received those injuries.


    Shun tried to fool the gardener by telling him that it was just a scratch.


    However, the gardener had years of experience under his belt. At the very least, he could catch when a young child was trying to lie.


    On the surface, he showed that he epted Shun''s exnation.


    Soon, it was time for Shun to return. While Shun was returning to his home, the gardener followed him quietly.


    Even though Shun regrly came and showed interest in learning about nts, the man hadn''t even visited his house.


    He was quite embarrassed as he realized this and nned to make up for it today.


    He did hear from Shun how his mother was usually quite frustrated but he hadn''t thought much of those words.


    When he did reach Shun''s house, he felt his eyes widen.


    He saw how a woman was holding Shun down and shing using a kitchen knife.


    Immediately enough, the gardener stepped in and spoke, "Who are you?! What are you doing to Shun?!"


    The woman was startled as she saw the man enter their small shack.


    The gardener moved closer to Shun and held him gently. He noticed that the little kid was already unconscious.


    The old man red at the woman with rage and asked, "Who are you?!"


    "M-Me? This is my house! You should be the one who tells me what you are doing in my house?!" As if red up by the man, Shun''s mother yelled at him.


    "Are you here to save that thing as well?! I will kill him today!"


    The woman seemed to have gonepletely crazy as she charged towards Shun, nning to thrust the knife in him.


    The gardener saw hering at Shun and held her arms tightly. As a man, he possessed greater strength than the woman.


    He managed to force her to drop the knife and then kicked her.


    "To think you were actually torturing your own child. Pathetic." The gardener looked at that woman with contempt.


    He grabbed her wrist and said, "Come. I will take you to the ce you truly belong!"


    When Shun was 4 and a half years old, his mother was thrown in the detention center.. After knowing how she tortured her own child, the court gave life imprisonment as her punishment.

 Chapter 84 - The Cold Truth

    After his mother was thrown in the detention center, Shun remained mncholic for a few days.


    He lived along that gardener and his friend. The couple of days he lived in that house, he knew he was being a burden for this family.


    Shun then remembered the teacher who handed him his card.


    He had heard that the school would provide lodgings and free food to students who performed well in the entrance exams.


    Because of that card with him, he was allowed entry and meet Euan Watts, the botanist of this school.


    Shun exined his circumstances to the man and Euan Watts was surprised that he wanted to take the entrance exam for lodging and food.


    "Will it be possible?"


    "It is possible. The King wishes to promote talents and the schrship program has been introduced precisely for this reason. As long as your grades are excellent, you will be allowed to live for free."


    The entrance exam urred a few dayster.


    With Shun''s intellect, he easily aced the exam and achieved the highest score possible. This fact reached the principal of the school and he personally came to meet Shun.


    Shun was then handed one of the best residences in the school.


    In school, he also formed a couple of close friends in the school.


    He continued to read more books and enhance his knowledge. He focused more on the information about different kinds of nts and how to take care of them.


    Time passed in the blink of an eye.


    Shun was 6 years old and he was on a trip organized by the school. They were going to some locations that had historical value in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    It had been quite some time since Shun got out of school. He was somewhat happy to get out and see a new ce.


    The first location they went to was the Nathan Museum. It was constructed to glorify the great deeds of the hero named Nathan who held off the enemies for 3 whole days alone until the reinforcements arrived.


    He soon died of his injuries but he was given the highest honor possible for his sacrifice. It was said that if not for his sacrifice, the Sinylian Kingdom would have been destroyed.


    Shun read the description of the great hero Nathan and frowned. He didn''t know why but his instincts told him that this was iplete information.


    How could a single man handle enemies that came from three sides? Even if he was bluffing, he shouldn''t be able to stop their advance unless he possessed the supreme fighting ability.


    But this wasn''t how it was written in the description.


    It stated that he remained in the shadows and made it seem to the other side that they were fighting an entire army.


    This was something that was supposed to be impossible.


    Shun spoke out his guesses to the teacher. And surprisingly, even the teacher found it difficult to counter Shun''s arguments.


    Their visit to the museum soon ended and the students were allowed to go and y.


    The next day, the teacher was found dead in her room.


    The death of that teacher shocked Shun greatly. He wondered just why would he die so suddenly?


    Did he have an enemy here in this city? But ording to what he had observed, it was the first time their teacher hade to this city as well.


    Herck of directions and basic knowledge about this city clearly stated it.


    He recalled that she had gone to a certain location after finishing the lecture yesterday.


    Maybe it had something to do with this.


    Shun observed the room and found out she hadn''t bought anything new. Her money had remained untouched which meant this wasn''t robbery.


    The killer specifically wanted her life.


    Soon, Shun reached the conclusion that her death had some rtion to his guesses regarding the credibility of Hero Nathan''s story.


    There was a chance she went to confront someone from the museum about the credibility of this story. If the other party wasn''t able to counter her argument, he may have decided to silence her for good.


    <em>''This is my fault¡­ I was the one too curious for my own good.''</em>


    Shun felt extremely guilty. If he hadn''t shared his thoughts with the teacher, she wouldn''t have confronted the museum authorities. And the person wouldn''t have ordered her death.


    Shun somewhat wanted to find out who the murderer was. He thought that the city guards would try to investigate but they didn''t.


    The city guards listed this murder as suicide and just closed the case file.


    Shun couldn''t understand why this happened. But soon, a possibility emerged in his head.


    <em>''The city guards had no intention to ever investigate this murder. Perhaps because the murder has his contacts in them.''</em>


    Shockingly, even the school didn''t seek an exnation for the death of one of their faculty. Another teacher was sent to the city to continue their historical visits.


    Shun knew that he had to talk about it to the principal once he returned. For now, he had to be careful to not speak carelessly.


    The trip continued for a week.


    Shun and his group of ssmates saw dozens of historical sites but there were only two or three that appeared genuine to Shun.


    The rest appeared to have been badly scripted.


    There was something else Shun deduced from this trip. It was the respective Noble Houses who had created the historical sites and the description emerged from them as well.


    From a certain perspective, it was as if the Noble Families were trying to glorify their own ancestors.


    Before returning to the school, Shun also understood who was most likely the murderer of the teacher. It was someone from Earl Nathan''s Noble Family.


    If someone from Noble Family received a report that a teacher was questioning their hero Nathan or the situation of that time. They must have thought it was best to eliminate her.


    The power and prestige of a Noble Family were great enough that they could easily kill a teacher or two without anyone raising their fingers at them.


    Shun had thought that it would be best to inform the principal about this incident and also about his guesses.


    Soon after returning to the school, Shun walked towards the principal''s room.


    The principal was somewhat surprised to see it was Shun who visited him.


    "Is there something you need, Shun?" It was rare for Shun toe to the principal to request something.


    "Sir, I wanted to respectfully ask you something. Why didn''t you pursue madam Rachel''s death more? If it was a request from you, the city guards would have been forced to investigate more seriously."


    "I see¡­" There was a look of realization in the principal''s eyes, "So this is why you came here."


    "Yes, sir. I have been very puzzled about this." Shun nodded his head and asked him, "If it''s because there are no leads then I have a guess who could be behind it."


    The principal suddenly opened his mouth and spoke, "It was the Nathan Family."


    Those words confirmed Shun''s suspicions and he connected the dots.


    The principal couldn''t contend against the Noble Family and feared them. He didn''t want to end up in a conflict with them.


    "I received a telegram stating how madam Rachel had questioned a sensitive matter rted to their lineage. They silenced her to ensure that no one would entertain that kind of thought."


    For a brief period, Shun remainedpletely silent.


    "Is there anything else you want to ask from me?" The principal asked as he looked into Shun''s eyes.


    "¡­Do you believe that what happened was right?"


    The principal sighed out and answered, "This is no longer a question of whether it was right or not. It wasn''t right. However, the question is whether it''s worth it to risk your life or not. And the answer is no. The difference between usmon people and a Noble Family Member is too great."


    "¡­Thank you, principal." Shun slowly turned and walked out.


    He felt his eyes had been opened today.


    The many books he had read till now focused on how everyone in the world deserved to be happy. To be the same under thew.


    But today, he found out that the real world was far different from that ideal world. The Noble Families suppressed themoners so strongly that they broke this equality and made it seem like a thing of fantasy.


    ording to how the principal was talking, it was as if there was no choice but for him to ept it.


    And Shun did exactly that. He epted this exnation.


    How could he resist a Noble Family, after all?


    The background aside, he was merely a child, who was barely allowed to live in the school because of the schrship program.


    If he made a move against the Noble Family, he would die before he could realize it. And he held a selfish desire to live.


    He didn''t want to die yet. He had no clear idea why he wanted to live. It was just that he felt it would be a loss if he didn''t learn more about the world. He wanted to see more of the world with his eyes.


    Solving mysteries was also fun.


    But a yearter, an incident urred that became his motivation to reform the gap between the Noble House and Commoners in the Sinyalian Kingdom and change his school to a Martial Academy.


    His target was set.


    The corrupt Noble Families were sucking the vitality of this kingdom. They had to be judged.


    Shun was 7 years old when he joined the Willow Creek Academy of Martial Arts.

 Chapter 85 - Shuns Request

    Oliver rke, a young man of nearly the same age as Shun.


    He had nothingcking in his life. His father was a dealer in the local casino while his mother was a housewife.


    He went to the Spring Hill School of Fine Arts, the same school as Shun. His grades weren''t as good as Shun so he wasn''t allowed to stay in the hostel but it didn''t matter much to him.


    His house wasn''t far away from the school and he could easily walk to the school.


    As a cheerful kid, he had many friends in school including Shun. As his family was somewhat well-endowed, the birthday party of a friend was celebrated in his house.


    Shun and his other friends frequently visited his house and were familiar with his family. His father was quite happy that his child had so many friends.


    Also, when he met Shun, even he was astonished at the genius mindset of the child. He learned how to y multiple games after reading the rules.


    Shun could easily defeat his friends in any strategy game. Even when ying against Oliver''s father, he lost a couple of times in Chess but started winning again.


    Oliver''s father had a forced smile as he stared at Shun ''This child isn''t unbeatable. But he grows too quickly. If someone doesn''t have the same rate of growth as him, catching up to him is impossible.''


    The man felt pity for Shun.


    A genius mind was something that made plenty of people envy Shun but it also prevented Shun from understanding others.


    As a genius, he couldn''t understand the struggles of his less talented friends. He found it difficult to exin some of his reasoning or some tasks that he could do naturally.


    Nobody would be able to understand him and he would slowly feel lonely.


    Moreover, the hard work he did in the background was just given the stamp of being a genius.


    Oliver''s father was right about this.


    Even though Shun had many friends, he never felt as if any one of them understood him. They were with him because they thought it was fun to y with him. Or the fact that he was a genius student.


    Shun always felt as if he was lonely and sometimes, he would lose the motivation to work hard.


    ''If I stop working so hard, will I be able to understand other people? Will this feeling of loneliness vanish?''


    He began to take it easy on his studies and just spent some time raising the nts.


    He wanted to feel that he belonged to the group as well. It was notfortable to stand alone when others were talking among themselves.


    But he also didn''t want them to just focus on him. He wanted them to be natural as they were with other people.


    Currently, the group of friends was walking towards Oliver rke''s house because it was Shun''s birthday.


    As they were walking down the road, they heard the sound of the horse''s footsteps.


    Shun was the first one who noticed the horse and alerted his friends, "Let''s move aside. A carriage ising."


    "Okay."


    His friends immediately reacted and moved to the side.


    Shun noticed that Oliver wasn''t with them though. He turned around and was surprised to find that Oliver was still there.


    He noticed that Oliver''s vision was focused on the ground. Possibly, something fell out of his pocket while they were moving towards the side.


    "Oliver. You can find the silver coinster. Get out of there." Shun immediately guessed what Oliver was searching for and asked him to get out of there.


    Oliver took a moment to think and answered, "Alright."


    He then began moving towards the side when suddenly, Shun and his other friends saw that the carriage had already arrived at a rather quick speed.


    The driver of that carriage saw Oliver and immediately pulled the reigns of his horses. The horses slowed their great momentum and stopped just when the distance between them and Oliver was less than a meter.


    Before the carriage driver could say anything, there was an irritated voice from within the carriage, "What was that?! Why did you stop the carriage?!"


    The man appeared well angered.


    Shun looked at the crest on that carriage understood that this carriage belonged to the Renner Noble House. Whoever sat inside it must belong to the Renner Noble House.


    The door to the carriage opened and a young man with white, greasy hair that slightly covered his thin face stepped down. Round hazel eyes, set concealed within their sockets, red at Oliver.


    "You! How dare you get in front of my carriage? Do you even know who I am?!" The young man yelled out with scorn-filled eyes.


    Oliver trembled upon being yelled at. He immediately turned towards him and bowed, "Please forgive me. I won''t do this again."


    The crowd began gathering around them when they saw it was a member of the Renner Noble House. It seemed as though he had an issue with a child.


    Some of them even recognized Oliver. They regrly saw him pass this road.


    "A lowly creature like you actually thinks that a simple apology is enough?" The young noble snorted in anger. He added, "Break your arm and leg and I can consider letting this go."


    Shun frowned when he heard the man. He knew this young man was a noble heir but still, this wasn''t even an offense.


    Just because his carriage was forced to stop didn''t mean that the other person had to break their arm or legs.


    How could he give such punishment to a child?


    Moreover, his tone appeared to be casual as if was natural.


    Before Shun could speak up, someone covered his mouth and prevented him from speaking.


    Shun knew it was another one of his friends. He heard a soft whisper, "Don''t speak anything. Don''t intervene. We will all be killed."


    He knew that they were preventing him from asking questions. If he asked something from this unreasonable man, this guy might target them as well.


    However, if nothing was done then Oliver would be forced to break his arm and a leg.


    Oliver sobbed as he pleaded for mercy, "Please, be merciful, lord. Forgive me. I really didn''t mean to do this."


    "Shut up!"


    "It seems I need to educate the people of what happens when you don''t obey someone from Noble Family." The young man looked at his driver and ordered him, "Whip him to death."


    The driver looked very hesitant as heid his eyes on Oliver.


    The young noble heir was irritated that the driver hadn''t replied yet, "Quick!"


    "¡­As youmand, young master." The driver spoke out as he picked up a whip and got on the ground.


    In front of Shun''s eyes, he saw his friend whipped to his death.


    Shun looked around, seeking help from someone in the crowd with his eyes but he saw how everyone seemed to have pitiful look yet no one nned to step forward and help.


    The screams echoed in his mind. Along with a voice that said <em>''Why did you not do anything?''</em>


    <em>''What good is it for me to be a genius if I can''t even protect the life of one of my closest friends?!''</em>


    After Oliver died, the Noble Heir soon returned inside his carriage and purposely ran his carriage over Oliver''s body.


    After that noble heir went away, the crowd dispersed. Shun and his friends remained at the scene though as they continued to look at Oliver''s dead body.


    Shun hatefully red at the guy who had stopped him from speaking at that time, "Why did you stop me?!"


    "Did you want to be killed as well, Shun?! Go and die then! But don''t drag us with you!"


    Another guy spoke out, "Do you think we didn''t want to help him out?! But we can''t! This was a Noble Hier! He is much stronger than us in both strength and family background!"


    Shun had no response to those words. He could only clench his fists in frustration and anger.


    Now, a couple more sentences were echoing in his mind, making him angry.


    <em>''You failed to help him because of your weakness.''</em>


    <em>''If you had status, a word from you and you could have done the same with that guy.''</em>


    Shun was surprised when he heard this thought.


    The emotions he felt right now certainly made him angry enough. If he had enough status, he would have definitely killed this detestable guy.


    As those thoughts entered his head, he began to think of ways to acquire high status.


    A few of his friends picked up Oliver''s body and carried it to his house. Shun walked with them with a nk look.


    He was lost in thought as he was still thinking of what he could do to acquire a great position in the kingdom at the fastest speed possible.


    If he became some clerk and tried to raise his position then it would take him decades to get to a position tomand a Noble House.


    ''Warrior. If I be a warrior strong enough under the service of the King, I could take revenge.''


    He had read about the warriors and how they cultivated mysterious energy named Ardor to get stronger.


    However, to get the techniques to cultivate Ardor, Shun would have to join a martial school.


    He looked at the dead body of his friend that was hugged by his parents.


    Perhaps that sight was enough for him to make up his mind.


    ~~


    The next day, Shun went to the principal''s office.


    "Principal, I had a request," Shun spoke with a neutral expression.


    "What is it? Is it rted to the death of young Oliver?" The principal frowned as he guessed Shun''s request.


    Shun shook his head and replied, "Can you please rmend me to a Martial Academy? I want to grow stronger."


    The principal''s frown deepened as he heard Shun. His observation and deduction skill was far from equal to Shun but the principal was very skilled in reading people. He asked him with a solemn look, "Are you thinking of taking revenge for young Oliver?"


    Shun chose his words carefully and selected the option with which he had a higher chance of achieving his motive, "¡­Yes. I cannot forget his screams, sir. I feel obligated to do something. Even if I will lose my life because of this impulsiveness, I feel it''s better than doing nothing and wasting my years while regretting why I didn''t do anything."


    The principal had a fierce look as he spoke, "I could refuse you and force you to stay in this school. Have you not thought about this?"


    Shun replied with a straight look, "There was no need for me to even consider this possibility, sir. You love your students more than anyone."


    "You already broke your precious table and that painting which usually hangs on the wall behind you. And even right now, you are clenching your fists in anger. I know that you won''t stop me from walking down this path. Especially when all I am asking you is to rmend me to a Martial Academy." Shun spoke everything withplete emotion to convey his words to the principal.


    "...It seems you already had me all figured out?" With a strained smile on his face, the principal spoke, "Alright. I know the headmaster of the Willow Creek Academy of Martial Arts. I will contact him and ask him to ept you as a student. The rest would depend on you."


    "Thank you, Sir.." Shun gratefully said to the principal before leaving his office.

 Chapter 86 - The Bleak City

    The wheels of time moved forward and now, Shun Gordon was 20 years old. And at this age, he was already a member of Inquisitors and served the king directly.


    However, his identity as an Inquisitor was secret, known only to a selected few in the Kingdom.


    There weren''t many tasks that required the Inquisitors to step in. So, Shun had worked hard and possessed another identity in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He possessed immense talent in cultivation. After graduating from the Willow Creek Academy of Martial Arts at the age of 13, Shun was already a 4 Star Warrior.


    To have be a 4 Star Warrior from scratch in 6 years spoke volumes of his monstrous talent. No one in the Sinyalian Kingdom could boast the same.


    But Shun wasn''t satisfied with his progress. He knew he had a long way to go.


    As he lived in Willow Creek Academy, he came to understand more about the Noble Families. Their evil deeds, their good deeds, and the influence they held in the Kingdom. He came to understand that not all Noble Families were bad.


    The people who abused authority were the ones who were terrible. Power itself was not evil. Maliciousness was the nature of humans.


    He reconsidered his revenge and changed his objective slightly. It was to exact his revenge and do all he could to bridge the gap between the Noble Family and themon people.


    Perhaps he wouldn''t be able to do it even if he spent his entire life on this task but he wanted to try it anyway.


    He wasn''t arrogant enough to believe he could do it. There was just nothing else he felt worth living than this.


    He wanted to do whatever he could to make a small change in society.


    He received multiple offers from various departments of the kingdom and Shun chose the Law Enforcement Agency.


    As aw officer, he solved multiple cases and his fame began to grow. Even the king had heard some praises about Shun from the Law Enforcement Head.


    3 yearster, a thief managed to sneak out of the Royal Pce with a valuable treasure and a document.


    The treasure was some sort of box which couldn''t be opened through external force. And the document recorded some secret deeds and ns of the Royal Family.


    The value of these two things was immense. The thief couldn''t be allowed to get away with those two things.


    It was Shun who caught that thief and retrieved the items back to the Royal Pce.


    He had no demand even after performing such a great task.


    The King rewarded Shun with Sun Moon Fruit and also the best cultivation technique present in the Royal Family.


    A Sun Moon Fruit contained immense energy and was useful in helping a warrior to break through to the next rank. The best time to consume it was when a warrior reached the Peak 4 Star Rank.


    The warrior could then consume it and break through the barrier to be a 5 Star Rank Warrior.


    However, Shun had consumed it as he reached the High 4 Star Rank. He wanted to grow quickly and was confident about breaking through to the 5 Star Rank after eating the Sun Moon Fruit.


    It had something rted to the abilities he had unlocked when he was in the Willow Creek Academy.


    Once he became a 5 Star Warrior, it turned into even greater news.


    As a 5 Star Warrior, the King had the choice of granting him knighthood as well as territory.


    However, the territory under a king was limited. And it had been split among the Noble Houses. The House of Nobles wouldn''t agree to split their territory and allow the King to assign it to a lowlymoner who became a knight.


    The King had witnessed and heard of Shun''s abilities more than once and was fond of his talent.


    He had already investigated Shun''s background and found it clean. There was no chance he was a spy or nned to do something against the Kingdom.


    After Shun had be 5 Star Warrior and was granted knighthood. Thus, Shun became the youngest knight in the Sinyalian Kingdom. Also, the King had secretly sent him the offer of joining the Inquisitors.


    Shun epted the invitation and became the youngest 16-year-old Inquisitor in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s History!


    As an Inquisitor, Shun was given only a couple of missions in the whole year. But each one of these missions was of great importance for the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He hunted the wanted man nicknamed Iron Fist alone and brought his head. Informed the Law Enforcement Agency of the possible bandit group locations he deduced from the clues left behind at the scenes.


    His most noteworthy aplishment as an Inquisitor was to lead a small force of 5 individuals and bring victory against a special force from the Glerian Kingdomprising of 21 individuals.


    His teammates who had been Inquisitor for a much longer time than Shun were dissatisfied that he was leading them despite his inexperience. However, this all changed after the battle.


    In the battle, it wasn''t Shun who had dealt the most damage to the enemies. In fact, he had hardly dealt with 2 or 3 opponents.


    However, it was his leadership that had impressed them.


    When they followed his orders, they saw that they were coordinating extremely well. It was as if everything had been calcted from the beginning.


    They felt that as long as hemanded them, each one of them could use 100% of their ability.


    This was what impressed them greatly and they decided to stop looking down on Shun because of his young age.


    It had been just one year since Shun became a knight while secretly being an Inquisitor. The King summoned Shun and informed him that there was a territory avable. And he wanted him to control it.


    This was the territory of an Earl. This territory was near the borders of the Sinyalian Kingdom and touched the Republic of Raleroma on the southern side.


    From his spies, he found that this Earl was actually nning a rebellion.


    The King ordered two noble houses near the territory to attack and exterminate that Noble House.


    In just a month, his order was aplished.


    The Noble Houses that hadunched an attack were handsomely rewarded. One of them was promoted by a rank and the majority of the territory was split by the two Noble Houses. Only a city was left behind without a ruler.


    The King revealed that he wanted Shun to rule over it as the Acting Mayor.


    Meaning, Shun would be allowed to rule the city as long as he didn''tmit a blunder. And if this continued for a decade, then Shun''s family would henceforth be granted the title of Baron.


    Naturally, once this was known in the House of Nobles, the king''s decision was met with fierce criticism.


    "The King is ying favorites. He is choosing a knight that hasn''t even aplished much for the kingdom."


    "I think the King is actually nning to exterminate us slowly and grant our territories to his loyal subordinates. This way, he will create new Noble Familiespletely loyal to the Royal Family."


    These two arguments were widely epted by the many heads of the Noble Families.


    For this reason, the Nobles would try everything they could to make things difficult for Shun. They first applied political pressure on the King and requested him to change his decision but it was all for naught.


    The king said that as long as they bring the proof that he is managing his city improperly, he would rethink this matter.


    This more or less meant that he was willing to support Shun unless it was a huge blunder from Shun''s end.


    Meanwhile, when Shun reached the city, he couldn''t help but sigh.


    As he had expected the city assigned to him was the City of Vanta also known by the title "<strong>The Bleak City</strong>."


    Thend was barren and the officials weren''t exactly cooperative here.


    Even the citizens were wary of him.


    ''The Noble Houses probably smeared my image by repeatedly bashing me in papers. They don''t want me to seed in this territory.''


    He easily reached the conclusion but he didn''t care.


    In his first speech as a Mayor, he stated, "I am Shun Gordon, the new Mayor of this city. Many of you must have heard of me since I became the youngest knight in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s history just a year ago. All of you have also probably heard unfavorable news about me. I won''t get into detail about whether they are true or not. You can be the judge of that."


    "What I can tell you is that as long as I am the Mayor of this town, your safety will be my responsibility. To get you the food will be my responsibility. To give you a rooftop over your heads will be my responsibility! To increase the prosperity and make it a city you can all take a pride in will be my responsibility!" Shun''s voice exuded confidence and pure emotion that stirred the hearts of the citizens.


    "You don''t have to believe me, but I do want you to look at the results. Give me three months. The results will be visible in three months. If I am unable to keep my pledge, I shall end my own life."


    Citizens and even the officials were extremely shocked to hear his words. They didn''t think he would actually promise to kill himself if he couldn''t keep his pledge.


    The crowd had witnessed hollow promises many times by the mayors on this same stage.


    Yet, never had they heard of someone who had put his life on the stake.


    The people began to hesitate. All people who had been hostile to Shun were now hesitant. They thought it wouldn''t be a bad idea to atleast give him 3 months.


    And thus, Shun won the support of people as well as his officers for the 3 months.


    Shun was aware that the true troublesome individuals who had been bribed by the Noble Houses wouldn''t give him 3 months though. They would try to raise all sorts of trouble for him but he now had the support of the general public.


    This was good enough.


    He had a general n on how he should do it.


    The first thing was to work on thend.


    The farmers were essentially unemployed and were forced to dobor work because thend was unusable. It was difficult or even next to impossible to grow anything in thisnd.


    He first decided to bring a reform amongst the farmers and then tackle the merchants.

 Chapter 87 - Mysterious Tunnel

    The city of Vanta had and unsuitable for farming. This rumor had been spread for so long that it had be a fact in the hearts of the people.


    The first thing Shun did was take a walk around the city. He was checking the soul, thend, and analyzing just what was the issue.


    In his years of cultivation and study, he had continued his research of nts. Even though his powers had no rtion to nts, he used his intelligence to figure out the issue and solve it.


    Soon, he understood that the nutrients of thisnd had been sucked dry. He didn''t know of the concrete reason though.


    Had it been sucked dry by some creature or maybe it was sucked dry by the crops around.


    To gather more information, Shun asked a few officers to pull out their historical records to check just when had thisnd lost its nutrients.


    Maybe the Mayor of that time noticed something peculiar and recorded it.


    After a day of reading the entire history of the City of Vanta, Shun finally gained a lead.


    3 centuries earlier, the City of Vanta was very prosperous. In fact, it was so prosperous that it was only behind the capital city in generating ie.


    The main source of its ie was the Salt Mines, Agriculture, and some ore mines.


    However, one day, the Salt Mines and Ore Mines suddenly lost all their resources. It was as if something had sucked them.


    And a few yearster, no crop could be grown in the agriculturalnd of the City of Vanta. The minerals and nutrients in the soul had beenpletely exhausted.


    Shun understood that something had urred during this time that had drowned the City of Vanta in despair.


    The subordinate who informed Shun of this information nced at him, he found that Shun was smiling, "Why are you smiling, Lord Mayor? Did you figure out the reason?"


    Shun replied casually, "Naturally. I also understand where the thing is who overthrew the City of Vanta from grace."


    "Order the guards to inspect the perimeter of the city. Make sure they have someone possessing Earth Ardor among the group. Check if there is a hollow cavity under the ground."


    "A hollow cavity?" The man didn''t understand how Shun hade to such a conclusion.


    Before he was about to leave the office, Shun also added, "Bring me directory where you have recorded the entry of the other lords into the city. I want to check who can be our allies."


    The officer felt that thismand was quite strange. The previous mayor had never requested this directory unless someone very important was about to visit the city.


    "¡­Alright."


    Once the officer left, Shunid his back against the chair and closed his eyes.


    <em>''After solving this issue, I can give new agricultural techniques and use crops that would rejuvenate the nutrients in the soul and should slowly recover it to its peak.''</em>


    <em>''ording to the economic directory I saw, the city imports too many goods. Especially from Selka City. We are too dependent on that city whether it''s food, pharmaceutical, or weapons. The only thing the City of Vanta exports is treasured goods and its historical sites. This city is on the verge of copse.''</em>


    Shun knew that because he was now the Mayor of this city, the Selka City would soon stop exporting to the City of Vanta.


    The Noble Families were sure to pressure the Mayor of Selka City. He was thinking of an alternate way to get food.


    He didn''t need to think long about this issue as a n formed in his mind soon enough.


    The official soon returned back with the directory requested by Shun and left.


    Shun picked up the directory and began to read it. Sometimeter, he noticed something strange and smiled.


    <em>''So that''s how it is.''</em>


    It was soon the afternoon time and Shun went to eat some food.


    While he was eating, a man rushed towards the office with an excited face. If one looked closely, one would find that he was the same man Shun had ordered in the early morning.


    He knocked on the door and Shun allowed him to enter.


    The man looked at Shun and noticed he was eating, "Mayor, I apologize foring while you were eating. But this is truly urgent."


    Shun didn''t mind it and spoke, "What is it?"


    "As you ordered us, we found a secret entrance underneath the ground. It is a tunnel just as you said." The man couldn''t help but be excited. He couldn''t believe Shun had managed to deduce it so urately.


    Shun didn''t seem surprised and asked him, "And? Did anyone go in?"


    The man shook his head, "No. The entire tunnel is dark while it is releasing a sinister aura as well. I believe it would be better to prepare an exploration team to check this tunnel."


    Shun soon stood up and this surprised the man, "Mayor? What are you doing?"


    "I need to check the tunnel," Shun replied casually.


    "But Mayor, you haven''t finished your food." The man spoke.


    Shun smiled but he changed the topic, "Let''s go. Tell me who are the people near the site. Give me a brief description of their abilities."


    Shun walked out of the office with the man following him.


    The man was surprised at those words. It meant he wasn''t nning to specifically gather a bunch of warriors for exploring this site but seemed to be going with the warriors near the location.


    He hadn''t heard of someone doing such a thing. Was it because he knew there was ack of warriors in the City of Vanta? Or was it because he knew they wouldn''t obey him wholeheartedly? Or was he just worried about them that he personally wanted to check it out?


    The officer didn''t know what Shun was thinking. All he could do was follow the orders assigned to him.


    Once they were outside the building, Shun used his Ardor to fly while also bringing that officer with him.


    <em>''Because of Mayor''s young age, I always forget that he is a 5 Star Warrior and the youngest knight in the Sinyalian Kingdom.''</em>


    ~~


    In just half an hour, Shun and his fellowpanion reached the location.


    They met with the warriors near the site.


    Shun looked at them and spoke, "Follow me. We will explore this tunnel together."


    Without waiting for their response, he entered the tunnel. He was absolutely confident that these people would follow him.


    Just a look at them and he could see their curiosity. This curiosity was only surpassed by their fear of the unknown. But now that Shun was here, they rxed their guard and followed him.


    A golden orb of pure Ardor was created that shone light in the dark tunnel.


    It showed them the path in this tunnel.


    Bats flew out of the tunnel along with some rats and other creatures.


    "Stay calm. Don''t think of attacking them. They won''t hurt us." Shun suddenly ordered his men.


    The men behind him obeyed his words. But they were quite surprised because even these lowly creatures were 2 Star Rank Beasts.


    Even a rat could take on one of the guards behind Shun and have a good chance of winning.


    After walking for 30 minutes, a guard groaned with a face full of dissatisfaction, "Just how long do we have to walk?"


    "The more important question would be who created this tunnel. It''s actually so long and right under our City of Vanta. Howe we never discovered it?" His friend had a question as well.


    Shun heard their words and began to speak, "This was constructed 310 years earlier by Earl Regan Barret from the barret house''s territory."


    "What?! The barret house?! Its'' a Marquis Family now. They provide the most herbs and raw medicinal products to the Merchant Union and Alchemy Association. Why would they need to do something like this? It''s not a good idea to randomly name them, sir." One of the guards spoke with disdain in his voice.


    Shun had expected such a response and merely added, "You will understand soon enough."


    After some time, Shun suddenly halted. He looked at the ground and saw they were no longer going any deeper and it was now in ground.


    Some steps ahead, there were red kiln bricks. These red kiln bricks covered the path ahead. There were thick walls on both sides that gave a very mysterious feeling.


    As Shun neared this scarlet path, he felt his Ardor getting weaker.


    ''A suppressing formation huh?''


    This wasn''t surprising to him. It would have been more surprising if the security wasn''t atleast this level.


    Shun carefully observed the bricks on the ground and then spoke solemnly, "Be careful now. Make sure to follow me step by step."


    He observed the looks of his guards and saw they were confused. Shun let out a helpless sigh and picked up a stone on the ground.


    He threw that stone on the scarlet path with a strong force.


    As that stone crashed into a brick, it pressed the brick with enough force to press it down. Once the brick was pressed down, they all heard some mechanical sounds.


    A secondter, the walls opened on both sides and spat fire at that area.


    Once Shun''s followers saw that scene, they were dazed.


    They now understood that they couldn''t walk randomly.


    "This path has many such traps. I can see a path ahead of us. Just make sure to follow me perfectly."


    Slowly, Shun ced his feet on the scarlet path. As he ced his feet, he moved his other feet to the next brick.


    He soon moved forward while gesturing for the others toe as well.


    His subordinates soon moved one by one. They made sure to trace his path step by step. Nobody wanted to be barbecued.


    As they were walking forward, they felt that their cultivation base was getting weaker. And soon, they stopped feeling Ardor altogether.


    The official behind Shun asked him, "Sir, how are you finding the right path?"


    Shun replied while walking, "It''s not difficult. Just look for the tiny cracks on the bricks. It means someone has moved on those bricks while moving ahead. The other reason I can figure out the correct path is that this path has been constructed using a 64 x 64 model. After creating one block, he lopped it while adding some tricks along the way. Using the 64 x 64 model, the architect had tried to make this path with the most traps while also giving a way that would be difficult to find for anyone other than the creator."


    "I memorized the path he created for the first block and used it to break down the other blocks he created ahead. We can avoid the general traps that way. As for the tricks, we just need to keep observing carefully and there is a hint carefully nted in certain locations."


    Shun''s subordinates couldn''t help but admire him as they heard him exin it in such a casual voice. It was as if it was as easy as breathing for him while they couldn''t understand it even after hearing his words.


    Shun suddenly pointed at a specific brick ahead of him, "Like this spot. It''s the hardest spot since we are at the end of one block and would change the block with the next step. Any wrong move and we will trigger a vicious trap. The creator has given hints perhaps because his master asked him so that his people could pass this path even if they forgot the path."


    "So the creator left a brick with a small cut on it on its upper side to indicate that this was the correct path," Shun spoke with a monotonous voice.


    As his subordinates heard his exnation, one guard couldn''t help but grow tense. They were essentially standing in a trap. As long as they triggered even one, they could die.


    Right now, not a single one of them could use their Ardor. They would have no chance of resisting the attack at this point.


    Just as he was thinking this and he took the next step, he felt his feet sinking to the ground.


    As he looked down, he saw that the brick on which he had stepped and pressed down. His eyes widened in shock as he yelled, "Nooo!"


    Everyone turned their heads towards the man as they saw small holes appear on both sides of the walls and something thin was shot out of those small holes.

 Chapter 88 - The Tunnels Secret

    As multiple needles shot out of the small holes in the wall, the guard closed his eyes as he braced himself.


    He knew that his life would soone to an end.


    A few seconds passed but he felt nothing. He heard the voice of hisrade, saying, "Open your eyes now."


    The guard blinked open his eyes. No needles had punctured his skin, he noted. When he turned around, he noticed a strew of needles on the ground at his side.


    "Let''s continue moving. But be more careful. There will be even deadlier traps ahead." Shun spoke with an indifferent voice.


    After walking for some time, they finally saw the end of this red path. Shun''s subordinates let out a breath of relief.


    But Shun looked slightly tense.


    "Prepare yourself for a battle. The array over here has suppressed everyone under 6 Star Rank to 3 Star Rank. I have no idea how many people might be inside but by an estimate, more than 30 warriors are probably staying here. Their cultivations would be either 2 Star Rank or 3 Star Rank."


    Those statements were intended to prepare them for the approaching conflict, but they inadvertently lowered the guards'' morale. They were just seven people, including Shun. It would be exceedingly difficult to beat 30 warriors, each with a cultivation level equal to or greater than their own.


    Shun found theck of response from his team odd. He looked at them and just one look made him understand what he was wrong.


    <em>''I made a fatal mistake. I unconsciouslypared them to the Inquisitors who fought under me. The Inquisitors have a thirst for battle and they want to prove their superiority over their opponent in a fight hence, those words would have raised their morale. But these people seemingly believe that the results are decided by the numbers and cultivation base only. It''s not their fault alone though.''</em>


    "All you have to do is rx. I can handle most of them even as a 3 Star Warrior. Just be prepared to deal with any unexpected circumstances." Shun''s solemn words calmed down most of them.


    After giving some additional instructions, the five walked forwards.


    After a sharp cut, something simr to a building had been constructed in this tunnel. It had many rooms. This area was surprisingly well lit.


    Shun no longer needed to use his golden sphere to show the way.


    However, Shun noticed that the upper part of this building had been destroyed by the branches of some trees. In fact, roots were forming awork on the upper side of the tunnel.


    His team also saw this and was shocked to see such a scene.


    <em>''Just what the heck is this growing right under our city?!''</em>


    ording to their estimation, they were right under that whitend that was unsuitable for agriculture.


    "W-What is this?" One of them asked with a fearful look.


    Shun calmly answered, "This is the reason for the city''s despair. They absorb the nutrients of the soil and prevent any other crop from growing on thisnd."


    The roots on the walls of the tunnel were throbbing. They were clearly alive.


    Shun and his team then looked near the ground. They saw 6 men standing just ahead of that building. Clearly, they were the guards.


    "Watch the show now," Shun spoke before quickly moving towards those warriors.


    The guards looked in Shun''s direction and were surprised to see him, "Who are you? How did you enter?!"


    These guards asked Shun since the only way to cross that scarlet path was by the information provided by their master.


    If not, there was no way someone would have crossed that scarlet path.


    However, they weren''t familiar with Shun''s face at all. They wondered if their master had recruited another soldier.


    "Lord Barret assigned me here to reinforce the defense and change our battle formation. There is a new mayor of this city. In case he finds this ce, you need to be prepared for a drawn-out battle." Shun quickly made up an excuse.


    The guards looked relieved when they heard his words. ording to them, since he knew that they worked under Barret House then he was someone of their own side. One of them spoke with a smile, "Aah. It was Lord Barret. Wee¡­"


    "My name is Shun."


    Shun''s subordinates heard those guards speak in a warm tone when they heard that Shun was sent by Lord Barret.


    They remembered Shun''s previous words when he had used that it was Barret Noble House that had constructed this tunnel.


    Now, he had shown them evidence through the words of these guards.


    Shun muttered underneath his breath ''<em>This should suffice</em>.''


    He slowly neared the guards and suddenly punched one of them strongly.


    "What are you doing?!" One of the guards asked as they saw theirrade fly away.


    Shun''srades immediately jumped forward as well as they allunched themselves at these guards.


    At that moment, the guards understood that they had been conned.


    "ENEMY!"


    A loud voice resounded in the tunnel.


    Following that loud voice were multiple footsteps. Shun left these guards for his subordinates and moved into the building.


    Multiple men charged at Shun with swords in their hands from both sides. Shun noticed that there were more warriors behind them but they hadn''t moved.


    They were preparing some long-range attack.


    Once he felt the timing was right, he suddenly grabbed the swords with his bare hands.


    They heard a shout, "Get aside."


    The warriors yelled this, alerting their two teammates engaged in a close fight with Shun to step aside since they were about to attack.


    The warriors were preparing to make an attack when Shun saw them. He shoved the two warriors with a powerful force at that same instant.


    The warriors had unleashed Lightning and me Attacks from afar, but they had failed to hit Shun. The two warriors who hade to engage Shun in close battle defended them from these strikes with their bodies.


    The attacks weren''t strong enough to kill them but they did injure them greatly. They couldn''t fight any longer.


    Shun then raised both his arms and aimed at both these groups.


    Suddenly, both the groups felt that they were sted by an invisible source of energy. No¡­ It felt as if they were attacked by Pure Ardor.


    But if that was so then the Ardor required to attack them should have been quite significant. Atleast, it should have exhausted Shun''s entire ardor since his cultivation had been suppressed to a 3 Star Rank right now.


    Yet, Shun looked absolutely fine. He didn''t look tired.


    Soon, Shun''s subordinates finished dealing with the guards outside the building and entered as well.


    They were surprised to see that Shun was still unharmed and none of the enemies was standing.


    Shun spoke, "Capture 2 of them and kill the rest."


    His subordinates remained calm as they heard his order. One of them went on to capture the men while the other raised their weapons to ughter the people here.


    Shun decided to move down the hallway and saw even more enemy warriors.


    He didn''t waste his time and directly killed them with a strong invisible shockwave. This was the same method in which he had injured the two groups of warriors on both his sides.


    His subordinates soon joined him and they killed all the enemy warriors except two people. These two warriors were restrained using some Anti-Ardor Ropes carried by the guards.


    After their hands were tied by those Anti-Ardor Ropes, the warriors couldn''t use their cultivation any longer.


    They were harmless flies.


    Even those warriors who had been captured knew that they wouldn''t have a good result now that they had been captured.


    One of them was quite resolute and he bit his tongue.


    The guard near them saw that he had bit his tongue and the other was about to do the same. He didn''t bother saving the one who had already bit his tongue and focused on the other individual.


    Before the other person could bit his tongue as well, the guard held his face in his hand and forcefully opened it. There was a ball of cloth in his other hand and he shoved it in his mouth, preventing the warrior from closing it.


    Thus, this man could no longer bite his tongue and try to die.


    Meanwhile, Shun had already reached the other side of the building.


    On this side of the building, he noticed a massive field. There were many different kinds of nts and trees as far as the eye could see.


    Shun had a slight smile as he looked at the scenery. The situation was exactly as he had guessed.


    Soon, his subordinates joined him. They werepletely awe-struck as they saw thisndscape under the ground.


    The sunlight couldn''t reach this location so there had been some arrays that could recreate the effect of the sunlight.


    If Shun''s guess was right then the array formation at the top of this tunnel was transmitting the sunlight from another location to this ce.


    This not only lit up the tunnel but also provided these nts with the necessary nutrients to grow.


    "This is a herbal garden! The barret family was actually growing their herbs here?!" One of the guards uttered with a shocked look.


    "Fearful daisy, Miracle Fig, Royal Ink nt, Ice Heart''s Lotus, Lunar Cane, Serpent Pine, Death Milkweed, Urband Mulberry, Wicked Silkweed¡­" The official directly under Shun continued to list out the herbs and other nts he recognized.


    He took a deep breath and tried to calm down, "These are the raw herbs and materials provided by the Barret Family! There is no mistake, this was definitely created by the Barret Family."


    One of the guards, who had chided Shun over using the Barret Family felt rather embarrassed now. He now understood that he was just a fool. He wanted to find a hole and hide in it.


    "I was more or less sure that it was the Barret Noble House because someone among them visits this city once every 3 months. Though sometimes, it''s 4 months on average, we can consider it 3 months. The men stationed here have probably been given supplies for nearly 3-4 months." Shun calmly exined.


    However, his subordinates were still confused. One of them asked him, "But how did you know that someone had schemed against our City?"


    "When I came to know that the City of Vanta was quite prosperous 300 years ago, I looked for clues why it would suddenly fall from grace. Either some sort of curse befell the city or it was all a scheme. But what can reduce a prosperous agriculturalnd to a barrennd? The answer was that someone was sucking its vitality. But for it to ur for 300 years straight meant it wasn''t just one nt or person. It had to be something bigger."


    "Because they had to extract the life of the entire agricultural field, they needed to do so from under the ground. In addition, as the City of Vanta was slowly sinking into despair 300 years ago, another region saw explosive growth. It wasn''t because its mainpetitor was no longer in business. I''m sure this was a factor, however, I believe it was more due to the introduction of these herbs."


    "A lord won''t grow these herbs in his ownnd because the nutrients required for their growth as too much. The crops would suffer and there would be less yield of food. Thus, it was best to grow such nts or herbs in a small garden or apetitor''s territory."


    Shun finished speaking his reasoning. He looked at the faces of his subordinates. Their expressions were filled with pure admiration and respect at this moment.


    They never expected that their young lord was actually so smart.


    This had been a major issue for the City of Vanta for 300 years. To think it would be solved in merely days.


    "Why are you making such a look? I have dealt with merely one problem pestering the city. There are a lot more."


    "I will go and disable the arrays here. After that, bring our men here and harvest everything that you can. We will keep dozens of nts of each herb and destroy the rest. With sufficient manure, thend should show changes."


    "Yes, Mayor!"


    The guards immediately got to work as Shun went and first disabled the array of suppression. Its trigger was hidden in the building. He destroyed it and recovered his cultivation base.


    He then destroyed the entire scarlet path, dealing with all the hidden mechanisms.. Now that he had recovered his 5 Star Rank cultivation base, he could deal with all these mechanisms without an issue.

 Chapter 89 - Diplomatic Talks

    The news about a hidden herbal garden underneath the agriculturalnd soon spread in the entire City of Vanta.


    All its citizens were shocked when they heard of this news. To think they had unearthed such a secret.


    Moreover, the men who were spreading the secret the were same people who joined Shun on his expedition in the tunnel.


    They had heard his reasoning and also saw the proof with their very own eyes. They admired and respected Shun from the bottom of their hearts so when they talked about it to other people, they would tell them about Shun excitedly.


    Even the listeners were bing more curious about their new Mayor. When he had given his speed and even staked his life over his promises, many people had thought it was easy to speak but hard to show results.


    But in just days, they saw the results.


    The people now saw hope in Shun''s promises. They were hoping that he would be able to aplish what he had promised.


    There was one thing Shun asked his subordinates to hide. And that was the involvement of the Barret Noble House.


    He had an idea on how he should handle this and maximize his profits.


    In a few days, the herbs and fruits from underground herbalnd were now stored in the warehouse.


    Shun knew that he wouldn''t be able to store them for long and let them retain their medicinal properties. They must be sold quickly.


    However, he wasn''t flustered. He knew of a source that could easily buy all these herbs and fruits. He nned to sell all these things to the Royal Family!


    Only the Royal Family would be willing to give a good price over these many herbs. Also, he had another motive behind choosing the Royal Family.


    Shun didn''t waste any time and used the Voice Transmission Array Stones to give the details to the Royal Pce. He intentionally omitted the Barret Family''s name.


    ~~


    The next day, it was the King who personally talked to Shun using the Voice Transmission Stone.


    Even Shun was surprised as he didn''t expect his request to catch the king''s interest.


    "We heard of the details from our minister. We are willing to buy most of those raw resources."


    Those words relieved Shun.


    "Do you want to trade in gold coins or spirit coins?" The King asked with a mirthful tone.


    Shun quickly replied, "Gold Coins will be most appreciated since I will be dealing withmon people. A Spirit Coin is maybe too much for them and it would destabilize the economy."


    "Good. Is there any assistance you need?" The King asked him with a serious voice this time.


    Shun knew that the king was making an offer. He thought for some moments and spoke, "If possible, I would request your majesty to send a few individuals who can create a herbal garden and manage it as well."


    "Very well. I will send an array master and a dozen of specialists for raising herbs. The array master can create arrays up to 4 Star Arrays. He is also a young genius so he has some chance of bing a 5 Star Array Master. He should be able to satisfy most of your demands." The King told Shun.


    Shun replied after a small pause, "¡­Thank you, your majesty."


    "Aren''t you going to ask me why I am helping you so much?" The King''s voice sounded amused.


    Shun replied with a grateful voice, "How can I guess the thoughts of His Majesty?"


    Suddenly, the voice from the King''s side turned solemn, "Giving such a reply to me. Do you think of me as a fool, Shun?! Tell me what are your true thoughts."


    Shun remained calm and replied, "...Alright. I believe the reason behind such assistance from His Majesty is because you want to give an example through me. After all, I am one of the first knights who had been assigned territory by His Majesty."


    From the other side, he heard a soft sigh and then rather calm words, "Your astuteness surprises me every time."


    "It''s nothing much, Your Majesty." Shun humbly replied.


    "Alright. Enough of this. I will send gather the people and send them as soon as possible." The King then cut the link from his end.


    Shun ced down the Voice Transmission Array Stone and picked up a nk sheet of paper. He ced the paper on his table along with an inkpot.


    Shun then picked up a feather and began to write a letter with good handwriting.


    The contents of the letter went like this.


    "<strong><em>G</em></strong><em>reetings, Lord Barret.</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>I am Shun Gordon, the new Mayor of the City of Vanta. You see, when I was inspecting the city, I found something interesting tunnel. I am sure you know of it but still let me give you brief info.</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>In this tunnel, someone had raised a massive herbalnd that sucked the vitality out of the agriculturalnd of the City of Vanta. While exploring the tunnel, I met many men who told me more about this tunnel and who constructed it.</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>You see, this massive herbalnd may have assisted the alchemists and pharmacists in supplying them with the raw materials but it had also ruined the lives of all the citizens from the City of Vanta. This crime is unforgivable.</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>The king is also intrigued as to who perpetrated such a heretical act and has stated his desire to punish the culprit harshly.</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>If Lord Barret remembers something, then please contact me within a week. My tongue might slip after this time.</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>Yours sincerely,</em>


    <em>Shun Gordon.</em>"


    Shun even signed at the end.


    He then summoned an official and then told him, "Send someone to take this letter to the Barret House''s territory. Also, bring the head of one of their subordinates. That would make it more effective."


    The official remained calm as he was given such a task. He bowed respectfully and promised to aplish this task before leaving.


    ~~


    A few dayster in another part of the Sinyalian Kingdom, a man stood while holding a faint yellow-colored paper in his hand.


    His hand was shaking in rage as he read the contents on that paper. This man was none other than Marquis Barret.


    Since 300 years ago, the rank of the nobility had advanced by one grade and they were now a powerful and prestigious Marquis Family.


    Multiple respected families would try to get in their good books. There were many cases when reputed warriors woulde and request the Barret Family to enlist them in their personal force.


    The Noble Heirs were proud and arrogant of their family. Their arrogance was quite reasonable because of the strong foundation they possessed.


    Today, though, someone threatened Mark Barret, the current leader of the Barret Noble House. And this person wasn''t from aparable background to his; instead, he was a lowly knight who had just been promoted by the King.


    As he held that letter, he felt as if he had been humiliated by an ant. And the most frustrating thing was that he couldn''t do anything about it.


    Mark Barret understood that since this kid dared to send such a letter to him then he had sufficient proof that Barret Family was behind it.


    In his generation, they hadn''t been careful enough and had left behind a lot of evidence in the tunnel.


    "Good. Very good." He muttered with an enraged look, "Since you want to y such a game then let''s y it to your death."


    ~~


    Two dayster, a delegate from the Barret Noble House arrived in Shun''s office.


    Shun remained seated as he saw the representative from the Barret Noble House. He dismissed everyone else from his office while observing the person.


    He was neatly dressed and had a schrly air around him.


    "Mayor Shun, my name is Leroy Graves, and I''m a representative from the Barret House. I''vee to strike a deal with you," Leroy spoke with a calm voice.


    Shun spoke, "I am thankful that the Barret House has sent their delegate. I was worried that my letter might have been ignored. It seems I was worried for nothing."


    "Nonsense. Even though Marquis Barret is busy with all kinds of tasks but how could he ignore to read the letter penned by the Sinyalian Kingdom''s youngest knight?" Leroy spoke.


    On the surface, it appeared as if Leroy wasplimenting Shun. But in reality, he was making a jab at Shun for being a knight. He was reminding the difference between a knight and a Marquis to Shun.


    Shun caught that part and merely smiled. As expected of the Barret House, they hadn''t sent a random representative.


    "That relieves me then let''s proceed towards the main topic," Shun spoke calmly.


    "As I mentioned in my letter to Marquis Barret, I found a Herbal Land underneath the city''s agriculturalnd. I have evidence that this Herbal Land was set up by the Barret House." Shun paused as he saw that Leroy wanted to say something.


    "I hope Mayor Shun will pardon me for asking this question, but what is the evidence?" Leroy inquired, his voice firm. Even though he was pleading with Shun to forgive him, his tone said something different.


    Shun had expected such a question from him and replied with a calm voice, "I captured a man guarding that Herbal Land in the tunnel. He has already confessed it was the Barret House who assigned him to this location. Should I bring him here?"


    "Please ept my apologies for this insult once more. Mayor Shun, however, this is not conclusive proof. There is no evidence that this individual is stating the truth. He may be attempting to frame the Barret House. As you may be aware, the higher your rank the more people are jealous of you. He might have been nted by one of the rivals of Barret House." Leroy said in a calm tone. He talked with such assurance, as though he was sure that everything he said was true.


    Shun had an amused look as he heard Leroy. He asked, "What of their weapons and the storage items with the Barret House''s symbol? Have they been nted as well?"


    "Undoubtedly! Someone is trying to frame the Barret House." Leroy spoke with a confident voice, he then added, "Mayor Shun, allow me to reveal the real reason Marquis Barret had sent me here. He wished to cooperate with you and find the true perpetrator."


    "Find the true perpetrator, huh?" Shun whispered.


    Leroy nodded and further added, "That''s right. In reality, Marquis Barret was quite unhappy that you would send such a rude letter to him. He is quite fond of you so he sent me if it was someone else, he would have not been heavily fined for sullying the prestige of his Noble House."


    ''<em>So, Marquis Barret isn''t nning to admit that he is the one who created that Herbal Land. In fact, he wanted me to apologize and pay him a fine for sullying the prestige of his Noble House.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    At this moment, something unexpected urred. Shun began to chuckle.


    When Leroy saw Shun chuckling, he felt strangely ufortable. This wasn''t the reaction he was expecting, "Why are youughing, Mayor Shun?"


    Shun replied with a question of his own, "How can I notugh when hearing such hrious words?"


    "What do you mean, Mayor Shun? I don''t understand." Leroy asked with a puzzled look.


    Shun stoppedughing soon enough and spoke seriously, "Tell me, do you think of others as clowns?"


    "What-"


    Before he could speak any further, Shun interrupted him with an icy cold voice, "Silence! I listened to your nonsense for quite some time. Now it''s your turn to listen."


    Leroy was surprised as he heard that cold tone.


    "You said that the confession of that guard wasn''t conclusive evidence. I beg to differ though. ording to my research, the family of this guard is in a small town within the Barret Territory. On my table are the official papers that state this guard joined the forces of the Barret House. Are they fake? Then what about the official papers of the other guards who were in the tunnel. Although it was troublesome to find their families because they were dead, 3 families still turned up. Were they nted as well?"


    Leroy was surprised to hear Shun''s words but he still replied, "Yes, there is no doubt about it. It''s possible that there is a spy among the Barret Noble House''s ranks and he has been creating these identities without the knowledge of Marquis Barret. In this case, Marquis Barret can''t be held responsible "


    Shun thought ''<em>He is now preventing the Barret Noble House from being held responsible over this matter.''</em>


    "Let''s say you are speaking the truth and those people are indeed nted by someone else to frame the Barret House. Then what about the herbs. Most of these herbs are the ones that are sold by the Barret House inrge quantities. However, ording to what I have heard, the herbal garden in the Barret Noble House''s territory is notrge enough to export so many herbs. How does the Barret Noble House export so many herbs though? However, when one looks at the Herbal Land, it all fits." Shun exined calmly.


    Leroy broke out in cold sweat as he heard that exnation. He still replied, "This is merely your guess, Mayor Shun. This rtes to the secrets of the Barret Noble House. I apologize but I cannot exin any further."


    "I don''t care. The truth will be revealed soon. Now that the Barret House has been cut off from the supply, the export of the herbs and other resources will soon stop. I hope you have prepared a good excuse at that time. I don''t think the rivals of the Barret House will let go of such a perfect opportunity to bring it down." Shun gave a smile to Leroy that intimidated him greatly.


    "¡­What are your demands, Mayor Shun?" Leroy asked a little fearfully. As Shun continued to talk, he felt that the situation was much more hopeless than he believed. To think that this man had deduced so much already.


    Shun spoke, "We are finally on the right topic."


    "Firstly, the agriculturalnd had been greatly damaged and its vitality had been sucked because of this stratagem from the Barret House. So, I want you to send enough fertilizer to recover the vitality of thend."


    "Secondly, for the next 3 years, the Barret House will provide me any seed I require for free. I will send a list of seeds every three months."


    "Thirdly, I want Barret House to assist me when I ask for it."


    "I only have these three conditions but do remember if I feel there is something wrong with thend or the seeds then this information along with the evidence might be found in the hands of the King. Good luck pleading mercy at that time," Shun spoke with a calm voice.


    Leroy was surprised at the three conditions. He thought Shun would ask for more since the information he possessed was quite vital.


    "Very well. I shall inform Marquis Barret of your conditions." Leroy replied calmly.


    "Good. I want a reply in 3 days.." Shun spoke as he saw Leroy leave.

 Chapter 90 - The Rapid Development

    Leroy didn''t return to the Barret Noble House''s territory, instead, he rented a room in an Inn within the City of Vanta and contacted Marquis Barret using the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    An indifferent voice sounded from the stone, "I believe the issue has been resolved."


    With a forced smile, Leroy exined everything to Marquis Barret.


    After some seconds of silence, Marquis Barret spoke, "Agree to those conditions."


    When Leroy had spoken how Shun had proposed some conditions in return for his silence, he was utterly enraged. However, as he continued to hear Leroy''s words of what Shun knew. And how Shun was nning to use it, his expression turned more solemn.


    Marquis Barret had no intention of creating such a formidable enemy for the Barret Noble Family. He''d been the Barret Noble House''s leader for so long that he understood when to be aggressive and when to endure. And this appeared to be a situation where he had to endure.


    Also, when Marquis Barret heard the conditions put out by Shun, he was relieved. It didn''t consist of paying him a huge amount of money but some fertilizer and seeds.


    This was nothingpared to the wealth possessed by the Barret Noble House.


    ''Looks like this kid knows his limits. He didn''t go too far with his demands.''


    The only condition that really worried him was the third one. He had no idea when and in what situation would Shun ask for his assistance. But he decided to think of it at that time.


    ~~


    In Mayor''s office, Shun told his secretory about the negotiation. He was the same official who had went to the underground tunnel and knew that it was Barret Noble House behind that herbalnd.


    The official couldn''t help but speak with a slightly worried tone, "Mayor Shun, I don''t think threatening Barret Noble House is a good idea. They are much stronger than us and they possess greater prestige. They could easily destroy us. Maybe you shouldn''t have been so impulsive."


    Shun rolled his eyes and asked his secretary, "Who do you think will win if a weak one challenges a strong one?"


    The official replied casually, "Obviously the stronger one will win. You aren''t about to say that the weaker one will win."


    Shun shook his head, "No. The result is unknown until they fight."


    "Just as the strong have their strength, the weak have their own way of fighting. The result is unknown until they actually fight. What if the strong one is poisoned before the fight? And, if you are smart enough, when you challenge a strong opponent, his enemies can turn into your allies. You can find their weakness and win." Shun spoke with an indifferent tone.


    Shun calmly continued, "If the Barret Noble House refuses to ept the condition, it has much more to lose than to gain. Even if they destroy the city, the Barret Noble House''s rivals would eat it alive with this information. Also, just to make an example, the King might deliver a harsh punishment as well."


    The secretory finally understood Shun''s words.


    The next day, Leroy returned to Shun''s office. He delivered Marquis Barret''s message that he had agreed to the conditions.


    Shun smiled and spoke, "The deal has been struck. Marquis Barret can now rx. This information won''t spread at all. He should prepare an excuse for theck of herbs and other raw resources. There will be no disturbance from my side."


    Leroy nodded his head and soon returned. He had a bitter smile as he remembered how he had proudly entered these doors thinking he would easilyplete the task assigned to him and get rewarded by Marquis Barret.


    But now, he realized that he was blindly arrogant. He had underestimated the other party too much.


    Once Leroy left, Shun spoke to the secretory, "Gather theborers and those from the agricultural background in the Cypress za."


    ~~


    After 2 hours, Shun appeared on the stage in the Cypress za.


    He looked at the hundreds of faces of the ground. And it seemed that even more people were joining this gathering.


    Shun cleared his throat and began to speak with a loud and clear voice, "I, Shun Gordon, thank you all for gathering here. Today, I gathered you all for a single purpose. And that is to employ you under my services."


    His words startled hundreds of people seated on the ground.


    "In a few days, those among you of the agricultural background will be given fertilizers. Each one will be assigned a piece ofnd and will use fertilizers and other nourishment resources to revive thend. After that, you will be given seeds and raise the nt. Naturally, you will be provided with detailed instructions. You will receive a fixed monthly sry which can increase based on the results. All you have to do is follow the orders and I promise you that you will live a blissful life."


    The people with an agricultural background were startled but most of them were delighted. Their conditions were so bad under the previous Mayors that even eating three times a day was challenging.


    Next, Shun spoke to theborers, "From now on, you will receive construction projects from me. I will buy the wood and hire some architects to create maps for the houses. Those will be the lodgings for you people. Moreover, I will pay you for the construction with an appropriate sry so that you can live a decent life."


    As the Mayor of this city, Shun had promised the citizens that he would provide every one of them with food, shelter, and protection. He was first dealing with the food and the shelter issues as they were the most troublesome ones.


    Theborers and the individuals with an agricultural background were delighted to hear Shun''s words.


    They had gathered on the day Shun took his speech as the Mayor of this town. They now truly felt the change that was urring in this town.


    ~~


    Nearly 3 dayster, the delegates from the Royal Family arrived and they bought all the herbs and handed over the sum to Shun.


    With that money, Shun bought food, wood and also hired some, craftsmen, cksmiths, and architects. He wanted to start the work fast.


    Meanwhile, the fertilizers and seeds from the Barret Noble House also arrived soon. Shun had already prepared a list with which he assigned the farmers.


    He handed them the fertilizers, some cows and bulls, and got them working.


    Theborers began their work as well as they began to create lodgings ording to the instructions from the architect.


    Even with theirrge number, it would take them a few months to create the lodgings for everyone.


    It took a whole week of fertilizing thend to see some change in that barrennd. The grass had already begun to grow in thend which showed that it was truly changing.


    Shun wasn''t surprised. He asked them to plow their respective fields and nt the seeds.


    In a few days, the entirend was nted with seeds.


    Now, all they had to do was take care of them every day and they should see the results in a few months.


    Two weekster, the King sent a 4 Star Array Master and 12 men proficient in taking care of Herbal Garden.


    Shun invited them and disyed the herbs he possessed.


    The variety of herbs he possessed surprised the gardeners. Only the Royal Herbal Garden possessed more herbs than Shun but they quickly made a n on where and how muchnd they should use for the herbal garden.


    The herbal garden was only created in a few hundreds of acres. It wasn''t much whenpared to the agriculturalnd of thousands of acres.


    The array master created a few arrays in the treasure room of the City of Vanta to prevent the herbs from losing their medicinal properties.


    Moreover, Shun also requested the array master to create some arrays around the city to detect intruders.


    Now, this array was much more troublesome. The city was quite vast and to cover itpletely required a lot of resources.


    Shun didn''t possess the wealth to buy those resources and thus, the array master couldn''t begin working on this project.


    It somewhat disappointed Shun but there was nothing he could do. He had to make do with what he had at the moment.


    ~~


    Nearly 2 monthster, the residence for all theborers and farmers had been constructed. They lived in these lodgings while going to their work every day.


    Now that the lodgings had been constructed, theborers were asked to construct smithies. They brought the materials to the cksmiths and were in charge of supplying the weapons and armors to the merchants.


    As for farmers, they were already seeing that in about another week or so it would be time for them to harvest their crops.


    Shun was quite delighted at the news because he would no longer need to buy food from the Royal Family.


    Not spending any ie on food would greatly lower their expenditures and he could buy the resources for the array to detect intruders.


    The citizens in the city were utterly shocked as they saw their city change in months.


    Currently, the city was utterly unrecognizable to its state a few months ago.


    A few months ago, it appeared as if the City of Vanta was on itsst legs. The buildings were cracked, the children were crying at theck of food, and people used to sleep outside because of theck of lodgings.


    But now, it appeared as if the City of Vanta had gained a solid foundation. The buildings had beenpletely repaired and many more houses had been constructed.


    They had received quality food in these 2 months. And ording to the information from their close friends or family, they were about to harvest the crops soon.


    If someone brings a genuineint to the Mayor''s office, there was a high chance the Mayor would act on it.


    Shun''s dedication and work were witnessed and heard by the entire City of Vanta.


    Soon, people had begun to sing his praises and they tilted him "The Golden Mayor."


    ~~


    Now, three years had passed and the City of Vanta had undergone aplete revolution. Shun was 20 years old and there was nothing the City of Vanta was urgentlycking.


    The agriculture was going well. The trade was prospering as they increased their contacts and trading routes. And Shun had already hired multiple warriors under his services.


    His prestige as the Golden Mayor had grown a lot. He was well-known and revered by nearly all residents in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Southern Region. Many citizens desired that the Golden Mayor would takemand of their city.


    In a certain sense, the City of Vanta was bing an example. This was how the cities had to be managed.


    As Shun had promised to the citizens of the City of Vanta, he would make it a city they could be proud of. And he had certainly aplished it within 3 years!


    Naturally, managing the city wasn''t all he focused on in these 3 years. He trained and cultivated regrly.


    The King had assigned him a couple of tasks every year because of his secret identity as an Inquisitor.


    Because of the multiple missions assigned to him, his prestige as an Inquisitor was growing as well.


    He was now called Inquisitor Fox because of the fox mask he wore. He chose the fox mask because the foxes are considered sly animals.


    And currently, under his identity as Inquisitor Fox, he had epted the mission to search for the Elf Princess Laura Vajor and investigate the Rhodes House, Merchant Union Branch in Wrihull City, and the former Silent Death Organization branch in the Wrihull City.

 Chapter 91 - Pass The Training Array

    Nearly a week had passed since Azaroth''s retainers had undergone their training in those elemental training arrays constructed by him.


    Many things had changed in this one week. Firstly, manyborers hade to Kloras Town from different towns and cities.


    This was all due to Tronte spreading the news about Kloras Town. Azaroth asked him to spread the news that he was willing to hireborers and will provide them with food and shelter.


    Just this promise was enough for manyborers to turn up at Kloras Town. Even the Lords or Mayors of those towns or cities were more than happy to see these people leaving.


    Once they arrived in Kloras Town, Azaroth immediately got them to work. He had already prepared the designs for the building.


    There were also some architects and engineers sent by Tronte and they assisted theseborers in creating the houses.


    There was no shortage of wood in the vicinity of Kloras Town, thanks to the vast forest.


    In terms of administrating Kloras Town, the first step and that was the settlement of workers had gone perfectly.


    Now, he had to wait for these individuals to finish building lodgings for themselves before beginning to create more houses for the general public.


    With this, he could pull over parts general public to live in Kloras Town as well. After that, it would be a standard way of increasing the poption slowly and steadily.


    As for his retainers, Noah and Tiana were the ones who disyed the greatest improvements. Their improvements were rted to the fact that they held no knowledge on how to use their elements and were now proficient in controlling them.


    Noah controlled his wind element and thought of different ways toplement it with his sword qi. He found out that he could make his Sword Qi even faster and sharper using the Wind.


    He had begun working on mastering this skill. Currently, this skill required quite a bit of his Ardor. If he used it all the time then he would be out of Ardor after 10 or so moves.


    However, the power generated by thebination of these two was amazing. Noah had even felt as if there was nothing he couldn''t cut in the same realm.


    Meanwhile, Tiana had just begun to use her Ice Element. Azaroth was proficient in many Ice Techniques because he possessed this element in his previous life. Even though he no longer possessed the techniques now, teaching some of his techniques to Tiana didn''t take too much time.


    At the very least, Tiana and Noah could hold a normal battle against each other while using their elements.


    Tiana''sbat experience and risen by a lot as she fought against Noah. She never won against him but in every fight, she felt as if she learned something new.


    She''d be reminded of her errors at times, and she''d get a sense of how she should have handled her aspects at other times.


    As she fought against Noah, she painfully became aware of just how weak she was. She couldn''t even defeat a little kid.


    And deep inside her mind, a strong desire was born. She wanted to defeat Noah. Even if it was only once, she wanted to defeat him by her own power.


    Every time Noah fought Tiana, he would feel as if she was prepared to deal with all his previous attacks hence he would choose new ways to fight her.


    Azaroth asked Noah to work on the soft part of his wind after mastering the sharp wind edges.


    Noah didn''t understand what Azaroth meant clearly so Azaroth gave him a demonstration.


    He controlled the Wind Ardor around them in such a way that it carried their bodies in the air.


    Noah felt Azaroth''s Wind around his body but it didn''t feel sharp at all. This was unlike his own wind energy that always felt as if it was a sharp de, ready to cut the opponent.


    "Your skill should be so good that you can control your element ording to your whims."


    This was something Azaroth told both of them.


    The two were quite motivated and nned to get even better.


    Azaroth mainly focused on Noah and Tiana but he didn''t neglect others as well.


    He observed others'' training as well.


    Yrellea had an idea what Azaroth was talking about. While training with Sargan, she had once blocked Sargan''s lightning attack with water. And surprisingly, the water had effortlessly blocked that attack.


    However, Yrellea recognized it was a fluke, and when she tried it again, she was struck by Lightning.


    Azaroth had seen that Yrellea managed to use Pure Water by fluke and he halted any thoughts of helping her.


    He thought it would be better if she disyed the properties of the pure water to her but it no longer appeared necessary.


    Now that Yrellea had used Pure Water, whether it was by her skill or fluke, she would want to master his skill at all costs.


    In a sense, she had already taken a bite of the target and this had just made her hungrier. Her desire and focus to master this skill had increased greatly.


    But even though her desire and concentration were at their peak, she didn''t have enough time to experiment more with her Water Element.


    Sargan''s training had gone quite well. As he fought against Yrellea, he found that he had to constantly be on the move to attack her.


    Thus, Sargan began to focus on the uracy and power of his long-ranged attacks. One such attack was Lightning Bullet.


    If he seeded in mastering it, he could kill his enemies from far. It would be extremely useful against those gnomes.


    By nature, those gnomes wouldn''t move much from their position. They could control the Earth around them so it wasn''t necessary for them to move.


    However, Sargan could take advantage of this fact now.


    Because Yrellea had tried her best to dodge his attacks, Sargan had to focus more and increase his uracy.


    However, the uracy of long-ranged attacks wasn''t something that could be significantly improved in just one week.


    The only thing Sargan could feel was that he was on the right track.


    Azaroth observed their training from a distance and was satisfied with them. Sargan was the one who was nning their training and until now, it was going quite well.


    Andstly were Laura and Ralph.


    From a specific standpoint, their duo was the one with the best pairing among the three. Their spars would result in a draw nearly every time before one of them would grab victory.


    ording to their scores, Laura was the one with a slight edge over Ralph right now.


    Laura and Ralph''s duo had made the second greatest progress. And if the overall skill was looked at, they were the ones with the greatest progress.


    Laura fought from a distance and used her vines to attack her enemy. She also used some tricks to win.


    Meanwhile, Ralph favored Close-Combat. With his physical fitness, he could dodge Laura''s vines or even burn them before getting near her body.


    Laura had to be constantly on the run and create more obstacles as Ralph attacked her. After every spar, Laura would like she was about to die because of low stamina while Ralph would get up for another one.


    Ralph had noticed something while fighting Laura. His closebat skill wasn''t as strong as he had originally believed.


    In a certain sense, he hadpletely overpowered Laura within closebat. However, if Laura somehow managed to get out of his closebat range, he had no option but to resist all her attacks.


    For him, this was not an optimum way of fighting. He had to learn how to be dangerous from long range as well. If he could do so, he would have eliminated his main weakness.


    Moreover, there was something else he learned to do. He could now burst the mes out from any part of his body.


    He first utilized it when Laura had used her vines to trap his feet. To free himself, Ralph just did what his instincts screamed at him and burst out a strong Ardor in his feet.


    And surprisingly, mes burst out of his feet.


    He was shocked but happy. He now felt that he had another weapon to fight against those Ice Trolls. If he could master this skill and constantly release the heat from his body then he could boost his attacks and make it atleast nullify the elemental suppression from the surroundings.


    Ralph wasn''t just the one who had improved. Laura had undergone massive improvements as well.


    The first was that she had realized that her capacity to fight from a distance was limited and that it would not be effective against genuinely swift opponents.


    Thus, she had now begun to think of ways to attack in close range as well.


    Laura could now cover her punches with wood and attack her enemies. Although her closebat techniques were rather low-ss, this was still better than nothing.


    Next, she was getting faster in conjuring up her wood. She guessed that if she was fast enough, she would be able to fight in closebat without even moving her body.


    The wood created from the ground would strike the opponent.


    However, increasing her conjuring speed was harder than she thought. It seemed that she would have to practice it until she could do it by instinct.


    This meant she would require some months of training rather than weeks to master this skill.


    Azaroth was also satisfied with their training.


    He had observed all his retainers and ording to him, the one who would first deal with defeat the Elemental Array was either Sargan or Laura. The two were very skillful and tricky. They also knew how to use their element quite well.


    It would be difficult for Noah toplete his trial because he had to defeat thrice the number of enemies aspared to his peers.


    Moreover, these enemies were incredibly skilled and would assist theirrades.


    If Noah''s elemental trial consisted of dealing with only one kind of elemental minions, he would have probably beaten it on his first try.


    However, this was because Noah possessed the Enlightened Sword Heart.


    Also, this time, Noah would be using Wind Element as well. And instead of helping him, his own element was going to be his greatest adversary. Because his ardor would be exhausted more quickly if he used the Wind Element.


    Noah had to think and understand just how and when he should use the Wind Element. If he used it recklessly, he wouldn''t be able to fight at his full power for long.


    But after today''s elemental training results, Azaroth realized that he was worried for nothing.


    Sargan and Laura had even managed to beat the training array!

 Chapter 92 - Beginning The Investigation

    Laura and Sargan were sitting cross-legged in their respective training grounds.


    Now that they had managed to beat their respective training grounds, a great deal of energy was injected into their bodies.


    This was Pure Ardor from the elemental crystals possessed by Azaroth.


    The purpose of this training array wasn''t just to enhance the warriors''bat sense but to increase his Ardor.


    For one whole week, the Array would continue to absorb the Ardor from nature. And some of it will be used to create the enemies within the training array and polish the challenger''s senses.


    While the rest of the Ardor was left as a reward.


    And if someone didn''t manage to beat it the first time, nearly three-fourth of the Ardor in the Training Array would remain untouched.


    After gathering more Ardor for one more week, this Array would make slightly stronger enemies and give out the rest as the reward.


    Currently, Laura and Sargan felt this explosive energy in their bodies. They had to forcefully suppress this energy with their Cultivation Base and then use their Cultivation Techniques to assimte it with their energy core


    Using the Nether Devil God Mantra, Sargan slowly assimted the Ardor with his energy core. It took him nearly 5 hours to achieve this.


    Now, he felt that his cultivation had actually reached the peak of 3 Star Rank.


    Sargan had attained the firstyer of the Nether Devil God Mantra. His body had improved, and his regeneration rate had elerated. But, most crucially, his spirit had changed, as the Ardor had substantially reinforced it. His Ardor absorption and assimtion also received a significant boostpared to before.


    Laura used his Royal Elf Cultivation Technique to assimte it quickly as well. Compared to Sargan though, she only needed 2 hours to absorb it. She was already at the Third Stage of her cultivation technique after all.


    As for the others, they also received some bit of Ardor after training but it was nothingpared to the Ardor Laura and Sargan received.


    Azaroth gathered Laura and Sargan and gave them instructions, "Spar with each other until everyone passes their training array as well."


    Thus, a new training pair was formed for this week.


    Soon, the others arrived. Azaroth was the one who formed the pairs for this week.


    He paired Noah and Ralph together. Putting Noah together with Ralph wasn''t going to help Noah very greatly.


    He already knew what he had to do. He had to master his element while also reducing its output. He needed to get the timing right and only use it at appropriate moments.


    Ralph was the one who would benefit greatly from this training. All this time, he had been fighting against Laura, who was a novice in closebat.


    And now, Ralph was going to fight the best closebat warrior among Azaroth''s retainers. Even Azaroth had to be serious when fighting Noah while using equal Ardor to him.


    While sparring, Ralph was going to understand the true potential of closebat.


    The final pair was Yrellea and Tiana.


    Yrellea hadn''t mastered her pure water skill but there was no point in just working on it. Using Pure Water, she could defend herself. She also needed to learn more techniques to increase the variety of her attacks. Sparring against Tiana would definitely help that.


    Azaroth had noticed in the previous week that Tiana was a defensive warrior. It would be quite a bit of trouble for Yrellea to break her ice walls.


    <em>''This won''t suffice though. I will need to actively help the two so they can gain more ideas about attacking.''</em>


    Azaroth was also continuing his personal training. He was getting used to the power of the Divine Holy Devil Physique and analyzing it properly. He hadn''t fought against anyone else yet.


    It was a pity that none of his retainers could challenge him to a fight. Using his Divine Holy Devil Physique Transformation would be just too overwhelming for them.


    At this moment, Azaroth remembered that Golden Ape.


    <em>''It should have reached be a Beast Lord right now. Maybe I can challenge it with my Divine Holy Devil Physique Transformation.''</em>


    Azaroth was truly filled with confidence because his Ardor was Triquetra Ardor. It was already 6 times greater and denser than normal Ardor. Moreover, after the transformation, its denseness was nearly 10 times denser than regr Ardor.


    In fact, Azaroth believed he could overpower even a 5 Star Rank Warrior in pure power. However, after reaching the 5 Star Rank, the warrior would also unlock a few useful abilities and his bloodline skills would awaken as well.


    A dayter, Azaroth was training Tiana as well as Yrellea.


    At a nce, Tiana didn''t seem to be doing that bad against Yrellea. She was actually actively attacking and defending at the appropriate time against Yrellea.


    It was just that Yrellea was more experienced and she could break her guard easily.


    Azaroth also gave them proper instructions when he felt they needed it.


    Soon, he sensed a bird entering his territory. It was a very normal bird as it didn''t seem to possess Ardor.


    Azaroth understood it was a homing bird. He left the training ground to grab that bird.


    There was a letter tied on that bird''s leg.


    ''<em>A message from Tronte? Did something happen?</em>'' He wondered with a small frown.


    On the message, Tronte had written with rough handwriting. There were no greetings and Azaroth read the message.


    "A special agent hase to investigate the Rhodes House, the Merchant Union, and the Silent Death Organization. If this agent is going to investigate the entire Rhodes House, he is going toe towards you as well. Make sure to hide the jewels and those resources well."


    Azaroth was surprised at this information.


    He closed his eyes and concentrated strongly. He then sent a few instructions to Josephine to find out what was going on and inform him immediately.


    ~~


    A few days ago, a man named Sam Lee arrived in the Rhodes House.


    Surprisingly, Jonas Rhodes personally met the man and invited him in. After ensuring no one was listening to their conversation, the two began to talk.


    "I am Sam Lee, a subordinate under Inquisitor Fox, as described in the letter, Marquis Rhodes." "This is the proof," the man said as he brought out a dull stone.


    "Greetings, Marquis Rhodes," says the narrator. I hope you''ve been doing well since ourst meeting." Jonas was relieved to hear Inquisitor Fox''s voice.


    He was familiar with Inquisitor Fox. Because Inquisitor Fox was dressed in ck and had his entire body covered, he wasn''t aware of his identity. But he could easily recognize the voice.


    Even though Jonas was far stronger than Inquisitor Fox, he had only heard nice things about him. And when he met Inquisitor Fox for a mission, he was quite fond of his way of doing things.


    There was no unnecessary wastage of time. And he pursued ultimate precision with his ns.


    If Inquisitor Fox wasn''t under the service of the King, he would have definitely recruited him. Such a man was worth more than a hundred warriors of the 5 Star Rank.


    "Have you been assigned to find the Elf Princess?" Jonas straight away asked Inquisitor Fox.


    "That''s correct. I was also assigned to investigate the conflict between the Rhodes House, Merchant Union, and the Silent Death Organization. With the information I have, I can already guess what happened." Inquisitor Fox''s calm voice resounded in the room.


    Jonas let out a sigh, "Just speak. What do you want from me?"


    "In reality, my primary aim is to find the Elf Princess and capture her. The King won''t question too much as long as I can achieve this aim. Thus, if you assist me, I will stay silent about your actions." Inquisitor Foxid out his condition.


    Jonas smiled as he had expected this. He nodded his head and spoke, "Very well. I am willing to assist you in finding that Elf Princess."


    "Surely, you have already questioned the ves and the Silent Death Organization officials thoroughly so first, I need to hear what they said." Inquisitor Fox spoke calmly.


    Jonas thought for some time and then spoke, "ording to the Silent Death Organization manager named Finley, there were many individuals who wished to acquire that Elf Princess. They weren''t aware of her identity though."


    "There is no need to suspect them," came Inquisitor Fox''s first deduction.


    Jonas asked with a calm look, "What''s your reasoning behind this?"


    Inquisitor Fox casually exined, "Someone wouldn''t prepare such a scheme just to capture an Elf. They had to know of her true identity, otherwise, the risks won''t outweigh the gains. And I believe that someone who could carry out such an operation won''t take actions driven by lust."


    Jonas agreed with him, "I think the same. From what he told me, it was the Merchant Union''s manager, Sir Ashton who suddenly knocked on his door, bringing many warriors along with him. He was searching for the treasures that had been brought to the Silent Death Organization Base using a secret skill. Because he felt such considerable pressure from the Merchant Union and the way Sir Ashton was showing his anger like he was going to attack them at any time, Finley called out for all the strong warriors and gathered them to prepare themselves defensively. This was the moment that man decided to act."


    At this moment, Inquisitor Fox, "If my guess is right, then the person who carried out this operation didn''t care about that Beast Emperor''s Egg. It was something he recognized when he entered the Merchant Union''s warehouse. He nned to ransack the ce and nt some treasures in the Silent Death Organization. That person probably even knew the method with which the Merchant Union traces their treasures and nned to use it against them. But coincidentally, he recognized this Beast Emperor''s Egg and took it along with him."


    Jonas agreed and spoke, "Perhaps things did go this way. But how are we going to find the perpetrator now?"


    "What about the ves? What did they see?" Inquisitor Fox asked suddenly.


    "These ves mentioned they saw a figure overflowing with Dark Ardor. My guess is that it was Demonic Ardor and he was using it to hide his face. The person killed all the guards in his way before they could sound the rm. He freed a subus and took her along to the Elf Princess'' prison." Jonas informed calmly.


    "Demonic Ardor? He can''t be a pure demon otherwise his identity would have already been known. He is probably a hybrid who awakened his Demonic Ardor recently. Is there anyone whoes to your mind, Marquis Rhodes?" Inquisitor Fox asked. After all, this was Rhodes House''s territory. Jonas would know more about it than him.


    "Nopes. I have no suspects in my mind."


    "I see¡­"


    Seeing that he wasn''t going to receive any information, Inquisitor Fox turned silent.


    Jonas didn''t speak anything. He knew that whenever Inquisitor Fox suddenly turned silent, he was thinking deeply and it was a bad idea to interrupt him.


    During this time, Shun was indeed thinking deeply.


    <em>''Someone who knew of the Elf''s true identity despite the Silent Death Organization members trying to hide it at all costs. Someone who knew where the Merchant Union stores its warehouse. Someone who could create this scheme. And his identity is that of a demon.''</em> These thoughts were revolving in Shun''s head.


    <em>''It couldn''t have been someone outside the city. If a warrior entered the Wrihull City for this scheme, he had to check the entire city. Atleast see the locations and prepare an escape n.''</em>


    Shun wondered <em>''Was it a traitor in the Silent Death Organization?''</em>


    Shun shook his head and scrapped the possibility. The first scenario was imusible since all the members had probably been investigated by the organization itself. He wouldn''t have been able to escape the eyes of the organization, Merchant House and Jonas.


    <em>''Only the Rhodes House members remain now. Only have skipped the inspection. If even an heir of the Rhodes Noble Family isn''t the perpetrator then I will have to start from scratch.''</em>


    Unknown to Shun though, he was on the right track with his spection.

 Chapter 93 - Sharing Senses

    Jonas soon heard Inquisitor Fox''s calm voice, "¡­I have no clue about how to catch this perpetrator with the current information. I need more."


    Those words made Jonas frown. To think that even Inquisitor Fox was at the ends of his wits about this situation.


    "No worries though. I hardly get cases like this." Inquisitor Fox added. It would be wrong to say he wasn''t excited about this.


    "Would you allow Sam Lee to investigate freely, Marquis Rhodes?" Inquisitor Fox asked Jonas.


    There was a forced smile on Jonas'' face, "You already have my weakness in your hand. You think I can stop him?"


    "I naturally won''t be ckmailing you with it, Marquis Rhodes. I just wanted to know your thoughts." Inquisitor Fox asked.


    "Nothing. As long as he doesn''t ask for our family secrets, it will be okay. If he does pry into our secrets then I hope you find another subordinate, Inquisitor Fox." Jonas threatened with a cold voice.


    "Marquis Rhodes, I''m not interested in your family secrets. We should be allies rather than adversaries, in my opinion." Inquisitor Fox spoke.


    "Very well. Then you have my consent." Jonas nodded and slowly stood up.


    Inquisitor Fox had to be careful with his words. He couldn''t give away the fact he suspected someone from the Rhodes House to Jonas. It would be difficult to predict Jonas''s actions afterward.


    He spoke with a calm voice, "Then please allow me to borrow one of your subordinates who can show Sam Lee the location from where the perpetrator vanished. Maybe I can find some clues when I look at the scene personally."


    When Jonas heard those words, he nodded in agreement. Even though he had already seen the site, he found no clues. But Inquisitor Fox was different. He would notice very small things and create conclusions from seemingly nothing. And he had never been wrong until now no matter how wild those deductions appeared to be.


    "Very well. I will lend you one of my aides for this. He isn''t too bright so I would appreciate it if you ignore his errors." Jonas spoke with a smile.


    On the other side of the Voice Transmission Array Stone, Shun thought with a small smile ''<em>Marquis Rhodes is probably going to make some unremarkable man lead Sam Lee to the site. He doesn''t want someone to slip up and reveal Rhodes Family''s secret. A man can''t reveal a secret if he doesn''t know it.''</em>


    Jonas knew that Inquisitor Fox had probably deduced the reason but he didn''t care. His motive was to send a point across. And that was to not poke the Rhodes Family''s secret.


    Sam Lee had no idea that Inquisitor Fox and Jonas were conversing so subtly. The words on the surface werepletely different from their real meanings.


    Inquisitor Fox didn''t mind it at all. He wasn''t nning to ask something of a grave secret to the Rhodes Family.


    "Naturally. I only n to use my energy to find our kidnapper. I don''t n to waste my energy to chide a servant." Inquisitor Fox spoke casually.


    Those words relieved Jonas. His instincts told him that he could trust Inquisitor Fox on this. Also, that servant didn''t know of any of the Rhodes Family''s secrets so there was no harm.


    With this, the deal was struck.


    ~~


    Sam Lee left the Rhodes Estate while following the subordinate assigned by Jonas. His subordinate was someone named Coby.


    Once the two entered the Silent Death Organization''s headquarters, Sam heard a voice in his head.


    ''Sam Lee, share your senses with me.''


    Even though Sam Lee had put away the Voice Transmitting Array Stone, Inquisitor Fox''s voice still resounded in Sam Lee''s head.


    This was all because of Sam Lee''s ability.


    It was a unique ability that allowed him to share his senses with those possessing a special relic owned by him. The range of this ability depended on the power of the user.


    As a 3 Star Warrior, the person needed to be within 30 miles of Sam Lee''s range, and Sam Lee could differentiate them based on their Spiritual Energy and share his senses with them.


    This was an ability that was strangely convenient for Shun. He could keep his identity hidden while seeing the ce as if he was present there.


    He had investigated many crime scenes through such ability. On his own, Sam Lee''s ability could be considered useless. It had low potential inbat but this was just too good of an ability if used as a support.


    Sam could use this ability to find the enemy''s hidden spots and they could all ambush their hiding spots.


    Sometimes they would be ambushed instead but the results were more likely to be in their favor.


    Soon, Shun''s mind began to receive a lot of information. This was information sent by Sam Lee using his ability. This information contained everything that his senses were experiencing right now.


    "Let me talk for some time."


    Shun spoke within his mind. This was naturally not a request but an order.


    "Alright."


    Soon, Shun gained the authorization tomand Sam''s body.


    The first thing he did was near the man named Coby. He spoke with a smile, "What is your name?"


    "Coby. Who are you?"


    "I am Sam. I was wondering what do you do in the Rhodes Estate?" Shun asked with what appeared to be a curious voice.


    Coby heard his words and looked slightly proud as he rubbed his nose, "I am head of the servants in the Rhodes Estate. Whenever a guest appears, I am the one asked to entertain the guest. Lord Jonas even encourages me to do whatever I want."


    "Woah. You actually had such high status?!"


    Coby looked even prouder as he saw Sam''s excited face. He added with an arrogant tone, "That''s correct. Lord Jonas thinks quite highly of you since he made me apany you."


    "That''s amazing. I am thankful to Marquis Rhodes as he has allowed me to meet a wonderful man." Shun continued with the ttery and Coby just epted them with a proud look.


    He even felt that he had the bearings of an expert right now.


    "Hehe¡­"


    "I was wondering though. Did something strange happen in the Rhodes Estate recently? Someone behaving unnaturally?" Shun asked in a tone that appeared quite natural.


    To Sam, it seemed as though this man wanted to have some small talk with him.


    <em>''Hehe¡­ It''s rare to find someone who sees through my true ability.''</em> Coby arrogantly thought and added in his thoughts ''<em>I can''t disappoint him with my information otherwise, he will look down on me.''</em>


    Coby cleared his throat before speaking confidently, "You are asking the right person. I naturally know of everything that happens in the Rhodes Estate. You might not know it but Lord Jonas''s newlywed wife vanished a month or so ago. Milord has been trying to find her, using all the men avable in the Rhodes Estate."


    He then paused to look at Sam and saw that he didn''t react. It was as if he wasn''t impressed by the information, meaning he knew it beforehand.


    In reality, Coby''s words had ced Shun in deep thought.


    Coby clicked his tongue as he thought he couldn''t be outdone like this and then spoke with a bright smile, "I do remember someone who has behaved unnaturally recently."


    This caught Shun''s attention as he looked at Coby and asked him with some interest, "Who is it?"


    Coby raised his finger with a devious smile and spoke, "This information is valuable."


    Shun understood what he meant and mentallymanded Sam ''<em>Give him a Gold Coin.''</em>


    Even though Shun was using Sam''s body, he couldn''t actually do something with it other than talk.


    Sam though obeyed Shun''s orders and handed a gold coin to Coby.


    "It''s fun doing business with smart people," Coby spoke with a grin as he ced the gold coin away. His face turned serious as he spoke, "The one I believe who has behaved the most unnaturally is none other than young master Edwin. However, it is because his servants quite close to him died in the forest nearby. After their deaths, he began eating different kinds of food."


    Shun was surprised at this information. Much more than when he received Tiana''s information. This was because he felt as if he had received a clue.


    "What kinds of food does he eat now?" Shun asked Coby with a serious expression.


    "Earlier, he used to eat vegetables and fruit. But now, he rarely eats vegetables. He has almost made it a habit to eat roasted beasts'' meat and fish. His appetite has greatly increased as well. It has increased by around 5 times." Coby went on to speak everything he knew.


    Shun couldn''t help but praise him, "Your memory is excellent. You remember it all so well."


    Coby proudly responded, "I was the one who took his order so I naturally noticed it. Also, he stays in his room almost the entire day. There are other reasons as well but I can''t speak about those."


    <em>''The forest! It hasn''t been checked yet!''</em>


    Shun immediately ordered Sam ''I will cut off the connection between us. Continue talking to him and inform me of what you learn. I will go and check up another ce.''


    With that, Shun was gone before Sam could say anything.


    Shun could naturally cut this sense-sharing through his end. He just had to re his spirit slightly and he was back in his body.


    He immediately dashed towards the forest.


    <em>''A month ago, that woman named Tiana vanished from Marquis Rhodes''s mansion. ording to what I heard, that''s around the same time when Marquis Rhodes returned from the capital. And he was informed of the tyrannical actions of the Merchant Union and the Silent Death Organization. I will need to gather more information to get the timing perfect.''</em>


    <em>''Also, this guy named Edwin Rhodes. He changed after the death of his servants. Certainly, the death of someone close can drastically change someone. I can be considered a prime example of that. Bing an introvert is normal. Switching his diet is normal as well if he wants to be stronger. But there is no exnation for his sudden increase in appetite. That is clearly abnormal.''</em>


    <em>''Moreover, his behavior entirely changed after returning from the forest. And the forest is the only remaining ce other than Rhodes Estate that hasn''t been inspected. Is this a coincidence?''</em>


    A smile appeared on Shun''s face as he felt that this case was getting more interesting.


    <em>''It has been a while since I found a mystery this fascinating.''</em>

 Chapter 94 - Outsmarting The Demon

    The forest near Wrihull City wasn''t veryrge by any means.


    It took Shun one whole day to find a cave. The Ardor he sensed in that cave felt very demonic. Moreover, he also saw a Demonic Totem in that cave.


    Shun couldn''t help but wonder ''<em>Was this the demonic being''sir? Despite the presence of Demonic Ardor in the surroundings, there are no clues. Because of the flow of time, there are no clues. This location was most likelyst used a few months ago.''</em>


    After understanding that he wouldn''t find any more clues around in thisir, Shun investigated the forest even more thoroughly.


    It took Shun another half a day to find a den. From the Ardor, Shun felt that this location was used by an elite beast.


    He entered the den and after inspecting it for a few minutes, Shun had a smile on his face. He found the clues inside this den.


    The first clue was a few strands of hair. These strands were of Blonde and ck Color. Considering their length, Shun easily deduced that they were woman''s hair. Moreover, the two colors of hair indicated that two women lived in this cave.


    He remembered that the Elf Princess was blonde. Moreover, he had heard that the demon had also brought a subus along. The ck hair should belong to her.


    The second clue was signs of a campfire on the ground. They probably lit it up to cook their food.


    On the walls, he also noticed two vertical lines that were drawn by using a stone. Shun guessed that these two women were counting days.


    <em>''Why would they count days if they were only here for 2 days? That''s something they can do in their heads easily.</em>'' This question instantly appeared in Shun''s head.


    Atleast, he didn''t think an average individual would mark somewhere to count the days.


    <em>''Perhaps the two women weren''t told anything. They thought they would have to live here for quite some time but surprisingly, it was only for 2 days.''</em>


    However, Shun found something odd about this ce as well.


    <em>''I can understand why that demon chose this ce for a hideout. But why didn''t he destroy the clues? Was he in a hurry?''</em>


    <em>''He''s been very careful not to leave any signs that may lead back to him up until now. So why would he be so irresponsible as to leave so many hints in this ce? Were these ced by him to trick others?''</em>


    Shun was quite confused. There was a forced smile on his face as he wondered <em>''Or is it a bluff? Perhaps he is using reverse psychology.''</em>


    Shun thought for some time and sighed out.


    <em>''I need to gather more information. Specifically, the precise date when Tiana Rhodes vanished from the Rhodes Estate. Also, I need to investigate Edwin Rhodes more.'' Shun was somewhat happy that he had some clues now.</em>


    He could proceed with his search.


    Moreover, even though he wasn''t sure what to conclude after seeing this cave today, he knew that the Elf Princess had indeed arrived in this ce a month ago.


    Atleast, she was still in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, Shun also knew that gathering information about Tiana Rhodes along with Edwin Rhodes wouldn''t be easy.


    Jonas wouldn''t easily allow it.


    But Shun knew he had to be quick about this. He was already quitete for the investigation. If he wasted any more time then the Elf Princess would really be out of his reach.


    <em>''How can I outsmart the demon? How can I aplish my motives in the fastest time possible?''</em>


    Soon, there was a bitter smile on his face as he muttered, "I have no other choice than to do this."


    ~~


    5 hourster, Jonas Rhodes could be seen flying towards the forest near the Wrihull City at his fastest speed.


    Just a while ago, a messenger had informed him, "Milord, Sam Lee asked me to pass this slip to you."


    "Sam Lee, huh?" Jonas calmly held the slip and read it.


    He was utterly startled as he read the slip. The name of a location was written over that slip. Moreover, there was another line that stated "Meet me there alone --- Inquisitor Fox."


    ''Does he already has an idea of the perpetrator''s location? That was too quick even for his standards.''


    Jonas was immediately on the move.


    It was rare for Inquisitor Fox to meet him and discuss something. He would usually prefer to do it through the Voice Communication stone.


    <em>''It must be a very serious situation.</em>'' Jonas thought.


    After some time, Jonas reached the location given by Inquisitor Fox.


    From the air, he noticed someone seated on a stone. The person was wearing a fox mask and he soon raised his head to look at Jonas.


    Jonasnded on the ground and asked him slowly, "I am here. What is it you wanted to discuss, Inquisitor Fox?"


    Shun calmly replied, "Let me first show you what I found here."


    He pulled out two strands of hair from his pocket. One was a strand of long blonde hair and the other was a strand of long ck hair.


    Jonas nced at those two strands of hair and immediately understood what they signified.


    "The hair of Elf Princess and that subus?!"


    Inquisitor Fox nodded and added calmly, "Most possibly. There are also traces inside this den that they stayed here for 2 days."


    He took Jonas into the cave and showed him the substantial evidence that backed up his ims.


    "And now, you require my help?" Jonas casually asked Inquisitor Fox.


    "That''s correct. I need your assistance but in the form of information regarding two individuals. Only when I receive that information from a reliable source would I be able to take another step forwards regarding this case." Inquisitor Fox spoke with a serious voice.


    As he confronted Inquisitor Fox, Jonas'' demeanor became solemn. He knew that because Inquisitor Fox had summoned him to this location to obtain this information, it must be extremely valuable.


    "What is it? I will give my response after hearing you out." Jonas spoke calmly. He wasn''t going to promise carelessly.


    Shun was already satisfied with this response, "I hope you will hear me outpletely before making your mind."


    "I need information regarding your son Edwin Rhodes and also want to know the precise timing when Tiana Rhodes vanished from your mansion." He spoke with a serious voice.


    Before Jonas could say anything though, Shun continued with a strong voice, "I have my reasons to request this information from you, Marquis Rhodes."


    "In this forest, I also found another location with a demonic statue. When you inspect it, you will understand that thest time it was used was probably two or more months ago. That''s nearly the same time when your son Edwin Rhodes suddenly changed."


    "Moreover, Edwin Rhodes'' change was viewed after he returned from this forest. His servants did die here but they weren''t killed by beasts."


    Jonas frowned as he understood Shun''s meaning.


    "You mean that Edwin encountered that demon? The same demon who created this entire scheme to capture the Elf Princess? Is this what you want to imply?" Jonas asked him seriously.


    "That''s correct. My guess is that he encountered this demon and this demon forced Edwin to make a deal with him. I don''t know how they exchange information yet. Perhaps the demon was ckmailing him or forcing him. However, it''s also likely that Edwin willingly made a deal with the demon to be stronger. This demon is now instructing Edwin on how he should get stronger."


    "I came to this conclusion since I heard that Edwin changed greatly after returning from this forest. He changed his diet and focused greatly on his cultivation. This sudden change is too fishy. But even if it is a genuine change then why didn''t Edwin first ask for advice before changing his diet? Why would he just order the chef straight away to serve him different kinds of food? It''s as if he was absolutely confident that it would be absolutely beneficial to his body without asking for someone''s advice."


    Jonas''s eyes widened at those words. Even he hadn''t thought so deeply about this situation.


    "There is also the fact that he didn''t ask anyone to teach him techniques. He just stayed in his room, focusing on his cultivation as if he wanted to say he knew everything. That can''t very well be true. Thus, only a single possibility remains, he has made a deal with the demon." Shun finished speaking with a grim voice.


    Jonas thought with a frown ''That''s right. Now that I think of it, Edwin also went to participate in the Beast Raid within Kloras Town without informing anyone. Why would he go alone to that ce?''


    Shun noticed that Jonas was understanding his points. Now, it was time to move towards the next one, "There is another person rted to this case. Your newlywed wife Tiana Rhodes. She vanished from your mansion near the same time when the Elf Princess was captured. If I know the exact time when she vanished then I feel like we will have another strong clue."


    Jonas''s eyes widened at those words. He never connected Tiana''s case to the Elf Princess''s capture.


    "You are truly very intelligent." Jonas sighed out as he smiled at Shun.


    Shun shook his head and replied, "Marquis Rhodes is, in fact, highly intelligent as well. It''s just that this case involves your family and an outsider can see the entire situation more calmly and clearly without getting tunnel-visioned."


    Jonas spoke, "I respect your intelligence and your clever mind. However, I can''t give you any information regarding the members of the Rhodes House."


    Shun had expected this response from Jonas. And was prepared to deal with him.


    He spoke with an amused tone, "Marquis Rhodes, remember you once told me that everything has a price. The question is whether you are willing to pay it or not."


    Jonas frowned as he heard him.


    Soon, Shun raised his hands and ced them over his Fox Mask. And he slowly removed the fox mask.


    Jonas''s eyes widened in shock.


    <em>''What is he doing? Is he really revealing his face to me?! How can an Inquisitor reveal his identity to someone else? Is this the price is paying for the information?!''</em>


    Jonas had always wanted to know of the true identity of the Inquisitor Fox. But he had never imagined he would find out about it in such a manner.


    Jonas couldn''t help but gasp in shock as he looked at Inquisitor Fox''s good-looking face, his purple hair that wasbed neatly, and those striking pair of sapphire eyes that looked into Jonas''s eyes.


    This was not a face unfamiliar to him. In fact, he was too familiar with this face.


    3 years ago, the Noble Houses had a meeting dozens of times and its purpose was to deal with this man.


    "Shun Gordon, The Golden Mayor?!" Jonas eximed.


    Shun smiled in return as he saw Jonas''s shocked expression.

 Chapter 95 - Blackmail

    There have been many times when Jonas wished to know of Inquisitor Fox''s true identity. Even during this meeting, he had thoughts of tearing that mask and know about this man.


    If Jonas knew his identity, then Inquisitor Fox would be forced to make a deal with him. He could even use his assistance to deal with some shady matters.


    But never had he imagined that the Inquisitor Fox would reveal his face in such a manner. Moreover, his identity was that of Shun Gordon, the Golden Mayor!


    Even though he was greatly curious about Inquisitor Fox''s identity, he clenched his fists in frustration at this moment.


    He looked at Shun Gordon''s face, "You thought of a good scheme, Inquisitor Fox."


    Shun spoke with a slight smile, "I have no idea what you mean."


    Jonas spoke with a sneer, "You have intentionally revealed your identity to me. Meaning, you have already prepared for this situation. You are trying to trap me and ckmail me using this."


    Shun did not deny Jonas''s words. After all, it was the truth.


    Shun''s identity as an Inquisitor under the King was supposed to stay a secret for everyone except the King. But Shun had now revealed it on his own ord.


    This meant, if Shun informed the King that Jonas had seen his face, the king would terminate him. However, this was what Jonas had thought before he knew Shun''s identity.


    Now that he knew Shun''s true identity as the Golden Mayor, he knew there was no chance that King would kill such an exceptional man under his services. He wasn''t stupid enough to do this.


    Moreover, as long as Shun presented the situation a little favorable to himself then he would easily be able to use the King to punish Jonas.


    Jonas didn''t fear the King in frontalbat. But the thing was, the King didn''t need to resort to it.


    He just had to make his dissatisfaction towards the Rhodes Family known and other Noble Families would try to deal with the Rhodes Family in an attempt to appease the Royal Family. They might even receive a reward.


    Thus, Jonas was utterly angry as he came to know Shun''s identity. In fact, when he saw that smirk on Shun''s face, he knew that this guy had already arranged for the situation.


    If he killed him then the news would somehow reach the King''s ears that it was Jonas who killed him.


    The King had assigned such an important task to Shun and Jonas had actually killed him. There was no denying that King would punish him heavily for this.


    "¡­Marquis Rhodes, please believe me when I say that I never wanted to use this scheme," Shun spoke with a serious look.


    Jonas snorted in frustration as he saw Shun. He sarcastically said, "Yeah, right. You can also believe me when I say that I don''t want to cut you into a thousand pieces."


    Shun drylyughed and spoke ahead, "You are well within your right to be angry at me. But remember that we have amon objective, Marquis Rhodes. I was also forced to use this approach or else, you won''t give me the information I require. If we continue to waste more time, the demon might leave the Sinyalian Kingdom."


    Jonas asked with a frown, "And how do I trust you? As far as I understand, I am in the palm of your hand at this moment."


    "You shouldn''t think of things from this perspective, Marquis Rhodes. If I wasn''t sincere then I could have threatened you without even revealing my face." Shun spoke.


    Jonas knew he was right. Shun could have indeed devised a n to frame him and make him suffer disastrous losses.


    "For now, please give me the information I require or I can just contact the King." Shun coldly threatened Jonas.


    Jonas didn''t like to be on the receiving end of ckmailing. Normally, he had been the one to ckmail others to do his bidding. But today, he felt as if the tables have turned.


    Moreover, the one ckmailing him was even weaker than him.


    It was frustrating when someone weaker would sessfully ckmail you. It made Jonas feel as if he was extremely stupid to fall into this scheme.


    He shouldn''t havee to this location alone. Or maybe he should have activated the Video Recording Array Stone that would have recorded the entire incident.


    But s, there was no way to turn back time.


    "Very well. Speak clearly, what do you want to know. I will tell you. However¡­" Jonas showered his killing intent at Shun, who continued to face him with a smile.


    He added, "If you ever reveal this to my rivals, even I don''t know what I will do with you. But living will no longer be a possibility for you."


    Shun nodded his head. He didn''t doubt Jonas''s words. He was sure that even with the King''s protection, Jonas would be able to kill him.


    "I never had any intention to be your enemy, Marquis Rhodes. I highly respect you. But there was no other choice in this situation. Please allow me to be frank. I do not believe you can catch this demon. Not unless I personally assist you." Shun spoke with a solemn tone.


    Before Jonas could even frown at those words, Shun added, "This involves your family in such a deep way that you ignore the clues in front of you. You need my assistance!"


    Jonas retracted his killing intent and stared at Shun


    Shun understood that this was a sign that Jonas was willing to hear him out. He nodded his head and spoke, "Thank you. Now, I need you to ask the servants in your Estate and gather all the information regarding Edwin. What was he doing when the Elf Princess was captured? And when was Tiana Rhodesst seen in your Mansion."


    "Just these two questions. They don''t concern the Rhodes Families'' secret, I believe." Shun spoke with a confident look.


    Jonas spoke, "There is a strong reason behind Edwin''s change. And that is his bloodline."


    "His bloodline?"


    Jonas paused for a couple of seconds. He wasn''t sure about revealing this information to anyone else, "¡­My son Edwin had low-ss talent. No matter how hard he worked, the results were abysmal. I had even lost hope for him to seed me and be the next Head of the Family. But nearly 2 months ago, Edwin unlocked the Celestial Bloodline in his body. His cultivation skyrocketed and he has reached the peak of the 4 Star Rank. I believe his status as a hybrid gives him a strong motivation to grow more powerful."


    Shun remained entirely silent as he heard this information. It was somewhat inconsistent with his theory that Edwin was following a demon''s orders.


    A demon wouldn''t know the way to awaken the Celestial Bloodline in Edwin''s body.


    "My son went to Kloras Town and assisted in the fight against the Beast Raid. He gained valuablebat experience and returned. And more than a month ago, he asked me that he wished to be the Mayor of the now-demolished Kloras Town. I talked to the King and received the permission along with being exempt from the taxes for 3 years. The formalities took a long time. And once I returned, Edwin took the necessary papers and took off for Kloras Town. During this time, the Elf Princess had already been abducted from the prison by that demon. It had been a couple of days since the Silent Death Organization and Merchant Union''s men were acting tyrannically in the city."


    The more Shun heard this information, the more puzzled he was. It felt as if the profile he hade up with was wed.


    However, Jonas soon answered his other question, "On that same day, I received the info that Tiana couldn''t be found in her room. There was a message in her room that the Snow Ice Pce found her physique suitable for their cultivation and took her away."


    As soon as Shun heard the information regarding Tiana, he smirked.


    Jonas frowned at Shun''s chuckle and asked him, "What is it?"


    "It''s nothing, Marquis Rhodes. I am nowpletely sure that Tiana Rhodes'' abduction has something to do with the Elf Princess. In fact, if we find Tiana Rhodes then we should find the Elf Princess as well." Shun replied with a confident look.


    "I now understand why the Elf Princess and Subus stayed in their cave for 2 days. It''s because whoever rescued them required these 2 days to get Tiana out. In fact, he was rather daring. He actually abducted your wife on the day you returned." Shun spoke.


    "What?" Jonas was utterly shocked as he heard Shun. All this time, he had thought that abduction urred a day or two earlier. But to think it happened when he had returned. This was just insane.


    "Also, isn''t it quite a coincidence that your son was riding towards Kloras Town? I wonder if he carried a few extra people along with him." Shun spoke with a hint of amusement.


    ''<em>Finally found a solid lead. The price was truly worth it!</em>''


    "Marquis Rhodes, are you willing to apany me on a trip?" Shun asked Jonas with a smirk.


    Jonas knew where Shun nned to go.


    "Very well. Let''s see whether your guesses are correct or you are just speaking nonsense." Jonas spoke to Shun, "But let''s go tomorrow. For now, I have some other tasks I need to assign to my subordinates."


    "As you say, Marquis Rhodes. I will stay in a hotel for today." Shun spoke as he put on his mask and walked away.


    Jonas stayed on his spot for a couple of seconds as he sighed out.


    He didn''t want Edwin to be the culprit or someone involved with the culprit. That would mean he had a hand in abducting Tiana.


    Jonas wouldn''t be able to forgive Edwin for this and kill him.


    <em>''If he truly made a deal with a demon then just how disappointed was he with the family to have done so.''</em>


    In reality, Jonas didn''t me Edwin for this. Even though he knew how much Edwin had been bullied since the death of his mother, he couldn''t help him a whole lot.


    Favoring one child over the other would just make things moreplicated in a Noble Family. Edwin would be targeted even more heavily and he wasn''t strong enough to survive any assassin. But he never thought it would reach a point where he was willing to betray the family and make a deal with a demon.


    Even though Jonas didn''t me Edwin a lot for this but he had to put an example that he was willing to kill even his own child if they dared to take any actions against the Family.


    "I truly hope Shun Gordon is wrong, Edwin. But if he is right, then forgive me, Dina." Jonas muttered slowly.


    Dina was the name of Edwin''s mother. After Josephine, she was his dearest wife and was greatly spoilt by him.


    An assassin who had been sent to kill Jonas targeted him, she blocked the blow with her own body. The poison in that attack soon killed her.


    Jonas was absolutely furious at that assassin and he caught the man soon enough.


    After torturing that man for some time, he found out that this man was hired by the King of the Glerian Kingdom.


    During that time, there were rumors that the Glerian Kingdom was nning to assault the Sinyalian Kingdom. This assassin sent by them just further proved those rumors right.


    The Glerian Kingdom was probably nning to deal with the most troublesome opponent they would encounter once they attack the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Since Jonas'' territory was the closest to the borders of the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom, it went without saying that he would be joining the battle as well.


    The Glerian Kingdom had faced multiple defeats through Jonas''s hands and probably wanted to deal with him first. But unfortunately, the assassination failed. And it just made Jonas angrier which caused the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers to bleed in terror.


    Jonas went to his room to assign some tasks to his subordinates. He then entered Josephine''s chamber. She was the only one who could get him back to his feet. Josephine''s remarks helped him think clearly whenever he was stressed.


    He didn''t actually inform her of the entire situation but he mentioned to her that he was going to Kloras Town.


    But Jonas had no idea that his wife whom he loved most dearly was under the control of Azaroth.


    Once Jonas closed his eyes, Josephine sent this information to Azaroth through their mental connection.

 Chapter 96 - Preparing For The WorstCase Scenario

    It was midnight time and Azaroth was preparing to sleep. He had trained for a long time and was going to give his body a well-deserved rest.


    At this time, Azaroth received Josephine''s mental message.


    <em>''Milord, Jonas is going to leave for Kloras Town tomorrow.''</em>


    Azaroth was jolted awake from his half-sleepy state as he heard that information.


    He was utterly confused right now.


    <em>''Why is Jonasing to Kloras Town? Does he have a n that involves this town? Or is heing here to check up on how I am administrating the town?'' There was another possibility and even Azaroth gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he wondered ''Or¡­Has he found out about Tiana and Laura?''</em>


    <em>''But how? The guards I brought along sent back no information that would reveal Laura and Tiana.''</em>


    Azaroth soon shook his head. He had to figure out how much did Jonas know.


    ''<em>They shouldn''t be sure that I abducted Laura and Tiana</em>.'' Azaroth guessed.


    He then began wondering just what he had revealed ''M<em>y body waspletely covered using the Demonic Ardor and even my spiritual aura was different. Jonas also knows that I possess Holy Ardor. He shouldn''t think that the demon is me because of the Holy Ardor.</em>''


    ''<em>The only thing that coincides with me would be Tiana''s abduction while I left for Kloras Town. But that shouldn''t be difficult to exin</em>.''


    Azaroth slowly calmed down as he realized that the situation wasn''t as grave as he initially believed.


    "I should still prepare for the worst-case scenario though in case something unusual urs," Azaroth concluded.


    "The worst-case scenario should be that Jonas manages to figure out that Laura, Yrellea, and Tiana are all with me."


    "I just need to make it appear as if they were never here," Azaroth spoke as he understood what he needed to do.


    Now, all he required was a n to make it happen.


    ''<em>I should have nearly one week if Jonases here with his full speed</em>.'' Azaroth remembered flying with Jonas and estimated his top speed.


    He also calcted the time Jonas would need to rest and assumed how much time he had.


    "I need to begin working on it today or else it will be toote," Azaroth muttered to himself as he stood up and left his room.


    ~~


    The next day, during the noontime, Azaroth was with his retainers.


    Azaroth spoke with a serious look, "Laura, Tiana, Yrellea, I need to inform you that you three need to leave."


    "Leave?!" The three were utterly started as those words left Azaroth''s mouth. They had no idea why Azaroth was suddenly throwing them away.


    Even Noah, Sargan, and Ralph were nervous. Was he dissatisfied with their results that he was making them leave?


    "Is it because we performed poorly in the training arrays?" Yrellea asked the question she was most scared of.


    Azaroth rolled his eyes at their reaction and added, "You are misunderstanding the situation. I am not kicking you out but more like asking you to hide temporarily. My father, Jonas Rhodes ising to this town and investigate it. If he found you three here, well, you can be sure that neither you nor I will have a good ending."


    "Aah. It was this." Laura and Yrellea looked quite relieved while Tiana had a solemn look.


    She knew that if Jonas wasing here to find them then it would be very hard to fool him. Just simply hiding them wouldn''t work.


    "Are you sure that it would be fine if we simply leave? Wouldn''t they torture you all to extract information about us?" It was Yrellea who asked this question.


    Sargan and Noah remained calm.


    Sargan could remain calm because he had already experienced great torture under Azaroth''s hands. He was confident that no matter who came, they wouldn''t be able to torture him as Azaroth had done by using those Azure mes.


    Meanwhile, Noah was thinking seriously ''My life never had any meaning in those walls. Master is the one who saved me and has given me purpose. I will take on any torture to protect him.''


    Azaroth casually replied, "You don''t need to worry. I naturally have a n."


    Just as Azaroth spoke those words, a strong shockwave hit Kloras Town.


    Other than Azaroth, Noah, Ralph, and Sargan, everyone else struggled to maintain their footing.


    Theborers and the farmers were so startled that they fell on their butts.


    Noah and Sargan wondered with a frown.


    "What was that?"


    Azaroth frowned as he spoke, "Looks like someone hasunched an attack against us. From the direction, it appears to be from the Alpine Gerbil Woods."


    Hemanded Noah, "Order the guards to gather in the backyard of the manor."


    He then looked at his other retainers, "All of you return to your rooms except for Sargan and Ralph."


    Sargan and Ralph were somewhat confused why Azaroth was asking him to stay.


    They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders indicating they had no idea what Azaroth wanted them to do.


    "This is what you will do¡­"


    Soon, Azaroth gave them detailed instructions on what they had to do.


    ~~


    Noah gathered all of Azaroth''s guards. It wasn''t that hard since he was familiar with the current guard captain Rampo.


    He had informed them that the beasts had attacked the town.


    The guards were quite nervous. During this time while they had been assigned those misceneous jobs, their fighting skills had suffered greatly.


    But still, some of them were excited that they would be given a chance to fight.


    Azaroth soon appeared ahead of them and addressed his guards, "It has been quite some time since you had a chance to fight. Many of you werementing while thinking about it. Now¡­ The chance has appeared."


    "The beasts have attacked our town. ughter every single one of them and spread the Rhodes House''s prestige! Be the heroes renowned in the world!" Azaroth''sst couple of sentences roused the spirit of all guards.


    Even the guards who weren''t sure of their skills suddenly felt full of confidence.


    Azaroth pointed them in the direction beasts have attacked Kloras Town.


    In those directions were the farms where the farmers worked. Just a little behind those farms were the lodgings built by theborers hired by Azaroth.


    Soon, the guards departed to y those beasts.


    Once the guards reached the scene, they found out that the beasts that hadunched an attack were only 1 Star Beasts or 2 Star Beasts.


    They numbered a lot but each one of Azaroth''s guards was a 3 Star Warrior. Not just that, they had two 4 Star Warriors.


    They didn''t fear these beasts.


    The guards were secretly happy as they realized that Azaroth had actually assigned them an easy task.


    They immediately charged forwards and began to y the beasts ahead of them. The farmers and theborers who had run away after seeing those beasts saw how the guards fought these beasts and slew them.


    The farmers were rather happy since they had seen some of their friends die at the hands of these filthy creatures.


    It was a simr case for theborers. These people were even cheering for the guards from a distance.


    Soon, Azaroth arrived at the scene and spoke to the farmers andborers, "Leave. This is merely the first wave. We won''t be able to protect you if you remain here."


    The farmers noticed that Azaroth hade along with three youths. These three were precisely Noah, Sargan, and Ralph.


    "Thank you, Mayor. Please y those beasts before they can further harm the crops." One of the farmers requested Azaroth.


    They had worked tirelessly over these fields and to see them being destroyed by these beasts frustrated them greatly.


    "Just leave it to us," Azaroth promised them solemnly.


    The farmers andborers turned their bodies and ran quickly to the central part of Kloras Town.


    Azaroth and his three retainers joined the fight.


    "Noah, ughter the beasts." Azaroth gave his instruction to Noah, who nodded before taking off.


    Azaroth then turned towards Sargan and Ralph, "You both know what to do, right?"


    "Yes."


    All four of them moved forwards in different directions.


    Azaroth was moving towards the location where the beasts were densely concentrated.These beasts were fighting Rampo and the Vice-Captain of the guards.


    These two warriors were ughtering the beasts with each move. Using their superior cultivation base, it was extremely easy to defeat these beasts.


    Soon, Azaroth reached near them.


    Rampo and his Vice-Captain turned towards him. Rampo smiled as he informed Azaroth, "There is no need to worry, young master. We are nearly done with this area."


    "Yes, I can see that," Azaroth spoke before he suddenly pounced at them.


    The two guards were surprised as they didn''t expect Azaroth to attack them.


    w-like energy covered Azaroth''s hand as it shed Rampo''s body. Azaroth attacked them using his Demonic Ardor.


    "W-What are you doing?" The Vice-Captain asked with a shocked expression.


    Azaroth didn''t reply, he instead used Phantom Step to suddenly attack the Vice-Captain as well.


    The Vice-Captain saw Azaroth move and immediately crossed his arms and blocked his move.


    Simr to Rampo, the w-like energy covered Azaroth''s hand shed his arm.


    "W-Why? Why are you killing us, young master?"


    "Because your deaths are required." Azaroth coldly answered as he raised his arm and released two lightning bolts that pierced their heads.


    This was ck Lightning.


    ''Alright. I have finished on my end.''


    Azaroth then sensed Sargan and Ralph''s positions. It appeared that they were about to finish as well. Their task was to kill the other guards.


    Sargan''s petrification skill was quite useful. Pairing it with Ralph''s quick speed and powerful attacks was a remarkablebo.


    Meanwhile, Noah was the one fighting against all beasts.


    Even the beasts farthest from his position couldn''t escape him.


    Once Sargan and Ralph finished killing the guards, Ralph was about to join Noah in ughtering the beasts but Sargan stopped him.


    Sargan spoke with a serious look, "If you want to improve then observe him."


    Ralph was confused by his words. He fought against Noah quite a lot of times. He was well familiar with his attacks.


    This was what Ralph thought before he observed Noah''s fight against the beasts. This was not a fight but a massacre.


    The more Ralph saw Noah fight, the more astonished he was. Noah was using his sword intent and sword skillspletely different from the time he fought against Ralph.


    In fact, it was as if he had eyes on his back and even though he was surrounded by the beasts, he was the one who appeared more terrifying.


    There were many beasts with 2 Star Rank so it definitely wasn''t the case that Noah surpassed them greatly.


    It was just that each one of his attacks hit their weak point and killed them. He appeared extremely efficient while attacking them.


    Ralph thought ''How can he be so different aspared to when he fought me? Even though I lost to him, the difference between us shouldn''t be so exaggerated. Was he holding back?''


    Sargan observed Ralph and soon spoke, "This is a fight against multiple opponents and this is how he fights against them. He doesn''t care about schemes. He doesn''t n at all. He just leaps in and fights them all at the same time. This is the difference between him and you. You are too focused on a single person even when you fight against a group. You need to be aware of your surroundings and I believe yourbat prowess will skyrocket."


    Ralph was surprised when he heard Sargan''s advice.


    He slowly nodded and muttered, "Thank you."


    They soon met up with Azaroth.


    "Good job."


    Azaroth looked somewhat happy.. He then gathered the corpses of the guards.

 Chapter 97 - Meeting Inquisitor Fox

    The next day, Azaroth ced the guards'' corpses on the stage. Each one of them wasid on a wooden stretcher with a white cloth over their bodies.


    People began gathering in the Cypress za and their eyes were at the top of this stage. They were shocked to see the corpses of so many guards.


    "Everyone, as you can see here. These are the men who lost their lives while fighting those beasts. Even though they were outnumbered, they fought valiantly until they were able to force the beasts to flee. A few of them lost their lives at the hands of the beasts while the rest died because of their injuries. I regret to inform you that I waste to arrive or else many of them would have survived." Azaroth spoke all these words in a single breath.


    The people on the ground were quite emotional as they stared at the corpses.


    To think that these men fought and had sacrificed their lives to save them¡­ It touched them greatly.


    They felt guilty that they couldn''t assist these men.


    "Every single one of them was fighting to protect you. They wanted to protect you so that you can use your talents for Kloras Town. Only if work with all your might would the prestige of this town increase. Once the prestige increases, we will begin generating business from trade and the Kingdom will focus more on this town. We will receive so many guards that the beasts won''t even be able to reach the fields and nobody would die an undeserved death. I would also be able to open hospitals where the physicians can deal with most of your diseases." Azaroth shouted the words that greatly resounded in the people''s minds.


    Even though the majority of them were farmers and workers, they felt as though their lives had a significant meaning after hearing Azaroth''s remarks.


    They felt that Azaroth was saying that Kloras Town''s risepletely depended upon them!


    "Mayor, we will definitely give our all. This setback isn''t enough to defeat us. We will rise stronger than ever!" One of the individuals in the crowd shouted.


    Those remarks appeared to light a fire, and the rest followed suit with motivational remarks.


    Azaroth internally smirked as he saw this scene. He hit two birds with one stone.


    He dealt with the guards who knew about Laura, Tiana, and Yrellea''s presence while also raising the morale of these people.


    In the hearts of these individuals, his esteem should have risen as well.


    The next step of his n was a question of where he should send Laura, Yrellea, and Tiana.


    It had to be a location Jonas could never think of.


    Azaroth soon returned to his mansion. He closed his eyes and sent a mental message to Gibson, "Did the King give you another order?"


    "No, master," Gibson replied a whileter.


    Azaroth cut off the connection between them and thought ''<em>It hasn''t reached the king''s ears. This means that Jonas is not sure and is going toe here to confirm his guesses. That''s a relief, atleast.''</em>


    For the next few days, Azaroth prepared to destroy any pieces of evidence that these three women lived here.


    In the blink of an eye, a week passed.


    ~~


    Today was the day Jonas and Shun appeared.


    Jonas was in his official clothing while Shun was wearing the clothing of the Inquisitor Fox. Shun had even worn some more clothes just to give a wrong idea about his physique.


    If the Demon was going to observe them, he wanted to give that demon wrong data.


    Although this wasn''t major data, there was a chance it could prove useful.


    Azaroth sensed Jonas had arrived but he felt someone else along with him as well.


    The surprising thing was that this man revealed no spiritual fluctuations.


    <em>''Who is this person? Why can''t I inspect his spirit? There is no way his spirit can be more powerful than mine.''</em>


    Azaroth frowned as he thought of this.


    He still remained in his room. He had to prevent himself from making any unnecessary movements.


    Just as he could sense Jonas, Jonas could also sense him from this distance.


    In fact, he was probably checking his location carefully to know if Azaroth was suddenly making any suspicious moves.


    It would be pathetic to be exposed by making such a silly mistake after that careful nning and working hard to remove clues in this one whole week.


    Currently, Azaroth had assigned the guards position to a fewborers. Theseborers were initially puzzled but were very happy. They thought they had been promoted to be the guards because Azaroth was happy with their hard work.


    They could now live in the same mansion as Azaroth and eat even better food.


    This further motivated the otherborers to work even harder.


    In reality, Azaroth didn''t care about their results. He just wanted to fill in the numbers.


    There were now 15 guards and a guard captain. All of them were exceptionally weak who hadn''t even begun their cultivation path.


    Azaroth, on the other hand, was unconcerned. He had no intention of employing them in battle. Instead, he just intended to utilize them for menial work and for show. If Jonas discovered that his guards had died but he had not enlisted anybody else, it would appear strange.


    Jonas and Shun soonnded in Kloras Town.


    The two remained calm as they saw nearly the entire town was empty. There were only a few locations construction was going on.


    In the sky, they had also seen many people doing farm work.


    Jonas was certainly pleased that his son had atleast begun the work in Kloras Town. But this only further proved Shun''s theory that Edwin was following some demon''s orders.


    He found it hard to believe these ideas were something he thought on his own.


    The location theynded was near the area where theborers were building the manors for the merchants who hired them.


    Shun asked them, "Where does the Mayor live?"


    Theborers had seen Jonas and Shun fly and were utterly shocked. Once they realized that these two warriors were talking to them, they gave them the direction to Azaroth''s mansion.


    It was in the outskirts of Kloras Town on the other side.


    Soon, Jonas and Shun appeared near the Azaroth''s mansion.


    The guards saw them and were startled to see two warriors flying towards them. One of them immediately went inside the mansion to inform Azaroth of this information.


    Jonas and Shun though soonnded just ahead of the mansion.


    "W-Who are you? W-W-Why have youe here?" The guards who wereborers not long ago asked with a nervous tone.


    Jonas looked at the guard and noticed the uniform he was wearing. He frowned, "Who are you? I don''t remember sending you along with Edwin."


    Shun spoke before the guard could exin himself, "Leave him be, Marquis Rhodes. This man was aborer and has been recently promoted. There is no need to bully him."


    Soon, he raised his head and saw Azarothing down the stairs, "Also, the one we wish to see is here already."


    "Whatever." Jonas snorted in response while turning his head towards Azaroth as well.


    Shun was carefully observing Azaroth. His walking style, his clothing, his hair, his eyes, and his facial expressions.


    Azaroth was doing the same with the two.


    He saw Jonas standing there with an annoyed look. However, Azaroth unconsciously felt that he should focus on the individual next to him.


    This guy had nearly covered his whole body with clothes. Only his sapphire eyes could be seen from his mask.


    Also, Azaroth understood why he couldn''t sense this man''s Spiritual Fluctuations. It was because he was wearing some sort of Spiritual Clothing that blocked all Spiritual Fluctuations.


    If his guess was right, it was to protect himself from any inspection. He stood upright, not showing anyziness. And his eyes were focused entirely on Azaroth.


    Once Azaroth reached near them, he first spoke, "Greetings, Father. Your visit today has surprised me greatly."


    "Hmm," Jonas grunted in response.


    Azaroth then turned towards Shun and asked, "And who might you be sir¡­?"


    "This man is Inquisitor Fox." Jonas introduced Shun to Azaroth.


    "¡­Inquisitor Fox?!" Azaroth showed a surprised expression. He knew about the Inquisitors. They were under the direct service of the King.


    <em>''Why has Jonase with this man?''</em>


    Azaroth had some guesses regarding the answer to this question but he didn''t dare to let his imagination run wild.


    It was better to calmly gather more information.


    "That''s correct. King Valliadis has assigned me a crucial task and for that, I required Marquis Rhodes'' assistance. And considering theplexity of this case, I might also need your help as well, young master Edwin." Shun spoke with a calm voice.


    This voice had naturally been altered by using the voice-changing mask he was wearing. Shun had always used it to make sure no one could recognize him even by remembering his voice.


    "I will be pleased to help the Inquisitor in any way I can. Pleasee in, we can discuss this in the living room with some tea." Azaroth spoke sincerely.


    Jonas nodded, "Alright. Let''s go then."


    The two were moving inside the mansion.


    Shun observed the insides of the mansion and noticed something ''How interesting.''


    Soon, Azaroth sat on the couch while facing Jonas and Shun.


    "What a great wooden mansion this is, young master Edwin. Pardon my curiosity, but how long did it take you to construct it?" Shun asked his first question.


    Azaroth was surprised to hear this question. He didn''t think this would be the first question they would ask.


    But he quicklyposed himself, "In reality, it didn''t take too long. While I was on my way to Kloras Town, I heard rumors of a man possessing Wood Ardor. After sending my guards and investigating a little, I found his location. It was a mercenary who was using his element to assist the local merchants. I gave him a contract of building this wooden mansion and it took him nearly an entire day to create it."


    When Jonas heard Azaroth''s ount, he didn''t seem shocked. This wasn''t an unusual thing. The earth elemental warriors and the wood elemental warriors both used their abilities to make money. It was a method for them to make money without putting their lives in danger. Furthermore, the pay was really pretty outstanding, therefore many people preferred it over joining a Noble Family.


    Even though Azaroth''s answer appeared wless at first nce, Shun didn''t appear to be satisfied.


    Azaroth hadn''t stated the name of the wood elemental warrior or the location where he heard the rumors. To him, it was as if he was hearing a story that was created urgently.


    Shun spoke with a merry tone, "I envy you a little, young master Edwin. The man you found was quite talented. This mansion is extremely well made and I feel like wanting to buy it from you."


    "Haha¡­ You joke well, Inquisitor Fox. You serve directly under the King. That''s not a position many men can reach. If anything, it''s me who should be jealous of you, Inquisitor Fox." Azaroth spoke with a smiling face but internally, he had raised his guard against Shun.


    <em>''This guy¡­ He is actually testing me! To think he used such a roundabout manner to tell me that he knows I was lying. But why is he lying? Does he not want Jonas to know of this?''</em>


    In their first exchange of words, Azaroth felt as if he had suffered a loss.


    Meanwhile, Shun hadn''t spoken those words clearly because this wasn''t enough evidence to prove that Azaroth had the assistance of that Elf Princess. Unless he could prove it with decisive evidence, it would seem as if he was pping his mouth while spouting rubbish. He used that roundabout manner of telling Azaroth of this information because he wanted to check whether Azaroth would understand him or not.


    Was he intelligent enough to read between the lines? And if he did figure out the meaning then check what was his reaction. Azaroth''s response to his words told him that he did understand the hidden meaning.


    Unfortunately for him though, Azaroth had long mastered the skill of manipting his facial expressions.


    He noticed nothing but a slight envious look in Azaroth''s eyes.. It appeared so genuine that Shun had to give up on attacking Azaroth using this topic.

 Chapter 98 - The Only Suspect

    Jonas knew that Shun was gauging Azaroth and nned to gather more information, so he stayed silent.


    Shun replied to Azaroth''s words, "The tasks assigned by the King are always rather troublesome. Just like the one he assigned me right now."


    "I am curious about this task. Can I help in any way?" Azaroth spoke slowly.


    Shun casually spoke, "The King ordered me to find an Elf who has been abducted by a demon from the Silent Death Organization''s prison."


    Azaroth showed a surprised expression, "A demon has abducted an Elf from the Silent Death Organization? Then why did youe here?"


    "We came here on my request, young master Edwin." Shun calmly replied to Azaroth''s question.


    He added, "After all, it was you who abducted that Elf from the prison of the Silent Death Organization."


    Those words were spoken so calmly and confidently as if Shun had no doubt about his deduction.


    Even Azaroth faltered as he heard those words.


    ''<em>Did I miss something in my calctions? Does he have some evidence pointing at me?''</em>


    Even though Azaroth was nervous, he controlled his heartbeat and showed a startled expression. But it quickly vanished after a second and spoke, "What an amusing joke, Inquisitor Fox. Do you have any proof?"


    Shun noticed his startled expression and also how quickly he calmed down.


    "Sure. If you don''t mind, how about you show us the mansion. The evidence will easily pop out." Shun spoke quite casually.


    Azaroth had expected them to investigate the mansion and was prepared for it. He had already made sure to clean all the clues.


    "Follow me then."


    Azaroth spoke to Jonas and Shun.


    As they were walking, Shun began talking, "It was a little more than 2 months ago when Marquis Rhodes returned to the Rhodes Mansion. Where did you go 3 days before the day Marquis Rhodes returned."


    Azaroth was prepared for this question.


    "I was in my room, cultivating as always. I also spent some time training my retainers." Azaroth spoke calmly.


    However, Shun was prepared for such a response as well, "That''s surprising. Because the maids and the servants in the Rhodes House mentioned that they saw no sign of you in the mansion."


    Azaroth remained silent for a short period and shrugged, "Maybe they mixed up the days. I went to drink in the bar the next day."


    "Interesting. So this is what happened?" Shun spoke with a surprised tone.


    Azaroth didn''t understand why he looked surprised. Shun added while maintaining that surprised tone, "I was actually kidding. The servants mentioned you were in the mansion the whole time. I wonder why you lied about it."


    Azaroth paused for a short moment. He thought while staring at Shun ''<em>This guy¡­ He just wants to annoy me.</em>''


    There was a cold look in his eyes and he asked, "When you are asked questions by a creepy man, it''s my basic instinct to either avoid them or speak lies? Also, why does it matter if I was in my room or not?"


    Shun carefully observed Azaroth. He internally thought ''<em>He once again gave a tricky response. It makes him appear suspicious but if I continue questioning him based on it then I am bound to end up with nothing.</em>''


    Shun decided to change his approach slightly, "Why? Because that''s the day incident urred. If you weren''t in your room, it only makes you more suspicious, doesn''t it?"


    Azaroth rolled his eyes in return, "Weren''t you nning to show me the proof? Why don''t you just get on the main point?"


    Shun replied, "You are right. I was just amusing myself."


    Soon, they opened a room. It was an empty room with just a bed, table, and some chairs.


    Shun observed the room carefully before speaking, "There is nothing to see here. Show the next room."


    Soon, they inspected each room in the mansion.


    After checking 10''s of rooms, there was a room that finally caught Shun''s eyes.


    He immediately went towards the bed and began to look around.


    Azaroth was shocked when he saw this. It was because this was the room Laura had stayed in.


    ''<em>Is this a coincidence that he is carefully searching Laura''s room? No¡­ I can''t just attribute it to coincidence. He must have noticed something, but what? Did I really miss something while cleaning all their traces?''</em>


    Azaroth observed the room carefully and wondered just what was different from the other rooms.


    His eyes soon widened as the answer appeared in his head.


    ''<em>It''s the different texture of the wood. In her attempt to remove all traces of her presence here, Laura had slightly changed the texture. It seems darker in some parts and lighter in other parts. It''s as it has been changed recently.</em>''


    However, once Azaroth realized this, he calmed down. He knew that this wasn''t proof enough that he was the one keeping Laura.


    "Finally found it," Shun spoke as he stood up.


    Azaroth frowned at those words and wondered what he meant.


    Shun turned towards Azaroth. He showed a long strand of golden hair in his hands and spoke, "Do you have anything to say about this?"


    This time, Azaroth was truly shocked.


    <em>''No way¡­ I made sure to personally clean this room of all clues. There is no way this strand of hair was left behind.''</em>


    Shun looked quite pleased as he saw Azaroth''s shocked expression.


    Shun softly spoke, "It would be best if you bring out that Elf, young master Edwin. Your father is here and we can work out a scheme to prevent your name froming up in this investigation."


    Azaroth looked at Shun and then at the Golden Hair.


    He understood what was going on.


    ''<em>This is another bluff. This hair is something he prepared beforehand by gathering the information about Laura from Silent Death Organization and nned to shake me mentally by using it. And then, he gives me a sweet opportunity to escape all charges if I join hands with him.''</em>


    Azaroth sneered in his mind ''<em>Does he think he can fool me with schemes?''</em>


    "How can this be?! Inquisitor Fox, I have no idea about this hair. Either it came in from outside the window or someone nted it here to frame me." Azaroth replied with the same surprised expression.


    Shun wasn''t surprised to hear Azaroth deny it.


    "No thief would admit to stealing something," Shun replied while snorting.


    Azaroth remained silent for some time as he looked at Shun. He then spoke with a calm face, "You are right, Inquisitor Fox. It''s impossible to prove that this hair is something I had no idea of but can you prove that it belongs to the Elf you are searching for?"


    Shun''s eyes widened at that response. He had expected multiple responses but this was the least likely one.


    A smile soon appeared behind his face ''<em>If you are truly hiding that Elf here then I truly respect you for remaining calm and actually finding the correct response in this situation.''</em>


    "¡­You are right," Shun whispered and felt a sense of defeat welling up in him.


    "Please search the other rooms as well. Maybe you can find simr hair, Inquisitor Fox." Azaroth spoke with a sarcastic look.


    Jonas looked at Shun and then at Azaroth. He personally knew Shun''s intelligence and ced it on an equal or even higher pedestal than himself. However, today, he saw Shun experiencing a loss at his son''s hands.


    The three soon went to search in the other rooms. This time, Shun did find simr rooms where the texture was different but he didn''t use the same trick.


    He knew it wouldn''t work now at all.


    They soon met up with Ralph, Noah, and Sargan.


    Shun first nced at Jonas and gave him a signal. He then looked at Ralph, Noah, and Sargan, "Do you recognize this hair?" He showed them a Golden Hair.


    All three of them remained calm.


    "Whose hair is it? Mine is definitely not this long." Noah spoke as he looked at that hair. He then asked Shun, "Did you find it in Master''s room? Strange. Howe I never saw a woman here. Did you see anyone, Sargan?"


    Sargan shook his head and said, "Nopes. Besides, there are only low-ss women in this town. They are the wives of theborers or farmers. I doubt young master fancied any of them."


    Shun definitely wasn''t expecting such responses from Noah and Sargan. The two just went on to speakplete nonsense.


    Soon, Shun shook his head and looked at Jonas, "Let''s search outside."


    The two continued to search the entire area. They even asked the people but no one had seen Laura, Yrellea, or Tiana.


    This was something Azaroth had made sure since he hired these farmers orborers. Laura, Tiana, and Yrellea were strangers to them.


    The genuine responses from these men began to truly confuse Shun. He was slowly getting doubtful of his deductions.


    "Let''s search the forest." He finally spoke.


    He remembered that Laura was hidden in the forest until she was moved away by that demon. Perhaps it was the same case here.


    As they were moving towards the forest, only Azaroth joined Jonas and Shun.


    While they were walking, Jonas asked Azaroth, "Where are the guards you brought along from Rhodes House?"


    Azaroth replied almost immediately, "They are all dead, father. They defended the fields from the beasts that wouldunch an attack randomly. After ying multiple beasts, they finally died due to their heavy injuries. I hired these guards and am training them to keep up the numbers. The morale of the citizens would be affected greatly if they knew that there are no guards anymore."


    Azaroth finished giving this story. He was even ready to pull out the corpses of the beasts and his guards if Jonas wanted proof. He had made sure that their bodies would seem as if they had been attacked by the beasts and died.


    Jonas didn''t look satisfied with the answer but he remained silent.


    Azaroth asked him curiously, "Why were you suspicious of me? Would you care to exin, father?"


    Shun looked at Jonas and gave him a nod. Jonas let out a sigh and began to speak, "In reality, you are the only suspect."


    "I am the only suspect?" Azaroth narrowed his eyes at those words.


    "That''s correct. The drastic change you have experienced must have been rted to meeting someone who began to instruct you. You were among the only individuals who couldn''t be inspected by the Merchant Union or the Silent Death Organizations. The time of your departure from Rhodes Mansion for Kloras Town coincides with the time when the Elf was taken out of the Wrihull City by the demon." Jonas kept on listing out the reasons.


    Azaroth heard them all and then spoke, "¡­Father, all the clues you spoke of also makes me suspicious of myself. But think about it. What would I gain if I make a deal with the demon? The entire world knows that it''s pure foolishness to trust a demon. If a demon everes and offers me power, the first thing I will do is ept his offer and the second thing would be to inform you about it so that you can deal with it."


    These words were spoken genuinely by Azaroth. As a former demon, he was utterly sure that the promise of power by the demon was just a trap.


    Jonas looked confused as he indeed saw the logic in Azaroth''s words.


    Shun heard Azaroth''s words and just shook his head. Azaroth was trying to usemon sense to prove his innocence. But Shun knew thatmon sense wasn''t somon.


    However, if he debated with Azaroth on this topic, they may argue for hours and yete up with no winner or loser.

 Chapter 99 - Shuns Decision

    Theck of clues in the forest and the mansion was confusing Shun to no end. He was slowly getting more doubtful about his deductions.


    <em>''Am I truly right? Or have I missed something? Or is this all the n of that demon? Was he using Edwin to fool his pursuers and escape to some other ce?''</em>


    Azaroth noticed that Shun had grown silent. He knew this was the perfect opportunity.


    "Father, I had a sudden thought," Azaroth called out to Jonas.


    "What is it?" Jonas asked him calmly.


    "What if the demon was nning to pin the me on me? What if he deliberately chose the timing when I am leaving Kloras Town?" Azaroth spoke out, making known another possibility.


    Jonas asked him with a frown, "Why would he choose you?"


    It was Shun who answered quickly, "He wasn''t specifically choosing Edwin. Anyone leaving the Rhodes House for some far location would have worked. He just had to make sure to choose a different location than them and he would escape his pursuers. It worked in his favor that Edwin left on the same day you returned."


    Azaroth smirked as he heard the answer from Shun. This was the reaction he had been expecting. This meant Shun was slowly getting doubtful of his own deduction and was thinking of another possibility from the scratch.


    However, Azaroth was only half right about this.


    Shun was still very suspicious of Azaroth. It was because he had acted too perfectly. Whether he was genuine or acting still remained to be seen but if it was an act, it was absolutely brilliant.


    <em>''It''s almost as if he is trying hard to show that he ispletely innocent. He has all the required responses and proofs ready as if he expected everything.''</em>


    Shun was also getting a feeling that he had missed something. Something very small but crucial.


    However, he couldn''t make conclusions based on his feelings. He wouldn''t be able to convince Jonas about it.


    Azaroth began speaking calmly, "If you are still suspicious that I have some sort of contact with the demon then stay here with me until you clear your suspicions."


    Shun and Jonas both heard Azaroth.


    The two looked at each other and Shun spoke, "¡­No. There is no point in staying any longer."


    Jonas was slightly surprised by Shun''s decision.


    Shun didn''t mind Jonas''s reaction. He was lost in his thoughts about what he was missing. Just where he made a mistake.


    Shun made the choice to leave since if Azaroth was inviting them to remain as long as they wanted, it indicated he was willing to see things through to the finish.


    Either he was entirely innocent or he was certain of his ability to conceal any evidence. Shun was confident that Azaroth wasn''t employing reverse psychology since if Jonas or Shun send someone to watch him, it would only backfire on him. Azaroth wasn''t stupid enough to not understand it. Yet he proposed this idea... This meant he was confident in his ability to stay out of suspicion.


    This was indeed the truth. Azaroth had no qualms about them being here. He had his own techniques formanding Laura and others while being watched without being suspected.


    In this situation, the best decision would be to leave and investigate the other leads as well.


    If the demon had indeed pulled one over them then they had to react quickly and surprise him.


    ~~


    Shun and Jonas soon left the town.


    As they were flying, Jonas looked at Shun and asked him, "You didn''t appear to be as forceful as you usually are. You wouldn''t have left a task at such a point."


    Shun spoke after a short pause, "¡­I did apply a lot of pressure on him. There were no ws in his responses though. I am sure I managed to surprise him a few times but even I am not sure if he was genuinely surprised because he is innocent or he was surprised because he is the perpetrator."


    "I do understand that staying with him wasn''t going to allow us to solve this matter. He was nning to have us stay with him and confuse us even more. Moreover, the longer I stay here, the more chance he would have to figure out my true identity. The best decision was to leave. I need to investigate him alone. There is also the possibility of that demon pulling one over all of us." As he finished speaking, Shun sighed out.


    He wasn''t happy with this defeat.


    <em>''I am one step behind this demon. Ick a piece of crucial information. I need to investigate more. Maybe investigating that totem left behind by that demon will be useful.''</em>


    This was the final lead he had that connected him to the demon.


    It was time to send his theories to the Royal Pce and ask the King to send some historians and archaeologists to investigate that Demonic Totem.


    Meanwhile, Jonas''s priority was to find Tiana''s location. ording to Shun''s theories, Tiana had been abducted by that demon as well.


    He had to actively assist Shun in searching for that demon or else he might never see Tiana again.


    They had no idea that the demon they were looking for was the same one they had investigated just now.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, Azaroth let out a relieved breath as he fell to the ground.


    He was entirely emotionless in front of them but only he knew just how much pressure he felt at that time.


    The one who shocked Azaroth greatly was Shun.


    <em>''Inquisitor Fox¡­ This man is dangerous. Far too dangerous. The only reason I managed to fool him is that he still doesn''t know that I took over Edwin''s body. Because I had revealed Holy Ardor to Jonas, he was sure that a demon wouldn''t be able to take over Edwin''s body. After all, the Holy Ardor would destroy even the spirit of a demon.''</em>


    It wouldn''t be wrong to say that Azaroth survived only because of the uniqueness of his Ardor that possessed three different attributes at the same time.


    "The development n of Kloras Town needs to be elerated greatly. It''s still going far too slow."


    Azaroth clenched his fists as he knew that he was hanging on a thin thread. There was no telling when that Inquisitor Fox would guess he had taken over Edwin''s body.


    Once he guesses that, he would have the entire picture ready.


    Azaroth gathered Noah, Sargan, and Ralph and took them to Training Ground 4. He then disabled a concealment array.


    Once the concealment array was disabled, the ground began to open up and showed a massive cavity in it.


    A tform made of ground was slowly rising and there were three beautiful women on top of it. They also held a cage in their hands with Zena in it.


    The women were surprised to see a very stern look on Azaroth''s face.


    "Begin your training! Noah, Sargan, follow me."


    Each one shouted in affirmation and they began their training while Noah and Sargan followed Azaroth.


    Zena flew towards Azaroth and she pitifully caressed its body against Azaroth''s face. This indicated she was hungry.


    Zena was nearly 3 weeks old. And she was already a 1 Star Rank Beast.


    This was mostly because Azaroth fed her plenty of his Heavenly Lightning along with plenty of 1 Star Beast corpses.


    Eating the corpses of any stronger beasts than that would be too much for Zena. She was too young.


    Azaroth tossed some beast corpses on the ground while facing Noah and Sargan.


    "I need you toplete a task for me," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    "What is it, boss?" Noah asked with a curious look.


    "I willpletely unseal your cultivation base, Sargan. I will give both of you one week. Go and secretly assassinate the vige chief and the other decision-making authorities of the Droln vige. Make sure your identities are concealed. Once you aplish this mission, inform me using this stone," Azaroth spoke with a chilly tone. He handed them the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    The nearby vige named Droln had hundreds of people living in it. However, the rank or level of the guards was too low.


    Even 3 Star Warriors could be considered rare over there. Azaroth was sure that Noah and Sargan would be enough for this mission.


    "Alright, boss." Both spoke collectively.


    "Is there any reason why we are killing them, boss?" Noah asked after a few moments.


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to hear Noah''s question. He was a little kid with a pure heart that was obsessed with the sword, "You are strong. But you need to learn how to kill. This is the first reason. And the other reason is that your abilities are required for this mission. If you are sessful in this mission, it will be greatly helpful to me."


    Noah appeared satisfied with the response and he replied, "I won''t disappoint you, master."


    Azaroth knew that Noah''s young age and his pure heart would prevent him from taking tough decisions on his own but he would always put Azaroth''s interests before his own. He was ready to get his hands dirty as long as it would benefit Azaroth.


    Sargan asked sometimeter, "Wouldn''t the Royal Family know that a vige was destroyed? How will we deal with them?"


    Azaroth looked at Sargan and asked him, "Do you think the Royal Family personally keeps an eye on all the viges. That''s impossible. Only the cities or towns that are strategical points are closely viewed by the Royal Family. The rest are observed by the Noble Families presiding over that territory. And within a Noble Family, no one is willing to go and keep an eye on a lowly vige. They would just send tax collectors annually. Only if the vige cannot pay the tax collectors do the Noble Families send someone to investigate the vige. In other words, as long as those tax collectors'' pockets are filled, the Noble Families and even the Royal Family will think that the vige still exists."


    This was the first time Sargan heard anything like this. But when he thought about it deeply, he realized that Azaroth''s words made a lot of sense.


    ''<em>Convincing these vigers shouldn''t be difficult. Most of them are probably farmers and merchants. These merchants will be useful when the crops are harvested. Until then, they can join the farmers in the fields. As for the individuals with the other jobs, they can join theborers and increase the speed of the production of the lodgings.''</em>


    While Azaroth was preparing the n for his future, the individual he had been waiting for sincest week neared Kloras Town with each passing minute.


    It was Sophie. She was in her personal carriage and actuallying alone from the capital.


    She couldn''t bring any guard along with her because then her father would know that she was going to meet Azaroth.


    Sneaking out wasn''t too difficult because Spencer had been assigned a series of tasks by the King. Right now, he was tasked to protect the crown prince as he went towards the battlefield.


    Many Royal Guards were assigned other tasks by Spencer and the king hence Sophie found the opportunity to sneak out.


    Sophie knew that she was taking a huge risk bying out alone like this but she couldn''t wait any longer.. She wanted to meet Azaroth as soon as possible.

 Chapter 100 - Connections

    It had been two days since Sargan and Noah left toplete Azaroth''s mission. It would take them another day to reach the vige and begin their fight against the vige head and his administrators.


    In the meantime, Azaroth had asked Laura to construct another house near the training grounds. It was smaller than the mansion she constructed for him and was shared by the three women.


    Azaroth didn''t want to kill his newly enlisted guards so he had to prevent Laura and others from meeting them.


    This was one reason he never allowed anyone near the Training Grounds as it was situated farther away from the main town.


    Food wasn''t much of an issue as Azaroth could always bring it for them.


    Sometimeter, Sophie reached Kloras Town.


    Azaroth sensed hering before she was even reached the borders of Kloras Town''s boundary. He didn''t make a move at all.


    Other than Sargan and Noah, all his retainers were training. There was little to no chance Sophie could encounter them coincidentally.


    She should be able to reach his mansion after asking for directions from the men in the town.


    After nearly half an hour, Sophie''s carriage stopped ahead of Azaroth''s wooden mansion.


    The guard was surprised when a beauty stepped out of the carriage. Just by the looks of the carriage, he could guess that this beauty possessed a great background.


    The guards stationed near Azaroth''s mansion were justborers a few weeks ago. They had never seen such a beautiful woman in all their life.


    And thus, their eyes began to wander unconsciously.


    Sophie didn''t care about the way these guards nced at her. She had long since gotten used to these sorts of nces from men.


    Because of her beauty and special identity, many of the Noble Family Heirs invited her to their parties or banquets.


    Many men would leer at her. They would try to hide it with a cordial smile or an indifferent expression.


    Having seen that Azaroth attempted none of these lowly tactics was one of the reasons why Sophie liked him.


    He was very open with her, whether it was the way he talked or his actions. He didn''t try to do something unusual to make her feel special.


    He was pleased to simply chat to her and go about his business, allowing her to have some privacy.


    Hispany was far more refreshing than the posers from other Noble Families.


    Even though these men were leering at her with expressions full of desire, Sophie spoke to them with a soft voice, "Call out for your mayor."


    She wasn''t speaking softly because she was that kind. Sophie had never cared about these lowly people.


    The only reason she was kind was that she knew that they were now Azaroth''s subordinate. Talking arrogantly or rudely to these guards would inevitably affect his prestige.


    At the very least, she didn''t want to affect his prestige for such an insignificant reason.


    A guard soon appeared and informed him that Sophie hade. Azaroth walked down in rather casual clothing.


    He appeared shocked to see Sophie.


    "Now, that''s a surprise," Azaroth called out with a smile.


    "Hmph. I went out of my way to see you, and that''s all you had to say to me?" Sophie joking asked Azaroth.


    Azaroth just shook his head with a smile, "You have be even more silly."


    Sophie puffed her cheeks in mock anger as she looked at Azaroth.


    "But I can''t say I dislike it," Azaroth said as he took a step forward and ced his palm over Sophie''s head, "Thank you very much. I appreciate you taking the time to visit with me."


    Sophie''s cheeks flushed with beet red color, "...It''s nothing. I did inform my mother and she approved it secretly. She told me to contact them if I need anything urgently. She promised to hide it from my father and tell him that I just went to Farrah''s house. He shouldn''t try to look for me for the next few weeks."


    Azaroth nodded his head and spoke, "Come inside. Let me show you your room and the mansion. Maybe then we can take a look around Kloras town."


    Sophie''s expression turned slightly serious as she heard him mention to look around Kloras Town.


    She felt guilty that she couldn''t protect this town and was unconscious at the most critical moment.


    Azaroth noticed her expression and softly touched her hand, "Be brave enough to visit the graves of the warriors who gave their lives to protect us." His voice was quite stern.


    Sophie slowly nodded her head and then spoke, "Then let''s visit the graves first. I will check out the mansion and roomter. Until then, you can have these guards ce my things in the room."


    "Good idea," Azaroth replied before giving some orders to the guards.


    Azaroth and Sophie then began to walk towards the graves.


    The guards continued to stare at the two until they were out of range.


    As Azaroth was walking with Sophie, she asked him, "So what is your n for this town?"


    Azaroth paused for a few seconds to think before speaking, "It was tiring to begin administrating this town all alone. I had a friend''s help to spread the news near Wrihull City so that merchants, farmers, andborers. woulde here. I gave away nearly 1 acre ofnd to merchants for free. For now, they sent theirborers and are constructing their mansions. They are going to start their business in their respective locations."


    Sophie frowned and spoke, "Giving away 1 acre ofnd for free isn''t really a good idea. I know you arecking manpower and prestige so you need to spread the word quickly but it would have been more appropriate to give away half an acre ofnd for free."


    Azaroth didn''t deny her, "Perhaps. But I do have a n in my mind regarding it."


    "Hoh. What is it?" Sophie asked with a curious look.


    "Within the next few weeks, I am going to ask my friend to issue a headline in all sorts of newspapers that it will be thest month for my offer to give away 1 acre ofnd for free to any merchant. There will be no restrictions to the kind of work they want to do. However, they will be required to start a business within 3 years. If they don''t then thend would again belong to the Mayor." Azaroth spoke with a decisive look.


    Sophie looked dissatisfied, "Wouldn''t that just make the merchants angry? Nobody wille to buy thend."


    Azaroth negatively shook his head, "You don''t understand the mindset of the merchants. All their life, they try to increase their wealth. They grab any opportunity they can to increase their wealth."


    "Once they hear that a piece ofnd was avable for free then even if thend was worthless, they will stille and get it. They would try to negotiate the terms but there is no question they will buy it. Also, merchants are necessary to build better rtions with the other towns or viges. Only when Kloras Town begins to form connections with other towns or viges can I begin to work on its military and territory expansion." Azaroth gave a brief summary to Sophie.


    Sophie understood the gist of it, "It appears I can''t help you much regarding it. I don''t have a thorough knowledge of it."


    "I do need your help but not in the administration. I can more or less manage it now. I need your assistance in spreading the word about this scheme. My friend will use my name to spread this information but my name isn''t prestigious enough. Perhaps many will even be surprised that I am Jonas Rhodes'' son. Moreover, my brothers will try to prevent it from spreading so effectively speaking, it wouldn''t reach a lot of people." Azaroth spoke with a solemn expression.


    Sophie now realized that even though Azaroth had a good n, it wasn''t as easy to execute it. Just tacking the first issue was quite challenging. That was for him though. She had a slight smile on her face.


    "As far as I know, your area of influence isn''t anything I can even guess at," Azaroth said, "You reside in the heart of the Kingdom and have met a variety of powerful individuals. You were also Acadia Academy''s flower, therefore I''m sure many heirs of various Noble Families tried to court you so you have some connections with them. If you ask them for a favor, they will probably respond to you."


    Azaroth looked pretty hesitant as he spoke thest line.


    Sophie shyly nced at him. She liked hearingpliments from him. But she felt that his tone at the end was pretty strange.


    "Are you jelly?" She asked him with a smile.


    Azaroth turned away his head. He didn''t care in reality but acting like this was necessary right now.


    "No."


    "Aww. You are such a cutie. Don''t worry, I don''t care about any of those posers." She suddenly hugged him and whispered these words softly.


    "¡­" Azaroth stayed silent the entire time as he was thinking deeply.


    Sophie then spoke to him, "I don''t need to contact those Noble Heirs to spread the information. Since your targets are merchants then the Vice-Head of the entire Merchant Union in Kloras Town should suffice. I remember he told me that I can contact him if I ever need something. Spreading this information should be an easy job for him."


    Azaroth got out of her hug and grabbed her hand before speaking gently, "Thank you very much. This will substantially elerate the restoration of Kloras Town."


    "Hmm. Instead of thanking me, tell me what you did here? You have been here for more than a month." Sophie asked him with a curious look.


    "Sure. But then it''s your turn." Azaroth casually replied.


    While they were walking, he told her about Noah, Sargan, and Ralph. Azaroth was puzzled about whether he should mention the women to her.


    But he decided against it.


    Ignoring her jealousy, if she informed her parents about it even casually and that Inquisitor Fox caught wind of it then that would be the end.


    There would be nowhere to hide from that man. He would have to use his final n and that was to fake his death and somehow leave everything behind and get out of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He wanted to do his best to prevent things from reaching such a state now that he had been so patient and worked so hard on his retainers.


    If Sophie hade with her guards, then it would have been challenging to prevent her from meeting Laura and others.


    But now, it was easier.


    He had to make sure to prevent her from reaching their training ground within this week.

 Chapter 101 - Sargan And Noahs Task (1)

    Azaroth and Sophie spent some time ahead of the graves. Sophie spoke some words in her heart as she thanked these people for putting their lives on the line against the beasts.


    Azaroth remained emotionless as he stared at these graves. He felt nothing for these people who lost their lives in that beast raid where he had manipted quite a bit.


    He was something who had stared death in the face and returned to life. It had only increased his willpower to be invincible.


    He had chosen the path which he believed would lead him to the peak. By turning his Ardor into Triquetra Ardor. But he was now realizing that this path had its own set of difficulties.


    The great power it provided gave him superiority over his realm and its diversity allowed him to win strategic battles and confuse his rivals.


    However, there was no convenient thing such as a perfect skill. Naturally, the Triquetra Ardor had its own set of difficulties.


    The main difficulty was the difficulty in advancing even a single rank.


    In reality, Azaroth wouldn''t have taken so much time to advance to the 5 Star Rank if he had known this from the start. But since this was new even to him, he had to experiment step by step.


    He was walking on an entirely new path and he had no idea just what he would encounter ahead so it was best to stay cautious.


    He diverted his mind away from such thoughts as Sophie finished paying her respects to these graves.


    Azaroth continued to spend more time with Sophie.


    The two continued to tell stories about each other and they didn''t realize the passage of time.


    Half a day had already passed while they were talking.


    Azaroth was thinking in the back of his mind ''<em>The two should have reached the vige</em>.''


    ~~


    Sargan and Noah were indeed quite close to Droln vige.


    Sargan spoke to Noah, "Let''s observe the vige first. We need to figure out where the vige head and his other officers live in this vige. Then we need to form a n to take them out."


    Noah wasn''t very good at tasks like these but he somewhat understood that Sargan was right.


    "Alright. Let''s get inside and ask the people." Noah spoke as he ran towards the vige.


    Sargan was startled and he immediately grabbed hold of his arm and prevented him from entering the vige from the front gate.


    "Why are you stopping me?" Noah asked with a frown.


    He immediately replied to Noah, "We can''t enter from the front gate. What if the guards ask us who we are? We will be captured and will need to force our way out. Master has asked us to stay hidden, after all."


    "Then how do we enter?" Noah asked.


    Sargan said, "Let''s walk," as he led Noah to the opposite side of the vige by walking around the perimeter.


    Noah heard some sounds. It appeared as if something sharp was striking a tree.


    "The woodcutters have to leave the vige to cut the wood," Sargan spoke neutrally, "We can go along with them without incurring any suspicion."


    After walking for some time, they found 20 individuals using their Axe to break the tree. From their appearances, they appeared to be 50 or so years old.


    "Phew. I am nearly done with the days'' work. What about you two?" The man who appeared to be the oldest among those three asked.


    The other two had a tired look on their faces. They weren''t done with their task. They had to cut off another tree and then carry it to the shop.


    But they had no energy in them.


    They soon heard a clear voice, "Greetings, men."


    It was Sargan who had spoken. He gathered the attention of these men and then continued, "I am Sargan and this is my younger brother Noah. Are you men from the nearby vige?"


    The oldest man of the group stared at Sargan with a solemn expression and he asked, "And what of it?"


    Sargan noticed the hostility in his voice and spoke, "Please calm down. We mean you no harm. We have been separated from our master and wish to rest in the nearby vige for a few days."


    "Why didn''t you enter the vige straight away then?" The old man asked them.


    Sargan replied with a bitter smile, "Wee from humble backgrounds and joined the services of our master recently so we have no money. We have no permit letter with us to enter the vige or the money to pay the guards."


    The old man finally rxed as he heard Sargan. It was rare for such cases to ur but in his long life, he had heard of simr circumstances.


    "If you have no money then how do you n to stay in the vige? Nobody will keep you for free." The old man spoke with some authority in his voice.


    Sargan had expected this response and replied, "We have no money but we are strong."


    He gave a signal to Noah.


    A few secondster, all the trees in 100 meters of them fell down.


    The three men were startled. They didn''t even see that little kid move.


    "W-Who are you kids?"


    "We are retainers of the new Kloras Town''s Mayor. So¡­ What is your response?" Sargan asked him neutrally.


    The old man looked at all the trees that had been cut off by that little kid.


    "You want to stay here only for a few days right." The old man confirmed.


    Sargan spoke almost immediately, "Yes, after recovering from our internal injuries, we will leave."


    "Do remember you won''t get to stay for free. You will need to cut the trees every day as long as you are here. I won''t ask you to push your body to the limits but if you have this ability then cutting 100 trees a day shouldn''t be an issue." The old man seemed to be trying to negotiate.


    Sargan internally smirked as he replied, "Sure."


    The old man was surprised to see Sargan agree so readily. He regrated that he hadn''t asked for more.


    But he couldn''t really be shameless and change his words now.


    As for taking Sargan and Noah inside the vige. That wasn''t much of an issue.


    These kids didn''t seem to know that if they had told the guards that they were the servants of the Mayor of Kloras Town, they could have passed the gates without any permit required. The guards would have asked some questions and check their reactions but if they were speaking the truth then it shouldn''t be much of an issue to pass that inspection.


    The old man knew the guards and their family quite well. In the vige, most of the people were familiar with each other. The guards should give him enough face to bring the two in without asking anything.


    In fact, the old man was merely giving them a ce to stay for a few days and was nning to use them to help him with this work.


    Besides, it was a perfect opportunity to form a rtionship with the servant of the Mayor of Kloras Town.


    He had heard that the man was an heir of Rhodes House. If they could form some good connections with him then they would be set for life.


    Atleast work, money, and safety wouldn''t be an issue.


    "Let''s gather the wood and carry them to the shop." The old man informed everyone.


    Sargan and Noah also carried a few wooden logs.


    Sargan was somewhat happy that they had aplished their first objective.


    Azaroth had informed him that he wanted to swallow the poption of this vige.


    For that reason, Sargan''s n was to enter the vige without gathering unnecessary attention.


    If the two entered the vige while mentioning that they were Kloras Town Mayor''s retainers then they would naturally be allowed to enter but themotion they would create would be quite big and the entire vige would talk about them or visit them.


    He was sure that the old man had seen how useful they were to him and he was thinking of monopolizing them. He wouldn''t want others to know their true identity and how strong they are.


    That would prevent him from extractingplete benefit from them.


    ~~


    Soon, the five individuals were walking towards the vige entrance.


    The guards noticed two unfamiliar children with the old man.


    "They are with me. Allow them to enter." That''s all the old man needed to say.


    All the guards in the vige were familiar with this old man. Well, it would be more precisely to say that their parents were familiar with this old man.


    They were family friends.


    If their parents knew that they actually asked questions from the old man then they would be beaten silly.


    Besides, these two kids looked in and there didn''t seem anything extraordinary about them.


    The guards just thought that the old man probably pitied them and thus hired them temporarily.


    Sargan and Noah were happy that they managed to enter the vige without creating anymotion.


    After entering the vige, the old man and his brothers first went to his shop before dropping Sargan and Noah off at his house.


    The old man informed his wife a little that she had to treat the two guests with respect. And also warned her to not gossip about the two to anyone else.


    Soon, the old man left for his shop again.


    Sargan and Noah requested some food that the old woman brought soon enough.


    While eating, Sargan asked the old woman, "Where is the office of the vige head? We have toplete an urgent task."


    The old woman was startled by the question. She hesitated before speaking, "There is no office for the vige head. For a task, we usually go see him in his house."


    Sargan was surprised to hear it.


    <em>''This makes things slightly troublesome.''</em>


    He looked at Noah and whispered to him, "Be prepared. Tonight, we will begin."


    Noah silently nodded as he ate the food.


    Sargan then asked the old woman, "Please tell us the address of the vige head."


    The old woman looked slightly hesitant but she remembered her husband''s words.. She soon told Sargan the address of the vige head.

 Chapter 102 - Sargan And Noahs Tasks (2)

    The same night, Sargan and Noah were in the house of the vige head.


    Before entering the house, Noah killed the watchman with his silent, deadly, and untraceable Sword Qi.


    Once the way was clear, Sargan and Noah entered the house. Sargan opened all the rooms one by one and checked where the vige head was sleeping.


    He found the location of the vige head soon enough. It was the first room towards the right on the second floor.


    Sargan asked Noah, "Keep an eye on the area. Kill anyone who enters the house. Make sure you aren''t seen."


    Noah nodded to his instructions.


    Sargan soon entered the vige head''s room. The man was snoring while he was lost in his sleep. He had no idea that a demon had entered his room, literally.


    Sargan gave a solid kick to the vige head''s body. The Vige Head felt a strong blow on his body, it flew away from the bed and crashed against the wall.


    He was jolted awake. But even though his eyes opened, he felt as if he couldn''t see anything clearly.


    "Who are you?!" He asked with some anger.


    But then, he realized the pain in his back.


    His vision turned clearer but during this time, Sargan had already closed the distance between them.


    He kicked the vige head, this time the target was his face.


    That kick knocked out some of the vige head''s teeth. He was dumbfounded.


    "W-Where am I?" The vige head looked at the ground and noticed it was simr to the one in his house.


    Suddenly, there was a kick on his stomach. He shouted in pain and looked at Sargan.


    He asked the same question again, but this time with fear in his voice, "W-Who are you?"


    "Good, this was what I was looking for." Sargan coldly spoke as he stared at the Vige Head.


    "I don''t have much time to deal with you. Give me the names and addresses of all yourrades who administer this vige." A paper and feather pen was dropped near the vige head.


    "What?" The vige head still had no idea what was going on and asked this question.


    Sargan was getting impatient at this point. He grabbed the vige head''s cor and pulled him up, "Give me the names and addresses of all your subordinates! Is that fucking not clear?!"


    This time, Sargan also used his demonic aura to make himself appear more menacing.


    This sort of trick was just too much for a small man like the vige head. He began to cry as he spoke, "I will write. Please don''t kill me. I will give you all the names. Just don''t kill me."


    "Write!"


    Sargan shouted at the man as he ordered him to write. Soon, the vige head sat on a nearby chair and he wrote the names of all his subordinates.


    The vige head rxed after he finished writing the names of addresses of all his subordinates.


    However, as soon as he was done writing, Sargan used a weak lightning bolt to kill him.


    He grabbed the list and soon regrouped with Noah. They left the vige head''s ce and began to assassinate all the people on the list.


    It took them nearly 4-5 hours to clean up the vige of all its administrators.


    Now, it was time to begin the next phase of the n. That was to kill all the guards.


    While killing some of the men, he had interrogated another man who revealed the location of guard points.


    Naturally, Sargan and Noah killed him as well.


    Noah and Sargan had checked that the guards here were only 1 Star or 2 Star Warriors. The 2 Star Rank warriors were the ones in charge of a specific post.


    They could be considered guard captain of that point.


    Only a few hours were left for the sun to rise. They had to finish this mission till then.


    For that reason, Sargan and Noah split up.


    Sargan was confident that Noah could easily kill any and all warriors in his way. Even if Noah had recently be a 2 Star Warrior, Sargan had no confidence in defeating him with only the cultivation of a 2 Star Warrior.


    There were 10 points and they had to clean them all up within 3 hours.


    ~~


    Nearly 2 hourster, Azaroth opened his eyes.


    He only woke up because he felt his Voice Transmission Array Stone shaking. It seemed as if Sargan was trying to contact him.


    Azaroth sat on his bed and used his Ardor to activate the array stone. He then spoke, "What''s the status?"


    "We have killed all the guards and the administrators, Master. What are our next orders?" Sargan asked with a neutral tone.


    Noah stood beside him as he awaited orders as well.


    "How did you enter the vige?"


    "Using an old man, who is a carpenter here. He lives with his wife and has two children." Sargan informed with a serious tone.


    "Good. Now, time to pack up this entire thing." Azaroth spoke with a solemn tone, "Now listen carefully to my orders. Don''t mess this up."


    "Yes, Master."


    Azaroth spent the next hour exining the n to them.


    It was really detailed as he had to inform them of everything they needed to do and say after that point.


    Soon, they put down the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    Noah looked at Sargan and attacked him a momentter.


    There was a wide sh on Sargan''s body a secondter. Sargan tolerated the pain easily and then used his Lightning Bolt to harm Noah.


    Noah''s skin was burned. Noah, like Sargan, was able to bear the anguish with ease.


    Azaroth was the one who had instructed them to do this. They had to bear some wounds for the yter.


    ~~


    The sun rose and the people woke up. A few workers and maids had different jobs in the vige head''s house.


    However, when they entered, they were utterly bbergasted to find his watchman dead. Later, the vige head was found dead as well.


    The man ran out while shouting in fear. A few people heard his shouts and they saw him running in the streets with a pale expression.


    They heard from him that the vige head had been assassinated.


    At the same time, other people began to report that even the vice vige head was dead. Soon the fact that other officers were dead came to light as well.


    The entire vige looked to report this information to the guards but they found out that the guards were all dead as well.


    All the guards in their guard points were dead. Only their corpses could be seen.


    As the entire vige was panicking, Sargan and Noah soon appeared in the heart of thismotion.


    Their young age and the injuries on their bodies immediately caught the attention of many people.


    Once Sargan felt like the two had grabbed enough attention, he spoke with a loud and clear voice, "My name is Sargan and this is Noah. We are the retainers of Kloras Town''s New Mayor. Yesterday, we secretly entered the vige through the old man Kase''s help. It was our master who sent us here. Our objective was to enter the vige secretly and protect the vige head. However, by the time we reached him, he was already dead."


    "Recently, our master discovered that the Aramore vige has been making suspicious movements. It has joined hands with Cirrane Town. Moreover, the Cirrane Town''s Mayor even sent a few warriors to Aramore vige yet they couldn''t be found anywhere in that town. It''s well known that the vige head of the Aramore Vige has a bitter hatred against this vige so the mayor sent us here¡­ But s¡­When we reached them, we couldn''t stop them. We were injured and forced to retreat."


    Noah looked down as if he was sad that he had failed. And there was a bitter look on Sargan''s face.


    In reality, Sargan wasn''t sure if this story would be epted by the people here.


    If the people thought for just a few minutes, they would find that this story was riddled with holes.


    In fact, someone could even call it rubbish. This was what Sargan was most scared of.


    However, he saw people raising their arms in anger, "Those Aramore bastards. They will pay for this!"


    "Yes. We will take revenge for the chief!" A few others shouted in response.


    A few more individuals spoke up as well and shouted what they should do in response.


    Some of them even began to talk about how kind the vige head was. How it was such a great loss to have lost him.


    Sargan spoke up suddenly, "How will you any of this without any guards though?"


    The entire crowd stopped speaking for a few minutes.


    At that time, one person spoke up, "We will stake our lives for it! We will definitely kill them as well!"


    "Stake your life for it? Are you saying that you are stronger than your guards?" There was no response from the crowd this time.


    Sargan continued, "If your guards were killed so easily, how will you kill them? In fact, forget about killing them, think about how you are going to survive. If they find out you all are nning to kill them, they would just send those warriors again and kill all of you!"


    Once again, all the people began to panic.


    "What should we do? How can we kill those warriors?"


    "We will die. We will all die!"


    "I don''t know about you but I am running the hell away!"


    "I need to gather my money and run away as well. This ce isn''t safe any longer."


    After nearly 10 minutes or so, Sargan shouted out, "Stop! Don''t panic. The situation isn''t as bad as you believe."


    "Tell us then what should we do? Are you going to give shelter to us?!" A man shouted at Sargan in anger.


    He was angry that this guy was telling them to calm down in such a grave situation.


    Surprisingly for him, Sargan nodded his head and replied, "Yes. I am willing to shelter all of you.. If you would, then follow me."

 Chapter 103 - Noah Returns

    The vigers numbering nearly 200 to 300 were led by Noah and Sargan to Kloras Town.


    These people talked a lot about what had urred. Sargan continued to speak, giving more details and exining a gruesome scene they had witnessed.


    After 2 days, they were camping in an empty field near the route to Kloras Town. ording to Sargan and Noah, they would be able to reach Kloras Town without taking any more rest.


    Before leaving, the people had packed all of their rations, and right now, the women in the vige gathered up and cooked food for everyone.


    As they were happily chatting, a few vigers heard some movements. They were surprised as they looked around but saw no one.


    They soon returned to their sitting spot and waited for the food.


    At this time, someone saw a tree being thrown at them from a distance.


    "Save me!" A few vigers who were about to get hit by those trees immediately screamed in fear.


    Before those trees could strike their bodies though, the trees were cut into multiple parts.


    The vigers looked ahead and saw Noah standing there, his back facing them. Noah seriously spoke, "They havee. Leave now!"


    Sargan appeared as well. He spoke to Noah, "I will hold them back. Lead them to Kloras Town."


    Noah hesitated slightly before turning towards these vigers, "Please follow me. Leave behind your supplies. They can''t be more valuable than your life, right?"


    Noah''s words resonated in their minds. But still, many of the vigers grabbed whatever they could and followed Noah.


    Noah was taking them to Kloras Town through the shortest path possible. If they went through the route assigned on the map then they would probably need more than 3 hours to reach Kloras Town.


    But using Noah''s shortcut, they would be able to reach Kloras Town in One and Half hours.


    While the vigers were running for their lives, they finally realized that whatever Noah and Sargan spoke was actually true.


    Some people had begun to think that Sargan and Noah were lying. They were even making wild stories regarding the incident.


    A few people had even been convinced by those stories. But now, they didn''t hesitate to throw those possibilities out of their minds as quickly as possible.


    They even cursed those people and thought that they were just trying to be over-smart. Those idiots


    Meanwhile, back at the camp, Sargan was happily talking with the assaulter who had attacked them.


    It was none other than Ralph who had been sent here to scare these vigers.


    "Master''s n has worked. It wouldn''t be an issue for him to swallow these vigers inside the town now. I also managed to turn Aramore Vige into an antagonist for them." Sargan spoke.


    Ralph nodded his head and said, "Master informed me of this task in the early morning. I feel like I haven''t even had a proper sleep yet." He yawned as he finished speaking.


    Sargan raised his hands and replied, "¡­I am not going to carry you."


    Ralph rolled his eyes at that joke.


    Some momentster, Sargan asked Ralph, "How is the training going? Today will be the day you all attempt the trial again, right?"


    Ralph spoke while lowering his head, "It''s actually not going that well. I still don''t know what I amcking."


    Hearing Ralph''s words, Sargan thought for a couple of moments.


    "Let''s have a spar. I want to see how strong you are and how you truly fight. Just do your best." Sargan spoke with a serious look.


    ~~


    Around this time, Azaroth and Sophie were eating food.


    "Do you know about Inquisitor Fox?" Azaroth asked her with a curious look.


    "Inquisitor Fox? I have heard his name multiple times. He is considered to be greatly favored by the King and even the Noble Family Heads respect him. He is intelligent and has solved many issues that had troubled the kingdom." Sophie told Azaroth what she knew of Inquisitor Fox.


    Azaroth soon spoke, "This guy brought my father here and inspected the area. He was suspicious of me, thinking that I was sheltering the elf who is being searched for by the King."


    Sophie''s eyes widened at those words and she asked him, "When did hee here to inspect the area?"


    Azaroth casually replied, "Just a few days before you arrived. Well, he found nothing and left in disappointment. Obviously, I wouldn''t take any actions against the Kingdom."


    He then looked at Sophie with a curious look, "¡­Why? You wanted to meet him?"


    Sophie nodded in affirmation. But she quickly exined, "I am just curious to know what it is like to meet him. Even my father is full of praise for him. He said that he had never seen someone as intelligent as him. Moreover, he appears to be rather young yet the King trusts him greatly and appreciates his talent."


    Azaroth internally thought ''Naturally. How can the guy who nearly cornered me be ordinary? But to think even the king trusts and appreciates his talent. If he contacts the king, he will figure out there are no rumors about the demon. In fact, he will also continue to investigate the clues and sooner orter return with even more people well-versed in the Array Formations and Alchemy Techniques.''


    In reality, even Azaroth had missed something. And it was his very own Totem. Shun was trying to use it to figure out the identity of the demon. Maybe there would be something about him in the historical records stored by the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Each demon would possess a unique statue. And it would mostly be very simr to their true physique. That was when its effects would be most beneficial.


    However, there were too many historical records possessed by the Sinyalian Kingdom. If one tried to gather them all up in one ce, even tworge warehouses would fall short.


    Azaroth asked, "Do you have any idea about Inquisitor Fox''s true identity?"


    Sophie smiled upon hearing that question, "You are the second person to ask that from me."


    "Who is the first?" Azaroth asked.


    Sophie proudly responded, "My best friend Ellen Valliadis."


    Azaroth narrowed his eyes upon hearing the surname, "Valliadis? As in the same as the Royal Family?!"


    This was the surname used by the Royal Family.


    Sophie further rified, "She is the 7th Princess of the Kingdom. Hehe¡­ I never did tell you that she is my best friend."


    "¡­" Azaroth nkly stared at her.


    Soon, he asked Sophie, "Why is the 7th Princess curious about the true identity of Inquisitor Fox?"


    Sophie stopped smiling upon hearing that question. She was hesitating whether to answer it or not.


    Azaroth didn''t speak for a few moments and gave her time to think.


    Sophie soon spoke, "I trust you, Edwin. So, please make sure to never tell anyone." Sophie looked slightly relieved as she saw Azaroth nodding seriously.


    "3-4 months ago, Ellen was kidnapped by some warriors from the Glerian Kingdom. It was Inquisitor Fox who had retrieved her before these warriors could take her out of the Sinyalian Kingdom."


    "Ellen had some favorable impression of him. In fact, she even requested her father to give him a hefty sum as a reward. And during the reward ceremony, she met him and talked to him. She told me about this and asked me whether I knew about his true identity or not. She mentioned that she wanted to know what his real identity was behind the mask. You can guess her reasons, right?" Sophie informed Azaroth with a knowing smile.


    Azaroth had a grim look as he thought ''Just fucking amazing. The Princess even likes that Inquisitor Fox. If my guess is correct then the King has already given his consent to this rtionship. Or else, he would have told his daughter to stay away from him.''


    "So¡­ Do you know about his identity or not?" Azaroth got back on the main topic.


    Sophie shrugged in response and said, "If I knew, I would have told you by now. That guy''s identity is something even my father doesn''t know of. Let alone me."


    ''<em>I am at a great disadvantage then. He is suspicious of me and knows a lot about me. As long as he investigates more, he will figure out that the Beast Raid in Kloras Town was also fishy. I need to begin my counterattack soon</em>.''


    Just as Azaroth was thinking along these lines, he sensed Noah''s presence entering his range.


    ''<em>Perfect timing.''</em>


    ~~


    Noah soon returned to the wooden mansion. The vigers continued to follow him to this ce.


    He quickly entered the mansion while the other vigers were asked to stop ahead of the entrance.


    Noah went to Azaroth''s room and knocked on his door, "Master, I have returned."


    "Come in, Noah," Azaroth instructed.


    Noah was surprised to see Sophie sitting in Azaroth''s room.


    "Umm¡­"


    "Sophie, this is Noah, my retainer." Azaroth introduced the two to each other, "And Noah, this is Sophie. She is my friend from my school time."


    "Eh? She is your friend since your school time, master?" Noah nced at Sophie with a slightly envious look.


    Sophie didn''t understand why Noah was looking at her with such an envious gaze. Normally, when she was seated with a guy, people would enviously nce at the guy, not her.


    But she thought it might be because Noah was a kid.


    "Alright, let''s go outside," Azaroth spoke as he stood up.


    Sophie and Noah soon followed behind him.


    While they were walking, Noah whispered to himself, "If only I met master a few years earlier¡­"


    Sophie nearly stumbled upon hearing Noah''s words. This little kid was jealous of her since she met Azaroth earlier than him.


    This was probably one of the most ridiculous reasons to be jealous of someone.


    Soon, Azaroth went outside the mansion and met up with the vigers.


    He spoke, "I am regretful for your loss. I will try my best to recover your things as quickly as possible. Theborers here will focus on forming the houses for you first. Also, you need not pay any tax for the next 2 years. Just focus on your growth."


    "Lord Mayor, we are willing to ept everything. But we want revenge. Just as those guys from Aramore Vige killed our vige chief, we want to see the head of their vige chief." A guy spoke rather emotionally.


    The other vigers along with him shouted in affirmation. They wanted the same to happen as well.


    They knew that this man was an Heir of the Rhodes Family. As a member of a Marquis Ranked Family, he should possess enough power and prestige to aplish this task.


    Azaroth internally smirked as everything had gone ording to his n. But outwardly, he showed a solemn expression.


    "Very well. But for that to ur, you all need to work as if your life depends on it. Even I cannot touch the Aramore Vige if I don''t show good results to the Kingdom."


    Those words were the final trigger that caused these vigers to be part of Kloras Town.

 Chapter 104 - Assimilating The Village

    The vigers had to first create shacks and small huts to live in Kloras Town.


    Azaroth had asked Ralph to go and attack their camp because he wanted to prevent them from bringing anything into the vige.


    That way, they would be forced to work ording to how he wanted. Firstly, he asked them to create small houses so that they could live.


    After a few days, each family had a house of its own. Soon, these people began to work on the jobs they were experienced in.


    The woodcutters went to the nearby forest to cut wood every day. The women brought the water from the nearby river.


    There were even carpenters who made furniture using the wood that arrived every day. Many vigers were alsoborers. They could work in fields and also assist the other builders.


    The addition of these vigers had immensely assisted Azaroth.


    Theborers now no longer needed to focus on cutting wood or on other things. They could work on building new houses.


    Currently, there were around 100borers in Kloras Town excluding the ones working in fields.


    Out of these 100borers, 60borers were tasked with making new houses. Their speed had massively increased as the woodcutters would provide them with wood.


    Meanwhile, the remaining 40borers were now building a gigantic building. Azaroth nned it to be a pub.


    He had also chosen 3 merchants among the vigers to go to the nearest town and buy all the booze and iron nails they could. Azaroth naturally provided them with quite a lot of money.


    He had brought quite a sum from the Rhodes Mansion and it was only now he had begun to utilize it truly.


    He was confident that by the time these 3 merchants returned with the goods, the pub would be ready and they could focus on the next buildings.


    The builders would continue to form houses for all the vigers before Azaroth would hard the production of houses and shift them to createrge buildings to give away apartments.


    It would be easier for travelers to acquire rooms and stay in Kloras Town.


    But still, there was quite some time for all of this to ur.


    Sophie had also contacted someone in the Merchant Union in the capital and asked them to inform the Vice-Head that she wished to talk to him.


    The man was surprised when he heard that Sophie, Spencer Russel''s daughter wanted to talk to him.


    He immediately picked up his Voice Transmission Stone and contacted Sophie.


    Sophie soon picked up her Voice Transmission Stone and activated the array in it.


    "You wished to talk to me, Miss Sophie?" The Vice-President asked Sophie.


    Sophie soon informed him what Azaroth had told her. She wanted him to spread the information to all the reputed merchants he knew.


    ~~


    Ralph and Yrellea had managed to pass their trials in their current week.


    Ralph managed to pass his trial because of Sargan''s advice. Sargan informed him that if he wanted to pass his trial, he had to give up on being on the defense. Ralph''s greatest skill was his superior physique and his ability to use me Ardor with his Martial Arts.


    If Ralph wanted to use these abilities to his full advantage, he had to change his mentality to stay on the defensive and only attack when he finds the opportunity.


    Such a way of fighting would work well if there was no time limit. Ralph tried to minimize his injuries by being careful and ying it safe. Only when he found the perfect opportunity would he attack the opponent.


    But within the trial designed by Azaroth, if Ralph fought using such a method, he would take too long to destroy the required number of opponents.


    Ralph had to dive into the herd of enemies and destroy them in pure physical power. If they attacked him, he had to enforce his body to endure the attack. But not dodge it.


    If he dodged it then he would basically be giving up on the attack for a few seconds. Those few seconds would also be quite crucial in the battle against those Ice Trolls.


    The second thing Sargan informed him was that he had to use the minimum Ardor to turn the surroundings in his favor.


    The greatest advantage those Ice Trolls had over Ralph was the Ice Floor that would prevent Ralph from having a solid grip of the ground.


    Sargan informed him that he needed to utilize me Ardor in his feet and melt the Ice Floor to have a firm hold on the ground. This way, his steps wouldn''t be negatively affected by that cold Ice Floor.


    And surprisingly, Ralph got the hang of it quite quickly.


    He was easily able to make his way towards the Ice Trolls and kill them. Now that his movements weren''t so restrained, he was capable of fighting them in close and defeat them all with his quick movements.


    It had been so easy for him that he managed to defeat 1000 Ice Trolls in just 45 minutes.


    As for Yrellea, she had gotten the hang of using Pure Water. The Heavenly Poison Scripture massively helped her in this regard as well.


    This scripture allowed her to create different kinds of poisons by changing theirposition within her body.


    And using it, she could even change theposition of the water produced by her. Her proficiency in using it had reached such a level that she could use Pure Water normally now.


    After passing their Elemental Trials, a tremendous amount of Ardor flew into their bodies.


    If not for the cultivation techniques provided by Azaroth, the two never be able to refine it and explode.


    But because they did possess the techniques strong enough to refine this Ardor, they survived. And were in deep meditation as they assimted it with their own core.


    After 5 hours, Ralph managed to refine two-thirds of the Ardor. He had broken through to the 3 Star Rank.


    Once he broke through to the 3 Star Rank, he quickly assimted the rest of the Ardor with his core.


    Yrellea took just 3 hours to refine and assimte the Ardor with her core. It was mostly because she was already 3 Star Warrior and her Heavenly Poison Scripture had a strong refining ability.


    After all, it was a scripture used to refine poisons but still, refining Ardor wasn''t that difficult for it.


    Azaroth knew that the two had finished their elemental trials. Only Noah and Tiana remained now.


    Noah couldn''t take part since he had to stay in the mansion. Now that Sophie had met him, he could spend a lot of his time on training.


    He had to apany Azaroth to do some menial tasks. Noah didn''t mind it at all. His motive for growing stronger was to assist Azaroth.


    As for Tiana, she was still getting used to her Ice Ardor. She couldn''t control it freely.


    Azaroth also couldn''t assist her because of the presence of Sophie. He sighed in eptance as he was helpless in this situation. He didn''t n to move Sophie at all and wanted to use her to further increase her feelings for himself.


    The more her feelings increased, the greater the benefits he would be able to extract from her.


    Currently, he was sure that the Vice-Head of the Merchant Union had already spread the information to many merchants that Sophie wanted to promote Kloras Town.


    The excuse given by Sophie was that she felt responsible for not protecting Kloras Town during the Beast Raid.


    This was quite an eptable excuse but how could the man who had reached the post of Vice-Head of the Merchant Union be fooled?


    He had naturally investigated Kloras Town and knew Azaroth was its mayor. He also knew that Azaroth was the only other survivor from that beast raid in Kloras Town.


    As intelligent and shrewd the man was, he could easily connect the dots. That there was something fishy about Sophie and Azaroth''s rtionship.


    Once he confirms this suspicion, he would definitely try toe and curry favor with Azaroth.


    It could be said that Azaroth''s support would be equivalent to Sophie''s support. And Sophie''s support even without her father''s prestige was quite great because of her connections.


    Her closest friend was the 7th Princess of the Royal Family. Even though the 7th Princess was not the crown princess, she and the crown prince had the same mother. As a result, they had a close rtionship.


    As a man of his stature, along with his intelligence, he possessed the ambition to be the president of the Merchant Union.


    To him, his path would be a lot easier with Sophie''s assistance.


    Also, to prevent others from knowing about this fact and taking advantage of it, he would try his best to suppress all information regarding Sophie and Azaroth.


    Azaroth was eager to meet this individual. He knew that, like the merchants, he would turn up in a week or two with an excuse to buynd in Kloras Town.


    What better method to verify Azaroth and Sophie''s rtionship than to go to Kloras Town and speak with Azaroth?


    Naturally, even he had no idea that Sophie was living in Azaroth''s mansion here in Kloras Town.


    Otherwise, Sophie wouldn''t even need to contact him and he woulde running here presenting a business opportunity to Azaroth.


    Weeks before Sophie had even begun packing, Azaroth had expected her arrival.


    As emotional as this woman was, she would definitelye to visit him once she hears that he had be the Mayor of this town.


    The only thing he hadn''t expected was for her to have sessfully sneaked out of Mesenana City. She managed to keep her tracks hidden not just from her father but from everyone else as well.


    For that reason, he had to tell her about his ns ahead and make her contact the Vice-Head of Merchant Union.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, Shun and Jonas soon reached Wrihull City. Shun went to the location of the totem.


    He discovered that he couldn''t relocate the totem from its current location. It was only logical, given that Azaroth created this totem while he was a Demon God. Even though Azaroth was near his deathbed at that time, the totem he made still weighed more than something that could be carried by a 5 Star Warrior or 6 Star Warrior.


    Understanding that if even Jonas couldn''t move this Totem then they had to contact the King regarding it.


    Shun decided to be the one to inform the King.


    He didn''t n to mention anything about Azaroth. Naturally, this was because he had gone to investigate Azaroth but found nothing.


    Moreover, a new possibility had emerged in his mind and he couldn''t really use Azaroth without good proof.


    His rtions with Jonas would suffer greatly since if Shun informed King about Azaroth, then the Rhodes House''s reputation would take a massive hit. Moreover, there was a change that this could all be for nothing.


    Jonas wouldn''t easily forgive him if that urred. And then he wouldn''t be easily able to investigate Azaroth again.


    After all, even if he had no proof of Azaroth''s involvement, Azaroth was still his prime suspect.

 Chapter 105 - Building Prestige

    Azaroth spent quite a lot of his time with Sophie. For the first two days, the two talked about Kloras Town and narrated how their lives had been since the two went separate ways.


    Azaroth gave her a basic story of what happened with him.


    The two were walking around, talking about the array formations.


    It was Sophie who was very interested in this topic. She told him about a new idea she had.


    It was rted to an illusionary array. She was wondering how she could improve it.


    Azaroth didn''t give her much advice regarding it. He had to show that he had little idea about the arrays.


    If he really revealed his true knowledge to her, then she would be greatly stunned. And then, she would understand he was lying about his array formations'' skill to her.


    From what he heard, Sophie was nning to incorporate the illusionary formation with a killing formation.


    Azaroth just quietly listened to her ideas and told her what he considered was right.


    Soon, Sophie suggested that she wanted to create a barrier array around the entire Kloras Town.


    Azaroth was actually considering doing this as well but he didn''t get the time for it.


    Now, since he had to apany Sophie anyway, it wouldn''t be a bad idea to make her construct the barrier formation.


    After she leaves, he could just upgrade it as best as he could. To upgrade an array, changing the energy source and modifying certain parts of it would bring a significant change.


    The only thing he had to be careful of was to prevent Sophie from meeting Laura and others.


    Among Azaroth''s retainers, only Noah met up with Sophie, the rest remained hidden in the training grounds within one of Laura''s houses.


    It was Sargan who was instructing them what they should do every day.


    Azaroth met up with Sargan every night secretly and informed him of the instructions for others.


    ~~


    Currently, Azaroth was seated with Sophie. The two were eating their lunch made by Sophie.


    Sophie was rather nervous as Azaroth ate the food made by her. Although she had practiced cooking with her mother, she didn''t know what Azaroth would think of it.


    Hopefully, he wouldn''t dislike it.


    Azaroth noticed Sophie''s nervousness and could easily guess that she was worried about his reaction to the food''s taste.


    As he took a bite, he then looked at Sophie with a serious look, "It''s really good."


    Sophie appeared relieved as she heard him.


    Soon, she heard a faint whisper in her ears, "¡­I would prefer to eat you though."


    Sophie snapped her eyes open and looked at Azaroth. She noticed a faint smile on his lips as he took another bite of her food and stared at her.


    She wasn''t disgusted as she heard his words. In reality, she was feeling something simr as she spent more time with Azaroth.


    She faintly remembered the night with Azaroth in Silver-Blood Inn. And there were times when she would feel rather lustful.


    Today, was one such day.


    However, she was still shy to speak her thoughts aloud. As someone whose circle was full of Noble heirs, she knew that a woman who would initiate it in a rtionship would be considered a loose woman.


    Even though she was sure that Azaroth wouldn''t look down on her but she was still very embarrassed to speak those words aloud.


    However, she never thought Azaroth would speak those words at such a time so she was caughtpletely off guard.


    Azaroth continued to eat the food as if nothing had happened but Sophie was getting more and more awkward as she remained silent.


    Soon, Azaroth heard a soft voice, "¡­I will keep my room open tonight."


    Azaroth naturally understood her meaning and replied with a smile, "Heh, that would be good."


    As Sophie heard his voice, she flushed red and just left for her room. She was no longer in the mood for eating. Her heart was beating too wildly and she wanted to calm down. Staying and talking with Azaroth wasn''t going to help with that.


    Once Sophie was out of his sight, Azaroth had a serious look on his face. He called out for Noah.


    Noah immediately arrived in the dining hall and saw Azaroth looking at him.


    "Noah, go in the training ground. Today, you will attempt your trial. Also, tell Sargan toe here. From now on, you will live in the training ground." Azaroth ordered him solemnly.


    Noah was startled when he heard Azaroth. He looked anxious as he asked, "Did I make a mistake, boss? Is that why you are recing me with Sargan?"


    Azaroth replied, "No. I want you to focus on training your techniques. Once you pass the trial, you will get much stronger. Also, you need to build up your prestige. You are someone who will be my sword then you need to get used tomanding and managing others. Otherwise, the assistance you can provide me will be limited."


    When Noah heard hisst sentence, he was utterly shaken up.


    ''<em>No¡­ I can''t be worthless. I need to be better¡­''</em>


    Azaroth noticed the anxiousness on Noah''s face and spoke kindly, "Well, you don''t have to worry about it too much. You are still young and your progression is quite good. But remember, you need to have a certain prestige that would make others listen to you. A charisma to make people follow you to their death!"


    Noah nodded his head, still slightly worried but he understood that since Azaroth was saying it was alright then it probably was.


    Azaroth knew how things were going on within his retainers'' minds. Currently, they had all started depending on Sargan.


    Now that Azaroth had curbed Sargan''s arrogance, Sargan had already begun to show his talent.


    His quick wit was well appreciated by everyone among his retainers. His ns and bits of advice were epted and appreciated by everyone.


    Azaroth didn''t actually care that they were starting to respect Sargan and listen to his word. To be worried about such a thing was beneath him.


    The thing he was worried about was that his retainers would depend on Sargan to such an extent that they would slowly stop thinking.


    If they stopped thinking and just left the decisions on Sargan then what was the point of Azaroth to invest his time in training them?


    Azaroth was training his retainers so they could think for themselves and handle a part of the tasks assigned to them.


    Not so they could be mindless soldiers.


    ~~


    Noah soon left for the training grounds some distance away from Azaroth''s mansion. He conveyed Azaroth''s words to others and Sargan soon departed for Azaroth''s mansion.


    Before Sargan left for Azaroth''s mansion, Noah asked him, "How do I build up my prestige?"


    He was just curious since he knew that Sargan had aplished it. Even he felt inclined to ask Sargan for advice.


    Sargan looked surprised Noah asked such a question, "Think of ways to help yourrades. That would allow you to grow and increase the respect for you in yourrades'' heart."


    Noah nodded his head before he bid him farewell.


    ~~


    Shun was talking to the King on the other side of the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    "What?! You have found a demonic totem in the forest near Wrihull City? And Jonas couldn''t move it?!" The King was utterly bbergasted to hear this information.


    It wasn''t the appearance of the Demonic Totem that shocked him. He was more shocked at the fact that Jonas with his strength as a 6 Star Rank Warrior couldn''t move it.


    Jonas was also in the same room and looked quite ashamed.


    Shun though added, "There is a trick to the totem. Itsposition is of some very strange materials. Atleast, I have never heard of them. Moreover, when we tried to move it, I felt that it was connected to the ground with some sort of array. When I inspected the ground beneath it though, I found nothing."


    "I see¡­Then are you sure that this is the same demon that has abducted that Elf Princess?" The King asked with a serious tone.


    "There is a high chance of that happening. As far as I know, this is the only demon whose whereabouts are entirely unknown. However, to figure out where he could have gone, we need to inspect this totem and figure out his identity." Shun spoke seriously.


    He quickly requested, "Would His Majesty please send someone well versed in archeology to inspect this Demonic Totem? That should shorten the chase for this individual."


    "¡­Very well." The King agreed rather calmly. He added, "I will send Felix Miller, he is the brightest archeologist of our Kingdom. However, he has gone to investigate some ruins recently found in the Lamhilian Theocracy. It would take him a month to return and inspect this Demonic Totem."


    Shun was dissatisfied as King informed him that it would take nearly one month or more for Felix Miller toe and inspect this demonic totem.


    "Thank you, Your Majesty," Shun spoke with a forced smile.


    Once the array stones disconnected, Shun let out a sigh.


    Jonas noticed that Shun was disappointed. He spoke, "You look dissatisfied. You should be happy that the King will send Felix here. Even I have heard of that man. He is indeed very knowledgeable about the ruins and totems."


    Shun spoke with a dissatisfied look, "A month is too long though."


    He then looked at Jonas, "Please give me ess to your library. I have no intention to look at the secret records of the Rhodes Family. Just give me what information the Rhodes Family has over the demons. Maybe I can find something in those."


    Jonas replied while rolling his eyes, "I expected you to ask for it and began the screening process a few days earlier. In a few days, you will receive the books regarding the demons. Well, most of them appear to be mere legends though so I urge you to not take them too seriously."


    Shun shrugged, "I can atleast distinguish false from the truth."


    Jonas didn''t doubt his words. Shun was indeed intelligent enough to be capable of it.


    A few dayster, Shun received a bundle of books that nearly covered half of his room in the Rhodes Estate.


    He picked up the one on the top and began reading them one by one.


    This book contained information regarding demons in general. Their hierarchy and how they lived in purgatory.


    Although it wasn''t too detailed, Shun wasn''t interested in reading something of that sort.


    After quickly going through the book, he moved onto the next one. This book contained incidents of when the demons attacked the human settlements.


    Shun read them carefully as he thought there might be some kind of hint here.


    After reading about the multiple incidents where demons attacked the human settlements, Shun deduced their objective. However, the appearances written in this book didn''t match that the appearance of the totem.


    As a result, Shun started reading the next book, and the cycle continued...


    Shun had a lot of knowledge about demons by the end of the day. They looked to be a savage species, but there were sparks of cleverness inside it.


    However, he still had no idea about that totem. He still couldn''t aplish his objective and it frustrated him to no end.


    It was as if he had a clue in his reach but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t grab hold of it.. This frustrated him more than having no clue at all.

 Chapter 106 - Initiating The Plan

    On the very same night, Azaroth and Sophie shared a sexy night. This time, neither of them was intoxicated.


    Sophie had already lost her virginity but Azaroth still felt extreme pleasure as he pounded her pussy with his dick.


    They had sex for nearly half the night. When Azaroth stopped, it wasn''t because his body had reached its limit.


    It was more of because Sophie wouldn''t be able to endure it any longer.


    She looked as if she would fall unconscious at any moment.


    Azaroth knew that he had aplished his objective. Sophie loved him greatly¡­ For her to give her body away on her choice clearly indicated that.


    He wasn''t just guessing wildly. He had also observed her emotions after their sexual activities. He knew that she was getting obsessed with him.


    Even if she discovered that Azaroth was the one concealing Laura and others from the King, she would still back him up.


    However, Azaroth still didn''t n on letting her meet Laura and others. He wasn''t scared of her reaction or her betraying him. But more scared of that Inquisitor Fox to find some sort of proof using Sophie.


    Azaroth thought it would be best if he always considered the worst-case scenario and was prepared for it.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, it was the night time and Noah was talking to Laura and others.


    He informed them that a woman hade to Kloras Town and she was apanying Azaroth. He even mentioned how that woman seemed to be friends with their master for a long time.


    Moreover, their rtionship was quite close, even in front of him.


    Laura and Tiana didn''t think much of it. In their minds, it was very natural for Azaroth to have a romantic partner.


    He was handsome, strong, knowledgable, and very intelligent.


    The only one who was awfully jealous was Yrellea. Fortunately, she had learned to control her emotions or she would have spoken out the thoughts in her mind.


    "What is her name?" Yrellea asked Noah.


    Noah replied after a second, "Sophie is her name I think."


    "Hmm¡­" Yrellea muttered as she heard the name. She whispered to herself, "That bitch¡­"


    Meanwhile, Laura and Tiana noticed Yrellea''s abnormal expressions.


    Even though Yrellea was trying to hide her emotions, Laura and Tiana managed to see through her calm fa?ade.


    They looked at each other and silently nodded. They nned to help Yrellea with her rtionship.


    "When does mastere to visit you, Noah?" Laura asked Noah with a casual look.


    Noah thought about it for some time and replied, "Master asked me to keep it a secret."


    Laura chuckled as she spoke, "Aww. Would you not even tell me?"


    "No." She heard Noah''s emotionless voice.


    Both Tiana and Yrellea started chuckling as they heard Noah.


    It was amusing to witness her trying to get Noah to talk about something Azaroth had ordered him to keep secret.


    Laura hadn''t given up and moved closer to Noah and tickled him. Noah remained calm.


    He looked at her with an emotionless expression, "Stop it. I won''t tell you."


    "You are no fun~" Laura pouted while turning her body.


    Noah didn''t seem to care and left the area. He was getting back to training.


    ~~


    A weekter, the builders in Kloras Town finished constructing the pub. It was a wooden pub but Azaroth was nning to renovate it as the poption of Kloras Town would increase.


    The 40borers who were working on the construction of this pub began to work on anotherrge building.


    ording to architects helping with the construction, they knew that the supplies weren''t enough. If they tried to build the building with their current supplies, they would barely manage to construct the ground floor of the building.


    These architects informed Azaroth about this issue and Azaroth assured them that the supplies were on their way.


    It would probably take another 3 days or so for the supplies to reach them.


    The Kloras Town was developing rapidly and Azaroth was sure that those vigers from Droln town had well settled here.


    Now¡­ It was time for him to make his next move.


    ~~


    Sargan was walking out of Azaroth''s mansion. He was going towards a viger''s house.


    Nearly all the vigers who had relocated from Droln vige to Kloras Town knew Sargan.


    He was weed in the house warmly.


    The house he visited belonged to aborer. The first individual he met was his wife who gave him water. Sargan drank water and took a seat.


    Meanwhile, the man was pretty nervous as he looked at Sargan, "¡­What brings you here, sir?"


    The man didn''t even dare to utter Sargan''s name as he understood that this man was at a pretty high position in this town.


    As far as whatborers like him knew, there were only 2 retainers of Azaroth. And this guy was one of them.


    Since he hade to visit him, this meant he brought a message from the Mayor.


    Sargan began talking with an emotionless tone, "As you know, if you want Mayor to construct a better house for you, then you will only receive half your sry. Which, suffice to say, wouldn''t be enough for you since you have 3 children."


    The man looked helpless as he spoke, "That''s why I will not apply for a better house until I have stored enough ie for it."


    Sargan knew that this was what this man was nning and added, "The Mayor also knows of this but he feels that it''s quite a pity that this reason would halt the vige''s development."


    He then looked into the man''s eyes and further spoke, "For that reason, the Mayor has sent me here that he will give you full sry even after you apply for a better house."


    The man''s eyes widened as he heard those words. His wife was a little excited as she heard Sargan, "Really?"


    "Yes. Do you doubt Mayor''s words?" Sargan asked her a simple question.


    "No. Never. How can we doubt Mayor''s benevolence?!" The woman immediately spoke as if doubting Azaroth''s generosity was thest thing she would do.


    "Good. However, there is indeed a catch. Mayor has a secret task for you." Sargan spoke seriously.


    The husband and wife''s expression turned grave. They were wondering just what secret task Azaroth had assigned him.


    Seeing their grave expressions, Sargan lightly smiled and spoke, "Stay rxed. It''s not something that will threaten your life. In fact, it''s something you can aplish effortlessly. In my opinion, this is what you call free money."


    The two seemed relieved after hearing Sargan''sments.


    "What is the mission honored Mayor has given me?" The guy inquired of Sargan.


    Sargan looked at that man''s wife and spoke to her seriously, "Please give us some moments. This is a secret mission, after all."


    The woman immediately understood and left the room. Sargan also used his Ardor to prevent any sound from leaking out of the area.


    Once the two werepletely alone, Sargan informed him what he needed to do.


    Simr to this man, Sargan visited the house of some otherborers and informed them what they needed to do.


    ~~


    Within this week while the construction of the pub was going on, Noah had mastered almost all the techniques taught by Azaroth. And not just that, he had even passed the Elemental Trial.


    Since his elemental trial was the hardest, he received the greatest reward.


    His entire body was flooded with a humongous amount of Ardor. And suffice to say, this was merely half the Ardor that was his reward.


    If Noah tried to absorb all the Ardor then he would undoubtedly explode even with his Mysterious Qin Technique.


    Only Tiana remained among Azaroth''s retainers who had yet to pass the Elemental Training Array.


    However, she was quite close. She felt that she would be able to aplish it next week.


    Her power was growing steadily because of the Nine Yin Cultivation Technique. Her 2 Star Rank Cultivation that she had reached using some medicinal herbs and other supplements had finally stabilized.


    She could use her Ardor as she wished. And her Ice Ardor to a certain extent as well.


    Azaroth examined her Ardor flow and concluded that she had be used to cultivation. From now on, her hard effort will provide rapid benefits for a limited time.


    But this wasn''t the main reason he hade to visit them.


    He was here to visit Yrellea.


    ~~


    For the next three days, something strange urred in Kloras Town.


    People caught weird symptoms. Some experienced extreme fever and were forced to take bed rest. Some felt as if their stomach ache was getting worse.


    There were even people who experienced pain in their bones.


    The people soon came to the conclusion that they had caught some dangerous diseases.


    There were physicians in town who tried to cure the disease but it only made things worse.


    There were even people who went to Azaroth''s office and requested him to inspect the cause of this disease and cure them.


    Azaroth showed a frown as he heard the people. If these people stayed in the bed, then Kloras Town wouldn''t develop. The development of Kloras Town would be halted for an indefinite period.


    He promised them that he would look for a method to cure them. And even ask for a doctor from the nearby town to look at their diseases.


    While the people went away, Azaroth showed a thin yet chilly smile.


    Everything was going ording to the n.

 Chapter 107 - Rumors

    A few dayster, Azaroth met up with Yrellea.


    He took her to a spot away from Kloras Town. The spot was outside the Kloras Town but not too far away from it.


    They were walking along the river''s bank. After some time, Yrelleaid her eyes on some corpses in the river.


    Even from a distance, she guessed that there were nearly thousands of monster corpses in the river.


    However, as she got closer, she noticed that these corpses weren''t actually in the river. It seemed as though they were ced on an Energy tform just above the river.


    This Energy tform was created by Azaroth so that these corpses would submerge in the river at particr timing. And after that time, they would the Energy tforms would rise again, bringing the corpses up.


    Azaroth then told Yrellea, "Poison all these corpses. But make sure the poison isn''t too strong. A weak dose of it should not kill someone."


    Those words from Yrellea surprised Azaroth, but she still went ahead and poisoned those corpses.


    Her hands began to shine with a violet light, which she shed over the corpses she saw.


    Yrellea wasn''t just poisoning these corpses. Her poison even inhibited their dposition.


    Azaroth looked in her direction from a distance and nodded satisfyingly. It seemed as though she had mastered the 1st Stage of the Heavenly Poison Scripture.


    Once she was done poisoning the corpses, the two began to walk back. Yrellea was walking towards the training grounds while Azaroth was walking towards the mansion.


    While walking, Yrellea suddenly asked Azaroth, "¡­Master, do you have a girlfriend?"


    Azaroth nced at Yrellea for a second and then replied calmly, "Yes."


    Yrellea came to a halt for a little moment, her face disappointed. She felt as though the small chance she had been hoping for had been shattered to smithereens.


    Azaroth didn''t say anything to her. He could see that she had some feelings about him but he hardly cared about it.


    "Walk quickly," Azaroth ordered her with a cold tone.


    Soon, Yrellea began to run to catch up to Azaroth. Once she caught up with him, she asked him with a curious tone, "Is that woman really beautiful?"


    "Yes. But most importantly, her background is useful to me." Azaroth spoke with a serious tone.


    Yrellea nkly stared for a few seconds before a massive smile appeared on her face.


    <em>''I have a chance¡­ I just need to be even more useful to master.''</em>


    Yrellea had no idea that her thoughts werepletely apparent to Azaroth. And she had little to no chance in his mind.


    But the future was unpredictable.


    ~~


    3 dayster, people were showing symptoms of many kinds of diseases. They had evene to Azaroth''s mansion and requested him to summon a doctor from the nearby city of town.


    Each one sensed their approaching death and was utterly scared. After promising them that he would find a solution, the people left for their homes.


    Once they left, Azaroth showed a sly smile.


    Azaroth met with Sargan and spoke, "Go and activate the n."


    Sargan nodded, "Alright, boss."


    In just a few days or so, a rumor began to spread in Kloras Town.


    This wasn''t a natural disease, in reality, they had been cursed by some gods. It was the Aramore Vige who paid a sufficient sacrifice to their gods andid down such a curse on Droln Vige''s people.


    Once the people heard of it, they were utterly shocked. And also disheartened.


    If it was a curse from a god, how could they resist it? They had little to no chance.


    However, another rumor, on a smaller scale also started, "I started paying my respects to a god. This is its statue. And surprisingly, the illness was cured in a day."


    These were the people Sargan had made a deal with.


    They were supposed to say things like this and spread it in the vige by talking about it in a pub.


    Moreover, their families were the ones who first received the antidote.


    The result ofbining these two rumors was remarkable.


    From each family, atleast one person visited Azaroth''s Mansion and they requested him to create more of these statues.


    Azaroth didn''t even charge them for the statues of these gods.


    He gave them away for free and soon, in each family, there was atleast one statue.


    Azaroth smirked as he sensed his statues being distributed to all these people.


    He felt an immense amount of faith energy being absorbed as these people frantically worshiped to his statues.


    This faith energy was traveling within Azaroth''s body at such a rapid rate because the people were very genuine.


    And it was only natural to be genuine. They would die otherwise.


    <em>''The faith energy from hundreds of people truly feels great. I can finally feel my cultivation taking another step forward.''</em>


    He didn''t immediately stop with the poisonous river.


    If the threat vanished too suddenly, then they would stop worshiping.


    He had to lower the dose even more and heal the most serious illnesses.


    Azaroth was doing this to make sure that worshiping once a day would be ingrained in their bodies.


    Forming a sort of routine. Once this routine was formed, he would be able to extract the most benefits from these people.


    And then, he would also be able to focus on other matters.


    ~~


    Around this time, Noah was the one training with Tiana.


    He was helping her to increase her reaction speed. Reaction speed to use her Ice Element. Most of the time, Tiana felt as if she was just getting beat down with no chance of resisting.


    However, there were times when she would be quick enough to slightly startle Noah. Although it wouldn''t change the end result, Noah could see the gradual progress in her.


    He also gave her advice on how she should improve even more.


    Azaroth knew that his retainers had more or lesspleted the 2nd Stage of his Training Regimen.


    Tiana would most probably be able to aplish it this week.


    Other than Noah, everyone else would be at the 3 Star Rank or stronger.


    Currently, in terms of cultivation, Laura was the strongest. However, if their cultivation was suppressed and their pure ability was tested, then without a doubt, Noah was the strongest.


    But Noah was not satisfied with such progress.


    He didn''t just want to be the strongest within the 2 Star Rank. He wanted to grow even stronger. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to protect Azaroth.


    These thoughts gave him strength and quite a lot of motivation to grow even more.


    Laura was training with Yrellea. And unsurprisingly, Laura was winning by a good margin.


    Yrellea was thinking of new ways to attack Laura but Laura easily blocked them with her Wood Ardor and counterattacked.


    Yrellea could have blocked Laura''s attacks if they were at the same rank but because of her lower cultivation, she couldn''t resist Laura''s attacks at all.


    Every time Laura attacked her, she was forced to dodge to the side or try to deflect her attacks.


    But this wasted precious time during which she couldn''t counterattack while Laura would just increase the rate of her attacks.


    Yrellea understood that Laura fought in a fighting style simr to her own.


    Laura could actively control wood while she could control water. The only difference was that when her attacks shed with the defense raised by Laura, it couldn''t pierce through.


    Even though her lower cultivation yed a part in this, it was also because she couldn''t find an ideal way to attack Laura.


    Yrellea wanted to attack Laura in a way that no matter whether she tried to block or dodge it, the attack would still hit her.


    Naturally, this was easier said than done.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, in Rhodes Mansion, Shun was standing next to Jonas.


    The two had met just now and Shun had something to tell Jonas.


    "It''s time for me to take my leave," Shun informed Jonas with a serious tone.


    Jonas asked Shun with a surprised look, "You are taking leave so quickly? Are you not nning toplete this mission?"


    Shun replied while looking into Jonas''s eyes, "Leaving does not mean I am giving up. My presence here is useless. What I should be doing is returning to my city and manage it."


    "I have been away from it for far too long. There are probably all sorts of issues popping up now." Shun spoke with a serious look.


    "I see¡­ Then are you nning to return after Felix Milleres? That man might know something about this totem." Jonas asked Shun.


    "No. I am afraid you will have to keep himpany, Marquis Rhodes. Please inform me of what he says to you or better yet, use the Voice Transmission Array Stone." Shun informed him seriously.


    Jonas replied after some time, "¡­Very well."


    "Thank you, Marquis Rhodes," Shun spoke before slowly flying towards the City of Vanta.


    Jonas stared in Shun''s direction and thought ''It seems that we failed in finding the whereabouts of that Elf. But still, I have gained an unexpected ally from this situation.''


    ''I should now tackle the other Noble Families and decrease their prestige.''


    Jonas thought with a smirk on his face.


    Earlier, he would have been hesitant to tackle the other Noble Families since even the Rhodes Family couldn''t deal with them alone. But now, the situation was different.


    Jonas had Shun as an ally. Even though Shun wasn''t going to support him unconditionally, he knew that if the enemies were other Noble Families, there was a chance.


    Naturally, he already knew about Shun''s childhood and the incidents he had encountered. He knew that this man hated the Noble Families.


    If Jonas told him about his n of damaging the prestige of the other families, he would have his support.


    However, Shun''s assistance was insufficient. Shun''s backer was who Jonas was after.


    It was none other than the King!

 Chapter 108 - Nudar, The God Of Medicine

    It had been a few days since the citizens of Kloras Town began to worship their ''new'' gods.


    Sophie was spending her time together with Azaroth and she was more open to the physical rtionship she had with him.


    Her pleasure was slowly bing an addiction, and her body began to crave more of it.


    Using her to take care of his lust and deepening her feelings for him worked in Azaroth''s favor.


    Today, while Azaroth and Sophieid on their bed, they heard a knock on their door.


    Azaroth spoke out, "What is it?"


    "Mayor, someone named Rein Schwarz hase to meet you. He said that he is the Vice-Head of the Merchant Union."


    Once Sophie heard that Rein Schwarz hade, she tried to stand up.


    Azaroth noticed that Sophie was struggling to stand. He looked at her and said, "Get some more rest. I will meet up with him first."


    "En." Sophie said before moving her mouth to kiss his cheek, "Thanks. I also need to take a bath."


    Azaroth had already cleaned his body using Ardor so he had no need to take a bath. He left the room to meet with Rein Schwarz.


    His face was utterly serious as he tookrge steps and walked towards the meeting room.


    ording to his senses, there were five 10 Star Warriors, and three mid-rank 5 Star Warriors, and two Peak 5 Star Warriors.


    Once he entered the meeting room, he observed all the men in the room.


    Soon, he figured out who Rein Schwarz was among them. It wasn''t difficult to figure it out.


    His clothing was the first clue. He was the only one in the room who had dressed appealingly. He was also wearing some rare ornaments.


    The second clue was the way the people around him were standing. Even from a distance, it was clear that they were trying to protect Rein Schwarz from any kind of possible attack.


    ''<em>A coward he is.''</em>


    The fact that Rein Schwarz was so cautious even so far from the capital and inside the mansion of a fairly unimpressive mayor was worth noting.


    Azaroth looked at Rein Schwarz and spoke, "Please take a seat, sir."


    Rein Schwarz was surprised to hear Azaroth.


    He was sure that this was the first time he was seeing Azaroth but this guy could identify him from all the people in the room.


    "Very well."


    Azaroth also sat down right in front of Rein Schwarz.


    Soon enough, Azaroth began to inform Rein Schwarz of what he needed and the quantity.


    The things he required were mainlymon metals and other utilities that were only avable inrge cities.


    After some discussion, Rein Schwarz asked Azaroth, slightly curious, "What kind of rtionship does Mayor Edwin have with Miss Sophie?"


    Azaroth slightly smirked at those words, "My rtionship with Sophie? You really want to know?"


    "¡­" Now that Rein Schwarz thought of it, he was being too frank about it. Maybe he should have asked in a roundabout manner.


    Azaroth then added, "How about you ask her personally?"


    As soon as Azaroth finished speaking, Sophie entered the meeting hall.


    Rein Schwarz was startled to see Sophie here.


    "Greetings, Miss Sophie." The man spoke out with a respectful tone.


    Although he was the elder and the one with a greater status here, he still had to talk humbly to Sophie.


    Her assistance was going to be very crucial for him to realize his ambitions.


    "Hmm," Sophie grunted in response and soon sat next to Azaroth.


    She asked Azaroth curiously, "What were you talking about?"


    "Nothing much. I just finished informing Sir Rein here of what I required. He hasn''t given me a price yet." Azaroth informed Sophie nonchntly.


    This was indeed what had urred but Rein Schwarz didn''t know why but he was growing nervous with the way Azaroth had spoken about it.


    "Oh right. Sir Rein was also interested in learning more about our rtionship." With a sarcastic tone, Azaroth said.


    Now that these words were spoken ahead of Sophie, Rein Schwarz couldn''t help but re at Azaroth. He thought there was no need to talk about it in front of Sophie.


    But Sophie didn''t mind such a question at all. Such a question was quite natural for someone like Rein Schwarz.


    "Now, to answer your question, this is our rtionship." Azaroth pulled Sophie towards him.


    Sophie was startled but she didn''t resist him. Soon, she hugged him and sat on hisps while Azaroth''s arms held her thin waist.


    Rein Schwarz and even the men he had brought had eyes wide as saucers as they saw Sophie sitting on Azaroth''sps.


    He never imagined their rtionship had reached such a point.


    "¡­I understand." He muttered softly.


    "Now, give your price, Sir Rein. How should I pay you for the things I want?" Azaroth asked while letting go of Sophie.


    Sophie soon sat down on her chair with a flushed expression. She was looking down so no one could see it.


    Now that Rein Schwarz clearly knew about Azaroth''s rtionship with Sophie, he wasn''t nning on giving out an unreasonable price.


    "The materials you asked for can be considered cheap and for daily use. I can supply them to Kloras Town monthly. So a 1000 Spirit Coins per month will be enough." Rein Schwarz gave out a price.


    "That would be rather generous of you, Sir Rein," Azaroth answered with a smile, "This represents one-third of the current market price. I''ll take it without shame. If you want any support, please be forthright and ask me for it."


    "¡­Not yet. But I may require itter. I hope Sir Edwin won''t forget me."


    After confirming Azaroth''s rtionship with Sophie, he began to refer to him as "Sir Edwin" rather than "Mayor Edwin." On the surface, the alteration looked insignificant, but it was a significant change.


    To Rein Schwarz, a Mayor was someone at a lower status than his own. However, he now referred to Azaroth as "Sir Edwin". Meaning, he was talking to him as an equal.


    He didn''t find it embarrassing to call him Sir Edwin. It wasn''t just because of his rtionship with Sophie. Though, it did y a crucial role. To him, Azaroth was also Jonas Rhodes'' son.


    That status was quite valuable in the capital.


    "Sure, I promise," Azaroth swore indifferently.


    Rein Schwarz looked slightly happy. The promise of a Noble Family heir was worth trusting.


    Before he left though, Sophie spoke out, "I hope there won''t be any unnecessary rumors when I return, Sir Rein."


    Those words were spoken with a threat.


    Rein Schwarz and even his men around him understood, "Rest assured, Miss Sophie. Nobody here will open their mouth."


    He spoke with a smirk, "This was merely a business deal with a potential partner."


    Sophie was satisfied with that response.


    "Can I view thend, Sir Edwin? I wish to purchase it while the offer to buy it for free still remains." Rein Schwarz spoke.


    "Naturally. Come, follow me." Azaroth stood up and walked ahead of everyone.


    After some time, he showed thend to Rein Schwarz.


    In reality, Rein Schwarz didn''t have much in buyingnd here. He was merely buying it to form a connection with Azaroth. Besides, thend was free so he wouldn''t suffer a loss.


    Azaroth took him to the location where he nned to construct a residential society. Rein Schwarz didn''t have much opinion about thend and he bought the 1-acrend for free.


    In fact, he even wanted his guards to buy them but Azaroth was adamant about only merchants buying thend here.


    The most important thing was to develop this town by constantly constructing new buildings. He didn''t want soldiers or other people to buy it who would just keep hold of it without doing anything with it.


    Rein Schwarz understood his thinking without Azaroth exining it to him. He didn''t mind it and felt that this was not a bad way to administer his town.


    "The merchants will arrive in a few days. I will inform them to assist you in the town''s development as well." Rein Schwarz spoke before leaving.


    Azaroth nodded to those words and observed him while he left.


    After Rein had departed, Azaroth noticed Sophie grinning at him and said, "You got such a great benefit because of me. How are you going to thank me for that?"


    Azaroth came closer to Sophie with a chuckle. Azaroth suddenly grabbed her body and raised her body off the ground. Her torse was draped near his neck while Azaroth held her legs and right arm.


    "Let me carry you to your room, princess." Azaroth teasingly said to Sophie.


    Sophie blushed upon those words. But she still counterattacked quickly, "Move onward, my knight!"


    Azaroth spent some time with Sophie before moving out of her room.


    He was slowly feeling the faith energy getting stronger.


    This was because people felt their illness recover.


    Now that they saw that praying actually had an effect, they were praying even more passionately.


    This passion made their faith in this new god even stronger.


    People had even given a name to this god.


    <strong>Nudar, The God of Medicine.</strong>


    Azaroth was quite satisfied with this name.


    Even though people were worshiping this non-existent god named Nudar, all its faith energy was sent to Azaroth.


    It was because the statue they were worshiping was connected to Azaroth''s core. When they worshipped him, they were worshipping his core. And the faith energy was sent to Azaroth''s main body.


    And when they named this God as Nudar. Another identity of Azaroth was created with the name of Nudar.


    It could be said that Azaroth possessed three identities at the same time.


    Azaroth as a demon, Edwin as a human, and Nudar as a Celestial.


    ~~


    A/N: Please vote,ment, and review the novel.. Also, join my discord server using the link: https://discord.gg/d5MeBZ4VRx

 Chapter 109 - Destructive Heavenly Tribulation (1)

    Today was an auspicious day in Kloras Town.


    It had been a week since Azaroth made a deal with Rein Schwarz.


    And today, Azaroth felt that his body was filled to the brim with faith energy. He could advance to 5 Star Rank and create his own core.


    Azaroth went to Sophie and spoke, "I will take my leave to find a quiet location to break through to the 5 Star Rank."


    Sophie was shocked to hear that Azaroth was going to advance to the 5 Star Rank.


    It had to be known that he was already at 4 Star Rank which was exceptional for warriors of their generation.


    Yet, he was going to advance one more time.


    She showed an envious look while speaking, "Your hybrid blood is really valuable. It will still take another month or so for me to break through to the 4 Star Rank."


    She remembered that he was a hybrid and possessed Celestial Blood as well.


    At this time, she was quite jealous of Azaroth for possessing this Celestial Blood. He was advancing so quickly that she could only attribute to him as a monster.


    Sophie asked him worriedly, "Do you need any help? Or protection?"


    "No. Just stay here and wait for me to return," Azaroth told Sophie with a calm look.


    "¡­Alright," Sophie promised him that she wouldn''t disturb him during his breakthrough.


    Once he heard her, Azaroth left the mansion and used Shadow Steps to reach the training ground. He was using Shadow Steps just to make sure Sophie couldn''t follow him.


    As he reached the location, he sensed that Tiana had just passed her trial as well. She was meditating and assimting the Ardor that was injected into her.


    She would break through to the 3 Star Rank soon.


    Meanwhile, Noah was absorbing the rest of the Ardor from his array as well. He hadn''tpletely absorbed his reward when he won against his Elemental Trial. He absorbed half and reached the peak of 2 Star Rank.


    Then, he spent a few weeks stabilizing his cultivation. And now, he was absorbing the remaining half to break through to the next rank.


    There was not much change to his sword intent even as his cultivation rose. But now, if Noah used his Wind attacks along with his Sword Intent, then he would deal thrice or even four times the damage as before.


    Moreover, the consumption of his Ardor wouldn''t be as apparent.


    Combining this with his Enlightened Sword Heart, it could be said that he was the strongest among 3 Star Warriors even though he had barely stepped into this rank.


    Azaroth didn''t meet with any of them and just went into his personal training ground.


    Perhaps only Laura sensed that Azaroth had entered his training ground but since he didn''t want to meet with them, she stayed quiet about this information.


    Azaroth quickly reached a profound state of concentration while using the Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique.


    He felt the Ardor in his body revolve.


    With his revolution, his Ardor was transforming. As Azaroth felt this, he was pleased that all three kinds of energies were mixing together and forming a bright core in his energy center.


    Currently, the core was extremely small, nearly the size of a thumbnail. But after each revolution, more Ardor would be assimted with it and it would growrger. Azaroth''s guess was that it would be nearly the size of a cricket ball.


    While he was breaking through to the 5 Star Rank, the clouds above Azaroth darkened rather quickly.


    Azaroth hadn''t noticed it at all since he was concentrating strongly to enhance his Rank.


    Soon, a shy thunderbolt was shot out of those clouds and it struck Azaroth''s body!


    Azaroth hadn''t expected that his breakthrough to the 5 Star Rank would result in Heavenly Tribtion. Otherwise, he would have prepared some defensive arrays around him.


    The Heavenly Tribtions would normally ur only when someone was breaking through to the Demon Emperor Rank or they were creating some world-destroying array or maybe some rare medicine.


    He had never heard of someone experiencing Heavenly Tribtions while breaking through to the 5 Star Rank or a Demon Lord Rank.


    The first bolt of lightning wasn''t the strongest, thus even though Azaroth waspletely shocked when it struck him, he survived. He did receive many injuries.


    Azaroth opened his eyes as he allowed his Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique to work repeatedly.


    When he looked up, he saw another sh of Lightning Bolt.


    Azaroth''s eyes widened as he sensed that the power of this Lightning Bolt was most probably thrice as that of before.


    He couldn''t underestimate these Heavenly Lightning Bolts.


    He survived the first one by a fluke since it was the weakest. If not, he would have been a roasted corpse right now.


    The clouds shed with a bolt of red lightning and the thunder soon struck Azaroth''s body.


    As the Heavenly Lightning did strike his body, Azaroth realized just how wrong he was.


    This Heavenly Lightning wasn''t just targeting his body but also his spirit.


    ''<em>Damnit¡­ Did the heavens realize I am a Demon God? Or is there another reason behind such strong Lightning Bolts? Even a Demon Emperor wouldn''t be struck by Lightning Bolts that possesses powers to hurt the spirit.''</em>


    Azaroth had no idea about the reason but he knew he couldn''t continue to take on these lightning bolts on his body. His spirit might be destroyed before his body then.


    But he was also aware of the fact that it was impossible to dodge the Heavenly Lightning.


    The only choice was to block it. But there was no time to set up an array that would block it. And if he created an array in a hurry, it would be too weak to resist the Heavenly Lightning making Azaroth''s effort useless.


    When he saw the Red Lightning sh once again, a cold look appeared in Azaroth''s eyes as he spoke, "The Heavens want to destroy me? Even you aren''t qualified!"


    Violet Hell mes covered Azaroth''s body. The shape of his mes transformed into a gigantic violet dragon''s head.


    The Third Bolt of Heavenly Lightning shed down to destroy Azaroth.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth immediately used his technique ''<em><strong>Dragon Jaws!</strong></em>''


    The gigantic Violet Hell mes Dragon Head opened its mouth as it moved towards the red lightning bolt.


    The Violet Hell mes Dragon shed against the Bolt of Heavenly Lightning.


    The shockwave was so great that tremors could be felt in the entire Kloras Town.


    Laura, Noah, Ralph, Tiana, and Yrellea were jolted awake as they felt that shockwave. They were the closest to it and looked in a distance and saw Violet mes shing against the heavenly lightning.


    Noah and Tiana were more or less done with their breakthrough.


    Laura sensed that it was Azaroth who was fighting against the Heavenly Lightning. She immediately informed Noah, "It''s master. It''s his Violet mes that are shing against the Heavenly Lightning."


    Noah''s eyes widened slightly and then turned towards that Heavenly Lightning.


    He used Phantom Step and quickly moved in Azaroth''s direction.


    He was so worried and anxious that he didn''t give any order to Laura and others.


    Since they hadn''t received any orders, Laura and others quickly followed Noah to Azaroth''s location.


    Azaroth had no idea that his retainers wereing towards his location. He was busy dealing with this Heavenly Lightning.


    After some moments, the bolt of Heavenly Lightning lost its power. It was Azaroth''s Violet Hell mes that gained the victory.


    But there was no trace of happiness on Azaroth''s face.


    He could sense another stronger bolt of Heavenly Lightning building up in those clouds.


    Azaroth also empowered his Violet Hell mes with his Ardor.


    He knew that the next bolts would be even stronger and he had to use his full power to resist them.


    A momentter, the clouds shed with a deadly red color as the thunderbolt came crashing down towards Azaroth.


    This time, even though Azaroth had empowered his Violet Hell mes. The Dragon Jaw only managed to resist for a second before it vanished.


    However, Azaroth felt that this one second was more than enough.


    He released Red Lightning from his hands and attacked that Thunderbolt with a lightning bolt of his own.


    Another shockwave urred. The ground around Azaroth had already cracked. As time passed, the cracks were getting wider.


    "¡­Now, <strong>re up!</strong>" Azaroth whispered as his lightning bolt received a sudden increase in power and it overpowered the Thunderbolt sent by the heavens.


    He quickened his cultivation speed as he refined more of his Ardor into 5 Star Ardor.


    The Ardor he had used until now was merely 4 Star Ardor. He couldn''t use his 5 Star Ardor or it would all have been for nothing.


    He needed to wait until the core he''d built was big enough to be self-reliant.


    Azaroth felt that his physique was also transforming.


    He looked at the clouds above and felt that it was a pity. If he had some time, he could continue to cultivate and evolve his entire Ardor.


    Once that happened, he was confident in passing this Tribtion.


    However, as he saw the Lightning shing in the Clouds, he realized that these merciless heavens were unlikely to offer him such precious time.


    He was ready to use his 5 Star Rank Ardor to fight against the Heavens. Even if it would result in all his effort being useless, he didn''t mind it. Staying alive was his greater priority.


    He would have another opportunity to reach the 5 Star Rank, but there would be no revival this time if the heavens seeded in killing his spirit and body.


    Azaroth saw a bright red sh raining down towards him. This was the 5th Lightning Bolt that was shot at Azaroth.


    Just as Azaroth was going to use his Violet Hell mes to destroy this Thunderbolt, he heard a loud screech.


    He then noticed the Heavenly Tribtion Thunder changing its target and moving towards his right side.


    There, Azaroth''s eyes widened slightly as he saw Zena, his Crimson Lightning Phoenix.


    If she was here then that meant Laura and others were also nearby since he had left Zean with Laura.


    As he sensed everyone''s location, he let out a tired sigh as he thought ''<em>This will be troublesome.''</em>

 Chapter 110 - Destructive Heavenly Tribulations (2)

    As Azaroth sensed multiple peopleing towards his location, he knew that the situation was going to turn veryplicated.


    Especially if Sophie met Noah, Laura, and others.


    It was one thing for him to inform her about Laura and others, but it was quite another for her to discover the information on her own.


    She wouldn''t listen to his exnation and might even inform her father about it.


    That would be too hazardous.


    Azaroth took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He connected his mind to Laura and sent her amand ''<em>Take everyone away. Don''t let them approach my training ground. In fact, go and hide somewhere else.''</em>


    Laura was surprised to hear Azaroth''smand in her mind. She even doubted for a second whether it was really his voice or not.


    <em>''Get moving!''</em>


    Azaroth''s voice shouted in her mind.


    This time, Laura didn''t know why but she was sure that it was Azaroth''s voice.


    She found out that she couldn''t inform Noah about it since he was running ahead of her.


    Instead, Laura turned around and told everyone else about Azaroth''s order.


    Yrellea was quite unsatisfied as she wanted to go and help Azaroth but she also knew that Azaroth abhorred it when someone disobeyed his order.


    It took her some moments for her mind to reach a conclusion.


    She decided to apany Laura and get back. If Azaroth was asking them to get away, he was prepared to deal with this strange heavenly lightning.


    Azaroth sensed that among his retainers, only Noah was approaching him swiftly.


    He concentrated and connected to Noah''s mind ''Go to Laura. I will deal with this alone.''


    "Boss, I can help you," Noah spoke out.


    Azaroth replied with an anxious look ''<em>Perhaps. But I need you to return and protect the others.''</em>


    It was only then that Noah stopped and he clenched his fists. He was frustrated that he couldn''t help Azaroth.


    "¡­As youmand, Boss,"


    Noah turned around and dashed towards Laura''s direction.


    Azaroth had in reality lied to him that he had to protect Laura and others. The target of this Heavenly Tribtion was him alone. It wouldn''t target anyone else.


    But as he gazed at Zena, who was swallowing the Heavenly Thunder greedily, he understood that he possessed an extraordinary supporter.


    Even he was surprised to see that Zena could eat the Heavenly Thunder.


    A smile soon appeared on Azaroth''s face as he thought ''Zena can be the ultimate counter for the Heavenly Thunder.''


    Soon, the 5th Bolt dispersed.


    Zena didn''t seem as though she was full just yet.


    Azaroth spoke out, "Come here, Zena."


    Zena heard Azaroth and she immediately turned towards him. She happily squealed before flying towards Azaroth.


    Before long, she was near Azaroth''s body. She began to rub her small body against Azaroth''s face.


    When Zena''s body touched his face, Azaroth carefully analyzed her body.


    He noticed the enormous amount of energy in Zena''s body. She was quickly digesting it and her cultivation was rising rapidly. Her cultivation speed was far quicker than when he made her eat 2 Star Beast Corpses.


    Once she finishes digesting, she would reach the 3 Star Rank. As she grew stronger, her body was also going to getrger.


    Azaroth guessed that Zena would have to reach 4 Star Rank to begin carrying him on her body.


    But anyway, the Heavenly Tribtion was still not over and he focused on it.


    Azaroth spoke to Zena with a calm voice, "Swallow all you can. I will deal with the residual that will remain. Don''t force yourself into absorbing more than you can handle."


    Hearing Azaroth''s words, Zena made a fierce look as she flew around his face.


    Azaroth guessed that she wanted to say to not underestimate her.


    He ignored her antics and saw the Heavenly Tribtion was about to fall.


    "Get serious." He ordered Zena while taking a stance and using Heavenly Lightning around his body.


    He used Dragon Jaw again. But this time, instead of using Hell mes, he was using it with Red Heavenly Lightning.


    The pure Red Heavenly Lightning used up more Ardor than Hell mes.


    Azaroth was using his 4 Star Ardor for this attack.


    "Come."


    As if this word was the trigger, the red lightning shed and fell towards Azaroth.


    Zena immediately opened her wings that shone with Crimson Color.


    The Heavenly Tribtion was attracted towards Zena and she opened her mouth to swallow this Heavenly Tribtion again.


    Azaroth noticed that Zena''splexion was turning ugly with each passing moment.


    It seemed as though this time the Heavenly Tribtion was far beyond Zena''s ability to absorb.


    He had to act faster.


    Without wasting a single moment, Azaroth whispered, "<strong>Dragon Jaw!</strong>"


    Without losing a millisecond, the Red Lightning that surrounded him soared.


    Azaroth''s Red Lightning went past Zena and shed against the Heavenly Tribtion.


    Azaroth was utilizing Heavenly Lightning against the Heavenly Tribtion. Thus, the Heavenly Tribtion was unable to purify it in the same way as his Hell mes Dragon Jaw. He had little trouble resisting since Zena had already absorbed the deadliest portion of this thunderbolt.


    Zena closed her eyes as she felt her body getting really heavy.


    Azaroth looked at her for a second and raised his hands to catch her. As his hands touched Zena, he felt a strong bolt of lightning from her body.


    ''She ispletely flooded with Heavenly Lightning.''


    However, it didn''t appear that Zena''s life was in danger. In fact, it seemed as though she was just unconscious. Or perhaps napping.


    His Red Lightning Dragon Jaw managed to hold on for some time as the 6th Thunderbolt soon dispersed.


    Azaroth took quick breaths while focusing on the clouds above.


    Some moments passed and Azaroth was surprised that the seventh bolt hadn''t fallen on him yet.


    But the surprise vanished as he understood the reason.


    <em>''This must be the final attack. It''s gathering all of its energy and will attack me.''</em>


    Taking a deep breath, a serious look appeared on Azaroth''s face.


    A pair of horns rose on his head, along with a pair of pure white wings. With a solemn expression, Azaroth began to gather the remaining bits of his 4 Star Rank Ardor.


    This could be considered his final attack using the 4 Star Rank Ardor.


    "Yin-Yang Fusion Technique: Sacred Devil Thunderster!"


    In Azaroth''s one hand, Red Lightning crackled. While in Azaroth''s other hand, ck Lightning was sparkling.


    Azaroth brought both his hands together andbined these two Lightning Elements. A dark brown colored lightning was formed as a result.


    Azaroth continued to empower it by using more of his Ardor while keeping an eye on the clouds.


    The final wave of the Heavenly Tribtion could begin at any moment.


    Azaroth noticed a faint sh of Red Lightning in the clouds. His eyes widened slightly and he immediately raised his arms to use his Sacred Devil Thunderster.


    He was well aware that he had been a little hasty in using this attack. It still hadn''t been charged up to its full potential but Azaroth had no choice.


    If he was even a momentte, the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning would have struck him and destroyed himpletely.


    In his previous life, Azaroth had dealt with the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning on many different asions. When he was breaking through to the Demon Emperor Realm, the Demon God Realm, and when he constructed some forbidden world breaking arrays.


    On those asions, the Heavenly Lightning was far stronger than his strength. If not for his sufficient preparation beforehand, he would have bit the dust easily.


    Today though, Azaroth saw that he had survived against this Heavenly Tribtion for so long without even preparing for it.


    In the back of his mind, he was happy that he had chosen to cultivate the Triquetra Ardor.


    In the world, other than the Celestials and the Dragon Race, only the weapon users who had achieved peak attainments would be able to resist Heavenly Tribtions with no preparations.


    The Celestials lived in the heavens so the Heavenly Tribtions weren''t very strong against them.


    The Dragon Race possessed the strongest physique in the world. Thus, they could even resist the Heavenly Tribtion with their pure physique and make themselves even stronger.


    Finally, weapon users, such as the Swordsman, would battle the Heavenly Tribtions with their distinct intents.


    Their assaults were infused with not just Ardor, but also their intents in their particr weapon abilities.


    Azaroth had a forced smile as he saw his Sacred Devil Thunderster being pushed back by the Heavenly Tribtion. He thought ''<em>If only I was just a bit quicker.''</em>


    The Heavenly Tribtion soon pierced the Sacred Devil Thunderster into two parts and struck Azaroth''s body.


    The Wings on Azaroth''s back began to release Holy Ardor that reduced the power of the Heavenly Tribtions while the horns on Azaroth''s head began to empower his Ardor to strengthen his bodies'' defense.


    Azaroth felt his spirit getting attacked by that thunderbolt as well.


    And after what felt like an eternity, the thunderbolt stopped. Azaroth soon fell down, his wings and horns disappearing.


    Before falling unconscious, he heard a worried voice, "Edwin? Are you all right? Edwin?!"


    Sophie approached Azaroth with a worried expression on her face.


    ~~


    A/N: Please vote,ment, and review the novel.. Also, join my discord server using the link: https://discord.gg/d5MeBZ4VRx

 Chapter 111 - The Law Of Destruction

    The aftermath of thatst bolt of Heavenly TribtionI striking Azaroth''s body injured his body as well his spirit.


    Sophie reached the location and soon carried him to the mansion.


    Azaroth''s retainers were stunned when they had seen thatst bolt of lightning. And from what they saw, it appeared that Azaroth''s attack had lost power.


    Noah clenched his fists as he had attacked that Heavenly Tribtions with his Sword Qi but it didn''t help at all. His Sword Qi was destroyed without damaging that bolt of thunder.


    They all dashed towards Azaroth''s position. This time, Laura noticed that Azaroth wasn''t asking them to stay back.


    Thus, all of them ran at their quickest pace.


    But once they reached the location, they saw a woman carrying Azaroth away. In the direction of the mansion.


    Laura, Yrellea, Ralph, and Tiana were confused. They didn''t know this woman. Why was she carrying Azaroth away?


    They were about to ask her this very question.


    But before they could take a single step forward, Noah spoke, "Don''t go. This is the woman I was talking about earlier. She is the boss''s lover. Also, Boss ordered us to make sure not to meet her."


    Laura and Yrellea didn''t appear to be convinced. Yrellea even spoke out, "But¡­"


    "No. I am more worried about Boss than any of you. But we can''t disobey his orders!" Noah spoke with a frustrated look.


    "¡­Also, before she can harm Boss, I will kill her with my Sword Qi," Noah replied, ending all arguments against him.


    Sophie brought Azaroth to his mansion where she ced him on his bed. She noticed that hisplexion was quite pale.


    The Heavenly Tribtion Lightning she had witnessed just struck his body. It was natural for him to be unconscious.


    But she didn''t understand why the Heavenly Tribtion would strike Azaroth.


    It was well known that the Heavenly Tribtions would only strike those breaking through to the 7 Star Rank or the heretics who hadmitted evil deeds.


    It didn''t seem as if Azaroth was a heretic so what could be the reason?


    She then fixed her gaze on Azaroth''s little bird. It was, of course, Zena. Sophie had ced Zena on the table, where she was still wriggling about.


    Sophie could sense that Zena was merely at the 2 Star Rank. There was no chance for her to be the one to summon that Heavenly tribtion.


    But then she was back to square one.


    Just who had summoned that Heavenly Tribtion?


    <em>''Don''t tell me it''s because he is a hybrid?''</em>


    Once she began thinking in this direction, she felt as if this theory made a lot of sense.


    Sophie''s guess waspletely incorrect. However, in the Sinyalian Kingdom, where there were few celestials or hybrids, no one could im with certainty that Azaroth''s status as a hybrid wasn''t the cause of the Heavenly Tribtion.


    Sophie went and asked the guards to bring the herbs from their storage.


    Azaroth did store a lot of them in the storage as he didn''t want to ce all of them in a single ce.


    However, Sophie realized that the guards had no knowledge about the herbs and wouldn''t be able to choose them.


    She chose to join the guards in selecting the herbs. Even if she wasn''t particrly gifted in the subject of alchemy, she had dabbled in it and at the very least understood what herbs to employ when the body was engulfed in Lightning Ardor.


    A few momentster, she brought some Earth Elemental Herbs and ced them around Azaroth''s body.


    The Lightning within Azaroth''s body was attracted to these Earth Elemental Herbs before being nullified.


    Through this method, Sophie had dealt with the Lightning in Azaroth''s body. However, the most dangerous thing about this Heavenly Tribtion wasn''t lightning. It was the Law of Destruction.


    Normally, an expert would be subjected to the Heavenly Tribtion to strengthen his body. Typically, the Law of Destruction would be present in the Heavenly Tribtion of the warriors who are breaking through to the 8 Star Rank.


    But, in Azaroth''s case, he had merely broken through to the 5 Star Rank yet the Heavenly Tribtion he summoned possessed the Law of Destruction.


    It was clear that the Heavens sought to destroy him.


    Currently, even though Azaroth''s body was asleep, his spirit was still awake.


    His consciousness was flooded by the reddish power of destruction and he was using his Spirit to destroy it.


    Every time Azaroth''s spirit came in contact with this Power of Destruction, it would be destroyed, taking along the Law of the Destruction with it.


    Even Azaroth was anxious since he didn''t possess any Law that could deal with the Power of Destruction.


    He had already used the Blood Law but it was effortlessly destroyed.


    Currently, Azaroth''s greatest priority was to continue to cultivate and reach the 5 Star Rank.


    Because of the Heavenly Tribtion, his cultivation had slowed down immensely. Thus, he hadn''t condensed a solid core.


    But still, his Heavenly Demon Meditation Technique was active. While nearly Azaroth''s entire body was dealing with this Heavenly Tribtion''s after effects, only a small part was working on cultivating his Ardor.


    The thing that frustrated Azaroth, even more, was that he couldn''t actively elerate his speed of cultivation. If he could do that, then the situation wouldn''t be as bad as it currently was.


    He was so helpless in this situation that he could only wait.


    But Azaroth was also not just going to waste his time and opportunity. He concentrated on the great treasure ahead of him and began to think deeply about it.


    Yes, Azaroth was trying to gain insight into the Law of Destruction!


    This could be considered overreaching himself for merely a 5 Star Warrior but Azaroth was different.


    Even though his body was that of a 5 Star Warrior, his spirit was still of a Demon God.


    His observation power andprehension talent were still the same as before.


    ~~


    After 3 days, Azaroth finally opened his eyes.


    He was slightly dissatisfied as he wasn''t able toprehend the Law of Destruction. Even though he had expected it but it didn''t prevent him from getting disappointed.


    The Law of Destruction would have massively helped him against his enemies. But he also knew that if the Law of Destruction was slightly more powerful then he would have lost his life.


    <em>''I should be sessful inprehending a part of it if I get another opportunity.''</em>


    Azaroth looked around and noticed he was in his room. He concluded that it was probably Sophie who brought him here.


    Azaroth tried to sense his surroundings and was stunned as he felt his sensing range increase greatly.


    In fact, he was sure that he could sense nearly 10 times the distance than before.


    Moreover, even though his range had increased, he could sense the area in even more depth.


    Azaroth then looked into his Energy Center and there, he saw an Azure Core just a littlerger than a cricket ball revolving quickly.


    He understood that he had broken through to the 5 Star Rank.


    Azaroth returned back to his consciousness and stood up.


    He looked at the bed and noticed multiple herbs on his bed. They had lost their luster.


    <em>''I see¡­ These are the herbs that absorbed the extra lightning from my body.''</em>


    Although the Law of Destruction was the most dangerous to Azaroth, removing the Lightning from his body was also quite important. If not, his body would have been trying to remove the Lightning Ardor instead of working on his cultivation.


    If that urred, he would have remained unconscious for an even longer period. Or maybe thebination of the Law of Destruction and Lightning Ardor would have killed him.


    Soon, Azaroth went out to eat something. He was quite hungry.


    He went to the dining hall where the guards saw him and greeted him respectfully. He ordered some cooks to bring food for him.


    Meanwhile, Sophie was informed about the fact that Azaroth had recovered and was in the dining hall.


    She immediately dashed towards the dining hall to see him.


    The two soon met in the dining hall where Azaroth was eating his food peacefully.


    He noticed her and spoke, "¡­Come, join me."


    Sophie spoke with an emotional voice, "You finally woke up. I thought that the Heavenly Tribtion had killed you."


    Azaroth smirked and replied, "The Heavenly Tribtion will need to try harder to kill me. I haven''t lived my life to the fullest yet."


    Sophie spoke solemnly though, "Don''t joke about it. Or else, the Heavenly Tribtion might hit you again."


    Azaroth shrugged in response, "The Heavens shouldn''t care about such small things."


    He continued on to eat his food while Sophie took a seat near him. The two remained silent as Azaroth ate his food while Sophie observed him.


    Just as Sophie opened her mouth to say something, Azaroth spoke out, "I know what you want to ask. But I have no idea why the Heavenly Tribtion would strike me. Perhaps it was because of my status as a hybrid."


    Azaroth was quite nonchnt as he took another bite of the food.


    "¡­You have to be careful next time. You should have constructed arrays to protect yourself." Sophie spoke worriedly.


    "I know. This was a miss on my part. I never expected that Heavens would throw their lightning at me just for breaking through to the 5 Star Rank. Someone has to tell them that I am breaking through to the 5 Star Rank, not the 7 Star Rank."


    Azaroth appeared quite angry.


    Sophie chuckled and soon replied, "Next time, I will construct a few arrays that would protect you from the Heavenly Lightning."


    Azaroth looked at her solemnly, "The next time, it will be Heavenly Lightning to prevent me from breaking through to the 6 Star Rank. Using 5 Star Rank Arrays to protect me from that Heavenly Tribtion would be futile."


    "¡­I know, that''s why I nned to leave after you have recovered. I need to return and get back to studying arrays. Especially the defensive arrays. By the time you can reach the peak of 6 Star Rank, I should be able to create 6 Star Ranked Arrays." Sophie confidently told Azaroth.


    Azaroth stopped eating and stared at her grimly, "I see¡­"


    "Once everything settles down here, I wille to the capital to meet you," Azaroth told her with an earnest look.

 Chapter 112 - The Final Trial

    Sophie left Kloras Town on that very same day. Azaroth was relieved that this woman was gone.


    He had gotten all of the benefits he could, and she was now overstaying her wee. But still, she had helped him at a crucial moment so he didn''t care much about her.


    Now, he had to go and meet his retainers.


    Sargan already knew that Azaroth had recovered since he was staying in the mansion so Azaroth ignored him and went to the location where Laura and others were staying.


    Azaroth was happy that he could finally fly without using much Ardor.


    Earlier, he would have to use Wind Ardor to fly which would consume quite a bit of his Ardor. But now, Azaroth could use the Ardor in his surroundings to fly.


    In just a few minutes, he reached the training ground where Noah was training.


    Currently, everyone was training in their respective training grounds. They were quite anxious about Azaroth''s condition and the only way to take their mind off it was to train.


    Azaroth saw Noah who was shing in an empty field and was practicing one attack after another.


    "You should take a small break before switching your techniques," Azaroth spoke out to Noah.


    Noah was startled to hear Azaroth''s voice. He raised his head and showed a delighted expression as he saw Azaroth.


    "Yes, Boss!" He spoke, somewhat emotionally.


    He was d that Azaroth was alright.


    In these 3 days, Noah had no idea how Azaroth was doing. He couldn''t even go and visit him and Sargan didn''t send a message regarding Azaroth.


    It frustrated Noah greatly. Amongst all his retainers, Noah could be considered the most anxious.


    Azaroth patted his head as he looked at him, "Get stronger and I can allow you to remain by my side next time."


    Noah nodded his head and replied, "I will work hard!"


    Azaroth smiled but he shook his head, "You misunderstood my words. Just as hard work is important, rest is also crucial. Once your mind and body calm down, you can restart your training."


    Noah soon lost consciousness. Azaroth picked up him and took him towards the small house Laura had constructed for him.


    He ced him on the bed and left.


    ~~


    The next retainer he met was Laura. Unlike Noah, she wasn''t training as rashly so Azaroth didn''t need to give her that advice.


    The two saw each other. Laura greeted him and was pleased to see that he had recovered.


    Moreover, she sensed that his aura was even stronger than before.


    After her, Azaroth met up with Tiana, then Ralph, andstly, Yrellea.


    Among these three, Yrellea was the most anxious about his health.


    He could guess that she held romantic feelings for him. But having such a rtionship with her wasn''t what Azaroth was nning.


    Yrellea observed him and concluded that he waspletely fine. She breathed out in relief as she concluded that.


    Soon, she remembered that woman who picked him up and carried his body to the mansion.


    She asked Azaroth with a curious and an envious look, "Master, who was that woman?"


    Azaroth gazed at her quietly and replied, "¡­She is my friend from my school time. That''s all you need to know."


    Yrellea appeared unhappy at Azaroth''s cold tone but this was more or less their normal interaction.


    ~~


    Half a dayter, Azaroth gathered all his retainers including Sargan and Noah. Noah''s body had received quite a good rest and he was fresh right now.


    They wondered why Azaroth had gathered them.


    "All of you havepleted your Elemental Training Regimen. Now, it''s time for your final training regimen. After youplete it, I will begin assigning you your respective tasks." Azaroth spoke with a solemn look.


    "That wasn''t thest training?" Laura asked with a confused look.


    "No. The Elemental Training Regimen was designed to familiarize you with your elements and teach you how to employ them even in environments that are fundamentally opposed to them."


    "However, this final training regimen will be where you have to make use of your entire ability in the fight. Your decision-making ability will be tested to the limit and your reaction speed will improve by a notch. Are you ready for it?!"


    "Yes, boss/ master!" Everyone was pretty excited.


    "Good. Then you will go to your training grounds. And this time, you can attempt the array at any time and there will be no time limit to defeat your opponent." Azaroth informed them with a smile.


    Noah asked curiously, "Who will be our opponent?"


    Azaroth replied casually, "You will find out when you challenge the array."


    Azaroth didn''t tell them about their opponent because he wanted to maintain this sense of mystery about him.


    If they don''t know about their opponent then they will keep trying to think of who could be their possible opponent. Mentally, they will prepare themselves for the hardest opponent they could think of.


    This would allow them to react quickly when they face an opponent that would fit any of those profiles.


    However¡­ Azaroth was sure that none of them would be able to correctly anticipate their opponents.


    Soon, Azaroth walked away, leaving his retainers alone.


    "I will definitely defeat my opponent on my first try!" Noah dered with a confident tone.


    Sargan rolled his eyes at those words, "We don''t even know who our opponent will be so you shouldn''t speak empty words."


    Laura disliked those words from Sargan.


    Before she could say anything, Ralph added, "True. First, we need to know who our opponent is and then think of a n against him."


    Laura paused as she heard Ralph''s words. She felt that Ralph was right.


    If she analyzed her opponent and then formed a n to take her down, it would be an easy victory!


    Others also thought about it and mentally agreed. All but Noah that is.


    Azaroth had no idea that his retainers were thinking along these lines. This was far from the mentality he wanted them to possess.


    Even if he knew about it, he probably wouldn''t have told them anything. Some things couldn''t be shared. They would understand once they experienced it, just how wrong they were.


    Azaroth was going towards his personal training ground.


    He noticed that a gigantic crater had formed here because of that Heavenly Tribtion.


    ''There is still the residual Heavenly Law in the air here. I need to change my location.''


    It was a pity since he had worked quite a lot on this training ground. There were multiple arrays on the ground. They weren''t the barrier arrays but the other arrays he required.


    One such array was the Blood-Forging Altar of Creation. It was a cloning array.


    Azaroth had been agitated since he had a lot of work but not enough workers to carry out his objectives.


    He knew that he had to personally carry out some of his primary objectives. No one else could assist him in them.


    For that, Azaroth nned to clone himself. He was going to create another body by using his Blood Essence.


    This body would possess a dense bloodline with the Celestial, Demonic, and Humane Bloodlines at the same time.


    However, this new body''s face would bepletely different from his current face. It would be his face from his previous life as a Demon God Azaroth.


    In fact, it could be said that this would be his true appearance.


    The Blood Essence and the Ardor would be the same as that of this body. However, there was indeed a catch while using this cloning technique.


    Azaroth''s spirit would be split.


    He was nning to inject most of his spirit within this new body, thereby turning it into his main body. Using it, Azaroth was going to carry out his primary objectives.


    His current body was then going to be his secondary body that would carry out his other objectives.


    Azaroth had multiple reasons for changing his main body. And the chief reason was that Inquisitor Fox knew about his current identity and was suspicious of him.


    He knew that if that man continued to investigate him, he would sooner orter find the truth.


    So, if the need arises, Azaroth wanted to be ready to relinquish this ''Edwin'' identity and get that man off his back.


    However, he was going to try his best so it wouldn''te to that. He had put a lot of effort into this identity.


    The array had been destroyed and now, he had to construct it from the scratch.


    Azaroth''s 5 Star Ardor was strong enough to create arrays without the use of any elemental crystals now. However, if he wanted to create a perfect clone then he had to create an array that would sustain itself for a long time.


    This wouldn''t be possible if he created the array using his 5 Star Ardor.


    Thus, Azaroth began to build up his Blood-Forging Altar of Creation in another location. He was also creating a barrier formation.


    There was no telling when the Heavenly Tribtions would rain down on him.


    If it urred while he was creating another clone then all his effort would be futile.


    While Azaroth was preparing the arrays, his retainers were already present in their respective training grounds.


    They obeyed Azaroth''s instructions and managed to activate the array.


    Once the array activated, they noticed that their surroundings were the same. This made them let out a sigh of relief.


    However, this relief was short-lived as they looked ahead and saw their opponent.


    Laura was extremely shocked to see that her opponent looked exactly like her. The only difference between them was that her opponent had apletely emotionless look.


    Azaroth''s other retainers were experiencing a simr shock.


    Only Noah remained calm as he looked at his opponent. He did not care about it at all.


    The only thought in his head was to crush his opponent. Even if that opponent was his own copy.


    <strong>~~~~</strong>


    A/N: Please vote,ment, and review the novel.. Also, join my discord server using the link: https://discord.gg/d5MeBZ4VRx

 Chapter 113 - Forbidden Devil Heart Manifestation Array

    Noah attacked his opponent with the "Seven sh Monarch Technique."


    As the name indicated, Noah had alreadyunched seven long-ranged shes at his counterpart. These sword shes were filled with powerful sword qi as it swiftly made its way towards his adversary.


    Noah noticed his adversary reacting quickly to those sword shes.


    "Nimble Coil."


    Noah''s enemy rotated his body as he moved forwards towards those iing sword shes.


    A sword sh suddenly appeared around his body as it deflected the Seven shesunched by Noah.


    ''That is the same technique as mine! Also, his speed appears to be the same as mine. Along with the strength of his Sword Qi.''


    Noah noticed that his adversary was approaching him quickly. He was immediately on the move as he charged forwards with another technique named "Hell Thrust."


    While he was using the move to strike his adversary, Noah was thinking ''He will dodge by twisting to the side and then strike me using a Long Range technique, I can attack him at that moment.''


    Noah''s adversary did twist his body in mid-air and dodge the Hell Thrust technique. Noah had correctly anticipated his opponent''s actions.


    But instead of using a long-ranged technique, his opponent used Phantom Step to get closer to Noah.


    It was a simple vertical sh.


    Noah barely managed to move his sword and parry that strike. He then used a quick diagonal sh from above to attack his enemy.


    But his adversary moved extremely quickly and parried it with a diagonal sh from below.


    Their swords shed and produced sparks.


    <em>''He is myplete copy. It wasughable for me to think I could outsmart him. Master''s trial wouldn''t be so simple.''</em>


    Noah was extremely serious as heunched an attack with his Wind des. These Wind des targeted his adversary while he applied more Sword Qi to push back his opponent.


    In return, his opponent jumped away. Since Noah had the initiative, if he attacked him with that same attack, then he would be the one to lose out. He could calcte that and took action to prevent it.


    Noah didn''t continue his attack. He waited for a short period as he knew that if he continued attacking like that then he would be the one to fall short of Ardor first.


    In fact, there was no guarantee that this guy had the same amount of Ardor as him. If this guy was supplied Ardor by the array around them then no matter how hard he fought against him, he would be defeated.


    He had to fight intelligently.


    ~~


    The situation was the same on the other training grounds. In fact, it was much worse than Noah''s situation.


    Laura, Yrellea, Ralph, and Tiana were so startled at this trial that they lost the initiative. This allowed their counterparts tounch an attack and they were fighting as hard as they could to barely survive.


    It wasn''t that their opponents were extremely powerful. They possessed the same about of power, ability, techniques, and reaction speed as them. And most importantly, they remained calm during the fight.


    Once their adversaries seized the initiative, they could deal with those attacks in an efficient manner.


    Laura, Ralph, Yrellea, and Tiana, weren''t good enough at handling pressure or their emotions. If they were losing a fight, their morale would pummel and they would be depressed.


    It was well known that when the morale was low, a warrior wouldn''t be thinking of a way to counterattack. He would be praying for luck.


    It was said that "Luck is granted to those who make effort." This saying wasn''t wrong.


    Only those individuals who actually make the effort would reach a point where their results would be dependent on luck.


    Luck was an intangible subject. But in a fight, it could be considered to exist. To prove it was simple.


    Suppose a warrior attacks an enemy. Now¡­ The warrior does not know how his opponent will deal with his attack. He could counter, dodge, or block, in a rare case be careless and get hit by that attack.


    The probability of sess in your favor was luck. If the opponent was hit by that attack, then the warrior was lucky. And if he counter-attacked then it was bad luck.


    There were many instances that this urs within a fight.


    If an attack luckily hits the opponent and deal with their raging momentum then what urs next is aplete reversal of the situation.


    However, none of the four experienced this.


    The one person who did experience this was Sargan. Unlike Laura and others, he remained calm and continued to think of a way to deal with his opponent.


    He knew that if his opponent was based on himself then he couldn''t be perfect. He was bound to make mistakes as well.


    Even if the situation was extremely unfavorable to himself, he had to remain focused and look for that small opportunity that could make the difference.


    He had to believe in himself that he could hold on. That he could win this fight until the end.


    Once he loses that belief, then the battle was as good as over.


    However, there was one thing he did share with hisrades. He lost just as they did.


    ~~


    Azaroth was feeding his blood essence as he created a Blood-Forging Altar of Creation. He was careful to control the blood essence he released from his body. He didn''t want to identally lose so much blood essence that he would fall back to the 4 Star Rank.


    Even though he could recover using some energy sources, it was best to not take such a risk.


    He sensed that Laura was throw out of her trial. Soon, Ralph, Yrellea, and Tiana were thrown out.


    The order in which they lost to their trials was quite expected. Among them, Laura and Ralph were the ones who were very emotional. Yrellea was emotional but it was mainly romantically attachment to him than impulsive emotions.


    Tiana was normally the calmest among them but even she was quite startled that she had to fight against herself. Still among the four, she had survived for the longest time in the trial.


    The next one who was thrown out was Sargan. He looked very upset. While fighting, he had nearly grasped the opportunity to win but at that time, his opponent countered relentlessly and somehow managed to win.


    He was quite frustrated that he couldn''t win even though the situation waspletely favorable to him. He felt as if he had made a huge blunder!


    It wasn''t wrong for him to think along these lines.


    This was indeed what urred after all.


    Lastly, the one who lost was Noah.


    He had fought against his counterpart for nearly 7 hours. He lost only because his energy was exhausted. However, he didn''t look frustrated.


    He looked confident¡­ Confident that he could beat this trial next time.


    He had been in many favorable and unfavorable situations within these 7 hours. Sometimes on the offense or on the defense.


    And after fighting for so long, he now knew the trick to defeat his opponent. Thus, he was confident that he would be able to defeat him the next time.


    Once they were all out of their trials, Azaroth gathered them all in his new training ground.


    He asked them, "What was the reason for your defeat?"


    Laura replied with an unhappy look, "You didn''t tell us that we will be fighting ourselves, master. If we knew then we would have prepared properly."


    Azaroth nced at her and asked, "How would have prepared properly even if I told you that you were about to be your own opponents?"


    "I¡­I would have¡­" Laura swallowed her words and soon turned silent. As she thought about it, there was actually nothing she could do.


    Her counterpart possessed the same things she did. Whether it was a weapon or anything else.


    Even if she prepared for a special attack, it would be known by her opponent as well. There was actually nothing she could do.


    "Let me answer you then. If I informed you about your opponent then perhaps you would have prepared yourself mentally. However, what if you overthought about it and began to wonder about your own abilities? There was an even greater chance you would lose confidence in your ability to fight against your counterparts. All I could do was ensure you wouldn''t lose before even attempting the trial," Azaroth solemnly replied.


    Laura was deeply embarrassed when Azaroth responded to her in front of everyone. But again, she found out she couldn''t me Azaroth for this.


    He had already been generous enough not to rebuke her anymore. This realization only made her more embarrassed.


    In reality, no one thought about it that much. This was more or less natural during their meetings.


    It had be so frequent that no one paid a second thought to it. Well, everyone other than Laura that is.


    "So, answer my question. What was the reason for your defeat?" Azaroth asked with a calm expression.


    Tiana, Ralph, and Yrellea were the ones who replied first.


    "I lost my calm."


    "I was frustrated that he was using my techniques and countering all my attacks."


    "I felt that I couldn''t win no matter how hard I tried."


    Azaroth had expected such responses from them. He then turned towards Sargan. He wondered what response he had. Even he didn''t know how they did in the trials. He was only able to make guesses ording to their character.


    Sargan replied after thinking for a minute, "I lost because of luck."


    Azaroth then turned towards Noah. Noah replied almost immediately, "I lost because of the exhaustion of my energy."


    Just as Azaroth was about to turn his gaze away and say something else, Noah added, "But don''t worry master, I will definitely win the next time. I know the trick to beat my opponent."


    Noah spoke with such confidence that even Azaroth turned towards him in surprise.


    ''<em>A trick to deal with his opponent? Impossible. The Devil Heart Manifestation Array can''t have an obvious weakness. Noah''s trial is the hardest because his opponent possesses the Enlightened Sword Heart as well. He tries to make sure his attacks have few or almost zero errors. So where is Noah''s confidenceing from? He wouldn''t lie to me.''</em>


    He asked with a curious look, "What''s the trick?"


    Noah spoke with a proud look, "I noticed that whenever I get stronger, my opponent can''t react at the same time. In fact, if not for the fact that I hadpletely exhausted my energy at the end, I would have won."


    When Azaroth heard Noah, he waspletely speechless. He stared at Noah as if he was a rare monster.


    He resisted the urge to facepalm himself and thought ''<em>This array definitely doesn''t work for a fucking monster. It''s impossible to remove this error from the array. Even the array will take some time to analyze your new capability and then copy it and incorporate it within your opponent. But you think everyone has the same talent like you and can improve as quickly as you?!''</em>


    Azaroth was slightly frustrated because he understood just how great Noah''s talent was. Even the <strong>Forbidden Devil Heart Manifestation Array</strong> from Purgatory had reached its limits in testing Noah. The trick Noah found could only work because he was a monstrous talent.


    Azaroth could only helplessly pat Noah''s head, "¡­Good job."


    Noah was somewhat bashful as Azaroth patted his head but he was delighted. He thought that if he passed that trial, his master would be even more joyful.


    He was suddenly filled with an extreme desire to fight and pass that trial.


    Even Sargan was thinking along the same lines as Azaroth.


    ''¡­He really is a monster. He can''t be judged withmon sense.''


    "Master, I also know a way to defeat my opponent," Sargan spoke with a serious voice.

 Chapter 114 - Tianas Request

    "Master, I also know a way to defeat my opponent," Sargan spoke with a serious voice.


    Azaroth nced at Sargan and asked him, "Hoh. What is it?"


    "We have to do some unexpected things. That even we can''t see through it." He then turned towards his associates, "This array has been created to copy uspletely so to beat it, we have to do something so unexpected that even the array will be helpless."


    "I am sure all of you have created or atleast begun to create some techniques. They are probably still iplete. Use them against your counterparts. Since even you don''t know whether they will seed or not, your counterpart won''t be able to guess its result. This is aplete gamble though. If you seed then you can have an opportunity to beat your counterpart. And if you fail, you will once again lose."


    Azaroth was extremely satisfied when he heard this answer from Sargan.


    This was different from Noah''s method. What Noah was nning was to actually increase his sword intent''s level while he was fighting against his opponent. This meant, he was nning to increase his sword intent''sprehension within a few hours. Perhaps he could sense that he was about to break through his bottleneck.


    But Sargan was telling them to use iplete techniques that had a low chance of seeding. This would not only allow them to understand their techniques but also defeat their Heart-Devil.


    It was killing two birds with one stone.


    All of them understood his words except for Noah. He disdained using such a method. In his opinion, this was just a lowly trick. It felt like a shortcut.


    The best would be when he defeats his opponent while also increasing hisprehension of sword intent.


    Noah had no idea that this very idea he had thought was a hack. If he knew then he would definitely be embarrassed for looking down on hisrades.


    Azaroth looked at Tiana and noticed she was gesturing while pointing her finger at herself. It seemed as though she wanted to talk to him regarding something.


    "Alright. You all can leave. You should eat something and take some rest. I hope you will clear this trial tomorrow." Azaroth seemed to be dispersing everyone.


    Azaroth then gestured towards Tiana and informed her to go in her training ground. He would meet here there.


    Once they had all left the area, Azaroth went to talk to Tiana.


    "What is it?" Azaroth asked with a solemn look.


    Tiana looked very hesitant but spoke, "¡­Master, I am happy that you are training me and make me stronger. I know it''s because you have some ns that only I can aplish. But still, I am grateful that you have made me stronger. I am happy to have met Laura, Yrellea, Noah, Sargan, and Ralph¡­"


    "Don''t talk in circles," Azaroth said sternly, "Let''s get right to the point."


    "Master¡­ I wanted to meet my mother. If shees to know that I am disappeared from the Rhodes Mansion, she will be really worried for me. Her mental health isn''t good and she might even copse because of it." Tiana spoke with a worried tone.


    Azaroth remained stern as he asked her, "And you didn''t inform me of this because?"


    Tiana took a deep breath to calm her emotions and spoke, "Initially, I thought you wouldn''t listen to my words and will be quite forceful towards me. Make me one of your pawns. But now I believe you aren''t going to make us mere pawns. Even though I don''t know much about the warriors, but I know that you have spent an enormous amount of wealth to train us. You definitely won''t do that on mere pawns. No matter how much they would potential we possessed."


    "Secondly, at that time, I guessed that Marquis Jonas won''t inform this information to my family. He would try to find me at all costs and suppress all news about my disappearance. But now¡­ So much time has passed. I am afraid that Marquis Jonas has already informed my family about it. I just want to meet them and tell them I am doing fine." Tiana looked anxious as she spoke.


    Azaroth stared at her using his Mystic Eyes of Perception. He activated it because he wanted to be careful. One can never be too cautious about his life.


    He found no abnormality in her emotions.


    Azaroth asked with a softer tone, "¡­Where does your family live?"


    "Within the Prento Vige near the Borves City," Tiana replied instantly.


    Azaroth thought deeply about her words.


    He then spoke with a serious tone, "It''s not far from the Wrihull City. In fact, if we travel from Kloras Town to Wrihull City, your Prento vige will be somewhere in the middle."


    "But you see, there are several issues with this. It concerns your identity. There is a high chance that Jonas has asked some people to keep an eye on your parents. If they show an abnormal response, Jonas will figure out that you met up with them. They will torture your parents to get that information out of them. So to keep them quiet, I might have to kill them."


    Azaroth asked with a cold look, "Do you want that to happen?"


    Tiana''s face immediately paled upon hearing his words, "No. No. Forgive me. I won''t meet with them anymore, master."


    Azaroth''s expression became calm almost a secondter and he spoke, "No. Calm down. I am not threatening you."


    Tiana didn''t dare to say anything. She just looked at Azaroth with fear.


    Azaroth stated while looking into Tiana''s eyes, "This was merely one option. The other could be to ask them to relocate somewhere else. However, losing the pursuers will be extremely troublesome. It''s, in fact, possible they might find us. That''s not something I want."


    Tiana had lost all hope after those words from Azaroth. She did feel he was being too cautious but now had no courage to speak up against him.


    "It''s also obligatory for you to meet your parents since they won''t trust the words of some random person," Azaroth spoke with a calm look.


    "In this situation, you have only a single way of meeting your parents where your parents can continue their life cheerfully afterward," Azaroth spoke.


    For a few seconds, Tiana couldn''t react properly. But when her brain processed the information, she couldn''t control the smile on her face.


    "Meet them. This can be your mission. But only after you pass this trial." Azaroth gave his final response to her request.


    Tiana looked shocked but very delighted to hear this.


    "Thank you. Thank you, master. I will never forget this act of benevolence. Thank you."


    Tears of happiness soon began to drip down Tiana''s face.


    "Now go and get some rest. I am sure you want to pass the trial as soon as possible." Azaroth spoke.


    Tiana nodded her head frantically, "Yes, as youmand, master."


    Azaroth gazed at Tiana''s back with his typical emotionless look.


    He wasn''t allowing her to meet her parents because he had be kind.


    In reality, within his retainers, all of them had a reason to be obedient to him. Azaroth was sure that if he assigned a mission to someone, that person would do his task with his utmost concentration. All but one person.


    Tiana.


    In reality, she had no proper reason to faithfully obey his orders.


    He was looking for an opportunity to get her under hisplete control. But if he tried to use her using her parents, then that would be very counterproductive.


    Her parents would be her weakness then. Someone else could use her parents to use her.


    Moreover, she could try to betray him or even refuse to do her missions seriously. And Azaroth would only have one option. To eliminate this woman.


    To prevent that, he had to make her wholly submit to him.


    He needed to trick her into believing he was aiding her. Aiding her as long as she remained loyal to him.


    She also needed to know what would ur if she tried to betray him. Hence, he had mentioned that he might have to kill her parents.


    Azaroth knew that humans are creatures who take decisions based on their emotions. Logical reasoning yed a role in it as well. No doubt about it.


    But many of the times, humans take their decisions based on emotions. Their reasoning is also affected by their emotions. This makes them easier to manipte. But this also bes a reason that they are hard to control sometimes.


    To be emotionally connected to someone, Azaroth knew that a small act of benevolence goes a long way.


    Perhaps it isn''t much in his or other people''s views, but to the individual, it may be everything.


    There were several cases like this. For example, the wealthy cannotprehend the plight of the impoverished. Such was the case here.


    Azaroth thought that he had an opportunity to bring Tiana under hisplete control and he took advantage of it.


    In fact, even if Tiana knew that he was just manipting her, she would willingly get manipted to see her parents and tell them she was fine.


    But there was no need for Azaroth to inform her of such information. It was fine how things were going.


    As for the issues of Tiana seeing her parents. In reality, it wasn''t as exaggerated as he informed Tiana.


    He knew that his father had asked some of his men to keep an eye on her parents but they wouldn''t be some strong warriors. At best, they would be from the local mob.


    Such a long time had passed since Tiana''s disappearance that he was sure the people keeping an eye on these people were gettingzy.


    Combined with a few precautions he had in mind, the situation would be absolutely perfect.


    The condition he had left for Tiana would also motivate her to pass the trial. Azaroth was hitting many birds with a single stone. And was extremely pleased with this entire situation.


    Azaroth soon left for his own training ground.


    ~~


    The next day, everyone attempted those same trials.


    After 10 minutes or so, one of them had already managed to defeat his opponent.


    This person was Noah.


    Azaroth was too shocked. He knew that Noah was confident about passing the trial but it still should have taken him a few more tries.


    Moreover, as he sensed Noah''s aura, he felt that it had gotten even sharper.


    It felt as though Noah hadprehended the "Man and Sword as One" stage even further.


    However, once he spent a deeper thought on it, Azaroth understood the reason for Noah''s progression.


    Nearly all his life, Noah always practiced alone. When he fought against Azaroth, he was still rough along the edges in terms of hisprehension of the path of a swordsman.


    He trained and increased his strength. He fought against weak minions created by his array which probably helped him slightly. But it was the first time he had fought against a being of equal strength and ability to himself.


    When he went up against himself for the first time in his life, he began to actively think of ways to improve himself as a swordsman.


    This led to quick results because he was excavating his untapped potential.


    Azaroth understood the basic theory but he was still amazed. This subordinate of his was truly talented. And now, Azaroth was stressed that he now had to give a mission to Noah.


    No other of his retainers managed to pass the trial.


    Even though they all heard of Sargan''s theory, it was extremely difficult to put it into practice. Even more difficult was actually seeding in it.


    Currently, among them, only Sargan and Tiana had managed to attempt it in battle. But they didn''t seed.


    Tiana didn''t get depressed.. She continued to think of how she could have defeated her opponent.

 Chapter 115 - The Phantom Tribe

    Once the trial had ended and they all gathered for lunch, everyone found out Noah had already defeated his opponent and cleared the trial!


    Tiana followed him and asked him for any tips on how she could get to clear the trial.


    It was one of the first times Noah had been asked for advice so seriously by someone so he tried to exin as best as he could.


    But obviously, most of his words went right above Tiana''s head.


    Noah noticed that his advice hadn''t helped Tiana at all. She was just wearing a smile on her face but her heart was still anxious.


    He began to think more about how he could help her.


    Soon, he spoke with a hesitant voice, "Umm¡­ I don''t know if it will help but I will tell you. I think Sargan was wrong to say that you should use Iplete attacks against your counterparts. Think about it. If you attack the counterparts with an iplete attack, they will know the attack as soon as they see it. They can then get out of the range and easily dodge the attack."


    Tiana was startled as she heard his words, "You are right about it. Then what should I do?"


    Noah spoke straightforwardly, "Give up something like using an iplete attack." Upon seeing Tiana''s puzzled look, Noah knew he had to exin more.


    He added, "An iplete attack is something you have no idea of. You won''t know its range, its power, or anything else. Also most importantly, if you think that a technique is going to make you better, then you should give up on that thought. Boss wouldn''t give us such an easy trial."


    "Instead, think about improving yourself. Use a technique you are and think about how to make it even better. But¡­ Do that when you are fighting. There is also another trick I noticed. Your opponent will always make the best possible way to counter your technique. And at that moment, just think of how you would react in that situation. Once you know the technique your opponent will use, it will be easy to win."


    This was a loophole Azaroth was aware of. It could be said that this was the weakness of this Heart-Devil.


    It possessed limitless stamina but its thoughts wouldg behind the warrior attempting the trial by a few milliseconds.


    Even if someone found out the trick, applying it during battle was hard. Many thoughts would ur in mind during the battle. It was hard to keep track of them or even remain calm and focus on their objective.


    Even if someone could remain focused on their objective during the battle and used this trick to win, Azaroth wouldn''t mind it.


    This was his final trial for his retainers. It meant he could use them in most of the missions. At the very least, fighting against individuals of his own level wouldn''t be an issue for that warrior.


    And even sessfully running away from warriors a rank stronger than him would be possible.


    Just like before, Azaroth spent the entire day feeding his blood essence to his Blood-Forging Altar of Creation.


    This was fortunately not a forbidden array. Thus, the Heavenly Tribtions did not act on it.


    Azaroth knew that even if the Heavens wished to destroy him, they were forced to follow a set of rules.


    He had no idea who set up those rules but it was clear that even the heavens followed them. As long as he doesn''t vite one of them, even if the heavens hated him greatly, they would never attack him.


    But it was also true that when they did, their attacks would be ten or even a hundred times stronger.


    This was also one of the reasons why everyone in this world refused or was scared to take an oath while taking heaven as its witness. The stronger the expert, the more he was bound to be careful to not anger the heavens.


    It had to be known that no matter what you do, nothing would be hidden from the heavens. It was silently gazing at your actions and would rain judgement upon you when the dayes.


    Azaroth looked down on the heavens. The fact that they possessed such a great amount of power yet they were constrained by something abstract like rules.


    Naturally, he didn''t sit free. While his informationwork hadn''t even begun developing, he was using Tronte''swork to find anything he could use.


    Soon, he did find one such thing. It was the location of a bandit camp near Kloras Town. They were currently harassing the nearby viges. There were all kinds of news about them.


    Robber, killing, rapes, ckmails, and so on. Their fear in those nearby viges was so great that these bandits could be considered the rulers of that ce.


    As for why the local lord hadn''t sent any help. It was pretty easy for Azaroth to guess. Either one of them was a secret leader of this bandit camp or he had some other kind of connection to them. But something was clear. They were a nuisance to the vigers there.


    Azaroth thought for some time and then called out for Noah.


    Noah wouldn''t have anything to do in a few days. It would be best for him to get some field experience and also understand how it was like to fight against other opponents.


    Azaroth was absolutely sure that Noah could handle himself. ording to the information from Tronte, these bandit leaders were merely 2 Star or 3 Star Rank Warriors.


    The name of this Bandit Campt was ''<strong>The Phantom Tribe.</strong>''


    It was said that one of their leaders was fast and used mysterious movement skills. One of them possessed superior strength. The third one used long-ranged weapons to fight.


    "Noah, your mission will be to go and destroy one of these two bandit camps. Free the hostages and visit their viges one by one. Tell them about our Kloras Town. And speak good things about us." Azaroth ordered with a serious look.


    Noah only had a single question, "I need to hide my face like myst mission."


    "No. Just remain natural and speak good things about me," Azaroth said with a slight smile.


    Noah''s eyes twinkled and he nodded his head.


    Once he received his mission, he left for the Phantom Tribe bandit camp soon enough.


    The same routine urred for an entire week.


    Surprisingly, not a single one of them managed to pass the trial.


    And the one who was closest to passing the trial was none other than Tiana.


    This was all because of Noah''s advice and the trick he had mentioned. Tiana had now begun to anticipate the actions of her counterpart.


    She had to execute it rapidly inbat, so she made mistakes, but she grasped the fundamentals of how to utilize this tactic.


    Sargan was also close to passing the trial. But it was still more of a gamble for him.


    As long as his iplete attacks struck his counterpart, he could win. If not, he would continue his losing streak.


    A few dayster, someone broke the deadlock. And surprisingly, it turned out to be Tiana.


    Once she passed her trial, she was quite excited.


    She immediately went to Azaroth to inform him.


    Azaroth already knew Tiana had passed her trial. He was slightly surprised and spoke to her, "Congrattions. But it seems you have to wait for a few more days to meet your parents."


    Tiana asked with a shocked look, "Why?!"


    Azaroth shrugged and responded, "I was nning to send Sargan with you. I didn''t expect you to clear the trial before him. You don''t know how to cover your tracks or anything else. And I can''t teach it to you in a short period."


    Tiana''s shoulders fell down as she heard Azaroth. She was too excited when she felt that she could finally go to meet her parents. But now, it seemed as though she would have to wait for an unknown period.


    Azaroth looked at her and then left the area. He was getting back to feeding his blood to the Blood-Forging Altar of Creation.


    Soon, the outline would be prepared. Then, he would have to use the various herbs and use his Ardor to customize it ording to how he wanted it.


    Meanwhile, Noah had already reached the bandit camp location.


    He noticed an encampment in the woods and moved over to them. On his back was a sword in its sheath.


    The guards of the camp noticed a young child approaching them.


    One of them moved forward and asked Noah with an intense tone, "What are you doing here kid?! Get back to the vige."


    "No. He isn''t from the vige. Look at his clothes. None of the vigers can afford them."


    "Maybe we missed one of them and they had a hidden stash of coins somewhere in their house." A guard nearby added.


    "Possible. Let''s loot themter."


    All of them ignored Noah. They could see he was merely a young child. And they sensed no threat from him.


    "This is the Phantom Tribe Bandit Encampment, right?" Noah asked for confirmation.


    "¡­Yeah. It is. So what?" One of the bandits immediately replied.


    "Nothing. I had to be careful because if I kill the wrong person, Boss would scold me." Noah spoke with a casual tone as he raised his hand.


    The bandits nkly stared at Noah for a couple of seconds before they began tough loudly.


    "Hahaha¡­ Did you hear this kid?! Hahahaha¡­"


    "¡­That was a good joke kid. I will give you a headstart of 20 seconds. If you can escape me in that time then I won''t pursue you anymore." Another guard spoke while controlling hisugh.


    Noah ced his hand over the hilt of his sword.


    He stared at the guards for a few seconds and suddenly used "Quick Draw!"


    As soon as he used that technique, the heads of all five guards fell on the ground. They didn''t even have the opportunity to scream out.


    However, an rm did sound out in the bandit encampment.


    This was an rm sounded off by the archers on the towers who were keeping an eye on intruders.


    Noah stared at those archers and released his Sword Qi. He targeted them with his Sword Qi.


    The archers didn''t see or even sense the Sword Qi.


    Noah was taken aback when he saw his initial attack had seeded. He was just getting warmed up.


    But still, he noticed that many warriors were gathering behind the entrance of the bandit encampment.


    The rm had already informed them that they had been attacked.


    Tworge men left their tents while wearing something simr to a cloak.


    The two were quite angered as someone hade and disturbed them at an important time. They were having quite a bit of fun with the women from the viges nearby.


    Noah soon opened the gate of the bandit encampment and showed he was here to attack them.


    All the people who saw Noah were utterly shocked.


    They only saw one individual and not an army sent by someone to uproot them. Moreover, this one warrior standing ahead of them was merely a child.


    Many bandits even felt that they had been tricked.. They looked towards the towers and saw three corpses in them.

 Chapter 116 - Destruction Of A Bandit Camp

    Noah had only opened the bandit encampment''s entrance for around ten minutes and hundreds of bandits had already stained his de with their blood.


    This was aplete massacre. But it only continued until the two leaders in this bandit encampment revealed themselves.


    Both were 3 Star Warriors and were local tyrants. They loved to oppress warriors with a lower rank than themselves and bow down to those with a higher rank than them.


    Other than oppressing those weaker than them, they loved women as well. Raping women that is.


    The two were utterly shocked when they saw a child massacring their men. Moreover, they felt threatened as they were exposed to his aura.


    It was as if a sharp de was near their necks and they had to be very careful or else they would be killed before they would realize it.


    The two nced at each other and charged at Noah quickly.


    One of them was holding chains while the other used his Spear to hit Noah.


    Noah blocked his strike but was slightly surprised by the strength used by the leader of the bandits.


    He was pushed back by a couple of steps.


    Soon, Noah noticed a chain being thrown at him. A de was tied on one end of this chain. He looked at the man standing a little far away who controlled this chain.


    The chain attacked Noah but he merely shook his head to the right and dodged it.


    Noah then focused on the man who used his spear and strength to push him back. He jumped back and then used a technique quickly.


    "Fleeting Cresent sh - Diagonal!"


    Noah made a diagonal sh from his upper right to his lower left.


    His attack was so fast that the warrior using his spear didn''t even see it. It was hisrade who was using chains who quickly recalled his chain de and attacked Noah from another direction.


    Noah naturally noticed the attack and knew his attack wouldn''tnd and he would be injured instead.


    He gave up on the attack and jumped instead.


    "Wind Burst: Cresent sh."


    Suddenly, the wind congealed on the tip of his sword and he quickly threw a wind sh containing his Sword Qi at the spear warrior.


    This attack was something Spear Warrior did see.


    But the attack appeared so strong that he had no confidence in dealing with it.


    Was there something he could do?


    "You idiot, dodge!" The warrior standing in the distance shouted at hisrade as he saw that he remained immobile due to confusion.


    The warrior heard hisrades'' voice and immediately jumped out of the way.


    Noah saw that warrior jumping to the side and looked disappointed as he muttered, "¡­To think you wouldn''t even pose a challenge."


    The sword sh immediately changed its direction and continued to target the spear warrior.


    The man was forced to block that sh with his spear. However, the sh easily went past his spear and also split off his arm.


    Noah didn''t look impressed. He changed his targets after that man''s arm was sliced off.


    Seeing how that man was lying on the ground, squealing in pain, it clearly indicated he was of no threat now.


    "Phantom Step."


    Noah dashed towards the chain warrior.


    The warrior used another chain to attack Noah.


    In the next moment, a spark urred and the chain was deflected away. Noah had raised his sword to parry that chain.


    The chain warrior hadn''t given up though. He recalled his first chain to attack Noah from another direction.


    Since Noah''s sword had just been moved ahead of his body, then he couldn''t counter this attack.


    But what the chain warrior didn''t understand was that Noah had no need to even move his arm to deflect the chain.


    He could easily do so by using his Sword Qi.


    Another momentter, Noah had closed a lot of distance between them and the chain had once again been deflected.


    "Hell Thrust," Noah muttered the name of his technique as his sword began to glow slightly with his Ardor inside of it.


    The Chain Warrior used his own technique "Rock Solid Body."


    This turned his skin brown as some parts of rocks could be seen on his body.


    Noah noticed that the enemy had used an elemental technique and prepared his Wind Ardor as well.


    While using the Hell Thrust technique, he was only using his Sword Qi along with his Ardor. He thought that if his speed was quick enough, he could strike the enemy before he could react.


    But it seemed that the enemy could still react to his speed.


    Since the enemy had used a defensive skill, Noah wasn''t very sure whether his technique would be enough to pierce his enemy''s defenses.


    For that reason, he was sensing the wind and enhance this technique with his element.


    But before Noah realized it, his sword pierced that chain warrior''s chest.


    Even though that chain warrior had already used a defensive skill to make his body turn rock-solid, Noah''s sword pierced it like a hot knife through butter.


    There was no resistance at all. And this was all because of his Sword Qi.


    It was much more powerful than Noah thought it to be. He had in reality only fought against himself at his full potential.


    Noah still wasn''t able to correctly estimate his strengthpared to others right now so he had thought he required wind to deal with a defense of this level.


    Right now, his sword had already pierced the chain warrior''s heart. But¡­ The chain warrior was still very much alive.


    There was a crazy look on that man''s face as he shouted, "DIE!"


    He pulled out short knives from his pockets and stab Noah with them.


    Noah didn''t even move his body. As the man was about to stab Noah with those knives, he felt as if he had encountered a mysterious force and his hand was unable to move any further.


    When Noah looked into the man''s eyes, he saw a strong will to live in them.


    Suddenly, the chains were recalled back to attack Noah. The man had infused them with a lot of Earth Ardor. He was confident that they should be able to break that invisible wall protecting Noah.


    Noah suddenly began to move his sword horizontally.


    The chain warrior felt this sword would pierce his defenses, no matter how much Ardor he used in it.


    Soon, his heart was sliced off and his body took itsst breaths.


    The Chains that were returning suddenly fell in mid-way.


    Noah then turned towards the other leader and began to walk towards him with a cold expression.


    He remembered that his master had ordered him to kill all the bandits. So, he was going to kill that Spear Warrior and then the other bandits as well.


    It didn''t take Noah very long to aplish this.


    The Spear Warrior was already squealing in pain. He couldn''t concentrate and gather his strength to fight against Noah equally.


    Unlike hisrade, he had a weak will. The other bandits began to run out of the encampment.


    They knew that staying here meant death.


    Noah released his Sword Qi and dealt with the ones he could. He then found some people in the cages. These cages were created using special wood and material so that even warriors would find it difficult to break them.


    However, this was not an issue for Noah''s sword qi.


    Once he freed the people, Noah spoke, "Take me to your vige."


    His voice was gentle that entered the people''s ears. They looked at Noah whose clothes were stained with blood.


    They had seen it with their own eyes. How this child had ughtered all the bandits in this camp.


    And since Noah was requesting them something, none of them dared to reject him.


    In reality, there were many vigers from different viges. Noah couldn''t visit them at the same time.


    So Noah decided to visit the one nearest to their position then visit the next vige and so on.


    The vigers didn''t mind it. They took him along towards their vige.


    While walking, Noah informed them of his identity. He told them how it was his master who gave him this mission to save them.


    These vigers were shocked to hear that it was Kloras Town''s new mayor who had sent the order to protect them.


    When their local lord hadn''t raised his hand to protect them, they had lost all hopes of any assistance. Especially from a Noble Family.


    After all, the third leader of this Phantom Tribe was an exiled son of Baron Wace. His name is Angus Wace.


    Even though he was banished by his family, the local lords didn''t dare to make an enemy out of him.


    It was said that Angus Wace had good rtions with his brothers so if he was in trouble, he could summon them and deal with it.


    Azaroth had known about this man''s identity when he sent Noah. He didn''t fear this Angus Wace, whether it was his own power of the background.


    Currently, Azaroth was also an heir of a Marquis Ranked Family.


    Even if he pped this guy, Angus would have to show a smile and say that he deserved to be pped.


    However, as a 5 Star Warrior, Azaroth disdained to deal with a man so much weaker than himself. That was why he sent Noah.


    This was the disparity between the two.


    Anyway, as the people heard Noah''s words, they were lost in deep thought.


    ording to what they heard, the mayor was granting them freend, and even constructing houses and provided people food. His only condition was for them to work and not sit free.


    This was fine for most of the vigers as well.


    They were used to working even when they wouldn''t receive anything. To them, shelter, food, and protection from bandits were a luxury they couldn''t afford.


    If someone was providing it to them just to do the same amount of work, they didn''t mind it in the slightest.

 Chapter 117 - Sargans Task

    Noah had made a schedule for himself. He would stay in a vige for a few days and then move to the next one.


    During the time he stayed in a vige, many people would visit him. Mostly to thank him for dealing with one of the two bandit camps of Phantom Tribute near their area.


    Since one was destroyed, the other encampment wasn''t taking action at all.


    Many bandits who escaped had naturally dashed towards their second encampment. They informed their only surviving leader, Angus Wace, about Noah.


    How he had charged into their other encampment from the front gate and even thebined effort of their two leaders wasn''t sufficient to stop him.


    This caused Angus Wace to think deeply before attacking Noah.


    ording to what he had heard from the bandits, Noah was searching for their bandit camp.


    He hadn''t lost his way and entered their bandit encampment. It appeared that he was here to do a mission.


    There were a couple of names that appeared in his head. They were all the individuals who wanted to destroy their Phantom Tribe but couldn''t do so.


    If someone among them had hired this warrior, then the situation was slightly troublesome. Since the local lord hadn''t warned him then either he had joined hands with one of these parties or he waspletely uninvolved as well.


    Angus Wace though felt that this local lord had joined hands with the person hiring that child.


    He had already noticed the growing dissatisfaction on that man''s face every time he met him. It was natural for that man to be dissatisfied. He had assisted Angus Wace quite a lot but didn''t gain much from it.


    He was probably thinking Angus would ask his brother in the Wace Family to help him out. That would increase his prestige in the area greatly and suppress the growing unrest within his town.


    But unfortunately, Angus hadn''t contacted his brothers to help him at all. The Wace Family didn''t n to show their support for this lord.


    As he continued to think of it, he knew that the mercenary would attack his encampment sooner orter as well.


    After thinking deeply about the situation, Angus suddenly released all the people he held captive including the women he had fun with, and escaped the area.


    He only brought a few servants and his loyal guards with him.


    In this manner, the Phantom Tribe Bandits had dispersed. Without any of their leaders, they were now split into smaller groups under different chiefs.


    The hostages who had been released had no idea why Angus had let them go. They however immediately returned back to their viges.


    Upon reaching the viges, they understood that it was because of a child named Noah. He had destroyed one of the two bandit camps and freed all the hostages from there.


    In fear, the third leader had freed them and escaped.


    Once Noah heard that the Phantom Tribe had dispersed, he knew he had aplished his mission.


    After visiting all four viges that had experienced the terror of Phantom Tribe, Noah decided to take his leave.


    He nned to return to Kloras Town.


    While he had informed the people in the vige that he was going to return soon, the information spread around all the four viges extremely quickly.


    The people were iparably anxious. It was because they had heard that although Phantom Tribe had dispersed, it was now divided into several individual groups.


    None of them dared to terrorize the people from their viges because of Noah''s presence.


    The vigers knew that if Noah left, these people would probably wait for a week or so before the situation would turn simr to before.


    They had little hope that someone would save them.


    And thus, many vigers immediately preached ahead of the vige chief''s house and asked him to request Noah to stay.


    They thought that if the vige chief personally requested Noah to stay, there was a chance Noah would respect his request.


    The vige chief was also scared of the Phantom Tribe''s dispersed group. He immediately went to Noah''s house and stated his request.


    Noah directly rejected his request and stated, "The mission my boss gave me isplete. I will return now."


    The vige chief was iparably anxious. He had expected this response from Noah but hearing it from his mouth still scared him. He tried to think of a solution urgently.


    "¡­Sir Noah, you mentioned how people from Droln Vige settled in Kloras Town recently. Does that mean that your boss will be willing to ept us as well?" The vige chief asked with an anxious look.


    Noah replied with a shrug, "Boss did mention one time that he wanted to increase the Kloras Town''s poption."


    Once the vige chief heard those words, he visibly rxed his nerves. He was too tensed earlier.


    Noah''s response had allowed him to make his final decision. And this entire situation was within Azaroth''s expectations.


    Within the next few days, all the vigers from the four viges were relocating to Kloras Town with all their belongings.


    Naturally, they had gathered at one single vige and then moved ahead together with Noah.


    No one stayed behind in those four viges. No one wanted to be the target of the Phantom Tribe''s dispersed bandit groups.


    They soon began their journey towards Kloras Town.


    Azaroth nned to continue absorbing more viges into his Kloras Town. He was choosing very small viges for this though.


    He had to increase Kloras Town''s poption and increase his own followers.


    Once all these people relocate to Kloras Town, the current residents would inform these people about the god of medicine they prayed to.


    Many individuals wouldn''t believe in a god when their life was going fine. But would immediately begin praying when someone from their family caught some sort of disease or adversities.


    This was something Azaroth didn''t need to control since, within each person''s life, there would definitely be some struggles. Some difficult situations that they wouldn''t be able to solve on their own.


    To survive, they would need to lean their faith on an intangible existence such as god.


    Whether the god delivered them results or not was secondary. If their life did get better, they would give all the credit to god and possess an enthusiastic faith in him. But if the results weren''t delivered then he wouldn''t believe in the existence of a god at that time.


    There were bound to be multiple times where an individual is caught in troublesome situations and he is bound to lean on god. If even one of them resulted in his favor, then Azaroth would have another zealous follower.


    He was doing all this to quickly increase his Celestial Cultivation of his Triquetra Ardor.


    While Azaroth was plotting against another vige and also creating his personal clone using his Blood Essence, his retainers were trying their best to pass their trial.


    Azaroth didn''t have any particr mission nned out for Tiana. So he began to teach her Ice Techniques.


    Within this one week, she had mastered 2 attacking Ice Techniques and one technique for support.


    Finally, Sargan cleared his trial. It took him a long time since his luck was quite bad. His iplete techniques would hardly hit his opponent and when they did hit, it wouldn''t produce the desired result.


    He was looking for a fluke and it took quite some time and his effort for that chance to appear.


    Finally, he had defeated his counterpart.


    Once Sargan was done, Tiana was quite thrilled.


    ''I can finally meet my parents.''


    She immediately went on to inform Azaroth about this.


    Azaroth had naturally sensed that Sargan had passed his trial. But he waited for Tiana toe and inform him about it.


    He looked at her enthusiastic expression with a neutral look and spoke with an icy tone, "You can apany Sargan to meet your parents. But do make sure to obey his orders."


    Tiana enthusiastically nodded her head.


    The two soon walked towards Sargan''s spot.


    Currently, Sargan was in deep thought as he recalled his whole fight. He was thinking about how he could improve further.


    He saw Azaroth and Tiana approaching him.


    The serious look on Azaroth''s face and the slight excitement on Tiana''s face told him something was up.


    He first stood up and paid his respects to Azaroth.


    Azaroth waved it off before speaking, "Take her to the Prento Vige to meet her parents."


    "Now?" Sargan asked with a confused look.


    "Yes." Azaroth nodded. He then turned towards Tiana and spoke to her, "Go and prepare some horses. You will need to learn to ride them as well."


    "Yes, yes, master." Tiana immediately replied before leaving Azaroth and Sargan alone.


    Azaroth then told Sargan, "The situation is extremelyplicated. There is a high chance that her parents are being watched by some local band in the Prento Vige. Just make her meet her parents slyly."


    "Take Tiana out of the vige quickly after she meets them. Return back inside the vige to follow her parents." Azaroth spoke with a serious look.


    Sargan looked confused as he asked Azaroth, "Why follow her parents, master? I think we should use this opportunity to escape."


    Azaroth responded quickly, "That''s because there is a high chance her parents will try to leave the vige for the Wrihull City and inform what they know of to my father."


    Sargan connected the dots immediately and his eyes widened, "Her parents will betray Tiana?"


    "I am mostly sure about it." Azaroth nodded in affirmation.


    He had heard from Tiana how her parents were delighted about her rtionship with Jonas.


    "In fact, now that I think about it, they might have already made a deal with Jonas. If Tiana everes to meet them, they are going to give a signal to those local goons in the area who are keeping an eye on them." Azaroth informed him.


    Sargan grew serious and asked Azaroth, "What do I need to do, master?"


    "Just make sure to hide your presence. Kill all the goons if they begin to track you." Azaroth spoke with a smirk.


    ~~


    Sometimeter, before they were about to leave for Prento Vige, Azaroth talked to Tiana, "This is what you have to say to your parents."


    "Tell them that you are soon going to be in another kingdom and you are doing absolutely fine. The people are taking good care of you. And also show them your Ice Elemental Ability.." Azaroth was extremely quick as he told her precisely what she needed to do.

 Chapter 118 - Shuns Analysis Of The Beast Raid

    While Sargan and Tiana left Kloras Town, Noah returned in a couple of days.


    Moreover, he had brought nearly 800 people along with him. Most of them had sad looks on their faces as they entered Kloras Town.


    Azaroth met up with the entire group and assigned them where they needed to stay. He asked for their upations and soon allocated them different tasks. All these tasks were rted to constructing more houses.


    These could be considered temporary tasks until he could ask them to focus on whatever they wanted to do.


    Meanwhile, it was the harvest period. Because the seeds had been enhanced with Laura''s blood, the yield of these crops was quite good.


    Azaroth had already prepared a granary to store all this food. He personally constructed a preservation array to prevent the food from decaying.


    Among his retainers, no one managed to pass their trials.


    Azaroth decided to make Noah train the other three who still hadn''t passed their trials. He was going to advise them how they should pass their trials.


    But this wasn''t the only task assigned to him. Azaroth also informed Noah that he would be leaving Kloras Town for a few days. And he would be leaving the town in his hands.


    Now¡­ This was something that truly made Noah nervous. If the task was regarding fighting someone, Noah wouldn''t frown no matter how hard it appeared.


    However, just thinking of managing the entire town gave him a lot of pressure. He had no idea how he should manage the town to not disappoint Azaroth.


    Azaroth noticed his worries and informed him, "Ask for advice from Yrellea and Laura. They can provide you good assistance."


    Once Noah heard those words, he visibly calmed down. He remembered he wasn''t alone.


    Azaroth was also forced to do this. He had the impression that the process of creating his clone had reached a key moment.


    Now, he had to return to Wrihull City and collect the only thing he had left behind in his totem.


    Even Azaroth had no idea that experts from Rhodes House were keeping an eye on his totem. In fact, the King had already dispatched Felix Miller, who was on his way towards Wrihull City as well.


    Currently, Azaroth was a 5 Star Warrior and he no longer required horses. He could fly using his Ardor to reach Wrihull City.


    ording to his estimates, he would need a week to reach Wrihull City.


    ~~


    Currently, Shun wasn''t in his City of Venta. Instead, he was within the Mesenana City, the Capital of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He nned to meet with Sophie Russel and wanted to find out more regarding the beast raid that urred in Kloras Town.


    ording to what he heard, she was one of the two survivors of that incident.


    He entered the mansion and soon met with thedy of the house, Bianca Russel. This woman was a former heiress of the Lewis Marquis Family.


    The Lewis Marquis Family had made her marry Spencer Russel to build good rtions with that man. Since the man was a rising talent as well as possessed a member of the Royal Guards, they decided to bet on their luck and betrothed their heiress to him.


    Although some family members and even other noble families were quite dissatisfied with such action from their family, they ignored it. The Lewis Family had always been quite loyal to the King.


    This action just further enforced that connection. It could be said that the Lewis Family had gained quite a bit from that gamble as the man they bet on went on to be themander of the Royal Guards.


    He was one of the only 6 Star Warriors within the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Bianca Russel informed Shun that Sophie had gone to meet her friend. Shun asked her a couple of questions.


    Bianca answered them quickly. But Shun concluded that she was lying.


    Her answers appeared to be perfect but when thinking just a bit about it, holes could be seen in her exnations.


    After all, why did Sophie not take along any of her guards with her? Why did she only leave when her father wasn''t in the city?


    Shun was dissatisfied. He knew that even if heid these facts out in front, Bianca would refuse to tell him the truth.


    She was a member of the Lewis Marquis Family and also the wife of Spencer Russel. Shun couldn''t forcefully make her speak the truth.


    He only had one option left. That was to go in the Royal Pce and look at the records regarding Kloras Town''s Beast Raid.


    Any event that urred was usually recorded in the form of texts within the Royal Pce''s Library.


    However, the one who submitted this text was Spencer Russel after asking his daughter about the events.


    Shun wanted to get the answers from Sophie herself. That way, he could ask her questions regarding it and get more information.


    Nearly half a dayter, he received permission to view those documents. He soon began to read the documents.


    <em>''The Beast Raid split into two parts. One group surrounded the encampment while the other charged in Kloras Town andpletely destroyed it.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Once the Town Lord and the other warriors in the encampment found out that a group of beasts was destroying their vige, they immediately gathered their reinforcements to go and fight them in Kloras Town to protect the citizens.''</em>


    <em>''Even Peter, Sophie''s 5 Star Ranked Guard, joined the Town Lord and others to kill the Beasts. But he traded his life for the life of a 5 Star Beast.''</em>


    There was a frown on his face as he thought ''Peter? Isn''t he that guy from the Royal Guards who used his flute and sound wave attacks to fight other warriors? He was quite strong.''


    <em>''He was forced to trade his life for the life of a beast?''</em> Shun didn''t know why but he felt that this statement was quite suspicious.


    He knew that the man was quite strong. Even Shun didn''t have great confidence in killing him. After all, Peter could always use his attacks to run. He remembered Peter had an attack that would definitely strike and attack their minds.


    This would definitely work against the beasts.


    Moreover, ording to the information written over here, Sophie mentioned that one beast was a White Wolf and the other was a ck Dog.


    <em>''Peter''s attacks should have overpowered these two beasts even more. So, why was he forced to trade his life for a beast''s life? Was there another beast strong enough to force Peter into a corner? Or was this all a scheme?''</em>


    He felt that it was more likely that this was someone else''s scheme.


    <em>''If it was the scheme of a demon then it would fit nicely. But why was the demon even in Kloras Town? Did the Kloras Town or the Beast Raid have something he needed?''</em>


    Even Shun couldn''t figure out just what that demon was doing in Kloras Town.


    He continued to read more information.


    ''<em>Sophie was exhausted because of controlling the array formation for so long. And the control of this formation fell under Edwin''s hands. He was the one who constructed the array along with Sophie so other than her, only he could control it.''</em>


    Shun''s eyes widened as he read that name. This was the first time Edwin''s name hade within this description.


    <em>''He is an array formation expert?!''</em>


    This was a piece of information that waspletely unknown to him.


    ''<em>¡­If he knew that I and Jonas wereing to check his town, he could have removed all the traces of that elf and hid her using an array. I wouldn''t be able to find her tracks since there are no tracks at all. She had always been in Kloras Town. But still, this information doesn''t prove anything. It''s not proper evidence yet.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    He then continued on to read the rest of the information.


    ''Sophie took rest in a room in the main building. During this time, the beasts somehow managed to break the barrier. The White Wolf attacked the building where Sophie was resting. She woke up because of a great tremor and found herself to be in a barrier formed by her guards, guarding her against a horrifying attack from the White Wolf. Her guards asked her to run away while they stayed behind to slow down the beasts.''


    ''While running, she found Edwin and noticed he had survived the attack as well. The two soon ran away from Kloras Town. While running, they encountered a 4 Star Ape. Edwin fought against it and forced it to run away.''


    Thus, the document was nearly finished.


    On thest page, Shun saw that these were descriptions of what Jonas had observed when he went to check out Kloras Town.


    He was nning to kill the beasts remaining from that beast raid before giving this town to his son.


    ''Strange. Why did he not find any 4 Star or 5 Star Beasts? Howe they all died? Was there another group at work?''


    ''<em>¡­When Sophie woke up and ran away from Kloras Town with Edwin, the array formations'' control was still in Edwin''s hands. If he had set it up in such a manner that the killing array would activate and unleash all its power at a particr area, it would indeed be possible to kill the strongest beasts from this beast raid. It was a 5 Star Array after all.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    This was also a mere guess. He couldn''t confirm it unless he checked the site of the encampment.


    Even though he didn''t get a shred of conclusive evidence from reading this information, he was getting much more suspicious about Edwin.


    The most informative thing he read in this entire document was that Edwin knew how to create arrays.


    Now, he had to wait for Felix Miller to reach the Wrihull City and check out that totem.


    ~~


    A week or soter, Azaroth had finally reached the Wrihull City. Instead of entering the main city though, he entered the nearby forest where he had left behind his totem.


    He encountered a few beasts along his way as he flew towards the cave where his totem was fixed. The beasts immediately ran away after seeing him.


    Azaroth entered the cave soon enough. He was soon standing near his totem.


    Soon, Azaroth''s vision fell on the ground near the totem. There were cracks on the ground.


    A frown appeared on his face as he concluded ''Someone was here. Probably a few weeks earlier.''


    He then observed his totem and noticed a few marks on it. These marks were quite noticeable to him since they hadn''t formed due to the flow of time. And a weak warrior would never be able to make such marks.


    This made him conclude that a 6 Star Warrior was here. And within this territory, other than Jonas, who else could be this 6 Star Warrior?


    Azaroth muttered, "I guess that Inquisitor Fox has also seen this totem."


    "Later, I''ll devise a strategy. First and foremost, I must obtain the thing for which I came here."


    The reason Azaroth came here¡­ It was none other than to get a drop of his own essence blood.


    This was the essence blood of his body that had reached the level of a Demon God!

 Chapter 119 - Tianas Parents

    While he was dying and had constructed his totem, Azaroth nned to use it to eventually revive in the future. This totem would preserve his drop of essence blood, Demonic Energy, and soul.


    When he revived in Edwin''s body, Azaroth first nned on increasing his cultivation base as much as he could. He could have reached the Demon King Level with that much Demonic Energy.


    However, the presence of the Celestial Blood within Edwin''s body was out of his expectation. And he used his remaining Demonic Energy to create the Triquetra Ardor by fusing Celestial, Demonic, and Humanely Ardor.


    Since Azaroth had barely reached the Elite Demon Rank, he didn''t dare to pull out his Essence Blood and fuse with it.


    Edwin''s physique was too weak to fuse with Azaroth''s Blood essence. It would have exploded.


    And Azaroth couldn''t pull out his Blood Essence because he couldn''t preserve its energy outside the totem.


    Carrying the totem was impossible for him as well. Thus, the only remaining option he had at that time was to leave behind his drop of Blood Essence in it.


    Now, Azaroth had returned to retrieve this drop of Blood Essence and fuse it with his clone.


    This would allow him to easily form his original physique. He would be able to use his Demonic Blood Avatar with his bloodline and his attacks would get even stronger.


    Both his bodies would possess Triquetra Ardor with a mixture of three bloodlines but only his main body would possess this drop of Blood Essence from his time as a Demon God.


    He raised his arm and pointed at the totem.


    A ck drop of blood was soon released from his totem.


    Azaroth fused it with the fetus of his clone and prepared to leave.


    "Maybe I should also do this." Azaroth then focused on this totem and changed the runguage on it.


    The runguage on the totem would normally disy the identity of the demon whose totem it was. Typically, it was necessary to write their true rank and name, or else the totem wouldn''t function ording to their master''s will.


    Since he had changed the runguage, it meant that the totem wasn''t going to function any longer.


    In reality, Azaroth had no further use for this totem. Thus, he was leaving it behind to confuse Jonas and that Inquisitor Fox.


    With that, Azaroth immediately began his return journey. He couldn''t stay in this ce for too long. He had aplished his objective.


    ~~


    Azaroth didn''t know but while he was gone, all his remaining retainers had cleared their trials.


    The first one among the three to clear the trial was Yrellea. She was quite delighted as she realized that she would finally be assigned tasks by Azaroth. She was quite sad that Azaroth wasn''t here and hadn''t informed them where he was going.


    She was even slightly worried that he was in danger.


    The reason she managed to pass her trial was all because of Noah''s assistance. Noah didn''t think he did something out of ordinary. He just told her what he said to Tiana, but a little differently, and Yrellea immediately began to feel her improvements.


    The next one to clear the trial was Ralph and then Laura.


    By the time Azaroth was going to return, all of his retainers would bepletely ready.


    Currently, two of his retainers had just reached the Prento Vige. They left behind their horses and walked on foot.


    Sargan couldn''t use the trick he had used with Noah to enter the vige. It was because the vigers were most likely looking for Tiana. She couldn''t show her face here.


    Just to be sure, Azaroth had already given Tiana a mask. She only had to remove her face when she meets her parents.


    Sargan had already informed Tiana what she needed to do and say to her parents. She must not give them any hint regarding their true location.


    Tiana gravely nodded and agreed with all his demands.


    Her father was a merchant while her mother was a housewife. Thus, there was a low chance they would leave the vige.


    And it appeared that they lived near the center of the vige. It was considered one of the best locations to live in the Prento Vige.


    They waited outside the vige until it was midnight.


    Sargan used his Evil Eyes. Using them, he could see well as though it were daytime.


    And if he concentrated strongly, he could even see a faint aura of the people.


    "Follow me," Sargan told Tiana as the two began to walk towards the vige.


    The vige was surrounded by some fortifications but Tiana silently created an Ice Stairs and the two passed it rather easily.


    Tiana dispersed her Ice Stairs. The ground had turned wetter but the water would evaporate in the daytime so no one in this vige would notice this abnormality.


    The two slowly entered the vige and walked towards Tiana''s house. Tiana knew this vige like the back of her hand. But still, it was Sargan who was leading the way.


    Sargan''s task was to lead Tiana to her house and let her meet her parents without anyone detecting them.


    Soon enough, they were right ahead of her house. Sargan spoke to her with a soft tone, "Go and meet your parents. I will wait outside. Remember to say what I told you."


    Tiana spoke, slightly emotional at the prospect of meeting her parents today, "Alright¡­"


    She entered her house while Sargan waited outside. As she entered, she moved towards her parents'' bedroom.


    It was on the ground floor.


    Tiana ced her hand on the door and gently opened it. She noticed that her parents were fast asleep.


    She was quite fortunate that her parents were asleep. If they were involved in some nightly activities, it would have been quite awkward for her.


    She gently closed the door but the door suddenly creaked, letting out a loud sharp noise.


    Tiana saw her mother jolted awake due to that sharp noise. Even her father opened his eyes.


    "Who are you?!" Tiana''s mother immediately shouted as she saw an unknown person in the room.


    The room was quite dark and it was impossible to see Tiana''s face as it was covered with a mask.


    Tiana slowly removed her mask and stepped forward. It took some time for her mother''s eyes to get used to the darkness. She finally spoke out, "Tiana?!"


    Once Tiana''s father heard his wife call out her name, he stared at Tiana with a focused look.


    The man spoke out with a shocked look, "Tiana? You have returned?!"


    Tiana nodded her head slowly, "Yes, father, mother. I have been well."


    Her parents sat up and stared at their daughter. It was her father who asked, "Where were you all this time? We heard that you vanished from the Rhodes Mansion."


    "After marrying into the Rhodes Family, I encountered a deadly disease that even troubled me every day. Even Lord Jonas was helpless. But by some trick of fate, my master sensed my physique and entered my room. She is iparably powerful and easily suppressed whatever disease I had and brought me away. She told me this is thest time I can meet you and then, I need to leave this country." Tiana gave a brief summary of what Sargan had told her to speak.


    Her parents looked dissatisfied with her words.


    Her father spoke with an authoritative voice, "Return to Lord Jonas''s side. You don''t need to follow that master of yours."


    Her mother also spoke, "Yes, Tiana. Lord Marquis was very worried about you. He is searching for you everywhere. It''s not nice of you to run away from him."


    "Father, Mother, please, don''t stop me. I have always obeyed your words. But I am really not happy in Rhodes Mansion." Tiana pleaded with them.


    Her father hardened his face as he saw that Tiana was actually refusing hismand.


    "You have grown quite big. To think you are going to disobey your parents now. Is this what we taught you?!" Tiana''s father shouted.


    Tiana''s expression paled as she listened to her father.


    She didn''t think he would be so adamant in asking her to return. She had thought that he would bless her to live her life ahead. Not ask her to return to that hell where all the women in the mansion were nning to deal with her.


    "Whatever. Since you are here, then you are going to return to Lord Jonas'' side even if you don''t want to." Tiana noticed her father standing up and picking up a stone.


    Tiana immediately raised her hand and used an icicle to hit that stone. The stone flew in the air and soonnded in Tiana''s hands.


    Tiana noticed that her father was getting angry.


    "Everyone,e! Grab my daughter!" He shouted with all his might.


    His voice was so loud that it naturally couldn''t be blocked by the walls of his house. Tiana''s expression turned pale. She didn''t think her father would do this.


    He was actually going to be so forceful about this.


    "If you leave now, I will kill myself." The man spoke with great determination.


    Even his wife stared at him with surprise and grief in her eyes, but she said nothing. She simply looked at Tiana and pleaded with her to remain.


    Tiana was caught in a hard spot. She didn''t know what she should do. If she left now, her father willmit suicide. But if she didn''t leave, her father would send her to the Rhodes mansion.


    Tiana paused for a few minutes, unable to make a decision.


    Her father was slightly confused. ording to his expectations, the people should have entered his house. So howe they were still not here? He didn''t even hear the sound of someone approaching his house.


    Around this time, they heard a dark chuckle from outside the room, "The ones you are waiting for won''t arrive. They are already dead."


    "What?!" Tiana''s parents asked with shocked expressions.


    "Who are you?" Tiana''s father instinctively asked.


    "My identity is not important. Just know that I am merely Tiana''spanion." Sargan answered coldly.


    "Let''s focus on the more important matter." He spoke with a serious tone, "Tiana, your father is quite a scoundrel. He has actually already decided to sell your information to Marquis Rhodes." Sargan spoke from behind the door.


    "Huh? What do you mean?" Tiana asked with a shocked expression.


    "I found a whole chest of Spirit Coins and even a contract within the room on the first floor. You won''t imagine the contents of the contract. I have this contract with me. Check it out." Sargan slid the contract from the other side of the door.


    Tiana read the contract and soon her expression changed.. There was a trace of anger on her face.

 Chapter 120 - Rant

    The contract stated a deal between her father and Jonas.


    Her father''s business dealt with assigning people to the nearby mines and excavate precious minerals.


    He would receive amission based on the profit generated by the mines. If the number of mines under his control increased, he would be able to excavate more minerals and thus generate greater profit.


    This was precisely what Jonas targeted.


    He had stated that he would hand up ownership of three additional mines in exchange for the whereabouts of his daughter.


    In addition, there appeared to be an extra use in his contract. If Jonas and Tiana''s rtionshipsted longer than five years, Jonas nned to promote him to the regional ountant for his region.


    This was a high-ranking post, and Tiana knew her father aspired to achieve it.


    However, to think that he wasn''t even willing to hear her thoughts about it truly disappointed Tiana.


    Tiana didn''t hate Jonas for proposing such a condition. He possessed the capital and was using it for what he wanted. It was a very human thing to do.


    But for her parents to actually have epted this condition before even asking her about it truly annoyed her.


    Sargan spoke from behind the door at this moment, "Master told me that something like this might have been the case. He told me that it''s your decision to make."


    At this moment, Tiana''s mother spoke out, "So what? We arranged a marriage for you with one of the most respected Noble Families in the Kingdom. You would have lived a life of happiness. Every decision we took was for your sake. For your happiness."


    Tiana looked at her mother with a forced smile.


    Before she could answer though, Sargan snorted and spoke, "For her happiness? Are you kidding yourself? Do you even believe your own words?!"


    "Have you ever sent a message to her in the Rhodes Mansion to ask her how she was doing?"


    "Without even considering what was going on in her life, you presume she was enjoying a happy life. Did you really think about what her life would be like when Jonas Rhodes proposed an arranged marriage to her? Have you done any research on the Rhodes Mansion before asking your daughter to marry Jonas Rhodes?"


    "Let''s set it aside for a moment. I''ll assume she was only doing her duty as a filial child. But tell me, have you ever considered why she could have fled? And she hade to meet you today to relieve you of your worries by informing you that she was leaving for another kingdom, where she would live happily from now on. But now you''re telling her to go back into that hell."


    "Along with your daughter, have you even sold your conscience? It amazes me that you can actually be so shameless."


    Sargan''s voice seemed to have gotten quite emotional as he finished speaking.


    Hearing such words made Tiana''s thoughts flutter. She''d never dared to think seriously about such matters since, in the back of her mind, she knew that her parents would disappoint her.


    However, the words spoken by Sargan were forcing her to think deeply about it.


    She couldn''t help but nce at her parents with an annoyed look.


    Even though she had been their obedient child, there was still a trace of rebelliousness within her. At this moment, she felt that her parents were wrong and it would be right to resist them.


    "¡­I apologize, mother, father," Tiana muttered as the room began to freeze slowly.


    Before her parents could speak another word, they felt the cold reaching their blood and freezing their bodies slowly.


    Soon, ayer of ice appeared over their bodies and prevented them from moving.


    Tiana soon stepped forward and touched their bodies that had been coated with her ice. She sent some Ardor in their body and soon walked out of the room.


    She met up with Sargan and spoke to him, "I have frozen them with my ice. They won''t be able to move till morning. We can easily run away in this time."


    Sargan didn''t look surprised and he responded, "¡­You are too kind. You should kill them. They won''t ever ept you as their daughter after this incident."


    Tiana shook her head and replied, "Even if they had their selfish motives, there is no denying that they gave birth to me and took care of me for all these years. I do not n to repay kindness with evil. However, it would also be too foolish to go along with their demands. Thus, I am breaking my connection with them. From now on, I will have nothing to do with them."


    Sargan didn''t particrly agree with her thoughts but he wasn''t in a position to criticize her decision.


    Azaroth had only told him to deal with her if she betrayed them. Since she hadn''t betrayed them then he didn''t need to take action.


    The two silently left the Prento Vige.


    Their actions today would only spread in the early morning. Even if the entire vige started searching, it would be toote for them to find Sargan and Tiana.


    They would be long gone atop their horses.


    Azaroth had asked them to return straight back to Kloras Town. There was no need to try and confuse the search parties.


    While they were returning, Tiana seemed to have calmed down. She looked at Sargan and asked him, "Did Master knew about all this? Was this why he let me meet my parents?"


    Sargan looked surprised by those questions. He then shook his head and responded, "Boss told me a few possibilities of what I should expect in Prento Vige while you are meeting your parents. He also gave me a few tasks, such as kill all the warriors near your parents'' house. And then search for some sort of chest or treasure in his study room. Luckily, I found this contract right ced in the chest where he keeps his gold coins."


    "I see¡­" Tiana then realized she had been too hasty in making her judgement.


    Tiana suddenly remembered that after she informed Azaroth of her desire to meet her parents, his routine hadn''t changed a whole lot. In fact, after she cleared her trial, he was also teaching her more Ice Techniques and then go and work on something secret in his training ground.


    ''<em>He guessed it just by the information he had on hand.</em>''


    She couldn''t help but admire Azaroth a bit more. Along with admiration though, there was a hint of dependency in the back of her mind.


    Now, even her parents were trying to cheat her. Even though her feelings for them hadn''tpletely vanished, she was still quite displeased with them. She knew that Azaroth had great ns for her, but she still felt a sense of freedom when she was with him.


    The Rhodes Mansion had felt like a battlefield to her. Other than Josephine''s asional support, everyone was using vicious schemes against each other.


    She hadn''t even done anything against any of them yet she had been poisoned just to prevent any future trouble.


    But by Azaroth''s side, she had trained hard. She had suffered greatly in those training but it had made her stronger.


    Moreover, as she passed his trials and grew stronger, she felt that the cultivation was quite addictive.


    Her confidence grew as she became more powerful.


    Moreover, she greatly valued her friendship with Laura, Yrellea, Ralph, Sargan, and Noah.


    It had already been a few months and she was familiar with them all. They all respected her as she was the oldest one within their group. She also felt that she actually belonged in that group.


    ''<em>¡­If this was your true motive master then I am truly enthralled. You have won me overpletely.</em>''


    Tiana couldn''t help but think with a slight smile on her face.


    ~~


    Azaroth returned to Kloras Town a day earlier than Tiana and Sargan.


    After returning, he didn''t meet up with anyone. He went straight to his personal training ground and pulled out his clone''s fetus.


    Azaroth stared at the fetus with an intense gaze. He began to remodel it. Because of his Demon God''s Blood Essence, it was developing extremely quickly.


    Suddenly, the clone''s fetus began throbbing intensely. Azaroth understood that the clone''s fetus now wanted flesh to develop.


    The bloodline had already stabilized, now he required flesh to cover that blood and create a body. Azaroth was nning to create a body with the same ratio of human, demonic, and celestial blood as his current body.


    This was because it was the perfect ratio. It also left behind a certain prospect to enhance it even further.


    Azaroth pulled out all the Beast Corpses he possessed including the Abyssal Hounds'' corpse as well as Peter''s Corpse.


    It could be considered that there was a mountain of Beast Corpses in his personal training ground.


    The mountain of the beast corpses was rapidly shrinking in size. The flesh, including the bones, of these beast corpses, waspletely absorbed by that terrifying red-colored fetus.


    Naturally, the growth of Azaroth''s clone fetus was extremely quick as well.


    The small clone fetus looked to have grown to Edwin''s size in just a few hours. Although the rate of growth had slowed, it hadn''t ended yet.


    Nearly all the Beast Corpses had been swallowed to create his clone. The only one that remained was the Abyssal Hound''s corpse and Peter''s Corpse.


    One was a 5 Star Warrior while the other was a 5 Star beast while they were alive. This nourishment increased the power of his clone even more.


    Soon, the clone surpassed Edwin''s height by a few inches.


    Edwin was merely 5 feet 10 inches while Azaroth''s clone was 6 feet 1 inch. After his clone had reached this height, Azaroth no longer worked on increasing his height. Instead, he focused on developing his muscles.


    The terrifying Violet Hell mes appeared and were burning his clone.


    While the clone''s muscles were being burned by the Violet Hell mes, they were quickly recovered by absorbing the bones and the flesh of the two remaining corpses.


    Peter''s corpse had soon vanished from existence while Azaroth noticed that his clone''s muscles were nearly done.


    He increased the intensity of his mes and focused on refining his bones now. He continued to refine the bones of his clone until the Abyssal Hound''s Corpse had vanished.


    Azaroth felt that he was more or less done. What remained was creating the meridians and connect his entire body.


    He recalled his Violet Hell mes and then focused on the blood within his Clone''s body.


    What he was focusing on was his own Blood Essence that he had extracted from his totem.


    Although he had fused it with his clone''s fetus, he hadn''t activated it.


    Soon, it did activate. And Azaroth immediately controlled his Demon God Blood Essence using his Spiritual Energy.


    Because his Blood Essence was imprinted with his Spiritual Mark, it was under hisplete control. Thus, he could easily control and divide its power.


    Azaroth was using his Demon God Blood Essence to create Devil God''s Meridians. These meridian were ten times thicker than a normal human''s meridian''s channel and could absorb more energy from nature at a quicker pace. This was especially true for Death Energy.


    The process of creating his Devil God''s Meridians was quite slow though. He had to maintain his concentration level for nearly an entire day. But this wasn''t that hard for Azaroth.


    If he didn''t possess even this much willpower, he wouldn''t have reached the rank of a Demon God in his previous life.


    A dayter, after Azaroth had finished creating his Devil God''s Meridians, he began the process of splitting his spirit into two parts.


    The majority of his spirit was now injecting itself within the clone''s body. This could only be achieved with the assistance from the array he had constructed on his training ground.


    Along with his Spirit, Azaroth also split up his Ardor. He injected it within his clone''s body as well.


    A few hours soon passed as this process continued¡­

 Chapter 121 - The Main Body

    Sargan and Tiana had returned from their mission. They wanted to inform Azaroth about it but found out he wasn''t in the town.


    The two knew that since Azaroth wasn''t present in the town, they had to report to Noah.


    Sargan went to a building within the center of Kloras Town. This was a building Azaroth had specifically asked the workers to construct since it was going to be the office.


    When Sargan saw Noah seated behind the desk with that nervous look, he resisted the urge tough.


    Noah gave him enormous pressure when it came tobat but currently, his expression gave him a sense of relief.


    <em>''He isn''t perfect as well.''</em>


    This was a small realization but it rxed him greatly. Until now, Sargan had only seen Noah when he fought.


    He''d always been under a lot of pressure, but after seeing Noah''s troubled expression today, he felt like the burden had finally lifted.


    "Hey, Noah. You don''t look too well. You did eat your lunch, right?" Sargan jokingly asked Noah.


    Noah heard Sargan''s words and actually thought deeply about his question. Suddenly, his expression turned pale as he spoke, "Oh no, I missed it. I was too busy reading these reports sent by the farmers over the harvesting of the crops that I forgot about eating the lunch."


    A sweatdrop appeared on the back of Sargan''s head. He was just guessing randomly. He hadn''t expected his guess to be true. Once Tiana heard that Noah had forgotten to eat his lunch, she immediately spoke, "I will ask Yrellea to bring some food for you, Noah."


    Noah''s eyes brightened up and he spoke, "Thank you, elder sister Tiana."


    After Tiana went away, Sargan''s expression turned serious, "Anyway, where is boss right now. I didn''t think he would leave the town at such a moment."


    "Boss said that he had an urgent matter he had to attend. ording to his estimation, he should have returned today," Noah responded seriously.


    Sargan nodded his head, "I see¡­"


    After some minutes, Sargan sensed a great amount of Demonic Energy in the area.


    "Do you sense it?" Sargan asked Noah with a grave look.


    Noah responded with a puzzled look, "Sense what?"


    Sargan whispered, "¡­Nothing."


    Suddenly, after a few minutes, there was another burst of Demonic Ardor. This time, Sargan was ready and managed to sense the precise location of this Demonic Ardor.


    Sargan looked at Noah and spoke seriously, "Come with me. We need to investigate something."


    "Is it so serious?" Noah asked.


    "Yes, there could be another demon in the area. You don''t want a demon to harm Kloras Town, right? Boss wouldn''t be happy if that happened." Sargan informed Noah.


    Noah was instantly ready. He stood up and looked at Sargan and ordered him, "Lead me to that demon."


    "Hmm. Don''t just attack him suddenly. We need to first observe the demon and figure out his motive." Sargan spoke with a grave look.


    <em>''A demon in this area¡­ Is it together with a group? If so, how many are they? And how strong are they?''</em>


    Soon, Sargan and Noah left the building and were moving towards the area from where they sensed that demonic ardor. They realized that they were actually moving towards Azaroth''s training ground.


    Noah and Sargan were quite puzzled whether they should enter Azaroth''s training ground or not.


    While they were confused about whether they should enter Azaroth''s training ground, they sensed another burst of Demonic Ardor.


    This time, because of the close range, even Noah sensed it.


    Noah refused to think anymore and charged within Azaroth''s training ground. Sargan called out for Noah and asked him to wait but Noah refused to listen to him.


    He went straight towards Azaroth''s position.


    Both Sargan and Noah soon reached Azaroth''s position. They saw Azaroth seated on the ground in a cross-legged posture.


    The person whose presence shocked Sargan and Noah was the individual seated right ahead of Azaroth.


    A sculpted, energetic face was nearlypletely hidden by blonde, short hair. Glistening red eyes, set closely inside their sockets, gave off a menacing vibe.


    His wlessplexionplemented his eyes and hair beautifully and left asting impression. His muscles were fully developed, and he seemed to be the same height as Azaroth.


    When Sargan looked at him, he feltpelled to prostrate himself in front of that guy. It was a strange feeling and it was something he had felt for the first time in his life.


    He did his best to resist this feeling and walked closer to the two.


    Noah spoke out at this moment, "Master, I had no idea you returned already."


    However, instead of Azaroth, the other individual spoke out, "I was in a hurry to create this body."


    Both Noah and Sargan were shocked to hear him say that.


    Azaroth (Edwin''s Body) had anticipated their shock and spoke out, "Don''t be so shocked. It''s still me."


    Noah and Sargan were still slightly suspicious.


    At around this time, Azaroth (Main body) turned towards them and spoke, "I am the one who possesses the majority of the spiritual energy so this is going to be my main body from now on."


    "Sargan, go and gather others," Azaroth spoke using his main body.


    Sargan turned around and went to gather everyone else.


    Meanwhile, Noah was gazing at Azaroth''s main body with an intense gaze. Azaroth spoke out with a gentle tone, "Are you still not satisfied even after observing my spirit for so long?"


    Noah blushed a little as he realized he was caught red-handed.


    "¡­I was just trying to be sure, Boss. If something had indeed happened to you, I wouldn''t be able to forgive myself." Noah responded with a slightly saddened look.


    Azaroth nodded his head with affirmation, "I am pleased with your response. Make sure to be cautious of everything. Many times, things are not how they appear to be."


    "Got it, Master," Noah responded quickly.


    Azaroth then waited for his other retainers to arrive and inform them of this information as well. He knew that just like Noah and Sargan, they were bound to be suspicious of his identity as well but other than a few days of awkwardness, it wouldn''t be anything serious.


    Thus, Azaroth wasn''t too worried.


    As Sargan gathered all of Azaroth''s retainers except for Noah, he began to lead them towards Azaroth''s training ground.


    He had informed them the gist of what he knew. They were allpletely bbergasted by this information.


    Especially Yrellea. She never thought Azaroth would create another body for himself. And it would actually have a different appearance than the one she was familiar with.


    Soon enough, all of them gathered in Azaroth''s training ground.


    Yrellea was overwhelmed by an unfamiliar aura as soon as she looked at Azaroth''s new body.


    Azaroth''s short-sleeved leather jacket was barely buttoned up at the upper left side and covered him above his knees. His jacket''s sleeves were long and broad, reaching well past his wrists, and they were finished with a single thread lining at the sleeve ends.


    The jacket had a deep, round neckline that exposed a portion of the elegant shirt underneath it, and it was fastened with a tiny fabric band kept together by a beautiful pin. The fabric band was purely ornamental and served as a status signal.


    As she stared at Azaroth''s face, her subus instincts aroused her body.. That amazing athletic physique and that exquisite pretty face were deeply rooted within her mind.

 Chapter 122 - Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystals

    Yrellea wasn''t the only woman who found Azaroth''s new body very attractive and pleasing to her eyes.


    Laura and Tiana were in the same boat as her. It was just that their body wasn''t as aroused as Yrellea''s body.


    The two didn''t realize that since the time theyid their eyes on Azaroth''s new body, they were gawking at him.


    It was so exaggerated that they didn''t even realize how long they had been gazing at him.


    Even Laura, who had seen many handsome men in her life found herself captivated by Azaroth''s appearance.


    As for Tiana, her mental state was worse than Laura''s right now. Normally, she was quite calm. She would have managed to break out of her trance at an appropriate moment.


    However, just recently, Tiana had fulfilled her final desire to meet her parents. While she was returning, she willingly decided to submit to Azaroth even if he had been manipting her.


    This was because she saw a happy life ahead along with Azaroth and this group. Then, Sargan informed Tiana that Azaroth had created another body for himself. Once Tianaid her eyes on Azaroth''s gorgeous appearance, she was internally fawning over him like a teenager.


    Azaroth didn''t mind their stares. Their reactions told him that his bloodlines had perfectly blended. He possessed the physique of a human, the absolute beauty of a celestial, and the diverse powers his body possessed due to the demonic blood.


    "Ehm." Azaroth coughed a few times to jolt the women up from their trance. While they were in that state, he couldn''t really talk to them.


    The three of them were quite ashamed of themselves. Yrellea was the most embarrassed since she felt that her pussy was actually wet. She had gotten too horny just now.


    She was even slightly nervous that if Azaroth found out, he would look down on her. Thus, she closed her legspletely and prevent anyone from finding out about it.


    Laura and Tiana looked away as they didn''t dare to look at Azaroth''s face anymore. The situation was quite awkward for them.


    "I assembled you all for two important reasons. Firstly, from now on, you will call this new body Azaroth. And my previous body as Edwin." Azaroth made his identities clear.


    "Is that clear?" Azaroth asked with an authoritative tone.


    "Yes, Boss/ Master!" Azaroth heard these responses from his retainers.


    He nodded his head in satisfaction and further spoke, "Good. Now, the second reason is that I wanted to congratte you all for passing that final trial. That trial had nothing to do with your power. It was testing your mind. Whether you passed it by fluke or by ability, it meant that yourbat instincts are now above the threshold."


    "The time hase for all of you to get started with your tasks," Azaroth spoke, causing them to look at him with surprised yet excited expressions.


    They had gotten bored of training for all this time.


    "As I had mentioned to you before we arrived in Kloras Town. Noah, Ralph, and Laura are going to train the warriors''bat ability and lead them."


    "Yrellea and Sargan''s task is to create an intelligence department that would gather useful bits of information for us."


    "Andstly, Tiana is going to create a sect to train women who possess a simr physique to yours." Azaroth finished speaking soon enough.


    Azaroth paused for a minute to allow this information to settle in their minds before he spoke ahead, "Firstly, I will create spatial rings for each one of you. Connect it with your spiritual energy."


    "After that, I will give you all a lot of <strong>Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystals</strong>. Keep it within your Spatial Rings. When you are within 30 or so miles of range of someone with a physique suitable for Ice Cultivation, these crystals will shine brightly. When the crystal shows such a reaction, your spirit will be notified by a weak pulse. You can then pull out this crystal from your ring and search for the individual using it. The closer you are, the brighter it would shine." Azaroth spoke as he pulled out a Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystal.


    A brilliant turquoise radiance shone from this crystal.


    Itpletely blinded all of Azaroth''s retainers for a few seconds. Soon, their eyes got used to that blinding light and looked at the crystal in Azaroth''s hand.


    "It''s so gorgeous," Laura muttered. Azaroth''s other retainers definitely agreed with that statement.


    Sargan asked a question, "What is our task after we find that individual?"


    Azaroth looked at Noah, "Noah, Laura, and Ralph, if either of you finds someone possessing a physique suitable for Ice Cultivation. All you need to do is inform Sargan and Yrellea using the Voice Transmission Array Stones. They will investigate that woman''s background. Once they investigate her background, they will further pass on this information to Tiana. Tiana will go or send someone to invite her to the Ice Pavilion formally."


    He observed their expressions and they looked quite astonished by his instructions.


    "Now¡­ This n is for the future. When Sargan and Yrellea''swork is wide and strong enough. Tiana''s prestige is great enough that if you invite a young woman, she would be willing to join you without a second thought." Azaroth spoke with a shrug.


    Those words forced his retainers to return to reality. They were somewhat disappointed as they realized they still had a long way to go.


    They had barely taken the first step. They couldn''t getcent about it.


    Soon enough, all of them had serious and focused looks on their faces.


    "For you all to gain prestige and connections, you will need to travel a lot. Just as strength isn''t gathered by a day of training, prestige and connections aren''t formed in a single day. Everything has a step-by-step process."


    "However, it''s impossible for me to allow you to travel within the Sinyalian Kingdom. Especially the three of you." He pointed at Yrellea, Laura, and Tiana.


    He wasn''t worried about their loyalty. Azaroth had used his eyes to check their emotions and he knew just how much their feelings towards him had increased. As long as they weren''t tortured by some really painful method, they wouldn''t betray him.


    He couldn''t allow the three of them to roam around because they were wanted in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Yrellea and Laura were wanted because the King wanted to capture Laura.


    Meanwhile, Tiana was wanted because Azaroth had basically abducted her from the Rhodes pce. Jonas was still definitely searching for her. So he couldn''t allow her to travel alone. If her tracks were found, there would be no saving her.


    Azaroth had already thought of a method to make use of them. He nned to take them to the Glerian Kingdom.


    However, he didn''t want to split up his group of retainers. Most of their tasks would be codependent on each other. Thus, they needed to be together.


    Azaroth had thus decided to take all his retainers to the Glerian Kingdom with him.


    His clone with Edwin''s identity will remain behind and manage Kloras Town.. There were also some tasks he could only do by using Edwin''s identity.

 Chapter 123 - Tyrannical Asura Devil God

    Leaving the Sinyalian Kingdom wasn''t as easy as it sounded. They couldn''t cross the borders between the two kingdoms just because they wanted to.


    Many sensors on both sides kept an eye on each other''s movements. It would be impossible to sneak right under their noses.


    Even Azaroth wasn''t confident of achieving this. He would have to distract the sensor by some other method.


    Thus, he was forced to think of some other method. Moreover, with this new method, he could hit two birds with a single stone.


    Azaroth left Kloras Town together with his group of retainers. They were moving towards Yhord City.


    The Wrihull City, under the Rhodes Family, was situated near the borders of the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Azaroth didn''t want to move towards the Wrihull City since he knew that if his information was revealed, he would have a low chance of escaping from Jonas''s hands.


    Thus, he chose Yhord City that was situated near the Glerian-Sinyalian Borders. This city was under territory Earl Burke''s territory.


    Azaroth had heard that there hadn''t been much fighting in these borders and the defenses were somewhatx here. He chose these borders because they were quite far away from Kloras Town.


    He had his ns for choosing a farther location. They were moving towards Yhord City and it would take them nearly one week to reach their destination.


    Azaroth was using his Ardor to make them fly with him, which was why they were so fast. If they traveled on horses or carriages, they would have probably required 3 weeks or so to reach their destination.


    ~~


    Nearly at the same moment, Felix Miller had finally reached the Rhodes Mansion. He soon met up with Jonas and asked him, "Take me to the Demonic Totem immediately. The king informed me that it''s of utmost importance."


    Naturally, themand of the king couldn''t be ignored. Thus, Jonas took Felix Miller to the cave where Azaroth''s demonic totem was left behind.


    Soon, Felix Miller stood in front of the demonic totem.


    It had been nearly 2 weeks since Jonas came to see this totem. And currently, he felt as if something had changed about it but he couldn''t ce his finger on it.


    Just what had changed?


    Felix Miller ignored Jonas and began to analyze the totem. He opened his ck bag and pulled out multiple things from it.


    There were ss bottles, brushes, a trowel, apass, and many other tools. Jonas noticed that within those ss bottles were different colored liquids.


    Without exining anything, Felix Miller used a pipette and dropped a few drops of that red-colored liquid on the totem.


    Those drops fell on the totem''s body. The color turned faint before it eventually vanished.


    Felix Miller muttered, "More than 10 years old."


    He then dripped his pipette in the orange-colored liquid and then dropped it on the totem. The same thing urred again.


    "More than 100 years old."


    Soon, he tried out the yellow drops and he witnessed the same scene. This time, Felix Miller spoke a bit excitedly, "It''s more than 1000 years old!"


    He tried out his green-colored liquid. The color disappeared quickly.


    "More than ten thousand years old demonic totem?!" Felix Miller was utterly shocked at this point.


    In fact, not just him. But even Jonas was bbergasted.


    He had never imagined that this totem had been set up more than ten thousand years ago. It was even older than the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Felix Miller''s hands shook in excitement as he tried out the blue-colored solution as well. This time, the color didn''t fade away so quickly.


    ording to the time it took for the color to fade away, Felix Miller estimated this Demonic Totem to be 80,000-90,000 years old.


    He then pulled out a notebook from his bag and then began topare the letters on the Demonic Totem with the letters in his notebook.


    "¡­I¡­am¡­<strong>Evil</strong> ¡­<strong>Fiend</strong>¡­ <strong>me</strong>¡­<strong>Emperor</strong>¡­"


    Felix Miller frowned as he tranted those words and thought ''<em>Strange. How can this totem belong to the <strong>Evil Fiend me Emperor</strong>.</em>''


    As he heard those tranted words, Jonas''s expression turned quite grave.


    He was not familiar with the name of this demon but he knew that if it belonged to a Demon Emperor then the situation was truly quite grave.


    Felix Miller continued to analyze the demonic totem though. He was in awe that he could examine such an antique totem for as long as he could under the pretext that he was looking for more clues.


    Jonas pulled out his Voice Transmission Array Stone and tried to connect to Shun.


    After a couple of minutes, Shun''s voice was heard from the other end of the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    "What did Felix Miller say, Lord Rhodes?" This was Shun''s first question. Jonas didn''t ask him how he knew that Felix Miller had told him something.


    "¡­The Demonic Totem belongs to a Demonic Emperor named <strong>Evil Fiend me Emperor</strong>."


    Once Shun heard that name, he felt something click in the back of his mind. He immediately replied, "I remembered reading about him in your library, Lord Rhodes. But how can that totem belong to the Evil Fiend me Emperor? He was a Demon Emperor from nearly 2 million years ago. ording to what I read, this demon emperor''s totem had already been found in the Pinhian Republic nearly 120 years ago. That totem''s appearance doesn''t match this totem at all."


    Jonas regained his calm and understood what he meant.


    "There is a chance that the name or the rank were altered. The question is, whether it was altered before we saw this totem or after we saw it." Jonas heard a sigh from Shun''s side.


    Shun despised it when things were attributed to chance. But this was the difficulty of capturing that demon. He even had to pray for luck to be in his favor.


    "I remember those symbols clearly. Please let me describe those symbols to Felix Miller. Hopefully, it will be of use." Shun was extremely confident in his memory.


    Jonas called out for Felix Miller, "Come here. It''s Inquisitor Fox who wants to talk to you."


    Felix Miller was slightly startled beforeing over to Jonas''s side and then holding that Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    He began to talk to Shun.


    "Let''s not waste any time, Felix Miller. I will describe to you the symbols I saw. Just trante them back to me." Shun spoke quickly.


    Felix Miller was more than happy to y along.


    After nearly an hour of effort, Felix Miller had managed topletely trante the symbols described by Shun.


    "¡­I¡­am¡­<strong>Tyrannical</strong> ¡­<strong>Asura</strong>¡­ <strong>Devil</strong>¡­ <strong>God</strong>¡­"


    Felix Miller, Jonas Rhodes, and Shun''s blood ran cold as they realized that this was not the totem of a mere Demon Emperor.


    It was the totem of someone even greater than a Demon Emperor. <strong>A</strong><strong>Demon God</strong>!


    Shun was more surprised that he hadn''t found information regarding this Demon God in the history books. His appearance or anything else rted to him.


    This was because Azaroth was from the 2 Million Years Ago Era. The same was the case for Evil Fiend me Emperor. However, the reason its record was mentioned in Rhodes Family''s library was that his totem had been found nearly 120 years ago in the Pinhian Republic. The Pinhian Republic had to search the entire world to find some information about this Evil Fiend me Emperor.


    Azaroth''s information was even more secretive. It was because the Celestials and the Demons had joined hands to kill him. This was a forbidden matter in both races.. As a result, Azaroth''s presence was kept so secret that the human race had no idea if he even existed.

 Chapter 124 - Edwins Truth

    It was outside of Azaroth''s expectations that Shun and others would be able to figure out his identity so soon.


    He had used tried to use the name of a random Demon Emperor he remembered. However, Azaroth had no idea that the totem of this Demon Emperor had already been found.


    Thus, his n had failed and it caused Shun to guess that the runes on the totem had been altered. It had ultimately led them to his title¡­<strong>Tyrannical Asura Devil God</strong>.


    Just the domineering title of the demon frightened Jonas, Shun, and even Felix Miller. They now understood that the situation was far graver than they expected.


    "When did the demon set up this Demonic Totem? Is he scheming against the Sinyalian Kingdom? But why use schemes if he is a Demon God?" Jonas wondered with a frown.


    Shun answered a couple of questions, "This Demon God used Evil Fiend me Emperor title to fool us. To him, it was probably a Demon Emperor who was immensely talented and decently famous in the world. If not for the fact that we knew that a record that this Evil Fiend me Emperor''s totem had already been found and it doesn''t look remotely simr to this, we would have really been fooled."


    Jonas nodded gravely, "That''s correct." He stared at Felix Miller and ordered him, "You can leave now."


    Felix Miller was quite excited to analyze this totem earlier but he didn''t hesitate in following Jonas''smand.


    In fact, his face waspletely pale and he was quite scared right now. He didn''t dare to analyze that totem any longer.


    Once Felix Miller had left, Jonas continued his conversation with Shun.


    "ording to your theory, this demon god has joined hands with Edwin. And he is the one behind the major incidents that urred in Wrihull City." Joans spoke with a grave look.


    This was naturally a very crucial matter. In their minds, they understood that the gravity of this matter far surpassed the importance of that Elf Princess or that Beast Emperor Egg.


    Right now, there had been a Demon God with them. And they had no idea what he was scheming.


    Shun remained silent for quite some time and then answered, "That''s correct."


    "We need to capture Edwin and gain any information we can from him. As quickly as possible!" Jonas spoke restlessly.


    Shun noticed Jonas''s nervousness and spoke, "Let''s calm down for a moment¡­ We need to gather all the information we possess and analyze it. Let me start. I will narrate the incidents and give me thoughts or possible theories about the incidents."


    Jonas knew that he had to calm down but the information was just too crucial. This Demon God had been within his territory!


    No matter how arrogant or intelligent he was, he wouldn''t dare to underestimate a Demon God.


    "When your child suddenly changed, I suspect that he came into contact with this totem and probably woke up the Demon God''s Spirit within it. Now, there are two possibilities. Either the Demon God has taken over the body of Edwin''s servant. Or¡­He has taken over Edwin''s body."


    "Right now, I feel there''s a good chance he took over Edwin''s body. It would be more convenient for him to live here if he assumed this identity. Within Edwin''s body, however, there is a Celestial Bloodline presence. As all the fighters know that a Demon cannot take over the body of someone who possesses Celestial Blood."


    "There is, however, an exception to this rule. If the Demon had reached the 8th Star Rank and the one whose body he was possessing was weaker than the 6th Star Rank. Normally, this wouldn''t happen because the Demon wouldn''t gain anything by giving up his own body in exchange for a Celestial''s body. Do you understand what I''m saying thus far?" Shun asked Jonas calmly.


    Jonas frowned but he couldn''t deny the logic in those words.


    "¡­Yes. I see why you doubt Edwin. This Demon God changed his own runes over his totem just to hide his true identity. Meaning, he didn''t want us to find out his true identity. If we find out about his true identity, we will alsoe to know of a new possibility and get closer to capturing him." Jonas summarized his thoughts.


    Shun replied some momentster, "Right. Thus, there is a high chance Edwin is a Demon God."


    Jonas sucked a breath of cold air. He remembered all his conversations with Edwin. His expressions¡­His clever ideas. He was suddenly recalling everything.


    As he was recalling those moments, he also remembered how he had seen Shun was soundly defeated by Edwin.


    <em>''His defeat wasn''t unjust. He was up against a Demon God whilecking a lot of information.</em>''


    "You informed me that Edwin was a 4 Star Rank Warrior when you checked his cultivation," Shun asked Jonas.


    Jonas immediately replied, "That''s correct. He was a 4 Star Warrior. I am sure of it."


    Soon, Jonas''s eyes widened in realization <em>''He is a 4 Star Warrior now!</em>''


    This realization was greatly significant for Jonas. Ever since he came to know that his enemy was a Demon God, a shadow appeared over his mind. He was feeling so much pressure that it affected his thoughts and prevented him from analyzing coolly.


    Jonas then focused on the Voice Transmission Array Stone. Heprehended what Shun had done and thought ''<em>Shun used such a roundabout way to make me realize it. If he had spoken directly, it wouldn''t have had such an effect.''</em>


    "¡­Even if he was a former Demon God, he is now merely a 4 Star Warrior. I suspect that he paid a huge price due to the Celestial Bloodline to integrate himself with Edwin''s spirit and body. If not for that, his cultivation would have been even higher than yours." Shun spoke seriously.


    "If he was stronger than me, he wouldn''t be so cautious about these matters. Strength is absolute!" Jonas spoke with a regained confidence.


    Shun agreed with Jonas on this and added, "Correct. Thus, he is probably trying to regain his power through all sorts of possible methods he knows. Trying to guess those methods would be extremely foolish. So, we need to change our approach."


    "Let''s rx the surveince over him. A demon god wouldn''t break no matter how many people we assign to monitor him. Instead, he could use them to send false information to us However, this needs to be implemented at a perfect opportunity." Shun gave a suggestion.


    Jonas thought for some moments and spoke, "¡­This identity of the Demon Emperor he used to confuse us. I think there is a deeper meaning behind it. Maybe he specifically gave the name Evil Fiend me Emperor."


    "Maybe, he did have a deep motive behind it. If my guess is right, the perfect opportunity woulde soon enough. But if that situation does ur then it means there is no doubt Edwin is the Demon God." Shun spoke seriously.


    "What situation?" Jonas asked solemnly.


    Shun exined the entire situation to him. He gave his reasoning along with the description of the entire situation.


    "¡­Very well. It shall be done.." Jonas informed Shun before he cut off the connection.

 Chapter 125 - Attacking Checkpoints

    A weekter, Azaroth and his retainers reached Yhord City. However, instead of entering the city, they began to move around its perimeter. He wasn''t actually nning to enter Yhord City.


    As he passed Yhord City, Azaroth sensed many soldiers in the distance. They were less than 10 miles from the border.


    "In thest few months, the soldiers have rxed their defenses so we are going to use theirziness to pass the borders," Azaroth informed his retainers.


    "Both kingdoms have constructed fortifications on their sides and the field between these fortifications can be considered a battlefield. Anyone seen in this field would be attacked fiercely by the other side." There was a hint of a smile on Azaroth''s face.


    "Typically, it''s the Glerian Kingdom who sends soldiers to attack the fortifications on the Sinyalian Kingdom''s side. But recently, they have ceased their attacks. It''s probably ack of manpower or resources on their end," Azaroth finished speaking while carefully analyzing his retainers'' faces.


    "What is our task, Master?" Sargan asked, speaking aloud the questions in everyone''s minds.


    Azaroth smiled and spoke, "I will show you soon enough." After a few minutes, Azaroth suddenly halted in the air.


    His retainers stopped flying behind him as well.


    They were surprised why Azaroth had stopped. Among them, only Noah and Sargan sensed it. They sensed a terrifying power ahead of them.


    Azaroth had naturally stopped since he didn''t want to enter that range. Especially not while he was flying and taking his retainers along with him.


    It would alert that expert and allow him to get ready to fight against Azaroth. Fighting in a one-on-one against this warrior wouldn''t be favorable for Azaroth.


    Not because he was afraid of him in a fight. ording to his senses, the warrior lying in wait was probably a 5 Star Warrior just like himself.


    Azaroth was also quite confident that he could defeat this guy. But¡­ The issue was that it would waste too much of his time. Moreover, this is that man''s territory. He could request reinforcements and another bunch of Warriors including 5 Star Warriors would arrive and help him.


    Azaroth would be pretty much doomed at that moment. He and his retainers wouldn''t be able to go past the borders even from the Sinyalian Kingdom''s side let alone pass the Glerian Kingdom''s borders as well.


    "Noah, Sargan, Tiana, Ralph, Laura, and Yrellea. Wear the clothes I gave you. Using them, it will be impossible for anyone here to see through your identities by your appearance. There are more than 40 checkpoints where the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army is spread out. Each checkpoint has more than 1000 or so soldiers. Each one of you will attack a checkpoint in the middle. There are six of you so you will target six checkpoints." Azaroth assigned them this task.


    Except for Sargan and Noah, each one of them had a pale face. They never thought they would have to fight alone against so many soldiers.


    Azaroth further added, "Show me the results of your training."


    Soon enough, he pointed at different checkpoints and assigned them to each one of them.


    After Azaroth finished assigning the checkpoints, Sargan asked seriously, "Boss, are we dering war against the Sinyalian Kingdom? Once they find out about our attack, they will gang up and attack us. It will be difficult to survive their attack."


    Azaroth shook his head, "Perhaps. But you forget that this will be a surprise attack for all their checkpoints. Tell me, did any of them think that their checkpoints would be attacked so suddenly? Are they prepared for an attack, especially from this side? Moreover, you will run retreat as soon as I give the order."


    Sargan remained silent. He understood what Azaroth meant.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army in this area had rxed its defenses even against their enemies. It would be weird to expect them to prepare for an attack from their own side."


    Azaroth then lowered his altitude and stepped on the ground. His retainers soon followed him and stepped on the ground as well.


    Each one of them had a serious expression as they understood the task they had been assigned. Any mistake and they could die.


    "Charge, my warriors!"


    Azaroth gave out thismand and all his retainers immediately took off!


    It had to be known that each one of them had harshly trained under ten times the gravity. They knew Azaroth''s Phantom Step skill and could use it consequently without any bacsh or a huge expenditure of Ardor.


    Naturally, it was because Azaroth had slightly changed his skill which had decreased the speed of this technique but also greatly reduced its consumption and bacsh.


    They were charging so quickly that even though the sensors in the respective checkpoints felt their aura, they couldn''t inform the captain of their checkpoint quickly enough.


    Out of the six, only in 2 checkpoints were the captains informed before Azaroth''s retainers reached the checkpoint.


    The first one to reach his destination was surprisingly Noah.


    He actually defeated Ralph in a contest of speed!


    They both had chosen central checkpoints and their path was like a single line. The distance was almost the same yet, Noah still managed to defeat Ralph in a battle of pure speed.


    This spoke volumes of how hard Noah had trained.


    Naturally, this didn''t mean Ralph hadn''t trained hard enough. Ralph had to utilize most of his time to increase his elemental proficiency and work on his techniques. He couldn''t spend more of his time while working on his physique.


    Currently, Azaroth asked him not to work on increase his physical capabilities but to work on techniques. He just had to train his physique so that it would still develop gradually. Albeit at a slower pace.


    This concept appealed to Ralph as well. He understood it wouldn''t be a smart idea to be a one-trick pony. He also wanted to hold a couple of trump cards in his hands.


    Meanwhile, Noah had continued to train his physique even further. Particrly his legs and his arm muscles.


    He didn''t want endurance. He just wanted his arms and legs to react quickly enough!


    Most of the soldiers were chilling in their checkpoints. Including the guards that were supposed to keep an eye on their surroundings.


    The ones who saw Azaroth''s retainers were those guards in the watchtowers. They immediately sounded the rm.


    And along with the rm, four of the six checkpoints were attacked at the same time.


    "<strong>Hundred Sword Qi sh!</strong>"


    Even though hundred was in the name, Noah barely managed tounch 30 or so Sword Qi to attack the soldiers on the checkpoint.


    All these sword qi shes killed a warrior. However, all these warriors were 1 Star Rank Warrior.


    As those soldiers fell on the ground, it immediately alerted the other soldiers in the checkpoint. They got up and proceeded to grab their weapons in preparation to face their foe.


    "<strong>zing Cloud Fist!</strong>"


    Ralphunched threw out a couple of fists towards the checkpoint. From his fists, massive clouds of mes were formed that charged towards the encampment on that checkpoint.


    The gates of that encampment were hit by those gigantic clouds of mes. They immediately began to burn while the soldiers in the area let out screams of agony. The other soldiers werepletely startled to see a fire in their camp.


    The captain of the army of that checkpoint immediately called out for his Water Elemental Corps to extinguish the mes.


    However, while the water elemental corps had stepped forward to extinguish the mes that had set their walls and gates aze, Ralph suddenly appeared and punched one of them.


    "<strong>Wooden Hammer!</strong>"


    Laura was still some distance away from the checkpoint but she controlled the wood ardor while she was moving. She attacked the gate of the encampment with a gigantic wooden hammer.


    The wooden hammer struck that gate and produced a massive shockwave across the entire checkpoint.


    There was another strike by the Wooden Hammer, but this time, it targeted the watchtowers.


    The guard in that watchtowers was instantly killed by that wooden hammer.


    Meanwhile, the other soldiers in the area noticed a few vines growing out of the ground. This was the true reason for Laura to use the hammer to shake everyone off for a second. She also wanted them to focus on the gate and ignore the vines growing near their feet.


    Soon, it was toote for them as these vines immediately wrapped around their bodies. These vines continued to get tighter very slowly. The soldiers tried their best to struggle out of these vines but it was impossible.


    "<strong>Lightning Streams!</strong>"


    Sargan didn''t focus on destroying the gate. Instead, he was using his Evil Eyes to find the location of the guards and kill them from a distance.


    His Lightning Stream was a concentrated beam of lightning that possessed great prating power. Sargan targeted those soldiers from a distance.


    There was no problem in piercing that wooden door. The first person Sargan killed was the guard in the watchtower.

 Chapter 126 - Demonic Attacks

    Azaroth observed his retainers as they attacked those checkpoints. He could sense the movements within those checkpoints.


    The leader of each checkpoint had arrived near the entrance and was giving orders to his men. Under theirmand, they managed to contain the damage that would have further increased due to chaos in the military.


    Azaroth had informed his retainers to kill this captain if they could.


    Thus, this captain immediately had to move his body and dodge the iing attacks. Soon, Azaroth''s retainers were forced to block or dodge the attacks of the soldiers in this checkpoint.


    Each one of his retainers observed their enemies carefully. They knew that they had to be careful when advancing for attacking these soldiers.


    If he was surrounded here, it would be difficult to break through that encirclement.


    They had already managed to get used to the encirclement tactics in the elemental training array designed by Azaroth.


    These soldiers were much stronger than those minions. After all, the minions had a very low defense. The annoying thing about them was their movements and their terrifying attacks.


    Even though these soldiers had a much greater defense than the minions, their movements appeared somewhat simplistic to Azaroth''s retainers.


    This was mostly because they weren''t using anyplex maneuvers. For thest couple of months, they hadn''t fought against their adversaries.


    Moreover, they had received orders from above that there is no need to be so active near the borders. The Glerian Kingdom won''t attack them anymore.


    Clearly, something had urred that only those from prestigious backgrounds knew.


    The regr drills of the soldiers had stopped. For this reason, they required a bit more time to efficiently use those kinds of maneuvers and formations.


    While his retainers were fighting, Azaroth was observing them from a certain distance.


    <em>''They areing¡­''</em>


    Six 4 Star Warriors, leading a team of 3 Star Warriors moved towards the 6 checkpoints that had been attacked by Azaroth''s retainers.


    They had arrived from the central post that was in the center of these checkpoints. This was the main encampment that controlled all the checkpoints from a single point. Once they saw the green signal for assistance in more than 6 checkpoints, they immediately formed six teams and dispatched them.


    The green signal generally stated they required a team with a 4 Star Warrior.


    Azaroth focused on the teams that were charging towards the checkpoints where his retainers were fighting.


    All his retainers except for Laura was a 3 Star Warrior.


    Noah, Sargan, and Ralph were powerful enough to hold their own against 4 Star Warriors. Thus, it was clear whom he had to help out.


    He began to fly at a quick pace. His n was to intercept the team that was nning to fight Yrellea and Tiana.


    His presence and his quick flying speed were something that the soldiers here hadn''t expected. They weren''t prepared for an attack from a 5 Star Warrior as well.


    Thus, even the 5 Star Warrior who suddenly sensed Azaroth''s Ardor couldn''t react quickly. Azaroth soon reached the spot where he could see both of these teams.


    He was wearing a purple cloak that concealed his spiritual imprint and fluctuations from others.


    By the time the 5 Star Warrior flew out of the encampment, Azaroth had already finished charging up for his attack.


    "Hell mes: Dark Spheres."


    Purple-colored dark purple spheres of pure energy shot out from his fingers and rained down on the team led by the 4 Star Warrior.


    The attack was too sudden and it was far beyond what a 4 Star Warrior could endure. And if a 4 Star Warrior couldn''t endure it, then there was even less of a chance for warriors weaken them him to survive it.


    Thus, Azaroth annihted the first team.


    He didn''t stop though. He moved towards the team of warriors that was moving in Tiana''s direction.


    By now, the other teams had sensed some strong attacksnding on one of their teams. They looked around as they dashed ahead to reinforce theirrades.


    They were prepared for an attack from every direction. They were nning to atleast put up a resistance, unlike theirrades who had died before they could even realize it.


    Azaroth had soon approached the other team. The 4 Star Warrior on the ground saw Azaroth in the air and immediately deduced that this was the man hunting them.


    "Run!"


    There was no way they would be able to block an attack from a 5 Star Warrior. They had to survive until their 5 Star Warrior cane and assist them.


    Azaroth attacked them with his Dark Spheres. But these warriors managed to dodge them.


    After a couple of minutes, the 5 Star Warrior had arrived and was flying just ahead of Azaroth.


    <em>''He is finally here.''</em>


    Azaroth thought with a smile. He was waiting for this fellow to arrive. But unfortunately, it took him longer than his expectations.


    "Who are you? Why have you attacked us?" The warrior questioned Azaroth with a fierce look.


    Instead of replying, Azaroth directly attacked the man with his purple hell mes. These purple hell mes looked to be of a lower intensity than his normal mes.


    Still, they were powerful enough to harm the warrior ahead of him.


    The warrior''s expression changed. Hisplexion darkened as he saw his enemy ignore his question and directly attack him.


    He dodged those me attacks. Only when those mes passed near his body did he sense the strange power in them.


    "mes of Purgatory?! Demonic Ardor?!"


    His eyes widened greatly as he understood that he wasn''t fighting a human. He was fighting a demon.


    Fighting a Demon was much more troublesome than fighting a human. Their physique was stronger and their attacks were brutal. They had no bottom line and were extremely barbaric that dared to do anything.


    He quickly moved closer to strike Azaroth with a palm attack.


    Azaroth allowed him to get close. And once he found an opportunity, he immediately used his own fist technique.


    ''me Fist.'' Azaroth''s fists zed with mes as he attacked his enemy.


    His opponent noticed that Azaroth was using a me Fist attack and immediately moved his hands to block that attack.


    After blocking that attack, he kicked Azaroth''s gut.


    Azaroth didn''t try to block that kick. He was extremely confident in his physique and anticipated that he didn''t even need to block it.


    He focused on gathering more Ardor for his next attack.


    Just as he had expected, the warrior''s kick struck his body and it didn''t harm him in the slightest.


    This was not shocking at all. This body possessed a drop of his Demon God Blood Essence. If it couldn''t even block such a weak attack then he would have been greatly disappointed.


    "re st."


    Azaroth threw a ball of violet mes at the warrior.


    The warrior immediately reinforced his arm with a lot of ardor and quickly deflected that ball of fire away.


    The ball of fire suddenly released a bright sh that blinded the area for a couple of seconds.


    When the warrior opened his eyes, he couldn''t find Azaroth any longer.


    Moreover, he sensed that Azaroth was flying away at his top speed. He also sensed that those warriors who attacked the checkpoints were retreating as well.


    The 5 Star Warrior wondered whether he should pursue Azaroth or not. After contemting for a few moments, he decided against it.


    He had no idea about Azaroth''s identity. Where he was going and just how strong he truly was.


    It would be foolish of him to jump into a trap set up by the enemy.

 Chapter 127 - Major Generals Rage

    Azaroth and his retainers sessfully retreated after attacking 6 checkpoints on the Sinyalian-Glerian Border.


    The news that 6 checkpoints of the Sinyalian Kingdom had been attacked slowly spread among all the troops within the army stationed there.


    It shocked the border force because they never expected that the Glerian Kingdom would attack 6 of their checkpoints so suddenly.


    When they asked further, they found out it wasn''t an attack from the Glerian Kingdom''s side but from their own side.


    Colonel Nate was one of the two on-fieldmanders of this border. Currently, he was in Yhord City where he was in an important meeting presided by the Major General who was in charge of this area.


    Usually, the Major General resided in another city but he hade to Yhord City to assign an important task to Colonel Nate. It was an idea on how they could improve their defenses andunch a counterattack at the Glerian Kingdom.


    A man soon knocked on the door. The Major General and the Colonel were surprised. It had to be known that everyone in the building knew that an important meeting was going on. Just who dared to interrupt them at such a moment?


    The Major General was annoyed but he still spoke out, "Come inside."


    It turned out to be a soldier. He had a serious look on his face as he stepped inside and greeted the Major General.


    "What is it?"


    "It''s urgent information, Major General. Our border points have been attacked." The soldier spoke with a grave expression.


    The Major General and the Colonel''s eyes widened in shock but they hid it quickly. The Colonel asked, "What were the number of the enemies? And their cultivation?"


    The soldier spoke, "Seven warriors attacked our checkpoints, sir. Five of them were 3 Star Warriors, a woman possessing a rare Wood Element was a 4 Star Warrior. Andstly, there was also a 5 Star Warrior who appeared to be theirmander."


    Now, this news shocked the Major General and the Colonel greatly. Just 7 warriors attacked their border points?


    "What are our damages?"


    At those words, the soldier hesitated before speaking out, "There were nearly a thousand casualties. Most of the casualties were of 1 Star Soldiers and only a hundred of them were 2 Star Soldiers. Also, a whole team led by a 4 Star Soldier had been crushed."


    The Colonel was taken aback when he learned of this information. He looked at Major General anxiously, and sure enough, there was a spark of fury in his eyes.


    "Whatever. So what information have you found out from them?" The Major General asked this question while trying to calm himself.


    The soldier looked especially nervous when he heard this question. A frown appeared on the Major General''s face as he ordered in anger, "Speak!"


    The soldier instinctively spoke, "Yes, Major General!" He then took a deep breath and further added, "¡­We failed to capture anyone or kill anyone."


    The Major General who had barely managed to calm down immediately red up when heard that sentence.


    To think that just 7 warriors attacked the checkpoints and there were thousands of casualties on their end, not a single one of those attackers was captured or even killed.


    "Nate, you better have an exnation ready for this blunder!" The Major General looked especially angry at him.


    Even the Colonel was shocked by this information and knew that his superior''s anger was well deserved. He nced at the soldier and gestured him to go away.


    The soldier looked at the Major General for confirmation and soon received the nod. He gave a salute and walked out of the meeting hall.


    Once the soldier went away, the Colonel immediately knelt down in front of the Major General and spoke quickly, "Forgive me, Major General. Your subordinate lost himself to his greed."


    "Exin." The Major General coldly spoke.


    ~~


    Nearly 3 hourster, the Major General could be seen walking towards Earl Burke''s mansion with a furious look.


    Once he entered the mansion, he ignored any servant that came into his way and charged inside Earl Burke''s personal chambers.


    Within his chambers, Earl Burke was having a private moment with one of his concubines. They both were startled when they saw the Major General forcefully opened the door.


    Earl Burke had never met the Major General. He merely had a typical idea of how he looked like. When he looked at the Major General, he didn''t recognize him and yelled angrily, "Who are you?! How dare you enter my personal chambers?!"


    "You ask me who I am?" The Major General sneered and took arge step forwards before tightly pping Earl Burke''s face.


    There was a loud crispy sound when Earl Burke''s face was pped. He looked absolutely bbergasted.


    Not just him, even his concubine couldn''t understand who this man was and how he dared to p her husband here.


    The Major General then asked while still trying to hold back his anger, "¡­You understand who I am, now?!"


    "¡­" There was still no response from Earl Burke as he was still thinking about the identity of this individual.


    The Major General gave him another couple of ps in a fit of anger!


    Earl Burke''s face had swollen because of those ps. He looked at the Major General and whimpered, "¡­please, just who are you?"


    His tone wasn''t as haughty or authoritative this time. He uttered a faint whimper that sounded like he was on the verge of crying.


    It was natural. He was beaten like a dog by the Major General.


    The Major General sneered and replied this time, "Hector Lloyd."


    "Major General Hector Lloyd?!" Earl Burke shouted in shock.


    Suddenly, the Major General pped him once again and shouted, "Is my name something you can say?!"


    Even though Earl Burke had been pped, he didn''t dare to show the slightest bit of resentment.


    He, in fact, spoke with a submissive tone, "No, Major General."


    "Not only did you ditch today''s meeting, giving an excuse that you have an important task, but you were alsomitting corruption and giving bribes to my officers?! Your guts are truly not small!" Major General Hector Lloyd spoke with a furious tone.


    Earl Burke''splexion darkened as he understood the situation.


    He immediately knelt on the ground while facing the Major General and spoke, "Forgive me, Major General."


    "Forgive you? Hahaha¡­" The Major General began chuckling. That chuckle seemed to be tinged with wrath.


    Soon, he stoppedughing.


    When Earl Burke noticed that Major General had stoppedughing, he immediately began speaking up, "Yes, please forgive me. I shall return give away the entire sum to the army. I will even buy weapons and hire formation experts at my expense. Please, just let me go, Major General."


    The Major General scowled upon hearing those words, "Thousands of my men died all because of your greed! If not for the fact that you halted the supply of resources and even bribed Colonel Nate to join hands with you, the enemies would have never managed tounch an attack on us!"


    Earl Burke was getting nervous as the Major General spoke with an angry tone. He immediately responded anxiously, "They were merely low-rank soldiers, Major General. I will immediately hire more soldiers and make up the number. They will be even stronger than the ones who died."


    The Major General suddenly stopped speaking. In fact, he was staring at Earl Burke with a nk stare.


    Thinking that the Major General was actually tempted by his offer, Earl Burke added, "They will be 2 Star and 3 Star Warriors all who have graduated from the Palm Valley School of Martial Arts. They will make your army even stronger-"


    Before he could finish his words, the Major General suddenly kicked Earl Burke''s face.


    Neither was using any Ardor. Because he didn''t need it, the Major General didn''t use it, and Earl Burke didn''t dare to use his Ardor against him.


    Even though they were both 5 Star Experts, the Major General could easily kill him!


    Earl Burke coughed a mouthful of blood while the Major General gave him a deathly re. He soon moved closer to Earl Burke and grabbed him by his hair, "Congrattions, you have truly infuriated me."


    "Plead the King for your life." He soon dragged Earl Burke away.


    This entire incident was witnessed by Earl Burke''s concubine.


    Soon, along with the information regarding the attack on the checkpoints on the borders, information about Earl Burke''s corruption also spread in the entire city.

 Chapter 128 - Pass

    Azaroth and his retainers entered the Yhord City through the air. They had already discarded their purple cloaks and no one could figure out that they were the ones who attacked the checkpoints on the border.


    However, Azaroth shook his head and thought ''No. If that Inquisitor Fox guy was here, he probably would have figured it out.''


    But he was sure that the Inquisitor Fox wouldn''t be here unless it was a trick of fate. Thus, there was no issue in removing their disguise. His appearance waspletely unknown to Inquisitor Fox and even the rest of the kingdom.


    None of his retainers'' faces was well known in the Kingdom so no one should recognize them here. Only Laura and Yrellea''s brief descriptions were stated in the papers.


    Currently, all of his retainers were in a good mood.


    Even they hadn''t anticipated that they would dominate these soldiers so greatly. No one of them had seeded in their training or trials on the first try so they had thought that since this was their first collective mission, it would be just as difficult.


    However, it appeared like they were overhyping the difficulty. Azaroth noticed all their emotions but he didn''t rebuke them. They were free to think whatever they wanted.


    He certainly couldn''t expect them to mature so suddenly. Once they gain morebat experience, they would begin to understand matters in greater detail.


    "Where are we going, Boss?" Laura asked curiously.


    All of Azaroth''s retainers looked at him, waiting for his answer.


    "To have a feast," Azaroth replied coolly.


    Those words made his retainers cheer up. Even Tiana had a smile on her face. It indicated that Azaroth was really happy with their performance.


    They soon entered "<strong>The Blue Sun Inn</strong>" and ordered food for themselves.


    After eating to their full, Azaroth booked a dormitory for them and decided to stay a night here.


    During the nighttime, all of his retainers formed a circle and talked about their fight against the soldiers.


    It was Laura who was excitedly describing each event in great detail. Especially the moments when those teams led by the 4 Star Warriors hade.


    Laura, Sargan, Noah, and Ralph, were the ones who fought against the teams led by the 4 Star Warriors.


    "They were all shocked when they saw me fight using my Wood Element. It was really awesome to trap their bodies and swing them around. It felt much better than when I swung those minions around. Hehehe¡­"


    It had to be known that at heart, Laura was an elf. Also, she didn''t have any benevolent feelings towards the humans. She had mostly suffered at the hands of the humans. So, she didn''t feel guilty about killing the lives of those soldiers.


    She thought of their lives as mere numbers. The more she killed, the more her achievements would be.


    "What about you Sargan? How were things on your end?"


    Sargan shrugged in response, "They were pretty hectic. I had to constantly be on the run. I couldn''t really defeat any of them after all."


    Meanwhile, Noah spoke out with a dissatisfied face, "The 4 Star Warrior I was fighting was really slippery. He would always sense my attacks somehow and block them. But still, I managed to take one of his eyes away. Next time, I will kill him."


    Everyone else nkly stared at Noah. They wondered just why was he showing such a dissatisfied look.


    Even though Laura was a 4 Star Warrior, she hadn''t even managed to injure the 4 Star Warrior she was fighting but Noah took away an eye of the 4 Star Warrior he was fighting. Yet, he was still showing that dissatisfied look.


    Meanwhile, Ralph also spoke out, "Just like Sargan, I was forced to run around. But, I managed to kill a few members of his team."


    This was an impressive feat as well and it caused everyone to now focus on Ralph.


    "Hey, let''s y that cards game before sleeping," Laura suggested with a smiling face.


    "Yup."


    "Count me in."


    "This time, I will surely win!"


    ~~


    The next day, the information regarding the attack on the checkpoints by a small group spread in the entire city. Another piece of information spread along with it. It was a description of the crimes Earl Burke hadmitted. Histest one being of corruption. Moreover, there was also a brief description of the way the Major General humiliated Earl Burke.


    The public found great joy in Earl Burke''s suffering.


    Earl Burke bribed Colonel Nate with some benefits and the two pocketed nearly half of the sum sent by the kingdom which was to be used to develop their weapons, formations, armors, food, and many other kinds of things.


    When Azaroth heard this information, he sinisterly smiled. One of his motives had been aplished.


    This was also the reason he stayed in Yhord City tonight. Because he wanted to know whether his motive had been achieved or not. Originally, he thought that it would require nearly 3 days for him to hear this news. But to think that it took just a single day.


    <em>''The King isn''t bad. It was an interesting y.''</em>


    Azaroth looked quite satisfied.


    He soon stood up and informed his retainers, "Get ready. We will soon depart from this ce. Cover your faces with the masks I gave you."


    "Aye, boss!" Noah happily chirped.


    After giving those orders, Azaroth left the Inn. He soon reached the market and entered a pub named "The Great Beer Pub."


    Azaroth entered this pub and ordered tequ.


    The bartender began to prepare his drink. Azaroth leaned on the counter and subtly slipped a piece of paper to him.


    The bartender naturally noticed that piece of paper. He identally dropped a bit of tequ and lowered his back to pick up the piece of paper.


    On that page, he saw the words.


    "Need a pass to the Glerian Kingdom."


    The bartender then slowly stood up and saw a knowing smirk on Azaroth''s face.


    "Who sent you here?" The bartender asked with a cautious look.


    The smile on Azaroth''s face widened and he spoke, "¡­You really want to know?"


    This smile just gave the bartender an intimidating feeling. As he looked into Azaroth''s purple-colored pupils, he was getting frightened.


    "¡­You have the required sum with you, right?" The bartender asked, wanting to confirm whether Azaroth nned to pay or not.


    A brown pouch appeared in his hand and he slid it to the bartender''s side, "Count them yourself."


    The bartender wasn''t surprised to see the spatial ring. He looked at the pouch and could guess the number of coins inside of it. Moreover, the spiritual aura it gave away couldn''t be fake.


    These were undoubtedly 10000 spirit coins.


    The bartender was slightly shocked because he didn''t understand why Azaroth would give him so many coins. The price was merely 1000 Spirit Coins.


    Azaroth whispered, "I have 6 retainers with me. Just get me the passes without any difficulty and you can keep the extra."


    For a second, the bartender''s eyes shone with greed but he quickly calmed down. He thought for a brief moment and spoke, "We have a deal."


    The brown pouch disappeared from the table. It had entered the bartender''s spatial pouch. The bartender soon finished making the tequ and also handed the bill to Azaroth.


    Azaroth drank the tequ and picked up the bill before walking out of the pub.


    On the back of the bill, the location of where he had toe was written.


    <em>''Tronte''s information really came in handy.. The Merchant Union has really made a channel to smuggle people and goods to the Glerian Kingdom and vice-versa.</em>''

 Chapter 129 - The Kings Plans

    Azaroth brought his retainers to the location written on the back of the bill. It was the location of a house.


    Moreover, this was a bungalow on the exact opposite side of the border. Azaroth was surprised as he couldn''t sense anything out of ordinary from this bungalow.


    Azaroth continued to move forward with his retainers. He met up with the bartender who struck a deal with him.


    The bartender handed him 7 sheets of paper. Azaroth noticed that these were the passes he had requested.


    "Go straight inside. You will meet a servant. Give him your passes. He will know what to do." These were the final bits of instructions by the bartender before he walked away.


    Azaroth nodded his head and followed his instructions.


    Just as the bartender had spoken, he met a servant who took Azaroth to a basement.


    The servant ced the bed away and pulled the carpet before showing a handle on the floor. He raised the handle and disyed a hollow cavity.


    "Get inside."


    The servant told Azaroth and his retainers to get moving.


    Azaroth used his Ardor to make his retainers fly and floated down in the hollow cavity.


    He slowly increased his pace of flying and after traversing a couple of hundred miles, he finally saw the ground beneath them.


    Just as he had been informed, a tunnel had been dug out here. Azaroth guessed that nearly hundreds of Earth Elemental Warriors had collectively created this hollow cavity and this tunnel.


    It probably took them a few years to create it.


    Azaroth and his retainers'' feet never touched the ground. They continued to fly ahead at a slow pace.


    While they were flying, Sargan asked Azaroth, "Boss, where does this tunnel lead to?"


    "To the Glerian Kingdom," Azaroth replied coolly.


    A confused expression appeared on Sargan''s face and he asked, "Then why did we attack the border checkpoints? Was it to test us?"


    Azaroth responded casually, "That was indeed one reason."


    "My primary reason for attacking the border checkpoints was to give false information to my enemy and ease some pressure for my clone. Also, I wanted to probe the King''s mind." Azaroth stopped speaking.


    Sargan muttered, "Probe the King''s mind?"


    "Yes. You see, there are a total of three tunnels in the Sinyalian Kingdom that would lead us to the Glerian Kingdom. Among them, one is in this city, another one is in Wrihull City, and thest one''s location is currently unknown. But it does exist. I chose to move from this city because I had always nned to attack the border checkpoints to not just test you but also to test the rumors." Azaroth spoke.


    He then asked a question, "Tell me, did you read the news about Earl Burke?"


    Sargan and Azaroth''s other retainers nodded their heads.


    Ralph spoke out, "Many of his evil deeds have suddenly be public. To punish him, the Major General dragged him out of his estate."


    "Yes. You see, since a few months ago, there were rumors in the Wrihull City that the Glerian Kingdom has ceased any attacks on the borders near Yhord City. And the Sinyalian Kingdom was nning tounch a counter-attack on the Glerian Kingdom."


    "However, the King suddenly gives that city to Earl Burke and the counter-attack on the Glerian Kingdom never urs. Instead, rumors begin to flow that the borders near the Yhord City are rxing their patrolling and security."


    "And now, when we attacked the border checkpoints and killed soldiers there. When the Major General learned that his subordinates Colonel Nate and Earl Burke were involved in corruption, he acted quickly by punishing both of them. A dayter, all of Earl Burke''s evil deeds are listed in the papers. Why do you think this is?"


    Sargan and Yrellea''s eyes widened with surprise and the two spoke almost at the same moment, "The Major General knew about this corruption!"


    Azaroth nodded his head, "This territory is under the Major General. How can he remain unaware whether the ie is reaching his army or not? However, Major General couldn''t do anything until some incident urred. After all, Earl Burke is a member of the Burke Noble Family. If the Noble Family Union hears of this, they would definitely support Earl Burke."


    "Even if the King wanted to pursue the matter, the union of the Noble Families could ce enough pressure on him by giving the exnation that it hadn''t harmed the army by a lot. There was no proper way to counter such a statement. Thus, Earl Burke would just be fined a bit before being transferred to another territory. This would defeat the purpose of dealing with him."


    "Major General couldn''t stage something because either it wouldn''t look convincing or if the other Noble Families investigated it, they would be able to link it up with him. Thus, he had to bepletely unaware or innocent in the situation."


    "If my guess is correct, then this entire thing was nned by the King. That''s because he wants to deal with Earl Burke. Thus, he intentionally promoted him and assigned him a strategic location to show that he looked favorably upon him. However, in reality, the King was perfectly aware of Earl Burke''s character. He knew that once Earl Burke understands that not much fighting is going on at the borders, he would slowly start to pocket the funds the King gives to the army."


    "Earl Burke''s greed grew as time went, and he raised the amount he embezzled. This caused the sry of the soldiers to decrease, decreasing their morale. He probably dismissed the sensory formation, thus the range they could sense decreased immensely. Slowly, even the soldiers were getting lethargic."


    "Around this time, I believe that the King was actually waiting for the Glerian Kingdom to attack. This would show that Earl Burke''s corruption was bing a threat to the Sinyalian Kingdom. After that, he had to reveal all of his evil deeds and make the public hate Earl Burke."


    "This would make it easier for the King to pass judgement on Earl Burke and also take over all of his property."


    Azaroth finally finished his exnation.


    His retainers were in a daze. To think that the King had made such a detailed n to deal with a single noble family.


    Many of them thought that a King was supreme. He could do whatever he wanted. But once they heard Azaroth, they felt as if the King was bound in a certain limit as well.


    They admired him, even more, to have seen through all this by merely gathering the rumors.


    There was another reason that Azaroth didn''t inform them.


    <em>''With that attack on the border checkpoints, I managed to feed false information to that Inquisitor Fox that I am Evil Fiend me Emperor. I also managed to probe the King''s ns, and initiate my own n along with it. Lastly, the Glerian Kingdom should be aware of the existence of a strong demon.. It should make my next moves more convenient.''</em>

 Chapter 130 - Gift From Shun

    Shun received information regarding the matter that urred in Yhord City as well. He smiled slightly as he understood that the demon had made his move.


    He used the Voice Transmission Array Stone to contact Jonas.


    Sometimeter, he heard Jonas''s voice from the array stone, "What is it?"


    Shun asked Jonas, "Did you hear the news regarding Yhord City?"


    Jonas spoke some momentster, "Yes. Earl Burke was involved inrge-scale corruption and was weakening the army with it. The King is absolutely livid upon hearing this information. Earl Burke''s Noble Title is going to be revoked and his territory will be assigned to another Noble Family."


    Shun then spoke, "Yes. But I don''t want to talk about it. This is politics. What I wanted to tell you is that the demon has made his presence known. He attacked the border checkpoints and used light purple mes. And it seemed that he has 6 subordinates, including the Elf Princess."


    "This is a trick from that Demon God. Currently, he thinks we still don''t know about his real identity. Thus, he is trying to show that he is leaving the Kingdom. Once he leaves the Kingdom, it would be difficult for him to contact his men here and we can only let it go. But this, in reality, is a bluff. After all, ording to me, it''s Edwin who is the Demon God. He has no need to hear any order from anyone else."


    "However, it might be true that this demon has a subordinate with Light Purple mes and he is nning to fool us by using him."


    Shun spoke seriously, "Lord Rhodes, the opportunity I was waiting for hase. Pull out all your contacts. It''s time to give up on this matter."


    "¡­Very well. I do have a question for you. If you are so sure that Edwin is that Demon God, why are we not going and capturing him right now?" Jonas asked.


    Shun then threw out a question of his own, "How long would it take for Lord Rhodes to reach Kloras Town?"


    "Hmm? Nearly one week or so." Jonas replied, somewhat confused why he asked such a question.


    Shun spoke, "Then you can never catch Edwin. He has a mole close to us. That''s how he knew we wereing to his ce and investigate it. He had enough time to create an array to hide the Elf Princess and also kill anyone who knew her. Those guards are the perfect example. If not, atleast one of them would still be alive."


    "What?! A mole between us?!" Jonas looked shocked.


    Shun shrugged and casually spoke, "It shouldn''t be that surprising. In fact, this appears convenient to us now. Using these moles, we can send the information that both of us have given up on this mission. This should allow him to rx and make more mistakes. I will also ask one of my friends to keep an eye on how things are going in Kloras Town."


    "Also, I have left behind a certain gift for the demon leaving for the Glerian Kingdom. I wonder if he liked it or not." Shun spoke with a grin.


    ~~


    Azaroth and his retainers were flying ahead. As they reached the halfway point, Azaroth suddenly stopped.


    He sensed something strange ahead. His Spiritual Sense waspletely blocked.


    Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to check out what was ahead. Soon, everything became clear to him.


    Ahead of him was an explosive array that would trigger as soon as it felt an aura entering it.


    And the array just ahead of it was a concealment array. This was actually a rather advanced array.


    Azaroth noticed nearly 10 individuals in the array. 8 of them were at the 4 Star Rank and a 5 two were 5 Star Warriors. They were all staring at him.


    Azaroth guessed that they nned to attack him as soon as he passed that Explosive Array. Not only would the explosion injure them but it would also throw off their concentration. This would be the perfect opportunity tounch a sneak attack.


    A chilly smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he raised his arm and thrown a couple of Purple Hell me Spheres at the explosive array.


    A loud explosion urred in the tunnel.


    The warriors who were waiting for Azaroth were startled. They never expected him to figure out that there was an explosive array ahead of him.


    However, they didn''t have the luxury to remain shocked as they saw Azaroth charging towards them from that smoke with a demonic de in his hand. ck Lightning flickered around his body as he moved ahead.


    "<strong>Triple sh!</strong>"


    One of the warriors stepped forward to block Azaroth''s attack while the others jumped back. Most of them were long-range fighters. They had to be at a certain distance to fight against Azaroth.


    The warrior who blocked Azaroth managed to barely deflect his attacks.


    Azaroth then suddenly used his Hell mes and whispered, "Swallow him!"


    Currently, he didn''t need to intentionally weaken his Hell mes, he could use them to their full potential.


    The Hell mes suddenly burst out of Azaroth''s body and enveloped that warrior''s body.


    The other warriors who had jumped back were shocked to see theirrade''s body quickly burning.


    "<strong>Water Stream!</strong>"


    A woman screamed and hurled arge amount of water at herpanion. She desired to put out the fires. Azaroth''s Hell mes ignored the water.


    The warrior who had been enveloped by those Hell mes seemed to have realized that his death was imminent now.


    He immediately red up his entire Ardor and spoke, "<strong>Destructive Lightning st!</strong>"


    The man gathered all of his Lightning Ardor and unleashed it at Azaroth. He didn''t care about how he had wasted a lot of his Ardor.


    His only desire was now to strike Azaroth and kill him for good.


    Azaroth''s expression never changed as he sensed that the maximum power in that Lightning st was just peak 4 Star Rank. His physical body was strong enough to take on such an attack.


    However, he wasn''t in a mood to let an attack hit his body. Even if it couldn''t injure him, his clothes might be damaged. He raised his sword to counter that Lightning st.


    Soon, the Lightning st was unleashed and it charged at Azaroth with a quick speed. Azaroth also reacted swiftly by moving his sword and whispering ''<em><strong>Wind Cutter.</strong></em>''


    The sharp wind around his sword immediately pierced that Lightning st and dispersed it in the surroundings extremely quickly.


    The warrior never expected Azaroth to deal with his attack so easily.


    "Burst apart now," Azaroth spoke slowly as the mes around him suddenly exploded.


    Meanwhile, the other warriors grew furious. They brandished their weapons and charged at Azaroth with sharp killing intent in their eyes.


    Azaroth responded to that killing intent with a smile.


    Other than two warriors, no one else could pose a threat to him.


    Meanwhile, one of the two 5 Star Warrior was thinking with a shocked expression ''<em>Didn''t master say that this demon would only be at the 4 Star Rank? Why is he at the 5 Star Rank?</em>''


    Naturally, this was something that was out of expectations even for his master.


    Azaroth then showed a devilish grin as he saw the warriors in a distance. He raised his Sword and pointed in their direction.


    Soon, the <strong>Hell mes</strong> began to swirl around his sword.


    "Who are you? Who sent you? And why?" Azaroth asked while the Hell mes continued to revolve around his sword.


    No one answered him. This was expected.


    Azaroth didn''t really need to hear it from their mouths. It could only be that Inquisitor Fox.. He managed to get the information regarding Yhord City fairly quickly and sent instructions to a local gang near this area.

 Chapter 131 - Trapping In Mud

    Azaroth knew that since it was that Inquisitor Fox who instigated this scene, then another group must be approaching them from behind.


    He couldn''t waste too much of his time on these people.


    Thus, the Hell mes that were swirling around his sword suddenly began to grow denser.


    The warriors ahead of Azaroth sensed a massive amount of energy building up.


    All the four-star warriors attacked Azaroth at this moment. They knew they couldn''t allow Azaroth to finish charging up his attack.


    Two of them charged forwards to attack Azaroth. One was charging with an Axe in his hand while the other had a mace.


    They noticed that while Azaroth was charging up his attack, he couldn''t change his posture, thus they felt they had an opportunity to attack him.


    However, one of the two 5 Star Warriors was still worried that Azaroth might suddenly break out of his posture and kill the two warriors.


    He bent down and ced his hand on the ground.


    Suddenly, many rock spikes targeted Azaroth from different directions. However, just after approaching his body, they stopped.


    Azaroth was perplexed until he noticed the other 5 Star Warrior raising his hands and releasing a massive stream of water.


    He didn''t feel any danger from it and allowed the water to strike his body.


    The aim of that warrior wasn''t Azaroth but instead the Earth Spikes that hisrade had created.


    Once the water struck those Earth Spikes, the Earth had somehow melted and converted into mud. This mud fell on Azaroth''s body.


    "Now, harden it!"


    The warrior possessing Water Ardor ordered hisrade. Hisrade didn''t need to be told about it.


    The mud on Azaroth''s body began to harden immediately.


    ''They want to prevent me from moving.''


    By this time, the two 4 Star Warriors had closed the distance between them. They immediately raised their weapons and strike Azaroth''s head.


    Azaroth remained calm even as they were so near to him. Right before they could strike his head, they felt an invisible force stop them.


    It felt as if they had struck an invisible barrier.


    "What?!" Both were shocked at this scene. Not just them, but theirrades who saw this at the back were shocked as well.


    They had used thisbination to deal with many opponents. Even if that opponent was stronger than them. However, to think that even after using it, they couldn''t strike their opponent was just too astonishing for them.


    The 5 Star Warrior possessing the Earth Ardor observed that invisible barrier carefully. He suddenly understood what was going on.


    "Shit! He is proficient in using the surrounding energy as well. He used it to create a barrier around him." He shouted out. He also added urgently, "Dous, Luis¡­ Get back!"


    Azaroth though smiled nastily at this moment, "Since you havee, there is no need to leave."


    His left hand suddenly moved. Even though that Earth Covering tried to restrain his movements, Azaroth''s strength was not something it could handle easily.


    This Earth Covering could only constrain Azaroth for a mere moment. If these warriors thought they were going to restrain him for any more than that, they were just overestimating themselves!


    Wind des were released from his Left Hand. These Wind des immediately attacked the warriors named Dous and Luis.


    However, their reactions were exceptionally quick as they used their heavy weapons to block Azaroth''s attacks and back away.


    Other than a few scratches, they were fine. Once they backed away, they saw a wicked smile on Azaroth''s face.


    "I entertained your attacks long enough. My turn to be on the offensive." Azaroth spoke.


    ''Hell Fire Tornado.''


    Azaroth''s Violet Hell mes Tornado was released from his sword. It expanded and charged towards his enemies at a quick speed. While moving at a quick speed, it was also spinning rapidly.


    When the 5 Star Warriors spotted the me Tornado, they instantly raised their Earth Walls and Water Walls to prevent the Violet Hell mes Tornado from engulfing them.


    Even after theirbined effort though, the me Tornado still managed to create cracks in their barriers. From Azaroth''s side, it would seem as if the me Tornado was rotating quickly to drill a hole in those walls.


    They used even more of their Ardor and constructed more Walls but it was of no use. The cracks continued to widen and the me Tornado broke past the barrier soon enough.


    The two 5 Star Warriors clenched their teeth and had no choice but to use their barrier to protect them. They were using their pure energy as a 5 Star Warrior.


    Simr to how Azaroth had created a barrier around him, these two warriorsbined their powers and formed a strong barrier around them.


    The Hell mes Tornado couldn''t break through that barrier. But Azaroth didn''t care¡­


    He wasn''t nning on using his Hell mes Tornado to kill these two 5 Star Warriors. He knew it wouldn''t be so easy.


    His main motive was to kill all the 4 Star Warriors and then concentrate on dealing with these 5 Star Warriors.


    Soon, Azaroth stopped using his Hell mes.


    The two 5 Star Warriors dispersed their warriors. They turned around and saw nothing¡­


    There was not a single warrior standing behind them. This made them clench their fists angrily.


    One of them was so angry that he charged at Azaroth. This was the warrior possessing the Earth Element.


    Azaroth remained at his position with that same smile as before.


    Once the Earth Warrior was within 100 meters of Azaroth, the Warrior possessing the Water Element immediately used his strongest technique.


    "The Great Tsunami!"


    Suddenly, a tremendous amount of Water charged towards Azaroth. From a distance, it could be said that the area this Tsunami covered was the same as the Hell mes Tornado.


    It had covered the entire opening in the tunnel and there was nowhere to dodge this attack.


    Azaroth couldn''t allow this attack to continue or else it would strike his retainers.


    "Crushing Hammer Fist!"


    The Earth Elemental Warrior spoke as he attacked Azaroth. His target was naturally Azaroth''s face.


    He wanted to break his face and kill him instantly.


    Azaroth understood that this was their personalbo attack. One would use a wide-ranged attack at the enemy while the other would enter into close-rangebat and ensure that the attack would strike their opponent. The closebat warrior must possess some sort of Defensive Skill to remain unharmed even after taking on that wide-ranged water elemental attack.


    The Earth Element''s defensive prowess must have definitely helped in that regard.


    These two used thisbo to confuse the opponent and prevent him from thinking of who he should deal with first. The Long Ranged attack or the close-ranged opponent. It would be extremely challenging for him to deal with both of these issues at the same time.


    Azaroth though instantly found a weakness of thisbo. He whispered disdainfully, "Greater Paralysis."


    A stream of Lightning struck that Earth Elemental Warrior''s body and he immediately stopped in his tracks.


    In fact, he didn''t just stop. For a moment, he had stopped using his Ardor to reinforce his body with Earth Ardor.


    Once his body had stopped reinforcing him with Earth Ardor, the Great Tsunami struck his body.


    The man''s entire body received a strong shockwave.. And since he hadn''t reinforced his body with Earth Ardor, he received many internal injuries.

 Chapter 132 - Reaching The Glerian Kingdom

    Even though Azaroth had more or less dealt with the Earth Elemental Warrior, the Giant Tsunami was still charging at him.


    Pointing his hand in the Great Tsunami''s direction, he whispered slowly, "Lightning Sphere!"


    Instantly, arge ball of Lightning formed ahead of his palm and Azaroth released it immediately.


    This Large Lightning Ball struck that Great Tsunami. And unsurprisingly, it dispersed the water upon contact. It began to move towards that Water Elemental Warrior.


    The fight had more or less ended.


    Just when this thought urred in Azaroth''s mind, the Earth Elemental Warrior opened his eyes and stared at that Large Lightning Ball.


    Blood leaked out of his mouth, nose, and even his eyes, but he still forced his body to move. A brown colored Ardor began to appear around his body.


    The Large Lightning Ball soon approached him and was about to kill him before moving forward as well.


    However, the Earth Elemental Warrior stretched his arms and prevented this Large Lightning Sphere from moving forwards.


    In fact, a few momentster, his grip over this Lightning Ball had increased and he began to push it in Azaroth''s direction.


    Azaroth had naturally noticed what was going on.


    Before the Earth Elemental Warrior could even take 2 steps forward, Azaroth spoke, "Boom!"


    Immediately enough, the Lightning Ball exploded.


    Azaroth had already created a barrier ahead of him so he wasn''t affected when the Lightning Ball Exploded.


    As for his opponent, he wasn''t sure how to describe his state.


    The Earth Elemental Warrior who had managed to stop the Lightning Ball felt the impact at a close range. His Earth Ardor though protected him from the st.


    However, the effect of this explosion hadn''t ended. A lot of Lightning Ardor infiltrated his body and began to destroy it from the inside.


    Even the warrior''s Earth Ardor couldn''t save protect his delicate Internal Organs that had barely survived after the warrior was struck by that Great Tsunami without his Earth Ardor blocking the impact.


    Because of the explosion of that Lightning Ball, the Lightning Ardor was conducting across the Great Tsunami. And this was worsening the Earth Elemental Warrior''s state with each passing second.


    The Water Elemental Warrior immediately stopped using the Great Tsunami. He understood that by continuing to use that attack, he was merely harming hisrade.


    The Great Tsunami soon dispersed.


    The Water Elemental Warrior was nning to attack Azaroth using his other techniques but he couldn''t find Azaroth.


    He looked around and his pupils widened in shock as he saw a ck sh moving around the walls of the tunnel.


    By the time his opponent spotted him, Azaroth had already closed the gap between them.


    <em>''Triple sh!''</em>


    Azaroth raised his sword and attacked the warrior quickly. His speed was much faster than the previous time he used this attack.


    A bubble appeared around Azaroth''s opponent as he blocked Azaroth''s shes.


    When the warrior sessfully managed to block Azaroth''s attack, he was quite pleased with his bubble barrier.


    The bubble was stic. And when it was struck by a physical attack, it would slow them down and then release that attack back at the opponent.


    Out of three shes, only the first one was blocked though. Now that Azaroth knew the properties of this bubble, he added ck Lightning to his Sword.


    The next time his de collided with that bubble, the bubble was easily pierced.


    Azaroth''s sword sliced off his head before his opponent even realized why his bubble was pierced.


    After killing him off, Azaroth walked to the Earth Elemental Warrior, who was fatally injured. He stabbed the man and then spoke out, "Alright, it''s safe now."


    One by one, his retainers approached Azaroth. They had seen the fight from a distance and had a solemn look on their faces.


    Initially, they had been quite proud of their powers. However, seeing this fight, they understood they were still too weak. They had to grow stronger if they were to get involved in fights of this level.


    Azaroth wasn''t going to train them any longer. They had to grow strong on their own from now on while alsopleting their missions.


    This was Azaroth''s motive for killing these soldiers slowly over time. He wanted his retainers to realize that they would be facing much more formidable foes in the future. They couldn''t take pride in the fact that they had defeated their past adversaries.


    "Let''s go. We will have pursuers after us soon enough." Azaroth spoke with a serious voice.


    Azaroth used his Ardor and controlled the bodies of all his retainers. Soon enough, they were all flying towards the Glerian Kingdom.


    Right now, Azaroth was using his top speed while flying so even if a group was pursuing them, they would never be able to catch up to him.


    After flying for nearly half a day, they finally reached their destination. The tunnel ended and they saw a hollow cavity above them. It was remotely simr to the entrance of this tunnel.


    A smile appeared on his retainers'' faces as they understood they had finally reached the Glerian Kingdom.


    Two White Wings of pure Holy Ardor were created on Azaroth''s back and he flew with his top speed.


    He reached the top soon enough. Azaroth and his retainers pushed open the wooden floor and left the Hollow Cavity.


    Just like in Yhord City, they were in a house.


    They left the room and soon encountered a servant. Azaroth spoke to him, "Give us a brief map of the Glerian Kingdom. A basic map political map."


    The servant was used to such requests and spoke, "The map would cost Sir 300 Spirit Coins."


    There was a smile on the servant''s face.


    Azaroth knew that a basic political map couldn''t cost that much but it was expected that this servant would charge him so much. This was an enemy territory after all. And these people held their lives in their hands.


    He handed over the 300 Spirit Coins and received a map soon enough.


    Azaroth ced the map away in his Spatial Ring while telling the servant, "Lead us out."


    "Yes. Don''t mention anything about the Merchant Union." The servant warned Azaroth with a serious face.


    "I know," Azaroth spoke with a shrug.


    Soon enough, they all left the house.


    Azaroth took his retainers to the market. Firstly, they had to buy the local clothes of the Glerian Kingdom and wear them.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s clothes were better in terms of designs while the Glerian Kingdom''s clothing was rather in inparison.


    Only very rich merchants could afford well-designed clothing.


    If Azaroth and his retainers continued to wear the clothes they were wearing, they would stand out too much.


    And it wouldn''t be a good idea to stand out so much in an unfamiliar kingdom.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, Edwin contacted Rein Schwarz, the Vice-Head of the Merchant Union, using the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    Rein Schwarz was puzzled to find out that Edwin was contacting him. Keeping Edwin''s rtionship with Sophie in his mind, he decided to talk to him.


    "What is it, Sir Edwin?" Rein Schwarz asked him.


    "I have a request for you, Sir Rein."

 Chapter 133 - Zena Awakens

    Rein Schwarz heard Edwin''s request and his mouth hung open. He found it too hard to believe it.


    "Can you repeat it, I may have misheard you." Rein Schwarz spoke, his voice dripping with excitement.


    Edwin didn''t find it strange. He spoke with a solemn voice, "Sir Rein, I request you to find me clients who wish to have an array constructed or wish for some sort of pills. I don''t mean to boast but I really can draw many kinds of the 5 Star Arrays and create many kinds of the 5 Star Pills."


    There was a brief period of silence after he finished speaking.


    During this time, Rein Schwarz was thinking deeply with a shocked look ''¡­He is Edwin Rhodes. He is currently 19 years old and he can already draw 5 Star Arrays. And even the 5 Star Pills?! Is he lying to me? How can he be such an expert in both these professions?''


    His doubts weren''t unfounded. There had never been a genius of such caliber in the Sinyalian Kingdom. As the Vice-Head of the Merchant Union, he had seen a lot of geniuses and heard of even more of them. But still, this was the first time he heard of a man who could not only draw 5 Star Arrays but also 5 Star Pills as well.


    Edwin knew what thoughts were going on in Rein Schwarz''s mind. He spoke with a calm voice, "If you don''t believe me, you can confirm my words from Sophie."


    Once Rein Schwarz heard his words, he recalled Edwin''s close rtionship with Sophie and his eyes twinkled.


    ''<em>How could I have forgotten that this is the guy miss Sophie likes. Maybe this is the reason she likes him.</em>'' As these thoughts appeared in Rein Schwarz''s mind, he calmed down significantly.


    He immediately spoke out happily, "How can I doubt your words, Sir Edwin? Since you have spoken, I naturally believe you."


    Rein Schwarz''s voice was so natural that it didn''t seem as if he doubted Edwin for even a second. However, his voice grew serious and he asked Edwin, "What price does Sir Edwin want?"


    Edwin thought for a moment before replying, "My price? I am doing this to increase my skills. I don''t want anything in return. But I understand that this might put you in a hard spot. So, I will leave the fee to you and take 10% out of it. The materials and the resources must be provided by the party requesting these things though. Is that eptable?"


    Rein Schwarz was shocked to hear Edwin''s words.


    10% was a really low price. Normally, the alchemists and those proud array masters wouldn''t ask for less than 50-60% of the total reward.


    "I do have a couple of conditions. The clients must sign a blood contract to not investigate or divulge my true identity to anyone else. And I hope the Merchant Union would conceal any information about my true identity as well. I do not wish to draw any attention."


    Rein Schwarz asked him with a serious voice, "¡­If I may ask, why are you doing this? I find it hard to believe that you are merely doing this to increase your skills."


    Edwin expected this question from him. He spoke slowly, "I shall tell you the real reason. But not like this. It will be when we meet face-to-face."


    Although Rein Schwarz was dissatisfied, he understood that Edwin''s difort to share it on the Voice Transmission Stone.


    "When do we meet?" Rein Schwarz asked Edwin.


    Edwin replied almost immediately, "Next week, I wille to the capital city."


    After those words, the two cut the connection. Around this time, he heard a loud screech!


    This screech was from none other than Zena! Zena had finally digested the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning and increased her strength.


    Her body had turned evenrger. It was nowrge enough for Edwin to ride on top of her.


    Edwin immediately went to her side. He caressed her cheeks gently and spoke to her, "You are finally awake, Zena."


    Zena rubbed her cheeks against Edwin''s body and squealed in delight. Thest time she had seen him, the Lightning Tribtion was raining down on him.


    She was happy to see he had survived.


    "I will create a spiritual connection between us now. Don''t resist, alright?" Edwin spoke.


    Zena seemed to understand his words as she nodded back earnestly.


    Edwin soon created a Spiritual Link with Zena. He hadn''t created it earlier because she was still too young for the technique he was using on her.


    It would have harmed her because of her weak spiritual energy. But now that she had reached the 4 Star Rank, her spiritual energy was strong enough for this technique.


    This would allow the two to talk spiritually and Azaroth could sense her spirit at all times. Naturally, Zena could also sense Azaroth''s spirit as well.


    Once a Spiritual Link was created with Zena, she let out a delighted screech. She flew out of the mansion and began to circle happily in the air.


    After some time though, she suddenly stopped and looked in a particr direction with a puzzled expression.


    Now that a Spiritual Link had formed between them, Azaroth could sense her emotions more intimately.


    Zena heard Azaroth''s voice spiritually ''I am in another Kingdom. The one with you is my clone, that''s why he has the same Spiritual Signature as me. If you want to stay with me, thene to my location. Make sure to fly as high as you can or else the humans will attack you.''


    Zena looked in Edwin''s direction and saw him smiling towards her. He nodded his head, indicating that what she had heard was the truth.


    She then flew high in the sky and proceeded to move towards Azaroth''s location in the Glerian Kingdom.


    ~~


    Around this time, Shun talked to the king and informed him that he had failed the mission. The demon had fled from his grasps and there were not many tracks that remained behind.


    The King was only mildly surprised to find out that Shun had failed his mission. But he soon thought it was quite natural.


    He assigned Shun to this mission one month after it urred. Shun had tried his best but the time he lost was quite significant. It would have been a miracle if he seeded.


    Shun didn''t n on telling the King about the fact that this Demon was actually a Demon God. Moreover, the fact that Edwin Rhodes was this Demon God.


    He had no idea about the motive of this Demon God and what he was scheming. Until he figured that out, they couldn''t take any drastic actions against him.


    This Demon had reached the level of a Demon God. This Cultivation Level was a legend in the eyes of cultivators from the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Just too much information about it was unknown. If the demon found out that the Kingdom was nning to capture him, he might use his trump card and deal a lot of damage to the Kingdom.


    And right now, to find out more about this demon, Shun knew he had to give up. He had to make him rx and allow him tomit a mistake.


    After talking with the King, Shun went to deal with the piling issues in the City of Vanta.. He had left the city for quite a long time so it wasn''t strange to have so many issues piling up here.

 Chapter 134 - The League Of Hell

    After buying some standard clothes in the Glerian Kingdom, Azaroth and his retainers began to walk around in the city.


    They were observing the city while splitting up and talking to some people.


    Azaroth knew that he couldn''t count on the information he had from the Sinyalian Kingdom. Each of them talked to the people around and extracted information in their own way.


    During the evening time, they all gathered in a pub. They were now sharing their information with each other.


    Noah spoke first, "I met a few people and they said that we are in a city named Warrington. I ask them how can I join the army and they told me that I need to pass the test held by a general. However, there are rumors that the king wants to create a new generation of generals and thus, there will be a tournament named ''<em><strong>The Heavenly Dragon Battlefield Tournament</strong></em>'' where all the talented warriors under the age of 20 will fight. The one who will win will be given precious herbs and allowed to cultivate in the outer area of the Royal Pce. He will even be assigned the rank of a captain."


    Sargan spoke, "This Kingdom seems to bepletely under the control of the King. There are Noble Families here but it seems that the overseers assigned by the King hold more power than the Noble Houses. However, this Kingdom''s affluence is much inferior to the Sinyalian Kingdom. Unlike the Sinyalian Kingdom that has many public and private associations, such isn''t the case in the Glerian Kingdom as all of them are under the king."


    "However, unlike the Sinyalian Kingdom that ces equal focus on Diplomacy, Music, Arrays, Martial Academies, Smithy, and Alchemy. This Kingdom focuses on the Sects, Beast Hunting and Alchemy."


    Yrellea continued ahead of Sargan, "All these societies are directly under the King. Among the Sects, the most reputed is the Red Crown Sect. The other sects are Origin Sect, ck Lake Sect, Night Mountain Sect, and so on."


    "As for the Beast Hunting, there is only a single association that has its branches spread all over the Glerian Kingdom. It''s named Dragon Tiger Pce. And its members are known as Beast yer Corps."


    "Just like the Beast Hunting Association, there is a single Alchemy association known as the Alchemy Union." Yrellea finished soon enough.


    It was Tiana who spoke up next, "I gathered that there are not many issues in buying the property within the Glerian Kingdom. There is rarely any inspection as long as you have money."


    Ralph added, "The Beast Hunting Association has one of their branches in this city. It''s said that they form parties with other warriors and go into the forests to hunt the beasts. The warrior has to pay nearly 100 Spirit Coins to register and will receive a Silver Badge. As the warrior hunts more beasts, their rank will be upgraded. The Purple Badge Holders are the leaders of this organization. They are the ones in contact with the King."


    The only one among Azaroth''s retainers who remained silent was Laura. She hadn''t gathered a lot of useful information. Most of what she had gathered had already been mentioned by others.


    Azaroth didn''t me her though. She clearly wasn''t talented in this field and he wasn''t going to force her to do it.


    He cleared his throat and began speaking. It was his turn to share the information, "From what I found out, other than the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Glerian Kingdom also has bad rtions with the Lamhilion Theocracy. However, they are trying to mend their rtionship in the past few months. There is also a rumor that the mines in the Glerian Kingdom had already been exhausted of their ores. ording to the estimates of the experts, it would take a decade for these ores to form naturally. This is one of the reasons why the Glerian Kingdom''s attacks on the Sinyalian Kingdom had decreased."


    Yrellea curiously asked Azaroth, "How did you find this information, Master? I don''t think an average citizen would know of it. And there is an even lesser chance he would tell it to a stranger."


    Azaroth smiled in return but didn''t answer her.


    In reality, Azaroth sensed the aura of a 3 Star Warrior who was keeping an eye on them since they had left the clothing store.


    Azaroth captured him and forcefully extracted everything he knew and killed him. He knew that this man''s death was going to be investigated. But it would just be a formal investigation. In truth, the guards here wouldn''t care a lot as long as this man didn''t have a special identity. They would soon list it in their file and forget about it. Sooner orter, this warrior would be reced.


    If this guy had a special identity, his background would investigate the scene, so there was no need for the guards to trouble themselves too much.


    And it seemed that this warrior Azaroth had killed and extracted information from waspletely ordinary. So a special investigation shouldn''t follow up after this.


    Azaroth soon began speaking seriously, "Sargan, you will split up from me. You are going to roam the entire Glerian Kingdom and nt your men in as many locations as possible. nt them among the merchants, generals, soldiers, sects, in the kingdom''s administrative people and if possible then within some Noble Houses as well."


    He then turned towards Yrellea, "You have mastered the third level of the Heavenly Poison Scripture, Yrellea, and you can defend yourself against fighters of your caliber. I''ll provide you with sufficient resources. You must use them to construct a huge structure and make it a base for the Misty Flower Pavilion. Hire a couple of courtesans and teach them certain massage and cultivating methods, as well as the Hazy Awareness Technique. People''s minds will be rxed as a result of this method, and you will be able to acquire information more effectively. Furthermore, people who are subjected to this method without prior preparation will forget everything."


    Yrellea''s eyes widened slightly as she heard Azaroth. She muttered underneath her breath, "Will I need to actively seduce people to gather information from them?" She clearly didn''t look happy at the thought.


    Azaroth suddenly ced his hand on her chin and raised her face. He looked into her eyes and spoke, "I told you to teach them, not join them. You will be the leader of the Misty Flower Pavilion. You need to maintain a certain amount of prestige around you, meaning, you cannot personally involve yourself in these practices. If anything urs then inform me immediately. I will deal with the issue."


    Azaroth''s words greatly relieved Yrellea. She then spoke with a determined expression, "I won''t disappoint you, master."


    "I know," Azaroth spoke before he recalled his hand back.


    He then spoke ahead with a calm expression, "As for the rest, they will join me as I would need to supervise them for some time."


    Laura''s eyes twinkled with excitement as she heard that she would be together with Azaroth. Tiana showed a faint smile as well.


    Yrellea nced at Laura with a slightly envious look. She was jealous of her friend but she didn''t n toin to Azaroth.


    She knew he had assigned her an important task. She had to stand up to his expectations.


    Sargan was thinking deeply about something. He asked Azaroth soon enough, "What is the name of this organization we are creating?"


    "Our organization will be known as ''<strong>The League of Hell</strong>''."


    Thus¡­ Today was the day the League of Hell was officially created!

 Chapter 135 - Sect Disciples

    After "<strong>The League of Hell</strong>" had officially been created, Azaroth ordered a lot of food. He was in the mood to have a feast.


    While they were eating, Yrellea''s vision moved to the women on the table ahead of them. Five women were seated at that table. All of them were quite beautiful in their own regard.


    And they were all sneaking nced in their direction. It didn''t take her long to realize that these women were ncing in Azaroth''s direction.


    She red at them and but noticed that the women were still staring in their direction. She spoke with an irritated tone, "Master, we should change our location. Preferably a closed ce. We are gathering a lot of attention right now."


    Yrellea didn''t mention these women at all. She didn''t want to say that she was observing these women and was getting slightly annoyed.


    Azaroth shrugged in response and spoke, "If you suggested this 10 minutes ago, I would have agreed. Now, the food has arrived and I am in no mood to move."


    Soon enough, all the people in their group began to eat their food.


    Just as Yrellea had noticed, there were many women in the pub. They numbered as much as men and most of these women were ncing in Azaroth''s direction. The majority of these women were youngdies who hade to drink away their sorrows.


    Azaroth''s face value was quite high and he knew that such a thing was quite natural. So he was just nning to get used to such attention. It shouldn''t harm him all that much.


    The pub''s doors burst open while they were still enjoying their meal.


    Azaroth nced at the person through the corner of his eyes.


    It was a group of 3 people.


    The one in the center was a youth who looked as if he had just turned 18-years-old. There was an arrogant expression on his face as he walked inside. The other two looked older than him by nearly 3-4 years.


    They appeared to be sucking up to the young man based on how they walked around him.


    "If not for junior brother''s help, we definitely wouldn''t have aplished the sect''s mission of returning with the corpse of a Savage me Boar. Junior brother, your sword skills and control over the Earth Element have improved greatly. You probably don''t have any opponent within the 3 Star Rank. Only a 4 Star Warrior can defeat you."


    "I remember young master blocking 3 attacks from senior brother. Young Master''s potential is immense."


    The two subordinates of this young man were speaking in a loud voice.


    Nearly the entire bar seemed to understand that this young boy ahead of them had killed a Savage me Boar.


    Killing a Savage me Boar was an impressive feat. Its me Charge attack as well as its me Breath attacks were incredibly hard to deal with. Its skin was quite thick and a typical 3 Star Warrior would never be able to defeat it.


    If this youth had actually killed a Savage me Boar alone then he was truly very impressive.


    The youth seemed to have an indifferent expression as he walked inside. He seemed to pay no heed to the gazes thrown at him.


    However, Azaroth just shook his head in disappointment. He didn''t even need to use his Mystic Eyes of Perception to know that this guy was trying to hold back his delighted look.


    This guy was pretending to be an expert. And the two guys next to him were just sucking up to him as best as they could.


    They had intentionally talked about their mission right after they entered the pub. Moreover, that too in a loud voice.


    A true expert wouldn''t need to stage such a scene. Azaroth focused on eating his food.


    The young expert swept his nce inside the pub and smiled inside as he saw the startled looks of the people. Nearly all the eyes in the pub were focused on him.


    He liked this feeling quite a bit. It further fed his pride.


    Soon, heid his eyes on Azaroth''s table. His pupils widened slightly as he saw none of them paying any attention to him.


    He focused on Azaroth and saw his handsome appearance. Unknowingly, he began topare his looks with Azaroth''s appearance and his face darkened as he realized that he didn''t stand a chance.


    He also noticed a few beautiful women seated at that table. Each one appeared to be a heavenly beauty, even superior to the beauties he saw in his sect.


    He was irritated by Azaroth''s attractiveness. And the fact that he was conversing with such beautiful women did nothing but aggravate him further.


    His two senior brothers noticed their junior brother''s gaze. They immediately understood the situation.


    One of the two senior brothers looked at the manager of this pub and asked him with a low voice, "Who are these people seated on that table?" He then signaled towards Azaroth''s table.


    The manager whispered back, "Their identity is unknown, young master. They have entered our pub for the first time. The dishes they ordered are all quite exquisite. They must be quite rich."


    The two senior brothers sneered in return. They didn''tck wealth as well. They understood that they couldn''t count on this manager for details regarding the background of these people.


    They decided to observe him and tried to figure out what their background could be. The clothes worn by Azaroth''s group were extremely normal.


    These weren''t the kinds of clothes cultivators wore in the Glerian Kingdom. Unlike the Sinyalian Kingdom, many conflicts urred in the Glerian Kingdom daily. All the cultivators had gotten used to wearing their spiritual clothes casually.


    Naturally, the clothes were provided by the sects. The clothes these two seniors wore were extremely low-ss spiritual clothes. And the youth in their group was the one wearing a red-colored robe. This robe could block an attack from even a 4 Star Expert."


    Next, the two seniors checked for the cultivation of Azaroth''s group.


    Since Azaroth didn''t want to grab any unnecessary attention, he had sealed everyone''s cultivation at the 2 Star Rank. If they really required it, they could break his seal at any moment.


    Thus, these two seniors sensed that Azaroth''s cultivation was merely at the 2 Star Rank and was quite relieved. The only thing that worried them was that the young child in their group was also a 2 Star Warrior. They were naturally talking about Noah. But they soon ignored him.


    They could deal with such a talentter. Currently, this boy wouldn''t pose a threat to them.


    "Give us a table behind that one." They pointed towards Azaroth''s table.


    Soon, the three of them upied another table and began eating their food and drank some wine.


    The young genius and his senior brothers looked around. They noticed not a single woman was looking in their direction anymore. Their vision seemed to be fixated towards Azaroth''s table.


    Even the men who were tteringly looking at the young prodigy were now stealing nces at the women at Azaroth''s table.


    The fact that Azaroth took away all his poprity just because he was slightly more handsome enraged him greatly.


    He nced at his senior brothers and spoke with an authoritative voice, "Think of an idea for me to deal with that guy."


    The two senior brothers were already thinking about it. One of them showed a clever smile as he spoke, "I do have a n, Junior Brother.. We just need to wait for some time."

 Chapter 136 - Comparing Pointers

    It had been nearly 15 minutes or so since these three cultivators arrived. They took only a few bites of the food and drank wine.


    Suddenly, a senior among them stood up and spoke out, "Greetings everyone, I am Zinon Tripellis, and I am a member of the Stony Rock Sect."


    Zinon paused after speaking those words. Nearly all the people within the pub, including Azaroth''s group, focused on him.


    They were just mildly curious why he was shouting loudly.


    Meanwhile, the other people looked surprised to hear that Zinon was a disciple of the Stony Rock Sect. This sect was situated near their area and their disciples were considered quite talented.


    This sect would rank in the top ten sects in the Glerian Kingdom.


    "As you can see, the atmosphere in this bar is pretty gloomy. So, how about we exchange a couple of moves against each other? Our junior brother is willing to instruct any volunteers." Zinon then gestured towards the young genius from his sect.


    Immediately enough, people swept their nces at him. They remembered that this guy killed a Savage me Boar alone. Maybe they can learn a new skill from him.


    The young genius stood up and humbly spoke, "My name is Spyro Vasilias. I would be honored to show off my inexperienced techniques. If anyone wants to exchange move with me, they can raise their hands. But only a single one from each table please."


    This way of speaking caught everyone''s attention. They knew that he was a genius but they didn''t expect him to speak so humbly.


    The fact he was allowing one from each table already delighted them. It had to be known that the geniuses from the sect would typically show an indifferent expression. Most of them would never waste their precious time on a fewmoners.


    Spyro was internally delighted as he became the center of attraction once again. He stared at Azaroth''s table since his main motive was to impress the beauties seated there but he was shocked and annoyed to find out they had already turned their heads and no longer focused on him.


    ''<em>Even these 2 Star Warriors dare to look down on me?!</em>'' Spyro was angry, but he kept a straight face. His serene and confident smile remained unchanged.


    As a young genius, Spyro had been praised by all sorts of people since the time he began to cultivate. He was the rising star in his Stony Rock Sect and there were rumors that after one more year, he could even be the number 1 talent of his sect.


    In the future, he would be the face of the sect, so they would agree to nearly all his requests. In this life, he had received whatever he wanted.


    But today, he saw that a group of these cultivators actually ignored him. No¡­ They most likely thought that he wasn''t worth looking at.


    Such tant disregard¡­ It was the first time Spyro had experienced it in this city. Even his senior brothers with much greater strength wouldn''t do it let alone these weaklings.


    Even though Spyro was furious at Azaroth and his group, he decided to endure. He knew if he acted now, it would backfire on him.


    First, he had to show off a bit more.


    While Spyro was having such thoughts, nearly all the people in the pub had decided who would go and exchange points against Spyro.


    All of them had made up their minds, except for Azaroth''s table and a couple of tables inhabited solely by women.


    It was Zinon who spoke out soon enough, "Let''s start with the one from the nearest table to yours. Yes, you. You can exchange pointers with our junior brother."


    Zinon pointed at a man who was seated on the nearest table to their own. The man looked excited as he stepped out.


    Zinon then looked at the manager and asked him, "Move the tables aside and prepare some space for junior brother to exchange pointers with everyone here."


    The manager nodded his head and immediately sent his men to move a few tables aside. They were round tables and could easily be picked up and ced somewhere else.


    There was a lot of vacant space generated. It was enough for Spyro and another person to have a short spar.


    The first man who had stepped out appeared to be a middle-aged man. He had clearly been cultivating for a long time but he had barely reached the 3 Star Rank. His Spiritual energy was fluctuating greatly which meant he had only recently broken through to the 3 Star Rank and hadn''t stabilized it yet.


    Spyro moved ahead and took his position. The middle-aged man did the same.


    The two first exchanged their names as Spyro spoke, "I will allow you to attack me with 3 techniques. If you manage to push me from this spot, you will win. And if you win, I will give you 100 Spirit Coins."


    The middle-aged man was excited to hear about the reward. Not just him, but the other people as well.


    They didn''t think they would be able to earn money from this exchange. But now, not only would they be able to test their skill against a genius from the Stony Rock Sect but also earn money if they won.


    Spyro internally grinned cynically as he watched their delighted expressions.


    They were thinking too highly of themselves if they thought they could defeat him.


    Soon enough, the middle-aged man charged at Spyro with his top speed. He was an independent cultivator so he didn''t possess a proper movement technique.


    This middle-aged man appeared to be talented in using the me Element. He congealed it around his fist and punched Spyro.


    The onlookers were shocked as they saw the fist hit Spyro. However, what surprised them even further was that Spyro''s body didn''t move. Based on his rxed expression, it didn''t even seem as if he had been punched.


    "You have another two attacks," Spyro spoke with a calm tone.


    Once the middle-aged man heard Spyro, he immediately jumped and kicked Spyro''s chest. He had used me Ardor to generate a speed burst to push Spyro but once again, he had failed.


    "The final attack. Make sure to put your all into it." Spyro spoke.


    The middle-aged man''splexion turned slightly ugly. He knew that if he failed now, he wouldn''t be able to win those 100 Spirit Coins.


    He congealed all his me Ardor in both of his fists and thenunched a fierce punchingbo at Spyro. The trick of this technique was that his momentum would slowly increase with each punch he threw out. Hence, the power of this attack was gradually rising.


    Spyro took those attacks on his body but he didn''t seem to care at all.


    Soon, the middle-aged man got exhausted and stopped his fiercebo.


    Spyro then spoke with a haughty look, "My turn now."


    He threw out what seemed to be a light punch and targeted the middle-aged man''s chest. Once the middle-aged man saw his attack, he immediately moved his hands to block it. However, even after he had used both of his hands to block the punch, he was forced back several steps.


    "You have lost," Spyro spoke calmly.


    The middle-aged man epted his defeat by lowering his head.


    Spyro added, "You should stabilize your aura and focus on control rather than pure power or speed. Once you achieve that, your power will increase exponentially."


    The onlookers were quite surprised and excited as they heard Spyro advising the middle-aged man.


    This meant he would advise them after they lose to him. This was a rare opportunity and they made sure to disy theirplete ability to him.


    Azaroth''s vision fell on this charade as well. He resisted the urge to chuckle as he saw this entire scene and heard Spyro''s advice.


    <em>''This guy is pretending so hard to make it seem as if he has the bearing of an expert.''</em>

 Chapter 137 - Fraud

    Spyro''s motives were clear to Azaroth. And now, getting out of this situation without aggravating it would be tricky.


    However, Azaroth only smiled coldly. He already had a devious n in his mind involving Spyro. These were his thoughts as he mildly drank some alcohol.


    Soon, Spyro fought a warrior from each table one after the other. Suffice to say, his title as a genius didn''t appear to be a sham. All sorts of warriors had fought against him and used their personal skills, but none were able to force him to take a single step back.


    All the people who fought against Spyro looked quite happy even though they lost against him. Because Spyro would advise them and give them a hint on how they should advance further.


    Azaroth was disappointed, though. If this genius from one of the Top Ten Ranking Sects was only at this level, this Kingdom would probably disappoint him.


    Currently, his retainers were chatting with each other. Their talks were centered around how they were going to aplish their tasks.


    "I will miss you, elder sister," Laura spoke with a distressed look. She then looked at Sargan and added, "Of course, I will miss you too, Sargan."


    Sargan replied with a slight smile, "Same for me. I will miss you all."


    "Don''t create for Master. Make sure to obey his orders. He knows what he is doing." Yrellea poked Laura''s forehead.


    In return, Laura pouted and replied, "I don''t disobey him¡­."


    Ralph chirped up at that moment, "When it suits you, that is."


    Laura replied with a mock re, "Oh shut up."


    Ralph ignored her and spoke to Yrellea, "I will inform you if she disobeys master. She only listens to you."


    Before Laura could reply to Ralph, Yrellea twisted her ears and replied to Ralph, "Please do so. I will handle this troublemaker."


    Noah spoke to Sargan with a challenging look in his eyes, "Don''t ck off on your training. Because if you dare to ck off, I will leave you in the dust."


    Sargan nodded seriously to Noah''s words. When he fought against Noah, his winning rate against Noah was quite highpared to Azaroth''s other retainers.


    In ten fights, Sargan would take 7, and Noah would win 3 times.


    However, Sargan had seen just how greatly Noah was improving. If not for the Petrification Skill, he would only win a couple of times against Noah.


    He wanted to retain his title as the strongest among Azaroth''s retainers. Well, that was excluding Laura since she was a 4 Star Warrior.


    Soon, it was Sargan''s vision that fell on the entire charade going on within the Pub. He told hisrades, "Hey, look. Something interesting is going on."


    All of Azaroth''s retainers turned to look at Spyro fighting against a youth a few years older than him.


    Spyro nced in Azaroth''s directions and was internally quite pleased to see that the beauties on Azaroth''s table were gazing at him.


    He felt incredibly proud at this moment and thought ''<em>Hah! Do you now understand how amazing I am? Haha¡­</em>''


    Actually, if Spyro had looked at their group for a bit longer, he would have seen Laura and Yrellea''s expressions change to a look of disgust.


    That was because Sargan had just informed them of important information.


    He spoke, "This guy is quite a fraud."


    Laura asked him with a curious expression, "How?"


    Sargan replied, "This guy is wearing a high-grade vest underneath his Spiritual Clothes that immediately spreads the attack''s power across his entire body. Moreover, he is using the Earth Ardor to fix his body to the ground. It''s only natural that no one of these warriors can move him from his spot even though their attacks aren''t that bad."


    Yrellea continued his exnation, "Also, this guy strikes only when his opponents have used all their Ardor in their previous attacks. How can these warriors resist an attack once most of their Ardor had been consumed? So, this makes it seem as if he is winning by andslide."


    The curious look on Laura''s face was immediately reced with a disgusted look. She hated such lowly tactics in a fight.


    This guy was just using his high-grade defensive equipment to bully the warriors here. If he wasn''t even confident of winning, then why did he want to exchange pointers? He was just a pretentious fellow.


    Azaroth spoke, "That was sound reasoning. Why do you think he is making such a scene, though?"


    Yrellea and Sargan thought for some moments. It was Sargan who answered first, "To increase the prestige of his sect?"


    Yrellea gave her answer as well, "To show off and flirt with women. I recognize a lustful gaze when I see one."


    Azaroth spoke, "Both of you are correct."


    The two of them were delighted to hear their answers were correct. Azaroth then added, "Such tactics are althoughmon, but they still work well. The requirement is that you must have enough prestige to use them."


    Soon, Spyro finished his fight with all the volunteers. He sent a signal to his Senior Brothers.


    The two senior brothers immediately began to walk in Azaroth''s direction.


    Zinon spoke with a kind smile on his face, "Who among you wants to exchange pointers with junior brother?"


    Even though it seemed as if Zinon was asking them all, his face was focused on Azaroth.


    Azaroth replied offhandedly, "None of us want to challenge your junior brother."


    Zinon didn''t give up and added, "Are you sure about this? Let me tell you, this is an extremely rare opportunity. Through junior brother''s suggestions, you might advance in your cultivation by leaps and bounds."


    "Is that so? Talk to me if he beats him." Azaroth said while pointing at Noah. Once he finished speaking, he took another sip of his drink.


    "What did you say?! You want to make this little kid fight against Junior Brother! Are you looking down on the Stony Rock Sect?! Do you mean that your subordinate is better than a genius trained by the Stony Rock Sect?!" Zinon''srade yelled out angrily.


    Azarothpletely ignored him. It seemed as if he was just keeping his word. He wouldn''t talk to them unless they beat his subordinate.


    "You¡­ You are actually looking down on our sect?! You deserve to be punished." Zinon red up as Azaroth utterly ignored them.


    Zinon went to grab Azaroth''s cor with his outstretched hand. His hand was pushed back by a mysterious force.


    Zinon was silent for a brief moment. He was just taken aback by what had happened. His mind soon registered that mysterious energy had actually smacked his hand away!


    When he looked in the direction he was attacked, he saw a little boy seated there with a furious expression on his face.


    "You are really rude to the boss.. Didn''t Boss say that you can''t talk to him unless that guy beats me? How dare you try to touch Boss''s clothes then?!" Noah looked absolutely furious at Zinon and hisrade.

 Chapter 138 - Bet On Noah

    Zinon was absolutely bbergasted as Noah deflected his hand while remaining at his position.


    Even though he hadn''t reinforced his arm with a lot of Ardor, it couldn''t be smacked away so easily. As a 3 Star Warrior, his physique was bound to be stronger than Noah''s strength.


    Moreover, why had he not sensed any killing intent? As a cultivator, he was quite sensitive to the killing intent. If he had sensed even a bit of the killing intent, he would have reinforced his arm with Ardor, preventing it from being deflected away.


    Even Spyro frowned as he saw the scene. He hadn''t expected this situation.


    Zinon soon recovered hisposure and spoke, "What did you say? You will fight junior brother? Hahaha¡­"


    Zinon''srade right next to him heard hisughter and began chuckling as well. They found Noah''s words quite hrious.


    Zinon soon spoke out arrogantly, "Are you thinking highly about yourself just because you deflected my hand right now? You should know that I didn''t use Ardor at all. If I did, tens of your boss wouldn''t be my match. Let alone you."


    Noah replied nonchntly as well, "So what if you didn''t use Ardor. It''s not like I used Ardor against you. If I did, that hand would be on the floor."


    Zinon suddenly stoppedughing. Even Spyro and other people were looking in their direction now.


    Zinon tried to suppress Noah with his spirit and intimidate him, but it didn''t work at all. Instead, Noah reacted by releasing his aura, and it slightly hurt Zinon.


    Sargan spoke out, "And he is merely the weakest among us. If you can''t even beat him, how can you think of challenging our boss?"


    When Sargan finished speaking, Azaroth''s other retainers turned towards him and gestured at him, asking him with their gazes, "Really, man?"


    They were really surprised how Sargan had shamelessly made it seem as if Noah was the weakest among them when he was one of the strongest.


    The funny thing was that Zinon and hisrade actually believed Sargan''s words. It was quite natural for them to believe as they noticed that Noah looked quite young.


    He was merely 10 years old, so they felt it was quite reasonable for him to truly be the weakest.


    This infuriated Zinon and hisrade. Zinon spoke, "The consequences of looking down on our sect is not something you can imagine!"


    Zinon looked towards the women''s side and spoke, "Beauties. If you stick by this man''s side, our sect will retaliate against you as well. You have the opportunity to swap sides and demonstrate that you are not associated with them."


    Other than Noah, Azaroth''s retainers turned towards each other. They suddenly burst outughing.


    Azaroth''s might had previously been shown to them. They also knew he had a mysterious past, one that probably surpassed Laura''s.


    Sargan had received a Nether Devil God''s Cultivation Technique. The bloodline pressure he experienced from Azaroth already told him that this man was definitely someone connected to the Demon God.


    Trying to threaten Azaroth was just too hrious with their low-ss background.


    Moreover, they had already seen him fight against 5 Star Warriors. They knew that he could annihte any trace of these warriors with a turn of his hands.


    He was just trying to be low-key right now.


    Seeing everyoneughing¡­ Zinon and hisrade felt that they were making fun of them. Which was absolutely true.


    They were truly making fun of these fools.


    The other people were quite curious as they looked at this scene. It was rare for someone in the city to humiliate the disciples of the Stony Rock Sect.


    Even though Zinon and hisrade had used the Stony Rock Sect to intimidate the group, not a single one of them appeared to be scared. In fact, they could see a bit of excitement on their faces.


    The one word that came into the minds of thesemon people and warriors was "Freaks!"


    They were freaks because if they had the slightest bit ofmon sense, they wouldn''t be messing with the disciples of the Stony Rock Sect.


    Before Zinon and hisrade were about to speak anything else in anger, Noah spoke with a calm tone, "I will give you both a chance. Attack me at the same time. If you can touch me, it will count as your win."


    "What?!" Zinon and hisrade showed bbergasted looks.


    Noah didn''t give them a chance to contemte and reply back as he attacked them with his Sword Qi.


    Zinon and hisrade immediately sensed several attacks charging towards them, and they applied Ardor in their arms to block or deflect them.


    "Since you like to y around with your life, let me make you understand just how worthless your arrogance is," Zinon spoke with a sneer as he charged ahead.


    There was a spear tied on his back, and he charged towards Noah.


    Just when the tip of his Spear was about to touch Noah''s body, Zinon saw a white sh. It was so quick that he didn''t understand what happened.


    However, when he looked down, he saw that his spear had been sliced off near the halfway mark.


    Zinon noticed Noah sheathing his sword, and it was extremely clear, he had broken his spear in one swift movement.


    "¡­You should have charged ahead with yourrade. You would have more of a chance. But as Boss says, zero multiples by anything is zero. So you still wouldn''t be able to touch me." Noah spoke with a confident tone.


    Meanwhile, Azarorth spat out his drink in surprise. He thought <em>''The heck? When did I say something like that? Don''t include me in your nonsense.''</em>


    Azaroth then looked at the proud expression on Laura''s face and understood who the culprit was. She probably used his name to teach a few things to Noah.


    Zinon and hisrade just got even angrier at Noah''s words. They were about to use their strong techniques to attack Noah and teach him a lesson.


    Noah then suddenly turned towards Spyro. He spoke in a condescending tone, "I have heard that time is precious. Thus, wasting my time on you will be foolishness on my part."


    Noah went ahead to fight Spyro.


    Before Zinon and hisrade could speak anything, Spyro spoke out with a kind smile while focusing on Azaroth, "We can''t just force someone to learn." His facial expression changed though and showed a scornful smile, "However, to think you would send a child to face me. You are a coward. I look down on a man like you."


    Azaroth once again ignored his words.


    It was Sargan who responded with a sneer, "Boss already told you that he won''t talk to you unless you beat Noah."


    Sargan also added, "I can bet 1000 Spirit coins that you won''t be able to touch Noah."


    "What?!" Not just the onlookers but also Spyro was quite shocked.


    The quantity of 1000 Spirit coins was not insignificant. And, ording to him, their group shouldn''t have that much money.


    Even as a genius of the Stony Rock Sect, he was only paid 200 Spirit Coins every month. However, because this money was spent on many things, he could only save around 50 Spirit Coins every month.


    Thus, Sargan''s wager of 1000 Spirit Coins stunned him.

 Chapter 139 - Spyros Shock

    When the onlookers heard Sargan put out a wager of 1000 Spirit Coins that Spyro won''t even be able to touch Noah, they were shocked but also angry.


    The strongest among their group had lost to Spyro. Moreover, it was a one-sided victory. To hear from Sargan that Spyro won''t even touch Noah made them feel that Sargan was suggesting Spyro was below Noah.


    And since they were below Spyro¡­ It could be said that in Sargan''s eyes, their existence was worthless!


    This red them up greatly. How could they tolerate someone looking down on them so much?!


    "How arrogant?! I hope young master Spyro will thrash this boy! Atleast he will realize that just because he has a mouth doesn''t mean he can speak nonsense!"


    "Yeah. This is just tant contempt for the Stony Rock Sect. Young Master Spyro doesn''t need to hold back against them."


    "It''s unfortunate that this child has been assigned to battle Young Master Spyro. However, after he is defeated, young master Spyro must teach that man and his followers a lesson."


    "This man has insulted us for long enough. Please teach this man a lesson quickly!"


    While they were speaking with such fervor, someone among them shouted, "Justice¡­Give us justice!"


    It was worth noting that the entire public was raging at Sargan. Not a single one of them targeted Noah.


    In their eyes, his arrogance was a result of his youth. There was no need to be too harsh on him.


    Moreover, even though he had sharp eyes and an authoritative aura around him, his cute appearance made them halt, especially to the eyes of the women.


    As they looked at Noah, his charm hit them greatly. They were the ones who purposely shifted the anger to Azaroth. In fact, a few of them were even walking next to Noah.


    "Little kid, is your boss threatening you? Is he doing something bad to you?"


    "Don''t worry, you can tell us all about it. We will definitely handle the situation."


    These women were filled with benevolence towards him.


    Noah frowned and fiercely red at these women. The fact they were putting such me on Azaroth just angered him.


    In his eyes, Azaroth was his savior. His master. And to a sense, his god.


    He had to be a sword that servers his enemies, not someone who thinks against his master!


    Just as he was about to p one of these women, Azaroth spoke out, "No. Remain focused on your task!"


    Once Noah heard Azaroth''s words, he immediately calmed down. He ignored the women around him who raged at Azaroth for trying to prevent Noah from speaking the truth.


    Initially, these women were quite fond of Azaroth because of his appearance. But now, they felt that this man was just a tyrant who was forcing young children to obey him.


    In a sense, Azaroth found their anger amusing.


    The raging emotions he saw somewhat astonished him. But what amused him, even more, was that these women had still not dared to take any action against him.


    Their anger was strong enough, so why hadn''t they attacked him yet? It was because their fear of him was even greater.


    These women weren''t even truly warriors.


    Their fear was truly amusing to him.


    While looking at these women, he gave a chilly smile and calmly spoke, "Woman, if you are angry, then release it. You can re at me all day, but it won''t hurt me. Come, attack me."


    He added after a momentary pause, "However, if you do step towards me, it won''t end up with a tap on your arm. Blood will spill, and it won''t be mine."


    One of these women yelled at him, "You are forcing an innocent boy to obey yourmands!"


    Azaroth decided to amuse himself and replied, "So, what?"


    "This is wrong!" A man stood up in support of the women and shouted at Azaroth while ring at him.


    Azaroth turned towards this man and began speaking with a fierce voice, "Ah right. People like you do love to preach about what is right and what is wrong. You love to see the world as right, wrong, ck or white. When you see something wrong, you immediately stand up against it."


    "The issue with people like you is that you take action before even trying to understand the situation. I can''t say it''s an issue for me, though. Your rage towards me is thrilling. Because I can now see that look of realization on your face. That look of realization which says you don''t have enough power to change anything." Azaroth finished speaking while the chilly smile on his face widened.


    The women and even the men who stood up against Azaroth lowered their heads. They hated admitting it, but this was the truth.


    Before they could say anything, Azaroth spoke to them, "Now, open your eyes wide and observe Noah. Believe me when I say that you are worried about the wrong person."


    Soon, the people turned their eyes towards Noah.


    Spyro began speaking to Noah, "You can back out if you-" Suddenly, a Sword Qi from very close to his head. It cut apart a few strands of his hair.


    The attack was so sudden that itpletely shocked Spyro.


    Then, he heard Noah speaking with a voice filled with frustration, "Chatter, chatter, chatter. Can you just shut up for a moment and fight? If I kill you now, those two idiots are going to shout how I killed you when you were unprepared. So just do it. Prepare yourself."


    This time, his voice wasn''t just spoken with a strong tone. It also held his frustrating emotions.


    His voice greatly impacted those who heard him.


    Meanwhile, Spyro was in another kind of shock. His primary aim in having these spars was just to look cooler. But now, he realized that the attack that was about to hit him was none other than an Intent Qi.


    The boy ahead of him had actually condensed Sword Intent Qi. Moreover, its power wasn''t weak!


    His primary motive in conducting these spars was to humiliate Azaroth since he thought Azaroth was just a weak warrior with a social circle out of his reach. Basically, Spyro just wanted to flirt around with Laura and others.


    It was now he realized that he had poked a monster far beyond his capability to handle.


    Just this kid with the awakened Sword Intent at such a young age could be considered a monster.


    But this realization scared him only slightly.


    As a genius, he had his own pride as well. He wasn''t going to admit defeat before even fight. The warriors whoprehend their intent aren''t invincible.


    It could be said that they had one more weapon in their arsenal and knew how to use it well. However, as a disciple from a famous sect, Spyro didn''tck attacks as well.


    A calm aura was released from his body as Spyro prepared himself for a serious fight against Noah.


    When Noah saw his opponent finally get into a battle stance, he raised his sword and pointed it at Spyro.


    He was the one who took the initiative to attack.. Spyro braced his body for impact and also readied his own attack. After bracing the impact, he was going tounch his own attack!

 Chapter 140 - Admitting Defeat

    Nearly tens of Sword Qi were released from Noah''s sword, and they attacked Spyro''s body.


    Spyro braced his body with Earth Ardor and took the attack head-on.


    However, even though he had done his best to overestimate its power, he had still underestimated it.


    The Sword Intent qi pierced past his Earth Ardor aura and tore his upper garment slightly. However, they soon came in contact with a metallic body and were dispersed immediately upon contact.


    As the onlookers gazed at Spyro, they saw a metallic ardor that had remained underneath his clothes.


    Some of them managed to recognize the Ardor and shouted, "That is a High Red Grade Spiritual Ardor! Young Master Spyro was actually wearing it underneath his clothes!"


    Once this information spread within the pub, the people began to gasp in realization.


    Many of them had a disgusted look on their faces as they red at Spyro. They now understood why they lost against Spyro.


    Even though they were convinced of their inferiority, in the back of their minds, they felt that the difference between them and Spyro couldn''t be so exaggerated.


    However, they did genuinely respect Spyro''s power, so they ignored that voice in their minds.


    But now, they instantly realized that this Spiritual Ardor yed an important role in Spyro''s victory.


    This news destroyed their initial impression of Spyro.


    A few people couldn''t help but shout, "I never imagined a genius of the Stony Rock Sect would be so shameless."


    "Now that I remember his pretentious tone and how he advised me, it makes me want to puke in abhorrence."


    When Spyro heard these words from the public while he was just about to use his own technique. He nearly lost his concentration and failed to even send it in Noah''s direction.


    The Earth Ardor that he was going tounch at Noah exploded within his own body, resulting in internal injuries.


    Noah looked surprised when he felt Spyro''s Aura suddenly weaken. He was preparing his Sword Qi for an attack, but he didn''t expect Spyro to be distracted by the words of the onlookers and actually make such a mistake.


    His Enlightened Sword Heart prevented him from making any mistakes while using his techniques. The shouts of these people couldn''t break his concentration or affect his technique at all. Thus, he was unable to understand what Spyro felt at this moment.


    Even though a few of Spyro''s internal organs were hurt because of that burst of his Earth Ardor, he managed to keep his crucial organs safe.


    He noticed that Noah wasn''t attacking him. He was even giving him the time to recover. There was a look of indifference in his eyes. It was as if no matter what Spyro did, he wouldn''t be able to harm Noah.


    As a genius, his pride was hurt.


    He immediately decided to move and make Noah pay for underestimating him. He also sealed his ears to prevent himself from hearing the spectators.


    This would prevent him from getting distracted by their words.


    He moved forwards to punch Noah. As an Earth Elemental Cultivator, he was greatly confident in his physique and elemental strength.


    In closebat, the Earth Element had no equal. He could use it to easily smash anyone standing in his way. His confidence wasn''t unfounded, as this was usually quite true.


    Even if Noah possessed Sword Intent Qi, he couldn''t use it to block his attacks.


    Once he was a few steps away from Noah, he suddenly felt Sword Qi revolving around in a circle with Noah as their center.


    Before he could take another step forward, he felt his clothes and even his skin tear as multiple Sword Qi struck his body.


    One of them even reached his pain and made him feel excruciating pain.


    In the back of his mind, he was absolutely astonished. The reason for his astonishment was this zone Noah had created where he possessed absolute control over the Sword Qi.


    ording to the legends, this was none other than a <strong>Sword Domain</strong>!


    <em>''This kid hasprehended a <strong>Sword Domain</strong>?!''</em>


    As soon as that thought urred in his head, he was very scared.


    An expert who hadprehended Sword Domain was rare as a phoenix''s feather. Only those Old Experts had managed to grasp a hint of Sword Domain, and that was by gathering a vast amount of experience under their belt.


    There was only a single expert in the Glerian Kingdom who hadprehended an Intent Domain. His title was <strong>Silver Cruel Hawk</strong>, and he hadprehended a <strong>Wind Domain</strong>. He was a Demi-Beast with the blood of Hawks within his body. Thus he was innately connected to the Wind Element.


    However, even the Silver Cruel Hawk was nearly hundreds of years old. Because he had gained the cultivation of 7 Star Warriors, he could live for a couple of thousands of years.


    When Spyro focused on Noah, he had already taken a few steps back as he had no intentions to die just yet.


    As arrogant he was, he was aware of his limits as well. He couldn''t deal with an Intent Domain even if he tried his best. Besides, he was already injured by that burst of Earth Ardor in his body. Thus, he was no longer in ideal condition.


    The kid ahead of him was clearly very young. To already be taking a step into the Sword Domain just stated how great his talent was. His potential was immeasurable.


    Meanwhile, Sargan was going around, talking to people about the bet he had.


    After Sargan said that he would bet 1000 Spirit Coins that Spyro would not even touch Noah, a few people approached him and epted his wager.


    They verified that he had the funds to ce the wager and then made their own wagers on Spyro''s capability to touch Noah.


    Sargan epted the wager with a bright smile. He knew Noah''s abilities the best.


    He had already known that Noah possessed Sword Domain. And he also knew that Noah wouldn''t hold back on Spyro.


    Thus, he was quite confident in winning this bet.


    The men who put their hopes on Spyro began talking among themselves.


    "Hehe¡­ This kid doesn''t realize that he has already lost. The disciples of the Stony Rock Sect pride themselves on their defensive skills. Moreover, young master Spyro is a genius even in that sect, so it''s obvious he would hit this little kid no matter what cheap tricks he uses."


    The other one agreed with this reasoning.


    When Spyro''s armor was revealed, unlike the other spectators, they didn''t curse Spyro. They were, in fact, happy. This meant that Noah''s attacks won''t work on Spyro. And Spyro would be able to hit Noah. Once this urred, they would gain a massive sum from the wager against Sargan.


    However, they had no idea that Noah possessed Sword Domain in his arsenal.


    Moreover, he had already used it on Spyro.


    Although Spyro''s armor was quite rare and valuable, along with possessing a great defensive use, it couldn''tpletely block Noah''s Sword Qi attacks.


    This was quite natural because the Armor only extended to his upper body and a bit of his Lower Body.


    The multiple Sword Qi within the Sword Domain continued to strike Spyro and chip off his skin, until he spoke the following words.


    "I give up."

 Chapter 141 - Barret Houses Secret

    After Spyro gave up, many people were happy and sad at the same moment. They were happy to see this detestable man lose.


    While they were also sad that Spyro wouldn''t teach a lesson to Azaroth.


    In their eyes, one was a pretentious fellow, and the other was an arrogant bastard. If they could deal with both of them at the same time, it would have been perfect.


    s, heavens rarely acted on people''s wishes. It was unpredictable and merciless.


    Noah sheathed his sword and turned back towards his seat.


    Spyro suddenly spoke out, "What is your name?"


    Noah didn''t reply. He disdained to talk to this individual. He felt that this man didn''t deserve to even know his name.


    Spyro didn''t mind how Noah ignored him.


    "You should join the Stony Rock Sect. With your talent, it won''t be an issue for you to be a core disciple and personally be taught by the sect master." Spyro informed Noah genuinely.


    However, Noah didn''t even give that offer a second thought. He said to Azaroth with a devoted look, "He won''t trouble you anymore, Boss."


    "Good." Azaroth praised Noah with a small smile on his face.


    When Spyro saw how Noah and Azaroth were ignoring himpletely, he couldn''t help but grow angry. Not just for himself but for his sect and his master.


    Now, he had used the name of his sect and offered Noah a chance, but even then, he had been ignored.


    He soon focused on Azaroth and spoke to him, "Who are you? What is your identity?"


    "My identity?" Azaroth spoke while he stared at Spyro. There was a thin smile as he replied, "You aren''t qualified to know about it."


    Spyro was triggered by those words. He understood that Azaroth was looking down on him because he lost to Noah.


    But it had to be known that Noah was truly a monstrous talent. He knew there was no way he could win against Noah because he hadprehended Sword Domain. However, this didn''t mean Azaroth could look down on him.


    He released some bit of his aura and targeted Azaroth. ording to his senses, Azaroth and hisrades were 2 Star Warriors.


    And he believed that Noah wasn''t the weakest but actually the strongest within their party.


    These people were lying to make fun of him.


    Azaroth felt that pathetic aura trying to pressure him.


    ''I have been waiting for it.''


    Azaroth suddenly red up his aura for a second.


    This one second felt like a long time to Spyro. He felt as if the weight of the entire world was on his body. His body froze due to fear, and his knees lost any strength to hold his weight.


    Before Spyro even realized it, he was lying on the floor,pletely dumbfounded at what had happened.


    It was only a few momentster he understood that the one he was targeting was definitely 4 Star Warrior or even 5 Star Warrior.


    Once Spyro was on the ground, Azaroth stood up and spoke, "Let''s get out of here. There is no use staying here."


    With that, all his retainers followed him out of the pub.


    Azaroth had already left behind a couple of Spirit Coins as a payment for the food.


    The men who were betting with Sargan breathed out a relieved sigh. Atleast they won''t lose any ie.


    Zinon and his peer went to pick up Spyro. They saw a distraught look on Spyro''s face.


    Not understanding what to say, they decided to remain quiet for some time.


    Spyro spoke while clenching his fists, "To think someone in this city would dare to suppress me. Even if that guy is a 5 Star Warrior, he will pay for this insolence."


    Sargan was already thinking of informing his master about this incident. He had to ask his master to get justice for him.


    Azaroth and his retainers were now making their way to a local inn. Sargan spotted Zinon and Spyroing out of the pub. The two saw them entering the inn.


    Once they entered the inn, Sargan neared Azaroth and whispered, "¡­They saw us entering this inn. We should change our residence."


    Azaroth though shook his head negatively and replied, "That''s precisely I chose this inn. I wanted them to know where I lived."


    There was a scheming smile on his face.


    Sargan failed to understand what Azaroth was nning. But he knew that it wouldn''t be anything good for Spyro and his sect.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, in the Sinyalian Kingdom, Edwin met up with many Mayors and Noble Family Heads and their descendants under the identity of an array master.


    Rein Schwarz decided to bet on Edwin and allocated him an array master''s badge without even testing him. Naturally, this badge was of the lowest possible rank. However, Edwin didn''t care.


    He hade to possess it without revealing his identity.


    The first task he was assigned was to repair a Noble Family''s Spiritual Gathering Array.


    This task was assigned by Marquis Barret. The man was quite influential within the entire Kingdom because he supplied the raw materials for the alchemy association and the royal family.


    The supply had recently decreased, but Marquis Barret reassured everyone that the situation would be back to normal.


    However, after checking out Marquis Barret''s territory, he was surprised that he didn''t sense the presence of herbs. He did sense the herbs in the herbal garden, but they weren''t enough to meet the Royal Family and the Alchemy Association requirements.


    He recognized that the Barret Family''s position was far from ideal. Furthermore, they appeared to be refurbishing their Spiritual Gathering Array at an exorbitant cost to train warriors.


    Even to an outsider, it was extremely clear that the Barret Family was in the middle of a crisis right now.


    They needed to switch their policies to even think about surviving this situation.


    Edwin decided to ask for some bit of time from them to repair their array. During this time, he was investigating just what had caused them to fall so greatly.


    He hadn''t heard of any bandit incident or even the tactics used by the enemies in Barret Family''s territory. And where were they growing those herbs?


    Azaroth had checked out those herbs, and he knew that they had some outrageous conditions to grow. Those herbs would swallow the resources of an entire area.


    He found it difficult to believe that the barret family could keep such a location hidden in their territory.


    However, even after searching for quite some time, he found no such location in the Barret Family''s territory.


    ''<em>Interesting.''</em>


    Edwin smiled cleverly. He understood what this meant. The Barret Family was growing those herbs in some other territory.


    Now, the situation grew a lot simpler for Edwin.


    All he had to do was look at which territories had grown to prominence in recent years as the Barret Family''s condition deteriorated.


    After a few days, Edwin had a smile behind his mask as he thought ''<em>Found it. So it''s The City of Vanta. This city rose to prominence after the Golden Mayor, Shun Gordon, tookmand over it 3 years ago. However, it''s worth noting that a few days after Shun Gordon tookmand over it, he broke the trade rtions with the Barret Family''s territory. Not only that, a diplomat sent by the Barret Family returned in defeat.''</em>


    Edwin was more or less sure of his guess.. Once he acted on it, he would know if he was right or not.

 Chapter 142 - The Barret Houses Plans

    Once Edwin found the Barret Family''s secret, he formed a n in his mind.


    He decided to go and meet the Barret Family''s Head named Jenson Barret. Edwin used the Spiritual Gathering Array as a reason to meet with Jenson Barret.


    Jenson Barret heard that Edwin had something to talk to him about the Spiritual Gathering Array and immediately decided to meet him.


    The Barret Family''s future depended on the Spiritual Gathering Array. As a result, when he learned from his sources that Rein Schwarz, the Merchant Union''s Vice-Head, was seeking array-rted jobs, he quickly began talking to him to hire the services of the array master.


    Waiting for any more wouldn''t be ideal for the Barret Noble Family.


    After talking to Rein Schwarz, he understood an array master recently joined Rein Schwarz''s services secretly.


    The guy was pretty talented, but he didn''t want to gather a lot of attention and stayed away from the Array Association.


    Even though the array master''s background was dubious, Jenson Barret wasn''t scared of hiring him.


    The fact that this guy had little to no connection with the Array Association worked in his favor. This meant, as long as this guy and Rein Schwarz remained silent, the information about their Spiritual Gathering Array won''t spread.


    In thest couple of days, a few elders of the family met with Edwin and informed him of the situation.


    This was the first time Edwin was going to meet the Barret Family''s Head.


    Edwin remained calm as he stepped inside Jenson''s room. This was Jenson''s official room where he talked to outsiders.


    There were no records, no papers, or anything of that sort in this room. This room wouldn''t give away anything about Jenson or the Barret Family.


    However, Edwin sensed a few array stones embedded in the ceiling that were recovering everything that urred in this room.


    Amon warrior couldn''t afford this stone. This was called Visionary Spiritual Jade.


    In terms of working, Edwin felt that it was simr to the hologram technology he had seen when he lived on Earth.


    It would record the events and then y them out exactly as they happened. Unless someone was an Array Grandmaster, there was no hope in editing the contents recorded by this Visionary Spiritual Jade.


    Edwin wasn''t much worried about this thing. In fact, this was convenient for him.


    He nced at the green-headed man ahead of him. It was Jenson Barret who was sitting in his seat.


    The man gestured towards the empty seats ahead of the table and spoke, "Take your seat, Dark Shadow."


    Dark Shadow was the alias Edwin was using. He was wearing dark clothes and also a pitch-ck mask that concealed his entire aura.


    Edwin sat on the seat avable for him and gotfortable on it.


    Once Jenson noticed that Edwin wasfortable, he asked, "So, what is this issue regarding the Spiritual Gathering Array? Is the price still not enough? Or is there a crucial fault in it?"


    In reality, the Spiritual Gathering Array did have a huge fault in it. Jenson had already asked a few independent Array Masters to take a look at it, and they all mentioned that its core was damaged and it was impossible to repair it.


    And their skill in the array formations wasn''t great enough to construct this Spiritual Gathering Array from scratch.


    Edwin spoke with a calm tone, "The Spiritual Gathering Array does have a huge issue, but I will be able to solve it as long as you continue to provide me the materials I require."


    The confidence exhibited by Edwin calmed down Jenson, who replied, "That''s no problem then. As long as these materials exist in the Sinyalian Kingdom, I will definitely provide them to you in the shortest time possible."


    Jenson was quite proud of his Noble House. As long as it existed within the Sinyalian Kingdom, he was confident in obtaining that thing. Even if it was held by the Royal Family.


    Well, if the materials were held by the Royal Family, it would be slightly troublesome to obtain them but not impossible.


    The contributions of the Barret Family had been enough to ask for nearly any material as long as it wasn''t of national importance.


    "In reality, I had another motive to meet you, Lord Barret," Edwin spoke with aposed tone.


    "Hoh. What is it then? Let me hear it." Jenson Barret asked with a mildly curious tone.


    Soon, Edwin stated his request, "Lord Barret, what you are nning wille to haunt you in the future."


    The pupils in Jenson''s eyes widened slightly, and his mouth morphed into a frown as he asked Edwin, "What are you talking about?"


    Edwin, in turn, spoke with a certain voice, "ording to that Spiritual Gathering Array, nearly 3000 Warriors can train inside it without much issue. You are nning to use these warriors and nt them in the territories of your adversaries. Perhaps as bandits or make them enlist as warriors in their families and attack them."


    Jenson suddenly stood up, his eyes wide-opened as he red at Edwin, "Who told you about this?!"


    This truly had been one of his primary ns. He had only discussed it with his father and a few other loyal elders of the Barret Noble House.


    He couldn''t believe that they had leaked such crucial info about the Barret Noble House.


    "That''s a hasty conclusion, Lord Barret," Edwin spoke calmly.


    Jenson Barret snorted and replied, "Whether it''s hasty or not remains to be seen. Do you think I can''t harm you just because you work under Rein Schwarz? You are underestimating me then."


    There was a disdainful sneer on his face as he stared at Edwin.


    Edwin wasn''t scared by that intimidating tone. He asked calmly, "I will say it again, Lord Barret. You are reaching a hasty conclusion."


    Slowly, the ground underneath the two began to shine with a Purple Light.


    When Jenson Barret saw those purple-colored lines, he looked absolutely astonished before staring at Edwin in shock. Since when did he begin the preparations for this array?


    Soon, Jenson felt his Ardor getting suppressed by an unknown force.


    Edwin slowly spoke, "This is merely the suppression array. I can''t have you ring up after every single second, can I?"


    "Now, allow me to exin. I deduced this information by piecing together the current circumstances I observed, the situation that urred in the past few months, and your reaction to it. Anticipating your future actions wasn''t that difficult once I analyzed them all." Edwin spoke.


    As he heard Edwin, Jenson wasn''tpletely convinced, but he had little choice other than to believe him.


    He was struggling to deal with that suppression array Edwin had constructed. Although he could break it forcefully, his spirit would be damaged for a short period, and it would be hard to recover its power.


    He could call out for guards to enter and take Edwin into custody, but he knew that Edwin was a 5 Star Warrior. And under the effect of this troublesome array, his guards would be greatly suppressed, and Edwin would easily be able to kill them.


    Jenson calmed down and asked, "What do you want?"


    "A deal with you," Edwin spoke with a smile.

 Chapter 143 - A Visitor At Night (R18)

    It had been a day since the incident with Stony Rock Sect''s disciples. Azaroth left the Inn and walked near the edges of Warrington City.


    He naturally had a good reason toe here.


    Zena was about to arrive in the city. However, she couldn''tnd near the center of the city straight away. The experts in the city would find it strange that a 3 Star Rank Beast was approaching the city.


    Even if Zena wasn''ting with hostile intentions, they would have still attacked her just to stay sure.


    Azaroth naturally didn''t want Zena to be bombarded with attacks just after reaching the city. Hence, he decided to wait for her in the outer area of the city.


    Just as he could sense Zena''s presence, she could do the same as well. This was due to their Spiritual Connection.


    After half an hour, Zena reached the Azaroth''s location.


    Her body had grown quite a lot since Azarothst saw her. She had grownrge enough for Azaroth to ride her from now on.


    Azaroth noticed that there was two more golden hair on Zena''s head. Her Crimson Feathers were dazzling as well. Moreover, her aura was much stronger than before.


    In terms of pure aura, Zena could even challenge Noah''s Sword Qi.


    Zena recognized Azaroth with a single nce. One reason was that their spirits were connected. However, the true reason was that when she had been born and imprinted Azaroth in her mind, she had imprinted not only his appearance but his Spirit as well.


    Zena couldn''t mistake Azaroth''s aura.


    Azaroth rubbed her head and softly spoke, "I am happy to see you here today. I will need your help from now on."


    Zena happily squealed in response.


    "Good girl." Azaroth patted her head and said, "Follow me now but don''t fly too high."


    Zena nodded happily. Suddenly, her eyes sparkled as her entire body was shining with Vermillion Colored Aura.


    Azaroth was startled when this urred, and he immediately spread out his Humanely Ardor to prevent anyone from sensing Zena''s aura.


    After what seemed to be a couple of seconds, Zena''s aura returned back to normal.


    However, her body was actually shrinking.


    Azaroth''s eyes widened, and he was slightly excited. He understood what this signified.


    "The Shapeshifting Skill?!" Azaroth looked quite happy as he saw Zena''s body shrink back to her previous size when she was merely a 1 Star Beast.


    Azaroth was quite familiar with the shapeshifting skill. The Demons were normally very talented in this skill. And among the demons, only a few races could use this skill.


    The Dragons, Phoenix, Rocs, Fox, and a few other bloodlines. Zena possessed this shapeshifting skill since she was a Crimson Lightning Phoenix.


    Since Zena''s size was small, she could roam around with Azaroth without gathering unnecessary attention.


    In this form, Zena''s Ardor was suppressed as well, so people would only consider her as Azaroth''s pet at the most.


    ~~


    It was soon the nighttime, and Azaroth''s group gathered for dinner.


    The preparations for Sargan and Yrellea''s departure were finalized. Azaroth handed them Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings.


    These rings were formed using pure <strong>Blue-Green Vatrsonite</strong>. This was one of the 7 Star Crystals he possessed. At a nce, its brilliance could bepared with that of Pure Sapphire.


    However, its brilliance wasn''t its specialty.


    Azaroth created 7 of these rings. 6 for his retainers while one for himself.


    Using the <strong>Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings</strong>, they could contact the other person by sending a message, a word, or even a vision of what they saw to other people wearing the ring.


    This ring had no range as long as the people weren''t in different dimensions. It also enhanced their spiritual energy and would prevent their minds from being affected by illusions.


    Only someone at the level of a Demon Emperor could make them fall into an illusion while his retainers wore their rings.


    Lastly, he had also injected quite a bit of his energy into those rings. If their lives were in danger, they could activate that power in the rings andunch a strong attack at their enemy.


    This energy would slowly gather with time.


    After Azaroth informed them about the usage of their rings, he informed them that they needed to depart in the early morning when the sun had still not risen.


    They were to move towards the shire. Unlike Warrington City, this was a city closer to the center and somewhat away from the wars.


    Other than the capital city, this was the most prosperous city of the Glerian Kingdom. Many trade routes passed through this city before reaching the capital city.


    After Azaroth dispersed them all, he returned to his room.


    Nearly half an hourter, he heard a knock on his door, "Come in."


    He didn''t need to ask who it was since he knew already. It was Yrellea who entered.


    Azaroth saw she was dressed in a robe that was a bit toorge for her. After entering his chamber, she locked the door and gazed at Azaroth with a yearning gleam in her eyes, "Master, please, I want you..."


    Azaroth knew what she wanted. And he immediately spoke with a cold tone, "Is that so? However, even if we have those rtions, I won''t have any feelings for you. So you should give up and focus on the tasks I give you."


    Yrellea paused for a while before responding to Azaroth, "I know, master. I am aware that you have no feelings for me. And perhaps our rtionship will remain the same for you after this night."


    She looked into Azaroth''s eyes and spoke boldly, "Even if this night means nothing for you master, it would mean the world for me. I won''t expect any gentleness from you just because of this. I will still do any task you order me. But please¡­ Just for today, I want to be yours for this night."


    She slowly removed therge robe, revealing herself wearing a brown nightie. Her cleavage, along with her fair skin, was visible as she moved closer to Azaroth.


    Azaroth didn''t avert his eyes and stared at her with an emotionless look. It would be weird for him to act bashfully when Yrellea had worn this nightie for him and for this night. He replied, "I see¡­."


    Yrellea was soon within his arm''s reach.


    Azaroth stretched his arms, and it went around Yrellea''s body. He pulled her towards him and then spoke with a voice that sent chills of excitement down Yrellea''s spine, "Since you are delivering yourself on a silver tter, I don''t mind eating you whole."


    Yrellea suddenly felt Azaroth''s left hand fondling herrge ass.


    She felt so surprised that she let out a faint moan from her mouth. But as soon as she let out that faint sound of pleasure, she felt Azaroth''s right hand attacking her giant breasts.


    Her breasts were so big that they barely fit in Azaroth''s palm. On top of her clothing, he fondled her breasts forcibly.


    His fingers dug into those globes of flesh as Yrellea felt another wave of pleasure. She felt her body growing hotter as she let out a moan.


    Azaroth was getting hornier as he fondled Yrellea''s body. And Yrellea''s moans of pleasure were making things worse for him.


    Soon, he felt that her nightie was getting in the way of his fun, and he grew slightly irritated. Using both his hands, he ripped apart Yrellea''s nightie, revealing her sexy naked body in the silver moonlight.. Yrellea was lying on the bed with her front body facing Azaroth.

 Chapter 144 - A Long Night (R18)

    As he saw Yrellea lying on the bed, Azaroth felt that he was getting hornier with each second. His thoughts were getting out of his control.


    He licked his lips as he moved closer to Yrellea.


    Azaroth felt his human blood, along with his Demon Blood ring up due to lust. His eyes turned slightly red as he brought Yrellea towards the bed.


    Meanwhile, Yrellea felt that her body was responding to Azaroth''s lust and growing even hotter. Her body was unconsciously releasing pheromones to boost Azaroth''s lust.


    Azaroth possessed Divine Holy Devil Physique, which was more or less immune to such things.


    However, Azaroth still found himself getting hornier. This wasn''t due to some sort of technique or anything else. It was because of the sight of Yrellea''s sexy naked body on the bed.


    As he moved closer, perhaps it was because of his lust that he was nning to enjoy her body entirely before doing the deed with her.


    Yrellea was more than happy to do anything Azaroth wanted.


    Azaroth''s hands moved to fondle Yrellea''srge breasts. He fondled them in such a forceful way that each time his fingers sunk in her globes of flesh, Yrellea let out moans of pleasure.


    Her subus blood was making her instincts go wild.


    Azaroth pinched her nipples and even pulled them with his fingers. There was a smile on his face as he continued to massage those breasts.


    His dick that was still in his pants was grinding against Yrellea''s pussy. He could feel how wet she was and how greatly she craved sex.


    "I have never nned to turn you into a sex ve. You were useful to me, and thus I trained you." Azaroth spoke.


    Yrellea took heavy breaths as she replied, "¡­I know, master. I am truly happy that you trust my skills so much and give me such a great responsibility. It''s because of this that I want to give my body to you."


    "Master, I...I love you. But I swear I won''t allow my feelings get in the way of your orders." With a firm tone, Yrellea spoke.


    Azaroth, in turn, pinched her nipples strongly and slowly moved his mouth closer to her giant breasts.


    Soon, Azaroth''s mouth swallowed the tip of Yrellea''s left breast and licked it fiercely. While he was licking her left breast, he didn''t leave the other breast unattended. His free hand was fondling her breast frantically and vigorously.


    Yrellea''s arms moved around Azaroth''s head as her moans grew louder.


    Suddenly, her moaning sound stopped, and she winced in sharp pain. She looked down and saw how Azaroth had taken a bite of her left breast.


    With how strongly he was biting, a mark was sure to be formed on her flesh.


    However, instead of feeling sadness, this information made Yrellea''s heart flutter with delight.


    Soon, Azaroth moved his mouth towards her other breast. Just like before, Azaroth bit her breast strongly and left his teeth marks on her breast.


    He then released her breasts while looking into her eyes with a licentious look.


    Azaroth removed his pants and revealed his erect 10 inchesrge dick that was quite thick as well.


    "Time for the main course."


    Azaroth whispered before positioning his dick right ahead of Yrellea''s pussy. He rubbed the head of his dick against her pussy for a few seconds before suddenly thrusting it inside with one strong push.


    Yrellea was extremely shocked as she felt that huge monster getting inside her pussy. She experienced unbearable pain and grabbed the bed sheets tightly to endure that pain.


    Blood began to flow out of her pussy as well, and it drenched Azaroth''s dick in red blood.


    Azaroth though didn''t seem to care as he began moving his lower body.


    His lower body was swaying back and forth, increasing the speed of his thrusts.


    Yrellea continued to experience pain. In fact, the pain was increasing the more Azaroth thrust into her pussy.


    As a subus, her pussy was already very tight. Azaroth''s dick already felt a bit more than what her pussy could handle. And yet, Azaroth was still relentlessly thrusting in her pussy, because of the extreme pleasure he experienced.


    He couldn''t care less about her pain. This was how self-centric he was at this moment.


    Fortunately for Yrellea, her subus bloodline began to adapt to Azaroth''s wild thrusts and diminished her pain.


    Now just her pain diminished, but she began to experience great pleasure.


    Only now she realized that with each thrust, Azaroth''s dick was reaching the deepest part of her pussy.


    It made her extremely horny and allowed her to feel a pleasure that she had never imagined before.


    Azaroth then suddenly ced his hands on her breasts and fondled them strongly. As he pinched her nipples and dug his fingers in her sexy globes of flesh, Yrellea once again let out a loud moan of pure ecstasy.


    After a couple of minutes, Yrellea let out a shout while showing the whites of her eyes, "I¡­AM¡­ Cumming¡­"


    She was panting fiercely and had to take several deep breaths before speaking each syble.


    Azaroth increased the pace of his thrusts even more greatly. The pleasure she felt from thispletely overwhelmed Yrellea''s mind, and her mind stop thinking.


    Without even realizing it, Yrellea''s body began to ejacte.


    The liquidpletely drenched Azaroth''s dick. Azaroth soon ejacted inside Yrellea''s pussy as well.


    The pure white semen flooded Yrellea''s pussy and pussy. It was to such a great extent that Azaroth''s semen was leaking out of her pussy.


    Soon, Azaroth pulled his dick out of her pussy.


    His pure white semen continued to drip out of Yrellea''s pussy for a couple of minutes.


    Yrellea justid on the bed with a euphoric expression on her face.


    Azaroth''s licentious look hadn''t changed. His dick was still as hard as before. It didn''t seem as if it had let out that massive load of semen in Yrellea''s pussy at all.


    He suddenly held Yrellea''s arm and pulled her away from the bed.


    A few momentster, Yrellea realized that her front body was pressing against the wall, and Azaroth was thrusting into her pussy while raising her left leg.


    It was a rhythmic movement as his pace continued to increase with each passing second.


    Before she realized it, Yrellea''s body had ejacted again.


    Azaroth released his semen nearly simultaneously and once again filled her pussy to the brim with it.


    There was no satisfied look on her face.


    He desired more¡­ He wanted to have more sex.


    Such desires were mainly because of his hybrid blood. As a human, his body was quite emotional and filled with hormones. And his demonic blood did nothing but re up those emotions even more.


    Azaroth also felt that he should release his emotions right now. Keeping them bottled up wouldn''t be a good idea.


    The main reason he decided to have sex with Yrellea and ravage her to his liking was that he had seen that worshiping look in Yrellea''s eyes.


    He confirmed it with his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    Yrellea would also be in charge of the Misty Flower Pavillion, which would require her to recruit and train escorts.


    As a virgin, it would be almost impossible for her to effectively train them.


    This experience with Azaroth was probably going to help her in the future.


    But no matter what the exnation was, the fact remained that Azaroth was greatly horny and wanted to release those desires somewhere.. Yrellea became the perfect outlet for him to release his horniness.

 Chapter 145 - Stony Rock Sects Elder

    After a few hours of having hot sex, Yrellea fell unconscious. Azaroth healed her body enough for her to recover in the next couple of hours before sleeping as well.


    The sun was about to rise soon enough. Yrellea opened her eyes and felt her body was bustling with a huge amount of energy.


    She was so energetic that she had no idea what to do with it.


    This energy she felt right now was all because of having sex with Azaroth. Azaroth''s demon god blood enhanced Yrellea''s subus bloodline greatly.


    Her face had somehow grown even more beautiful, and if someone observed her carefully, they would conclude that her body was curvier than before.


    Yrellea looked at Azaroth, whoid next to her. The hot sexy night they had was still clear to her.


    She caressed his chest with a gentle look on her face. Before long, she stood up and wore her clothes.


    These were the clothes given to her by Azaroth. They could be used to conceal her identity and also block any spiritual fluctuations.


    Slowly, she moved out of Azaroth''s room. As she walked out, she experienced some trouble walking straight, but the pain was something she could endure.


    Yrellea met up with Sargan, and the two left the inn silently.


    Yrellea didn''t n on telling Sargan anything about her rtionship with Azaroth. She just remained silent and kept on walking towards the stables where they hired two horses.


    The two mounted the horses that appeared to be in good condition and set off on their journey to shire City.


    It had been a few days since Yrellea and Sargan left the group.


    Azaroth and his retainers stayed in Warrington City. However, it was surprising for his retainers since he didn''t give them any tasks.


    When they asked him for any tasks, he would just dodge the question by replying, "It''s not time yet."


    They were confused at what he meant by those words.


    The day Azaroth had been looking forward to finally arrived.


    He knew that the day had arrived because he sensed the presence of a 5 Star Warrior. However, this was not what caught his attention.


    The primary reason was that this 5 Star Warrior was apanied by the disciples of the Stony Rock Sect.


    One of them was probably that guy named Zinon, while the other was Spyro. And it was the third guy who was a 5 Star Expert.


    It wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that Spyro went andined about Azaroth to his master.


    And now, the man had appeared to get some payback from Azaroth.


    Azaroth called out for Noah and ordered him, "Take everyone outside the city as soon as possible. Then, move towards Veninza City ording to the map with you. I will meet you in that city."


    Once he gave his order, Noah immediately replied, "Got it, Master." Noah quickly ran towards Laura, Ralph, and Tiana.


    He was nning to fulfill the order assigned to him.


    Once Noah had left, Azaroth immediately flew towards these warriors from the Stony Rock Sect with his quickest possible speed. He wasn''t going to allow them to enter the city and fight.


    His n was to kill these three warriors as soon as possible.


    Spyro''s master''s name was Adonis Roussilis. As a 5 Star Warrior, he was one of the pirs of the Stony Rock Sect.


    In terms of strength, he could be considered the sixth strongest within the sect.


    The Stony Rock Sect had been a top sect that had remained standing for nearly 500 years. Its foundation was something that couldn''t be understood by normal people.


    For Adonis to be among the top ten experts of his sect indicated how strong he was.


    Adonis had been a genius during his era as well. He possessed a rare bloodline that reinforced his Earth Ardor and even changed theposition of the Earth Element he used.


    The Earth he controlled was mixed with a few metals and crystals that simply enhanced the power and flexibility of his Earth Ardor greatly.


    Due to this difference inposition, his fighting ability was much stronger than his peers.


    It was also stated inside the Stony Rock Sect that if he reaches the peak of the 5 Star Rank, none but the Sect Master will beat him.


    The man saw Azaroth charging towards him with a quick speed. A slightly surprised look on the man''s face as he saw Azaroth charging towards him with such quick speed.


    A serious look appeared on his face as he realized that this man was a 5 Star Warrior. And it didn''t seem as if he wasing with good intentions.


    Around this time, Spyro alsoid his eyes on Azaroth''s figure, who flew towards them.


    He immediately yelled out, "This is him, master! The man I was talking about. He was looking down on our entire sect."


    Adonis didn''t look happy when he heard this information. In the back of his mind, he had been hoping that this 5 Star Warrior wasn''t their opponent.


    But it seemed as though luck wasn''t on their side.


    Spyro had only mentioned that the warrior who angered him was a young man with greater strength than a 3 Star Warrior.


    Because of his age, Adonis had deduced that the warrior was at most a 4 Star Warrior.


    But it was now he realized that he had miscalcted greatly. Azaroth wasn''t a 4 Star Warrior but a 5 Star Warrior.


    Azaroth brought his hands forward and made a specific hand seal. He muttered slowly ''<em><strong>Dragon Jaw.</strong></em>''


    Immediately enough, the Hell mes red up around his body. The mes took the shape of a dragon with its mouth wide open.


    Adonis was extremely shocked to see Hell mes ring up around Azaroth''s body.


    As a member of the Stony Rock Sect, the information he possessed about the demons was a bit more detailed.


    The elements used by the demons were quite different inposition from the element used by the humans. These elements possessed Yin Ardor within them.


    Such was the case with the mes ahead of him.


    The mes utilized by the humans focused on bncing Yin and Yang Ardor. But the mes he saw ahead of his eyes were pure Yin mes.


    Moreover, the dark purple color just indicated that these were high-ranking demonic mes from the purgatory.


    "A demon?!" Adonis eximed out in shock.


    He had never expected he would be fighting against a Demon here.


    He immediately pulled out his Demon ying Saber from his Spatial Pouch while infusing it with his Earth Ardor.


    The demons and the humans were destined to be at odds with each other. Thus, Adonis immediately charged at Azaroth without wasting any more moment.


    Meanwhile, Spyro and Zinon were astonished to hear the word demon from their master''s mouth.


    Moreover, it appeared as if he had used it for Azaroth. As Azaroth got closer to them, they could now clearly sense the demonic ardor released from his body.


    They soon realized that what their master had spoken was indeed the truth! Azaroth was truly a demon!


    Azaroth and Adonis''s attacks shed in the air.

 Chapter 146 - Demon Slaying Sword

    Once Azaroth''s Dragon Jaw attack shed against Adonis''s Demon ying Sword, he felt his Demonic Ardor getting suppressed.


    Moreover that too by a significant margin. Azaroth understood the reason for it.


    The weapon this man was holding was none other than a Celestial Weapon. Although not a very strong weapon, it was something that possessed Holy Ardor within it.


    Meanwhile, Adonis was extremely shocked as well. He could feel that even his Demon ying Sword, which suppressed the Demonic Ardor as well as the Demonic Bloodline, wasn''t working that well against Azaroth.


    Also, his sword''s special ability to attack the spirit of a demon and injuring it significantly didn''t work as well.


    However, Adonis didn''t dare to stop for a second and moved forward to sh Azaroth. This time, he used even more of his Earth Ardor and used his Sky sh attack!


    Adonis raised his sword and brought it down to strike Azaroth''s head.


    However, Azaroth saw his movements and blocked that attack by raising his arm and allowing the sword to strike his arm.


    Adonis smiled and used, "<strong>Holy Spiritual Frenzy.</strong>"


    Immediately enough, the sword re up arge amount of Holy Ardor.


    Since the sword was touching Azaroth''s spirit, it was impossible to dodge this attack.


    This attack would unleash Holy Ardor to damage the internal body of the demon. The spiritual energy of the demon would no longer remain in his control, and it would make it easier for the human experts to deal with him.


    However, Azaroth coldly smiled as he felt this Celestial Sword using Holy Ardor to attack his Spirit.


    He even sneered internally and thought ''<em>You are overestimating yourself.</em>''


    Azaroth controlled his spirit andunched a counterattack as well ''<em><strong>Spiritual Tremor</strong>!</em>''


    Immediately, the sword in Adonis''s hand began shaking. It was vibrating so much that it nearly fell out of Adonis''s hands.


    Azaroth hit Adonis in the belly while he was trying to bring the de under his control.


    After the first impact braced by Adonis owing to his Earth Ardor, Azaroth''s arm re up with pure Hell mes, and he applied even greater force with it.


    Adonis soon felt that his flesh was burning and that Azaroth''s fist was about to pierce his skin.


    Azaroth''s power was likewise bing stronger with each passing second.


    Adonis immediately used his other hand to push Azaroth away, but it didn''t work.


    Instead, Azaroth remained fixed on his spot as he concentrated on beating his opponent.


    Adonis knew that if this went on, he would be gravely injured. He immediately headbutted Azaroth''s skull to stop him.


    Azaroth once again didn''t stop.


    Before Adonis could do anything, his stomach was pierced by Azaroth''s fist. It went past Adonis''s stomach and his other organs. Soon, Azaroth''s fist burst out from Adonis''s back.


    Blood leaked out from Adonis''s mouth as he turned around to look at his disciples.


    "Inform the sect that a Demon Lord with the strength of a 5 Star Warrior is on the loose. Send reinforcements quickly!" He shouted.


    Spyro and Zinon immediately jolted out of their trance. They pulled out their respective jades to send information back to their sect.


    Zinon was so scared that he actually sent the information to Adonis''s Jade.


    Fortunately, Spyro sessfully sent the information to the sect and requested reinforcements while also informing them about their location.


    The sect was now going to use their contacts to send 5 Star Warriors to their current location as quickly as possible.


    Azaroth smirked when he saw that. His aim had been aplished.


    Now, it was time to lower the curtains and end the show.


    "<strong>Demonic zing Incinerator.</strong>"


    Azaroth used this skill, and immediately enough, mes began to re up from his arm that had pierced Adonis''s body.


    Adonis quickly used his Earth Ardor to block the mes but unfortunately, no matter how strong his Earth Ardor was, it was quite a bitckingpared to Azaroth''s Hell mes.


    The Earth Ardor, along with his body, began to melt due to those hot mes.


    Adonis now realized that there was little to no chance for him to survive today. The reinforcements would take another 10 minutes or so to arrive, and it was extremely unlikely he could remain alive for that long.


    He suddenly grabbed Azaroth''s body and controlled his Ardor in Spyro and Zinon''s body.


    He took them away from their current location while increasing his power as he held Azaroth.


    Azaroth thought with a chilly smile ''<em>A master giving up his life for his disciples. How touching.''</em>


    The chilly smile on his face was mixed with a mocking sneer. He asked Adonis, "Do you really think they can get away from me?"


    Adonis replied with a confident tone, "You won''t be able to follow them unless you shake me off. And it should take quite some time even for you to aplish that."


    Azaroth looked amused by that answer, and he replied, "¡­You are overestimating yourself."


    Azaroth''s eyes changed color as he used his <strong>Mystic Eyes of Perception</strong>.


    He focused on Spyro and Zinon as the two flew away from him.


    Adonis''s Ardor suddenly vanished from within their body, and they fell to the ground.


    Azaroth also threw out tworge dark spheres that charged in Spyro and Zinon''s direction.


    The me energy within these Dark Spheres was enough topletely annihte Spyro and Zinon. Not even their bones would be left behind.


    Adonis moved his head and spat out a brown-colored purely spiritual ball attack that targeted one of these two Dark Spheres, but Azaroth focused on it and extinguished it before it could touch his Dark Spheres.


    Soon enough, Adonis and his disciples died by his hand.


    Azaroth stored the <strong>Demon ying Sword</strong> in his Spatial Ring. It could be usefulter.


    Unlike his disciples, who had been incinerated down to their bones, Azaroth left behind Adonis''s body on the ground,rgely intact.


    At the very least, if someone saw him, they could find traces of Azaroth''s Demonic Ardor and also recognize Adonis immediately.


    Azaroth then left the area immediately. He knew that many warriors possessing the 4 Star Rank and the 5 Star Rank were converging where he had fought against Adonis.


    He had aplished his motive.


    The entire Glerian Kingdom would soon realize that a Demon possessing the power equivalent to a 5 Star Warrior had entered their kingdom.


    This information was going to reach the Sinyalian Kingdom as well. This meant it would reach the ears of Inquisitor Fox as well.


    Once the Inquisitor Fox hears a 5 Star-Demon within the Glerian Kingdom, he was bound to rx his guard against his clone. This was merely his side-objective, though.


    His main objective was for the King of this Glerian Kingdom to know that a Demon from the Sinyalian Kingdom had entered his Kingdom. Once the King finds out that a Demon had entered his kingdom from the Sinyalian Kingdom, he is bound to contact Lennox Rees regarding it.


    Thus, Azaroth''s next destination was Veninza City.


    Lennox Rees was the man through whom Azaroth had sent multiple precious metals that could be used to create armors and weapons for the soldiers.


    All of these weapons would be much more durable and sharper than before.. The armors would be much sturdier and durable.

 Chapter 147 - Vlashire City

    Nearly a week or soter, Sargan and Yrellea reached the shire City.


    This was a city that focused on trade with other kingdoms. Their main trading partner was apany from the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    The rumors about shire City made it seem as if an organized city. One where people were quite wealthy and focused on trade and other respectable upations.


    Sargan and Yrellea entered the city as they used some Spiritual Coins to pass the guards'' inspection.


    It wasn''t umon for people with suspicious origin to seek asylum inside. This appeared to be one such case as well.


    Once they entered the city, the two looked around and noticed just how organized the city was.


    The city appeared to have a perfectly square shape, with each side nearly 40 miles long. The roads were cleanly cut, and the city was divided into different sectors.


    In total, there were 11 sectors. Each sector had its own market with many buildings and houses except for one sector.


    That was Sector 7. This sector could be considered a Pure Market Sector as there were all kinds of shops in this sector.


    The market of the other sectors could never bepared to Sector 7.


    However, there was another reason why Sector 7 was so famous. It had one of thergest and most famous Red Light areas within the Kingdom.


    After entering Sector 7, the two split up. The two hadpletely different jobs.


    Sargan''s job was to meet people and slowly build an internationalwork, while Yrellea had to create Misty Flower Pavillion.


    Thus, Sargan went around and talked to some people who were here in the market to buy things for themselves.


    He asked them various questions under the pretext that he was new to this city and nned to live his life ahead here.


    Once the people heard his reasons, they entertained his questions for quite some time.


    These people were somewhat proud of their city since they believed it was the best city within the Glerian Kingdom. People like Sargan, who came from afar toe and live in this city, just enhanced that fact.


    Sargan then found out that the wealthy people had their residence in Sectors 1-4. The middle-ss people lived in Sectors 5, 6, 8, 9.


    And the poor people lived in Sectors 10, 11, and 12.


    Sectors 10,11, and 12, were on the western side of shire City. Most of the people who had their houses within these sectors were servants of the wealthy and middle-ss people.


    These two sectors werepletely opposite and were near the edge of the city.


    Once Sargan had gathered enough information, he walked around Sector 7 for some more time. He was looking for a cksmith''s shop.


    Naturally, Sargan didn''t need to look for too long since there were many cksmith shops in this sector.


    He entered each cksmith Shop and observed the products disyed. The weapons and the armors mainly.


    Sargan made sure to remember the names of these shops and gauged their level. From what he had seen, none of them put any weapon stronger than a 3 Star Rank.


    They probably only crafted weapons stronger than the 3 Star Rank for the prestigious customers.


    However, this wasn''t much trouble for Sargan. He could still gauge their level by observing the weapons manufactured by them.


    The elegance, the power, the material, and the shape of the weapon gave a huge amount of information to Sargan.


    In total, there were 27 cksmith Shops within Sector 7. However, only 8 of them appeared to be of Sargan''s notice.


    Once he noted down the shops, he went to the Sector 6 to buy a house for himself.


    He met a real-estate agent and bought a house for himself in Sector 6 by spending nearly 300 Spiritual Coins.


    Azaroth had given nearly 10000 Spiritual Coins to Sargan and Yrellea. This meant each one had almost 5000 Spiritual Coins.


    For Sargan, a house that wouldn''t grab a lot of attention was a necessity. Thus, he opted for a house in the sector where middle-ss people lived.


    Soon, Sargan went to take a walk in Sector 10, Sector 11, and Sector 12.


    Observing the location and its people was the most important.


    He asked a few questions from some people by giving them a few gold coins. These people happily answered the questions once they saw the reward.


    After the end of the day, Sargan concluded ''<em>The middle-aged people and the old people have somewhat gotten used to their current lifestyle. Only their children, who have yet to be adults, are somewhat indignant and possess a bit of ambition in them. Well, it seems I already know whom I should choose.</em>''


    However, Sargan wasn''t in a hurry. He had learned from Azaroth that for every task, there was a fitting ce and suitable timing. He couldn''t rush with his tasks.


    Thus, Sargan decided to wait for a perfect opportunity.


    While Sargan was focusing on his own tasks, Yrellea had visited Sector 7''s Red Light Area.


    She was wearing loose clothes and a mask to conceal her beauty, or else who knows how many men would stare at her.


    To build this Misty Flower Pavillion from scratch, she had to know what herpetitors were doing.


    And from what she observed, the brothels were for hiring prostitutes for sex. A brothel didn''t make her feel threatened at all.


    Instead, Yrellea focused on the other upation that was quite famous within this red-light area. The nightclub business!


    The nightclubs were to provide alcohol to everyone while the women disyed their skills on the stage. These skills ranged from singing, dancing, musical instrumental skills, and poetry skills.


    This was the nightclub''s work at a nce. On a deeper level, the managers and the other people would choose talented and beautiful women from the fine arts colleges and allow them to perform in their nightclubs.


    Scions of wealthy individuals frequently visited a nightclub, and they would often force themselves on these beautiful women.


    After forcing themselves on these beautiful women, the overseers of the nightclubs would then begin to negotiate with these women and offer them a price to serve in their nightclubs or even the brothels they owned.


    Most of the women epted the offer because they had little to no other choice.


    If they declined, the overseers would spread the word about how they had spent a night at a nightclub with some men.


    This wouldn''t affect the life of those rich scions, but it wouldpletely destroy the social life of these women.


    Moreover, there was also a possibility that the woman would be killed to permanently silence her.


    Thus, most of the women would ept the offer. Even if they knew that they would be glorified whores in the future.


    This was the information Yrellea deduced after asking a few questions from the people in this red-light area.


    Yrellea was somewhat confused about what she should do. Soon, she had a n. But for that, she required Sargan''s assistance as well.


    But she could ask for his helpter. Yrellea went to Sector 1 and met a real estate agent to buy a house. She had to buy a house in this sector to show off her wealth.


    The house she bought cost her nearly 2000 Spiritual Coins.

 Chapter 148 - Hiring

    A few dayster, Yrellea used her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring to contact Sargan.


    She asked him curiously, "How is it going for you?"


    Sargan replied coolly, "Quite well, actually. I have shortlisted my targets. I am waiting for an opportunity to begin my task officially. What about you?"


    Yrellea replied to him, "I have shortlisted my targets as well. However, I need your assistance."


    "How can I help you?" Sargan enquired interestedly.


    "It won''t be a difficult task for you," Yrellea assured him before she informed him of the situation on her end.


    Sargan''s face remained neutral as he heard the situation from Yrellea''s mouth. The situation appeared to be quite troublesome for Yrellea.


    Her future rivals were truly efficient and ruthless. It would be quite difficult for Yrellea to establish her Misty Flower Pavillion.


    However, Yrellea had already thought up a n. She soon began to inform Sargan all about it.


    Sargan grew slightly surprised as he heard Yrellea''s n. He also approved of her n within his mind.


    However, Yrellea''s n was by no means perfect. Sargan gave a couple of suggestions to improve her n even further.


    And soon, they concluded what they needed to do.


    On the very same day, Sargan went to Sector 7 and visited a couple of nightclubs. He remembered the names and the description of thedies given to him by Yrellea.


    He went to each nightclub and ordered these women. Their price in Spiritual Coins and Sargan had more than enough to afford these women.


    The managers of these nightclubs had no idea that Sargan had gone and ordered multipledies from other nightclubs as well.


    Nearly 30dies wereing to Sargan''s house in Sector 6.


    After they entered his house, he gathered them in the guest room one by one.


    Thedies were quite surprised as Sargan went and sent another woman into the room. Soon, the room waspletely packed.


    After all 30 women had gathered, Sargan stood ahead of these women in the hall. All the women''s vision was on Sargan.


    He spoke with a serious gaze, "You must be curious about this urrence here. I am sure you recognize the other women. They are either your colleagues and your rivals from other nightclubs."


    "What is the reason for gathering us here?" One of the women lost her patience and asked Sargan.


    "Let myrade do the talking now," Sargan spoke as he activated his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring to disy a hologram of Yrellea.


    The women were confused as they saw Yrellea. They were more or less sure that they had never met her.


    "All of you must be confused to see me. I have indeed never met any of you in my life. However, I did do my research on each one of you." Yrellea spoke with a cool tone.


    Before anyone could question her, Yrellea added, "ording to my analysis of your background, I can guess that you were forced to join the nightclub and sell your bodies for them."


    The women flinched upon hearing Yrellea''s remarks. It felt as if someone was touching their mental scars.


    "And?" One of the women coldly spoke while ring at Yrellea. She definitely didn''t appreciate the fact that Yrellea had investigated them.


    "I am sure many of you are quite angry about the fact that I investigated your personal info. But it was quite important for me to do so for the following offer." Yrellea spoke with a serious tone.


    "I can free you from your current life. However, in return, you will work for me." Yrellea spoke.


    The women were quite surprised when they heard Yrellea''s first sentence. They were even excited.


    They were still quite young, and it had barely been a few years since their respective nightclubs ''hired'' them.


    They still held wild hearts that wished for freedom from such a life. Yrellea''s words tugged their heartstrings.


    Her following phrase, on the other hand, instantly worried them. They never expected Yrellea to free them for nothing, but they had thought it would be a one-time thing. But if it was to work for her, they were quite reluctant to promise such a thing.


    "What will we be asked to do?" One of the women asked this question with an apprehensive expression.


    At this moment, Sargan stepped forward and began speaking, "Allow me to exin. We are nning to build an informationwork that spreads to each part of this Kingdom. You can be a part of this organization, or you can choose to stay where you are."


    "Information Network that spreads in the entire Kingdom?!"


    This information once again shocked the women ahead of Sargan and Yrellea. They had never even dared to imagine something so grand.


    "That''s correct. However, the way you will gather information won''t be through sexual rtions. Instead, I will teach you some specific skills through which you can cultivate and also aplish the tasks assigned to you."


    "The skills you require for this would be to cultivate the skill I teach you along with skill in singing, music, poetry, managing, bartending, and massaging, etc." Yrellea finished speaking as she saw bright looks in the eyes of these women.


    Once again, the women hadn''t expected these words from Yrellea. They thought that they were merely going to change their employer and their jobs would remain the same.


    However, as they heard Yrellea, they felt that they would join a rather impressive organization.


    The thing that truly bought them was that they could use the skills they were proud of.


    Yrellea was satisfied with their brightened looks, but the same couldn''t be said about Sargan.


    He spoke with a serious expression, "However, do remember that you have a crucial task. For the sake of the mission assigned to you, you might even need to seduce the men as you are ordered. Moreover, you must get information about all the prestigious guests in your pavilion."


    The excitement on these women''s faces faded quite a bit. Well, except for one woman, that is.


    She had a single question to ask from Sargan. Raising her voice, she asked, "Will you protect us if a customer forces himself upon us? Personally, I find your proposal quite interesting. It is full of wild ambition. However, if you cannot protect us from our patrons, then our situation isn''t changing by a whole lot."


    Sargan and Yrellea were both slightly astonished to hear this question.


    It was Yrellea who spoke with a smile behind her mask, "Making you do something against your wishes is not our intention at all. Thus, I give you my word that if anything happens, we will be sure to protect you."


    Before any woman spoke, Yrellea added, "In fact, I will give you a blood contract. I will protect you as best as I can."


    "<strong>A Blood Contract</strong>?!" The women were absolutely astonished to hear it from Yrellea''s mouth.


    Not just these women, even Sargan was surprised. However, he understood that if they wanted the loyalty of these women, they had to use something like a blood contract.


    Yrellea spoke, "Yes, a blood contract. Now, it''s your turn. Are you willing to leave behind that business and work for me?"


    The women looked at each other. They whispered among themselves and discussed their decision.


    A woman who appeared to be one of the eldest among them asked Yrellea, "What will be the name of this organization?"


    Yrellea looked at the expressions of all the women and understood they were onboard.


    She smiled behind her mask and spoke, "<strong>Misty Flower Pavilion</strong>."

 Chapter 149 - Yrelleas Plan

    After these women had more or less agreed to work for Yrellea, she instructed them with a serious look, "Meet your family as soon as possible. This will be thest time you meet them."


    The women were startled at hearing Yrellea''s words. They asked with a hesitated look, "Thest time?"


    Yrellea confirmed, "That''s correct."


    The women immediately frowned as they heard the confirmation. Most of them wouldn''t even think of parting with their families.


    This was actually Yrellea''s miscalction. She hadn''t considered that they shared a strong bond with their families.


    Sargan noticed the situation and immediately spoke, "We have a legitimate cause for asking you to separate from your family. The Misty Flower Pavilion will encounter opposition from nightclubs and pubs after we set it up. After all, you will show off your abilities and earn money through it. Because of it, their business will suffer. They''ll attempt to hurt you. We can safeguard you from them, as promised. But what if they turn against you and your family?"


    None of the women had considered such a scenario. Only now did they realize that if they impulsively joined these two people, it wouldn''t necessarily be a good thing.


    Although they would allow them to use their skills, their families would be in danger.


    Such upation wasn''t worth it in their opinion.


    "You should understand the risks now. Thus, we need to show these people that you have no contact with your family. For that time, you will be trained by Yrellea. It will probably take a month or two for all of you to bepletely ready and transform into a new person." Sargan spoke with a serious voice.


    "What about after our training? Meaning when we begin to perform¡­ Won''t our families still be in danger?" A woman asked hesitantly. She was voicing her doubts as well as herrades'' doubts as well.


    Sargan focused on that woman and replied, "By that time, we will handle your family''s security as well. If we can''t protect your family here, we will send them to another city. Our men will protect them there and no one will be able to harm them."


    His words were spoken with a confident tone that convinced most of the women here.


    Yrellea spoke, "The situation won''t reach that far. Your family will be well protected even in this city."


    Sargan was slightly surprised as he heard Yrellea speak those words with such great confidence.


    Howe she was so confident about it?


    Yrellea noticed Sargan''s confusion as well and sent a spiritual message to him <em>''I have been invited to Governor Zarakis''s banquet. This banquet is to celebrate the birthday of his son Minos who has just turned 18 years old. Nearly all of the people living in Sector 1 have been invited. I will go to this banquet without any disguise.''</em>


    Sargan quickly grasped Yrellea''s strategy. It was a typical honey trap strategy. The sess percentage of the n differed from person to person.


    And ording to his guess, the n should work on Minos.


    Unlike his father who was a respected governor, Minos was quite a fickle-minded person. His deeds were spread throughout the entire city.


    He was considered a standard young master who could do whatever he wanted within shire City because of his father''s influence. His cultivation was merely at the 2 Star Rank but no one dared to offend him.


    He was considered quite a yboy. He liked to have rtions with beautiful women and even though he had just turned 18-years-old, he already had a wife and 5 concubines.


    This was a drastic contrast aspared to his father who only married a single time.


    <em>''What identity are you going to use to meet him?''</em> Sargan asked Yrellea using the spiritual voice.


    <em>''I am a daughter of a typical house when my parents were killed while I studied in my college. I will use the name of a famous college in the Glerian Kingdom that''s far away from this city. I doubt the governor will go so far as to investigate my background in the short run. And after some time, your influence should reach the point where you can forge such documents for me and fool the Governor.''</em> Yrellea spoke.


    Sargan was slightly speechless. Wasn''t Yrellea trusting him a bit too much? Even he wasn''t sure whether his attempt at creating an informationwork would go without a hitch.


    But still, he nodded and spoke, "¡­Yes. I will do something about it. If worstes to worst, I will use my Evil Eyes."


    While the two were conversing, the women were perplexed as Sargan and Yrellea simply stayed silent, looking at each other.


    Yrellea soon focused back on the women and spoke, "Alright. We have reached a conclusion. The women who want to join our organization should stay behind."


    This caused the women to murmur and discuss the situation among themselves once again.


    While they were discussing, Yrellea added with a soft voice, "¡­Most of you are probably scared of this new upation and joining this new organization. I understand. I really do. After all, you are joining some unknown people. However, tell me, wasn''t it the same when you joined the nightclubs? Weren''t the people strangers to you? Were you not forced to work for them?"


    "However, we are freeing you from those shackles. From the people who force you to work in the nightclubs or even brothels. We are willing to not only protect you but your family as well. You will be given a sry and also cultivation skills to grow stronger. Tell me, how are these conditions unfavorable to you?"


    "All we ask from you is to temporarily break the connection with your family and for you to use the skills to gather information for us. Naturally, the way you choose to gather the information will be up to you. Also, once the Misty Flower Pavilion is famous, no one will dare to make a move against your family. At that time, you can meet them and roam around with your family. So, can you not even give us a chance? A chance to change your life?" Yrellea asked with a soft tone.


    The women heard her and felt their hearts resonating with those words. They felt that Yrellea''s words made a lot of sense.


    Currently, they were working in a cheap ce. Where the customers woulde and ''buy'' them. The most frustrating part was that they couldn''t resist. It was as if they were dolls who had been hired against their wishes. They had no rights at all.


    But Yrellea''s proposal made them see hope. A dream where they could proudly show their faces in the public and everyone would look at them with admiration and reverence visible in their eyes.


    One of the women suddenly stepped forward and spoke out, "¡­I agree to join Misty Flower Pavilion."


    One of the women spoke out. These words were the trigger though and it caused other women toe forward and speak out as well.


    "I agree as well."


    "Same for me."


    "I will join after getting the Blood Contract."


    Soon, nearly all the women agreed to Yrellea''s proposal.


    Yrellea wasn''t surprised to see all of them agreeing to her proposal. She had spent quite some time observing these women. And also investigating the background history of each one of them.


    She was aware of the fact just how much they wished to change their life but were helpless.. Now that they received such an offer, they would never refuse.

 Chapter 150 - Veninza City

    While Sargan and Yrellea were focusing on building their informationwork, Azaroth reached Veninza City.


    This was the same city where Lennox Rees lived. The man who had illegally entered the Sinyalian Kingdom and then made a deal with Azaroth.


    Azaroth didn''t immediately go to meet Lennox Rees. He remembered his Aura Signature and found him before he even entered the city.


    And ording to his senses, there were quite strong men next to Lennox Rees.


    ording to the distance between them, these men seemed to be keeping an eye on him.


    Azaroth could naturally sneak into Lennox Rees''s house, but he wouldn''t be able to hold a conversation with him under this scrutiny.


    From what he could sense, there were three 4 Star Warriors and two 5 Star Warriors keeping an eye on Lennox Rees.


    If he killed or attacked any of them, they would probably use some treasure to send a signal for reinforcement.


    Even if he ughtered them all before they noticed something was amiss, the Kingdom would undoubtedly begin to investigate Lennox Rees more thoroughly and devote special attention to him.


    That would be counter-productive for Azaroth.


    There was also the fact that Azaroth had recently revealed the information that a demon had entered the Glerian Kingdom. Moreover, this demon hade from the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The King and his advisers should be able to connect the dots quickly.


    Once they realize that it was the same demon who nned to have a deal with them, they would definitely devote more attention to Lennox Rees.


    In fact, Azaroth wasn''t sure if Lennox Rees''s house was devoid of listening arrays or some other traps.


    However, this also didn''t mean Azaroth waspletely helpless in this situation.


    He had his own methods of arranging a meeting with Lennox Rees. But first, he had to set up the tasks for Ralph, Noah, and Laura.


    After entering the city, he informed them, "The three of you will create your own groups."


    Azaroth then spoke to them seriously, "Noah, your group will focus on closebat. You will train them in closebat skills mainly."


    Noah devotedly nodded his head. He was ready to go and create the group.


    He then turned towards Laura and spoke, "Laura, I don''t exactly know of your skill with the bow. But as an Elf, it shouldn''t be too bad."


    Laura looked quite proud upon hearing Azaroth''s words. She was proud of her wooden techniques, but she believed her skill with the bow and arrow wouldpletely shock Azaroth.


    In fact, she had been nning to show off in front of him in some sort of tournament or hunting. She didn''t expect him to already know about it.


    "I am really good at using the Bow. I can even hit the moving beasts." Laura spoke with a proud expression.


    Azaroth merely nodded with a neutral face and added, "That''s barely satisfactory. As an elf, your skill with the bow should reach a level where you can hold off the rainfall with your arrows during a storm."


    Laura''s eyes widened slightly as she heard the phrase from Azaroth''s mouth.


    This wasn''t the first time she had heard this phrase. The one who had previously spoken this phrase to her was none other than her mother, who taught her archery.


    Even though she possessed great talent in archery, her mother would still scold her to not be satisfied with such a level. She had to reach a level where she could hold off a storm with her arrows.


    She had always thought her mother was exaggerating. But now, hearing the same phrase from Azaroth''s mouth, she felt that there was more to this than just being a simple legend.


    After all, Azaroth wasn''t an elf. He couldn''t know of a legend famous among the elves.


    Naturally, Azaroth had no idea that there was such a legend among the elves. He had spoken those words because he had seen that sight with his own eyes.


    The Elf Queen, the strongest expert from the Elven Race, protected the entire Elven Kingdom from a Catastrophic Storm.


    That Catastrophic Storm was an attack from the Demon Venerable. However, the Elf Queen used her Archery Skills to attack such a humongous scale.


    Even during his peak, Azaroth would never boast that he could deal with an attack of that scale. This was how strong that attack was.


    Soon, he jolted out of his trance and focused on Ralph, "You will register in the Dragon Tiger Pce and form a group that focuses on hunting beasts."


    Ralph nodded his head, but he asked with a confused expression, "How do I develop such a group, master?"


    "Create it from scratch. ept anyone under the age of 25. Their cultivation shouldn''t be lower than the 2 Star Rank. Don''t be too restrained. You can create all sorts of trouble. Remember that I have your back." Azaroth spoke with a confident tone.


    He then looked at Noah and Laura, "I am sure you also have no idea how to create a group in this city. So, I will give you a hint. The rest would depend on you."


    "There is nothing that can''t be bought. The question is whether you can pay the price for it or not. Also, remember to stop once your group reaches 1000 members."


    Noah and Laura heard his words and firmly remembered them in their hearts.


    Laura and Noah now had an idea of what he wanted them to do.


    "This is the Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings. You will find all that you need inside it." He handed the three rings to Laura, Noah, and Ralph.


    "Now go!"


    Azaroth ordered the three and dispersed them.


    They obeyed his order and immediately went in different directions. Ralph was moving towards the headquarters of the Dragon Tiger Pce while Noah and Laura were moving towards the residential area in Veninza City.


    Noah was nning to cover the western area of the city while Laura was going to cover the city''s eastern area.


    Now, only Tiana remained ahead of Azaroth.


    "We will leave soon," Azaroth ordered her.


    Tiana was surprised and asked him, "Are we going to leave them here?"


    Azaroth replied emotionlessly, "Yes. It should take them nearly a month or so to aplish the tasks I assigned them."


    "Didn''t master ask Ralph to create all sorts of trouble? How will you help him if you aren''t in the city?" Tiana curiously asked Azaroth.


    Azaroth ignored her question and continued, "While the three focus on creating their own forces, I am going to set up the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley. This will be your sect."


    Tiana was slightly excited upon hearing the name of her sect.


    "Your sect is going to be situated in the ''Valley of the Arctic Summit.'' So we need to depart for that ce as soon as possible."


    Tiana was surprised upon hearing the name of the location. She knew a bit about this Arctic Summit. She had remembered the map of the Glerian Kingdom as well.


    The Arctic Summit was in the extreme north of the Glerian Kingdom. It was the highest mountain peak within the Boreal Mountain Chain. Moreover, many dangerous beasts were living in that mountain range. And it was this Boreal Mountain Chain that acted as a natural border between the Glerian Kingdom, Alinginian Kingdom, and the Jorailian Kingdom. If not for this mountain range, the Glerian Kingdom would have been attacked by the Alinginian Kingdom and suffer disastrous losses.


    Azaroth soon began to use his Ardor to make himself and Tiana fly towards the Arctic Summit at a quick pace.

 Chapter 151 - The Banquet

    Governor Zaraki''s banquet was approaching, and Yrellea was getting ready for it. She was dressed in a turquoise gown that covered her entire body. Even though her body was entirely clothed, she looked absolutely seductive in this garment because of her voluptuous figure.


    She looked slightly hesitant as she stared at herself in the mirror. She then gazed at the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring and slowly activated it.


    Yrellea wasn''t using it to contact any of herrades. Instead, she was using it tomunicate with Azaroth.


    Soon, Azaroth''s holographic figure formed ahead of her. He gazed at her with a neutral look and asked her, "What''s the matter?"


    Yrellea first bowed as she gazed at Azaroth, "Master, I wanted to inform you that I am going to the banquet organized by the Governor of shire City."


    "Banquet? I see¡­" Azaroth narrowed his eyes at that information.


    He understood why Yrellea was wearing the dress now.


    "So, you n to use that thing. Very well, I will be prepared. Send a pulse to my end. I will handle it from there." Azaroth spoke before his holographic figure dispersed.


    Yrellea was quite excited upon hearing his words.


    In reality, she also wanted to show her appearance to Azaroth. She wasn''t expecting anypliments from him. She just wanted him to see first just how she looked in this outfit.


    She soon left her house and went to the banquet in a carriage. This carriage had been arranged by her beforehand.


    After an hour, Yrellea reached her destination. She left her carriage and walked towards the entrance of the Banquet.


    The guards and even the other people who were entering the banquet were stunned when theyid their eyes on Yrellea.


    They were stunned because they had never seen such a beautiful woman in shire City before.


    Nearly all of them were wealthy people who were rather high up in the food chain in shire City. Although they hadn''t tasted all kinds of beauties in shire City, they could still boast that they had seen all kinds of beauties in this shire City.


    However, this was the first time they were looking at this seductive beauty!


    Her figure was so good that they felt their rod react instantly.


    The guards were so shocked that they didn''t even realize that Yrellea was disying her invitation letter to them.


    Yrellea smirked at the reaction she gathered from all these men. She internally thought ''Master''s ring is truly good. It can also suppress my Demonic Aura and prevent anyone here from figuring out that I am a subus. Otherwise, they would never look at me with such honest expressions.''


    Yrellea was extremely clear about how humans viewed subus. They were seen as nothing but sex ves. They were treated worse than whores.


    Thus, she was quite pleased that none of them realized her identity here.


    The guards soon took her invitation card and respectfully spoke, "Please enter, Miss¡­?"


    "Yrellea."


    She decided to use her true name. As far as she remembered, there shouldn''t be an issue even if she used her true name.


    A guard then turned towards his subordinate, "Remain here on standby. I will escort Miss Yrellea inside."


    The guard who spoke was the senior, so when he spoke that he wanted to escort Yrellea inside, his subordinate couldn''t help but curse him internally ''Wasn''t it normally my job? You immediately switch our jobs when it''s convenient for you?!''


    Even though his subordinate was quite angry, he didn''t dare to let out a fart.


    He could only stare in that direction angrily.


    The guard was gawking at her while he was escorting her to the Hall inside the building. Even though he was staring at her so tantly, Yrellea ignored himpletely.


    Yrellea didn''t care about such a small person. Her mind was focused on this banquet.


    The guard stared at her so passionately, but he didn''t dare to overstep his boundaries. He knew that a woman as gorgeous as her was way out of his league.


    Only his lord deserved such a woman.


    Soon, Yrellea entered the Hall.


    She was slightly dazzled at the lighting within the Hall. Even though it waspletely nighttime, there was nock of light within the hall. Most of it was because of the light-emitting arrays. Three chandeliers emitted light in the Hall. Thus, the hall was well lit


    Yrellea looked around and saw many individuals in the Hall. Nearly all of them were neatly dressed up.


    All the people who hade earlier had already formed or joined different groups.


    Yrellea felt a little out of touch as she looked around in the hall.


    The guard who escorted her soon returned to his post.


    Yrellea then gathered her courage and walked towards the hall''s center where the Zaraki Family had gathered.


    As she walked to take a seat, a few young men noticed her. Their eyes immediately glistened with excitement as they noticed Yrellea.


    Even the most beautiful women they had ever seen paled inparison to Yrellea''s beauty.


    As more people became aware of Yrellea, the guys couldn''t help but stare at her with their mouths open.


    Yrellea noticed that she was grabbing a lot of attention, but she ignored them and continued to walk towards the Zaraki Family.


    Soon, Governor Zaraki and his son gazed in her direction. Minos Zaraki was extremely excited as he saw this beautiful woman approaching him.


    He ignored his friends who were calling out for him and returned to his seat.


    Governor Zaraki, though, wasn''t blinded by Yrellea''s beauty. He was staring at her with an entirely neutral and emotionless look.


    In fact, Yrellea wouldn''t be surprised if he suddenly attacked her with the intent to kill her. This was how emotionless he appeared right now.


    Soon, Yrellea stood in front of Minos Zaraki and presented him with a bouquet of Sunflowers, "I hope you live a long life."


    Instead of epting these flowers, Minos Zaraki asked her, "What is your name?"


    "Yrellea. I recently began to live in this city." She answered with a mirthful tone.


    Minos Zaraki spoke with a bright smile, "What a beautiful name. I like this name very much. I will ept this token of your sincerity."


    After handing out the flowers, Yrellea soon took a seat on a nearby table. A servant appeared, serving her food on her te.


    Minos''s vision didn''t leave Yrellea''s body, though. He continued to focus on her as if she was the only one in his eyes.


    His father naturally noticed his son''s gaze and understood what this meant. He held the arm of his son and whispered to him, "Don''t do anything here. You can meet her privatelyter."


    When Yrellea noticed how Governor Zaraki was whispering something in his son''s ears. She knew her goal had been fulfilled since Minos had stopped staring at her.


    Thus, Yrellea decided to use this opportunity to interact with other people at this banquet.


    The men were extremely happy to have a conversation with Yrellea.


    As Yrellea interacted with them, she asked them questions to figure out more information about them. Naturally, she revealed some fake information about herself as well.


    She knew that she had to interact with other people here and reveal some information about herself.


    Like how she was recently a young student studying at Pine Hills School of Fine Arts, her master taught her martial arts.. She inherited her parent''s money and hade to shire City to conduct business.

 Chapter 152 - Formal Inspection

    Yrellea left the banquet nearly an hourter. The information she had gained until now was merely superficial.


    However, the connections she had formed with them could still be useful.


    Because of her beauty, these people wanted to get to know her better. Thus, they did invite her to their offices or even gave her an invitation for dinner.


    Yrellea tacitly rejected their offers. She informed them that she would take their offer when she was free.


    Currently, she was setting up a new business and thus focused on itpletely.


    However, Yrellea made sure not to reveal any info about the business she was nning to set up.


    The ring Azaroth had given her had not only suppressed her racial aura but also her cultivation. She truly appeared to be an ordinary human setting up a business in shire City.


    This was a very normal urrence in this city. Many people woulde to shire City for a startup.


    It wasn''t that this city promoted the startup or new business. In fact, it could be said that the situation waspletely opposite of that.


    Thepetition between the different businesses was so great that a startup would normally shut down before officially starting.


    However, the people in the Glerian Kingdom still came to set up their business in shire City because there were many issues setting up the business in other cities.


    The King had ordered the cities to focus on specific tasks. Like, creating war materials. Processing things. Or the cities were embroiled in war. There were also cases where the crime rate in those cities was too great. There were also cases where the disciples of the sects would be too rampant.


    Nearly all the businessmen tried to keep the location of their main business away from a sect''s location.


    The disciples of these sects or it could be said those who followed the Martial Way, were normally too stupid.


    They were a bunch of brutes who didn''t know how to think.


    Those brutes may be fooled by any random guy from shire City. It had to be understood, though, that once the targets discovered they''d been duped, they''d have a hard time surviving the brutes'' retaliation.


    shire City was devoid of such issues.


    There was no sect within a 300-mile radius. Hence, the sect disciples would rarely enter the city. And even if they did enter shire City, they wouldn''t dare to be too arrogant here.


    It was because Governor Zaraki and his forces were quite capable. The power they held wasn''t one bit lower than that of the sects.


    Thus, the sect disciples would normally humble themselves in shire City.


    So, people didn''t really question Yrellea for choosing shire City to start her business. They were curious about her business but knew that it wouldn''t be best to ask her at this banquet.


    It would be better to have this conversation privately.


    Yrellea didn''t perfectly understand this. She had actually been expecting all sorts of questions from these people and prepared a response for many of the possible questions. Still, it appeared to be unnecessary in this banquet.


    After she returned to her house, she changed her clothes and wore casual ones now.


    Someone came knocking on her door a few hourster.


    When Yrellea opened the door, she was slightly surprised to see Minos Zaraki and many of his guards.


    "¡­Young Master-?" Before Yrellea could even finish speaking, Minos ced a finger on his mouth and gestured her to stop speaking.


    Yrellea stopped speaking. She was curious to know what he wanted.


    Minos spoke with a friendly smile, "Your name is Yrellea if I remember correctly. You can call me by my first name, Minos."


    "But wouldn''t it be impolite for me to do so? You are the son of the Governor, after all." Yrellea spoke with a slightly startled expression.


    Minos shook his head and sincerely said, "I don''t want you to talk to me while thinking about my status. I want to be your friend, Miss Yrellea."


    Yrellea thought for some moments and then nodded, "If you say so¡­."


    "Then please enter my humble abode, Minos." She invited him inside with a pleasant smile.


    Minos entered her house, but his guards remained outside. They had been given strict instructions to not enter unless absolutely necessary.


    Minos wanted to spend some time alone with Yrellea. If his guards entered, wouldn''t they destroy the mood and the atmosphere?


    "What will you have? Tea or Juice?" Yrellea asked him curiously.


    Minos shook his head and replied, "Nothing for today."


    He spoke with a serious expression, "Actually, I am here on an official visit in ce of my father. He asked me to investigate you. Since you appear to be new to the city."


    When Yrellea heard his words, she internally smirked. She thought ''<em>This is well within my expectations.</em>''


    She asked with a slightly anxious face, "How will you inspect me, Minos?"


    Minos was internally quite happy when he heard his name from her mouth. It felt so pleasant to hear. However, he made sure his expressions remained neutral.


    "Don''t be so worried. It''s just a formality, so I won''t be strict with you."


    He then changed the topic and spoke, "The climate of this city must be quite a change for you. You have lived in a rather chilly area."


    Yrellea nodded and responded, "That''s correct. I am still not used to wearing such light clothing. I used to wear a lot of clothing."


    "Yeah, I can imagine. I went to that area when I was young. I nearly froze because of the cold temperature." He spoke.


    Yrellea chuckled a bit and replied, "It does take some time to get used to the cold."


    The two then remained quiet for some time. It was Minos who broke the silence as he asked her, "Why did youe to shire city?"


    Yrellea had been waiting for this question. She narrated the story she had prepared together with Sargan.


    As expected, Minos had a couple of questions. One of them was quite a natural question.


    "You want to set up a business? What kind of business is it?" Minos asked rather curiously.


    Yrellea hesitated a little as she heard this question. Minos now realized that it seemed as if Yrellea wasn''tfortable with sharing it.


    "¡­Please don''tugh at me," Yrellea spoke with a woeful and slightly scared look.


    Minos immediately replied, "Nonsense. You are about to start a business purely on your personal ability. How can Iugh or make fun of it? I was merely curious. If you aren''tfortable, then you don''t need to share it with me."


    Yrellea looked relieved to hear him out. She spoke, "That truly relieves me. I used to tell my ns to some of my ssmates, and they would normally justugh at me or tell me how it will never work. So, I am a little scared of sharing it with other people. But you said you wanted to be my friend. So I will trust you and share it with you, Minos."


    Minos immediately responded, "You won''t regret it."


    Yrellea sweetly smiled at Minos and then began to speak, "You see, I want to create a pavilion where people can use their skills and entertain people. By using their skills, I mean massaging, dancing, singing, skill in musical instruments, poetry, even gambling, and so on."


    Minos showed a surprised expression. He never expected Yrellea was nning to create a pavilion.


    He couldn''t help but ask her seriously, "Why are you creating this pavilion?"

 Chapter 153 - Scarlet Flower Gang

    Yrellea''s eyes turned slightly sad as she heard that question. She spoke a secondter, "My aunt from my maternal family was a courtesan. Mother told me how my aunt wanted to be a singer, but because of pressure from an association that controlled brothels and nightclubs, my aunt was forced to be a courtesan. She wasn''t allowed to break the contract, or else they would attack my family."


    Yrellea stopped speaking for some time. Minos noticed that there was an ufortable look on her face. It appeared to be mixed with rage.


    "Just a month or so ago, I heard that my aunt escaped from that association. And a weekter, I heard that my parents had been killed." There was an enraged look in Yrellea''s eyes.


    Minos immediately eximed, "The association made a move against your parents?!"


    Yrellea spoke with a calmer tone, "I don''t dare to state this."


    "However, I want to create this pavilion and make it so famous that I can destroy that association." Yrellea''s tone was filled with ambition.


    "Oh. By the way, what is the name of that association?" Minos casually asked.


    Yrellea replied immediately, "The Scarlet Flower Gang."


    "Them, huh?" Minos''s eyes narrowed immediately. He knew some information about this gang. It was quite famous in the northern cities of the Glerian Kingdom.


    "The Scarlet Flower Gang has a branch in the shire City named the Scarlet Rose Gang. Excluding their main branch, their branch in this city generates them the most profit." Minos immediately revealed this information to Yrellea.


    The reason for him revealing this information was quite simple. He noticed how Yrellea seemed quite enraged at this Scarlet Flower Gang. The fact that she was creating a Pavilion just to take her revenge on the entire gang disyed her determination. He revealed this crucial information to her to make her believe that he could help her in her revenge. Which was entirely possible because of his special identity.


    Also, his father had been thinking of dealing with these gangs as well. Nothing too major. Just roughen them up a bit.


    Minos nned to use Yrellea''s hand to roughen up this Scarlet Rose Gang.


    Not only would this bring him closer to Yrellea''s heart, but it would also deal with the Scarlet Rose Gang. Thus, he didn''t hesitate to tell her of this information.


    In reality, Yreallea already knew this information. One of the women who had decided to join Yrellea and Sargan''s Pavilion had revealed this.


    She actually knew a bit more information than this, but she still pretended to be shocked, "What? They have a branch in this city?!"


    Yrellea also appeared to be quite worried.


    Before she could say anything, Minos confidently added, "Since I consider you my friend, I won''t lie to you about this. Also, you don''t need to be worried about the Scarlet Rose Gang. They won''t be able to trouble you in shire City."


    Minos did possess the capital to boast this in shire City.


    Yrellea spoke with a grateful look on her face, "¡­Thank you."


    "No need to thank me. This is what I should do as a friend," Minos smiled.


    He then asked her, "Tell me more about this business of yours. How are you nning to hire talented women? From what I know, most of them are hogged by these gangs or associations."


    There was a blush on Yrellea''s face, "Actually, I did have a n. But it was a little too ambitious. Only after I reached this city did I realize just how impractical that n was."


    Minos asked, "Heh? What was that n? I am curious now."


    Yrellea replied, "¡­I was thinking of poaching the women from some of the nightclubs. The ones I find talented and young."


    When Minos heard Yrellea''s answer, he couldn''t help but gawk at Yrellea for a couple of seconds.


    He couldn''t help but think ''<em>Isn''t this woman too audacious or too foolish?! Even I wouldn''t dare to attempt this.</em>''


    He came to a halt as he was going to inform Yrellea how ridiculous this n was. However, a thought came to him out of nowhere.


    As he thought more about it, he realized this idea could actually be convenient for him.


    If Yrellea poached the women from these nightclubs and started her Pavilion. And by some rare coincidence, her idea worked, and she became famous. Minos and his father, basically the Governor''s side, could use Yrellea''s pavilion to suppress this alliance forming between the nightclubs and the brothels.


    In fact, by using Yrellea''s Pavilion, they would even be able to create a bnce where the Governor can earn more ie and maintain even greater control over the public.


    "This is such a great idea!" Minos eximed, showing an enthusiastic face to Yrellea.


    Yrellea though replied sadly, "The Associations won''t just allow their women to be poached by someone like me. They will definitely try to deal with me. How can I survive if they hire an assassin to kill me?"


    At this time, Minos confidently spoke, "I told you, didn''t I? No one will be able to touch you in shire City!"


    "I don''t intend to boast, but there are few things I can''t do in this city. I can''t help you kill the head of the Scarlet Rose Gang, but if it''s just poaching a few women from their clubs, that''s nothing major. I can easily protect you."


    Yrellea looked surprised to hear Minos''s words.


    She then replied a little hesitatingly, "But¡­I don''t have anything to give you in return."


    Minos thought in his mind ''<em>Tasting your body would be more than enough.''</em>


    However, he naturally didn''t speak these words aloud. Instead, he spoke, "Don''t mind it. We are friends, after all."


    After conversing with Yrellea a bit more, Minos spoke, "It''s time for me to return."


    "¡­It''s truly gettingte. Can we meet tomorrow morning? I want to discuss a few more things with you." Yrellea asked with a hopeful glint in her eyes.


    Minos was overjoyed when he heard her words.


    This time, he was unable to conceal his excitement and spoke, "Yes. I wille tomorrow. We can have lunch together at my restaurant."


    Yrellea knew her motive had been achieved as well.


    She smiled and nodded her head, "I will wait for you tomorrow morning then."


    After hearing her words, Minos slowly walked out of her house.


    He met his guards, one of them touched Minos''s body and inspected it.


    They were checking if that woman used some strange skill on their young master or not. However, after a quick inspection, they realized nothing was suspicious and let the matter pass.


    Minos soon left for his house with his guards.


    After they all left, Yrellea contacted Sargan using the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring. She informed him of what urred with a neutral expression.


    Sargan wasn''t surprised when he heard that Yrellea had aplished the task on her end.


    Now, Yrellea had a shield she could count on that could protect her.


    They were relieved that they wouldn''t have to rely on their Hidden Ace. They could reserve it for a more desperate circumstance.


    Azaroth had naturally thought about the greatest issue they were going to face while creating their organization.


    Theck of background. Especially for Yrellea, it was even more important.


    Without any background, any random association would bully her. Thus, he had created a countermeasure for it.


    However, they could only use it if they had no choice or if Yrellea couldn''t find a solution by herself.


    They couldn''t stay dependent on him forever.


    Sargan soon began to inform Yrellea how things were progressing on his end.

 Chapter 154 - Groups

    Within Veninza City, Ralph, Noah, and Laura were trying their best to develop their force quickly.


    Ralph''s task was rather simplified. The only thing he had to do was go into the Dragon Tiger Pce and register himself as a member of that organization.


    He handed over the necessary fee and, in return, received a silver badge. This Silver Badge indicated that he was one of the lowest-ranking members of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Once he became a part of the Dragon Tiger Pce, he realized that anyone could start a group.


    Meaning, even a warrior possessing Silver Badge could start his own group.


    However, this was generally not preferred. Many of the warriors possessing the Silver Badgecked the skills or power to lead a group.


    But even if the person did have the necessary power, his prestige wouldn''t be enough for people to join his group. After all, many people ced a lot of importance on things like status.


    They wouldn''t join a group of a warrior possessing merely a Silver Badge. That would be an insult to their status.


    However, this didn''t matter to Ralph. He stated his request that he wished to create his own group. Thus, Ralph was forced to pay another 300 Spiritual Coins to register the name of his group.


    He named it "Beast ying Gang."


    It was a pretty standard name. But he did give his requirements for someone who wanted to join his gang.


    They must be atleast 2 Star Warriors and their age shouldn''t cross 25.


    The receptionist was slightly surprised to hear this requirement. Although there wasn''t ack of 2 Star Warriors under the age of 25, why would they join a group created by merely a man possessing the Silver Badge?


    However, her only task was to record the information and then ce it on the Notice Board. She wouldn''t earn anything by contemting it excessively.


    For the first couple of days, Ralph waited for someone to join his group. However, he was bound to be disappointed when no one turned up to join his group.


    There was no clearck of groups. And no one really wanted to be under themand of an individual younger than them.


    Even more, they didn''t believe that Ralph possessed the necessary leadership skills to lead his gang.


    This information couldn''t be more urate. Ralph had truly no idea how to lead his group. He was aplete novice in it.


    A couple of dayster, Ralph decided that he wouldn''t gain anything if he continued to wait like this.


    He had to shock the members of the Dragon Tiger Pce and increase his prestige. Thus, he took a mission and decided toplete it alone.


    This was a mission to bring 20 Horns of the Ferocious me Blood Rhino. This was a special mission, and whoeverpleted it would be handsomely rewarded with not just Spirit Coins but also Contribution Points.


    Nearly 2000 Spirit Coins would be rewarded along with 800 Contribution Points.


    It had to be known that Ferocious me Blood Rhino was quite a terrifying creature. Its battle instincts were quite good, and its charge attack was something that could break past most defenses.


    And most troublesome of all, they lived in a herd.


    As a result, if a warrior wanted to battle one, he had to take on the entire herd. Fortunately, the team had to be prepared for this task because they had to ughter the entire herd to finish it.


    The contribution points were very useful. They could be utilized to be exchanged for a variety of things.


    Whether it was a weapon, armor, pills, portable arrays, receive guidance from seniors, battle techniques, support techniques, and even hire another member of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Because contribution points could be used for so many things, it was thought that you could do whatever you wanted in the Dragon Tiger Pce as long as you had them.


    Contribution Points were gathered through the aplishment of the missions. And most of the missions involved fighting against the beasts in a group.


    Thus, the entire group would benefit when going on an expedition.


    Naturally, the group leader would get thergest portion, while the rest would have to split it up.


    Thus, there were many benefits in bing the gang leader andpleting the mission as a gang leader.


    While Ralph went to the forest, Noah and Laura were slumped as they roamed around Veninza City and asked various people to be members of their group.


    However, just like Ralph, there were quite disappointed as no one joined their group.


    The two met up and nned to share ideas to get through this issue.


    Azaroth hadn''t told them they had to do this by themselves. They could meet and gather their minds to cope with their issues.


    Soon, Laura had an idea, and she immediately shared it with Noah.


    She told him, "Didn''t Master give us a hint by saying ''Money makes the world go round''? Let''s use the Spirit Coins master gave us. We will announce to the city that we are looking for 2 Star Warriors under 25 years of age, and we will give Spirit Coins to those who join our group. For your group, the skills they should know are closebat skills, and for my group, the requirement would be some skill and experience in rangedbat. The rest would depend on ourselves. What do you say?"


    Noah nkly stared at Laura for a few seconds. He was surprised because Laura actually gave a rather nice idea.


    He had a feeling it would work wonderfully!


    However, there were still a few undecided things. He asked her, "How much should we give the reward?"


    Laura thought for a couple of seconds and then answered, "ording to what Master has told me, a 2 Star Warrior can earn 100 or so Spirit Coins monthly. So let''s use 100 Spirit Coins."


    Noah nodded, and he added, "Alright. We will stop selecting after our group has 20 members each. After that, we can work on some other tasks and slowly increase our numberster."


    The two were confident that they could handle almost any warrior underneath the 4 Star Rank.


    If some warriors disobeyed them, they had a very simple response to it. To beat them up until they acknowledged them as their leaders.


    Laura and Noah hired a news agency that spread the newspaper to nearly all households within Veninza City.


    Thus, they used it to spread this information that whoever joined their group would be rewarded with 100 Spirit Coins.


    Laura''s strategy seeded, and they soon had a flood of individuals wanting to join their groups.


    It was only after they experienced this situation that Laura and Noah realized just how troublesome it was.


    So many people hade to join their groups that it was hard to inspect them all and then pass the judgement about their selection in the groups.


    They also had to deal with the rage of the warriors who had been rejected by them.


    Initially, Laura and Noah gave detailed reasoning to the warriors they rejected. However, slowly they realized how time-consuming and stressful it was.


    Thus, they slowly stopped giving any reasoning. Naturally, this angered the people who had been rejected without even receiving an exnation about it.


    It wasn''t really their fault. It was just that due to Azaroth''s training drills, their standards for closebat and ranged fighting had risen a lot.


    When they saw another warriors'' attacks, they simted how that warrior would fight during realbat.


    If the warrior''sbat ability satisfied them, they would select him and, in the other case, reject him without giving him an exnation.


    It took Laura and Noah nearly 8 days to finally gather theirplete groups of 20 members each. Nearly more than 700 people hade for the trials, and only 40 were selected.


    It showed just how strict Noah and Laura were when choosing members for their groups, respectively.

 Chapter 155 - The Arctic Summit

    Nearly a week had passed since Azaroth, and Tiana split up from Noah, Laura, and Ralph. The two had finally reached the base of ''<em><strong>The Arctic Summit.''</strong></em>


    The surroundings were quite cold, and the area was filled with Ice.


    Beforending on the ground, Azaroth realized that some things were not mentioned on the map.


    Like a small human settlement near the base of ''The Arctic Summit.''


    Azaroth immediately lowered his altitude to meet these people.


    Before taking any action, he had to first analyze them. Just what were they doing here? This question appeared in his mind.


    Azaroth told Tiana, "Don''t say anything that reveals information about us. Just follow my lead while I am talking to them."


    Tiana nodded her head and spoke, "Alright."


    The twonded some distance away from this encampment. Azaroth didn''t want to inform them that they could fly. This would indicate that one of them was a 5 Star Warrior.


    He wanted to conceal this information from them for some time.


    This settlement had three 5 Star Warriors, ten 4 Star Warriors, and thirty or so 3 Star Warriors.


    There were no 2 Star Warriors or 1 Star Warriors because they wouldn''t be able to survive in this temperature for long.


    As a result, bringing warriors weaker than 3-Star Rank would be detrimental instead of being helpful.


    The fact that the surroundings were so chilly delighted Azaroth even more. He was now certain that this was the ideal site for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect to establish themselves.


    Even if the warriors Tiana brought were weaker than 3 Star Warriors, Azaroth had his methods for making this a location they could live.


    Soon, the two reached the encampment.


    The guards outside the encampment were only 3 Star Warriors. They showed surprised expressions when they noticed Azaroth moving towards them.


    However, before they asked anything, their eyes twinkled as they gazed at Tiana, who was apanying Azaroth.


    One of them regained hisposure and asked the two, "Who are you, and what are you doing near the ck Lake Sect''s Camp?"


    Azaroth halted as he heard this information and processed it quickly.


    <em>''The disciples of the ck Lake Sect, huh?''</em>


    This sect had no restraints regarding their disciples'' elements. Any warrior could join the ck Lake Sect after passing their tests.


    However, the ck Lake Sect''s cultivation techniques focused on calming the mind. The greater the control over his emotions, the greater is his hold over his cultivation technique, and the greater are the results.


    Thus, the cultivators possessing the me Element would rarely join the ck Lake Sect.


    These ck Lake Sect''s disciples hade to the base of the Arctic Summit Hill toplete a missionunched by their sect.


    The mission was to kill the Frozen Spirit Fox.


    These foxes, like wolves, lived in packs. They were aware that their strength was inferior to that of other creatures and that they needed to join together to have a chance against their foes.


    Azaroth talked to these disciples of the ck Lake Sect and spoke, "Greetings. I am Azaroth, and this is my sister Tiana. We are looking for Icy Spirit Flower."


    The ck Lake Sect''s disciples were quite relieved when they heard that Azaroth and Tiana were looking for Icy Spirit Flower.


    This flower was quite rare in the Glerian Kingdom and could only be found on the Arctic Summit.


    The Icy Spirit Flower was generally used by warriors to break through to the 4 Star Rank. Their control over the Ice Element would be smoother. Thus, the Icy Spirit Flower was quite valuable for cultivators.


    Although it was rare, it wasn''t to the point that it wasn''t avable in the sects. As long as one had sufficient points, they could exchange for an Icy Spirit Flower.


    However, the fact that Azaroth and Tiana came to the Arctic Summit to look for an Icy Spirit Flower indicated that they didn''t belong to a sect. Or maybe they were extremely poor. Both of these possibilities might be true.


    "This is a very dangerous ce. You should have brought more people."


    There was a distressed look on Azaroth''s face as he replied, "We don''t possess the wealth to hire warriors to apany us to this ce. It was even more difficult to buy an Icy Spirit Flower. So, we could only risk our lives ande here."


    "Even if you possess 3 Star Rank, it means little to nothing. There are many 4 Star Beasts, including a couple of 5 Star Beasts on this hill." A disciple spoke with a serious tone.


    Azaroth''s face turned pale as he heard those words.


    He spoke, "We had no idea that such dangerous beasts lived here. Oh no! What should we do now?! If we don''t break through to the 4 Star Rank, how can we save our mother?!"


    In his anxiousness, Azaroth ''identally'' revealed some information.


    The disciples discreetly smiled as a result of this. They received the impression that Azaroth had unintentionally exposed personal information. They might be able to utilize this knowledge and talk to Tiana under the pretext of helping her.


    A disciple soon said to Azaroth, "Why don''t you join us and stay in our camp? We are here for a few days, and we also know quite a bit about the surroundings. We can help you in searching for an Icy Spirit Flower. In return, you assist us with our tasks."


    Azaroth''s expression showed he was excited to receive this offer. He immediately spoke, "Really?! Thank you."


    One of these disciples took Azaroth and Tiana inside the encampment. They showed the entire encampment to the two of them.


    While a disciple was showing off the encampment to the two, another disciple had immediately run towards the head of their group and informed him of the situation.


    The leader of this group was Andreas Kondelis. He was a talented disciple of the ck Lake Sect under the age of 20.


    His cultivation was at the 4 Star Rank, and he possessed the Ice Element. He was quite proficient in controlling his Ardor.


    When he heard the entire situation, he smiled slightly. ording to the description he heard from his junior brother, the woman was quite beautiful. And she was at the most a 3 Star Warrior.


    "Give them different dwelling. Kick out someone who lives in the hut next to mine and give it to the woman." Andreas immediately gave his order with a smile.


    The disciple immediately left as he heard the orders.


    Andreas then thought ''<em>These two came so far for just an Icy Spirit Flower, or is that just an excuse?</em>''


    <em>''Well, their motives don''t matter as long as they aren''t here to look for that Moonlit Snow Lotus within the territory of Frozen Spirit Foxes.''</em>


    This was the real reason why Andreas''s group hade here. They had even brought three elders who possessed 5 Star Cultivation.


    Only Andreas and these three elders were told the true purpose of this trip. The other disciples thought they were here to kill Frozen Spirit Foxes and bring their pelt along with their blood to the sect. The Frozen Spirit Foxes'' Pelt and their blood were quite useful.


    Their pelt could be used to enforce an ice resistance to the armor and the weapon, while their blood could be used to enhance the ice properties of the weapon and even be used as the main ingredient while making Frozen Ice Pill.

 Chapter 156 - Plotting Behind The Kings Back

    While Azaroth and his retainers were setting up within the Glerian Kingdom. Azaroth''s clone, Edwin, was roaming within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He already had a deal with the Barret Noble House.


    He could use the Barret Noble House''s name to protect himself if he got into conflict with the Noble Families while doing the mission for them.


    Jenson Barret put up his own condition.


    Firstly, Edwin couldn''t bring up the Barret House''s name against any Dukedom or the Rhodes Noble House.


    He specifically mentioned Rhodes Noble House because other than the Dukedoms, it was the only Marquis Ranked Family that had a 6 Star Warrior.


    Jonas Rhodes'' prestige was far above his own. He knew that if Jonas Rhodes wanted to deal with him, even mentioning Jenson''s name wouldn''t change anything.


    If it did change anything, it would be Jonas''s determination to kill. He might be more determined to kill Edwin.


    Thus, it could be said that in a certain way, he was protecting Edwin.


    Naturally, Edwin agreed to these conditions. He was aware of the limits of the Barret Noble House''s prestige.


    However, it had to be known that even though the Barret Noble House had its limits while operating within the Sinyalian Kingdom, these limits were quiterge.


    At the very least, the Barret Noble House could protect Edwin''s life in the Sinyalian Kingdom as long as the king did not begin pursuing him.


    This did assist Edwin quite a lot.


    In each Noble Family he went, he poached the services of three servants and made them his eyes and ears within it.


    He connected his Voice Transmission Array Stone with theirs and also handed with a couple of gold coins.


    Using them, Edwin could find out about the general information within the Noble Families.


    Naturally, he didn''t instruct them to keep him up to date on all that was happening in their Noble Families. Edwin would have to continually filter out the important information from such arge amount of data.


    Instead, he just gave that task to the servants he had hired. He asked them to only inform him if they had some valuable information.


    Even if they didn''t have information, they would still receive a monthly sry, but it would be reducedpared to providing him useful information.


    Thus, these servants were quite motivated to find some useful information for Edwin.


    In just a bit more than a month, Edwin''s informationwork had expanded to 2 out of 7 Marquis Ranked Noble Families, 4 out of 15 Count Ranked Families, and 4 out of 25 Viscount Ranked Families.


    Edwin was extremely satisfied with the Noble Families, where he nted his spies. Most of them were at strategic locations, and he could use them to his advantage.


    He had an idea of how he should use them. But it wasn''t appropriate timing yet. His main body, Azaroth, wasn''t ready on the other end, after all.


    During these days, he had hypnotized one of the administrators and made him control Kloras Town.


    Each time he ran into a problem, the man would naturally ask Edwin for his orders. Thus, even though he was afar, Edwin was still sessfully controlling Kloras Town. He knew everything that was urring there and administered it wlessly.


    And now that he had sessfully nted his spies in nearly a dozen of Noble Families with strategical territories, he was thinking of returning to Kloras Town and controlling it personally.


    However, just as he was thinking of such a thing, Rein Schwarz gave him another information.


    This time, the mission could be considered quite significant. After all, it was from a Dukedom.


    When Edwin heard it was from a Dukedom, he was quite surprised and was nning to reject the mission.


    Attempting to imnt his spies into a dukedom would be trying to bite off more than he could chew. His identity might be exposed as well. Edwin felt that the benefits wouldn''t be worth the risks. Thus he wanted to reject this offer.


    Rein Schwarz soon added, though, "I found this mission from one of my contacts. It seems that Siluca Walsh is trying to secretly find a 5 Star Array Master as well as a 5 Star Alchemist. She has been trying to keep this information quite discreet. If you reveal your skills near her area, she would definitely contact you."


    Edwin''s eyes widened slightly, and he soon spoke, "Thank you for this information, Sir Rein. I will ept this mission."


    Siluca Walsh was the head of the Walsh Dukedom! The Walsh Dukedom was quite famous in the Sinyalian Kingdom. It was the only one of the three Dukedoms with a matriarchal system and the only Dukedom whose head wasn''t a 6 Star Warrior. However, this wasn''t why Edwin epted this mission.


    He was more curious about the fact that she was trying to hire a 5 Star Array Master or Alchemist so secretly.


    It had to be known that 5 Star Array Masters or Alchemists were very rare in the Sinyalian Kingdom. The King kept his eyes on all of them.


    Thus, if any one of them epted Siluca''s mission, he would be the first one to know about it.


    As a duchess, Siluca actually required the assistance of an Array Master or an Alchemist also caught Edwin''s interest.


    This suggested she was plotting something behind the King''s back.


    There was no other reason for her to be so cautious.


    However, since Rein Schwarz had gotten his hold over this information, it was safe to assume that the King knew about it.


    Also, the King must know of the entire situation so he could also anticipate Siluca''s actions. Yet he wasn''t stopping her¡­


    Just what was he ying at?


    To find out more about this, Edwin knew he had to dive right into this conspiracy.


    What better way to enter this conspiracy than to be the Array Master that Siluca was looking for.


    Edwin now had to depart for the Walsh Dukedom''s territory.


    ~~


    While Edwin was flying towards the Walsh Dukedom''s territory, Azaroth gathered information from the ck Lake Sect''s disciples over a drink with them near a bonfire.


    Initially, these sect disciples didn''t want to drink with Azaroth, but they immediately changed their mind when Tiana joined them and drank the entire ss before asking for more.


    Their manliness was triggered when they witnessed ady drink in front of them. In contrast, the men near Azaroth were making excuses like they were a couple of scaredy cats.


    Azaroth grinned slyly as he watched them drink down bottle after bottle. One of his motives had been aplished.


    He then gave a signal to Tiana.


    Tiana had already been given instructions for this signal. She understood her task a couple of secondster.


    While staring at the slightly rosy cheeks of these disciples from ck Lake Sect, she asked them softly, "What are all of you doing here?"


    One of the ck Lake sect''s disciples replied to Tiana, "We are here to kill the Frozen Spirit Foxes. For this mission, the sect has doubled the number of contribution points for each corpse and beast core of the Frozen Spirit Fox."


    "Double? Why so?" Tiana asked in a curious tone.


    Another disciple shrugged and spoke out, "How should we know? Maybe they wanted us to earn lots of contribution points and develop ourselves quickly."


    Azaroth sneered when he heard that exnation.

 Chapter 157 - Moonlit Snow Flower

    The exnation by one of the ck Lake Sect''s disciples naturally didn''t convince Azaroth.


    He knew that the sect wouldn''t just double the reward for a specific mission for no reason. If it really wanted all its disciples to develop quickly, the sect would double the reward for all missions.


    This meant the aim was something other than the Frozen Spirit Foxes. Or maybe it was something rted to the Frozen Spirit Foxes, but they had no idea about it.


    He then gave another signal to Tiana.


    This time, Tiana immediately understood his signal and asked, "Who is your leader?"


    "Our leader this time is Andreas Kondelis. He has one of the best Ice Elemental Techniques in the entire ck Lake Sect."


    "Young Master Andreas is also a 4 Star Warrior while he is still under 20-years-old. Sect elders believe his potential to be quite great."


    Azaroth simply snorted upon hearing this information.


    In his eyes, 4 Star Warrior under the age of 20 wasn''t a huge aplishment. Only a 5 Star Warrior under 20 years of age could force Azaroth to treat him as an enemy seriously.


    He gave a signal for Tiana to continue talking with these people about random topics. He more or less had an idea of what these disciples knew.


    Azaroth then closed his eyes and increased his sensing range. As he concentrated more, he focused on the pack of Frozen Spirit Foxes that were the target of the ck Lake Sect''s disciples.


    Soon, his eyes widened with shock as he sensed very familiar energy from the center of the Frozen Spirit Foxes'' den.


    ''<em>This energy¡­ It feels like the Moonlit Snow Lotus?!</em>''


    Moonlit Snow Lotus¡­ It was considered a very valuable herb. Much more valuable than Icy Spirit Flower.


    The reason Moonlit Snow Lotus was considered valuable was because of two reasons.


    The first reason was that a Moonlit Snow Lotus was considered a natural spiritual gathering array.


    It collected both Spiritual and Ice Elemental Energy all around it. Thus, even if Ice cultivators and creatures just cultivated while near this Moonlit Snow Lotus, their abilities would greatly improve.


    The second reason was that it was one of the main ingredients in the formation of the pill known as the Seven Star Yin Pill. Using this pill, any inferior Yin Physique would transform to the Sacred Yin Physique.


    A Sacred Yin Physique was countless times better than Three Yin Physique. Her body would absorb the Ardor much quicker. Her Ardor would also possess a trace of Innate Ice Energy that would just strengthen the power of her attacks.


    Her affinity with the Ice Element would advance, allowing her to learn rare attacks and perform them quickly.


    The formation of this pill was somewhat troublesome, and the alchemist had to atleast be a grandmaster to create this pill.


    Fortunately, Azaroth''s alchemy level barely reached the grandmaster level.


    He wasn''t confident in forming this pill in a single try. Fortunately, the petals of this Moonlit Snow Lotus were the main ingredients for the pill. Thus, he had more than one tries avable.


    Azaroth looked at Tiana and let out a sigh ''Her luck is quite amazing. To think that we would find a Moonlit Snow Lotus in a location where I will set up her sect.''


    The location of Tiana''s sect was now clear to him. He was going to set it up near the Frozen Spirit Foxes''s territory.


    That was where a lot of Ice Energy and Spiritual Energy had gathered because of Moonlit Snow Lotus.


    It was definitely going to assist Tiana and her disciples.


    After ingesting the pill, not only would Tiana''s physique evolve, her cultivation would increase tremendously.


    Now, the issue was this ck Lake Sect.


    These people were going to take action and attack the Frozen Spirit Foxes soon. The ones who did know about the Moonlit Snow Lotus were immediately going to grab hold of it.


    If Azaroth killed them and stole the Moonlit Snow Lotus, the ck Lake Sect would probably cklist him.


    Azaroth had another option, and that was to ughter all the ck Lake Sect''s disciples here. However, even this option had its fair share of troubles.


    If he ughtered all their disciples, the ck Lake Sect would send even stronger warriors to inspect this ce.


    Thus, Tiana wouldn''t be able to set up her sect peacefully.


    He needed to devise a n to prevent the ck Lake Sect from sending anyone here.


    Soon, his eyes twinkled with delight as he realized how he could handle this issue! Now that he thought more about it, this issue was not that hard to handle.


    It was still midnight time, and the sun won''t be up for another couple of hours.


    Azaroth soundlessly got up and hopped away from the area.


    The camp had guards patrolling the area in all directions. Azaroth though used a tiny bit of his Ardor to fly in the air.


    The direction he was heading was none other than the Frozen Spirit Foxes'' territory.


    Azaroth was nning to steal the Moonlit Snow Lotus to infuriate the Frozen Spirit Foxes, who would then attack ck Lake Sect''s disciples in their rage.


    Naturally, in such a fight, ck Lake Sect''s disciples would win by andslide.


    Even if they ughter the Frozen Spirit Foxes, they won''t aplish their true objective. However, this was not something that the sect was going to inform the ordinary disciples.


    Once they find out that the Moonlit Snow Lotus had already been stolen, they will definitely reach the conclusion that it was stolen by an expert at the 5 Star Rank or even stronger.


    Also, the identity of this warrior was quite mysterious.


    If he turned out to be a disciple of a hidden sect, then even the ck Lake Sect might find itself in some trouble.


    As a result, there was a slim possibility they''d stay to examine the situation and determine who had stolen the Moonlit Snow Lotus.


    He flew towards the Frozen Spirit Foxes''s territory while using his normal humanely Ardor. Nothing rting a demon to Tiana or her sect should be left behind here.


    After some time, he was flying above the Frozen Spirit Foxes''s territory.


    He felt the gazes of a Frozen Spirit Fox on him. This was none other than the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    She had sensed Azaroth''s presence from afar. But she hadn''t attacked and allowed him to get nearer.


    The closer he was, the less chance he would have to return.


    Azaroth ignored that Frozen Spirit Fox Queen and instead focused on the Moonlit Snow Lotus.


    The Moonlit Snow Lotus glowed beautifully as the Moon''s silver light fell on it. Each of its petals radiated the moonlight that fell on it, illuminating the darkness around it.


    When the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen noticed that Azaroth''s objective was not her but the Moonlit Snow Lotus, she immediately let out a scream to wake up all her subordinates in the area.


    Instantly, all the Frozen Spirit Foxes in the area stood up as they looked in their Queen''s direction.


    There was another scream that seemed to inform these foxes that there was an intruder.


    All the Frozen Spirit Foxes then raised their head to look in Azaroth''s direction.


    As Azaroth was gazed at by so many Frozen Spirit Foxes, he smiled disdainfully.


    There was a question in his mind as he thought ''<em>Do these beasts actually believe they can stop me?</em>''


    Instantly, he released his Aura as a 5 Star Warrior!

 Chapter 158 - The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen

    Once the Frozen Spirit Foxes sensed Azaroth''s overbearing aura, they couldn''t help but turn towards their Queen. She was the strongest among them, and only she could defeat this human.


    Even the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was hesitant to fight Azaroth. The aura she sensed re up her instincts.


    She was sure that fighting this human would result in great losses on both ends. Thus, the Fox sent a spiritual message to Azaroth, "Human, leave this ce, and I won''t follow you. Otherwise, don''t me me for being impolite."


    Azaroth observed this Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    A typical Frozen Spirit Fox was snow-white in color with the same colored tail. However, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen had a golden symbol on her forehead. In thenguage of the beasts, it meant King.


    This was not the symbol that stated her cultivation rank. Instead, this symbol indicated that her bloodline was superiorpared to her underlings.


    Another difference was that instead of a single tail, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen possessed twin tails.


    Azaroth replied to the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen with a thin condescending smile, "Stop me if you can."


    Suddenly, his figure vanished.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen immediately looked around and saw that Azaroth was actually moving towards the Moonlit Snow Lotus while ignoring her.


    She was instantly infuriated and moved towards Azaroth with a quick burst of speed.


    Even though she had the Ice Element, her lineage was equally proficient in speed. Furthermore,pared to the distance between Azaroth and the Moonlit Snow Lotus, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen and the Moonlit Snow Lotus were much closer.


    Once she got close to the Moonlit Snow Lotus, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen immediately encased it in Ice to prevent it from being damaged.


    She knew that since this human was determined to get this Lotus, he wouldn''t hesitate to attack her.


    If the Moonlit Snow Lotus was damaged at that time, it would be disastrous for their race.


    It was only because of this Moonlit Snow Lotus''s Aura that she could awaken her bloodline.


    Moonlit Snow Lotus''s aura had also seeded in strengthening the power of her race to the extent that they were the lords of this territory.


    Their direct rivals, those Boreal Mountain Bears Race, also had a Beast Lord among them. But because of the rare bloodline possessed by the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen, he couldn''t win against the Fox Race despite his superior physical strength.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen shot out some Ice Beams at Azaroth, who flew towards her with a calm look on his face.


    As these Ice Beams struck Azaroth''s body, they contacted a golden aura around his body and were automatically deflected in other directions.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was slightly shocked as she saw that her attacks were deflected so effortlessly.


    She regained herposure and then congealed Ice on her twin tails. She flung out her twin tails at Azaroth as soon as he came into range. Ice erupted from her tails, extending the length of her tails.


    Azaroth could feel the cold temperature of the ice even though they were still separated by some distance. He knew that his Aura Barrier wouldn''t be able to deflect this Ice.


    Instantly, Ice Element shot out of Azaroth''s eyes, and itpletely annihted Frozen Spirit Fox Queen''s Ice on her Twin Tails.


    Azaroth acquired this Ice Element after he created his new body and used his Demon God''s Blood.


    His body innately possessed the Ice Element in his previous life, and when he created this new body, he had reacquired it.


    Even though the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen''s Ice Abilities had strengthened quite a bit because of the Moonlit Snow Lotus, how could they bepared to the intensity of Ice Element Azaroth''s Demon God''s Blood possessed?


    There was simply no match between them! Azaroth''s Ice suppressed Frozen Spirit Fox Queen too greatly.


    And before the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen understood this fact, Azaroth punched her away quite strongly.


    He wasn''t nning to kill her right now.


    If he did kill her, then this Frozen Spirit Fox Race wouldn''t be able to trouble the ck Lake Sect''s disciples at all.


    He wanted them to atleast kill a few of their disciples while the elders were busy dealing with the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    Azaroth could deal with the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen because his Ice Element directly suppressed her abilities.


    There was no way those elders could get this result as well. At that time, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen would be furious and fight against them with more than her full power.


    By the time the other Frozen Spirit Foxes realized that their queen had been flung away, Azaroth had already touched the Ice that encased the Moonlit Snow Lotus.


    Soon, the Ice dispersed and revealed the beautiful Moonlit Snow Lotus.


    Azaroth didn''t hesitate in plucking this beautiful Moonlit Snow Lotus and then flying away.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen red at him furiously and charged at him with her quickest pace.


    Sheunched multiple Ice Beams, but Azaroth dodged them all by a quick burst of speed.


    Before long, he disappeared from the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen''s vision.


    However, the direction in which he ran was firmly remembered by the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    She immediately returned to her territory and informed her fellow underlings to go and investigate that direction.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen urgently wanted to catch that human and retrieve the Moonlit Snow Lotus from him.


    Azaroth returned to the encampment, and he met up with Tiana in her lodgings.


    He told her that she had to be prepared for an attack from the Frozen Spirit Fox Race. She had to hide her capabilities while fighting against these foxes.


    Only if the situation turned dire could she use her true abilities to kill these Frozen Spirit Foxes.


    Meanwhile, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen soon received the news that there was a human settlement nearly hundreds of miles away.


    With bloodshot eyes, she immediately gathered all the Frozen Spirit Foxes that were in fighting condition and ordered them to attack the human settlement.


    If she had known about this human settlement earlier, she would have formed a clever n to destroy this human settlement. Maybe inform the Boreal Mountain Bear n and use them to destroy this human settlement.


    But there was a huge possibility that the human who stole the Moonlit Snow Lotus was in this settlement.


    If the Boreal Mountain Bear n discovered that Moonlit Snow Lotus, they would definitely keep it for themselves.


    And fighting those brutes in their own area was something the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen wanted to avoid.


    Thus, she had decided to attack the human settlement with her own race. She believed that the strength and number of experts in her Fox Race would be more than enough to annihte the humans in this settlement.


    However, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen had no idea that the humans in this settlement had alle to this ce to annihte her race and grab hold of the Moonlit Snow Lotus.


    They were more than prepared to battle it out with the Frozen Spirit Fox Race.


    They were only worried that if the Frozen Spirit Fox Race came to know about their motive, the beasts would destroy or eat the Moonlit Snow Lotus.


    Although its effect would be a temporary gain in strength, they would be able to prevent it from falling into a human''s hands.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen had no idea that fighting these humans was a terrible move on her part!

 Chapter 159 - The Ambush

    When the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen arrived, she witnessed the elders of the ck Lake Sect killing members of her species.


    She was absolutely infuriated as she saw these three 5 Star Warriors actually attack little foxes who were merely at the 2 Star Rank.


    Naturally, she didn''t stop to think for a second that it was probably her fault to haveunched an attack on the humans.


    The only thing she could see was the humans'' heinous acts. In her eyes, she was in the right while the humans were in the wrong.


    The other party''s thoughts didn''t matter to her at all.


    Thus, she immediately shot out a dense Ice Beam at the three elders.


    The three elders possessing the 5 Star Rank immediately sensed an attack and turned around to see an Ice Beam heading their way.


    The two elders on the side moved immediately and guarded the one in the middle by forming a barrier.


    However, the Ice Beam shot out by the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was quite intense and it quickly froze their barrier and broke it.


    Before the Ice Beam could strike the elder in the middle, the man had already dodged to the side.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen snorted in displeasure as she charged at the three elders.


    The three elders immediately split up to attack this Frozen Spirit Fox Queen from different directions.


    The one who chose to meet this Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was quite confident in his physique.


    He was also one of the rare cultivators from the ck Lake Sect who possessed the me Element.


    The other two elders possessed the Water and the Wind Element.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen attacked one of the elders with an Ice w. The elder chose to meet that attack with his Sword that was zing with hot mes.


    Once the Ice w and the ming Sword shed, an intense shockwave urred that sent the two in opposite directions.


    The other two elders were ready at this moment. They immediatelyunched their attacks at the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    "<strong>Water-Wind Fusion Technique: Razor Whirlpool.</strong>"


    Immediately, water was created around Frozen Spirit Fox Queen that covered her bodypletely.


    Sharp Wind des wereunched at that Whirlpool and instead of halting the momentum of those Wind des, the water elerated their speed even further.


    As the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen''s body was submerged in the water, she felt some des strike her body.


    These des continued to strike her body until she felt that she had begun to bleed. This made her absolutely furious!


    She let out a loud howl andpletely activated her bloodline.


    The mark on the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen''s forehead was glowing brightly. The Whirlpool in which she was trapped immediately began to freeze as her aura overpowered the elders'' aura.


    When the elders saw the mark glowing on the forehead of the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen, they were surprised. And soon, a smile appeared on their face.


    They were quite excited because they knew that this Frozen Spirit Fox Queen possessed a trace of the Royal Bloodline of the Fox.


    Using her blood, they could strengthen and even stimte their bloodlines! Her essence blood would be an invaluable treasure for the ck Lake Sect.


    They had forgotten, however, that since Frozen Spirit Fox Queen had activated her bloodline, she was far stronger than before.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen immediately attacked them without showing a hint of mercy.


    Firstly, she closed the distance between herself and the elder possessing the me Element.


    Even though the elder managed to barely react to her speed and block her Ice w, he still slid back by several meters.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen immediately swiped her tails and struck his gut. Her tails were as sharp as Ice des right now as they pierced his stomach.


    Suddenly, the elder who had his gut pierced by the Icy Twin Tails immediately grabbed hold of her tails. He shouted to hisrades, "Attack now!"


    Hisrades immediatelyunched their respective attacks.


    One of themunched triple wind des at the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen while the otherunched an intense torrent of water.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen didn''t even move as both the attacks actually froze as they neared her body.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen then controlled her tails to raise the me Elder''s body in the air and then threw him towards the Elder possessing the Wind Element.


    Meanwhile, she moved towards the elder possessing the water element.


    Before she could attack the elder possessing the water element, her body sensed a strong heat from behind her.


    Immediately, she jumped in the opposite direction before turning her head to see that elder with the me element was now facing her with a determined look.


    The wounds on his guts had been seared with mes.


    Suddenly, a strong gust struck the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen''s body and she slid back. On the other side, the elder possessing the water element had alreadyunched a stream of hot water at her.


    And thest remaining me elder recovered a bit of his energy and joined them byunching a giant fireball at the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen let out her Ice Beam towards that giant fireball while ignoring the stream and the wind gusts.


    Although they were hurting her, she knew that these mes were the ones that possessed the greatest danger to her.


    The fight continued for nearly half an hour before the result was concluded. Naturally, the ck Lake Sect won this battle.


    However, this victory wasn''t without its fair share of losses.


    Out of the three elders, only the me Elder. It was his attack that had ultimately killed the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    In reality, the three elders werepletely suppressed by the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen after she utilized her Bloodline.


    It was only when she showed signs of exhaustion due to the continuous usage of her bloodline did they have a chance of resisting her.


    When the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen realized that she was about to die, she tried to take the three elders along with her.


    Thus, she used a sacrificial technique that turned the surroundings quite cold and even frozen the blood of the two elders.


    The me elder managed to survive because of his element. He then used that opportunity when the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was immobile tounch a me st at her.


    With this, he managed to kill the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen. After killing the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen, he felt his body fall on the ground because of the hidden injuries and exhaustion.


    Once the Fox Race came to know that their queen was dead, they retreated. They knew that they had no chance of winning against these humans without the support of their queen.


    However, would the humans let them go after suffering disastrous losses? The answer was quite simple. No!


    Thus, Andreas immediately ordered all the warriors in the camp to pursue these foxes and kill them!


    Meanwhile, Andreas also moved towards the territory where this Frozen Spirit Fox Race used to live.


    His main motive had been to grab hold of the Moonlit Snow Lotus. But he was shocked when he failed to find the Moonlit Snow Lotus anywhere in the area.


    He thought to himself ''<em>Did these foxes hide the Moonlit Snow Lotus to some secret ce? Or has it been stolen by some other race?''</em>


    Andreas shook his head as he felt that these two possibilities were quite unlikely.


    <em>''Why did these foxes attack our encampment even though we are so far away from their territory? They even appeared to be extremely angry. The Moonlit Snow Lotus is also missing from their territory. Just what is going on?''</em>


    He had no idea about these questions.. He nned to inform this situation to his master.

 Chapter 160 - Beginning The Concoction

    In the next few days, the ck Lake Sect''s disciples gathered the corpses of the Frozen Spirit Foxes and proceeded to move back towards their sect.


    Only the me Elder and Andreas knew they had failed their mission, while the other disciples were extremely delighted as they thought they had perfectly aplished the mission.


    Andreas spoke to the me Elder, "Elder, I searched for the Moonlit Snow Lotus but couldn''t find it anywhere."


    "I know. After recovering some strength, I searched for the Moonlit Snow Lotus, but it was all for naught." The elder spoke with a frown.


    He then added, "The rage of this Frozen Spirit Fox Race was quite suspicious. They aren''t such violent creatures that they wouldunch arge-scale attack on us. Moreover, their leader was actually willing to perish along with us. If not for the fact that I had some aplishments in me Element, I would have been buried 6 feet underneath the ground."


    Andreas nodded his head. He had arrived near the end of the fight and saw how close the fight was.


    The me Elder asked, "Did you find anyone suspicious in the area while we were in seclusion?"


    Andreas thought for quite some time and then spoke, "We found two people. A man and a woman who hade to this Arctic Summit to find some Icy Spirit Flowers. My junior brothers invited them, and they temporarily joined our camp. While we were fighting against the Frozen Spirit Foxes, some disciples saw them running out of the camp."


    Those remarks made the me Elder scoff. It''s absurd to believe that the soldiers they rescued would abandon them when they were needed.


    He looked down on warriors like these. However, for surety, he asked, "What was their cultivation?"


    "The two were 3 Star Warriors. The male was at peak 3 Star Rank while the woman was at early 3 Star Rank." Andreas replied quickly.


    The me Elder muttered slowly, "3 Star Warriors only¡­."


    His anger over the two decreased slightly as he believed that having two more 3 Star Warriors wouldn''t have changed the situation by a whole lot.


    If they were 4 Star Warriors, then that would be a different matter.


    Soon, the me Elder began speaking with a serious expression, "If my guess is right, someone stole the Moonlit Snow Lotus and sent this Fox Race after our encampment. Considering the rage of these Frozen Spirit Foxes, the thief must have been a human."


    Andreas asked with a frown, "What do we tell the Sect Master then? Without the Moonlit Snow Lotus, the sect master won''t be able to create the environment to develop the Ice Elemental Cultivation of the ck Lake Sect''s disciples. Without the aura released by the Moonlit Snow Lotus, junior sister Martha won''t be able to advance to the 4 Star Rank any time soon. She won''t be able to participate in the conference held by the Origin Sect."


    Those words worried the me Elder, but the situation had already slipped out of his hands. What he could do now was to salvage the situation.


    "I will inform the Sect Master about this and takeplete responsibility for this matter." The me Elder spoke with a resolute voice.


    "What?! I can''t just let you do this. I was at fault as well, Elder." Andreas spoke immediately.


    There was a thin, bitter smile on the me Elder''s face as he spoke, "I am delighted to hear these words, but still, let me take the fall for this one. If you take responsibility for this matter, the sect will lower the resources allocated to you. It will undoubtedly affect your cultivation speed. Just focus on your cultivation and win against the Origin Sect."


    Andreas didn''t appear to be satisfied. He didn''t want me Elder to take the fall for him, but he knew how important the Hierarchy Peak Ranking Conference was for his sect.


    If he achieved a good result in that conference, their sect would receive more resources, and they could firmly suppress the other sects for the next couple of years.


    "I won''t let you down, elder¡­."


    The me Elder nodded in eptance as they focused on the road ahead of them.


    ~~


    At the same time, two individuals were roaming in the Frozen Spirit Fox Race''s territory. These two were Azaroth and Tiana.


    Azaroth had captured a couple of pups of the Frozen Spirit Fox Race and handed them to Tiana.


    These pups were the children of the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen. They also possessed the bloodline of the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen, but it hadn''t activated yet.


    Azaroth nned to forcefully activate it through the use of the medicinal pill he was concocting.


    However, before beginning the concoction of the medicinal pill, he taught Tiana about how to leave a Spiritual Imprint on the beasts.


    Since these fox pups were quite young, using the Spiritual Imprint would slowly make them familiar with Tiana''s presence, and they would get close to her.


    Tiana was delighted to take care of these little pups. They were cute and were rather obedient after she used her Spiritual Imprint.


    The Spiritual Imprint wasn''t used to make a mindless puppet. In fact, the other party would still retain their cognition. However, their familiarity with the user would increase with time.


    This technique worked perfectly on creatures with low intelligence.


    Azaroth gathered a few more herbs from the area and finally began to concoct the Seven Star Yin Pill.


    Azaroth didn''t possess any sort of furnace or a cauldron. Instead, he used his Ardor to raise the ingredients and then used his Azure mes to begin the Seven Star Yin Pill concoction.


    This was quite a troublesome pill where the temperature of the mes had to be changed after every 3 seconds drastically, and ingredients were to be fused differently after a couple of seconds.


    Most importantly, a lot of patience was required to sessfully concoct this pill.


    After a few hours of heating the ingredients and fusing them together, he reached a critical moment. A petal from the Moonlit Snow Lotus floated towards the Sphere of Azure mes.


    Azaroth was quite careful since he knew that the rest would be easy once he passed this part.


    Soon, the Moonlit Snow Lotus touched the Azure mes.


    And before Azaroth could understand it, he felt a tremendous amount of energy building up inside the Azure mes, and a great explosion urred!


    The explosion was so loud that it terrified Tiana and the fox pups who were bonding right now.


    Even Zena, who was somewhat far away from the area and was fighting against a Violent Ice Bear, heard this explosion. When she realized that it was from Azaroth''s direction, she immediately flew towards him.


    A few minutester, Tiana came to Azaroth''s location and asked him, "Are you all right, master?"


    However, as Tiana reached the location, she saw that the ground ahead of Azaroth waspletely charred. It was clear that the explosion had urred near this location.


    And when she raised her head, she saw arge sphere of the Azure mes.


    Soon, Tianaid her eyes on Azaroth. Azaroth sensed her presence and coldly said to her, "Go away."


    However, Tiana remained stood in that spot as she looked at Azaroth''s appearance right now.


    Currently, two horns on his head were rtivelyrge. But most surprising for her were those pair of bright white wings that had sprouted out from his back.


    The aura she sensed from Azaroth felt dominating and gentle at the same time.


    This was the first time Tiana had felt so contradictory, and it made her heart beat faster.


    Soon, she regained herposure and remembered Azaroth''s order. Although reluctant, she obeyed him and left the area.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth coldly stared at the Azure me Sphere and worked on concocting the Seven Star Yin Pill.. As expected, it truly wasn''t easy.

 Chapter 161 - Sacred Seven Star Yin Physique

    It took four tries for Azaroth to sessfully concoct the Seven Star Yin Pill. The first few times, the reason for the loud explosion was because Azaroth didn''t expect the reaction that urred when his Azure mes came in contact with the Moonlit Snow Lotus''s Petals. Thus, he incorrectly manipted the temperature and an explosion urred.


    However, after he corrected this mistake by significantly lowering the temperature of his Azure mes, another issue urred where the ingredients weren''t fusing properly.


    To correct both of these issues, Azaroth enveloped the Moonlit Snow Lotus''s Petal in his Azure mes. These Azure mes were burning at a very low temperature and their only task was to stimte the Yin Energy within the petals.


    Azaroth also burned the other ingredients at the same time and when he felt that the timing was perfect, he fused the Moonlit Snow Lotus''s Petal with the other ingredients.


    Unlike before, this time no explosion urred.


    The Seven Star Yin Pill was sessfully about to form.


    Azaroth sent a mentalmand to Zena.


    Zena, who had been flying above Azaroth''s head, immediatelyunched a couple of Red Lightning Bolts at the Seven Star Yin Pill.


    The Azure mes blocked them. Or it would be more urate to say that it absorbed them. This was the other most important ingredient in the formation of the Seven Star Yin Pill.


    The Heavenly Tribtion Lightning!


    If one thought about it, it was quite natural. This Seven Star Yin Pill could evolve the physique of any Yin Physique. The physiques were decided upon birth. And it could be considered that they were decided by the heavens.


    The Seven Star Yin Pill could evolve a physique provided by the heavens meant that it had to be a heretic pill.


    However, the main ingredient to create it was to use the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning so this pill could only be formed while an individual was undergoing his heavenly tribtion.


    But Azaroth knew of a method of going past this restriction.


    Zena had not only absorbed his own Red Lightning but also eaten the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning sent by the heavens during his tribtions.


    Undoubtedly, her lightning currently possessed the most simr effects to the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning.


    Thus, when the Seven Star Yin Pill was struck by multiple bolts of the Red Lightning from Zena, it slowly began to take shape.


    Azaroth soon asked Zena to stop.


    He then began to split up that giant sphere into tens of spheres.


    These were all Seven Star Yin Pills!


    Azaroth had used a greater quantity of the ingredients to create more pills in a single try. Naturally, he wasted a lot of ingredients but the results were worth it.


    After he created 10 Seven Star Yin Pills, he dispersed his Divine Holy Devil Transformation and returned to his initial form.


    The injuries Azaroth suffered because of the explosions had already healed while he was in the Divine Holy Devil Transformation.


    Soon, Zena flew down towards Azaroth. She was in her tiny form right now and snuggled her body against his cheeks.


    She was trying to act cutely and gain his attention.


    Azaroth slowly patted Zena and spoke, "You did a good job. Your control over the Heavenly Lightning has improved even further."


    Zena immediately squealed in delight as Azaroth patted her head.


    Soon, Azaroth''s expression turned serious as he said to Zena, "Go and call Tiana for me."


    Zena happily squealed at the task and immediately flew in Tiana''s direction.


    When she saw Tiana, she was surprised to see a couple of Frozen Spirit Fox Pups near her. Zena went and pecked Tiana''s head lightly.


    Tiana didn''t feel any pain and was just confused, "What''s the matter, Zena?"


    Zena couldn''t talk to Tiana so she revolved above Tiana''s head before flying in Azaroth''s direction.


    She turned to look at Tiana to see whether she was following her or not. Tiana more or less understood what Zena wanted.


    Tiana followed Zena towards Azaroth''s location.


    Once the two arrived, Azaroth asked Zena to fly around and not disturb them. Zena was quite reluctant to leave Azaroth''s side but she had no choice when Azaroth sternly stared at her.


    Zena then remembered those little pups! She thought it would be a good idea to y with them!


    Once Zena had left the area, Azaroth stared at Tiana with a serious gaze.


    He threw a small ss bottle towards Tiana. There were 9 Seven Star Yin Pills in that small ss bottle.


    Tiana caught the ss bottle effortlessly and then stared at Azaroth in confusion.


    Azaroth then spoke, "Open the ss bottle and ingest one of these pills before quickly closing it. Or else, the medicinal essence would slowly disperse in the surrounding."


    Tiana nodded her head and opened the ss bottle and ingested one pill before quickly closing it.


    Suddenly, her eyes widened as she felt a cold feeling within her body. Moreover, this cold feeling was growing stronger and intenser with each passing second.


    Tiana looked at Azaroth in confusion and asked him, "What was this pill, master?"


    Azaroth replied calmly, "Something good for you. Just endure it."


    Suddenly, arge amount of cold energy targeted her entire body. And before she could understand what was happening, her body froze in White Transparent Ice.


    Azaroth could sense how the Yin Energy within the Seven Star Yin Pill was slowly fusing with Tiana''s physique.


    Her physique was transforming slowly.


    ording to the speed of the fusion, he believed it would take nearly two whole days for the fusion toplete.


    Tiana would havepletely transformed at that moment. Her cultivation would have advanced by leaps and bounds and her physique would have transformed into Sacred Yin Physique which was countless times better than her Mysterious Yin Physique.


    Azaroth moved closer to Tiana''s frozen body and dripped a drop of his blood over the Ice coating her body.


    As soon as his blood came in contact with the ice, it was absorbed.


    This was Azaroth''s gift for Tiana. That drop of blood possessed a dense amount of Yin Energy. He was sure that now, Tiana''s physique would evolve to a superior Sacred Yin Physique. It was known as <strong>Sacred Seven Yin Physique</strong>.


    This was the Physique Azaroth possessed in his previous life. Naturally, the only reason Tiana could possess it was because of Azaroth''s blood. Just the Seven Star Yin Pill wasn''t enough for her to have unlocked the Sacred Seven Yin Physique.


    Azaroth then pulled out one Seven Star Yin Pill from his Spatial Ring. This was the only one he kept for himself.


    Naturally, he had a profound reason for it.


    He slowly began to move towards the location where the Fox pups were waiting for Tiana. When they saw Azaroth, they immediately fluttered their tails and approached him.


    These kits had no idea that their mother was dead because of Azaroth. And naturally, there was no way Azaroth was going to let them find out in the future.


    As the little kits approached him, Azaroth set down a barrier and then a spiritual gathering array around the four fox pups.


    The Seven Star Yin Pill floated in the air,pletely out of the reach of these fox pups.


    Using this Seven Star Yin Pill, their bloodline was going to awaken and there was a chance they could awaken the bloodline even superior to that of their mother.


    Even though she was the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen, her bloodline was at best at the level of a Beast King.


    However, with the stimtion of the Seven Star Yin Pill''s aura, they could even awaken a bloodline at the level of a Beast Emperor. There was only a small chance of that happening though so Azaroth wasn''t counting on it.


    He was satisfied as long as these four foxes awakened the bloodline equivalent to a Beast King''s Level.

 Chapter 162 - Ice Palace And Its Arrays

    While Tiana''s physique was transforming, Azaroth began to roam in the area and began to set some things up.


    For a sect, just increasing Tiana''s talent and her cultivation rank wouldn''t be enough. Many things were required to create and manage a sect.


    Among such things, the arrays were without a doubt the most significant demand. And it was quite natural for the arrays to be considered so crucial.


    Using the arrays, the Ardor in the area could be significantly condensed in the area, thus increasing the absorption rate of the Ardor by the body. Moreover, the body would be nourished greatly if it stayed in an area with a rich concentration of Ardor.


    The arrays were constructed to protect the sect. Now¡­ There were many methods of using arrays to protect the sect.


    The sensory array, suppression array, barrier array, killing array, illusionary array, transportation array, and teleportation array.


    All these arrays could be used to safeguard a sect from enemies. And all of these were considered absolutely necessary for a sect.


    Azaroth couldn''t really construct all these arrays in such a short time. Also, even if he could, he wouldn''t create these arrays for Tiana.


    He was going to construct the Sensory Array, Illusionary array, the Barrier array, the Teleportation Array, and the Spiritual Gathering Array.


    This Spiritual Gathering Array was quite natural. It would absorb more of the Yin Ardor than the Yang Ardor.


    The Yin Ardor would be much more beneficial for Tiana and her disciples. It wasn''t just because of their unique physiques but also the cultivation technique Azaroth had provided them.


    He was sure that with all the things he had prepared, it wouldn''t take more than 2 years for a mortal to cultivate to the peak of the 3 Star Rank.


    The fact that Azaroth was a Demon Lord made things quite convenient for him. Now, he could use the Ardor to construct arrays. This was rtively swifterpared to when he was a 4 Star Warrior and had to manually draw an array.


    For the next two days, Azaroth could be considered extremely busy.


    During this time, three out of the four fox kits had awakened their bloodlines. Each one of these fox kits had a symbol on its forehead.


    There was only one fox pub that remained unconscious.


    Azaroth sensed a rather intense aura from this fox pub and noticed that that the symbol on his forehead was much more majestic than his siblings.


    There was a smile on Azaroth''s face as he understood. This fox pub was about to awaken an Emperor-Ranked Bloodline.


    He was originally a bit worried about what beast to give to Tiana. But now, he realized he had been worried for nothing.


    These Frozen Spirit Foxes could act as the guardian beasts of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    And as the sect mistress of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley, Tiana would possess the spirit beast that possessed the most potential and the strongest bloodline among these foxes.


    The other kits could be given away to her loyal subordinates.


    Soon, near the new Sacred Ice Aurora Valley center, an Ice Statue began to crack. Theyer of ice finally broke, revealing a white fairy to this holistic world.


    This fairdy was naturally Tiana.


    Currently, her physique hadpletely transformed.


    Her originally long chocte ck hair was now silver in color. Her long silver-white hair was even finer and purer than the white clouds of the sky. her glistening oceanic blue eyes that used to show little naivety in them before were now filled with determination and aloofness


    Her white pointed brows, indicating her rebirth from past to the person of the present, her dark, long eyshes, which were fluttering like the wings of the butterfly.


    Her wheatish-colored skin had turned even paler, whiter than the milk itself. Her beautiful jawline has turned sharper, adding an icy look to her previously cute face.


    Her thin lips were akin to the fruit of strawberry itself, making any sane man get crazy in an instant.


    Tiana''s body now possessed an elegant and aloof demeanor to go along with her mature appeal. If Yrellea''s body could be considered seductive enough for any man to go crazy, Tiana possessed a perfect body.


    It was big where it should be big and small where it should be small.


    Tiana was currently gazing at her surroundings that hadpletely changed in just two days.


    Ahead of her eyes was arge pce that appeared to have been constructed by using pure Ice. That Ice Pce gave her a very majestic feeling.


    She absent-mindedly began to walk towards it.


    Currently, Azaroth was setting up some important arrays within the Ice Pce.


    He sensed that Tiana had woken up and ignored this information before getting back to work.


    He could meet with herter. Currently, he was at a critical point while constructing this array.


    After nearly 2 hours, Azaroth began to walk towards Tiana.


    During this time, she had been observing and admiring this Ice Pce from outside.


    She also noticed that the Ardor around her had gotten a lot denser. Or maybe because of the evolution of her physique, she was more sensitive to the Ardor in the atmosphere and could absorb it even more easily.


    Azaroth met up with Tiana and observed her changes.


    Her Spirit was much stronger, and her cultivation had reached the 4 Star Rank.


    Even though Tiana didn''t know how to use her 4 Star Rank cultivation yet, but the fact remained that she was much stronger than before.


    Once she stabilized her cultivation, she would be even stronger and possess smoother control over her Ardor.


    Azaroth then spoke up, "You finally woke up. So, how do you feel?"


    "Better and stronger than before," Tiana replied precisely how she felt right now.


    "Good. Now,e inside. Let me show you the pce and brief you about a couple of things." Azaroth spoke.


    Tiana naturally obeyed Azaroth''s order and entered the Ice Pce along with him.


    Azaroth then drew a spherical azure ball from his Spatial Ring.


    This was a veryrge spherical ball and was muchrger than Azaroth''s hand.


    Before Tiana could ask what it was, Azaroth threw it towards her. Tiana instinctively caught it and then felt an unreal amount of power within that Spherical Ball.


    "This is the control center of the countless arrays I have drawn around this area. You can control all the arrays I constructed for your sect here with that Sphere. Leave a Spiritual Imprint on it. That way, even if it gets into someone else''s hands, you would be the only one who could use it." Azaroth spoke casually.


    Tiana was shocked to hear that the Spherical ball in her hands was such a precious thing!


    She immediately left her Spiritual Imprint on that Spherical Ball.


    Once that passed, Azaroth began to show different rooms and locations within the Ice Pce.


    Like the main hall, meeting hall, conference hall, cultivation rooms, guest rooms, resources chamber, gravity chambers, alchemy room, and so on.


    There were different kinds of cultivation rooms. Tiana was shocked to sense that some of the cultivation rooms could condense ten times more Ardor than outside.


    This was absolutely shocking as she had felt that the Ardor in the Ice Pce was already much greater than outside.


    However, Tiana understood it a bit when she heard from Azaroth that she required Spiritual Coins to use those cultivation rooms to their full potential.


    Only when these cultivation rooms were being utilized to their full potential would they possess ten times the Ardor aspared to outside. Otherwise, it would typically be 3 times aspared to outside the room.


    Once Azaroth had shown off the Ice Pce, he began to inform her about the arrays he had created around her Sacred Ice Aurora Valley.


    The first great array he constructed was the Illusionary Array.


    This Illusionary Array was to conceal the Ice Pce from the world. If someone came and tried to search for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley, they would never be able to find it because of this Illusionary Array.


    Only those who had Tiana''s recognition could pass this Illusionary Array.


    If Tiana didn''t want someone to enter, they would be forced to return. Even if the other party was a 7 Star Warrior.


    Naturally, this wasn''t just because of the passive skill of the Illusionary Array. This Illusionary Array had anotheryer.


    Once someone broke through the firstyer and actually found the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, Tiana could activate the Illusionary Array, and the person who had seen the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect would never actually be able to reach the sect.


    He would begin to revolve in a circle while trying to reach the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    But still, if someone possessed enough skill to look past the illusions, Tiana could use the barrier to hold back the enemy and then activate the Teleportation Array to transport all the people inside the barrier to apletely new location.


    Azaroth still had to pick a new site and theny out the Teleportation Array''s other end, but he wasn''t concerned.. He didn''t think Tiana would be forced to utilize the Teleportation Array any time soon.

 Chapter 163 - A Common Man

    While Azaroth was busy dealing with the Blue Lake Sect and then constructing multiple arrays and the Ice Pce for Tiana, his clone had finally reached the Walsh Dukedom''s territory.


    It took him nearly one whole week of flying to reach this territory.


    After reaching the Walsh Dukedom''s territory, he didn''t walk to the mansion straight away. Instead, he decided to stay in the main city named Rashire.


    Only when he has investigated the things could he form a n to deal with the Walsh Dukedom.


    However, a random individual wouldn''t know of anything that urred within Walsh Dukedom.


    Thus, he changed his objective and tried to gather information about any other strange events that urred in the city.


    And it didn''t take Edwin very long to find out some pieces of information.


    He found out that an individual had suddenly gotten famous in Rashire City. It turned out that this man had captured a bandit camp and even found a hidden mine near the city.


    This mine possessed three different kinds of minerals inrge quantity. And these bandits had owned this mine and mined out the resources from it.


    These bandits regrly conducted business in Rashire City, and they were considered honest and sincere businessmen. These people traded the resources with the businessmen in Rashire City and sold them at a very high price.


    This was somewhat inconceivable since the mines were actually quite close to Rashire City, and their true cost was less than half of what they had been paying.


    It was only when they were caught that the public saw their true face, which exploded the news about them.


    Edwin read the name of the individual who had caught this entire gang. His name was Samuel Be.


    It didn''t take long for Edwin to find Samuel''s house address.


    Samuel was a 4 Star Warrior, but it didn''t matter to Edwin. He could kill Samuel as easily as turning his palm.


    It took a few hours for Samuel to return to his house.


    These days, Samuel had been meeting a lot of high-end people. His prestige was growing with each passing day, and he was trying to make the most of it by grabbing the opportunity presented to him.


    He knew that he wouldn''t remain the highlight in everyone''s eyes forever. He had to work hard to takeplete advantage of this opportunity.


    As he returned to his house, he expected his servants to greet him and ask him to take a bath before the dinner was prepared.


    However, as he entered his house, what greeted him was a gloomy silence. He called out for his servant, but there was no response.


    There was a frown on Samuel''s face. He understood that someone had probably sneaked into his house and attacked his servants to make them unconscious.


    This was a bit inconceivable for him to believe. His prestige had grown quite a bit, and many people knew he was a 4 Star Warrior.


    For someone to have still made a move against him meant that the other party was definitely prepared. They probably had a 4 Star Warrior with them. Or maybe they had more than one.


    Samuel wasn''t scared, though. Now that he knew someone was targeting him, he was confident in bing triumphant in this situation.


    There had been times when the odds had been stacked against him, and he still won at that time. But now, he was in the dark while his enemies were in the light.


    He could take his time to find his adversaries and form a n to take care of them all.


    However, just as he took another step forward, he felt a strong suppression act on him.


    This was none other than Edwin''s gravity suppression array.


    He had left behind this gravity enhancement array at the entrance, activating when the target was in range.


    Samuel had entered the range of the Gravity Enhancement Array by putting his foot on that spot, and he was immediately glued to the floor.


    Edwin soon came down the stairs and stared at the fish that had been caught in his.


    "Greetings, Samuel. This is the first time we have met, but I have a couple of questions for you. I wonder if you are interested in answering me?" Edwin gave a cordial smile to Samuel.


    As soon as Samuel saw that smile, he couldn''t help but think how fake that smile was. Instead of a friendly feeling, that smile gave him a much more frightening feeling.


    "W-who are you?" He asked while trying to keep his emotions in check.


    Edwin replied with the same smile, "Just amon man."


    When he heard that response, Samuel wanted to curse at Edwin loudly and say <em>''Since when can amon man suppress a 4 Star Warrior so effortlessly?!''</em>


    Edwin then stopped right in front of Samuel''s body, "You can tell me what I came here for, or do I need to be forceful?"


    Edwin had his own considerations for not killing Samuel or his servants. If a man with such great prestige suddenly died or the people near him were killed, it would definitely spread in the entire city like a forest fire.


    However, if Samuel refused to answer his questions, he could just use his Mystical Eyes of Perception to force him.


    Samuel was a little clever, though, as he immediately spoke, "I will answer any questions you have for me."


    Edwin didn''t stand on ceremony and asked him, "Who informed you about the bandit camp and the mines?"


    As soon as Edwin finished speaking, Samuel responded with a sincere look, "I coincidentally-"


    Suddenly, Edwin kicked Samuel''s face so strongly that one of his teeth flew in the air.


    "This time, only a tooth flew away. Next time you lie to you, it will be your head." Edwin warned with a cold tone.


    Samuel was internally shocked. He hadn''t expected Edwin to know that he was lying.


    Since this incident urred 3 weeks ago, he had spoken this exnation so many times that it had basically be the truth for him.


    Even if Edwin was monitoring his heartbeat, he couldn''t have known that this was a lie.


    In reality, Edwin hadn''t used any technique to figure out that Samuel was lying. He just used a bit of brain and logic.


    It was next to impossible for Samuel to have not only discovered the entire bandit camp and also their mines unless someone tipped him.


    If he really did have such a stroke of good luck, then that was also suspicious. The first thought Edwin had was that someone was controlling the events from the background.


    After all, it begged the question, why was it only Samuel who coincidentally saw the bandit camp and found out about the mine? Moreover, Samuel''s power seemed to be enough to deal with an entire Bandit Camp alone. Why wasn''t it some other warrior who couldn''t have dealt with those warriors?


    Samuel soon began to speak, "¡­I don''t know who it was. While searching for some missions, I received a post telling me to travel to investigate the southern part of the city. There were hundreds of Spirit Coins along with the letter. So, I felt that there was no harm in checking it out. On the same day, I went to the area mentioned in the letter and investigated it. At that time, I found the main camp of the bandits. When I investigated more, I found the mines as well."


    "Give me the letter now."


    Edwin spoke with a frown. The situation was quite troublesome.


    The Gravity Array''s effect suddenly vanished, and Samuel stood up. He then stared in Edwin''s direction and thought about fighting him now.


    However, he soon removed that thought as he felt that he had a very low chance of winning against this mysterious expert. This man didn''t seem to be thinking of harming him, so forcefully antagonizing him would be a bad idea.


    He went inside his room and picked up the letter before handing it to Edwin.


    Edwin grabbed hold of the letter and asked a couple of questions from Samuel. After receiving the answers he needed, Edwin waved off his hands to inform Samuel that he could return to his room.


    From the letter, Edwin didn''t actually find anything rted to the individual''s identity manipting this entire situation.

 Chapter 164 - Magic Trick

    Edwin had now decided to go and investigate that mine. He already had the precise address, thanks to Samuel.


    And now, he was making his way towards the mine to understand the situation.


    ording to Samuel, after the mine was found, the Mayor sent his men to the mine and increased the mining speed. The cost of these metals and minerals was significantly lowered.


    However, Edwin doubted that this mine was actually under the control of the Mayor.


    ording to the information he possessed, he knew that there were many rare ores in this mine. One of them inrge quantities was Roscyagite.


    From this, three different kinds of rare and highly productive metals could be processed. These metals were Purplestone, Sabnovite, and Cyan Acangite.


    All these three metals were highly useful for cultivation. However, among them, the Purplestone was in the greatest demand.


    It was because the Spiritual Coins were created using Purplestones. They were always in high demand within the Sinyalian Kingdom, so this Roscyagite mine was too valuable.


    Thus, Edwin highly doubted that the mayor could be in control of such a precious mine.


    Once he reached the mine, he looked around and found the people who were in charge of transporting the mined materials to the different factories.


    Edwin wasn''t nning to talk to any of them. He was just waiting for them to gather the materials for the day and then move towards the factories.


    He wanted to know precisely which factory these people were going to. There were a couple of those in Rashire City, and the safest way to find this factory would be to follow these carriages.


    Naturally, these carriages were protected by strong warriors. Edwin sensed multiple 4 Star Warriors. They were all seasoned soldiers, and there were hidden warriors in the area possessing 5 Star Ardor.


    A huge force was behind it.


    Edwin did have an idea about who it could be when he sensed so many warriors, but he didn''t make his move yet. He had to confirm his guess first.


    And for that, he had to follow these guys.


    After an hour or so, it was time for the miners to stop working and return home. After loading the carts, they left for their homes.


    The carriages began to move.


    Edwin didn''t actually need to follow them to find out where they were heading. But after reaching the location, he had to do a couple of things there, so he followed them.


    Edwin''s sneaking skills were perfect. Even though he was following the carriages for such a long time, no one caught a hint of his presence. Including those warriors who could sense quite deeply and had quite an experience¡­


    Well, their experience couldn''t bepared to Azaroth''s experience. The difference was too massive.


    Soon, Edwin followed the carriages to the factory and soon found whose it was. This was a factory under Astral Mining Company. One of the three industries in Rashire City.


    The other two being the Broken Hill Industries and East Range Corporation.


    These three dealt with simr businesses, so as one would expect, thepetition was quite high. And they had a very heated rivalry.


    After a couple of hours, Edwin went and read the mind of a warrior working in the Astral Mining Company. He chose a 3 Star Warrior.


    It was because, for Astral Mining Company, a 3 Star Warrior couldn''t just be a regr henchman. However, he also couldn''t be an important man whose presence would be highly valued.


    Edwin just wanted information. After that, the man was killed with a palm attack. This palm attack didn''t harm the man''s body. Or atleast his exterior body.


    This just targeted his heart and forced it under conditions like a heart attack. If the man had received some prescribed first aid at that moment, he would have survived.


    But s, only Edwin was near him at that moment.


    Meanwhile, a small smile appeared on Edwin''s face as he thought ''It''s just as I expected. Such a good show is going on in this ce. Surprisingly, it has remained concealed from the world for so long. But maybe I should investigate more. The next stop should be Broken Hill Industries.''


    ~~


    The next day, Edwin entered Walsh Dukedom. He was here under the identity of Dark Shadow.


    As he met up with the servants and maids in Walsh Dukedom, he didn''t try to buy off their services or nt his own men among them as he did in other Noble Families.


    He stopped a woman who appeared to be a maid in the mansion.


    Purple, perfectly groomed hair hangs over a strong, cheerful face. Glinting green eyes, set appealingly within their sockets. She appeared quite young and had fair skin. She was wearing a rather traditional dress.


    Edwin didn''t observe her for long and spoke with a calm voice, "I am Dark Shadow, and I am here to meet the duchess. If you would be kind enough to inform her of my presence."


    The maid remained unmoved, but there was a hint of anticipation when she saw Edwin heading for his pockets. Even though the sry they received was quite humongous, who didn''t want more free wealth? She definitely did.


    However, that sh of excitement faded when she saw Edwin pull out merely a couple of Gold Coins.


    Edwin noticed this change in his emotions. However, he wasn''t one to make a bad first impression.


    Thus, he immediately stopped his hands that were heading to tip the maid.


    "Would you like to see a magic trick? You can consider me a bit of a magician." Edwin spoke.


    Now, the disappointment was gone from the maid''s eyes, and she looked curious and wondered what he meant.


    "I have two Gold Coins in my hands. I will toss them both up. When I catch them again, they will havepletely changed." Edwin spoke calmly.


    Soon, he tossed both the coins up.


    After a few seconds, he caught the two of them. When he opened his palm, there were two Spiritual Coins in his hand.


    The maid was quite surprised, and soon a smile appeared on her face.


    Edwin''s magic trick really did entertain her quite a bit.


    She replied with a bright smile, "You are quite talented."


    Edwin remained unmoved by her praise. He just said, "Now, would you please call out for Duchess. I had to discuss something urgent with her."


    Just as the woman was about to go, there was another maid who saw her from a distance and spoke a little loudly, "So here you are, young mistress! Madam Siluca was quite worried when she didn''t find you in your room."


    The youngdy immediately blushed in response. It was as if she had been caught stealing a cookie from the kitchen.


    She peeked in Edwin''s direction and saw he had stepped back in shock. She expected this response. After all, that maid had just revealed she was the young mistress of this dukedom.


    Her name was Anna Walsh.


    However, if Anna Walsh knew Edwin''s thoughts, in reality, she would have found out that he wasn''t the least bit surprised.


    In fact, he approached her because he was well aware of her identity. Her dress, her beauty, the ornaments she wore, and her Ardor basically screamed her identity.


    Edwin didn''t understand how she could have even thought of fooling him into making him think that she was just a regr maid.


    In fact, this youngdy of nearly 17-years-old had probably seen him from the balcony or something and then came down and yed this scene out.


    She was probably bored staying in her room and wanted to have some fun.


    However, she never expected to meet an entertaining guy. At least, someone who did something out of the ordinary.


    Anna thought Edwin was surprised by her identity and quickly spoke, "That was really a neat trick. Teach it to meter. Oh right. You wanted to talk to my mom, right? I will call her out for you."


    Anna then threw those Spirit Coins back towards Edwin before rushing on the first floor to meet her mother.

 Chapter 165 - Crushing Arrogance

    Edwin took a seat on a nearby couch and waited for Siluca Walsh. As he gotfortable on the couch, a maid appeared and offered him some cold drinks.


    Edwin took a few of them. This was actually his first time drinking a cold drink in this world as a human.


    As a demon, he couldn''t taste anything at all. And even though he had a demon and celestial bloodline in his body, it was still mostly human. So his taste buds remained intact.


    And when he went to bars or restaurants, he would mostly drink alcohol. As he drank the cold drinks, he became a little mncholic and let out a sigh.


    This world was truly far behind Earth in terms of cooking. He would have preferred something like Coca-C, Pepsi, or Redbull. Inparison, the cold drinks in this world were just garbage.


    He couldn''t help but think <em>''Maybe I ought to create a cold-drinkpany. I can earn from it and it should be easy to expand the business. Most importantly, I can get to drink better cold drinks in the future.''</em>


    Only the people who had tasted the cold drinks on Earth and on Frascoia Continent could rte to his feeling that welled up within him.


    After nearly 10-20 minutes, a woman slowly stepped down the stairs.


    Edwin nced in her direction and noticed that this woman appeared quite simr to Anna.


    The same purple hair color, just a shade darker inparison. However, unlike Anna''s gentle green eyes, this woman had sharp red-colored eyes.


    Her body appeared to be a mature version of Anna with a big bust and an impressive ass. Her skin was as fair as her daughter and upon seeing her, it was impossible to say that she was Anna''s mother.


    In fact, if the two stood next to each other, she could at the most be considered Anna''s elder sister.


    However, such a thing was quite natural in Edwin''s eyes. Because he sensed that this woman''s cultivation was at 5 Star Rank.


    Moreover, he sensed quite a bit of untapped potential within her body. Once it hadpletely awakened, she was sure to cross the threshold and reach the 6 Star Rank.


    There appeared to be certainplications that prevented her from awakening her untapped potential. And it wouldn''t be easy to resolve them.


    Anyway, Edwin wasn''t interested in assisting her awakening that bit of potential. It wouldn''t benefit him if she became stronger than himself.


    Meanwhile, Siluca was also closely observing Edwin.


    She noticed that this man had covered his entire body. And he even seemed to be wearing loose clothes to give a wrong estimate of his body size to his enemy. Siluca could sense the threatening aura from Edwin''s body.


    It instinctively red up her Noble Aura to counter it. When she noticed that Edwin showed no response and just stared at her in question, she thought ''So he is the real deal?''


    A servant brought a seat and ced it right ahead of Edwin''s couch. Siluca dismissed the servant before speaking coldly, "Dark Shadow, I have heard quite a bit about you. A 5 Star Alchemist as well as a talented 5 Star Array Master. Your prestige is gradually rising among the noble families."


    "So, what brings you here, Dark Shadow?" She asked with a sharp look in her ruby eyes.


    Edwin spoke cheekily, "I appear where I feel my services are required. So, the purpose of my visit should be evident to the duchess."


    Siluca red at him after hearing his statement. She spoke coldly, "What an insolent tone. Is this because you have Barret House''s support?"


    "Even if Jenson Barret was here, he wouldn''t dare to talk to me in such a tone," Siluca warned with an icy voice.


    "Barret House? Hahaha¡­" Edwin began tough.


    "So it seems you have investigated me deeply. But so what? If you believe that I havee here because of the Barret House''s support then you couldn''t be more wrong." Edwin spoke while raising his legs and cing them on the table between him and Siluca as he seemed to be rxing on his couch.


    This actionpletely astonished Siluca. Not just shock her though, it infuriated her.


    This kind of action was utterly disrespectful to her. As a duchess, not even other dukes who were at 6 Star Warriors wouldn''t ever dare to be so insolent in front of her.


    However, she knew that staying angry would just cloud her decisions. This might be Edwin''s tactic. So, she took deep breaths and tried to calm down.


    Actually, this was the truth. Edwin did want to make her angry and take some decisions impulsively.


    This tactic had naturally failed. Siluca soon spoke with rage in her voice, "What is the meaning of this?"


    "I am breaking one of your delusions where you believe that I am scared of you or your authority," Edwin spoke while his eyes turned purple and he looked into Siluca''s eyes.


    A letter appeared in his hands and he threw it towards Siluca.


    Siluca caught it and frowned. She disliked how Edwin was seemingly treating her. He waspletely disregarding her authority and her power.


    It was as if he was telling her that she couldn''t harm him even though he was in her mansion and sitting right in front of her.


    This was a very humiliating feeling.


    However, she was still curious about what made him so impudent and hence she calmed down her anger and began to read the letter.


    Edwin internally cursed her self-control. He had already set up an array beneath himself. If she attacked him, the attack would have reflected upon herself, dealing twice the damage to her.


    However, during this time, he also couldn''tunch an attack towards her, or else the array would be dispersed.


    He somewhat underestimated this woman''s willpower.


    Meanwhile, Siluca was utterly shocked as she read the entire letter. She mmed the table strongly and stood up in anger.


    "How do you know of this?!"


    "Sit down. You don''t need to be so excited." Edwin ordered her.


    "What did you say?" Siluca asked, a little shocked that someone was actually ordering her.


    "Sit down!" This time, Edwin also revealed his Demon God''s Dignity andpletely crushed that overbearing Siluca''s Noble Aura.


    In front of a Demon God, Siluca''s Noble Aura was no less than an ant. She sat down, not understand just what this man in front of her was.


    "As I said in this letter. If you attack me, the information I have will be leaked to the entire world. I wonder if you can stop that information from spreading? Even if you were the King, you would be helpless." Edwin spoke with a neutral voice. He wasying down the facts ahead of her.


    Siluca tried to calm herself quickly and then she asked Edwin, "What do you want to keep this information hidden?"


    "What''s the rush? When did I say I came here to ckmail you?" Edwin said as he soon ced his legs down his tone turned serious.


    "In reality, I find your n quite good. I want to say I want to join it. Aren''t you searching for n Array Master? I am a 5 Star Array Master. I would say I am pretty qualified to be the Array master you are looking for." Edwin spoke with a smile beneath his mask.


    Siluca narrowed her eyes as she thought ''Does he have a beef with those guys as well? Is that why he wants to join me and use me to destroy them?''

 Chapter 166 - Talented Predecessor

    Edwin spoke with a thin smile beneath his mask, "Let me give you a story. I am sure all your questions would be answered by the end."


    Siluca cut apart the paper in her hand and coldly stared at him, "Speak then. I am curious."


    "Great¡­ Now, where should I start. Alright, let''s start from the very beginning." Edwin''s voice turned serious.


    "It started many years ago. Maybe before you became a duchess. Your predecessor handed over the Roscyagite Mine to the church for some sort of deal. I don''t know why this deal was made but clearly, the church had a handle on you and you had to sell them this mine."


    "Naturally, your predecessor didn''t wish to give up on this mine. It brought her a hefty profit. Thus, she thought of a scheme to take it back."


    "The first step for her was to nt someone within the Radiant Church. I am not sure who this person is. But he/ she should be near about bishop rank or maybe even an archbishop right now."


    Edwin paused for some time and then observed Siluca''s surprised expressions. Her emotions were extremely clear to him. So he was delighted to see that his guesses were correct.


    As the duchess, Siluca definitely knew the detailed situation. Only she could verify his deductions.


    "I haven''t begun to investigate the bishops or the archbishops of the Radiant Church but it shouldn''t be too difficult to find who the spy is."


    "Anyway, the church remained active as well. They knew they couldn''t just swallow this mine alone. They required the assistance of more forces to takeplete advantage of this mine. Thus, they joined hands with the Roger Dukedom and a few more territories and established trade routes with them. Thus, the Broken Hill Industries was formed."


    At this point, Edwin spoke with a sneer, "However, what the Roger Dukedom or anyone else didn''t know was that even though they were the ones who created the Broken Hill Industries it was the Walsh Dukedom''s people who had sneaked their way inside it. Assassinating the people working in the Broken Hill Industries, threatening them, or and even forcefully nting false evidence about an official and forced him to resign is how the Walsh Dukedom managed to sneak their men inside. Isn''t that right, Duchess?"


    Siluca''s emotions remainedpletely calm as she replied, "I have no idea what you are talking about."


    "A criminal will not confess to a crime. However, I am not here to preach justice. In truth, the acts of the Walsh Dukedom pique my interest in coborating with you. Something as insignificant as morality, at the very least, does not prevent you from pursuing your goals. That''s excellent."


    Edwin''s voice revealed that he was genuinely impressed.


    Those words actually scared Siluca. She wasn''t all that happy with some of the decisions of her predecessor.


    Siluca felt as if her predecessor was too ruthless and rigid. However, as she managed the dukedom, she understood that those actions were necessary.


    Although she understood her predecessor''s actions, she was still repulsive about most of them. This imnting her people within the Broken Hill Industries was one of them.


    Edwin''s voice then got serious and he returned to the story.


    "And now, you are finalizing her n. 2 months ago, you finally put the final bits of this n into motion."


    "This began by sending an Archbishop to the Roger Dukedom for some reason. You aplished this by using that mole you set up within the Radiant Church since years ago. My guess is that in the past few months the Broken Hill Industries'' Head made a secret deal with the Roger Dukedom to earn more. After all, the majority of the profit was hoarded by the Radiant Church which had definitely begun to make the Roger Dukedom itch in irritation. The Roger Dukedom wants to earn more ie secretly and making a deal with the head of the tradingpany he had initially set up was the best way."


    "Thus, the Broken Hills Industries began to lower the payments to the Radiant Church along with the Roger Dukedom on the surface. However, in reality, the Roger Dukedom was sent this ie through another route which quite safe."


    "Your spy in the Radiant Church informed the information to the other members of the Radiant Church that perhaps the Roger Dukedom had started to go beyond the limits of his deal."


    "Then two months ago, you sent an Archbishop to the Roger Dukedom for diplomatic talks and to threaten them. But the Radiant Church never expected that only his body would return. When this urred, your spy fanned by mes by adding that since this urred in the Roger Dukedom, it must have been either by the Roger Dukedom''s hand or through a tactical agreement by the Roger Dukedom."


    "This is quite a natural argument and it made a lot of sense. The only way the Roger Dukedom could counter this argument was by admitting that they were incapable of protecting the Archbishop. However, if they did admit this, it would disy their weakness,wlessness and the Radiant Church could use this as an excuse to take a greater share of the profit while also punishing the Roger Dukedom. This is not something that the Roger Dukedom would allow if it doesn''t want to be pushed into a dead-end from a trade and political outlook."


    "Even if the Radiant Church knew that someone else was pulling the string, the fact remained that the Roger Dukedom made a secret deal with the Broken Hills Industries'' Head. This fact already displeased them and destroyed their rtionship."


    "The final nail in the coffin was for you to use someone like Samuel to free the mine from the Broken Hills Industries'' Control. This mine is under Astral Mining Company and the Mayor is personally managing it."


    "Actually, the Astral Mining Company''s record is quite impressive. Within thest 3 months, they hired nearly ten 5 Star Warriors. And if you exclude theirst three months, then they had only hired seven 5 Star Warriors since their inception. It''s quite a coincidence, isn''t it? Just a month before the Astral Mining Company was made in charge of the Roscyagite Mine, they had already hired a lot of 5 Star Warriors."


    Siluca was sweating nervously as she stared at Edwin with a shocked look. She had thought that even if he knew the information, he wouldn''t atleast know it in detail.


    But here Edwin was telling her as if he was the one who nned the whole thing out.


    "Currently, the Radiant Church ispletely infuriated with the Roger Dukedom. In their minds, the Astral Mining Company was set up by the Roger Dukedom. This is because the Roger Dukedom is receiving raw ores directly from the Astral Mining Company. Even though they know that the Radiant Church willpletely misunderstand the situation, the Duke cares more about increasing his personal wealth and force so he has ignored the Radiant Church. This is your luck. But even if it didn''t happen, you could use your spy to make the situation worse."


    "The fact that the Radiant Church is nowpletely against the Roger Dukedom is known by the King. If the Radiant Church in your territory suddenly disappears. I wonder who they will point their fingers on. The Walsh Dukedom or the Roger Dukedom. Even if someone tried to investigate the truth, he would be more inclined to believe that the Roger Dukedom was behind it."


    "What you want from an Array Master is to construct either a Killing Array or portable killing arrays and then destroy the Radiant Church before putting the me on the Roger Dukedom. This won''t just greatly expand your prestige but also allow you to firmly suppress the Roger Dukedom politically with none being the wiser. Thus, itpletes the story."


    "It''s worthily a master n. If your predecessor was still alive, I doubt I would have seen through it easily. A true strategic genius."


    Edwin was sincere while praising Siluca''s predecessor of Walsh Dukedom. She was probably near his level in terms of strategy and nning.


    A bitter smile appeared on Siluca''s face as she thought ''<em>All strategies are useless in front of Absolute Power. Isn''t that why she died on the battlefield 11 years ago?''</em>


    She spoke with the same bitter smile, "You told me this because you want me to understand that you know everything. That I am not in any position to make demands."


    If Siluca could have seen his face, she would have seen a brilliant smile on Edwin''s face as he spoke, "It''s truly nice to talk to smart people."

 Chapter 167 - Meeting Hall

    Siluca felt as if she was falling into deep despair as she talked to Edwin.


    This man was in her territory. He seemed to have figured out andpletely analyzed a tactic used by her predecessor, her mother to be precise.


    Along with his analysis, he had also presented his proofs. If any of the names he had mentioned were to be investigated starting from their Arch-bishop within the Radiant Church, then the Walsh Dukedom would be in deep trouble.


    However, Siluca understood Edwin''s n was to deal with the Radiant Church and the Dukedom Roger. She didn''t know why he was against them but she was sure he had some antagonist feelings about them.


    "What do you have in mind? You wouldn''t havee here just to inform me about this." Siluca asked with a grave look on her face.


    "Naturally, I am here to assist you. Not only am I a 5 Star Array Master, but I also have a sharp mind. For something as major as uprooting the entire Radiant Church from this town, I am sure my assistance will be required." Edwin spoke with a casual tone.


    He actually didn''t have some antagonist feeling towards the Radiant Church. He just felt that the situation was quite convenient and he could use them to take his n to the next step within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Moreover, Siluca had a bitter smile on her face as she thought ''This guy is far too annoying!''


    She knew that she was in no position to against him. She was facing ack of information when dealing with this guy.


    And he seemed to not care about her prestige as a duchess. It was not every day she would meet someone so bold.


    "Let''s have a great cooperation ahead," Edwin spoke while stretching his hand out for a handshake.


    Siluca was quite ufortable but she still shook his hand and forced out a smile, "To have happy cooperation ahead."


    Soon, Edwin seriously asked her, "Now, how about you tell me what you nned to do after hiring a 5 Star Array Master? If I am to assist you, I need to know your actions ahead."


    Edwin didn''t try to think a lot about this issue. He was confident in figuring out her actions if he observed her for a couple of days or so but he thought there was no point in being elusive and dragging this out. Thus, he straightforwardly asked her.


    "¡­Very well." Siluca was slightly reluctant but she agreed to tell her n to Edwin.


    She spoke, "But we can''t discuss it here. Let''s go to the meeting hall."


    Edwin agreed with her, "Sure."


    Soon, the two began to walk on the stairs and reached the first floor.


    There, Edwin and Siluca noticed Anna, who was waiting for them on the first floor.


    Anna asked curiously, "Mother, are you done with your conversation?"


    She then turned towards Edwin and spoke, "I wanted this mister to show me a new magic trick. This time, I won''t be fooled."


    Anna looked quite determined to figure out Edwin''s magic trick.


    Siluca frowned as she didn''t wish for her naive daughter to have any contact with Edwin. This man was far too dangerous.


    Even as a duchess, her mentality and pride werepletely crushed by him.


    In reality, she didn''t need to me herself for this. If it was anyone else in her ce, the result would have been the same.


    She rubbed Anna''s head and spoke to her, "We are going to the meeting room. You aren''t allowed to step on the second floor, okay?"


    Anna was visibly scared when she heard Siluca''s serious tone. She quickly nodded while showing a pouting in slight disappointment.


    "Next time it is then." She said while facing Edwin.


    Edwin shrugged in response and then followed Siluca to the meeting room. This was one of the most secretive rooms within the Walsh Dukedom.


    There were 4 guards outside the room and there appeared to be a seal that would only allow a selected few to open the door.


    Edwin slowly followed Siluca inside the meeting room and then the door closed.


    The room was quite spacious. He felt that in such arge space, people could set up their t and live happily.


    He looked around and noticed that there was a sound-sealing array. Meaning, no sound could escape from this room.


    There were also many other kinds of arrays. Some were passive, like the elemental suppression array and even an Ardor suppression array.


    After following Siluca for a couple of steps, they took their seats on chairs, sitting on opposite ends of arge table.


    On the table, there were kinds of stationary randomly lying over a ratherrge map.


    Clearly, this was a detailed map of the Rashire City and the area under the Walsh Dukedom.


    There were a couple of locations marked on the map. The ones that caught Edwin''s attention were those Radiant Church''s marks.


    Within the Walsh Dukedom''s territory, Edwin noticed that there were 7 branches of the Radiant Church. The most in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.


    This was the first time Edwin had seen a detailed map of this area. He noticed the other things on the map as well. Such as the terrain, the other marked spots on the map, and so on.


    "My n has been to attack the Radiant Church''s smaller branches and destroy them all in at once. This surprise attack would surely alert the main branch of the Radiant Church in the Rashire City that we are the ones behind it. However, I wasn''t going to give them any chance to do anything even after knowing this information. My spy would sabotage theirmunication and prevent them from spreading the information or seeking assistance from their other branches in the Sinyalian Kingdom. After that, I willunch aplete attack at them and destroy them."


    There was a disdainful look on Edwin''s face as he heard this n.


    When Siluca had finally stopped speaking, he immediately spoke, "I wasn''t expecting you to think of a master n but I was hoping that you would have a good n at the least. One that had some chances of working."


    Edwin''s voice turned harsher as he added, "However, I definitely wasn''t expecting such a bad n. It''s full of holes and there is no hope for it to work."


    "Firstly, how are you going to gather so many men and mobilize them without the church knowing about it. It''s virtually impossible if you are nning to attack so many branches at the same time. If they know that you are going to attack their branches, they will be prepared. And you shouldn''t underestimate the holy weapons that a church possesses and overestimate your men''s powers thinking that they can get rid of those branches of the Church so easily. The Radiant Church should have their own trump cards."


    "As for that attack on the Radiant Church''s main branch. This branch has someone at the level of a Pope. You clearly don''t know just how much power is wielded by a Pope. I guarantee you that even if you mobilized all your Dukedom''s power, you still wouldn''t be able to touch a Pope." Edwin finished speaking.


    Siluca wasn''t pleased to hear those words. She countered after some moments, "I admit that my n isn''t the best. There may be many issues and I was going to resolve them before applying them. But aren''t you looking down on the Walsh Dukedom a bit too much? The Pope is a peak 5 Star Cleric. And even if he is a 6 Star Cleric, the Walsh Dukedom can deal with him."


    There was a Noble Aura released by Siluca.


    "How are you going to deal with the Angels he can summon?" Edwin asked her a simple question.


    "Angels?" The Noble Aura around Siluca disappeared and she showed a confused expression.


    Edwin suddenly began tough. This was mockingughter that stung Siluca''s ears, "You don''t even know that a Pope can summon an Angel in case of an emergency. How are you going to deal with her? And even if you kill her, do you know that you are just going to make yourself the target for the Celestials? Can your dukedom actually deal with the Celestials once they mark you as an enemy?"


    Siluca''s eyes widened in shock.


    This information that the Pope could summon an Angel in an emergency was definitely news to her. Not just to her, it would be news even to the king!


    This information was something only Edwin knew because of how frequently he dealt with the churches and those Celestials.


    He knew that the times were different now, but these Celestials'' ranks and the system won''t change. This was how they could exercise the most control over the humans without personally involving themselves.


    The churches had tried to keep this information under control. Only a selected few within the church knew about it. The only other people who knew about it were the church''s enemies, most of who were buried under the ground.


    "Let me think of a n."

 Chapter 168 - Developing Groups

    In the Glerian Kingdom.


    Azaroth had returned to Veninza City. He investigated a bit of how the recruitment was going for Laura, Ralph, and Noah.


    For Noah and Laura, the two appeared to have atleast recruited nearly 40 or so warriors and formed their groups.


    Just as Azaroth instructed them, Noah formed a closebat group. All of them were warriors who were being trained by Noah about how they should fight in close range.


    Noah was only the master of a sword and didn''t know how to efficiently use other weapons. Thus, he sparred against them, and after the fight, he would inform them of their mistakes.


    Initially, many warriors under him were quite disappointed in themselves when they lost against a mere kid repeatedly. The fact that ate them, even more, was that Noah wasn''t all that famous.


    They would have found it easier to ept if he was the heir of a Noble Family or a sect disciple. However, this wasn''t the case at all.


    But slowly, as time passed, they were getting used to Noah''s abnormality.


    They had understood that Noah was a monster. The fact that he wasn''t famous was an oddity in itself as well. When they questioned him, Noah just nkly stared at them and ordered them to get back to training.


    Meanwhile, Laura''s group focused on rangedbat. Laura''s Archery Skill was exceptional. Upon seeing her skill with the bow, many young warriors couldn''t help but admire her greatly.


    They were all geniuses who had barely passed the trial set by Laura. Only after seeing her skill did they understand that what the trial they had passed was merely the threshold.


    Laura was giving tips to all the warriors in her group on how they could improve as an archer.


    She took them to a forest each day and gave them different targets. Actually, in the forest, there were too many things they could aim at.


    Laura used her Wood Maniption to create multiple targets for her subordinates to aim at.


    Slowly, she increased the level of the training by making them move, or making the targets smaller and moving them faster, and so on. These targets were also using their surroundings to get out of Laura''s subordinates'' vision. Thus, her subordinates had to learn how to quickly shoot as soon as they saw the target.


    This skill wasn''t so easy to learn though.


    Laura and Noah hadn''t halted their own training. After instructing their subordinates, they would head out for their own training.


    Azaroth had given them multiple gravity seals and some seals that would restrain their elements.


    Only by regrly tempering their bodies and elements could they be even more powerful.


    However, it had to be known that they were quickly burning the money Azaroth had given them.


    Meanwhile, Ralph''s group within the Dragon Tiger Pce had grown to 15 members, including him. Ralph was naturally the leader of this group.


    Most of his subordinates were young with 2 Star Rank Cultivation. While there were 4 more warriors of the same cultivation as Ralph. They were in their twenties and naturally had their own pride. They couldn''t obey the orders of such a young child. Also, they believed they were much stronger than Ralph, whether it was in terms of cultivation orbat power.


    One of them was even a peak 3 Star Warrior.


    Thus, the peak 3 Star Warrior named ke suggested that all the 3 Star Warriors within Ralph''s Group should have a Battle Royale to decide who should be the leader of the group.


    All the members agreed except for Ralph.


    Ralph knew he couldn''t ept this battle royale. If they allowed this battle royale to choose the leader, then even if he won, his authority wouldn''t be absolute.


    What Azaroth hadmanded them was to possess absolute authority and loyalty of his subordinates. The strength was merely secondary.


    As a result, Ralph made a bold proposal.


    "All of you against me. If I win, then I will be the leader. If you win, I will give you 50 Spiritual Coins each, and then you can decide a leader amongst yourself."


    Ralph thought this would be the best way to settle this argument.


    Hisrades were initially shocked before they beganughing. They didn''t doubt that Ralph was strong enough to defeat one of them. They wouldn''t doubt it if he said that he could defeat ke.


    Perhaps he had a trump card through which he could defeat ke.


    However, he couldn''t possibly fight the four of them at the same time and win.


    That would be far too humiliating for them. However, none of these 3 Star Warriors refused.


    They weren''t from overly rich families. It was extremely difficult for them to earn a lot of Spiritual Coins. And after defeating Ralph, they would receive 50 Spiritual Coins each. This was quite a sum for someone to give away for free.


    This was what they thought about this.


    If there was someone else in their position, he would have done the same. It was a fight between an Early 3 Star Warrior vs. Four 3 Star Warriors.


    Naturally, more people would be inclined to bet on the one with the numerical advantage.


    There was also the fact that Ralph waspletely unknown to them. They weren''t clear about how strong he was.


    Ralph had been quite secretive since joining the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    He wanted to go on a mission after having atleast 15 warriors in his team. The mission he was going to attempt was naturally going to be arge one.


    However, after he did gather 15 members for his party, this situation urred.


    Now, he had to make them all understand that he possessed the power to lead them!


    Azaroth was quite pleased with what his retainers had achieved.


    He started walking towards Lennox Rees'' store. It was now time for him to make contact with the Glerian King and finalize their agreement.


    Naturally, to contact the Glerian King, he didn''t need to talk to Lennox Rees.


    Thus, in the middle of his way, Azaroth changed his direction and entered one of the alleys.


    He quickly moved towards the man he sensed that had been keeping an eye on Lennox Rees for quite some time.


    He felt rather disappointed with these men.


    It was so easy to find them. They had to atleast switch the men watching over Lennox Rees after a couple of days.


    The men who were keeping an eye on Lennox Rees were the same ones that Azaroth sensedst time. Thus, it didn''t take him long to reach one of these warriors.


    Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to look into that man''s eyes and spoke coldly, "Inform your king that the demon has arrived. Ask him to send the currency to Lennox Rees''s shop within a Spatial Ring."


    "Take this to your king. A small token of my greeting."


    Azaroth threw a spatial pouch. This spatial pouch possessed many rare materials that the king required to recondense the ores within the mines.


    He knew that the King wouldn''t take him seriously if he couldn''t even show he had the goods.


    Also, he wasn''t worried about this man remembering his physique. Azaroth had used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to create an illusion that would make his vision getting hazy as he looked at Azaroth.


    This man wouldn''t be able to remember any detail about Azaroth.. Thus, it didn''t matter whether Azaroth showed his face to this man or not.

 Chapter 169 - King Tryfon Rellas

    Within the Glerian Kingdom''s Pce.


    Tryfon Res was seated on his throne with the same bored expression on his face. He was the king of the Glerian Kingdom yet there were days he felt very helpless.


    This helplessness was because they had exhausted their resources and even their stockpile by continuing the war against the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    It was only at the end did the King order to halt the war since they had to keep the emergency resources.


    This war didn''t affect the Sinyalian Kingdom much because, during these times, King Valliadis was focusing on trade with the Lamhilhan Theocracy. The Theocracy provided them with many materials and through their assistance, the Sinyalian Kingdom prevented the war fromrgely affecting its economy.


    As long as the economy remained intact, the Sinyalian Kingdom would remain stable.


    However, King Tryfon Res didn''t hear of this trade between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Lamhilhan Theocracy. Thus, he pushed along with his war agenda.


    It was only natural that he didn''t hear anything about it. Even the Noble Families within the Sinyalian Kingdom had no idea that such a trade was urring.


    This was a trade directly between the Government of the Lamhilhan Theocracy and the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Since the Glerian Kingdom was low on resources required in war, they couldn''t very well wage war on the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    It would take nearly a whole decade for these resources to be replenished.


    These resources and materials were replenished by using Arrays or special materials in the mines. However, in the Frascoia Continent, these resources were in short supply.


    The majority of these materials could only be found in the Heavens or Purgatory.


    Azaroth, on the other hand, possessed enormous quantities of thesemodities and resources. If he sold them to the King, the mines'' time to replenish those resources would be significantly reduced.


    It would at most take a couple more months for the Glerian Kingdom''s economy topletely recover.


    Naturally, in return for selling these resources, Azaroth had to ask for something of equal value or else his offer would be met with suspicions.


    Thus, Azaroth asked for many kinds of herbs. Most of them were 6 Star Herbs while there was also a 7 Star Herb within them.


    The King had to provide these herbs to Azaroth and only then could their deal go forward.


    Even though these herbs were quite valuable, currently, the Glerian Kingdom was in urgent need of the resources in Azaroth''s hands.


    Tryfon Res nned to negotiate the terms a bit.


    There was a knock on the door.


    Tryfon Res showed a grim look on his mature face and spoke, "Come in."


    A woman stepped inside and she bowed her head. She spoke with a respectful tone, "The Blue Lake Sect''s disciples encountered a disaster. They have failed to acquire the Moonlit Snow Lotus."


    Tryfon Res spoke grimly, "¡­I see." He then asked after a brief silence, "What about the demon whose presence was sensed in Warrington City?"


    "The Stony Rock Sect are doing their best to find the demon but they have been unsessful in their attempts." The maid replied with a monotonous tone.


    Tryfon Res wasn''t surprised. He felt that this demon was quite a mysterious person. It would be strange if he was caught by cultivators of the Stony Rock Sect.


    He knew that currently, the demon was somewhere in Veninza city but he didn''t n to inform the Stony Rock Sect.


    The Stony Rock Sect would get in the middle of their transaction. Perhaps he could inform them after the transaction waspleted.


    Azaroth and his retainers'' appearance was collectively seen by only Spyros, his two senior brothers, and his master.


    However, they weren''t in this world any longer thus Azaroth and his retainers had no pursuers.


    Soon, the maid walked out of the hall, leaving Tryfon Res in deep thought.


    ~~


    A couple of dayster, a Spatial Ring was sent to Lennox Rees''s shop.


    Azaroth knew that this was from the King. It indicated that he had epted the deal.


    Lennox Rees had no idea why he was sent a ring but he didn''t care. He decided to keep it along with his precious belongings.


    At night, he was truly shocked as he sensed a familiar demonic aura.


    Even though it had been months since he met with Azaroth, he had never forgotten this Demonic Aura. It still gave him nightmares.


    Azaroth was in his bedroom and his body waspletely flooded with Demonic Energy that prevented Lennox Rees from gauging his height or seeing his face.


    Lennox Rees''s wife immediately fainted as sheid her eyes on Azaroth. She was experiencing a mind-splitting headache.


    Azaroth soon opened his mouth and spoke with a bone-chilled voice, "The ring."


    Lennox Rees immediately understood what Azaroth meant and hurried to the ce where he stored his belongings. He pulled out the ring and immediately rushed to hand it to Azaroth.


    He didn''t have very good feelings about the demons. He was terrified of them since his daughter had been cursed by a demon.


    Fortunately, she was alright now.


    Azaroth didn''t care much about Lennox Rees''s thoughts. Azaroth used his Spiritual Sense to check out the ring and soon found the herbs he required.


    The King had actually given him the Seven Star Herb he had requested along with many rare 6 Star Herbs. However, their quantity was less than what Azaroth had requested.


    He transferred these herbs to his own ring. Then, he transferred the promised resources to the Spatial Ring sent by the King.


    "Keep it with yourself. Someone wille to ask it from you. Give it to that person." Azaroth spoke with a chilly voice.


    Lennox Rees mindlessly nodded. How could he dare to say something to Azaroth? He received the ring from Azaroth.


    Seeing him acting so terrified, Azaroth decided it was time to leave.


    Lennox Rees was quite surprised when he saw Azaroth leave so quickly. Was he only here for this?


    It relieved him greatly that Azaroth wasn''t here to harm him.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was heading towards Laura''s ce.


    Laura had bought a house in Veninza City. It was quite some distance away from the training grounds where she trained her group members.


    Even though Laura was meditating in her room, she opened her eyes as soon as Azaroth entered her house.


    She had actually grown a couple of nts in the perimeter of her house. Through this, her sensing skill received a significant boost so that no one could sneak up on her.


    Even Azaroth couldn''t perfectly hide his presence from her boosted senses.


    There was a bright smile on her face as she sensed Azaroth entering her house. However, she remained motionless and wanted to act clueless in front of him.


    When Azaroth reached her room, he nced at her for a second before saying, "You can quit the act and open your eyes."


    Laura pouted as she heard Azaroth. She didn''t know how he found out she was faking but after thinking a bit about it, she didn''t find it too strange.


    He was her master.


    Azaroth spoke while ignoring Laura''s emotions, "Drop your blood on these herbs and I will be on my way."


    "Alright." Laura didn''t mind it.


    Azaroth then released the herbs from the Spatial Ring and there were so many that it covered Laura''s entire room.


    Laura asked Azaroth with a confused look, "Master, do you want me to die of blood loss?"


    "Quit joking and get to work. I don''t have all day." Azaroth coldly said.


    Laura pouted cutely but she did get to the work.

 Chapter 170 - Ruben Kari

    After Laura dropped her blood over all the herbs, Azaroth stored them in a Spatial Pouch. He had stolen it earlier.


    He then created a teleportation array and ced the spatial pouch over it.


    Meanwhile, within Walsh Dukedom, Edwin created the other end of the teleportation formation. The Spatial Pouch soon teleported to Edwin''s side.


    Azaroth couldn''t focus on raising these herbs but Edwin could. Thus, he sent them to Edwin''s side.


    Besides, he could always ask for them whenever he wanted.


    Edwin though was in the Walsh Dukedom. So he couldn''t nt the herbs immediately. He had to wait for some time to return to Kloras Town and then nt these herbs.


    ~~


    Within shire City, Sargan forged connections with the servants who worked in the governor or other important people''s houses.


    Yrellea was going to set up the Misty Flower Pavilion within Sector 9.


    She was trying to keep the location away from the rich individuals within shire City. The people living in sector 1 paid a lot of attention to their prestige. They preferred to not go to low-ranked sectors.


    She bought thend and had begun the construction of the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Meanwhile, all the women who had an agreement with her already went and met their parents for thest time.


    "Tell me when your master asks you to investigate a woman named Yrellea."


    Sargan was dealing with that issue regarding the confirmation of Yrellea''s identity.


    Governor Zaraki was sure to send some people to investigate her identity. However, it had to be known that the men who would investigate were still humans.


    A human''s greed was boundless. As long as the price was good enough, they would definitely obey his instructions. There were only a few individuals who could control their greed and remain loyal unconditionally.


    Not just that, but Sargan also handed each one of them a small piece of Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystal.


    "Take this. This crystal will start shining near a specific woman. Find that woman for me and you will receive a bonus."


    He gave them another task along with a good incentive.


    This was the second task assigned to him by Azaroth.


    ording to Azaroth, among the humans, only women would possess Yin Physiques. Thus, Sargan asked them to search only for women.


    Currently, Sargan was wondering how he could increase his grasp over the organizations within this city.


    Hiswork was far too weak.


    He wanted to nt someone deep within a powerful organization in shire City. Someone who would also have a bit of authority to make some decisions.


    Using the servants wouldn''t allow him to aplish this task. Thus, he had to look for members in the organization within shire City.


    There was also the fact that he couldn''t just bribe members randomly. If he did that, then he would be wasting too much money.


    Moreover, there was also the fact that he would be caught much quicker. He had to remain discreet about it.


    Sargan went to the market in his sector and check out some shops. While he was there, he saw someone running quickly while holding a bag in his hand.


    There was arge man who ran after that person. Clearly, it was a robber who had just stolen the bag.


    Upon seeing this situation, suddenly, an idea appeared in Sargan''s head.


    He contacted the servants whom he had bribed and asked them to look into something. It was quite a minor thing and they replied to him quite quickly.


    Sargan decided that he should join The Scarlet Badgers. This was one of the main forces that kept the stability in shire City.


    It could be considered police.


    The members of the Scarlet Badgers didn''t have a very high cultivation base but they were highly respected by all individuals within shire City.


    This was because the representative of the Scarlet Badgers, Ismael Kari, was a 5 Star Rank Expert and could equal Governor Zaraki in terms of martial might and prestige.


    Ismael Kari had 3 wives and 3 children. All his children were from different women and were about the same age.


    Ismael''s eldest son was 19 years old and possessed 3 Star Cultivation.


    His second eldest son was 18 years old and possessed 3 Star Cultivation.


    Andstly, his third son was 16 years old and possessed Peak 2 Star Cultivation.


    These three children were in a war against each other because of the inheritance. Ismael had already told them that only the child whose prestige was the greatest would inherit everything.


    Ismael possessed Fire Element. His eldest child and his second child possessed the Fire Element, but his third child possessed the Wind Element.


    Ismael''s family was considered a fire-oriented family. They had little to no wind-elemental techniques. Nor the cultivation techniques corresponding to the Wind Element.


    Thus, Ismael ignored his third child. In his opinion, for his third child to grow, he would have to spend a lot of sum to buy the cultivation techniques corresponding to the wind element.


    That wasn''t worth it. He would prefer that the ones to inherit the Kari Family''s property and secrets were either his eldest child or his second child.


    It wasn''t just Ismael who had given up hope for his third child. Even his third child had given up hope of challenging his brothers.


    He knew the strength possessed by his brothers. They could beat him even after suppressing their cultivation to his level.


    There hadn''t been a single time where he won against either of them during his entire life. Thus, he didn''t feel that he had a lot of chances against them.


    Currently, he was just creating a force that was strong enough to safeguard his life. But even this wasn''t going all that well.


    Every time he would find a backer, his elder brothers would act quickly and either threaten that person or receive his support.


    No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn''t remain a secret to his brothers.


    And right now, Ruben Kari, Ismael''s third child, was seated within a bar. He was drinking some alcohol.


    Recently, his eldest brother had poached another one of his backers.


    This was his normal pastime these days. He woulde to the bar around this time, sit on an empty seat and drink a lot of alcohol before returning to his house.


    However, just as he was about to get up and return to his house. A man came and sat next to him.


    He ordered the same drink as Ruben Kari.


    For some unknown reason, Ruben Kari felt inclined to observe this man. Sargan looked in Ruben''s direction and spoke to him, "You are Ruben Kari, right?"


    Ruben replied coldly, "Correct."


    "How wonderful. I have been wanting to meet you for quite some time, Ruben. My name is Sargan." He extended his hand towards Ruben.


    Ruben didn''t shake his hand and instead asked Sargan with a suspicious look in his eyes, "What do you want with me?"


    "I merely wanted to ask you a question. Do you wish to defeat your brothers and be the sole inheritor of your family?" Sargan asked with a serious voice.


    Ruben was naturally surprised at those words. This was a manpletely unfamiliar to him. And the words he spoke¡­ It was as if he knew what was going on in his family.


    He regained his calmness and asked, "Who sent you?"


    He was instantly suspicious that Sargan was sent by someone. After all, Sargan''s cultivation was far too low to be thinking of helping him defeat his brothers.


    "You will knowter. But for now, answer my question. Do you want to defeat your brothers or not? If so, then take my hand."


    Ruben was once again shocked to hear his words. This stranger was actually saying that he would help him defeat his brothers.


    For an instant, he thought this was a trick by one of his elder brothers. But then he shook off that thought as he believed his brothers didn''t need to use such a trick to deal with him.


    He observed Sargan. He didn''t have a very high opinion of Sargan. However, he decided to bite the bait.


    Ruben had a couple of trump cards to save his life. At the least, it wouldn''t be a bad idea to find what this man wanted from him. And if his luck was good, maybe this time he had met the correct person. Someone who could truly assist him.


    Ruben nodded his head and spoke, "Since you have investigated me, my situation must be clear to you. I am on the verge of grasping straws. Let''s see what you have in store for me."


    As Ruben finished speaking, his right hand moved forward and shook Sargan''s hand that was hanging till now.


    Sargan smirked, "Good. You won''t regret this choice."


    Rubenmented dryly, "I feel as if I am making a deal with a demon."


    Sargan internally thought ''<em>You have no idea how right you are.</em>''

 Chapter 171 - Kresa Town

    The Kresa Town, Walsh Dukedom''s territory, the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    This was a remotely ordinary town. People respected the rules and executed them. It could be said that Kresa was a modal town in some aspects.


    Within this town, the strongest expert in this city was a 3 Star Warrior. And that man was a priest of the Radiant Church. There were other priests in the Radiant Church, but they were only 2 Star Cleric.


    The people within this town were quite religious and would often go to the church to pray passionately.


    Their faith in God was well-founded. Whenever they were confronted with a cmity that was beyond their ability to handle, the Radiant Church would step in to help.


    The Radiant Church had never asked anything from themon people. They hadn''t enforced their beliefs over the people. Thus, their reputation among the citizens was quite good.


    Not just in Kresa Town, but there were many cities in which the Mayors had to keep the interests of the Radiant Church in mind while taking any decision.


    If the Radiant Church was ever dissatisfied with the Sinyalian Kingdom, they could effortlessly instigate a civil war.


    It was easy to predict who would win the civil war. To stop the civil war, the King would have to pay a huge price. Furthermore, even if he were to prevail and bring the civil war to an end, it would simply sow the seeds for another civil war in the uing years.


    Thus, even the King didn''t dare to rashly annoy the Radiant Church.


    Because of their prestige and power, the deacons were getting careless. They would rarely check their surroundings and just remain within the church. After all, they didn''t need to check it since no one in the Sinyalian Kingdom would dare to take any action against them.


    However, today, something strange had urred.


    Just as the priests returned back from their morning praying schedule, they felt a strange power in the air.


    It was strong, suppressive, overpowering¡­


    The deacons immediately went to inform the priests.


    In reality, they didn''t need to rush towards the priests'' chambers. The priests could sense this aura as well.


    They frowned as they understood that someone was targeting them.


    A man within the Radiant Church ced his hands over the formation sphere. He was the formation master who set up a sensing and barrier formation around the Church.


    By using the sensing formation, he could sense hundreds of aura within the church''s range.


    He immediately went and informed the other priests, "Arge army hase. They are definitely here to fight us."


    "What? Someone has sent his army to the Radiant Church?!" The other priests were shocked to hear this.


    "That''s correct. This suppressive aura is due to an array. Someone constructed it while we weren''t looking."


    This shocked them quite a bit as well. They thought that this suppressive feeling was due to bloodline suppression by a beast, or maybe it was an oppressive aura released by a warrior.


    But to think that someone had drawn an array around them.


    "How strong is this array? Can you break it?" A priest asked their formation master.


    "This is a 3 Star or maybe 4 Star Array. I can break it, but I need some time to understand it perfectly. Until then, I will deploy the barrier. Your attacks will pass through the barrier, but the enemy''s attacks will be obstructed." The formation master spoke with a serious tone.


    This formation was his own creation, and he was quite proud of it. It allowed the defending side tounch a counter-attack without risking their lives.


    The other priests were quite relieved to hear these words of their formation master.


    A priest, who was the strongest expert in Kresa Town, spoke seriously, "We have stayed low-key for quite some time. It seems that a few fools think they can trouble us by sending a few hundred men."


    He then turned towards the formation master and spoke, "Joel, activate the barrier formation immediately."


    Joel, the formation master, immediately nodded his head and spoke, "Yes, priest."


    The priest then turned towards his aides, "As for the rest of you, gather the deacons and assign them to specific posts. Also, remember to get your holy weapons. We need to show these fools that we are no pushovers."


    The priests agreed with the words of their leader. They immediately ran in different directions.


    Only Joel and the leader of these priests remained at their spots.


    Joel was activating the formation and hence wasn''t moving from his spot. Meanwhile, the priest next to him indifferently asked, "What''s the strongest rank of the warrior within this group that''s attacking us?"


    Joel immediately replied, "The strongest among them is 3 Star Warrior. Also, it appears they have five 3 Star Warriors."


    He paused for a moment before adding, "These warriors aren''t strong enough to break my barrier formation. However, if the man who set up this array around us does help them, then they might be able to break past the barrier."


    The priest nodded his head as he heard this, "In fact, since they have attacked us, they should have known about the barrier. Maybe they have prepared a countermeasure for it. Just deal with this oppressive aura until then. I will handle them."


    "I am relieved to hear this, priest."


    Joel honestly felt as if the pressure on him had significantly lightened.


    The priest soon went to his chambers. He knew that to defeat five warriors at the same rank as himself, he had to be at the peak of his power.


    Thus, he had to equip himself with his best weapon.


    During this time, a transparent blue-colored barrier had been deployed around the Radiant Church.


    This barrierpletely covered the Radiant Church.


    The priests immediately gave different positions to the deacons and ordered them tounch their attacks at the enemies that appeared before their eyes.


    Even though the deacons had joined the Radiant Church, they still couldn''t use the Holy Ardor.


    Their Ardor possessed just a trace of Holiness. However, their attacks were still boosted by it.


    With each attack, they killed the soldiers that charged towards their barriers.


    Naturally, the priests didn''tg behind much. The holy ardor their attacks possessed was nearly thrice as dense as that of the deacons.


    It wasn''t just because of their rank as priests but also because they utilized their holy weapons.


    The five 3 Star Warriors blocked the attacks by the deacons. Even the attacks from the priests couldn''t hurt them much.


    They had taken different positions all around the barrier.


    And in perfect rhythm, they attacked the barrier.


    Joel, the formation expert, was utterly shocked when he felt his formation orb shaking. The entire barrier was trembling.


    The Holy Ardor that was used to create it seemed to have been suppressed by some unknown energy.


    ''<em>What is going on? Are they trying to break the barrier through brute force? But how can they coordinate their timings so perfectly? Even if they were all sensors, it would be impossible for them to be so perfectly coordinated.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    ''<em>No. I can''t waste my time contemting this. I need to disperse that oppressive array that''s suppressing our Holy Ardor.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Currently, Joel was using his Sensing Array and covered this oppressive array with his Ardor. He slowly understood the mechanism of this Array.


    After a couple of minutes, the vibrations were growing stronger as cracks appeared in that transparent blue barrier.


    The possibility of the copse of the barrier frightened the deacons and even the priests.


    Within the Radiant Church''s special chamber, Joel had a small smile on his face though.


    <em>''Finally done. Now, it''s time to remove it.''</em>


    Immediately, he used all his Ardor to break the array drawn around the Radiant Church.

 Chapter 172 - The Battle Begins

    As Joel attacked the array around the Radiant Church, a blood-red colored array was now visible around the Radiant Church.


    Joel''s Ardor was slowly destroying the blood-red colored array''s lines.


    "Break!"


    He red up his energy to quickly break the array.


    Meanwhile, the five 3 Star Warriors had increased their pace of attacking the barrier. The cracks on the barrier were widening.


    However, just as they were ready to smash the barrier, the barrier zed up its energy. This was so sudden that all the warriors around the barrier felt a shockwave and flew far back.


    At this moment, the priests ordered his deacons to immediately attack the enemies. Currently, their enemies were startled, and there was no perfect opportunity to attack them than this.


    These attacks from the priests and the deacons dealt more damage than they expected.


    With each attack, they were killing enemies.


    However, these warriors defended the attacks for their fallen 3 Star Warriors and prevented them from being killed or injured.


    Among these 5 Star Warriors, a specific person grew extremely angry as he saw hisrades sacrificing their lives for him.


    ''I was nning to keep it a secret the fight against the head priest. But it seems, I have no choice but to use it.''


    The barrier had red up with a lot of energy. This meant that the blood-red array had been destroyed, and the Holy Ardor of the Barrier had been restored.


    However, even though the barrier had recovered its defensive prowess, fortunately, it would take some time for it to heal the damage caused by them.


    An Axe appeared in the 3 Star Warrior''s hand as he prepared tounch himself towards the Barrier.


    Their resonant striking palms had already damaged the barrier significantly. Now, he was sure that he could destroy this barrier with his strongest attack.


    The Axe waspletely filled with me Ardor.


    "<strong>Vortex Hurl.</strong>"


    The man held his Axe with both his hands and then rotated his body by 360 degrees and tossed his Axe at the barrier. His rotation allowed his attack to gain greater momentum and gave him more time to infuse his me Ardor in his Axe.


    Currently, the Axe charged the barrier like a meteor. The mespletely concealed the Axe.


    The deacons and the priests saw the attack and immediately used their Ardor to enforce the barrier so that it could endure that attack.


    Axe soon struck the barrier. The power within it was much greater than they expected. One of the cracks on the barrier widened and began to crack.


    "<strong>Release!</strong>"


    The Axe then unleashed an unreal amount of me energy. The mes surrounding the Axe appeared trivialpared to the dense mes infused within it.


    The Barrier shed with blue light before it suddenly lost all its energy.


    Once the barrier was down, the 3 Star Warrior who had attacked with his Axe immediately shouted, "Charge now! Kill them all and leave no survivors!"


    The warriors on his side immediately chorused in return.


    Joel, who was in the special room within the Radiant Church, just spat a mouthful of blood as the array sphere in his hands broke.


    Joel couldn''t control his Array Sphere because the attack was too intense. At the very least, his Array Sphere would not have broken apart if he was a bit faster in oveing the attack''s impact.


    However, there was no point in dwelling on it.


    An Array Sphere was very rare in Kresa Town, but it was still avable within Rashire City. He had to survive today and make a trip over to Rashire City.


    He had gathered a lot of wealth while assisting the Radiant Church. It wouldn''t be an issue for him to buy 3 more array spheres.


    He had been saving it for moreplex array ns, but he could only postpone them now. Anyway, he needed to survive today to aplish his dreams.


    Joel wasn''t very anxious about his survival. There were two reasons.


    Firstly, he trusted the head priest to be able to deal with these intruders. He didn''t know why these people were attacking them.


    Secondly, he knew that the array masters were treated well everywhere. Few warriors would kill array masters. They would rather try to recruit them.


    Only if the array masters refused would the warriors kill them.


    Meanwhile, the head priest was getting ready to meet these warriors in battle.


    Even the five 3 Star Warriors were now heading towards the Radiant Church''s building. They were conserving their energy while ordering their subordinates to deal with these deacons and low-ranked priests.


    The five 3 Star Warriors soon met with each other before heading inside the Radiant Church''s building. One of them spoke, "Antto, you were rather impatient. Another round of Resonant Palms would have destroyed the barrier. You have revealed your identity too soon. That priest Evan should have realized it by now."


    "I know. But my men died while protecting me from the attacks of these deacons and priests. More of my men would have died if we had waited long enough for another round of the Resonant Palms. I would rather show my trump card and deal with that troublesome barrier once and for all than allow my men to die needlessly. Besides, it''s not like we could have kept it concealed for long. It makes little difference to reveal it sooner rather thanter." The man named Antto immediately replied with an annoyed look.


    He had expected hisrades to have someints regarding his attack. All he could do now was ignore them.


    "Let''s head inside and kill him quickly." The one who appeared to be their leader spoke calmly.


    "Alright."


    All five-headed inside the church.


    As soon as they stepped inside, they saw the head priest standing ahead of them. He had his back turned towards them and was speaking in an unknownnguage.


    Antto was quite impatient, and he didn''t wait for the priest to turn and immediately attacked him.


    He tossed his Axe at the priest.


    Before the Axe could strike him, the Axe was struck by golden energy. Immediately, the Axe stopped in mid-air for a second.


    "Such impatience. Atleast wait for me to face you. But I guess I can''t expect zing Cleaver Antto to be patient."


    The Axe suddenly moved and charged towards Antto at twice the speed.


    Antto grabbed the handle on his Axe and was surprised when he felt Axe''s momentum. The Axe''s momentum was so great it dragged him near the entrance of the church.


    Every warrior facing Evan became quite serious. They saw an elegant stick within Evan''s right hand.


    Even though they weren''t sensors, they could feel Holy Ardor leaking from it.


    "I have already informed your identities to the main branch in Rashire City. You should give up while I am feeling benevolent. You will be able to live a couple of days more. Even your master won''t remain unscathed after trying something like this." Evan calmly warned them.


    "We have our orders. And those were to extinguish the Radiant Church. So what if you possess a 4 Star Holy Weapon? There are five of us here. We can defeat you!" One of them shouted out before he pulled out his sword.


    Evan couldn''t help but let out a sigh as he thought, "I was hoping to resolve this without spilling blood. It seems I was too na?ve."


    His voice had turned cold as he faced these warriors.


    Both parties red at each other, and the head priest finally moved.


    Thus, the battle between them finallymenced.


    ~~


    "Are you sure it will be alright? They really won''t find that it was us who attacked the Radiant Church Branch in Kresa Town?" This was Siluca''s voice from the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    In response, Edwin spoke withplete confidence, "I am sure. After all, they are all sleeping peacefully in the dream I am showing them."


    Currently, Edwin was sitting in the Radiant Church''s branch in Kresa Town.


    All the deacons and the priests were unconscious.


    The entire Radiant Church was surrounded by a dense greenish array. This was <strong>Edwin''s Illusionary Dream Array!</strong>

 Chapter 173 - Edwins Plan

    Just a day earlier, Edwin set up the Illusionary Dream Array around the Radiant Church''s branch within Kresa Town.


    When he visited Siluca''s estate, Edwin and Siluca devised a strategy in the conference room.


    "We will attack just one branch of the Radiant Church and destroy it. After that, we will stop." Edwin told Siluca.


    Siluca''s eyes turned red with anger as she replied, "Just a single branch? I am afraid that''s not enough to satisfy me. The Radiant Church humiliated my dukedom and forced it to ept their offer. Do you know how many men under us lost their lives? Even the King had turned his eyes away and refused to assist us."


    "Not just that, but after the Walsh Dukedom was forced to sign the agreement with them, the Pope applied pressure over my mother and forced me to marry a fool for political benefits. These political benefits were all for in favor of the Church. The man I married merely squandered our reputation and wealth and was secretly transferring it to our enemies. I only regret that I killed him far toote."


    "I promised my mother that when the timees, the Radiant Church will pay for all they did to us! I will destroy them even if it''s thest thing I will do!"


    Siluca appeared very determined to destroy the Radiant Church.


    Since the Radiant Church had been set up within the Sinyalian Kingdom, not a single man had dared to attack it. Not even the King.


    Yet here Siluca was shouting that she would destroy the Radiant Church!


    Edwin knew that no one else other than him would hear it due to the sound suppression array. But still, since Siluca was nning it, she would put it into execution sooner orter. And she would need to tell her men about it.


    His surprise was apanied by Joy.


    As a former Demon God, he wasn''t someone who had many fond feelings about the Radiant Church. They both could be considered on opposite ends.


    The Radiant Church''s actions didn''t affect him. He knew that what Siluca was telling him was just one side of the story.


    From the Radiant Church''s side, their actions might appear to be very logical. However, did that matter to him? To him, it was very convenient that Siluca hated the Radiant Church so greatly.


    "You seemed to have misunderstood me, Duchess. The reason I ask you to stop attacking the Radiant Church is so that the Radiant Church canunch an attack at their enemy."


    "Tell me, wouldn''t it be interesting when they ask for your assistance against Roger Dukedom," Edwin spoke with a smile.


    "It won''t be simple to mislead the Radiant Church," Siluca said, frowning as she grasped what Edwin was trying to imply, "Even if we use the warriors of the Broken Hill Industries or the Astral Mining Company, it won''t be enough to convince the Radiant Church that Roger Dukedom is behind this attack."


    "I understand this perfectly. Thus, for you tounch an attack on the Radiant Church, the first step would be to capture a warrior who is publically under the services of Roger Dukedom. This warrior can''t be too weak or too strong. A famous warrior at the 3 Star Rank would suffice." Edwin advised.


    "A 3 Star Warrior under the Roger Dukedom?" Siluca was relieved as it wasn''t an impossible task for her. She knew quite a lot of people who fit the criteria.


    She mentioned them to Edwin, "I do know some warriors at the 3 Star Rank who would be perfect for this. They are actually a team of 3 Star Warriors under Roger Dukedom. They are assigned nearly hundreds of warriors."


    Edwin then stood up and spoke, "Good. Then I will go to this Kresa Town and make some preparations. Once you capture this group of warriors, send me the signal. I will begin from my end."


    "¡­We are going to make the Roger Dukedom fight against the Radiant Church. What should we do if the Radiant Church sends someone to the Roger Dukedom to ask for an exnation?" Siluca asked him.


    Unconsciously, she was beginning to rely on Edwin more than she nned to.


    Edwin''s intelligence had repeatedly shocked her. Thus, she was asking him for advice on every issue.


    Edwin nkly stared at her and then spoke, "Use your spy within the Radiant Church. If the Radiant Church doesn''t immediately try to attack the Roger Dukedom, ask your spy to do something to make the twopletely against each other."


    ~~


    It took Siluca 2 days to find the whereabouts of those warriors. She then used the next four days to create a situation where these warriors were forced to go on a mission.


    It wasn''t difficult to create this situation.


    She merely had to use herwork to create a rumor that a bandit camp had been seen in a vige near their position.


    She also used the identity of a bandit who was infamous due to his brutality and crimes.


    Hearing that this was a bandit camp with such a notorious bandit nearby, these warriors were fueled with righteousness.


    Most of them were hotblooded warriors, and after a round of voting, these warriors immediately set out to destroy this bandit camp. They brought their subordinates together.


    Unfortunately, it was a trap set up by Siluca.


    4 Star Warriors were waiting for them at that location. When these warriors did realize they had fallen into a trap, it was all toote for them.


    Strong elemental arrows were raining down on their bodies as they saw a couple of warriors rush towards them with a quick speed.


    Around this time, Edwin had set up the Illusionary Dream Array.


    He was just waiting for Siluca''s signal to activate it. Fortunately, he didn''t need to wait for long.


    Siluca gave him the signal just 2 dayster.


    Edwin immediately activated the Illusionary Dream Array. He had filled the contents of the illusions such that all these clerics would see simr illusions.


    Moreover, the contents of the illusions were chosen by Edwin.


    Using his illusionary prowess, he made them think that someone hadunched an attack at their Radiant Church Branch.


    And Edwin had purposely made Antto use his Axe so that he would reveal his identity. However, he knew that the situation had to be perfect where this guy was forced to use his Axe.


    If this head priest realized he had fallen into an illusion, he would soon wake up to reality.


    After Antto had used his Axe to deal with the barrier, the head priest had realized his identity. He had used the Voice Transmission Holy Stone to transmit this information to the main branch of the Radiant Church in Rashire City.


    The Radiant Church was sure to investigate these warriors and find that these warriors worked under the Roger Dukedom. Moreover, they had been missing since 3 days ago.


    It perfectly coincided with the time it would take them to reach Kresa Town and attack the Radiant Church''s branch.


    The main branch of the Radiant Church would undoubtedly be enraged.


    Edwin wondered whether they would retain their calmness and investigate the situation or immediately attack the Roger Dukedom in their fit of rage.


    There was a thin smile as he looked forward to the future.


    ~~


    Just as Edwin had anticipated, the main branch of the Radiant Church received the news about their branch''s destruction in the Kresa Town.


    Whether it was the Pope, the archbishops, the bishops, the priests, or the deacons, this news was akin to thunderps that shook them greatly.


    None of them had thought that someone would actually destroy their branch within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Even though they had some troublesome rtionship with Roger Dukedom, it wasn''t to the point of fighting each other to the death. However, today''s matter hadpletely changed their rtionship.


    Now, the Radiant Church was truly enraged. The Roger Dukedom had gone past all their limits, and they had to pay!

 Chapter 174 - Inquisitor Foxs Assistance

    The next day, news spread across the Walsh Dukedom''s territory. The Branch of the Radiant Church had been destroyed by the Roger Dukedom.


    Themon people and even many warriors were filled with indignation towards the Roger Dukedom. They couldn''t understand why the Roger Dukedom had suddenly attacked and destroyed the Radiant Church''s branch.


    It waspletely unprecedented. But other than a few people, no one stopped and tried to think of the reason behind this attack. Instead, the people were now calling out for the blood of the Roger Dukedom''s House.


    Not a single individual doubted this information since it was the Radiant Church who had spread it. People greatly trusted the Radiant Church and knew they wouldn''t lie about such a thing.


    After all, they didn''t have to lie. It had been Radiant Church''s branch that had been wiped out. It would be a disgrace if they endured even after their own clerics were ruthlessly killed.


    And it could be said that the Radiant Church didn''t disappoint. They told the people to remain calm. The Radiant Church would take their own revenge.


    However, they did warn the people that if they supported the Roger Dukedom, they could consider the Radiant Church as their enemy.


    This news had spread all around the Sinyalian Kingdom within just a couple of days.


    These days, it would be stranger to find a person who hadn''t heard about this matter.


    King Valliadis was no different. He waspletely shaken by this news.


    "The Radiant Church ispletely infuriated. They are preparing tounch an attack on the Roger Dukedom. In fact, they are so angry that they aren''t even sending someone to ask for an exnation from the Roger Dukedom. It''s clear they are now looking for a fight!"


    The man who informed this news to King Valliadas spoke very respectfully and a bit fearfully.


    The King appeared to be absolutely shocked at this news but not because he heard that the Radiant Church wouldunch an attack at a dukedom.


    His surprise was because the Radiant Church''s target was actually the Roger Dukedom instead of the Walsh Dukedom.


    As the King of the Sinyalian Kingdom, he had known some details about this matter between the Walsh Kingdom and the Radiant Church.


    He knew that the predecessor of the Walsh Kingdom wanted to take revenge against the Radiant Church, but before she could aplish this dream, she had been killed by the Saber King of the Glerian Kingdom.


    However, her heiress had inherited that will, but she wasn''t too bright in terms of tactics.


    She could reach the critical step because she was merely following the n of her predecessor.


    The King believed that the situation was still under his control until Siluca attacked the Radiant Church.


    He was nning to use the Walsh Dukedom''s power to suppress the Radiant Church.


    Although the Radiant Church had not expressed any interest in bing a Sovereign, their prestige within the people''s hearts still worried him greatly.


    He wanted to learn their secrets, their trump cards, and weaken them by using someone else''s hand.


    It had to be known that being a king didn''t just mean he had to be strong. He had to smartly manipte the powers in his Kingdom so that his rule remained stable.


    However, he hadn''t expected that the Radiant Church''s target wouldn''t be the Walsh Dukedom but the Roger Dukedom.


    Walsh Dukedom had lost a great deal of its prestige, and even its power was notparable to the other Dukedoms.


    Amongst the Dukedoms, the Walsh Dukedom could be considered the weakest.


    In fact, the Rhodes Marquis House led by Jonas Rhodes could contend against it and have a good chance of winning.


    Thus, the King was willing to sacrifice the Walsh Dukedom to deal with the Radiant Church. However, now the Radiant Church was actually targeting the strongest Dukedom within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    If the Radiant Church fought against it, this battle would deal critical damage to the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    "What has happened? Investigate it! Send the Inquisitors avable in the Royal Pce!" The King gave his orders immediately.


    The servant bowed respectfully before rushing to fulfill the King''s order.


    The King began to think deeply ''Siluca Walsh was searching for a 5 Star Array Master. And ording to the information I have, she still hadn''t found someone. Then what happened that has forced the Roger Dukedom tounch an attack on the Radiant Church? They shouldn''t be stupid enough to actually do this.''


    Currently, in the Roger Dukedom, the Duke was iparably angry as he smashed the things around.


    He knew that the Roger Dukedom''s rtionship with the Radiant Church was getting frosty. He had even felt that someone was manipting things from the shadows.


    It could only be that strategic genius from the Walsh Dukedom.


    The Duke had willingly let him be controlled because he truly wished to suppress the Radiant Church and increase his personal power.


    However, even though he wished to suppress the Radiant Church''s power, he wasn''t nning on tearing his face and directly go against them.


    As the Duke of the Sinyalian Kingdom, he waspletely aware of the Radiant Church''s great prestige and power.


    For most people, infuriating the Radiant Church was just courting death.


    Just as he was the most anxious, he heard one of his servants rush to the hall.


    "Master, someone wishes to talk to you." The servant spoke rather respectfully.


    However, the head of the Roger Dukedom was no longer in the mood to talk to anyone else. He immediately roared, "Scram! I don''t want to talk to anyone!"


    The Servant was terrified as he heard his master shout. However, he remained on his spot and spoke with a steady voice, "The one who wants to talk to you is Inquisitor Fox."


    "Tell the Inquisitor¡­ Wait¡­What did you say? Which Inquisitor is it?" The Head of the Roger Dukedom suddenly lowered his voice and asked with a surprised look.


    The servant was relieved to see his master calm down. He spoke with a respectful "It''s Inquisitor Fox. He has expressed his desire to assist you."


    The Head of the Roger Dukedom was iparably shocked. He had heard of the news spread by the Radiant Church.


    They had dered that anyone who assisted the Roger Dukedom would be considered an enemy of the Radiant Church.


    Even though this man named Inquisitor Fox should be aware of this information, he was still willing toe forward and assist the Roger Dukedom.


    "Quickly connect with him and go away." The head of the Roger Dukedom immediately spoke.


    The servant nodded his head and then handed over the Voice Transmission Stone to the Roger Dukedom.


    "Greetings, Inquisitor Fox. I am the Head of the Roger Dukedom, Steven Roger. You can call me Steven." Steven immediately spoke to Inquisitor Fox.


    "Greetings, Steven. As you already know, I am Inquisitor Fox."


    Steven heard a very clear voice from the other side. He didn''t understand why but just hearing that voice brought him great confidence.


    Soon, Steven heard Inquisitor Fox continue, "Allow me to make my stance clear. The King hasn''t given me any instructions to assist you. I have my own reasons to assist you."


    Steven wasn''t disappointed when he heard this. He had expected the King to stay out of this matter.


    He replied sincerely, "I am delighted to have your support, Inquisitor Fox. I have heard nothing but good things about you."


    Inquisitor Fox spoke, "I am truly happy to receive that praise, Steven. Now, if you don''t mind, please tell me the situation. And I want the truth. I am not here to judge you about your decisions.. For me to assist you in this situation, I need to know exactly what happened and then create a n corresponding to it."

 Chapter 175 - Shuns Analysis

    Steven Roger shared all the information that was with him. He was so anxious that he informed Shun about all the secret deals he had with Broken Hill Industries.


    It didn''t take Shun a very long time to figure out that someone was manipting behind the shadows. In fact, he had alsoe to the same conclusion as Steven Roger that it was the previous duchess of the Walsh Dukedom who instigated this n.


    Shun even deduced the presence of a spy within the Radiant Church, who had been responsible for the frosty rtions between the Radiant Church and the Roger Dukedom.


    It was Archbishop Chris.


    This was definitely news to Steven. He was instantly enraged as he remembered this man who used toe to the Roger Dukedom on behalf of the Radiant Church under the pretext of the diplomatic meetings.


    Now that he recalled it, each time this man hade to the Roger Dukedom for these diplomatic meetings, their rtionship with the Radiant Church took a significant hit.


    After informing him of the name of the Walsh Dukedom''s spy within the Radiant Church, Shun asked Steven to calm down. He couldn''t take action in his rage, or even with his assistance, it would be impossible for the Roger Dukedom to survive this tribtion.


    Shun then proceeded to tell Steven of what had possibly happened. And how the destruction of the Radiant Church''s branch seemed to have been linked with the Roger Dukedom.


    He was merely guessing the possibilities of how the Walsh Dukedom had managed to frame Roger Dukedom.


    And each of these possibilities startled Steven greatly. The nning was so good that he couldn''t think of a way to resolve this situation.


    "What should we do then? Do I look for the Radiant Church and resolve this misunderstanding?" Steven asked.


    Shun replied almost immediately, "They won''t listen to you. In their opinion, you are going to give excuses to save your skin. No matter how logical your excuses are. Instead of submitting to the Radiant Church, just have a battle with them. Are you truly scared to fight the Radiant Church in an open battle?"


    "I know that as the strongest Dukedom within the Sinyalian Kingdom, you have your own trump cards. Perhaps you are unwilling to use them against the Radiant Church, but remember that you do not need to be scared of them. You merely need to deny any usations by the Radiant Church and dere that you are willing to have a meeting to resolve this misunderstanding."


    "The Radiant Church will definitely ignore your words. However, this will allow you to regain some face among the citizens. Even if it would be a small number of people, they will immediately think that you have been framed by someone. I want this mentality to spread." Shun spoke.


    Steven frowned slightly and asked, "How are you so sure that the Radiant Church will ignore my words? Maybe they will look for me once I say that I am willing to discuss things with them."


    Shun sneered in response and replied, "If it was just the Radiant Church, it might have been possible. But there is another troublesome man who will prevent you from reconciling with the Radiant Church."


    "Who is this person? Archbishop Chris?" Steven asked, but he received no answer.


    Shun wasn''t going to inform him of Edwin''s true identity. How could he tell Steven that they were actually fighting a reincarnated Demon God?


    If he really did mention it to Steven, perhaps Steven would die of a heart attack rather than in a fight against the Radiant Church.


    ~~


    Edwin returned to Walsh Dukedom''s Mansion. After destroying the Radiant Church in Kresa Town, he had flown towards the Walsh Dukedom''s Mansion at his fastest pace.


    Once he returned, he met up with Siluca directly.


    Siluca had already informed her servants to never stop Edwin from meeting her.


    Currently, Siluca was eating lunch with her daughter Anna in the dining hall. When Edwin appeared, Siluca immediately nced at Anna and seemed to be telling her to leave.


    Anna understood her mother''s nce and picked up her te before leaving the dining hall. While leaving the hall, her eyes were fixed on Edwin.


    "It''s time for us to initiate the next phase of the n," Edwin spoke with a serious tone.


    Siluca was quite curious about this next phase of the n. Edwin had only shared an outline of the n with her.


    He had yet to inform her of the specific parts rting to the n. Edwin then suddenly ced his hand over his mask and pulled it away from his face.


    As Siluca nced at Edwin''s face, her eyes widened immediately.


    She wasn''t shocked because she was familiar with Edwin. No¡­ She was certain that this was her first encounter with him.


    As a duchess, she had never met Edwin. She was only familiar with Jonas a bit, but that was just a formality. Edwin''s facial appearance was quite different from Jonas''s, so he was confident that Siluca couldn''t link him with the Rhodes Noble House.


    Siluca''s thoughts seemed to have frozen as a result of her astonishment. This was her first time seeing such a gorgeous man.


    As a duchess of the Walsh Dukedom and her scuffle with her husband, she innately despised men.


    However, currently, Edwin''s appearance was so handsome that her heart was beating quite crazily.


    Edwin''s handsome appearancebined with the Absolute Beauty skill was quite effective even on Siluca Walsh.


    Edwin noticed Siluca''s reactions. This was an unexpected benefit for him.


    "My name is Nudar."


    Edwin''s words jolted Siluca awake. She couldn''t believe that she got lost in thoughts just after seeing Edwin''s handsome appearance.


    There was a serious look on her face as she asked Edwin, "What do you n to do? Tell me before I take any further actions?"


    ~~


    Siluca Walsh went to meet the higher-ups of the Radiant Church.


    She brought a bouquet of flowers with her to pay her respects to the priests and the deacons who had been killed when Edwin destroyed the Radiant Church''s branch in Kresa Town.


    In reality, she didn''t want toe here and talk to these people. However, Edwin had repeatedly told her that this was quite important to initiate their next phase of the n.


    It was none other than Archbishop Chris who came out to receive her.


    He showed her a frosty cold look and spoke, "What brings the duchess here?"


    "I heard the news. I am incredibly saddened by the news of the death of the priests in Kresa Town. Unfortunately, I am buried under a mountain of tasks, and I can''t visit the Kresa Town, so I can onlye and pay them respects here." She spoke with a cool tone.


    Just as Archbishop Chris was wondering whether he should let her in or not, the Pople''s voice resounded in his mind, "Allow her to enter. I need to talk to her."


    Siluca entered the great hall and met up with the Pope.


    There was an ugly look on the Pope''s face as he stared at Siluca. He spoke with a disdainful expression, "You must be extremely pleased to hear the news."


    When Siluca heard the Pope, she resisted the urge to nod and agree with those words.


    However, if she did, it wouldpletely infuriate the Pope, and she would fail the task.


    "Please do not joke around, Pope. Someone with your prestige shouldn''t speak randomly about certain things. The Radiant Church and the Walsh Dukedom had their differences because of business and other things. But you must agree with me when I say that we have done our best for the citizens. Since the time I became a duchess, I have realized that this peace in the territory exists only because of the presence of the Radiant Church."


    "If not for your presence, the crime rate within the Walsh Dukedom would be much greater. Thus, I am truly thankful for your silent support for all these years." Siluca spoke sincerely.


    As a duchess, even though she wasn''t the best in terms of nning, she was quite good at acting. Siluca was so good in acting that even the Pope didn''t sense anything wrong.


    "I wish to pay my respects to the priests who died in Kresa Town," Siluca spoke.


    There was a sad look on the Pope''s face as he spoke, "Follow me."


    The two soon reached the location where Siluca paid her respects to the graves of the clerics who had been killed by Edwin.


    She internally wanted tough at these people who had been killed in their sleep.


    However, she managed to hold herself and then faced the Pope, "Other than paying my respects to the dead, I also came here to inform something to the Pope."


    "The Walsh Dukedom will support the Radiant Church in the fight against the Roger Dukedom."

 Chapter 176 - Holy Son

    When the Pople of the Radiant Church heard Siluca''s words. He wasn''t the least bit surprised.


    He had more or less expected that this was the true reason for Siluca''s appearance here. He could even think of a reason for Siluca to support the Radiant Church in the battle against the Roger Dukedom <em>''She wants to use this opportunity to connect with us and increase her house''s prestige.''</em>


    <em>''Once the citizens hear that Walsh Dukedom is assisting us in the fight against the Roger Dukedom, it would greatly boost Walsh Dukedom''s prestige. They would appear quite righteous while fighting against Roger Dukedom for us.''</em>


    Pope quickly made his decision, "I am thankful to hear this. However, the Radiant Church doesn''t wish to trouble the duchess with this. We can handle this on our own."


    Siluca spoke with a smile, "Please don''t be so hasty in making your decision. Cooperation with Walsh Dukedom will only benefit you."


    "Shouldn''t you say that it would benefit both of us? Your gains wouldn''t be any less than ours." The Pope spoke with a sneer.


    Siluca replied, "This will be mutual cooperation. I will send my subordinate to discuss the terms with you. You can decide whether you want to join hands with me after you hear the terms."


    She didn''t wait to hear the Pope''s reply. She turned her head and spoke, "Good day."


    The Pope continued to stare in Siluca''s direction nkly. He couldn''t help but frown. ''<em>Something has changed. She seems different. She was never this confident while talking to me. Does she have a trump card?</em>''


    However, the Pope wasn''t too worried. It wasn''t just Siluca who had a trump card. He had a trump card of his own. Moreover, his trump card was definitely superior to Siluca''s trump card.


    This filled the Pope with endless confidence. He was ready to deal with any hidden tactics from Siluca.


    After a few hours, Edwin appeared in the Radiant Church. He hid his identity using a mask.


    However, using this mask also revealed another one of his identity. It was his identity as a Dark Shadow.


    The information about the Dark Shadow hadn''t just spread in the Noble Family. It had quickly circted within the Radiant Church''swork.


    They recognized him as the Dark Shadow as soon as theyid their eyes on his mask.


    Edwin, though didn''t mind that they recognized him as Dark Shadow. Trying to hide this identity for too long wouldn''t work.


    There were bound to be some men investigating Dark Shadow and connecting the dots with Edwin Rhodes.


    As a result, Edwin had made up his mind that he should do it on his terms since his identity would be exposed sooner orter.


    Only through this could he extract maximum benefit from this situation.


    As Edwin headed inside the church, he met up with a priest and asked him, "Can you please point the way for me to the Pople?"


    The priest he was talking to appeared to be old. His eyes were filled with benevolence and wisdom.


    "Why do you want to meet the Pople, child?" The old priest was asking rather kindly.


    This old priest ahead of Edwin was near the same level as the head priest in the Radiant Church''s Branch at Kresa Town.


    There was a solemn look on Edwin''s face as he answered the old priest, "Duchess ordered me to meet him."


    Once the priest heard that Edwin was here on Siluca''s order, he immediately understood the situation.


    The Pope had already informed the priests and the bishops that if someone under Siluca''s orders doese, allow them to see him.


    Since Edwin was here on Siluca''s order, the old priest was more than happy to show him to way to the Pope''s chambers.


    However, before he even took three steps towards the Pope''s chamber, a man opened the gate and rushed out of the residential chambers of the Church.


    What startled the priests and the bishops was that this man was none other than the respected Pope!


    There was an excited as well as a devoted look on the Pope''s face as he looked in Edwin''s direction.


    "Are you the one who entered the Radiant Church just now?" The Pope was asking just for confirmation.


    Edwin responded with a nod since this was the truth. Seeing the thrilled look of the Pope, he was delighted internally. His guess was correct!


    "Greetings to the respected Pop-" Before he could even give a respectful bow to the Pope, the man immediately appeared next to Edwin and grabbed his shoulder.


    The prevented Edwin from respectfully bowing to him.


    "I don''t dare to receive the bow from the Holy Son?!" The Pope immediately spoke.


    As he spoke, he was getting more excited. Edwin knew the reason for the Pope''s excitement.


    When the Pope touched Edwin just now, he had sent a faint amount of Ardor in Edwin''s body. It was so thin that a normal warrior wouldn''t be able to sense it.


    And in return, he felt a suppressive aura. This aura was so suppressive that his body was getting heavier, and he wished to prostrate himself to Edwin right now.


    Edwin didn''t want the Pope to spill all the beams in front of these priests and the bishops.


    "Let''s talk privately." Edwin sent a spiritual message to the Pope.


    The Pope immediately understood that Edwin didn''t wish to reveal his identity in public. He didn''t question Edwin.


    What sort of identity did the Holy Son have?! How could a lowly human like him dare to question the Holy Son?!


    A Pope, who was well respected even by the King, was much inferior in terms of identity than a Holy Son.


    This ranking was devised by the Celestials for their own use.


    Deacons, priests, bishops, archbishops, pope were all humans who had been blessed by the Celestials to use Holy Ardor.


    There were certain humans whose bloodlines would mutate. These humans would possess intrinsic Holy Ardor.


    These people were considered Divine Envoys. The Celestials would select these Divine Envoys as their guards.


    This was a very reverent job. Almost every cleric or adherent of these religions would fantasize about it. After bing Divine Envoys, they could live in Heaven and protect their gods with their own lives.


    Some demi-humans possessed the blood of the Celestials. Generally, this blood of Celestials had to be defined.


    Whether it was the Blood of an Angel or of a God.


    The 6 Star Experts of the Celestials possessing the pure Celestial Blood were Angels. In fact, they were called Lesser Angels.


    The 7 Star Experts were also Angels, but they were called Greater Angels or Archangels.


    The 8 Star Experts of the Celestials were titled ''Gods.''


    The 9 Star Expert of the Celestial was called a Primordial God.


    A demi-human possessing the blood of an Angel would be titled ''Favored.''


    However, if it was a demi-human possessing the blood of a God or a Primordial God, then his title would be ''<strong>Holy Son.</strong>''


    Edwin had known about this information. Since the time he stepped inside the Radiant Church, he had been ring up his Celestial Blood.


    The density and power of his Celestial Blood were quite great. He wasn''t sure of the origin of his Celestial Bloodline, but it shouldn''t be lower than that of an Archangel.


    The Pope couldn''t differentiate between a favored or a holy son.. The suppressive aura he felt made him believe that Edwin was undoubtedly a Holy Son.

 Chapter 177 - Order To The Pope

    Edwin and the Pope stood in his personal chambers. Siluca had also talked to the Pope in these chambers.


    On the other hand, Edwin was sitting on a chair, with the Pope standing in front of him with a polite and respectful expression on his face.


    The mask on Edwin''s face was gone. This was because he felt no need to use it, and it would be better for the Pope to know his face.


    It wasn''t like the Pope would link him to Edwin Rhodes, the Heir of the Rhodes House, so he felt no harm in revealing his face to the Pope.


    Even the Pope waspletely taken aback by his good-looking face. Edwin''s handsome face contained a trace of holiness and elegance to it. The Pope was nowpletely sure that Edwin was a Holy Son.


    "So you have realized my identity, huh?" Edwin spoke while staring at the Pope with a cold look.


    It was as if he was contemting what he should do with the Pope.


    The Pope nodded his head and ttered him, "Such a divine and majestic aura could only belong to the Holy Son."


    Edwin internally snickered at thosements and thought ''To think I would be treated as a Holy Son by the Pope of the Radiant Church. If the Celestials found out about it, their reactions would be hrious.''


    Although he wasughing at the Pope in his mind, Edwin''s face remained emotionless as he stared at the Pope.


    The Pope was growing nervous the longer Edwin stared at him without saying anything. Many thoughts were appearing in his head, but he didn''t dare to say it.


    Edwin decided it was time to get back to work. He spoke, "I came today under Siluca Walsh''s orders to discuss the specifics regarding the Walsh Dukedom''s cooperation with the Radiant Church. First, inform me what demands does the Radiant Church has."


    The Pope remained silent for some time. He then opened his mouth and asked Edwin, "This old man would like to know something. Would the Holy Son answer me?"


    "Depends on the question." Edwin instantly replied to the Pope.


    The Pope nodded and then asked, "Why does the Holy Son work under the Walsh Dukedom? With your Divine Identity, you canmand the entire Radiant Church. No¡­ Not just the Radiant Church but all the Religions within the Sinyalian Kingdom."


    The Radiant Church wasn''t the only religion within the Sinyalian Kingdom. There were three more religions in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Temple of Stars. Oracles of the Two Divines. And the Communion of the Nine Gods.


    However, unlike the Radiant Church, the followers of these religions weren''t spread in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Their followers were rather selective, depending on the abilities of their god.


    The Oracles of Two Divines had two gods. These two gods were the Wind God and the Lightning God.


    From the name, it was clear that one of them controlled the Holy Wind while the other possessed the Holy Lightning.


    Naturally, this lightning was the Tribtion Lightning. However, it was iparably more powerful than Azaroth''s Holy Lightning as it containedpletews of the Tribtion Lightning.


    Thus, the followers of the Oracles of the Two Divines were generally those who possessed the Wind or Lightning Ardor.


    After bing the followers of the Oracles of the Two Divines, they would find it easier to gain enlightenment in thews rting to the Wind or Lightning Element.


    Azaroth knew of this and was quite disdainful of this method. All those who had been blessed by the gods and wanted to boost their insight were just destroying their futures.


    They would experience quick progress, but soon, they would begin to realize that it was getting harder for them to find a path for themselves.


    After reaching the 6 Star Rank, a Warrior had to create a path for himself. That path must belong to the warrior, or else he would never be able to break through the bottleneck.


    If they gained insight intows because of the blessings of the gods, they were deviating from their original path. They wouldn''t even realize it, but they would just be walking on the path of the God who had blessed them.


    And once this deviation urred, they would have to start from the very beginning.


    Currently, Edwin was thinking about the question asked by the Pope. His silence sent a chill down the Pope''s spine.


    The Pope felt that he had asked something he shouldn''t have.


    "I guess I will humor you. My reason for working under the Walsh Duekdom is pretty simple. It''s because before I awakened my Holy Bloodline, this woman Siluca saved my life. At that time, I made a decision to use this life and return that favor." Edwin spoke with an emotionless tone.


    The Pope was relieved to hear this exnation. Many of his doubts had been answered.


    Edwin''s expression turned colder as he ordered, "I don''t n to inform her about my identity. So make sure no one randomly opens their mouth."


    "I have received yourmand, Holy Son!" The Pope shouted excitedly.


    He would immediately go andmand everyone to keep it a secret. In fact, he would make them sign blood contracts to prevent them from revealing this information.


    Edwin observed the Pope''s emotions and knew that this man would handle it.


    "Let me introduce myself. My name is Nudar." Edwin gave away this name.


    The Pope carefully remembered this name. He made sure he would never forget this name.


    Edwin then spoke, "You mentioned earlier that with my identity, I canmand the Radiant Church. Is that the truth?"


    The Pope looked at Edwin and immediately replied, "As long as it doesn''t lead to the Radiant Church''s destruction, we would all listen to you, Lord Nudar."


    This was expected by Edwin.


    Even though the Pope greatly respected him because of his identity, he had pledged himself to the Radiant God.


    If Edwin''s Celestial Bloodline was rted to the Radiant God, he could have directlymanded the Radiant Church to disband themselves and join the Walsh Dukedom.


    Unfortunately, the Bloodline within Edwin''s body wasn''t rted to the Radiant God. It appeared to be rted to some other God.


    Thus, Edwin couldn''t give an extreme order to the Radiant Church. He could give them orders as long as it wouldn''t ce the Radiant Church in peril.


    However, the status of the Holy Son was more than enough for him.


    "Very well then. Then as the Holy Son, I order you to ept the alliance between the Radiant Church and the Walsh Dukedom." Edwin spoke with a domineering tone.


    The order he had given wouldn''t threaten the Radiant Church. In certain terms, both parties would benefit.


    The Pope immediately replied, "Yourmand shall be followed, Holy Son."


    "Very good." Edwin nodded and then ordered, "Gather all the experts of the Radiant Church scattered around the Sinyalian Kingdom. Send the bishops or the Archbishops to gather them. I don''t care. I want to see them here in one week. I will inform Siluca Walsh to gather her experts as well. The Roger Dukedom must be destroyed!"


    The Pope immediately nodded his head.


    He first went to the priests and the bishops who had seen Edwin. He forced them to sign a blood contract to prevent them from speaking about Edwin''s true identity.


    They were only going to treat Edwin as a warrior from the Walsh Dukedom.


    The Pope gave his Spatial Ring to Edwin. He informed Edwin that this Spatial Ring possessed the many Holy Materials and even a few Holy Weapons.


    The materials within this Spatial Ring were so rare that the Array Association hadn''t even heard about many of them.


    The Pope had received these materials from outside the Sinyalian Kingdom. Most of them were offerings to the Radiant God.


    Edwin swiped his nce through these resources and let out a sigh as nothing caught his attention.

 Chapter 178 - The First Task

    Veninza City, the Glerian Kingdom.


    During these days, Azaroth had been living with Laura and Noah. Azaroth checked out the warriors the two had recruited.


    Azaroth was slightly unsatisfied with their number but not by their talent. Laura and Noah had been quite strict in their trials and requirements.


    Thus, the two had only chosen the best possible talents for their respective groups.


    The people they had chosen were in urgent need of money. Thus, even though Laura and Noah''s training was so strict, they worked as hard as possible.


    Today, it was the first time the two groups had gathered. However, the two groups were familiar with Laura and Noah.


    However, today, there was an unfamiliar man with them. This man gave them a very dangerous feeling.


    Half of Laura''s subordinates were women. They swooned in delight when they saw Azaroth''s handsome appearance.


    Abel, one of Laura''s subordinates, asked her while pointing his finger at Azaroth, "Chief, who is this man?"


    Laura scowled as she saw her subordinate pointing at Azaroth. She immediately replied, "Don''t point your finger at him. He is my master."


    This surprised Laura''s subordinates greatly. They didn''t think that this handsome guy was Laura''s master.


    "He is my master as well." Noah briefly spoke while he stared at his own subordinates, "Does anyone have a question?"


    When Noah''s subordinates saw him give them that look, they immediately gulped down a mouthful of saliva. They didn''t have fond memories of when Noah gave them that stare.


    They didn''t even dare to breathe loudly, let alone ask a question.


    Unlike Laura''s group that had been kindly trained by Laura, Noah was training his group by beating the heck out of them.


    Noah could beat them all even when they attacked him together. It was as if it made no difference to him whether they were fighting as a group or attacking him individually.


    Even though Noah''s training method was quite unconventional, it was quite useful. Those men who couldn''t even follow Noah''s movements were now atleast capable of moving their bodies to dodge or block Noah''s attacks.


    Despite theirck of sess in countering his attacks, no one could deny their progress.


    Azaroth just needed to take a look to understand how Noah had trained them and how much they had grown.


    They all wore solemn expressions on their faces. Their willpower had grown stronger as they were continually beaten by Noah.


    At the very least, a loss wouldn''t affect their mentality in the future.


    However, this had presented a critical problem. The mentality of these warriors had been molded to such an extent that they had gotten used to losing.


    If this continued, they would never be able to squeeze out all their potential and fight with all their might.


    Azaroth then began to think of a n topletely reverse their mentality.


    Meanwhile, he turned his head and focused on the subordinates trained by Laura.


    They all had diverse emotions.


    Some warriors gazed at Laura with a respectful gaze, some were looking at her with a gentle gaze, some warriors red at Azaroth with an envious gaze. As for the women, they were sneaking nces at Azaroth.


    This indicated that Laura hadn''t managed to properly discipline these warriors yet.


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he thought of a n. It would solve both of these issues.


    It had been dozens of seconds since Azaroth began to observe them. It was time for him to say something to these warriors.


    "As you might have heard from these two, I am their Master. My name is Azaroth. I am the one who gave them the task to gather warriors and create their personal groups." Azaroth spoke loudly.


    His voice covered the entire field. All the warriors who heard his voice felt forced to payplete attention to him.


    "All of you might be aware that within the Glerian Kingdom, all the resources are hoarded by the Sects. The Royal Family controls the Red Crown Sect, and all the resources possessed by the Royal Family are either used in War or to develop their talents within the Red Crown Sect. The other sects are private sects set up by strong cultivators hundreds of years ago. These sects gather all the resources from the area nearby and use them to develop their disciples."


    "You are independent cultivators who failed to join the sects and opted to be loose cultivators. However, I am sure many of you must be realizing the difference between yourself and the sect disciples."


    "The sect disciples cultivate in a ce with right Spiritual Aura. Moreover, that rich Spiritual Aura is further enhanced by multiple arrays. The sect also provides its disciples with important pills and rare techniques as well as mystic weapons. As time passes, the gap between you and the sect disciples will continue to widen."


    Azaroth paused after saying so much. He was observing the reaction of these warriors.


    All of Noah''s subordinates remained calm ever after hearing this information. They had terrific control over their emotions, or they had already realized the difference between them and a sect disciple as they were beaten by Noah.


    Azaroth then focused on Laura''s subordinates. Just as he had expected, they appeared to be quite angry, envious, and even sad after hearing this.


    Once he had observed them for some time, he asked with a clear tone, "I only have one question for all of you. Do you want to be stronger? So strong that even those sect disciples can only look up to you!"


    His words were met with surprised expressions. Even Noah''s subordinates showed surprised expressions when they heard Azaroth''s question.


    Noah''s subordinates answered collectively, "Yes! We want to be stronger!"


    Once Noah''s subordinates had answered, Laura''s subordinates also spoke out, "We also want to be stronger!"


    Azaroth stared at Laura''s subordinates and could see that they were slightly scared. They were scared that Azaroth was nning something dangerous.


    They only decided to respond to Azaroth after seeing Noah''s subordinates instantly answer him.


    "Great. That''s what I want to hear. I will provide you everything that a sect would have provided you. I will give you all the resources to be strong."


    A sly smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he continued, "However, I feel that rather than giving resources out for free, you should earn them."


    Confused expressions appeared on these warriors'' faces as they failed to get what Azaroth meant.


    "I will provide you resources, but they will be distributed ording to your contributions," Azaroth spoke.


    Laura''s subordinates immediately nodded their heads in satisfaction. One of them spoke out aloud, "That''s fair. At the least, no one will be able to get my share of resources by doing nothing."


    His voice was filled with pride, and Azaroth deduced that this guy was probably arrogant because of his young age and ability with the bow.


    Although his cultivation wascking, his skill as an Archer was truly good.


    Azaroth even nodded his head, "That''s correct. You will receive the resources for the effort you put in and the results you obtain."


    "Thus, I have the first task ready for you," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    He took a short pause before speaking, "You are part of either of the two groups formed by retainers. Your two groups have been trained differently."


    "I want to find out which group is stronger. So fight each other! Your task is to beat the other party until they admit their defeat!" Azaroth dered.


    His words astounded both groups, as well as Laura. Noah was the only one who remained unfazed.


    He wasn''t calm because he expected Azaroth to do something like this. In reality, he had no clue Azaroth would pit their factions against one another.


    Noah''sck of surprise was because he didn''t try to foresee Azaroth''s actions. He didn''t even want to think what Azaroth would do next.. In his opinion, all he had to do was perfectly carry out themands given to him by Azaroth.

 Chapter 179 - What Is Strength

    It took a couple of seconds for the cultivators ahead of Azaroth to respond to his words. The first task they received was to fight each other?


    However, Laura''s subordinates had a massive issue with this order. They immediately spoke out to express their concerns.


    "How will we fight against these warriors? They have trained in close-rangedbat while we trained in long-rangedbat. Please think of apetition that would be absolutely fair to both of our groups." A man spoke with a graceful appearance.


    His reasoning appeared to be sound, and he was quite polite while speaking. Many of the warriors within Laura''s group immediately agreed with those words.


    "That''s right. Competition should be fair to both parties. Having a brawl against these men would just be using our weakness to fight against their strength."


    "I am sure our opponents would prefer a fairpetition. One where both parties have an equal chance of winning, right?"


    "If it''s archery, I guarantee I won''t lose to anyone!"


    All of Laura''s underlings were shouting loudly. Laura appeared quite displeased when she heard them shouting.


    Her respect and affection for Azaroth had reached a high value. She couldn''t tolerate how her subordinates were shouting at him.


    It irritated Laura that only her subordinates seemed to be yelling and whining. Noah''s subordinates remained calm. It was as if they wouldn''t dare to speak without Noah''s approval.


    Laura felt that she had failed in instilling her prestige within her subordinates.


    Azaroth coldly spoke, "No."


    It was spoken powerfully. One that made these warriors understand that Azaroth wouldn''t submit to their demands.


    As this realization dawned upon them. Many of these warriors were quite angry. Some warriors were considering leaving.


    They hadn''t joined Laura''s group to fight against some brutes.


    Azaroth noticed their reactions. He allowed them to think for some time.


    After a few minutes, he felt that he had given them enough time. Azaroth spoke loudly as his voice resounded in the entire field, "What is the difference between a strong and a weak?"


    His question was met with pin-drop silence.


    This was intended to be a rhetorical question. Thus, Azaroth wasn''t expecting a response from these warriors. He intended to make a point with his question.


    Azaroth then continued speaking, "When I tell you that I will make you strong, what do you think I mean?"


    This time, Azaroth was indeed looking for an answer.


    Laura''s subordinates immediately began to give their answers one by one.


    "I think you are nning to train us so that we can be 4 Star Cultivator."


    "In my opinion, we would be quite strong when we can defeat the core disciples of the top sects."


    "You are nning to train us and make us strong enough to rule over a territory?"


    ¡­


    Only Laura''s subordinates spoke, and they just continued to give their answers.


    Azaroth waited for them to finish speaking.


    Azaroth spoke after he confirmed that no one else wanted to speak, "The answers you gave me indicate what strength means to you."


    "Some consider strength to be a rank of cultivation while others think they would be considered strong after defeating some strong individuals or probably win apetition."


    "Now, hear me out. In my opinion, strength is the ability to make things happen. When I talk about making you strong, I mean to make you strong enough to do whatever you want in this world without any considerations. If you want to kill someone, you can kill that person without thinking of any consequences. Why? Because you are strong enough to deal with any consequences."1


    "Defeating a 5 Star Warrior or a 6 Star Warrior? Naah. Your vision is far too narrow. When I say I''ll make you strong, I mean you''ll be able topete with the very best. You will be strong enough to defeat those considered as gods!"


    Azaroth''s words had absolutely shocked these warriors. In fact, a fire had lit up within their eyes. Whether it was Noah''s subordinates or Laura''s subordinates, all of them were absolutely excited to hear this speech.


    "However, to reach that level, you will need to endure the training I will put you through. Most importantly, you will obey my everymand, no matter how unreasonable it appears. These are my two conditions. Now, decide whether you want to stay or leave. Whether you want to rule the world or just stay here in this rundown city. Give me your response." Azaroth finally finished his speech with those words.


    Noah''s subordinates looked at Noah first and were seemingly asking for his consent to speak.


    Noah instantly got angry and shouted at them, "What? Boss asked you a question. How dare you stay silent?!"


    Nearly all of Noah''s subordinates flinched when he shouted at them. They felt that Noah was too unreasonable.


    If they said something, Noah would scold them harshly for speaking without asking for his permission. But now, as they were asking for his consent, he was scolding them for staying silent.


    They felt that the world was truly unfair. Azaroth wanted to chuckle as he saw the expressions on Noah''s subordinates'' faces.


    However, Noah''s subordinates gave their answer collectively, "We want to stay and train under you, Lord Azaroth."


    Noah looked slightly pleased when he heard all his subordinates say that.


    He then looked in Azaroth''s direction with a delighted smile. Azaroth then slowly patted Noah''s head and praised him, "You trained a good bunch, Noah."


    Noah looked slightly embarrassed as Azaroth praised him in front of everyone. But his happiness was off the roof.


    Noah''s subordinates were astonished to see Noah with that embarrassed and happy look. It was as if they were looking at a stranger.


    Right now, Noah actually looked like a cute little kid. They were used to Noah''s ruthless side and were actually shocked to see him acting like a happy little kid who had just received candy.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth stared at Laura''s subordinates. Many of them had already expressed their desire to stay and train under Azaroth passionately.


    However, there were still a few warriors who remained unsure.


    The reason for their hesitation was easy to guess. These warriors didn''t want to obey Azaroth''s orders. They wanted to retain their rights. And they didn''t respect Azaroth enough to believe whatever he had promised them.


    A warrior asked, "How do we know you can make us reach the level you are talking about? Prove to me that you are not a sham."


    "I expected this question." Azaroth smirked as he added, "If you can ask me that same question again, you can consider me a bragger."


    "What do you-"


    Before that warrior could even finish his words, he and all the warriors within the field fell on the ground except for Laura and Noah.


    "I didn''t give you myplete introduction. My name is Azaroth, and I have reached the 5 Star Rank at the age of 17," Azaroth''s words made these warriors gasp in shock.


    They had never heard of a 17-year-old 5 Star Warrior. Even the top genius of the Red Crown Sect, the third prince, became a 5 Star Warrior when he was 22 years old.


    In reality, this was a lie. Azaroth had personally created this body. So there was no such thing as age. However, this wasn''t aplete lie. It was because, in his previous life, Azaroth had indeed be a Demon Lord at the age of 17.


    "This probably isn''t enough to convince you about my ability. No problem." Azaroth spoke with a smile. He pointed and Noah and began to speak, "Noah began to cultivate since a few months ago. And he has already reached the 3 Star Rank. He will be participating in the Heavenly Dragon Battlefield Tournament at the age of 10. So tell me, do you still question my ability to make you strong?"


    All of these warriors felt the suppression over them weaken. They began to stand up, staring at Noah with shock.


    None of them was aware of this fact!


    Noah''s subordinates, who were absolutely terrified of him, were somewhat embarrassed and gained a lot of respect for Noah.


    Noah had be a 3 Star Warrior within a couple of months. He also possessed enough control over Ardor where he could beat them all without much trouble. They felt embarrassed as theypared themselves to him.


    However, they also understood that he must have trained like hell to have achieved the power he possessed right now. This made them respect Noah greatly.


    Even the warriors on Laura''s side were astonished as they stared at Noah. The man who had questioned Azaroth''s ability to train them was absolutely silent now.


    Soon, the warriors hesitant about joining Azaroth immediately shouted that they wanted to train under him!


    As hot-blooded youths, they all wanted to be stronger. To dazzle the entire world with their power! And they believed that Azaroth could indeed aplish what he was promising. Thus, they agreed to be his soldiers! This has been inspired by Uchiha Madara from Naruto.. Hope you all liked it, though.

 Chapter 180 - Scolding Laura

    Azaroth gave them the same order as before. He ordered the two groups to fight against each other.


    He told them that they could fight however they wanted. He wasn''t going to ce any restrictions on them.


    They could use traps, cheap tricks, and almost any other clever way to fight if they wanted. They just had to make their opponent admit defeat.


    He allowed Noah and Laura to have a word with their groups, respectively.


    Noah was quite clear as he ordered his subordinates, "Bring victory or else¡­."


    He left the threat hanging. Those words were quite effective. Not a single one of his men dared to fight half-heartedly. They knew that hell awaited them if they lost.


    Meanwhile, Laura told her men, "Maintain your distance and do your best to target them. As long as you don''t hit their face, it will be alright."


    Her men cheered up as they heard her. They promised her they would definitely defeat Noah''s group.


    Half an hourter, the two groups faced each other.


    Laura''s subordinates immediately pointed their arrows at Noah''s group. Once Azaroth ordered them to start, Laura''s subordinatesunched those arrows.


    Noah''s subordinates were forced to roll to the side as they dodged a rain of arrows towards them.


    Azaroth observed this entire fight while using his Mystic Eyes of Perception. He was going to deal with any arrow that was about to strike the head of the opponent.


    He couldn''t really count on these novices to have perfect aim. Unintentionally, they might target their opponent''s head.


    Laura''s subordinates backed away once they saw Noah''s group dodge their arrows. Only a couple of arrows had struck their targets, but they couldn''t halt the movements of those warriors.


    Backing away and maintain some distance between them was a blunder by Laura''s subordinates. This gave Noah''s subordinates enough time to close the distance between them.


    In terms of running speed, Noah''s subordinates were much faster.


    Thus, some of them even reached Laura''s subordinates and engaged them in a closebat fight.


    Once this fight turned into a closebat fight, it was over far too quickly.


    Noah''s subordinates absolutely thrashed Laura''s subordinates. They weren''t gentle even to the women who were in Laura''s group.


    Only when they all admitted defeat did they stop.


    Azaroth had many reasons to make these two groups fight against each other. Firstly, he wanted Noah''s subordinates to know that they were strong. They could win a battle.


    Because of their defeats at Noah''s hands, they were getting a little too used to being defeated, and their aura was getting dull.


    This win against Laura''s subordinates should have raised their morale.


    The second reason Azaroth wanted this battle to happen was to understand the abilities of these warriors.


    After observing this battle, Azaroth had a clear understanding of these warriors'' abilities.


    Laura was slightly sad as she saw that her subordinates had lost. She looked at Azaroth''s brooding look and thought he was actually disappointed in her subordinates.


    "Master, this is the first time they are fighting someone, so they were a bit too nervous. They are actually really talented." Laura spoke.


    Azaroth replied, "I can imagine. However, it remains an issue that they can''t maintain their focus during a battle. You trained them to aim at the enemy. Thus, they were quite quick during the starting phase of this battle. But once that phase ended, and they had to rely on their wits to fight, they appeared too nervous to put up a good fight."


    "Are you intending to nurture them for eternity?" Azaroth asked while ring at Laura through the corner of his eye.


    Laura lowered her head in defeat.


    "When you were training under me, all of you only did that gravity training exercise for a week. After that, I made you fight against numerous opponents where you would have to constantly think to beat your opponents within a limited time."


    "The subordinates under Noah don''t appear to have some great talent in cultivation, but I can say with surety that in terms of willpower, they have your subordinates beat," Azaroth spoke.


    "You are the one who is responsible for your group''s loss." Azaroth harshly said to Laura.


    As he saw Laura flinch, he decided to stop. He knew he was too harsh on her. It was the first time she had trained a bunch of warriors.


    She couldn''t very well be a perfect trainer on her first try. However, he had to be harsh on her, or she wouldn''t learn from this mistake.


    "From now on, teach them how they should fight against close-ranged warriors. If they can''t win, they should atleast possess the ability to put up a fight and hold back the enemy until the reinforcements arrive."


    "Also, from now on, you two will take your groups and attack the nearby branch of the Origin Sect once a week. Loot everything from that branch. Both of you are forbidden to attack only against strong warriors or leaders," Azaroth ordered them.


    Noah and Laura were surprised to hear those words. They wondered why he was targeting the Origin Sect.


    They had no conflicts with the Origin Sect yet. Moreover, the Origin Sect was one of the top 3 sects of the Glerian Kingdom.


    They didn''t ask Azaroth for a reason, though. Noah was adamant about not knowing why, while Laura had been reprimanded so severely that she didn''t dare to inquire.


    She felt that she would be scolded even more heavily.


    Meanwhile, before they were asked to leave, Azaroth said to Noah, "Give 10 Spirit Coins to each one of your subordinates for winning this battle. Also, take them to a bar and let them drink to their heart''s content. Training all day wouldn''t necessarily be effective. You need to give them time to enjoy, so their mentality remains in peak condition."


    Noah said to Azaroth, "I will follow your orders, Boss. You can rest assured that the next time, they will be even stronger."


    Azaroth sweatdropped upon hearing Noah''s words. He felt that Noah''s subordinates were going to witness another deeper level of Hell.


    "I will observe both of your training and give you instructions based on what I feel is right. Alright. You two can leave now."


    Azaroth drove them away while heid on the grassy fields.


    He was connecting his mind to his clone''s body and understanding the situation over there.


    As his clone possessed 40% of Azaroth''s spirit, Azaroth could take over his clone''s body and find out what he had been doing.


    He didn''t keep a shared vision with his clone because his mind would constantly be working if he did that. He would get tired quickly, and it wouldn''t be a good idea to remain in that state within the Glerian Kingdom.


    ording to his estimates, the king had most probably used the resources provided by Azaroth. He must have also hired some array masters to quicken the recovery rate of the resources in the mine.


    <em>''Let''s see how long it will take for a stable supply chain of resources to be formed.''</em>


    This was something even Azaroth couldn''t guess correctly. He had no idea how many mines or ruins were under the Glerian Kingdom''s control.


    If he did know that, perhaps he could make a guess urately.


    Right now, he had to wait for Sargan to expand his informationwork and found out about everything.

 Chapter 181 - The Underground Labyrinth Of The Demons

    Within shire City, The Glerian Kingdom.


    Sargan had joined hands with Ruben Kari and promised that he would allow Ruben Kardi to be victorious against his brothers.


    The two had left the bar and went to Ruben Kari''s private vi. Only his loyal subordinates knew about this vi, so it was safe to have their secret talk here.


    "I will speak first. ording to the information I possess, your father would name everything to the child with the highest prestige within shire City. Because of your wind element, the cultivation techniques of your family aren''t suited for you. Thus, you can only cultivate those inferior cultivation techniques suited for your wind element."


    "The difference between a high-rank cultivation technique and a low-rank cultivation technique is evident. Even though you are 16 years old, you have barely be a 2 Star Cultivator. You have a low chance of reaching the 3 Star Cultivator before 18 years of age if you continue to use this technique."


    Sargan''s words stung Ruben quite a bit. The frustrating part about it was that this was the truth. He couldn''t counter it.


    What upset him even more was that if Sargan knew about it, that meant nearly all the prestigious people within shire City must be clear about his situation.


    He looked at Sargan and tried to keep his emotions calm while speaking, "You are mostly right about it. Now, tell me, how do I turn the tables?"


    This was the reason he had made a deal with this man. If he couldn''t prove his worth, Ruben wasn''t nning to let him off.


    Sargan expected this and spoke, "There are many ways for you to surpass your brothers in terms of prestige. Either decrease theirs or boost your own."


    "There are many ways to boost your prestige. You can aplish a task considered impossible or extremely difficult by others. Possess the power or wealth that would shock the world."


    "Thus, I rmend that you go and explore the ruins recently found by a few sects. It''s known as the <strong>Underground Labyrinth of the Demons</strong>. The Governor and a few others are considering forming a team and sending some warriors to explore the ruins."


    Ruben Kari was quite surprised to know this information. Sargan only found out about thisbyrinth from a servant working within the Governor''s office. He didn''t know about the members who were selected to explore thisbyrinth.


    "The demons have many such Labyrinths across the continent. Thesebyrinths were the bases of the demons where they tortured the humans to force out their secrets. This Underground Labyrinth of the Demons is such a ce. Within the Labyrinth, you can find different demonic resources and many valuable cultivation techniques belonging to experts of the previous eras."


    "You must realize the importance of Purgatory''s natural resources to humanity. Those resources are of little use to demons who already have powerful bodies and little brains, but they are extremely valuable to humans. Imagine if someone gets their treasury." Sargan spoke with a slight smile on his face.


    He saw a greedy and hopeful appearance on Ruben''s face. He knew that the fish had taken the bait.


    It was natural for Ruben to take the bait. He had never heard about the details and the treasures found within the Labyrinths. It was the first time he heard about it from someone.


    Sargan didn''t hear about the details regarding the Labyrinths from his servants or spies. It was something he knew as a former heir to the Bach n.


    The Labyrinths were very important locations to the demons. They didn''t just torture the humans there. These Labyrinths were considered as the supply base on the continent for the demons.


    When the demons constantly fought against the Celestials and the Humans, they had to construct many such Labyrinths to keep a constant supply of weapons and treasures all over the continent and stay ready to fight against their enemies with their full strength.


    However, the bnce shifted when the humans created their first 9th Star Warrior. This urred nearly millions of years ago. It was just a few thousand years after Azaroth''s death.


    The first 9th Star Warrior of the Human was called a <strong>Greater Saint</strong>. He cooperated with the Primordial God and forced the Demon Venerable back to Purgatory.


    Once the Demon Venerable was forced to return to Purgatory, the Greater Saint began to target any demon on Frascoia Continent.


    The morale of the humans greatly increased as now, they also had their Greater Saint with them. Soon, experts began to rise from the Human race, and it felt as if the tables hadpletely overturned.


    The demons who were strong enough to fight against the Celestials and the Humans were now being ughtered.


    At that moment, the Demon Venerablemanded the demons to return to Purgatory.


    The Demons were terrified of the humans and rushed to return to the Purgatory. In their haste, they left behind their treasures within those Labyrinths.


    Thus, many Labyrinths containing rich resources remained buried under the continent''s ground.


    The arrays around it possessed Spatial Abilities, and even a Lesser Saint, an 8th Rank Warrior, and a Greater Saint, a 9th Star Warrior, would find it troublesome to find them. If someone did possess the Spatial Element, it would be different. But unfortunately, the Demons were the ones who innately possessed the Spatial Element after reaching the Demon King Realm. The Humans had to gain insight into the Spatial Element from the very beginning.


    And the Spatial Element was one of the greatws, so it truly wasn''t easy for humans to gain insight into it. Even if someone did gain insight into the Spatial Element, they could never reach the Lesser Saint or a Greater Saint Level.


    Within these millions of years, the Labyrinths found by the humans till now were flukes or the Labyrinths whose Spatial Arrays had slowly worn out due to the passage of time.


    This Underworld Labyrinth of the Demons found near shire City was one whose Spatial Arrays had worn out due to time.


    At this point, Sargan added slyly, "Just imagine if someone finds those Crystals that don''t just possess great elemental powers but also powerful elemental intent within them."


    Ruben''s heart began to beat rapidly. He was truly very excited at the possibilities. In fact, he felt that if he sessfully excavated the treasures from thisbyrinth, he wouldn''t even need his family''s inheritance.


    Suddenly, just as he was relishing in his imagination, he stopped. He thought about the previous times when he had felt such imagination.


    Every time, he had experienced disappointment after this excitement. What if this wasn''t any different?


    Sargan was slightly surprised to see Ruben''s excited face suddenly calm down.


    Ruben spoke, "If these Labyrinths have such good things, then how can I monopolize it? The Governor and other people would take control over the Labyrinth and split the treasures among themselves."


    Sargan nodded his head, "That would be true only if they can enter the Labyrinth. Do you think they haven''t sent anyone to investigate it? Currently, I believe that they know they can''t enter the Labyrinth. They are trying to conceal this information to prevent the sects from knowing about it. They are going to invite an experienced Archeologist to trante the runes for them and open the Labyrinth."


    Those words just made Ruben more frustrated. He asked, "If that''s the case, then how am I going to get the treasures from that Labyrinth."


    His frustration was justified. He felt as if someone had shown him a beautiful dream and then poured a bucket of water before making him experience the cruel reality.


    In return, Sargan just smiled mysteriously as he added, "When did I say you couldn''t enter the Labyrinth?"


    Those words shocked Ruben as he blinked his eyes and tried to figure out the meaning behind Sargan''s words.

 Chapter 182 - Urgent Task

    Sargan spoke with a mysterious smile, "Your task is to reach the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons'' Entrance. Leave the entry into the Labyrinth to me."


    Ruben was quite unsure of whether he should believe Sargan''s words or not. In his opinion, it felt that the deal was far too good. There had to be a catch.


    There was another issue that Sargan was worried about, and he quickly made it known to Ruben, "You must remember not to suddenly reveal all the treasures. As they say, the tallest trees experience the strongest winds."


    Ruben agreed with Sargan. He spoke, "You are right about that. I n to use the treasures within the Labyrinth to gradually increase the power of my influence. Once my subordinates are equipped with stronger weapons and possess better cultivation methods, we can definitely surpass my brother''s influence."


    Sargan nodded and spoke, "Alright. That''s enough about how I am going to help you. Now, let''s switch to what you will offer me in return."


    A serious expression appeared on Ruben''s face. This was what he had been waiting for.


    ording to what he had heard till now, he understood that the man ahead of him was quite mysterious.


    "I want you to invite me to use your status and let me meet with the esteemed people. Meaning, I want to use your name as cover to meet someone. Will that be negotiable?" Sargan asked.


    Ruben immediately agreed, "Deal!"


    Although it looked like he made a hasty decision, this was not the case. He had already considered such a request from Sargan.


    His current prestige wasn''t enough for Sargan to actually meet an esteemed person.


    As a result, Sargan''s major goal would be to raise Ruben''s status.


    Once Ruben''s name spread globally, and his prestige increased, he would have some men keep an eye on Sargan. He agreed to allow Sargan to use his name to meet with influential people, but he would naturally keep an eye on him and find what they were talking about.


    Sargan then spoke, "Give me 3 days. After that, I will possess the things to open the Labyrinth''s Gates."


    Sargan asked for three days because he had to check out this Labyrinth first. The appearance of the Labyrinth had been surprising even to him.


    He had always been nning to check out this Labyrinth, but while he was thinking of checking it out, he heard from one of the servants that Ruben Kari, one of the people he had shortlisted, had gone to the bar.


    Sargan thought it would be best to have a deal with him. This guy had recently experienced another loss at the hands of his eldest brother.


    He was low on morale. Sargan believed it would be extremely easy to manipte him and use him now.


    His guess turned out to be correct. Ruben Kari agreed to cooperate with him.


    He knew that there was a high chance Ruben had sent some warriors after him. He might be nning to get the ''key'' and then ditch Sargan.


    This was an extremely likely thing to happen. However, in this situation, Sargan waspletely off the mark.


    Even though he was right to be so cautious, he failed to consider Ruben''s mentality correctly.


    One of his major supporters just cut ties with him and joined his eldest brother''s group. Ruben was terrified that this might happen again.


    He didn''t want to offer Sargan any reason to feel dissatisfied with him and join his eldest brother''s side.


    For one whole day, Sargan remained at this house. He observed his surroundings using his Evil Eyes and was sure that no one was pursuing him.


    Just as he was about to go, he was contacted by a servant. The servant had important information for him.


    Once Sargan heard that information, he immediately decided to go to the Underground Labyrinth of the Demonster.


    He had another important task.


    One of Sargan''s informants told Sargan that he had found a woman who made his crystal shine.


    Sargan immediately understood that it was someone possessing the Yin Physique.


    Although he didn''t know about the level of this physique, he knew he had to send her to Tiana''s location.


    Tiana was different from all of Azaroth''s retainers. She couldn''t look for her disciples yet.


    All of Azaroth''s retainers were tasked to find women possing Yin Ardor and send them to Tiana''s side so she could also expand her sect.


    Currently, Tiana could only stay near the Arctic Summit and focus on understanding all the arrays Azaroth had left for her.


    She also used the Nine Yin Cultivation Art to stabilize her cultivation base at the 4 Star Rank. Tiana was also trying to get used to controlling her Ardor and also be quite efficient while using her battle techniques.


    ~~


    On the very same day, Sargan met up with the informant who had found the woman possessing the Yin Body.


    Currently, he was in Sector 11. The sector where only low-ss individuals lived.


    Sargan handed him a Spirit Coin and ordered him, "Speak."


    The man looked absolutely delighted to receive the Spirit Coin, and he was quite quick in putting that Spirit Coin in his pocket. His speed was so quick that an untrained eye wouldn''t even see his movements.


    "The third building on the right. The eldest daughter of the family." The man spoke with a wide smile.


    It was a good day for him. He had found that woman just by chance and earned 1 whole Spirit Coin.


    This meant if he found another woman who made the crystal shine, he could earn another Spirit Coin for himself.


    He had never heard of such a good deal. The man soon left with a wide grin on his face.


    Meanwhile, Sargan went to the house that had been mentioned by that man. The crystal on his wrist began to shine brightly.


    He was at the correct house.


    Just by looking at the house, he could say that this was quite an old house. The wood appeared to be worn out, and the entire house appeared to be ready to copse at any time.


    Judging by the Ardor he sensed in the surrounding, these people were not cultivators. They were merely ordinary people.


    Sargan soon entered the house.


    Although Sargan''s clothes could only be considered ordinary in the eyes of influential people within shire City, they appeared very expensive to these people who lived in Sector 11.


    The man of the house was surprised to see Sargan enter his house. He immediately came out to greet him.


    "What can I do to help you, sir?" The man was extremely respectful as he talked to Sargan.


    He could feel an unknown aura emanating from Sargan''s body. It made him understand that he couldn''t be impolite to this person or else his whole family might suffer the consequences.


    "Call out for your eldest daughter." Sargan coldly ordered the man.


    The man was instantly scared as he heard that cold tone. He called out for his eldest daughter.


    "Helena? Helena? Come out. A gentleman is here to see you," The man shouted out.


    His voice resounded in their small house, and the entire family heard it.


    Three women came out of their rooms to know what was going on. One of them was Helena, who was currently 20 years old. The oldest woman out of the three was Helena''s mother. While the final one was her younger sister.


    The little girl''s name was Kate, and she had just turned 10 years old this year.


    Sargan''s eyes were focused on Helena since she was the one due to whom the Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystal was glowing.


    Sargan then looked at the man and spoke to him, "Follow me along with your eldest daughter.. I need to have a short chat with you."

 Chapter 183 - Accepting The Offer

    Many people were watching as Sargan took the father-daughter duo to an empty ce. Although they were curious about what they were going to talk about, no one dared to follow Sargan.


    Sargan was giving a very menacing feeling to them.


    Even Helena and her father were scared. They even had a faint suspicion that Sargan was taking them to an empty ce to bury them.


    If that really was going to happen, they could only cry out tears of unjust.


    Soon, the three did reach an empty ce. Sargan stopped and faced the father-daughter duo.


    Their faces were filled with anxiousness.


    Sargan first decided to relieve them by saying, "You two can rx. I am not nning to harm you. If I was indeed plotting it, I wouldn''t need to bring you here."


    The two thought about it and felt that his words made sense. It was Helena who asked Sargan, "¡­Were you looking for me, sir?"


    She was still quite nervous.


    Sargan nodded and replied, "That''s correct. I indeed came to look for you and to make an offer."


    He then looked at the man ahead of him, "What''s your name?"


    "Tore Fontana." The man immediately replied.


    "Tore, it''s a happy day for you. You know what cultivation is, right?" Sargan asked at the end.


    Tore had a nk expression for a couple of seconds before his eyes were filled with Joy.


    "Yes, sir. I am aware of cultivation. It''s the ability to possess mysterious energy and be stronger. At a high level, a cultivator can destroy a mountain or fly in the skies without a care in the world."


    This was a rather rudimentary exnation, but Sargan didn''t correct him.


    Sargan spoke with a slight smile on his face, "Good. You should be happy then because your eldest daughter Helena possesses the talent to cultivate."


    "Talent in cultivation?" The father and daughter duo was quite simply dumbfounded to hear those words from Sargan.


    The two stared at each other before huge smiles broke out on their faces.


    Tore spoke in excitement, "Is that really the truth, sir? My daughter possesses the talent to cultivate?!"


    Those questions could be considered quite rude since it meant Tore doubted Sargan''s words. However, Sargan let that go because he knew that Tore was just too excited to give a thought to his manners.


    "That''s correct. Helena has missed her golden period to cultivate." Sargan spoke sincerely.


    He also added, "However, all is not lost. Helena can still cultivate if she begins as soon as possible. She would need to work twice as hard to reach a suitable rank."


    "She will begin as soon as possible. Please guide her, sir." Tore spoke without even asking Helena. He looked absolutely thrilled to hear this news.


    He knew that the cultivators were normally quite rich. They would be able to afford all sorts of things, and they were also very strong.


    Their family would never encounter difficulty once Helena became a cultivator.


    Sargan spoke with a solemn look, "Do not be in such a hurry. Listen to my wordspletely."


    Tore immediately tried to suppress his excitement.


    Once Sargan saw that Tore had calmed down slightly, he continued, "For her to begin her path of cultivation, she would need to leave the house. She is going to join my friend''s sect and cultivate as hard as possible. It would be a very long time before she can see you all."


    Tore and Helena''s excitement was immediately reduced. The two stared at each other, with Helena having a worried look in her eyes.


    "¡­My family would copse if I left. I''m putting forth a lot of effort to help my sister get into an art school. I don''t want her to stay in this ce for the rest of her life." Helena spoke with a determined look.


    Sargan remained calm even after hearing her.


    "Your family won''t be helpless even after you leave. I have an empty vi within sector 8. If you ept my offer, Your family will live in that vi, and they will even be provided with a good stipend every month. How your family decides to use that money is up to them. Also, once you are powerful enough to begin earning on your own, you can send the money to them." Sargan said to her with a calm look.


    Helena still appeared to be quite hesitant. Sargan then told her, "You don''t need to make a decision immediately. I will give you one day. Think about the offer carefully and discuss it with your family. I wille tomorrow at this time."


    He soon asked them to return.


    As Helena was returning, she asked her father about it.


    Tore was advising her to ept this offer. He knew that if she had no future if she continued to live like this.


    She would only be able to earn a feeble amount through these misceneous jobs. It won''t be enough for her to survive for herself.


    Moreover, through cultivating, she could be a powerful warrior possessing a good status and wealth.


    After returning to her house, Tore told the entire thing to his wife.


    His wife had the same opinion as Tore. She personally knew how hard it was for women to live in this area.


    If Helena really became a warrior, life would indeed be a bit easy for them.


    Helena eventually decided to ept Sargan''s offer after some discussion with her family. She reasoned that if Sargan was speaking the truth and her family was properly cared for financially, she could dedicate herself to cultivation.


    The only one who didn''t know about Helena''s decision was her younger sister Kate.


    The family intended to keep this from Kate since they knew how attached she was to her elder sister. She would insist on apanying her sister.


    They nned to tell her only after Helena had left.


    ~~


    The next day, Sargan appeared at the promised time.


    As he entered the house, he met with Tore. The man immediately called out for his daughter.


    Helena soon left her room with a bag in her hand.


    Her choice was apparent to Sargan.


    He gave her a smile and then said Tore, "You should pack up and follow me. It''s time for you to change your house."


    Helena''s eyes widened slightly. This meant Sargan was going to keep his word!


    Tore and his wife had already packed up everything. They brought out their bags as well and left their house.


    Outside the house, they saw arge carriage waiting for them.


    Helena couldn''t help but stare at Sargan and think ''He knew I would ept his offer and came prepared.''


    In truth, Sargan believed that only a fool would refuse his offer if he were in Helena''s shoes. Thus, he hade prepared.


    Currently, Helena''s mother was carrying Kate as the little girl was sleeping right now. It was a good thing she was sleeping since the young girl would have caused a ruckus with her endless questions.


    Soon, the entire family and Sargan reached the vi in Sector 8.


    When Helena and her family saw the vi, they werepletely awe-struck at its size.


    It wasn''t the first time they saw arge house, but to think that they would be living in such a house delighted them.


    Helena looked in Sargan''s direction and understood that he was truly rich. She was now more curious about the location where she would begin her cultivation.


    After her family settled down, Helena left with Sargan.


    Sargan made her sit in a carriage and told the location to the carriage driver. He also handed over some 60 Spirit Coins along with 100 Gold Coins.


    Helena''s hands were shaking as she held the pouch containing that huge wealth. Even if shebined her family''s lifetime ie, she knew that it would never reach this sum.


    Moreover, when she nced at Sargan''s face, it appeared as if he was worried that he had given her too little and wanted to give her more Spirit Coins.


    With that, Helena departed for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, where Tiana was waiting for her.


    She became the second member of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.

 Chapter 184 - A Foolish Tactic

    Rashire City, The Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Edwin had returned to the Walsh Dukedom''s Mansion. He had seeded in his task of using his identity to rope in the Radiant Church.


    In reality, using his identity to do such a thing had its disadvantages. If the Pope contacted an angel supervising him, he would find out that there was no Holy Son named Nudar.


    Once the Pope realized that he had been fooled, he was bound to be furious.


    However, it went without saying that the Pope wouldn''t ask for confirmation. The man was lost in his own little beautiful dreams.


    The Pope knew that if he helped a Holy Son, he would be generously rewarded. He might even receive the Divine Blessings of God and get a chance to innately cultivate the Holy Ardor.


    He would ascend from the Rank of Pope and be a Divine Envoy and be allowed to live in Heaven.


    However, for his beautiful dreams to turn into reality, Edwin would have to be a Holy Son. His longing to be a Divine Envoy prevented him from having doubts regarding Edwin''s identity as a Holy Son.


    Currently, he believed that this was the truth, and he would be able to instantly soar to the heavens after destroying the Roger Dukedom.


    Naturally, this was nothing more than wishful thinking on his part.


    Edwin met up with Siluca Walsh. He frankly informed her, "The Radiant Church has agreed to cooperate with us."


    Siluca nodded and then asked him, "What were their conditions?"


    Edwin couldn''t say that the Radiant Church put up no conditions. He was already prepared for this, though.


    "They have asked the Walsh Dukedom to prevent any aid from reaching the Roger Dukedom for one month. They are going to handle the extermination of the Roger Dukedom by themselves." Edwin spoke.


    "They are really confident. What makes the Radiant Church think they can destroy the strongest dukedom in this Kingdom? Is it due to the support of the angels?" Siluca asked with a scowl.


    Edwin replied, "The power of the Radiant Church is something even I can''t correctly estimate. From my observation, the Pope appeared quite calm and confident in dealing with the Roger Dukedom. I didn''t ask him about it lest he would suspect me."


    Siluca let out a sigh. She had thought that the Radiant Church would ask them for a group of high-rank warriors. If that was the case, Siluca would have been delighted.


    During a critical moment, her soldiers couldunch a surprise attack on the Radiant Church''s people, killing everyone.


    She mentioned this tactic to Edwin, and after hearing it, he couldn''t help but stare at her with a disdainful look in his eyes.


    Siluca frowned upon noticing Edwin''s gaze. She didn''t like how he was gazing at her with that scornful look.


    "Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, with a bit of authority present in her voice.


    As a duchess, she naturally demanded respect from Edwin. However, Edwin rolled his eyes upon hearing that question.


    "Do you think with your toes? What a foolish tactic you thought up." Edwin was certainly merciless with his words.


    His words made Siluca flinch, but she remained quiet and decided to hear him outpletely. He would rarely say something illogical.


    Edwin continued, "Don''t say whether you seed in harming the Radiant Church with this or not. Let''s say you are sessful in truly destroying the Radiant Church by stabbing them in the back. Don''t you understand that if you attempt this, the Walsh Dukedom will be at the end of its line?"


    Seeing the confused look on Siluca''s face, Edwin let out a sigh and began to exin, "The news of the Walsh Dukedom cooperating with the Radiant Church would soon spread in the entire Kingdom. During a key moment, if your men truly stab the Radiant Church in the back, then what do you think the Roger Dukedom will do? They will record this incident using the Visionary Spiritual Jade."


    "They will have two possibilities after that. One would be to use that Image in the Visionary Spiritual Jade and ckmail you through it. The other would be to directly spread the Visionary Spiritual Jade."


    "Through the first possibility, the Roger Dukedom would eat up your entire Dukedom and then destroy you while if they went along with the second possibility, they would directly destroy your dukedom."


    It was at that moment that the realization dawned in Siluca''s mind.


    She now understood the massive blunder of her tactic, "Once the people find out about this, the Radiant Church''s followers all over the Sinyalian Kingdom will be our enemy."


    Edwin nodded and spoke, "That''s correct. And after making the citizens of the entire Sinyalian Kingdom your enemy, your Dukedom will not be able to survive. The King would be extremely pleased to listen to his citizens and provide justice to the dead Radiant Church''s clerics by raising his butcher''s knife. You can guess the result after that."


    A bead of sweat trickled down Siluca''s face. She wasn''t perspiring because of the hot temperature but because of the nervousness. That was truly a terrible n.


    She couldn''t help but raise her head and ask Edwin, "¡­Then what should we do?" She had no choice but to ask for his assistance again.


    Siluca had noticed that she was relying on Edwin even more. It was a terrible mistake. She didn''t have much choice, though.


    She couldn''t see a path forward. She didn''t know how she could take down the Radiant Church without looking suspicious.


    Every time she promised herself that this would be thest time she sought his help, another issue arose that she needed his help with.


    She believed that the faulty with Edwin since he would always give her a good solution.


    Edwin had finished thinking of a solution and began speaking, "In reality, it''s not such a major issue. The Radiant Church has asked the Walsh Dukedom to prevent any aid to reach the Roger Dukedom. If your men ck off and some help does reach the Roger Dukedom, it can''t be considered your fault, right?"


    There was a clever smirk on his face.


    Siluca instantly understood what he was trying to say. She had to admit, it was a good idea. And there was no way the Roger Dukedom could turn the situation on them.


    "The better question would be just how strong the Radiant Church is."


    "If the Pope can summon just a single Angel, it will be a close fight between the Radiant Church and Roger Dukedom. However, if the number of angels he can summon is 2 or 3, the Roger Dukedom will be utterly destroyed."


    Edwin spoke in his heart ''And if that Pope can by any chance summon an Archangel, then all kinds of tactics will be meaningless.''


    There was only a low chance of this happening.


    The Archangels should have been sent to churches that had a higher priority or a higher ranking.


    "The only thing we can do for now is to prepare for the worst-case scenario. That would be the Pope summoning three Angels." Edwin spoke with a confident look on his face. He did have a n in his mind.


    Seeing his confident face, Siluca couldn''t help but nkly stare at him. She appeared to be lost in her fantasies.


    It was only when Edwin shook her body a little that she woke up. Once Siluca jolted out of her fantasies, she instantly blushed and moved her body a little while facing Edwin.


    "Sorry, I was lost in thoughts. What were you saying?" She asked him calmly while trying to hide her tomato-red face.


    "I said, be ready to spend a lot of money."

 Chapter 185 - Shuns Investigation

    Roger House''s Mansion.


    Steven Roger, the Head of the Roger Dukedom, was having a fierce discussion with Shun.


    "Why do you insist on hiring certain organizations to fight the Radiant Church, Inquisitor Fox? If word got out that the Roger Dukedom needed their support to survive, our reputation would be tarnished forever!" Steven Roger yelled.


    Currently, Shun had just given a proposal for Steven Roger to hire the Nemesis Order, the Spectral Squad, and the Phantom Assembly to assist the Roger Dukedom in their battle against the Radiant Church.


    Each one of these organizations was extremely famous within the Sinyalian Kingdom. Although their prestige wasn''t at the level of the Silent Death Organization, it wasn''t much lesspared to it.


    Both the Nemesis Order and the Spectral Squad were led by 6 Star Warriors, respectively.


    However, just as Steven had spoken, if word got out that the Roger Dukedom required the support of these organizations to defeat the Radiant Church, their prestige would inevitably drop.


    Shun appeared to have expected Steven Roger to bepletely against his idea. He responded calmly, "Including you, there are three 6 Star Warriors within the Roger Dukedom. If even I know this without you telling me, then the Radiant Church should also be aware of it. Yet, they confidently stated they could deal with you. They actually dered it publicly. What do you think it means?"


    "It wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that they have some special means to deal with the 6 Star Warriors of the Roger Dukedom. As for how they will deal with them. It could be a Holy Pill, a Holy Weapon, an Array, or even the assistance of some warriors," Shun''s voice was extremely harsh towards the end.


    Steven understood what Shun wanted to say. In fact, he knew about it ever without Shun mentioning it.


    He had already lost to the Radiant Church in terms of information warfare. They had some information about his trump cards, while he had no idea about their hidden aces.


    "I believe it would be time for you to set your priorities straight. Do you want your Dukedom to survive or just your prestige?"


    Shun cut off the connection between them after saying that.


    He wasn''t really angry at Steven, though. A man who led this Great Dukedom was bound to hesitate to take decisions that would harm his Noble House''s prestige.


    Currently, Steven was roaming on the streets of Rashire City without hiding his face. Fortunately, this was the Northern Part of the Sinyalian Kingdom, and nobody recognized him here.


    If it was the Southern Part of the Sinyalian kingdom, he would need a mask or a hood to wander in the streets of a city so freely. After all, he was extremely famous over there due to his prestige as ''<strong>The Golden Mayor</strong><em><strong>.</strong></em>''


    Even Steven Roger wasn''t aware that Shun was strolling in Rashire City.


    The reason for Shun to be strolling around in Rashire City was very simple. It was to gather information regarding the Radiant Church.


    He knew that information would y a key role between the Roger Dukedom and the Radiant Church.


    As a result, he came to obtain the least information to quickly update Steven Roger and avoid any dys on their end.


    He also wanted to find out just who would be supporting the Radiant Church.


    If he could figure out the identity of the warriorsing to support the Radiant Church, he could think of some countermeasures to nullify their abilities.


    Shun bribed a few people who went to a ce near the Radiant Church. After bribing them, he asked them a few questions regarding the Radiant Church. Like whether someone had visited them in the recent days or not.


    After questioning 10 or so people, there was finally someone who could answer his questions.


    It was a teenage boy at around 14 years of age. He spoke, "It was right after the Radiant Church announced that the Roger Dukedom had attacked and destroyed one of their churches in Kresa Town, killing everyone inside. My friends and I went to the Radiant Church to offer up our services to them."


    Shun''s expression turned grave. He had always known that the people believed a lot in the Radiant Church, but he had never expected their faith to be so strong.


    Just because the Radiant Church had dered one of their churches was destroyed by the Roger Dukedom, the people believed them without any suspicion.


    It had to be known that the Roger Dukedom had publicly denied any usations by the Radiant Church. However, it didn''t seem to matter to these people.


    Shun didn''t cut him off, though. He continued to listen to the boy, "At that time, we weren''t allowed to enter the Radiant Church. The deacon mentioned that it was because the Pope was meeting someone important. So we had to return."


    "When we came outside, we saw that a carriage with the Walsh Dukedom''s symbol stood on the side."


    "Walsh Dukedom?" When Shun heard that it was someone from Walsh Dukedom, he wasn''t worried or anxious. In fact, he appeared to be extremely happy.


    His deduction was correct!


    The Walsh Dukedom was truly involved in this matter. And now, they were probably trying to join hands with the Radiant Church.


    But this wasn''t the only thing he had deduced.


    He knew that since the Walsh Dukedom was involved in this, Edwin Rhodes, the reincarnated ''<em><strong>Tyrannical Asura Devil God</strong></em>,'' would also be involved.


    This was because he had deduced that Edwin Rhodes was the Dark Shadow. A 5 Star Array Master who had assigned many Noble Families.


    He managed to deduce the truth regarding the Dark Shadow''s identity by personally visiting Kloras Town just a month ago.


    A month ago, Shun had also heard about the appearance of a mysterious array master who would help Noble Families.


    A few investigators were sent to find the identity of this Mysterious Array Master named Dark Shadow.


    However, no matter how well they investigated, they came up with nothing. One of the investigators was Shun''s good friend, and he asked for Shun''s help.


    Even after Shun''s advice, his friend and his group could not find anything rted to Dark Shadow''s True Identity.


    This made Shun quite curious about this Dark Shadow. He had already asked his friend''s group to check out the suspicious locations, but they found nothing.


    At that moment, he recalled the detail that Edwin Rhodes was a reincarnated Demon God, and he was also an Array Master. Perhaps even an Array Grandmaster.


    Once he recalled that detail, he asked them to investigate which arrays he worked on and how they worked.


    Shun personally requested the King to send a few Array Masters to investigate those arrays.


    The 5 Star Array Masters in the nearby area around those Noble Families paid a visit to check out those arrays.


    Each one of them was full of praise regarding the arrays. Whether it was the concept, the ability, and effectiveness, it had reached a level beyond their understanding.


    In fact, a few of these array masters even experienced enlightenment, and their abilities were enhanced after analyzing those arrays.


    Once Shun heard them, he was 40% sure of his guess. To be more than 70% sure, he had to check out Kloras Town.


    ording to what he knew, Dark Shadow wasst spotted in the Sutton House nearly 2 days ago.


    This meant that no matter how quick Edwin was, he couldn''tplete his task in Sutton Noble House within 2 days and reach Kloras Town before Shun.


    The distance between the Sutton House''s territory and Kloras Town wasrger than between Kloras Town and Vanta City.


    Thus, Shun immediately departed for Kloras Town.


    It took him just a bit more than a week to reach Kloras Town. And after reaching Kloras Town, he was delighted to see that his guess was turning out to be correct.


    Edwin Rhodes wasn''t in Kloras Town.


    In fact, as he asked in Town, it seemed as though he hadn''t made a public appearance within thest few months, which coincided with the arrival and works of Dark Shadow.


    Now, Shun was nearly 70% sure of his guess.


    A week or soter, he found out that a Radiant Church''s branch in Kresa Town had been destroyed, and it was the Roger Dukedom who did it.


    Shun immediately contacted his Inquisitor friends and asked them to check whether or not the Roger Dukedom or the Radiant Church was looking for a 5 Star Array Master recently.


    Nearly half a dayter, his friends contacted him and informed him that neither of the two was actually looking for a 5 Star Array Master. In reality, it was the Walsh Dukedom that was looking for a 5 Star Array Master.


    Once Shun heard about it, he understood the situation and knew Dark Shadow''s current location. It was the Walsh Dukedom!


    And now, after the information that the Walsh Dukedom had joined hands with the Radiant Church to attack the Roger Dukedom, he was utterly sure of his guess.


    Although he didn''t perfectly understand why Edwin would attack the Roger Dukedom, that was no longer the main point. Perhaps that Demon God merely wanted to weaken the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    If that was the case, then he couldn''t allow the Roger Dukedom to lose this battle.


    Shun immediately contacted Steven Roger and informed him that the Walsh Dukedom had joined hands with the Radiant Church.


    They were going tounch a coordinated attack at the Roger Dukedom.


    Now, this information was more than enough for Steven Roger to let go of his pride and hire the organizations mentioned by Shun.


    Since the Roger Dukedom was outnumbered against the Walsh Dukedom and the Radiant Church, they had to bnce the scales by adding more parties.

 Chapter 186 - Connecting With The Labyrinth

    Within shire City, Yrellea had already gathered nearly 40 enchantresses for herself and had been training her.


    Each of them was talented in different fields. Thus, Yrellea had to check their skills and also inform them how they should improve. She was the audience as well as their leader.


    She chose some beautiful clothes for these women.


    Andst but not the least, she taught them Misty Flower Technique given to her by Azaroth.


    The women would use this technique to generate invisible mist-like energy that would gradually spread throughout the building.


    Yrellea possessed the skill known as the Misty Flower Controlling Technique. This was a much superior technique to Misty Flower Technique. She was, after all, the leader, so Azaroth had to make sure that her cultivation was better. Using this technique, she could control the mist and spread it how she wanted it to.


    Azaroth also gave another technique that could also control this Misty Energy. It was a downgraded version of the Misty Flower Controlling Technique. Azaroth told her that she could spread this to her subordinate who would manage the branch of the Misty Flower Pavillion.


    This Misty Flower Controlling Technique was highlypatible with Yrellea''s Heavenly Poison Scripture. Her speed at cultivation wasn''t affected by much, and her Ardor became sturdier.


    Yrellea had just reached the 3rd Stage of the Misty Flower Controlling Technique, while her subordinates had reached the 1st Stage after cultivating for nearly 2-3 weeks.


    Their talent in cultivation wasn''t good, and Yrellea informed Azaroth about this issue.


    Azaroth was thinking of a solution and asked Yrellea to do things at her pace. In fact, help them a little by using the Misty Flower Controlling Technique.


    Yrellea''s technique allowed her to control and discharge Mist-like energy from her body. Furthermore, this mist-like energy was a better version of the mist that her subordinates had unleashed.


    Now, this mist was quite a special thing. It wasn''t poison and wouldn''t harm a warrior''s body.


    Instead, it would rx their minds while also activating their various hormones. Most of these hormones were rted to rxation and ecstasy. The ecstasy they felt was much more addicting than any drug.


    Once experienced, their body would demand it more and more. It would be to such an extent that the people would need toe to the Misty Flower Pavillion to deal with their frustrations once a day. Not just that, but the target would never think of using violence on the women releasing these mists.


    In fact, they would try all methods to woo them.


    Yrellea had already informed them that they couldn''t fall in love with a customer. Moreover, she also informed all these women to keep an eye on each other.


    If they felt that someone''s actions were suspicious, they had to secretly inform Yrellea, and she would deal with the matter.


    These women had barely broken through to the 1st Stage of the Misty Flower Technique. So they couldn''t release a lot of this Mist-like energy.


    It was a good thing that Yrellea was constructing a closed building first. It would be easy to spread this mist and contain it within a closed building.


    If they advanced to the second stage of this cultivation technique, she would passively release this invisible mist-like energy.


    At that time, even open pavilions with a much greater audience would work.


    Actually, all the women trained by Yrellea weren''t going to perform on the stage. Only the ones who possessed good skills would perform on the stage.


    Yrellea was going to choose 10 women who would perform on stage every week.


    During that week, the other women had to continue their background training while working on doing the auxiliary tasks in the Misty Flower Pavillion. Like, bartending or serving and so on.


    It could be argued that she could hire some people for these jobs. However, Yrellea''s main aim wasn''t pleasing these customers but to acquire the information. This would be her subordinates'' main task.


    Currently, Yrellea didn''t have much of an idea of how she should manage the information. But she thought that she would think of it when the situation bes grave.


    It wasn''t her task to know everything. Her task would be that she must be capable of finding anything that Azaroth asks her to. These two things were quite different.


    Having all information would be a very arduous task. Most of it would be useless information that wouldn''t be of much use to Azaroth.


    Even if there was some useful information within it, Yrellea or her subordinates wouldn''t know about it. In fact, they could even discard some truly useful information for Azaroth.


    Thus, Azaroth had ordered Yrellea to create this pavilion to gather sensitive information from people visiting this ce.


    In this information department, there were two parts. One was the active part, where the person had to move around and nt spies within useful ces. These people weren''t just spies who would give information but also possess a bit of power to change the events ording to how Azaroth wanted.


    This was Sargan''s job.


    Meanwhile, the second part was passive. It would be something where the people would regrlye, and any information asked from them. Naturally, they won''t remember any of that conversation while they are returning. This was Yrellea''s job.


    She was going to create this Misty Flower Pavillion in each city within the Glerian Kingdom. As the Misty Flower Pavillion bes famous, the Misty Flower Pavillion would attract even prestigious people, and Azaroth would know even more sensitive info.


    At the least, he wouldn''t be facing ack of information in any situation.


    Once the Misty Flower Pavillion had expanded enough in the Glerian Kingdom, the next stop would be other kingdoms.


    However, it would take a lot of time for Misty Flower Pavillion to expand to this level.


    Around this time, Sargan had gone to investigate the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons near shire City.


    Very few men knew about this Underground Labyrinth, and the Governor and hisrades wanted to keep it that way, so they didn''t assign any guards around this ce.


    This would most definitely prevent the information about it from spreading wildly.


    Sargan''s spy had coincidentally overheard this information. The servant was very greedy for money and knew he would only be rich if he provided Sargan with a piece of valuable information.


    Thus, he was trying his best to find some sort of valuable information. Coincidentally, the servant walked in when his master talked to hisrades. The servant used the excuse of asking for food.


    Even though Sargan was sure that no one would be guarding the entrance, he was still quite cautious and wore a mask along with his dark cloak.


    He observed the door very carefully. A slightly surprised look appeared on his face as he saw 6 rings drawn on the door.


    These rings denoted the power of the master of this Underground Labyrinth of the Demons. Six rings meant that the master of this Underground Labyrinth was a Demon King.


    Sargan took out a knife and shed his hand with it. Blood began to flow out from his hand, and Sargan controlled the blood before making it touch the entrance door of the Underground Labyrinth of the Demon King.


    Once his blood came in contact with the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons, Sargan used his Evil Eyes to activate his Bloodline.


    Sargan''s Bloodline possessed a trace of Demon Emperor''s power in it. Thus, the Labyrinth rumbled before it came to a pause.


    Sargan suddenly felt his spirit shaking and arge amount of information flooding his mind.


    Currently, Sargan''s Spiritual Energy was connecting with the Labyrinth.


    His Spiritual Energy would soon be able to cover the entire area around the Labyrinth. Not just that, but because of his Superior Bloodline, the Labyrinth would soon fall under hisplete control.


    Once Sargan''s Spiritual Energy connected with the Labyrinth, he didn''t immediately open the entrance. In fact, his eyes widened due to shock, and a frown appeared on his face.


    It was only natural for him to be shocked and displeased. It was because after his Spiritual Energy connected with the Underground Labyrinth, he ''sensed'' three 5 Star Warriors hidden near his location.. All of them were gazing in his direction, seemingly ready to pounce at him.

 Chapter 187 - Void Ring

    Due to the high rank of his Bloodline, Sargan could connect to the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons near shire City.


    His sensing range expanded while he could also sense therge distance in greater detail. This wasn''t Sargan''s own skill but the skill he gained after connecting with the Underground Labyrinth. If he cut off this connection, he would immediately lose these sensing abilities.


    And currently, Sargan sensed the presence of three 5 Star Warriors near his position. They appeared ready to ponce at him at any moment.


    He was somewhat nervous as he understood he had been tricked.


    <em>''The Governor or someone else already found out my spies. However, they intentionally didn''t expose them to find how I would use this information.''</em>


    It went without saying that whoever thought up of such a move was quite bold. The man was risking to expose this Underground Labyrinth by letting someone unknown know of it.


    However, Sargan had failed to consider that the Underground Labyrinth couldn''t remain concealed for long.


    Thus, the Governor was trying to fish out the spies as well as their masters and find out whether someone possessed the ability to unlock this entrance or not.


    These 5 Star Warriors were perhaps his most loyal men. And they were immediately waiting for Sargan to unlock the door or show any sign that he could unlock it.


    He knew that they wouldn''t allow him to leave. They would attack him if he even turned his body.


    Strangely, although he felt a strong sense of danger, he didn''t feel any fear. He felt strangely calm.


    This was not something he had experienced before. However, it felt to him as if the entire situation was still under his control.


    He then looked at the entrance of the Underground Labyrinth.


    Suddenly, he understood that, in reality, he wasn''t in such a bad situation.


    <em>''They still don''t know that I know about their presence here. I can turn this situation.''</em> Sargan thought while looking at the giant door in front of him.


    He soon began to walk towards the entrance.


    As soon as he took the first step, he sensed these three warriors tremble a bit. It was as if they wanted to charge forwards and capture Sargan immediately.


    However, the three endured this feeling and allowed Sargan to walk towards the entrance. In their minds, they were still unsure whether Sargan had found a way to open this entrance or not.


    Since he was walking towards the entrance, there was a chance his method might work. If it did, they just had to capture him and force him to spill the beans.


    Sargan soon touched the entrance door of the Underground Labyrinth.


    As soon as he did, he revealed a smirk. It was a victorious smirk.


    The warriors monitoring him immediately noticed that smirk. One of them guessed that it was directed at them.


    He immediately sent a signal to his other tworades through a Spiritual Stone and thenunched himself at Sargan.


    Hisrades were slightly slower as they alsounched towards Sargan.


    Sargan could feel tyrannical energy over his body. He knew that these 5 Star Warriors were using their Ardor to suppress him.


    At this time, his gravity training came to use. Even though Sargan''s cultivation couldn''t bepared to these warriors, his physique was much stronger.


    That ten times gravity training had excavated a lot of potential of his Demon''s Physique. At the least, he could remain standing for 10 seconds.


    These three warriors charging towards Sargan immediately felt strange energy near him.


    One of them immediately called out for hisrades, "Stop! Don''t get near him. It''s a trap!"


    This was the very same person who had caught onto Sargan''s smirk and felt it was directed at them.


    Thus, he decided to capture Sargan immediately.


    He had no idea, though, that Sargan was deliberately baiting them. His nerves must have been of ice since he could suppress his emotions while being aware of the situation.


    Anyway, when his other tworades hear of his warning, they immediately halted their momentum. Though, it was a pity. Even after the two halted their momentum and stopped at their spots, they were still in Sargan''s range.


    A secondter, Sargan whispered, "<em><strong>Void Ring</strong></em>."


    An illusionary ring of pure Spatial Laws appeared around Sargan.


    Not only did Sargan disappear from his spot, but a ring of pure Spatial Laws sliced apart the two men who had entered the Void Ring.


    Even though they were much stronger than Sargan, it didn''t matter at all in front of this Void Ring.


    It still sliced off their bodies by their waist. The cut was quite clean, and the two warriors'' bodies couldn''t pose up the slightest resistance to that attack.


    "<strong>Gyaaaaah!</strong>"


    "<strong>AAAAAH¡­</strong>"


    The two let out ear-splitting screams with all their might. The pain they were experiencing was certainly more than anything they had experienced in their life.


    The most they could do was use all their Ardor and force their upper body to get out of the Void Ring.


    When they looked at their lower body''s condition, a chill ran down their spine.


    The area under the Void Ring had reduced by a long, and their Lower Body still within it was shredded to pieces due to the strong Spatial Attacks.


    Not just them, but the third warrior who had stopped a bit earlier and seen this scene was quite frightened as well.


    It was the first time he had seen such brutality by his own eyes. He resisted the urge to throw up as he looked around to find Sargan.


    He soon let out a sigh as he understood that this man was on the other side of the door.


    "Looks like we encountered a monster. I will report to the Governor and also request him to look for medicines to heal you. It was my negligence that hurt you. Forgive me," The man spoke with a hint of regret in his voice.


    "Leader¡­" The two warriors couldn''t help but try their best to hold back their tears.


    Their leader was quite cold and would usually scold them greatly. It was the first time he had asked for forgiveness. Moreover, he genuinely appeared sad at their injuries.


    Soon, the two fell down on the ground with a dazed look.


    They were losing a lot of blood very quickly. Thus, their mind was slowly falling into a deep sleep.


    Their leader soon picked up their bodies and took them to a famous medic in shire City. That blood loss had to be stopped, or else they might very well lose their lives.


    As the three warriors left the area, a man d in a dark robe was soon visible in the underground tunnel.


    This was Sargan. In reality, he couldn''t enter the Underground Labyrinth without opening the gates.


    Thus, he had decided to bait them into attacking him. There were three defensive arrays on the Gate that would activate through his Ardor and one illusionary array.


    He used one of them to create the Void Ring and slice apart the bodies of two warriors.


    At the same time, he also activated the illusionary array around himself to make them believe he had vanished into the Underground Labyrinth.


    They had no idea he couldn''t enter without opening the Gates. Thus, they were easily fooled.


    The entrance gate to the Underground Labyrinth rumbled as it opened. Sargan didn''t waste any time and leaped inside immediately.


    Once he was inside, he closed the gate immediately. Moreover, he then pressed his palm over the inner side of the gate and activated a barrier around this Labyrinth. No one except the people chosen by him would be able to enter this barrier.


    <em>''Hopefully, there are resources inside that can sustain this barrier for a long time.''</em>

 Chapter 188 - A New Training Regimen

    Laura and Noah had been training their groups in their own way since the day they fought against each other.


    After the fight, Noah''s group had high morale while the morale of Laura''s group significantly lessened.


    Azaroth''s speech had motivated them. They were filled with a desire to prove their superiority to him.


    They wanted to tell him that they really possessed the determination he was looking for.


    Meanwhile, the thoughts of Noah''s men were rtively simple. They simply didn''t want to experience a beating from Noah''s hands. Thus, they tried their best to win.


    As they fought, they felt as though Laura''s men were attacking them in slow motion.


    This sort of feeling was quite natural. During this time, these warriors had fought against Noah for so long that they were slowly getting used to his speed.


    They had begun to react to attacks they couldn''t even see before. This wasn''t obvious when they were fighting Noah since the oue was always the same. Utter destruction under Noah''s hands.


    However, now that they fought against Laura''s men, they realized just how fast they had gotten aspared to before.


    Their strength was also much greater. Moreover, the richbat experience along with trained eyes¡­


    Meanwhile, Laura had little to no idea how she should train her men. She had been scolded by Azaroth and wanted to improve her training method because it was clear to her that her elders'' training methods to train her won''t work on these humans.


    Azaroth appeared near her training ground. He was observing her training methods from a distance.


    Laura appeared to have changed their targets from fast-moving tree branches.


    However, it didn''t appear as if any of the arrows contacted those fast-moving tree branches.


    Azaroth soon approached this group. When Laura saw Azarothing, there was an embarrassed expression on her face. She hadn''t found an optimal method to train her group. She didn''t have the guts to face Azaroth.


    Thus, she looked around, trying to prevent herself from looking into his eyes.


    However, Azaroth stood in front of her, staring at her with those red eyes as deep as the abyss.


    Azaroth spoke calmly, "Face me, Laura."


    His voice, although spoken calmly, had a hint ofmand within it.


    Laura felt forced to obey thatmand and looked at Azaroth. Her emerald eyes were fixated on Azaroth''s ruby eyes.


    Azaroth asked with the same neutral tone, "What''s the matter?"


    Laura replied after a second, "¡­I am confused, master. I can''t create golems or other wooden beings to give thembat experience. If they fight against each other, they still won''t gain experience against warriors skilled in closebat. And if they fight against Noah''s group again, they will lose more confidence. I don''t see a way to resolve these issues."


    Azaroth''s face appeared neutral as he heard Laura''s words. He then looked at her group and then spoke, "You do have a way to resolve this issue. And it''s actually much simpler than what you believe."


    Laura was instantly shocked and asked him, "What is it?!"


    "Attack them all with Wooden Spears. Order them to shoot these spears with their arrows or else risk being stabbed. That''s all." Azaroth gave his training method.


    The smile on Laura''s face vanished. She felt that Azaroth was just messing with her. This training method felt absolutely ridiculous. However, Laura had learned enough that it was wise to not question Azaroth without trying out what he has suggested.


    Azaroth then looked at these warriors, who appeared quite sad. They were probably still thinking about their loss at the hands of Noah''s men.


    Azaroth knew that it wasn''t the loss that had shaken them so greatly. It was the fact that they could not put up any real fight against Noah''s men.


    He wasn''t going to motivate them anymore. He had shown them a dream already. They had to refine their willpower greatly and by themselves.


    Azaroth''s assistance here would make them rely on him much more.


    Soon, Laura went and talked to her group.


    "Listen, we will temporarily change the training method. Your task will be to shoot down all the wooden spears thate towards you." Laura ordered them seriously.


    Her men had a very bad feeling about this. To them, it felt as if their life was soon going to be in danger.


    Laura stood nearly 2 Miles away. Her group members were all standing in a square formation.


    There was a considerable distance between each group member. That meant each group member was assigned a particr area. The task of the group members was to have the least number of wooden spears in their area.


    Only the Wooden Spears embedded within the ground would be counted.


    Laura raised her hands and then pointed towards her group members, "Rain of Wooden Spears!"


    Behind her body, a massive tree stem was created, which immediately shot out wooden spears from that massive tree stem.


    These wooden spears wereunched in the air. The speed of these wooden spears was quite quick.


    Before her warriors could even see these spears, nearly 10 spears were already embedded within the ground.


    It went without saying that soon her warriors realized that the Wooden Spears were quickly raining down towards them.


    They tried to shoot these Wooden Spears, but none hit the target.


    When Laura noticed that her warriors couldn''t hit the target even now, a cold light appeared in her eyes.


    Soon, one of the wooden spears stabbed a warrior from Laura''s group.


    The warrior was stabbed in the thigh, and he couldn''t help but scream out due to pain. This guy was a huge admirer of Laura. Laura chose him because he seemed to have some wild thoughts in his mind.


    She didn''t feel that bad about hurting him. The scream of this warrior was quite effective.


    It made her other warriors finally understand that this wasn''t just a training method. Laura was randomly throwing these Wooden Spears at them. And they would get hurt if they couldn''t learn to shoot them.


    At the very least, they had to learn to shoot the wooden spearsing straight for their life.


    Their nervousness and their will to survive were in fiercebat. Those whose will to survive was stronger were the ones who broke out of their shell first.


    Their arrows finally began to strike a couple of wooden spears. Laura resisted the urge to smile when she saw this scene.


    However, on the other hand, many of her other warriors were injured now because of her wooden spears.


    She had to heal them before they could begin from the start.


    However, before she could move forwards to heal them, Azaroth''s voice resounded in Laura''s mind, "Remain where you are. Don''t heal them!"


    "What? But they would be wasting valuable training time." Laura countered a bit rebelliously.


    Azaroth didn''t mind it and responded, "If you heal them, then they won''t remember this pain. Only if they feel the pain would they feel the desire to not get hurt by these spears. Now, even if they can''t strike these spears with their arrows, they would try to move from their spots and prevent getting impaled by them."


    "Due to this threat of death, they are finally going to show their true capabilities. Don''t cripple them before they show you some of their abilities.." Azaroth spoke while observing the training from a distance.

 Chapter 189 - The Kings Decision

    While Azaroth was assisting Laura to train her group members, the situation in the Sinyalian Kingdom was turning grave.


    The Pope had already gathered all of Radiant Church''s people in Rashire City. They appeared ready to attack the Roger Dukedom at any moment.


    They had naturally heard that the Roger Dukedom denied any usations by the Radiant Church.


    However, this was quite natural in the Pope''s eyes. A criminal would never admit tomitting a crime.


    The Pope even looked down on Duke Roger, who was still trying to give excuses aftermitting that heinous act.


    Nearly all the people gathered in the Radiant Church knew the situation. They didn''t seem calm at all.


    They were quite close to the priests in Kresa Town. Thus, their death angered them greatly.


    After all the clerics of the Radiant Church had gathered, the Pope announced, "We shall now depart for the Roger Dukedom! It''s time for the Radiant Church to pass judgement over these sinners!"


    The Pope''s voice was loud and clear.


    The deacons, priests, bishops, and archbishops immediately let out loud shouts of agreement.


    The King soon received the news that the Pope was departing for the Roger Dukedom with all the experts of the Radiant Church.


    It could be said that the Radiant Church wasparable to a high-end organization within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Now that the entire Radiant Church was attacking his strongest dukedom, the King couldn''t help but grow worried.


    <em>''Should I send someone to assist them?''</em>


    There were many methods that the King could adopt to protect the Roger Dukedom. One would be to seek assistance from the Oracles of the Two Divines and give them a couple of benefits in return for protecting the Roger Dukedom.


    However, even though the Oracles of the Two Divines was a rather well-spread religion all over the continent, that wasn''t the case in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Within the Sinyalian Kingdom, it had been restricted due to the Radiant Church''s presence.


    They possessed an influenceparable to the mid-rank Organization. However, annihting the Radiant Church would be impossible.


    If the Radiant Church survived, they would definitely find out that the King assisted the Roger Dukedom. At that time, they could even use their followers and instigate a civil war within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Actually, if the Radiant Church was destroyed, the civil war would


    <em>''Perhaps it''s time to sacrifice the Roger Dukedom.''</em>


    The King had essentially given up on his strongest dukedom. He knew that the next time, he had to assign more resources to the Walsh Dukedom.


    Maybe it would be good to grant the territories to the Rhodes House and promote it to a Dukedom when the situation was right.


    The King had made his decision. To prevent a civil war from urring, he would allow the situation to continue as it was. The Radiant Church would attack the Roger Dukedom, and they would probably dominate until the Roger Dukedom''s 6 Star Expertse out to defend their Noble House.


    ording to the information the King had on hand, the Radiant Church had no 6 Star Cleric. The Radiant Church couldn''t hope to win against the Roger Dukedom''s 6 Star experts.


    Now that he thought about it, the situation was still not that bad.


    The only thing that remained was to find out just how much damage the Radiant Church could inflict on the Roger Dukedom.


    The more damage they inflicted on the Roger Dukedom, the better it would be for the King.


    However, the King knew that he was too hopeful for his own good.


    It went without saying that the Roger Dukedom would be prepared for this attack from the Radiant Church.


    If they didn''t prepare proper counter-measures, they would only have themselves to me.


    Around this time, Edwin and Siluca were in the Roger Dukedom''s territory.


    They were near the location where the fight was going to break out.


    Siluca asked Edwin with a worried expression, "This will work out, right? We paid such arge sum. I hope it won''t go to waste. If we miss this opportunity, the Radiant Church won''t let us go."


    Edwin remained silent at those words.


    He actually had no surety that his n would work out. But still, his primary objective would be aplished.


    Moreover, he had another identity unknown to Siluca. As Nudar, he could be considered the Holy Son of the other religions.


    Siluca spoke once again, "Please answer me."


    Edwin let out a sigh and spoke, "I have done everything possible on my end to ensure that the n works. If it doesn''t work, then that means the Roger Dukedom has seen through it. We can''t do anything about it unless I figure out how the Roger Dukedom is countering it."


    Edwin''s words managed to convince Siluca. However, the duchess had no idea that this was a white lie.


    Edwin did have some idea how the Roger Dukedom was going to counter the Radiant Church''s attack. The Roger Dukedom only had a couple of options remaining where they could fight against the Radiant Church.


    He had gathered information about Duke Roger and formed a profile of him in his mind. ording to that profile, he could guess that man''s actions.


    Firstly, the man wouldn''t ask for assistance from some organizations. This concerned Roger Dukedom''s image.


    Moreover, the Roger Dukedom had no information regarding the fact that the Pope could summon Angels to assist him.


    Thus, it went without saying that the Roger Dukedom was in for a surprise when they fight against the Radiant Church.


    For that reason, Edwin had used the Walsh Dukedom and prepared things from his end so that the end result was in his favor.


    8 dayster, the Radiant Church soon reached near the doorsteps of the Roger Dukedom.


    Surprisingly, all the experts of the Roger Dukedom stayed in their locations. Not just that, but they were also using a Vision Transmission Array to record this exchange and then showing this vision in different parts of their territory.


    From the Roger Dukedom''s side, a single person came out to greet the clerics.


    He spoke with a wide smile, "Is the Radiant Church here to resolve the misunderstanding between us? If so, we are more than happy to have a discussion with you."


    "Discussion? What use are those discussions? We remembered that thest time we sent two archbishops to discuss some matters with you. However, what happened at the end? You attacked them and attempted to kill the two. If not for the Holy Boots worn by one of them to increase his speed, Archbishop Chris would have been buried here as well. And I would have remained in the dark about this." The Pope shouted with a scornful gaze.


    He had naturally noticed the array around them. Thus, he gave his reasoning to reject those discussions with the Roger Dukedom.


    If not, then the Roger Dukedom could give out the excuse that the Radiant Church was just too unreasonable and didn''t want to discuss anything with them.


    But now that the Pope had given this exnation, it went without saying that the Roger Dukedom couldn''t use this tactic to strike Radiant Church''s prestige.


    "As we have said before, that matter had nothing to do with the Roger Dukedom. Someone is trying to frame us. But I guess it won''t matter no matter how many times we exin it." The man looked quite distressed as he exined his side.


    The Pope couldn''t be bothered to pay attention to those words. He dered righteously, "You send your warriors to destroy our Church.. Not only did you kill innocent clerics, but you also greatly disrespected the Great Radiant God by killing his servants. And today, the Roger Dukedom will pay for its crimes!"

 Chapter 190 - Losing His Sanity

    After the deration, the Pope ordered his clerics to attack!


    "Launch your strongest attacks!"


    Upon hearing that loud shout, the delegate was instantly scared.


    The delegate was told that if he spoke exactly as scripted, the Pope wouldn''t attack the Roger Dukedom.


    The clerics soonunched their destructive attacks to destroy the Roger Dukedom''s defensive walls.


    Once those attacks struck, the walls surrounding the Roger Dukedom''s Mansion were immediately destroyed.


    In fact, the attacks went on to reach the Roger Dukedom''s Mansion.


    The side of the mansion they were attacking was where the Roger Dukedom''s servants lived.


    This was naturally captured by the Vision Transmission Array. In fact, it could be argued that this area was the center point of this Vision Transmission Array!


    Once these servants died, a couple of experts from the Roger Dukedom immediately appeared and blocked the attacks from the Radiant Church''s clerics.


    It was as if they were preparing for the Radiant Church to attack them.


    A barrier array activated and immediately kept the attacks from touching the Roger Dukedom''s mansion.


    At that moment, a deep and intimidating voice resounded in the area, "I have tried to talk to the Radiant Church to resolve this misunderstanding. But since you are intent on spilling blood, then so be it! I won''t tolerate anyone who attacks my people, no matter who it is!"


    Those words were absolutely genuine as Steven Roger had spoken his heart.


    His servants, who werepletely unaware of the scheme, were delighted to hear those words. In fact, the death of theirrades angered them. And now, the Duke Roger''s words had raised their spirits.


    They knew that this man was with them!


    Shun watched this entire scene unfold from within the Main Hall. He was clenching his fists tightly in frustration.


    He was frustrated that he had to use such a tactic to counter Azaroth''s ideas. It mentally destroyed him as he saw how these servants were killed because of his n.


    <em>''Losing my sanity would be worth it if it allows me to defeat a Demon God.''</em>


    This was his motivation right now.


    He wanted to prevent any n that Azaroth had for the Sinyalian Kingdom today! The sacrifices of these servants wouldn''t be in vain!


    Edwin and Siluca were in the area while the exchange between the Pope and the delegate from the Roger Dukedom was going on.


    He was surprised by the Roger Dukedom''s actions.


    He did expect them to allow the Radiant Church to make the first move, but what surprised him was that he sensed five 6 Star Experts in the area.


    <em>''Huh? ording to the Noble Families'' information over the Roger Dukedom, it should only have three 6 Star experts. Two of them are from the older generation. Why would Duke Roger summon his entire force to fight against the Radiant Church?''</em>


    <em>''Does he know that the Pope can summon Angels? No. That shouldn''t be true. ording to the Pope, he has never disyed this skill before. Or did the Duke acquire this information from some other country? No¡­ The Radiant Church should have better control over their secrets than this. They wouldn''t allow it to randomly spread like that.''</em>


    <em>''Also, even if they did summon their entire force, that would only add up to three. Does that mean they hired some organizations as well?''</em>


    Edwin understood that either the information he possessed was outdated or a sharp brain assisting the Roger Dukedom.


    When he thought of a sharp brain, Inquisitor Fox''s masked face appeared in his mind.


    However, he shook his head and rejected the possibility.


    <em>''The King couldn''t have asked him to step in for this matter. The King''s best option would be to give up on the Roger Dukedom. Also, this Inquisitor Fox couldn''t have known that I am involved in this matter. ording to him, I should have left the Kingdom.''</em>


    Siluca had no idea about Edwin''s thoughts. She thought everything was going ording to Edwin''s n.


    The situation yed out exactly as Edwin mentioned it to her, so she was quite delighted and relieved.


    The Roger Dukedom and the Radiant Church were embroiled in fiercebat.


    Currently, the Roger Dukedom was on the defensive. They gathered their forces and managed their formations before sending them out of the Barrier to attack the Radiant Church''s forces.


    The Pope hadn''t summoned angels on his side because the Roger Dukedom hadn''t sent their own 6 Star Warriors.


    The Pope didn''t want to summon someone as exalted as an Angel over these warriors. Only when the situation turned urgent was he nning to summon her.


    The barrier created by the Roger Dukedom wasn''t very strong. It wouldn''t be able to take more than 10 hits from the Pope and the Archbishops.


    Thus, the Roger Dukedom had to rely on their warriors sent out to fight against the Radiant Church.


    Naturally, most of them were killed before they even closed the distance between them.


    The Radiant Church''s destructive attacks were of long range. Using them, they could easily kill many warriors of the Roger Dukedom''s side.


    This continued for a couple of minutes. Suddenly, the situation was reversed.


    This reversal urred because of the sudden dissolution of the barrier around the Roger Dukedom''s Mansion, and hundreds of warriors charged towards the Radiant Church''s clerics from different directions.


    The warriors of the Roger Dukedom were much superior in terms of numbers, but their cultivation wasckingpared to the Radiant Church''s experts.


    Thus, just one hit from the Radiant Church''s experts and the warriors of the Roger Dukedom would sleep for eternity.


    However, right now, the Roger Dukedom''s warriors were charging at the Radiant Church''s experts from five different directions.


    They had definitely done many drills to practice this movement. It was far too quick, and it didn''t allow the Radiant Church the slightest chance to react.


    By the time the Radiant Church''s experts looked around to check the number of their enemies, the Roger Dukedom''s experts were already upon them.


    The Pope used his Holy Weapons and even the suppressive ability as a 5 Star Cleric to keep the enemies away from the core of their formation. Still, it wasn''t enough to keep these hordes of experts away from the Radiant Church''s experts.


    After all, the most the Pope could suppress were less than 30 people. However, there were hundreds of warriors charging towards the Radiant Church''s experts.


    Also, simr to Laura''s group, these clerics weren''t talented inbat at all. In fact, theirbat experience was even inferior to the warriors in Laura''s group.


    Thus, as soon as this fight became a closebat fight, the Roger Dukedom''s warriors immediately began to dominate this battle.


    In the distance, Edwin was once again surprised.


    On the surface, it appeared as if these many warriors were released topletely suppress the Radiant Church and destroy them, but Edwin that this definitely wasn''t the case.


    In fact, the Roger Dukedom''s true trump cards were still in their original positions. They hadn''t taken a step forward.


    This meant they were waiting for something. That something could only be the Radiant Church''s trump cards.


    <em>''Duke Roger is unexpectedly bold at this moment. He has sent more than 40% warriors under him just to force out the Radiant Church''s trump card.''</em>

 Chapter 191 - Shameless Trick

    The Pope had naturally noticed that the clerics on his side were suffering. He hadn''t expected that Duke Roger would gather so many forces to fight against them.


    It felt as though Duke Roger was aware of his trump cards. However, he wasn''t flustered.


    He was extremely confident in the Radiant Church''s ability to keep a secret. Even the Archbishops wouldn''t know about the true secrets before bing a Pope.


    Only after bing a Pope do these clerics realize the significant distance between a Pope and an Archbishop.


    No matter how hard an Archbishop worked, he could never fill up that gap in the rank.


    This gap in the rank wasn''t just the cultivation difference between the two. It was a difference in their value and loyalty.


    Only the Archbishops who had proven their value and loyalty to the Celestials would get the chance to be a Pope and learn the true secrets of the Radiant Church.


    An Archbishop would rarely get the chance to interact with a Celestial, and it would be extremely difficult to make a good impression on them within that short period.


    The Pope here had seeded in that difficult task. He knew that he couldn''t allow his men to continue to suffer these casualties.


    It was time for him to utilize his first trump card.


    The bracelet on his wrist began to shine. It was giving off an extremely Holy Aura.


    The Roger Dukedom''s contracted warriors were all seasonedbatants. They all possessed incredibly keen senses and could sense a threat to their lives.


    Most of them turned their heads towards the Pope''s side. They noticed that he was releasing an unreal amount of Holy Ardor.


    "Let''s take him down before he canunch that attack."


    Amander ordered his subordinates and moved to attack the Pope.


    However, this was a blunder. Themander had wrongly estimated the time it would take for the Pope to use this attack.


    Moreover, once thismander and his subordinates focused on Pope, the pressure on the Radiant Chuch''s clerics lessened a great deal.


    The clerics were now focusing on the warriors attacking them from other directions. They didn''t prevent these warriors from reaching the Pope since they had all received amand in their heads ''<em>Focus on other warriors. Leave them to me!''</em>


    The Pope had spoken in such a forceful tone that the clerics had no choice but to obey him. It wasn''t just because they wanted to follow his order, but they also sensed the confidence in his tone.


    It meant that these people wouldn''t be able to fight him.


    Themand and his group of warriors immediatelyunched an attack as they felt the stench of death getting stronger.


    However, the Holy Light around the Pope suddenly red up. A colossal column of light was shining around the Pope.


    All the attacks thrown at the pope were dispersed as they struck that gigantic column of light. It didn''t matter what element the attack was. It dispersed upon contact.


    In the distance, Edwin squinted his eyes as he saw what happened.


    <em>''That bracelet¡­It not only possesses a great deal of Holy Ardor, but it also possesses a passive ability that converts Humanely Ardor attacks into Holy Ardor. Irrespective of the element it strikes, the energy is converted into Holy Particles that just particrly strengthens that light pir.''</em>


    Edwin perfectly understood the concept of what was urring. This was not some shocking sight to him.


    He was all too familiar with these bracelets. These were the toys used by the Celestials. Against the Demonic Ardor, these bracelets wouldn''t absorb the Demonic Ardor but purge it. Thus, negating the attack.


    However, it would be costly for them to use the bracelets since the bracelet would crack into pieces after using up all its Holy Ardor.


    This was just the Absorption Bracelet.


    Edwin was sure there was a Release Bracelet as well.


    The Pope did have a simr-looking bracelet on his hand. Its size and pattern appeared to be simr to the other bracelet.


    Soon, he struck the other bracelet with his Absorption Bracelet. He let out a whisper, "Radiant Law."


    The Pir of Light around him sent out a strong attack that emerged from the Pope''s body and spread in all directions.


    It felt like a tsunami of Holy Ardor was washing over the area with the Pope as its origin.


    All of Roger Dukedom''s warriors and the Radiant Church''s clerics were submerged in that Holy Ardor.


    The Radiant Law possessedws of Light and burned his opponents enveloped in Holy Ardor.


    All the clerics of the Radiant Church felt blessed at this moment, though. They felt as if their bodies were filled to the brim with pure energy.


    The only time they felt something remotely simr to this was when they first officially became the Radiant Church''s clerics.


    "Launch your attacks now." The Pope immediately shouted out. The bracelet wouldn''t be able to keep this up for long.


    He was sure that many of these warriors could survive until then. If they survived, they would definitely fight even more desperately and use their strongest attacks on them.


    Those attacks would deal a lot of damage to the Radiant Church''s foundations.


    Fortunately, the Radiant Church''s clerics were so ted with this burst of Holy Ardor that they also wished to check the strength of their attacks.


    They had allunched an attack named Ark. It was a Holy Attack thatunched a beam with high piercing power.


    It was a rtively simple attack of the Celestials. However, this was the strongest attack that the Clerics below the Pope rank could learn.


    In normal circumstances, even a normal Ardor barrier would be enough to defend against this attack from the Radiant Church''s clerics.


    However, currently, the Holy Ardor of the clerics was significantly boosted. Also, the Roger Dukedom''s warriors were in so much shock and anguish that they couldn''t focus on maintaining a protective barrier around their bodies.


    Hence, they suffered badly. Each beam of light would at least pass through three of four people.


    It could be said that their high numbers backfired here. Their casualties were too great.


    When Steven Roger saw his men being ughtered there, he clenched his fists in anger.


    He wanted to head off and take vengeance. It would be extremely difficult for the Roger Dukedom to gather such a force again.


    He looked in Shun''s direction and saw him shaking his head negatively.


    "You can''t save them yet. These people must die if the Roger Dukedom wishes for any chance of survival." Shun spoke with a cold tone.


    Steven Roger knew why Shun had given that advice.


    This thought had urred in his mind as well.


    The people within the Sinyalian Kingdom had to see that the Roger Dukedom had barely survived against the Radiant Church.


    If the Roger Dukedom won toofortably by letting their 6 Star Experts attack, the people would rage out at the Roger Dukedom for bullying the weak.


    In fact, the supporters of the Radiant Church would immediately start an active movement to go against the Roger Dukedom.


    They would fileints in the Royal Court and even go on protest.


    To appease the public, the King was sure to make his move. And his move wouldn''t be in the Roger Dukedom''s favor.


    Thus, when Shun had proposed the scheme of allowing the Radiant Church to kill his warriors, Steven Roger could only grit his teeth and ept that scheme.


    He cursed his weakness that he was forced to use such a low-ss scheme. It didn''t just hurt his pride but also made him a lot guilty.


    It was true that he was an opportunistic greedy individual, but he did wish well for the citizens in his territory.


    He had never expected that even with all the power and influence of Roger Dukedom, he would be forced to rely on this shameless trick to save his Dukedom.

 Chapter 192 - Ambush

    Soon enough, all the Roger Dukedom''s warriors sent to fight the Radiant Church''s clerics had lost their lives.


    Their bodiesid on the ground, breathless. Each one had a horrific look on their face, showing that they were screaming in pain before their death.


    All of them had been struck by Ark at least a single time.


    Edwin focused on the Roger Dukedom again and noticed that their warriors were on the move again. This time, a 6 Star Warrior was leading them.


    This 6 Star Warrior was none other than Steven Roger.


    Shun hadn''t moved from his spot, though. He was still wearing the same clothes and mask to conceal his Spiritual Imprint. Thus, Edwin still had no idea that he was in this ce.


    Edwin wasn''t thinking of the reasons behind Roger Dukedom''s weird decisions or actions. He was thinking with a slight smile <em>''Alright¡­ The main fight will finally start.''</em>


    The Pope was slightly terrified when he saw another huge wave of warriors charging out of the Roger Dukedom.


    These people were close friends to the warriors who had been ughtered by Radiant Church''s clerics.


    These warriors were the ones who hated the Radiant Church the most in the world right now.


    And the one leading them was none other than Steven Roger, the Patriarch of the Roger Dukedom.


    Steven Roger looked at his warriors through the corner of his eyes. He saw a lot of wrath in those eyes.


    Steven then faced the Pope and shouted out, "I am Steven Roger, the Patriarch of the Roger Dukedom. And I only have one thing to say. I never attacked the Radiant Church. And I disdain to lie."


    The Pope merely snorted at those words and replied, "As I said before, a criminal would never confess his crimes. Unfortunately, the reality isn''t that simple."


    Steven nned to attack personally and end this quickly.


    However, the Pope was so nervous that he had already used his other trump card. His staff began to shine with a dazzling light.


    Soon, the staff flew out of his hand. The shape of the staff changed to an oval shape. It wasrge enough for an average human to pass through it.


    The Pope immediately bowed down in front of that portal and whispered his wish, "Your servants ask for your assistance, Oh Great Radiant God. Please send someone to assist us."


    Those words made Steven pause and then focus on that portal in the air. He frowned because he sensed Spatial Laws.


    He wasn''t proficient in Spatial Laws. However, as a 6 Star Warrior, he could sense when Spatial Laws were utilized near him.


    Spatial Laws were considered one of the Supreme Laws. To think that the Pope actually possessed a staff capable of utilizing Spatial Laws startled Steven greatly.


    Even the other four 6 Star Warriors in the Roger Dukedom''s Mansion had serious looks on their faces.


    Shun didn''t miss it. He didn''t understand why they looked so solemn. However, he didn''t need to ask them about it.


    Those who were concentrating greatly noticed a hand appeared from that portal. It was a fair hand that looked as white as milk with even smoother skin.


    Soon, the hand moved forward, and the entire body of the person was visible.


    To the human warriors and even the clerics, this figure was a fair-looking woman with two beautiful white wings sprouted on her back.


    When looking at her, the word Angel would unconsciously slip out of an individual''s mouth.


    She had white coily hair gently hanging over a long, frowning face. Her pair of beautiful blue eyes stared at Steven Roger and red at him.


    Steven Roger gulped down a mouthful of saliva. He then hatefully red at the Pope and understood why this man dared to pick a fight against the Roger Dukedom and talk as if he had any chance of winning.


    This man could actually summon a Celestial!


    Steven Roger realized that if he hadn''t heeded Shun''s warning, he would be courting death by confronting the Angel alone.


    The Angel then looked around to find the Pope who had summoned her. She wanted to find out why she had been summoned and who the enemy was.


    The Pope was more than happy to inform her about who the enemy was. He felt as if the burden he had been carrying suddenly lightened up a great deal.


    <em><strong>Whoosh!</strong></em>


    Suddenly, the warriors and the Radiant Church''s clerics heard the sound of a sharp object cutting through the wind.


    They tried to follow the attack through its sound and turned in the direction theyst heard it.


    No matter who it was, they couldn''t help but gasp in utter shock when they saw an arrow piercing Angel''s chest.


    It was shocking because even the Angel hadn''t sensed this attack until it actually struck her.


    Only very talented warriors could aplish such a feat, and none of them expected that someone would attack this Angel as soon as she appeared out of the portal.


    The Pope, who had felt as if the Angel had shared his burden, was suddenly very anxious. He hadn''t expected someone to target Angel and actually seed in it as soon as she was summoned.


    Soon, the people heard another sound. However, this time they focused more on the area near the Angel.


    They were shocked to see another three arrows quickly heading towards the Angel. This time, the Angel did sense them slightly and tried to move out of the way.


    One of those arrows struck her arm. As soon as that arrow struck the Angel, she puked out blood.


    Unlike the red-colored blood of humans and demons, the Celestials bled white.


    The Angel looked around to find the person targeting her. She was sure that the person attacking her was around as powerful as herself. Meaning, another 6 Star Warrior.


    The Pope immediately sent another prayer. He was requesting another Angel. This time, two remaining bracelets on his arm lost their luster and turned into stone.


    It could be said that the price of requesting another Angel to make her move was to trade her with Holy Treasures.


    Sure enough, after those two bracelets lost their luster, another angel soon appeared from the portal.


    She had a bored look on her face. It was clear that nothing interesting seemed to go in her life. Well, at the least, she would feel a lot of excitement on the Frascoia Continent soon enough.


    After all, once she appeared, just like herrade, she was targeted by that terrifying Archer as well.


    Her fate was even worse than herrade''s fate. Two arrows struck her chest, and one arrow struck her thigh. One even grazed her wings, but fortunately, her wings remained unharmed.


    Although she could fly without wings, her speed would be significantly loweredpared to flying with her wings intact.


    During this time, the Angel who had been attacked earlier had used her Holy Ardor to forcefully suppress this Ardor in that Arrow. But she failed.


    Not just the Ardor, but she also felt something strange enter her body as well.


    That thing had mixed with her blood, and she couldn''t check up on her body right now. She had to first deal with this unknown attacker.


    Fortunately, when the Archer had attacked herrade, the Angel who had been attacked earlier found his location.


    Upon seeing this scene, Siluca showed an excited smile while Edwin had a neutral look on his face. Their n had seeded!

 Chapter 193 - Seducing Siluca

    Just a week ago, Edwin informed Siluca of his n in the meeting room of the Walsh Dukedom.


    Siluca immediately stood up from her seat and appeared extremely shocked as she looked at Edwin. She spoke with a look of disbelief, "You want me to hire a 6 Star Warrior who would attack as soon as an Angel makes an appearance?"


    Edwin remained calm as he faced her and nodded.


    Siluca took a deep breath and spoke to Edwin with an aggressive tone, "Hiring a 6 Star Warrior isn''t simple. Even for me. Also, it would be even more impossible to hire someone strong enough to deal with an Angel. The most I can do is use the Ancient Talisman and summon the hidden experts of my dukedom."


    "Hidden experts?" Edwin actually knew about them, but he still showed a surprised expression and asked Siluca about them.


    Siluca spoke with a prouder tone, "There is a reason that our rivals couldn''t destroy the Walsh Dukedom. We have our own experts who have remained in hibernation. They would only wake up when the current head uses the Ancient Talisman to call out for their assistance. They are from the older generation who reached the 6 Star Rank. One of them is my Great Grandmother while the other is from a time even further back."


    Edwin merely replied, "I see¡­However, it would be useless to wake them up for this task."


    "For this task, you cannot show any involvement from the Walsh Dukedom''s members. It would be smarter to hire someone to do the job for you. The Walsh Dukedom''s name would remain clean." Edwin spoke with a serious tone.


    Siluca frowned and asked Edwin, "What if they try to use this to ckmail meter? If the world finds out that I am the one who hired these experts to kill the angels, the Walsh Dukedom''s reputation would bepletely ruined."


    Her words appeared logical, and she had struck the point.


    In response, Edwin sneered as he spoke, "Who said you are going to hire him as the duchess of the Walsh Dukedom?"


    His tone was quite aggressive as he stepped towards Siluca. This woman''s stupidity was now getting on his nerves.


    He had activated his Mystic Eyes of Perception as he stared at Siluca.


    Siluca felt a menacing feeling wash over her. Her mind was working quickly due to this intense feeling of danger.


    She soon understood what Edwin meant.


    He wanted her to send someone to contact a 6 Star Expert and hire him to assassinate the Angels of the Radiant Church. It was simr to how she had used Samuel to control the mines without actually involving herself in the scene.


    In this situation, the 6 Star Assassin won''t know that the one truly hiring him was none other than Siluca Walsh, the duchess of Walsh Dukedom. After the man hires the assassin, Siluca could dispose of him and cut off the loose ends.


    In this way, Siluca could keep her involvement aplete secret. At the least, there won''t be any proof against her. And people wouldn''t easily believe a theory that shifts the agenda against the Walsh Dukedom.


    "I understand. I will handle it." Siluca looked excited as she finally thought of the solution.


    Edwin''s eyes turned from purple to his ruby red color. He was satisfied with her response.


    <em>''It''s worth investing into her.''</em>


    Using his Mystic Eyes of Perception, he could see that Siluca''s affection for him was increasing.


    When he thought about the situation a bit, he found it natural.


    Siluca had been buried under the pressure of leading the Walsh Dukedom. Moreover, after her husband turned out to be trash, she had shielded her heart and mind from all men.


    She was thinking of men as trashy people because of her bad experience with them. Such opinion was only natural after she was betrayed by her husband like that.


    However, then she met Edwin. Not only was he extremely smart and strong enough to rival her cultivation base, but he was also greatly mysterious. When she saw his face, it turned out to be so handsome that itpletely blew her mind.


    Siluca felt a sense of security around Edwin. Not only this, but she could also share her burden with him.


    Although she wasn''t sure of his intentions, she knew he didn''t want to harm her. He had a lot of opportunities to hurt or ckmail the Walsh Dukedom. But here he was, helping her against the Radiant Church.


    Her affections for Edwin couldn''t rise above a certain point. There were two reasons for this.


    One was that Edwin''s age was actuallyparable to her daughter. It wouldn''t be appropriate for her to harbor thoughts about such a young man.


    Moreover, she had seen how her daughter would use all sorts of excuses to talk to Edwin.


    Although Anna hadn''t seen Edwin''s face, Siluca knew that once her daughter saw Edwin''s face, she would probably be a lovestruck fool.


    And if Anna came to know that her mother liked Edwin as well, the situation would be very awkward for them.


    Thus, Siluca was now nning to suppress her feelings for Edwin.


    However, She never expected that Edwin would suddenly move forward and hold her hands. The mask on Edwin''s face was long gone, and she was stunned to see a small smirk on his face.


    "I want you to take revenge against the Radiant Church without paying a significant price. Money can be earned but not opportunities."


    Immediately, her mental defenses broke apart. The feelings she had been suppressing exploded in an instant, and she revealed a foolish smile.


    Edwin smirked as he moved his hands. Gently caressing her skin with a light touch.


    Siluca experienced goosebumps as she felt Edwin''s fingers lightly touching her hands and her arms.


    "You are right. Right. I will do as you say." Siluca was so flustered that she didn''t know what she was saying at this moment.


    "Good," Edwin whispered softly as his hands suddenly snaked around her waist and pulled her towards himself.


    Siluca felt a thrilling sensation. It made her heart and mind race in excitement. She could feel Edwin''s body heat, and it was making her hotter as well.


    While Edwin was teasing her body, Siluca regained somest bits of her senses and asked with a shy voice, "W-What is this?"


    She tried to push herself out of the hug, but it was futile.


    In truth, she wasn''t putting up her best effort. Edwin was just holding her with his physique. She would have used Ardor to push herself out of his embrace if she genuinely wanted to get out.


    "¡­Weren''t you going to do as I say? Was that a lie?" Edwin ced one of his hands on Siluca''s face and gently caressed it.


    When Siluca heard Edwin''s words, she was internally very bashful. Those words had a lot of hidden meanings.


    Siluca tried her best to show a serious expression and speak, "I-I didn''t mean it like tha-"


    Before she could finish her words, Edwin ced his finger on her lips and whispered, "Shhh¡­."


    Siluca actually stopped speaking and was meekly looking at Edwin. She seemed to be looking for his permission to speak.


    Edwin spoke, "What is holding you back? Tell me the truth."


    When Siluca looked into his eyes, she found it impossible to look away or make up an excuse and lie to Edwin.


    It was as if he would only be satisfied with the truth.


    "¡­I have a daughter of your age. How can you like an old and used woman like me? I am no longer a virgin." She squeezed those words out with a bitter smile.


    She had actually revealed her inner thoughts to him. She knew that he was going to look down on her.


    However, Edwin immediately replied, "What useless thoughts. We are warriors. Moreover, 5 Star Warriors. Our lives are very long. And in this long life, our age difference is trivial. What''s the other reason?"


    Siluca was utterly shocked to hear Edwin''s words. Hearing Edwin, she had a feeling that he didn''t even consider it as an issue. She even found his words rather logical. Thus she was ecstatic.


    However, when she heard Edwin''s question, she remembered the other reason why she couldn''t have a rtionship with him.


    "¡­My daughter likes you. How can I face my daughter if I have illicit rtions with my daughter''s crush." Siluca spoke with a guilty look.


    Edwin''s expressions remained the same, though.


    "She has a crush on me, but I don''t have any feelings for her. My interest is in someone more mature, beautiful, and voluptuous such as you."


    Siluca was extremely delighted internally when she heard Edwin''s words. She had always wanted to hear him praise her.


    "Also, if you are that worried about your daughter''s reactions, then we can hide it from others. Let''s show our affections in private only." Edwin spoke with a convincing tone.


    There was a surprised expression on Siluca''s face. She asked him, "¡­You are asking me tomit adultery with you?"


    "You have a misunderstanding. I have no issue in revealing our rtionship. I am asking you to keep it a secret so that you can face your daughter without any issue. If you don''t have any problem, then I will be the first to reveal our rtions. Until then, call it adultery or whatever you want." Edwin spoke while he faced her seriously.


    Siluca was quite tempted by this offer. She could have a rtionship with Edwin, and her rtionship with her daughter won''t be awkward. However, she was very embarrassed to say it upfront.


    Good for her that Edwin didn''t need to be told. He immediately moved his head and kissed her lips.


    His tongue entered her mouth and began tobat against her tongue.


    And thus, this was where Siluca lost all bits of her sanity.

 Chapter 194 - Poison Archer King

    Siluca had been sneaking into Edwin''s room every night since Edwin had fun with Siluca in the meeting room.


    She wore nothing beneath her aristocratic coat. In addition, when she entered Edwin''s chamber in the middle of the night, her cloak would be on the floor, and her moans could be heard in his room.


    Edwin''s main reason for getting in a rtionship with Siluca was to control the Walsh Dukedom.


    He heard all sorts of secrets regarding the Walsh Dukedom. He had also begun to use the Walsh Dukedom to make preparations for his ns ahead.


    The territory of a Dukedom was much greater than that of a Marquis Family. Although there were many cons, such as how the Walsh Dukedom''s forces were stretched out in arge area. Thus, the forces they personally possessed were rather small in number.


    ording to Edwin''s guess, even this force was much greater in number than Rhodes Noble House''s strength.


    For now, though, Edwin only required Walsh Dukedom''s name and influence.


    Within this one week, Edwin had more or less takenplete control over Siluca''s mind, body, and heart.


    The two had kept their rtionship a secret and were only intimate when they were in their private rooms. This was what happened initially.


    But currently, their rtionship had grown to a point where Siluca would allow Edwin to tease her even outside or in front of other people.


    Fortunately, her subordinates hadn''t noticed anything. If they were slightly more attentive, they would have understood everything.


    Siluca and Edwin were currently seated on a tree. The two were looking at the fight between the Radiant Church and the Roger Dukedom from there.


    Siluca was sitting on Edwin''sp while his hands were around Siluca''s body. His palm was ced on her midriff that revealed a few inches of the skin on her stomach.


    She was also wearing shorts right now, revealing her milky white sexy legs.


    When Siluca left her mansion, she hade out wearing arge coat that covered her entire body. Underneath that coat, a shirt revealing a few inches of her midriff and shorts was what she was wearing.


    Only Edwin could savor this beauty because they were the only ones in the vicinity.


    However, his eyes werepletely focused on the battle that was urring ahead of them.


    The man they had hired was none other than the Leader of the Silent Death Organization within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    All the branches within the Sinyalian Kingdom worked under this man. This man reported to just one person, the boss of the entire Silent Death Organization spread worldwide.


    This man was one of the most famed mercenaries within the Sinyalian Kingdom. He was called ''<em><strong>Poison Archer King</strong></em>.''


    This man was skilled in Archery. He could shoot a target without even seeing it. His poison skill was so great that only the Medicinal King in the Royal Pce could cure his poisons.


    Using his famed archery and poison skills, he assassinated his targets and had an 80% chance ofpleting the mission he picked up.


    Due to his high sess rate of assassination missions, he was quite famous in the main branch of the Silent Death Organization.


    And just a year ago, he was tasked to manage the entire Silent Death Organization spread in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He was surprised when a request to assassinate Angels of the Radiant Church reached his ears.


    He didn''t think much before epting this mission. He had some personal grudges against the Radiant Church.


    On more than one asion, the Radiant Church had interfered in the matters of the Silent Death Organization. The Silent Death Organization had failed many missions because of them.


    Moreover, Poison Archer King''s wife was killed by a Celestial while she was out on a mission. Thus, he had good reasons to hate the Radiant Church and ept this mission.


    He had prepared some Anti-Holy Poisons that would even work on Celestials. He had made it by mixing a Demon''s Blood with a few other kinds of poisons.


    The lethality of this poison was extremely great, especially for a Celestial.


    Thus, when Poison Archer King''s arrows struck the two Angels, they felt as if they had lost control over their bodies. Their Holy Ardor was going out of control as well. It was automatically trying to fight against the poison.


    This assassination on the angels had shocked many people.


    Steven Roger was most surprised of them all.


    He hadn''t hired this assassin. From the arrows, he knew that this man was most probably the infamous assassin ''Poison Archer King.''


    Steven Roger didn''t wish to pay the price to hire this Assassin. It was quite an exaggerated price.


    Two rare 6 Tier Herbs and also the Blood Essence of a Beast King.


    Siluca possessed the Blood Essence of a Beast King. It was the blood extracted from a Raging Bull. Meanwhile, Edwin possessed the two rare 6 Tier Herbs.


    One of these herbs was a necessaryponent to make the Anti-Holy Poison even more lethal.


    Not just Steven Roger but Shun also identified the assassin.


    He wasn''t surprised to see that this assassin had appeared. As a former Demon God, Edwin definitely had ways to force this man to take action.


    Shun had been observing Edwin''s actions till now. He had joined the Walsh Dukedom and used them to frame the Roger Dukedom while also allying the Walsh Dukedom with the Radiant Church.


    The Radiant Church asked the Walsh Dukedom to prevent someone from entering their area and assist the Roger Dukedom. However, the Walsh Dukedom hadn''t sent any real experts on the field.


    If an expert did want to assist the Roger Dukedom, those people wouldn''t be able to stop him.


    However, on paper, the Walsh Dukedom was absolutely clean.


    Moreover, this assassination attempt on the Angels as soon as they appeared from their portals.


    Only one person could have known of such a secret. A former demon god!


    Thus, Edwin''s current action had allowed Shun to understand his true motive. To instigate a civil war and weaken the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    Although Shun didn''t fullyprehend the reason or how Edwin intended to utilize it, he saw that he couldn''t allow Edwin to achieve his goal.


    The entire Sinyalian Kingdom would suffer.


    Thus, he immediatelymanded the nearby 6 Star Experts, "Please go out and protect the angels."


    "What?!" The experts let out surprised voices.


    They were actually internally delighted to see that this Poison Archer King hade to kill the Angels.


    They were more than happy to allow the Poison Archer King to kill these Angels.


    Shun''s request to defend their adversary, on the other hand, astounded thempletely.


    "¡­Inquisitor Fox, are you blinded by their beauty? Or do you have some fond feelings about the fairer sex? You must look at the situation calmly, or else you won''t ever break through the shackles and reach the 6 Star Rank no matter how talented you are." One of the 6 Star warriors spoke with a calm voice.


    Shun looked at him and spoke calmly, "With all due respect, Sir Jaxon, I am the only one who sees the situation clearly. Please go and mention to Duke Roger that I request him to protect the Angels."


    The experts were still rather hesitant.


    One of them mentioned, "Let''s send this message to Duke Roger. We will stand by his side, no matter his choice."


    Shun shrugged in return, "Suit yourself."


    Soon, Shun''s message reached Steven Roger. The man was slightly surprised to receive the message.


    He was only slightly surprised because Shun had already discussed such a possibility with him before this fight began. The possibility that the church might be attacked by another expert. At that time, the Duke had to help out the church''s experts.


    Thus, he immediately turned towards the direction from where the Poison Archer King was shooting his arrows. He shouted loudly, "Protect the angels!"

 Chapter 195 - The Final Move

    The pope and other members of the Radiant Church had been utterly startled when they realized that someone was assassinating the Angels.


    Moreover, the arrows of this assassin had actually pierced the Angels'' bodies. The Angels found it difficult to move because of the Poison on these arrows.


    The Portal had closed now. And the staff returned to normal and was back in the Pope''s hands.


    The Angels were also utterly startled and distraught upon facing such an assassin.


    They faced the direction from where the arrows were fired and tried to move their bodies out of the way of the iing arrows.


    They failed in their attempt to move their bodies.


    The Angels had nearly lost all hope when they saw another barrage of arrows fired at them.


    Steven Roger suddenly struck the ground with all his might.


    His body was very powerful as an Earth Elemental Warrior. The result was extremely impressive when hebined his physical power with the vibrations he transmitted to the ground via his Earth Element.


    A sudden Earthquake urred, and it shook everyone''s bodies who stood on the ground.


    Due to this sudden Earthquake, the Angels'' bodies also shook, and they narrowly dodged those next sets of arrows.


    In the distance, Poison Archer King frowned as he didn''t understand why Steven Roger was suddenly assisting the Angels.


    Was he feeling chivalrous?


    He didn''t need to think much about it as he saw the situation ahead.


    Steven Roger had blocked the way of the arrows by raising two Earth Walls. Now, the Poison Archer King would need to attack the Angels from another direction.


    The Poison Archer King noticed that the other 6 Star Warriors from the Roger Dukedom''s Mansion were also heading out.


    They wereing forward to assist Steven Roger.


    The Poison Archer King didn''t feel that he had good chances of sessfully assassinating the Angels. Thus, he decided to leave the area.


    It was a smart decision by the Poison Archer King.


    Two 6 Star Warriors were charging towards his location, and if he hadn''t left the area earlier, he would be forced to fight them in closebat.


    As an Archer, his closebat skills weren''t worth mentioning aspared to other warriors.


    The two 6 Star Warriors chasing after the Poison Archer King were the two experts of the Roger Dukedom. They weren''t their ancestral experts but from their previous generation.


    The Ancestral Experts were those warriors from 3-4 generations back.


    Edwin and Sophie were utterly shocked as they saw Steven Roger move to protect the Angels from the Poison Archer King''s Arrows.


    They never expected such a thing would ur, especially Edwin.


    "W-What is going on, Edwin?" Siluca asked with a look of disbelief.


    Edwin remained quiet as he continued to think deeply about this situation.


    <em>''Where did I go wrong? Did I miss something? Did someone figure out my motive and anticipate my actions?''</em>


    Edwin felt as if he had lost this battle. He paused just as he was about to inform Siluca that this was the worst conceivable conclusion for Walsh Dukedom.


    <em>''All is not lost. I still have a move I can y.''</em>


    Currently, Steven Roger, the Nemesis Order''s Leader and the Spectral Squad''s Leader, were assisting the angels.


    The Angels were surprised to see these humansing forward to help them. They didn''t understand the situation here.


    However, the two angels understood that these three humans weren''t their enemies. They were their allies.


    "How long would it take you to recover?" Steven Roger asked quickly.


    One of the angels spoke with a polite tone, "¡­Hold back our enemies for a couple of minutes."


    It had to be known that although the anti-poison created to deal with them was quite potent, it hadn''t been tested on an Angel yet. Only on Popes.


    The Angels possessed Celestial''s Pure Bloodline. And a pure Celestial Bloodline possessed an ability to adapt and destroy the poison.


    Unless it was a poison made by a Demon God or Demon Venerable, killing a Celestial using a Poison would generally be impossible.


    Meanwhile, one of the Angels looked in the Pope''s direction, who summoned them. She used her Spirit and sent a mental message to him.


    <em>''Don''t be startled. I am talking to you telepathically. Just think about what you want to say. Now, tell me, who is the enemy? Someone attacked my sister and me with a Demonic Poison!''</em>


    The Pope immediately spiritually replied to the Angels'' voice as if he knew she would ask this question.


    <em>''Esteemed Angel¡­ The men near you are your true enemies. They are the ones who destroyed a branch of the Radiant Church and disrespected the Radiant God. Moreover, we were fighting against them for quite some time. When Duke Roger arrived, I summoned you to fight against him.''</em>


    The angel didn''t appear to be satisfied with those words. She immediately replied <em>''How can this man be an enemy?! They saved me from that terrifying enemy!''</em>


    <em>''Esteemed Angel, this was a trick from him. He wishes to capture you and acquire the secrets of the Radiant God. For that, he has created an array to reveal the Celestial''s secrets in his mansion. To take you to that mansion, he orchestrated this scene where he would save you while you were ambushed by an assassin. The assassin was someone he hired as well.''</em>


    When the angel heard those words from the Pope, she couldn''t help but stare at Steven Roger with a hint of suspicion.


    Steven Roger was indeed ncing at them from time to time. He appeared to have some suspicions in his heart whether saving these two angels was truly the correct choice.


    But he did trust Inquisitor Fox''s judgement. Thus, he acted on it.


    The Angel informed herrade about it. The two decided among themselves that they would first observe the situation.


    If they did feel that the Pope was telling the truth, they were immediately going to attack them.


    Steven Roger soon looked at hisrades and spoke, "There might be more assassins. Let''s move to the mansion. It has a protective array, and we can easily protect you there."


    As soon as Steven Roger spoke those words, the angels felt that the Pope''s words were right, and their eyes flickered with killing intent.


    They knew that further testing their luck wouldn''t be a good idea.


    One of them immediately used her Spiritual Energy to nce at the Nemesis Order''s Leader. The angel chose this man because he appeared to be the youngest among the three men ahead of them.


    She winked at him.


    The Nemesis Order''s leader immediately blushed when he noticed that wink. He never thought that an Angel would wink at him.


    Did she like him? Was it love at first sight? He never thought he was this good-looking that an angel would fall in love with him at first sight.


    The Nemesis Order''s leader was feeling giddy from that single wink from an Angel.


    He had no idea that the Angel had actually utilized her Charm skill on him. As Angels, they were born exceptionally beautiful.


    Bybining their beauty with a Charm skill, they could easily captivate a man into having good feelings for them.


    One of the angels then spoke, "We can''t move during our recovery. It would halt our bloodline''s ability to deal with the poison."


    Steven Roger frowned upon hearing those words. Before he could speak, the Nemesis Order''s Leader had already opened his mouth and added, "No problem.. We will stay here and protect you."

 Chapter 196 - Angels Take Action

    Since Nemesis Order''s Leader had already spoken that they would stay here and protect the angels, Steven Roger and the Spectral Squad''s leader had little to no choice left than to stay here.


    Soon, the Angels felt their bloodline finally dealing with the irritating poison in their blood. They had managed to regain control over their bodies.


    However, they didn''t immediately get up and attack these humans. They nned to recover more of their Holy Ardor beforeunching a surprise attack on these humans.


    One of the Angels instructed the Pope ''<em>Prepare yourself to attack them in 20 seconds.</em>''


    20 seconds passed, and the Angels suddenly created Holy Spears in their hands to attack the Steven Roger and Spectral Squad''s Leader.


    These two Angels didn''t target the Nemesis Order''s Leader because he had already been charmed by them. His assistance would be helpful against these warriors.


    Steven Roger was shocked to see these Angels attack him. This was out of his expectations.


    <em>''The heck?! Don''t they feel even a bit guilty by raising their weapons against us after we protected them from the Poison Archer King?!''</em>


    While he was thinking this, he had also backed away while dodging a thrust from an Angel.


    The Spectral Squad''s leader wasn''t so lucky, though. He was standing quite close to the angels'' location and couldn''t react to this sudden attack from Angels.


    It wasn''t just Steven Roger or hisrades who were shocked. Even Shun in the mansion was extremely shocked when he saw this scene.


    He hadn''t anticipated that the angels would actually attack Steven Roger even after they had protected them from the assassin''s attacks.


    At this point, the Pope shouted, "Follow the angels'' lead and kill them all!"


    With that shout, the Radiant Church''s clerics hesitantly readied their techniques and attacked!


    When Edwin and Siluca saw that the Radiant Church had still attacked the Roger Dukedom, the two were relieved.


    Edwin then spoke, "Although there were surprises along the way, it appears that the result will remain simr to what I envisioned."


    "Mhm~!" Siluca nodded happily.


    She then turned her body around to face Edwin. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.


    Edwin ced his hand over her back and whispered to her, "Let''s return now. There is nothing left to see here."


    "Mhm~ Alright," Siluca was quite obedient as she stood up and began to fly towards the Walsh Dukedom together with Edwin.


    Edwin''s guess was right. There truly was nothing left to see.


    It was because the two Roger Dukedom''s experts had returned to Steven''s side and joined him in the fight against the two Angels.


    The two Angels hadn''t recoveredpletely.


    They had barely regained 50% of their power. Meanwhile, the 6 Star Warriors on Steven''s side were at their full strength, excluding the Spectral Squad''s leader.


    The Nemesis Order''s leader had now regained his senses as he realized he had been charmed by the Angels.


    He was quite angry and immediately attacked them.


    Two drained angels vs. four fully powered 6 Star Warriors. The situation was in Steven Roger''s favorpletely.


    Moreover, this was excluding the hidden killing intent array he had already prepared on the ground.


    This Array was merely 5 Star Array. However, it could boost a 6 Star Warrior''s Ardor density by a significant amount. It would be more than enough for these four warriors to kill these Angels.


    Steven Roger won''t trust these Angels, so he wouldn''t try to hold back and attack them with his full strength.


    As all the humans fought against these two angels and revealed their trump cards, they severely injured them.


    At that time, the two angels considered creating a portal and leave through it. However, their bodies suddenly paused, and they had a pale expression. They felt a sudden burst of poison in their bodies.


    It was too shocking.


    The poison was also too effective. They couldn''t move their bodies. And Steven Roger killed one of them while the other was beheaded by none other than the Spectral Squad''s Leader.


    The Spectral Squad''s Leader''s attack was so strong that even if the Angel could use her Holy Ardor, she would still die by that attack.


    The Spectral Squad''s Leader had sacrificed a part of his lifeforce to use that attack. That attack''s sharpness was beyond any defensive ability the two angels knew.


    Once the two angels fell, the Radiant Church''s clerics scattered.


    Steven Roger didn''t pursue them. He allowed them to run away. The entire scene was visible to the Roger Dukedom''s public.


    If they saw that the Roger Dukedom was now pursuing a weak enemy, they might even look down on the Roger Dukedom.


    Thus, they had shown that they were allowing these Radiant Church clerics to run away.


    In reality, most of them were going to be recaptured by his men. Steven Roger nned to interrogate them and find out the details of what had urred and why the Radiant Church thought of Roger Dukedom as their enemy.


    What Steven Roger didn''t know was that Edwin had also assigned many warriors near the area who would kill the clerics who survived this battle.


    He wanted to tell the entire Sinyalian Kingdom that the Roger Dukedom showed no mercy to the clerics and killed them down to thest man.


    ~~


    Many citizens of the Roger Dukedom had seen what happened due to the Vision Transmission Array.


    They were quite unhappy with the Angels. The Angels had attacked Steven Roger even after he protected them from Poison Archer.


    They felt that the angels were too wicked. They even felt that their deaths were deserved!


    However, the die-hard followers of the Radiant Church didn''t share those sentiments.


    In their minds, since the Angels had done, so that meant there was a profound reason behind it. Perhaps the Roger Dukedom was so evil that the Angels felt the need to harden their hearts and kill them.


    Neither of the two sides knew the truth. So they were creating theories.


    They were presenting some unbelievable theories to exin the actions on their sides.


    The King and the other Noble Families were quite shocked as they saw this scene unfold.


    When Steven Roger had returned to the mansion, he raged out at Shun, "You¡­ Didn''t you say that the Angels won''t attack us after we protect them?! Why did they still attack us?!"


    Shun lowered his head. He couldn''t help but mutter out, "I don''t know."


    "You don''t know?!" Steven Roger appeared to have be even angrier at that response.


    Shun winced at the loud tone. But he wasn''t angry at Steven Roger. He was the one who had made a mistake.


    "¡­I don''t know why the angels attacked you. However, your action to protect the angels wasn''t in vain."


    "If you hadn''t done so, even your own citizens would have looked down on you for using an assassin to kill the Angels. At that time, the Roger Dukedom''s reputation would be ruined. However, the situation is different now."


    "The angels were the ones who attacked you even after you saved them. People of your territory witnessed that sight. They know who is in the right. Thus, your poprity among them has increased greatly. As for those die-hard followers of the Radiant Church, they were going to hate you anyway. We already ounted for them when making the n, so the losses aren''t as significant as you think."


    Shun gave a brief exnation from his end. This did calm down Steven Roger. Even though the losses to the Roger Dukedom weren''t so significant, Shun was still extremely furious at himself.


    He had created a n where he had to sacrifice some innocent people to stop that Demon God from aplishing his objective, and he had failed! He was extremely angry at this failure.


    Shun added with a frown, "However, the one who has greatly benefited from this is none other than the Walsh Dukedom."

 Chapter 197 - Attacking Origin Sect Branch

    In Veninza City, Laura and Noah had trained their groups for nearly one whole week. Today, it was time for them to attack the Origin Sect''s Branch in this city.


    Noah''s group would be the vanguard, while Laura''s group would attack from a distance.


    The regr battles between their two groups were to teach them how a close-ranged fighter should fight against a long-range fighter. And the same was true for vice-versa.


    Now, Laura''s group had learned that they had to divide their attention and keep a formation where they wouldn''t block theirrades'' vision and target everyone from the enemy''s side.


    They had also learned to assist theirrades when they were targeted by their opponents. Although they hadn''t won a single match against Noah''s group, they were more or less satisfied with their progress.


    Their cultivation was also growing rapidly. This was rted to Azaroth drawing a Spiritual Gathering Array silently.


    Laura and Noah''s hadn''t informed them that they would fight against the Origin Sect''s Branch in this city.


    The only thing their subordinates had been informed was that they would test their skill against other opponents.


    Their subordinates were very excited to test their skills against other people. The rapid progress they experienced increased their confidence greatly.


    The Origin Sect''s Branch in Veninza City was quite weakpared to other powers in the city.


    Veninza City was The Dragon Tiger Pce''s turf. And the Dragon Tiger Pce naturally didn''t make it easy for Origin Sect to establish a strong branch in their city.


    Each time the Origin Sect sent a 5 Star Elder to Veninza City, the elder would die mysteriously. The Origin Sect didn''t dare to investigate too deeply since that would mean conflict with the Dragon Tiger Pce. The Origin Sect didn''t want to tear all face with the Dragon Tiger Pce for an elder.


    They had decided to stop sending any 5 Star Warrior to this branch in Veninza City.


    Thus, the highest cultivation base in this Origin Sect''s branch was the 4 Star Rank. However, there were seven 4 Star Ranked warriors in this branch.


    It would be Noah and Laura''s task to handle these seven 4 Star Warriors. He wasn''t nning to assist them.


    Moreover, he had given them another instruction. They had to keep the killing to a minimum.


    If many of the Origin Sect''s disciples were massacred, it would make headlines, and the main branch might dispatch some powerful experts to the city. However, if the Origin Sect disciples in this branch weren''t massacred, the sect branch would do everything possible to keep this information hidden from the rest of the world.


    Soon, a few disciples had an ugly expression as they noticed the direction they were going.


    They even spoke out, "M-master Noah, aren''t we going in the wrong direction? If we keep walking, we will enter the Origin Sect''s territory."


    The man who asked this question was Laura''s subordinate.


    Noah coldly replied, "And how is it the wrong direction? That is indeed our destination. You are going to fight against the Origin Sect''s disciples."


    Noah finally revealed this information to them all.


    When they were ready to approach the Origin Sect''s area, Azaroth had ordered him to divulge this knowledge.


    Although they would receive a huge shock, they would still forcefully adjust their mentality due to the grave situation.


    Laura spoke up, "We will take action when you are fighting someone beyond your ability. Just focus on doing your best."


    Those words relieved their subordinates. They were quite confident to face the disciples of the same rank as them.


    After half an hour, Noah, Laura, and their subordinates entered the Origin Sect''s territory.


    Their presence alerted the Origin Sect''s experts. They immediately organized a meeting to figure out why this group wasing towards them.


    They immediately sent a scout to figure out Noah and their group''s intentions. The leaders wouldn''te out since they wanted to maintain their face


    Soon, the scout appeared in front of Noah and their group while riding a Horse.


    He asked them with a cold look on his face, "Who are you? What does your group want in the Origin Sect''s territory?"


    He had an arrogant voice. Noah red at him and pointed his finger at the scout, "Attack him!"


    The scout was shocked to hear Noah''smand. Just what was this little kid saying? Did he truly understand the consequences of thismand?


    Noah''s subordinates were immediately on the move as they charged forwards to attack this scout.


    Meanwhile, Laura''s subordinates remained on their spots while pointing their arrows at the scout.


    They would fire those arrows if the scout tried to resist slightly.


    The scout didn''t even realize when he was captured by Noah and Laura''s groups.


    He was tied with strong Anti-Ardor Ropes.


    Noah then stared at the scout and asked him, "Tell us everything you know about this Origin Sect''s branch. Its entrance, its weak points.."


    The scout replied righteously, "I won''t betray my sect¡­."


    Noah stared at him for a few seconds and could see that this was a lie.


    He immediately released a few Sword Qi and tore his muscles internally.


    The scout suddenly experienced excruciating pain, and he shouted out, "Wait¡­ No more¡­ I was just kidding. I will say everything!"


    Only then did Noah stop using his Sword Qi to torture him.


    Laura nced at her subordinates and said, "Question him and write his answers."


    Soon, they began to question this scout and received all the answers they required.


    ording to this scout, up ahead, there was a barrier and killing formation.


    If they entered the killing formation, it would be impossible to break out of it unless they were as strong as a peak 4 Star Warrior.


    Thus, once the killing formation was active, the warriors needed to attack the barrier from outside and inside. Only then could they break the formation.


    The ones who lived near the main entrance were all outer sect disciples. Their groups might need to face a few hundred outer sect disciples of the Origin Sect.


    The scout was quite shocked to see that this group was still determined to attack the Origin Sect''s branch in Veninza Town even after hearing just how outnumbered they were.


    In reality, Azaroth had already informed Noah and Laura about this number. So it didn''t really shock them greatly.


    Their subordinates were apprehensive and slightly thrilled after learning that they would be fighting against hundreds of warriors.


    Their progress under Noah and Laura hadn''t been small. And in this one week, they had learned to keep theirposure during a fight.


    Learning to maintain theirposure was quite crucial. Only by maintaining theirposure could they utilize their true ability in a fight.


    This one week of battling each other''s group had led to abundant results.


    Meanwhile, the leaders in this Origin Sect Branch were quite unhappy as they felt their scout''s energy signature weaken. This meant that this unknown group had attacked their scout.


    They were somewhat angry as they felt the unknown group move forward. This group wasn''t giving any face to the Origin Sect.


    They prepared their formations to intercept Noah and Laura''s groups.


    In fact, one leader had a clever idea in his mind.


    He shared the idea with his otherrades, "Let''s send the outer sect disciples to test this group. We can use these groups to kill a few weaklings, enhance thebat experience of the disciples, and we can even judge the opponent''s power."


    This suggestion was quite good and was epted by the majority of the leaders.

 Chapter 198 - Noah And Lauras Tasks

    Just as the leaders of the Origin Sect had decided, they sent their outer sect disciples to fight against Noah and Laura''s groups.


    They didn''t activate the killing or barrier array because they didn''t want to weaken their enemies.


    The majority of them were merely at 2 Star Rank. There was only a single warrior at the 4 Star Rank.


    The leaders had relocated to a nearby tower from where they could witness the entire fight.


    However, they had no idea that this was a mistake. The leaders of the Origin Sect had left their safe base and relocated to an insecure tower.


    Laura had sensed them all. She looked at Noah and informed him, "I found the strongest experts of this sect."


    Before Noah could speak, many outer sect disciples of the Origin Sect rushed out of the entrance.


    They saw their targets and immediately charged towards them.


    "What''s their peak cultivation rank?" Noah asked Laura. She was much better than him at sensing.


    Laura concentrated a bit and swept her spiritual aura across all these disciples.


    She then replied to Noah, "The strongest among them is only at early 3 Star Rank."


    Noah nodded and then looked at their subordinates.


    He spoke out, "Attack! Remember, don''t kill a single one. Just hit them until they are unconscious."


    "What if they identally die, master?" One of his subordinates asked with a worried appearance.


    Noah paused and then replied, "¡­Nothing can be done then. Just do your best to not kill them."


    With that, Noah pulled out his sword.


    His subordinates were a little scared as they saw Noah pulling out his sword. They had seen that scene not a few times and were still scared when Noah pulled his sword out from his sheathe.


    "We won''t be fighting youter, right, Master?"


    Laura was a bit speechless as she heard those words. She felt that Noah''s subordinates had too many random thoughts.


    However, she never expected Noah to respond with a serious voice, "If you lose, the training time will be doubled!"


    "What?!" Not just his subordinates but Laura and her subordinates were shocked as well.


    Noah then stared at Laura''s subordinates, "You will join the training as well. Don''t disappoint my Boss''s expectations!"


    Laura''s subordinates looked at Laura with a pitiful expression. They had stayed with Noah''s subordinates for long enough to know just what their training method was.


    Laura spoke with a forced smile, "Just try your best, and it will be fine."


    Soon, Noah''s warriors charged towards those outer sect disciples. They brandished their weapons and struck first.


    They were using absolutely simple attacks. Each one swung wide and attacked nearly 4 opponents at the same time.


    They were at a wide distance from each other hence they didn''t get in each other''s way.


    Around this time, Laura''s subordinates readied their aim and targeted the disciples in the rear of the opponent''s formation.


    Most of the origin sect''s disciples fought in close range. There were a few who were archers, but they had never coordinated with each other. Hence, it appeared as if only a few arrows were shot from the Origin Sect''s side.


    While their subordinates had begun their battle, Laura kept her eyes focused on them.


    Her main task was to use her Wooden vines to protect their subordinates. Azaroth had asked her to do this since he didn''t want their subordinates to die yet.


    Laura was only going to take action when it was absolutely necessary. That is when one of their subordinates was about to die.


    Thus, Laura had to stay extra focused since she couldn''t miss even a single attack. A slight carelessness from her and one of their warriors could die.


    Meanwhile, Noah had already disappeared from her side. He had another target right now.


    He was sneaking towards the tower from where the leaders of the Origin Sect Branch were observing the battle.


    These leaders were shocked to see how Laura and Noah''s subordinates were actually winning and even dominating the battle against hundreds of outer sect disciples of the Origin Sect.


    They nned to make their move and summon the inner sect disciples to join the battle.


    Before they could send the signal, Noah had attacked them with his sword intent.


    All these seven leaders of this branch were at 4 Star Rank.


    Although Noah''s Sword Qi was quite powerful, it still wasn''t strong enough to kill a 4 Star Warrior in a single blow.


    "What?!" The elders who had been attacked by this Sword Qi had subconsciously created a defensive aura around them.


    It had protected them from the Sword Qi, but they still remembered that sharp feeling.


    "Who is there?" One of the leaders shouted as if expecting the opponent to answer him.


    Soon, the seven leaders saw a young boy jump into the tower. They recalled that this young boy was also leading that group.


    When they sensed he was merely at the 3 Star Rank, they rxed their guard. Even though they knew he possessed Sword Qi, they were still confident in defeating him.


    They had sensed that Sword Qi and knew that it would only harm them if they weren''t using their defensive aura.


    "Who are you?"


    "I am a Swordsman, and I havee to exchange pointers with you," Noah spoke with a cold voice.


    He remembered the excuse Spyro had used to fight against random people. So Noah had always believed it to be a tradition within a sect and found it an appropriate excuse.


    "¡­You should know who you are fighting." One of these leaders stood up and moved towards Noah.


    Noah continued to move forwards as well.


    After a certain distance, the two stopped.


    "Even though you are extremely foolish to havee here, your guts have to bemended. Take this attack from me, and I will let you go." The elder''s fist red with orange mes.


    "<strong>me Cloud Fist?</strong>"


    The other leaders saw that attack and snorted in their hearts. They felt that this guy was too cautious.


    Even though he was fighting against a kid, he used one of the best punching techniques avable in the Origin Sect. His words and actions were inplete contrast.


    When Noah saw that battle skill, he couldn''t help but frown.


    The power was far weaker than his expectations. He had fought against Laura a couple of times. He had estimated the power of a 4 Star Warrior ording to Laura''s strength. And the Ardor of the man ahead of him was far too weak.


    Laura''s Ardor was at least three times denser than this man.


    Noah''s grip over his sword strengthened as he prepared to use the Sword Technique taught by Azaroth.


    The sword glowed with a dangerous intent as it was filled with Sword Intent.


    Noah knew that he couldn''t defeat a 4 Star Warrior just by using his Sword Qi or his Ardor. He had tobine all of his Sword Qi to form a dense Sword Intent.


    Soon, the elder and Noah charged at each other. Both used their attacks to defeat the other person.


    <strong>"me Cloud Fist!"</strong>


    <strong>"Heaven Rending Skill!"</strong>


    There was a loud sound when these two attacks shed against each other.


    Noah''s body shook as he stepped back a couple of steps because of the strong impact from the me Cloud Fist.


    However, the elder who had been struck by the Heaven Rending Skill saw his entire arm had been pierced by Noah''s sword.


    A couple of secondster, he let out a loud painful scream, "AAAHhhh¡­!"

 Chapter 199 - Illusionary Steps Of The Wind

    Noah had a calm expression as he saw that elder rolling around in pain. He looked at the other elders in this room and spoke coldly, "I hope you aren''t as disappointing as him,"


    Those words triggered all the other elders in the room. They were cautious of him because he was merely a 3 Star Warrior, yet he had won in exchange against a 4 Star Warrior.


    It was shocking indeed.


    However, they soon calmed down and realized the truth. Although Noah''s technique was strong, it certainly wasn''t strong enough to defeat the power of a 4 Star Warrior so easily.


    This meant that the elder had held back a great deal of his power while fighting against Noah.


    This revtion relieved them. It meant they were still strong if they used theirplete strength against Noah.


    However, none of them realized that their guess waspletely off the mark.


    Noah didn''t give them any more time to think as his hold over his Sword tightened, and he rushed towards the nearest elder to his position.


    He shed at him diagonally. The other person had pulled out his Axe and used it to block Noah''s attack.


    As the elder blocked Noah''s attack, he realized that he had been severely underestimating Noah.


    This wasn''t the strength of someone at the 3 Star Rank. In fact, Noah''s strength with the condensed Sword Intent could be ced near the peak of a 4 Star Rank.


    The elder immediately used a burst of his bloodline energy to increase his power and push Noah away.


    Noah was surprised when he felt that sudden power burst as he was pushed back.


    Just as he was regaining his footing, the elder shouted, "This guy is much stronger than he appears. Attack him with everything you have got."


    The elder who had shouted this could also be considered the main leader of this Origin Sect Branch.


    Since he was advising them to fight seriously, they had to respect his words.


    Two individuals immediately moved as they targeted Noah from two different directions.


    One was attacking Noah with a Lightning Spear while the other was striking Noah with his Wind Element, amplifying his Sword''s cutting edge.


    Noah knew that it would be next to impossible to block them or parry them with his Sword Qi only.


    Thus, he used his best technique as well.


    <em><strong>''Sword Domain!''</strong></em>


    Immediately enough, his Sword Qi expanded in the area. As the two elders entered that domain, they experienced a sudden suppressive aura over their bodies.


    By the time they realized it was a Sword Domain, it was far toote.


    Noah had already diagonally shed at one of them and pierced the other one''s guts with his sword.


    After piercing his guts, Noah whispered, "Sword Qi, burst!"


    Immediately, that man felt the Sword Qi within the sword being released in his body. These Sword Qi were so powerful and so sharp that they continued to cut his body internally.


    Once Noah had damaged his body enough, he pulled out his sword and faced the other Elder who possessed Wind Element.


    The elder possessing the Wind Element was intimidated by Noah''s gaze. He backed a couple of steps as if he wanted to express he no longer wished to fight him. A lot of blood squeezed out of that diagonal sh across his chest.


    Noah then focused on the Elder who possessed the Bloodline Energy.


    If his guess was right, it was a Bloodline Skill that would enhance the user''s physical strength.


    While he looked at the elders, they observed how he had defeated their tworades. They were iparably shocked as they witnessed his Sword Domain.


    Only the man possessing the Bloodline Skill felt that Noah''s sword domain was iplete. If he did have aplete Sword Domain, then they wouldn''t have a chance of resisting.


    Currently, only he remained confident of facing Noah. The others had already mentally given up.


    However, the man had his own misgivings as well. He asked with a solemn expression, "Who are you? And why have you attacked the Origin Sect?"


    "I am a swordsman. I attacked because I wanted to exchange pointers with you all." Noah responded with the same answer as earlier.


    When the elder heard those answers, he became extremely angry. He felt as though Noah was mocking him by answering like that.


    "It seems I will need to ask your corpse about this." He spoke as the aura around him increased.


    A few elders around the scene backed away.


    "He is using his <strong>Raging Heart Bloodline</strong>. Now, his physical strength will be twice as strong aspared to before. However, he still doesn''t have much control over himself and might harm us."


    Thus, the other elders walked away from the area that was going to turn into a battlefield.


    Meanwhile, Noah recalled all of his Sword Qi and condensed it into a Sword Intent, filling his Sword with it.


    He charged at the elder ahead of him with his quickest speed.


    Before the other elders could even blink, Noah used his Fleeting Cresent sh ¨C Diagonal.


    In reality, the sh that would have been perfect in this situation would have been Vertical. Stop! However, Noah didn''t want to kill this elder ahead of him. Thus, he went with the Diagonal as which he intended to strike his chest only.


    Before his sword could touch the elder''s body, it struck the Axe that had moved at surprising speed.


    The power in that Axe was much greaterpared to before.


    When Noah felt that Axe strike his Sword, he sensed just how much this man overpowered him.


    As he was pushed away, he tried to stabilize his footing and then counterattack quickly.


    However, before he could regain his footing, the man ahead of him had moved towards Noah.


    There was a furious look on his face as he charged at Noah while brandishing his Axe crazily.


    Noah frowned as he thought ''<em>Is this man swinging mindlessly?</em>''


    Noah had initially been thinking of using his Wind Element to enhance his energy, but he changed his mind after noticing that crazy look on that elder''s face.


    As soon as the elder was close enough, Noah whispered, "<em><strong>Illusionary Steps of the Wind.</strong></em>"


    Noah moved from his spot and used a movement skill.


    The elder soon struck Noah''s body and was shocked to see it turn into the illusionary wind.


    A secondter, Noah appeared with his Sword pressed against his back.


    Just as the elder thought of enduring that sword strike and then hitting Noah, he felt a suppressive aura around him.


    This was <strong>Sword Domain</strong>! Noah activated it as soon as he pointed his sword against the elder''s back.


    He had to suppress this man''s aura, and what better way than to use his trusted Sword Domain.


    Now, his sword could easily pierce this man''s back, and there was nothing he could do about it.


    "Stop! Don''t kill him!" One of the elders nearby shouted to Noah.


    Noah didn''t care about that shout, though. He wasn''t nning to kill this guy anyway.


    "Surrender now." Noah coldly replied.


    It was an elder possessing the greatest prestige in the Origin Sect Branch after their nominal leader, who spoke out, "We surrender. However, don''t kill our leader. If you do kill him, we promise we will attack you with all our might. Not just you, but all those men outside won''t be able to leave."


    This was a naked threat to Noah.


    When Noah heard that threat, he snorted and pierced the back of their ''nominal'' leader. Their nominal leader let out a grunt as he tried to endure the pain.


    He was also feeling the bacsh of using his Bloodline Skill.


    At this point, Noah spoke, "Remember that your threats don''t work on me, so you don''t need to try them again. I never nned to kill this man.. If I did, he wouldn''t be standing right now."

 Chapter 200 - Surrender

    While the Origin Sect Branch leaders had surrendered to Noah, the battle was still raging on Laura''s side.


    Since Laura''s side was massively outnumbered, she had to be extra attentive towards all the skillsunched at their warriors.


    She also had to filter out all the life-threatening attacks from the normal attacks. Thus, it ced an even greater strain on her mind.


    However, she could still manage this situation because of her sharpbat mind and strong cultivation base.


    Meanwhile, Laura was ted to see both her subordinates and Noah''s subordinates were performing extremely well.


    This was their first time coordinating together against another group, excluding the training drills.


    Their coordination was quite good. Noah''s subordinates would immediately get out of the way as the arrows were about to strike them.


    This would allow Laura''s subordinates to strike the warriors in the vanguard and the rear guard.


    Moreover, while Laura''s subordinates were reloading their arrows, Noah''s subordinates would immediatelyunch with a quick burst of speed.


    There would always be some lucky individuals who would manage to sneak from Noah''s subordinates had close the distance between them and the archers.


    In their minds, these were archers. They would be extremely flustered when they realize that an enemy had managed toe close.


    Once these archers were surprised, and their rhythm was broken, the Origin Sect''s Outer disciples couldunch a counter-attack.


    However, these disciples were in for a surprise as Laura''s subordinates could deal with fighters at close range.


    In fact, that''s what their training had been about for the past week.


    Even now, while shooting arrows, some of them were a little sad that they couldn''t put their progress to good use.


    They were quite eager to battle against such fighters now that they had learned to fight at close range.


    For this reason, the fools who managed to sneak near Laura''s subordinates would be struck way before they could realize it.


    In reality, the reason such people could even reach so close was a trick from Laura''s subordinates.


    They were allowing them to get close so that they could fight against them in close range.


    It was a pity that Noah''s subordinates were too ferocious. They didn''t allow many warriors to get past them.


    It would only be a dozen or so warriors in every minute.


    While they were fighting, an announcement soon urred, "We have surrendered! The fighting has to be immediately stopped."


    The Origin Sect''s outer sect disciples immediately stopped for a second as they heard the voice of the Grand Elder.


    However, Noah''s subordinates and Laura''s subordinates hadn''t stopped.


    Laura''s subordinates had alreadyunched their arrows, and by the time these Origin Sect outer disciples realized that arrows were raining down on them, it was toote.


    They knew they would die once those arrows struck their bodies.


    However, their eyes widened in shock as they sawrge wooden vines quickly rising from the ground and deflecting those arrows away.


    They had noticed these vines before. But these vines had only been deflecting their attacks, so they had thought someone from the opponent''s side possessed this wood element. They weren''t wrong with this guess.


    "Alright. Everyone, stop!" Laura ordered.


    Immediately, all of Laura''s and Noah''s subordinates halted and turned in her direction with a confused look on their faces.


    Only at that time did the Outer Sect Disciples notice Laura, who stood even further back from her subordinates.


    It wasn''t that she was afraid of getting into a fight or didn''t want to go too near. She was positioned in the rear because she wanted to see all of her and Noah''s subordinates. Then and only then would she be able to safeguard them.


    Most of the Outer Sect disciples of the Origin Sect Branch were teenagers or had just passed their teenage years.


    As theyid their eyes on Laura, their eyes were glued to her.


    Those beautiful golden locks, that perfect face, her fair skin, and that seductive body¡­Laura had all she needed to fascinate or captivate a man.


    These youths felt their blood boil with excitement as they saw her. They wanted to go over and talk to her.


    Even the woman from the Origin Sect Branch couldn''t help but feelrgely inferior as theypared themselves to Laura.


    Whether it was her beauty or her noble temperament, they werergely inferior to her in both.


    Laura noticed their nces but ignored them. She turned her direction towards Noah and saw himing together with 4 leaders of the Origin Sect Branch.


    The other three were injured, and they had been sent to their physician to get some herb and recover quickly.


    These four men were nearly elderspared to Laura and Noah. Thus, when they saw Laura, there was a hint of desire in their eyes before they calmed down their emotions sessfully.


    They could sense a suppressive aura from Laura. And it appeared to be as dangerous as that of Noah''s power while he was using his Sword Domain.


    Laura closed her eyes as she sent a message to Azaroth using the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    Azaroth''s holographic figure soon appeared over Laura''s Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    The 4 leaders of the Origin Sect Branch were shocked to see that holographic figure.


    ording to the knowledge they possessed, this was a Spiritual Connection Ring. Much more valuable than a Spatial Ring.


    A Spatial Ring could only be used to store non-living things, but a Spiritual Connection Ring could be used to send information or even transfer power through it. This ring had other legends, but they weren''t clear to these men.


    However, seeing this Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring, these 4 leaders immediately concluded that an expert had crafted this ring.


    In fact, when they gazed at Noah''s hand, they saw that same ring in his index finger.


    <em>''They belong to the same organization.''</em>


    "Who is the leader among you?" Azaroth''s holographic image spoke at this moment.


    One of the Origin Sect branch''s leaders spoke while staring at Azaroth, "We are all leaders in this branch."


    "I see¡­ Let me rephrase my question then. Who amongst you makes the decision for this branch?" Azaroth asked with a slightly hurried look on his face.


    "We are all-" Before that man could finish, he was pulled back by another man. This man shook his head and signaled for him to stop speaking.


    The leader possessing the bloodline skill, stepped forward and spoke, "Speak."


    "The rest of you can return then. I will only talk to this man," Azaroth spoke while staring at the man ahead of him.


    Before anyone could say anything, Noah pulled out his sword and coldly threatened them, "Scram, or do you need my help?"


    His threat was effective as the leaders stared at Noah with a fearful gaze before backing away.


    They had seen him fight against their leader after he used his Bloodline Skill. They knew that they would be courting death by infuriating Noah right now.


    Moreover, there was also Laura to add to the mix. Her power was unknown, but the aura she gave out was quite dangerous as well.


    Once the other leaders had gone away, Azaroth asked the man before him, "What''s your name?"


    "Parick Kewin. And what about yours?" Patrick asked with a curious look.


    "Azaroth." That was all Azaroth spoke. He didn''t think there was any harm in giving his true name.


    If the situation was dire, he could always use Nudar or Edwin as his name in this Kingdom, and no one would find out about it.


    "What would you like to discuss with me, Azaroth? Is this something to do with your organization?" Patrick asked.


    Azaroth smiled upon hearing the question. He then spoke, "It''s very pleasant to talk to smart people. I have an offer for you.. I wonder if you will be interested."

 Chapter 201 - Patricks Personal History

    Currently, Azaroth was conducting a deal with Patrick, the leader of this Origin Sect''s Branch.


    He had a n, but for that, he needed this man to be cooperative.


    "What is this offer? I might bite." Patrick asked, strangely interested.


    Azaroth knew why Patrick was interested. It was because he knew that the creator of these Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings couldn''t be normal.


    "Patrick. How long have you stayed in this Origin Sect''s branch?" Instead of mentioning the offer, Azaroth asked another question.


    Patrick didn''t mind this extra question and replied coolly, "10 years. Give or take a couple of months."


    "10 years? Yet you are merely at the peak of the 4 Star Rank? You haven''t even undergone aplete awakening of your bloodline. The origin sect is treating someone of your caliber rather badly." Azaroth drylymented.


    Patrick remained quiet for a couple of seconds. It was indeed true.


    It had been an unusually long amount of time for someone of his caliber to remain at the peak of the 4 Star Rank. Especially for a former genius who possessed a good bloodline.


    His peers had already attained the 5 Star Rank and represented the actual foundation of the Origin Sect.


    It was a hard bite to swallow for someone like Patrick, who had been a former genius. In fact, his talent had even been greater than theirs. Yet here he was¡­ Still managing this low-ss branch in Veninza City, hoping someone woulde and inform him that he could return to the main branch.


    The return call never came. Patrick''s only choice was to remain here.


    "I don''t suppose my personal history is rted to any of this, so please get to the point, Sir Azaroth," Patrick spoke with a cold yet respectful tone.


    Azaroth heard the tone but ignored it casually as he replied, "You are wrong. It''s naturally rted closely."


    "A man who had probably been a genius in the past couldn''t realize hisplete potential. I don''t truly know why you weren''t nurtured properly in the main branch, but I can guess. The inner politics?" Azaroth casually spoke.


    His words made Patrick flinch.


    "You offended someone you couldn''t afford to offend? Or was it rted to some beauty? The sect was threatened by your presence and sent you to this branch under the guise of a promotion?" Azaroth''sst sentence made Patrick flinch again.


    It confirmed Azaroth''s guess.


    Azaroth began to think of the possible things that could have happened. There were many possibilities, but a few of them interested him greatly.


    "Tell me your story. Believe me, I need to know." Azaroth''s eyes appeared rather convincing.


    Patrick decided to speak up since he knew it wouldn''t stay hidden anyway, "My presence made the Great Elder''s grandson feel threatened. As Ipleted more missions and aplished some great feats, my prestige grew in the Origin Sect. He saw that Cara was beginning to pay more attention to me, and we developed sentiments. To prevent us from growing closer, he used his grandfather''s influence to send me to this branch. It was only after a few months did I figure out what his true intentions were."


    "The Origin Sect''s Main Branch organized apetition after I was sent to this branch. The guy participated in it and won the pill. Using that pill, he broke through to the 4 Star Rank earlier than me. He was even lucky enough to awaken his bloodline, which was just a tiny bit stronger than mine. The Origin Sect''s Main Branch decided to ditch me and focus more on him from then on."


    "I''ve been here since then, following the directions of the Main Branch. That guy is now a member of the Origin Sect''s 5 Star Warriors. He is the Origin Sect''s youngest 5 Star Warrior and the main branch''s youngest elder. Hugo Corlett is his name." Patrick hissed at the end of his remarks.


    "And that woman of yours, Cara. What about her?" Azaroth asked.


    Patrick drylyughed, "It shouldn''t be all that difficult to guess what she is doing now. She is one of the wives of Hugo Corlett. Her cultivation is the same as mine, but because she is in a rtionship with Hugo Corlett, the grandson of the Grand Elder, she can gather lots of resources for her cultivation."


    "Her Ardor, her spirit, they are more refined and sturdier than mine. I doubt I would be able to win against her even after using my Bloodline Skill." Patrick let out a sigh.


    Azaroth muttered, "I see¡­." He then asked with a serious voice, "Do you seek vengeance?"


    Patrick stared at Azaroth coldly. Azaroth continued to speak with a calm voice, "You don''t need to act like that in front of me. I can see your negative emotions. Your anger, envy, and greed. These are the primary emotions you felt when I asked you that question."


    "Incorrect." Patrick immediately denied with a calm look on his face.


    However, he was internally very startled as he heard Azaroth''s words. Azaroth''s statement was far too urate.


    Moreover, his expression hadn''t changed even after Patrick had denied his statement. This told Patrick that this wasn''t confidence exhibited by Azaroth but felt as though he knew the truth.


    It scared him a little as he felt that he couldn''t keep any secrets before Azaroth. It also confirmed his guesses that Azaroth was truly the boss of these two individuals.


    "Work under me, Patrick. I will help you break through to the 5 Star Rank and even assist you inpletely awakening your bloodline. Once your bloodline awakenspletely, I doubt you would need to be scared of Hugo Corlett. You can grab your woman back and perhaps get many more along with her."


    Azaroth spoke with a calm voice. Each word was calcted to coerce Patrick.


    Azaroth was targeting all the emotions felt by Patrick. There was one particr emotion that he hadn''t mentioned earlier. Other than the anger, greed, and envy, another great emotion in Patrick''s heart was lust.


    It was easy to figure out that Patrick still held some fond feelings for his woman. However, because this woman had married Hugo, she had betrayed Patrick''s trust regardless of the reason.


    At this point, Patrick wanted to go and get his love back, whether it was by Hook Or Crook.


    He wasn''t going to say it out loud, though. It would give the impression that he was a narrow-minded individual.


    The reason he was trying to leave behind a good impression was also clear to Azaroth.


    Laura. Patrick was most likely charmed by Laura''s beauty.


    Since Azaroth hade to know of it, he was going to deal with it as well. He couldn''t have this man harboring some hidden intentions towards Laura. Messing with Laura would mean courting death. And not just for him but for Azaroth and his entire organization.


    "I will join you. However, it''s not for vengeance but because you have promised to awaken my bloodlinepletely." Patrick spoke with a calm face.


    Azaroth could easily see through that white lie. But he maintained a cordial smile and replied, "Good. Then your first task would be to take over this Origin Sect''s Branchpletely so that none of them can leak information about this. Once you have taken over this branch, I will inspect it. If you pass the inspection, I will take you under my wing."


    With that, Azaroth cut off the connection between them.


    Patrick stood there, motionless. There was a nk look on his face.


    <em>''Am I the one begging him to enter his organization? Or is he the one recruiting me? Moreover, what''s with this task? Take over the Origin Sect''s Branch?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''If it was as easy as it sounded, then I would have aplished it already! What can I do?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Moreover, didn''t he say he would awaken my bloodline? Did he mean that he would awaken it only if I pass the inspection?''</em>


    Patrick was growing nervous at this inspection.


    Soon, an idea popped up in his mind.


    He looked in Noah''s direction and bowed his head respectfully, "Would you be kind enough to lend your aid to me?"


    Noah coldly asked him, "What is it?"


    Patrick replied with a smile, "Nothing much. It will be a simple task.. I need your help in silencing a few people."

 Chapter 202 - Helenas Transformation

    Around this time, Tiana was starting up her <strong>Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect</strong>. The first individual who joined up her sect was Helena Fontana.


    This girl was rather young in terms of age and experience. She was also very rough along the edgespared to Tiana, who had a good education before marrying Jonas.


    The first thing Tiana did was give her one <strong>Seven Star Yin Pill</strong>.


    Helena was rather suspicious as she ate that pill. However, after observing Tiana''s gentle temperament for the next couple of days, she trusted her and ate the pill.


    Tiana was surprised as she felt the nearby Yin Ardor immediately rush towards Helena.


    In the distance, the Boreal Mountain Bears sensed this change in the environment. Beasts were very sensitive to the changes of Ardor in the environment.


    Previously, when Tiana was undergoing her transformation, Azaroth controlled the Yin Ardor around them to prevent it from affecting the Boreal Mountain Bears.


    Azaroth had a profound reason to not inform Tiana about it.


    It would be up to Tiana on how she handled these Boreal Mountain Bears. No matter what she did, it would be a good experience for her.


    He trusted her enough to know that she would handle this situation smartly.


    The Boreal Mountain Bears had a 5 Star Beast among them as well. So it wouldn''t be easy for Tiana to deal with them.


    But it was good that the Boreal Mountain Bears didn''t dare to get close to the fox''s territory.


    They had many bad memories of this ce. One such memory was when the Boreal Mountain Bear Lord had been beaten to the brink of death by the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    The Boreal Mountain Bears also remembered how they had all been beaten to their current mountain.


    Their defeat at the hands of those Frozen Spirit Foxes was so deeply ingrained in their minds that they didn''t dare to go anywhere near the territory.


    Thus, they still hadn''t found out that the Frozen Spirit Fox n had been annihted. Only 4 of the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen''s kits had survived.


    One of them had even awakened a rare bloodline. It was Frozen Spirit Fox Emperor bloodline.


    There was a symbol of ''<em><strong>Emperor</strong></em>'' on that fox''s head.


    The other three kits had a ''<em><strong>King</strong></em>'' symbol on their forehead.


    It was a good thing that this symbol was normally hidden. Only when the Frozen Spirit Foxes red up or used their Bloodline Skill would it be visible. This Symbol would exert a great bloodline pressure on other beasts.


    Bloodline Pressure was a simple skill utilized by many kinds of beasts possessing a great bloodline.


    It would boost the aura of the user while also suppressing the aura of its opponent. It would also affect the beasts possessing low-ranked bloodlines, no matter their cultivation.


    Only the beasts who had walked a path of blood could ignore that Bloodline Pressure.


    The Bloodline Pressure of the beasts even worked on Humans. But not to a great extent. A human possessing some sort of intent could easily contend against it.


    In any case, Tiana sensed that the Yin Ardor''s equilibrium in the area had been disrupted. However, she had no idea that it had reached a point where the Boreal Mountain Bears had sensed it.


    Thus, she prepared no countermeasures for it yet.


    Nearly three dayster, the ice over Helena''s body cracked, and she was finally free.


    It took a greater time for her to upgrade her spirit because her physique was a lot worse than Tiana''s physique.


    Moreover, she hadn''t cultivated before, so her energy channels weren''t developed. A lot of energy was lost during this process. Thus more time was needed for her physique to elevate to the Seven Yin Physique.


    It didn''t offer quite as many benefits as Tiana''s Sacred Seven Yin Physique, but it was still a huge boost to Helena.


    For starters, she had absorbed Yin Energy in suchrge quantities that it had naturally strengthened each portion of her body, even though she hadn''t started cultivating any technique yet.


    She had broken through to the 1 Star Rank, and as long as Tiana provided her with an appropriate technique, her progress would be quite quick.


    Another thing that had urred was her appearance transformation. If it was the pure ice aura and facial beauty, then she could barely contend against Tiana right now.


    Naturally, she would lose to Tiana due to herck of Noble Temperament or elegance. Her aura would bepletely suppressed before Tiana.


    However, this was quite a significant boostpared to before.


    Helena was also surprised to find out that this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had been founded recently. And she was the first member of this sect.


    Tiana spoke her first words as she stared at Helena after sessfully transforming her body into Seven Yin Physique, "As you are one of the first members of this sect, I will give you a Frozen Spirit Fox as your pet. Take good care of it."


    Tiana then began to teach her cultivation forms. She kept the Nine Yin Cultivation Art and some other top-tier cultivation techniques with herself while imparting the other techniques to Helena.


    It took some time for Helena to get used to cultivation. She wasn''t used to this stuff at all.


    Tiana could rte to Helena. She remembered when she had entered the Rhodes Mansion and was given multiple techniques and asked to cultivate them.


    It was very challenging for her to get used to this stuff. After that was Azaroth''s training, and then her body and mind adapted to it.


    She nned to give some time to Helena for her to adapt to this lifestyle.


    Once she was proficient in utilizing her cultivation technique, Tiana nned to teach her some basic techniques. Those techniques would be essential in controlling her Ardor.


    Only after that would Helena begin to utilize her Elemental Ardor.


    It was a good thing that Azaroth hadn''t given her a time limit. Tiana could do this at her pace, one step at a time.


    Tiana roamed around her territory as well. One reason was to get familiar with the area, and another reason was to hunt the beasts nearby.


    Controlling 4 Star Rank Ardor was new even to Tiana. Thus, she had to get more familiar with it and increase her control over it.


    Soon enough, a month had passed.


    Helena had now begun to manipte the Ice Element while Tiana had more or less mastered her 4 Star Ardor.


    She was now getting used to the arrays left behind by Azaroth. Her knowledge and control over these arrays would be essential against an enemy of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Moreover, she had to keep this sect concealed until they had at least tens of members.


    Only after she achieved, this benchmark would Azaroth give her orders.


    Meanwhile, Helena was quite surprised that she and Tiana remained in the same ce for such a long time.


    She found it weird because Tiana would never leave the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect for a long time.


    At the maximum, she would remain outside the sect''s territory for a couple of days and return.


    Helena knew that there was no city nearby. Even if Tiana rushed at it with her top speed, she wouldn''t be able to reach it and return in a couple of days.


    This clearly indicated that Tiana didn''t go to some city. Then how could she pay Helena''s sry monthly?


    Just what was the source of ie for the sect?


    In reality, there was no source of ie for the sect yet.


    Just like Sargan and Yrellea, Azaroth had left behind some Spirit Coins for Tiana as well.. He had given her a lot more spirit coins since she was creating an entire sect.

 Chapter 203 - The Walsh Dukedoms Great Benefits

    Within the Walsh Dukedom''s Territory, Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Currently, Edwin was in the Walsh Dukedom''s mansion. There was a serious look on his face as he continued to read the information he had acquired from his spies.


    His n had partially failed.


    Edwin''s n was to annihte the Radiant Church of the entire Kingdom and destroy Roger Dukedom''s prestige.


    He aplished a single objective from this. The destruction of the Radiant Church that was.


    The Roger Dukedom had been ready for the battle against Radiant Church. The fact they had set up a Visionary Connecting Array was out of his expectation.


    Using this Visionary Connecting Array, the Roger Dukedom had shown how they had tried to help the Angels, but the Angels had stabbed them in the back after receiving their assistance.


    It showed the Angels and even the Radiant Church in a bad light.


    This caused the Roger Dukedom to have a lot of sympathizers.


    These sympathizers were now battling against the Radiant Church''s followers. This could be considered a Civil War but much smaller than what Edwin had in mind.


    This Visionary Connecting Array was truly the best possible method to counter Edwin''s n. It felt as though the Roger Dukedom knew just what would be the next step of Edwin''s n. Such foresight was truly annoying.


    In reality, this interference wasn''t something that annoyed Edwin. It was just that he didn''t expect such a person within the Roger Dukedom. It annoyed him that he had no clue about this person''s identity.


    Edwin had no spies in the Roger Dukedom. Otherwise, he would have received some clues about this person by now.


    At the least, his appearance or his title would be known. It would make things a lot easier for Edwin.


    Siluca wasn''t so disappointed with how everything turned out, though. The primary reason for this was because she had no idea how bad things had turned out for them.


    If not for that final move from Edwin, the Walsh Dukedom would be in deep trouble right now.


    It was noon time, and Siluca was in her office. Instead of moving out to have lunch, she remained in that office and continued to give instructions to her subordinates.


    The entire Walsh Dukedom was going to be very busy for the next couple of days. She wanted to takeplete advantage of the current situation.


    Firstly, she had to legally take over all thend and spots possessed by the Radiant Church. It wouldn''t be very difficult since the majority of it was within her territory.


    She had even hired some mercenaries to use them and deal with any troublesome characters popping up in her way.


    While Siluca dealt with the aftermath of the Radiant Church''s destruction, she also sent multiple messages to other territories and Noble Houses.


    Although the Roger Dukedom''s prestige hadn''t been destroyed, it had been significantly lowered. Thus, using diplomacy to takeplete advantage of this situation would be best, in her opinion.


    She had initially asked Edwin''s assistance over this matter, but he was more interested in reading all the information their spies had collected.


    She didn''t understand why Edwin was so worried. They hade out on top with so many advantages.


    There was no need to be worried anymore.


    Ironically, this was true.


    The one who had benefited the most from this situation wasn''t Edwin, Shun, or the Roger Dukedom. It was Siluca.


    She didn''t actually want to destroy the Roger Dukedom, making the entire Sinyalian Kingdom weaker. Her objective to destroy the Radiant Church had been aplished, however.


    And no one was pointing fingers at the Walsh Dukedom. She could takeplete advantage of this situation.


    What Edwin wanted was to use this event and trigger a civil war in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, the civil war had only been triggered against the Roger Dukedom. Moreover, if things continued like this, it would be resolved soon.


    Edwin soon let out a sigh as he didn''t find anything from the spies'' information.


    He then began to think deeply about this entire situation. Since the event had passed, it was time to look objectively at the situation.


    ''I have managed to get control over the Walsh Dukedom. If Siluca ys her cards right, the Walsh Dukedom can double its influence. Using this influence might be helpful in the war against the Glerian Kingdom.''


    This entire information was sent to Azaroth.


    He was mildly disappointed that the Sinyalian Kingdom had managed to avoid a civil war inside itself owing to certain unforeseen factors.


    If a civil war had broken out in the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Glerian Kingdom would have dyed everything and attack this Kingdom.


    Azaroth wasn''t going to me his clone. This was the best he could have done with his power.


    Azaroth was also mildly surprised to find out that his clone had seduced the duchess.


    This woman waspletely intoxicated with Edwin right now.


    He knew what Edwin was nning to do next. This forced Azaroth to alter his future ns for the Glerian Kingdom.


    Once the two cut off their connection, Edwin left his room and walked towards Siluca''s office.


    His rtionship with Siluca was still very much a secret from everyone else in the Walsh Dukedom.


    If news of his rtionship spread, it would be hard to keep his identity concealed. Once his identity was revealed, Jonas was sure to suspect him and take action against him.


    Edwin soon entered Siluca''s office.


    He nced at her and noticed that her emotions were chaotic as sheid her eyes on him.


    Edwin raised his hand and signaled her to send out her servants as well as the guards.


    Siluca blushed a bit as she thought he had something romantic in his mind. She spoke with amanding tone, "Everyone, leave. I have something important to talk about with him."


    The servants and guards were used to leaving the two alone in the office. They didn''t question her and immediately left the office.


    Once all her servants and her guards had left, Edwin spoke with a solemn voice, "I will be leaving in a couple of days."


    Those words startled Siluca. Those words were so unexpected that she stood up and asked him with a shocked expression, "What happened? Are you not happy with anything here? Did someone annoy you? Tell me, I will immediately deal with him."


    Her voice was filled with anxiety and dejection.


    Edwin shook his head and replied, "Now that the Radiant Church has been destroyed, I need to focus on other things."


    "W-what?" Siluca was absolutely devastated to hear him say that.


    She wanted to ask him what he thought about their rtionship but was scared of his answer. Hence, she stayed quiet.


    Edwin noticed her expression and added, "I was initially thinking of taking you along, but you need to stay here and manage the entire situation so that the opportunity doesn''t slip from your fingers."


    Siluca''s gloomy heart was soothed by these words. She was relieved to learn that Edwin was really considering taking her along as well. Only because she was preupied, he had made a different decision.


    "Where are you going?" Siluca asked him softly.


    "To the Mesenana City," Edwin replied.

 Chapter 204 - Demons In Veninza City

    In Veninza City, the Glerian Kingdom.


    Azaroth was currently talking to Ralph and understanding how it was going on for him. Ralph informed Azaroth that he had sessfully gained their respect as their leader by defeating them inbat.


    He had even aplished great feats in the Dragon Tiger Pce till now.


    As a Demi-Beast with a Cougar''s Bloodline, his senses were much better than other warriors.


    Ralph could locate arge gathering of beasts using his enhanced senses. He had also figured out how to hide his group''s breath from the animals and sneak up on them using his Bloodline Ability.


    Due to this reason, his team had beenrgely sessful in bringing many corpses back to the Dragon Tiger Pce Grounds.


    Moreover, many of the beasts he had hunted were rare or troublesome to hunt.


    His age brought another wave of shock to the disciples and even the management of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    They had not anticipated an outer disciple to aplish such incredible aplishments in such a short period.


    The management thought of observing him for a longer period before promoting him to be an inner disciple.


    Ralph was unaware of this fact.


    He was merely using his newfound reputation to increase the size of his team.


    In reality, if he had arger group, he would have been able to hunt more beasts and even the stronger beasts.


    Even though a 4 Star Beast was powerful, it would copse if enough warriors assaulted it.


    In the nearby forest, Ralph found a n of Elephants possessed a trace of a bloodline of the Ancient Mammoths.


    The tusks of these Elephants were rated very highly within the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Ralph wanted to trade these Tusks for some strong Spiritual Knuckles. Perhaps footwear that would enhance his speed as well.


    His subordinates were very happy to work under Ralph.


    They were quite delighted with their prestige in the Dragon Tiger Pce and felt that joining Ralph''s team was the best decision they made in their life.


    It wasn''t just the prestige that made them happy. Ralph was a reasonable person who would split the profits with them, taking just a bit more than his subordinates.


    He wasn''t greedy for money and did the most work during an expedition. They had noints against him.


    Ralph''s group of 15 warriors had now expanded to 50 warriors. He had temporarily halted the recruitment since 50 warriors were more than enough for now.


    He couldn''t take all 50 warriors on his mission, so he developed a management structure in which some of his men would give duties to the new recruits while he took a small squad with him.


    Ralph would form his personal squad of 10 new recruits and 4 experts. He would change his squad after every month.


    This would allow him to interact with all the new recruits and understand their abilities.


    Azaroth spoke to Ralph with a serious voice, "Inform me immediately when you are summoned by the elders. They should have known about your deeds by now. Once they finish investigating you or testing you, they will invite you to give you more resources in return for representing their association."


    Ralph was slightly surprised to hear this from Azaroth.


    "ept their offer in return for the ck Leopard King''s Blood Essence," Azaroth spoke with a serious voice.


    Ralph frowned slightly as he asked, "A ck Leopard King''s Blood Essence? Is it the one living in the nearby forest, master? That Leopard King has a Lightning Element, while I possess me Element. Its blood essence won''t bepatible with me."


    "Just do as you are told. I will handle the rest," Azaroth informed him coldly before cutting off the connection between them.


    These days, Azaroth had remained in the Veninza City. He would wait for the King''s resources toe to Lennox Rees''s house and trade them with the resources he had on hand.


    After that, he would send the herbs to Edwin''s location using a teleportation array. He was living a rather simple life these days by focusing on cultivation and sensing battle intent around him.


    A few hours after talking to Ralph, Azaroth''s eyes snapped open. He was startled because he sensed the presence of demons in Veninza City.


    It wasn''t just a single demon. In fact, there was a whole group of them. They were emerging from the ground.


    ''<em>There is a secret dungeon of the demons nearby?!</em>''


    This was shocking information because this meant that there was a possibility that these demons were emerging from some sort of Underground Labyrinth of the Demons, or they had formed a nest under the ground.


    Since it was a demon nest, it was surely under a Demon Lord or a Demon King. A Demon Emperor shouldn''t be involved here. If a Demon Emperor was involved, he could have already waged war against this kingdom or taken control of it.


    However, from what Azaroth had observed, the humans reigned over the Glerian Kingdom.


    This could only mean a hidden nest created by either a Demon Lord or a Demon King.


    As for what these demons were doing, Azaroth had no idea. He got up and followed those demons.


    The demons were outside the city, so it took Azaroth some minutes to reach their location.


    After reaching the location, Azaroth was surprised to see humans standing ahead of the demons.


    No¡­ The humans weren''t standing. They were kneeling in the demons'' presence!


    Another shocking thing was that Azaroth hadn''t managed to sense these humans.


    <em>''They possess some special artifact to conceal their presence?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    This fact did shock him a lot. It meant that the demon involved was rather rich as he held so many special artifacts.


    Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to observe them all. Fortunately, the Mystic Eyes of Perception worked on them.


    He could see their emotion, their cultivation realm, check up their spirit and bloodlines.


    There was a 5 Star Warrior within humans.


    Azaroth immediately concluded as he saw that 5 Star Warrior ''<em>It must be the work of a Demon King. A Demon Lord won''t be able to boost the energy of a 5 Star Warrior.''</em>


    <em>''This Demon King is forming his cult here. Is he nning to do something as well?''</em> Azaroth knew that he had to figure out what this Demon King was doing here.


    He could be arge variable for the situation in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Azaroth quickly thought of a way to figure out this Demon King''s n for the Glerian Kingdom.


    Around this time, a Demon raised his head to look in the sky. He felt someone''s presence in the sky.


    However, all he saw was a starry sky above his head.


    Azaroth had already flown away somewhere else where he could listen to these demons and take action when necessary.


    He was using a skill known as Shadow Concealment to cover his body with Demonic Ardor.


    Azaroth''s Shadow Concealment skill was quite special. As long as someone''s Ardor didn''t surpass his own, they wouldn''t be able to find him.


    Due to possessing the Triquetra Ardor, Azaroth was absolutely confident about his Ardor''s density and quantity.


    It was far beyond the ordinary.. Azaroth soon concentrated on listening to the words of these demons.

 Chapter 205 - Demon Gods Bloodline Pressure

    One of the demons, who stood in front of the humans, spoke loudly and clearly.


    "Today, you all have been assembled to inform you that the time hase for your training to end." The Demon paused after he said that.


    In the distance, Azaroth was slightly surprised. He gazed at the humans and used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to observe them carefully.


    He noticed that these humans had a calm expression. Moreover, their bodies were indeed well trained.


    Azaroth wasn''t sure about their reflexes since he hadn''t seen them fight yet, but it couldn''t be that bad with this well-trained body they possessed.


    "You are the second batch that is going to be recruited in the Lord''s personal army. You should be proud of this fact!" The Demon shouted thest sentence.


    In response, the humans were truly excited. Azaroth wondered just who their lord was for these humans to be so excited.


    "Serving Lord ck Hurricane would be our honor!" The humans were speaking with a devoted look.


    ''<em>ck Hurricane, huh?''</em> Azaroth kept this name in his mind and decided to investigate itter.


    "Tomorrow, you will all leave for Amville City. It''s under Lord ck Hurricane''s control now, and you need to enforce his rule in that city. Moreover, you need to convert more humans to the Cult of Ralgius."


    <em>''The Amville City, huh? And the Cult of Ralgius. Well, this thing is definitely not from my era. I need to find information about it.''</em> Azaroth thought with a resolute look.


    The human followers who heard the words of that demon immediately had a bright look on their faces.


    "Lord ck Hurricane had insisted that we reward you with some cultivation pills and spirit weapons forpleting your training sessfully." The Demon spoke with a grin on his face. Multiple bottles of pills appeared in that Demon''s hand.


    Azarothid his eyes on those pills and frowned slightly ''Forbidden Essence Extension Pellets? Someone can actually create this pellet here?''


    A Forbidden Essence Extension Pellet was used to enhance the Bloodline Energy and the user''s cultivation forcefully.


    As the demon opened the bottle to distribute this medicinal pill, the aroma of the pellets soon spread in the area.


    Azaroth smelled this aroma and guessed that this was a 5 Star Pellet.


    ''<em>This ck Hurricane guy is rather interesting. He is an Alchemist from the Purgatory?</em>'' Azaroth was slightly surprised.


    It was rare for a Demon to study alchemy and even seed.


    Usually, a demon would first increase hisbat power, and when he was strong enough, he would try out Alchemy or Array Formations.


    Naturally, this was what a normal demon did. The geniuses would remain focused on their paths.


    Now, it was a question of whether this ck Hurricane Demon was a normal demon or a genius.


    If this ck Hurricane Demon was a normal demon, it would be tricky to deal with him.


    He then nced at the weapons that were being distributed.


    The demons were actually distributing different weapons to these warriors. Some received a sword, Great Sword, Spears, Halberds, Axe, and so on¡­


    Moreover, Azaroth sensed different elements from these weapons. These were custom weapons specially made for each warrior.


    <em>''A talented and hardworking cksmith is involved as well.''</em>


    Azaroth could feel the residual spiritual energy left behind by that cksmith who crafted these weapons. He was a lot more carelesspared to the Alchemist who created the pills.


    The Alchemist hadn''t left behind even a tiny bit of his spirit with which Azaroth could trace him. However, the cksmith did.


    Azaroth wasn''t that pleased even after this discovery. He couldn''t really use this tiny bit of spirit to trace that cksmith.


    Using this spiritual energy signature, Azaroth could recognize him as long as he appeared within his sensing range.


    "Alright, it''s time for you to leave now. The effect of the Spirit Concealment Pellet is about to end. Take another one and then return to your location. I will give you a signal in the morning, and you need to leave immediately after getting that signal." The Demon spoke with amanding tone.


    The humans pulled out a blue-colored pill and immediately ingested it. After waiting for some time, they left for Veninza City.


    Azaroth now understood that they weren''t wearing an artifact to conceal their presence. They were instead using pills to aplish this.


    He didn''t follow these humans. In reality, he was more curious about what these demons were nning to do.


    The demon who appeared to be the leader of his group spoke out, "Except for my guards, all return to the hollow ground as well. I will go and prepare the signal."


    Except for their leader and his personal guards, all of the demons dashed back to the hole from whence they had emerged.


    It was just this leader and his guards. They departed for Veninza City soon enough.


    Azaroth followed these demons and was wondering internally ''<em>It''s time to take action. I won''t find such opportunityter.''</em>


    For Azaroth, dealing with these demons was as easy as turning his hand.


    He didn''t even need to go and punch them. He just needed to stand his ground and release his Demon God''s Bloodline Pressure.


    It wasn''t just the beasts who possessed Bloodline Pressure with which they could subdue the beasts with weak bloodline. The demons and humans were the same.


    However, it was less effective in the case of demons and humans unless the disparity of the bloodlines was too great.


    As soon as that leader and his guards sensed Azaroth''s Bloodline Pressure, they felt an unbearable pressure over their backs. They even lost all will to resist that pressure.


    "You seem to be in a hurry. How about you stop and chat with me?" Azaroth spoke with a smile.


    The demons felt their senses were on the edge as they looked at this man.


    Only the leader could utter while grinding his teeth, "Who are you?!"


    "Is that how you talk to your superiors, Spirit Demon?" Azaroth snorted as he red at that leader.


    He had mentioned the bloodline of that leader. It was the Spirit Demon Bloodline.


    The Spirit Demon Race had been gifted with superior control and power over their Spirit. After a Spirit Demon bes a Demon Lord, he could easily crush the spirits of his opponents.


    In fact, they also possessed the ability to ignore the Bloodline Pressure if their spirit was more powerful than their opponent.


    The Spirit Demon currently believed the rumor to be a scam. He tried to fight the pressure using his Bloodline Ability, but it didn''t help.


    "Now, tell me what I want to know. Who is this ck Hurricane guy?" Azaroth asked.


    The Spirit Demon turned to face hisrades and signaled them with his gaze.


    Hispanions understood the meaning and immediately overloaded their core with Demonic Ardor.


    Azaroth noticed their little interaction and sneered in response, "How na?ve. You think you can die without my approval?"


    His ruby eyes turned purple as he red at the demons.


    The pressure exhibited by Azaroth strengthened, and the Ardor in the demons'' body froze.


    They could no longer move their Ardor by a tiny amount.


    "As I said earlier, tell me what I want to know! This isn''t a request.. It''s an order!" Azaroth spoke with a dangerously calm voice.

 Chapter 206 - Fourth Prince Of The Glerian Kingdom

    Azaroth''s voice made the Spirit Demon afraid for his life. He slowly began to mutter, "ck Hurricane is our master¡­He is the fourth prince of this Kingdom."


    "A Prince of the Glerian Kingdom?" Azaroth''s eyes slightly widened at that possibility.


    "Yes. However, no one in this Kingdom knows that the true fourth prince of this Kingdom has already died. It''s my master who lives in the fourth prince''s body now." The Spirit Demon spoke.


    Azaroth asked while staring at that Spirit Demon, "What is his rank?"


    "Before taking over that human''s body, my master was a Demon King. Right now, in that human''s body, ck Hurricane is at Demon Lord Rank," The Spirit Demon muttered out.


    Azaroth frowned upon hearing those words and thought <em>''A Demon King took over a human''s body and willingly lowered his cultivation? Strange.''</em>


    He asked the Spirit Demon, "Was he injured? Why would he switch bodies with the power he possessed?"


    The Spirit Demon made every effort to keep silent, but it was futile. "I don''t know the specific reason, but I assume that master took such a big risk because he wants to get something that the Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom has," he said quickly.


    <em>''Something in the hands of the King? What could it be? Does he want control over this Kingdom? No¡­ He could have aplished this through other unconventional methods.''</em>


    Soon, Azaroth''s eyes widened slightly as he thought <em>''This Glerian Kingdom might possess another secret that prevents him from using those methods.''</em>


    "Does your master still use Demonic Ardor?" Azaroth asked.


    The Spirit Demon replied after a few seconds, "¡­No. He released all his Demonic Ardor and purified it with the assistance of a Holy Artifact to convert it into the Humanely Ardor. He ispletely human in terms of physique and power. Only his spirit remains the same."


    Azaroth immediately began to think <em>''For him to turn himself into a pure human. It seems that the thing he wants is very precious. Or atleast to him.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    ''<em>But if this thing is so precious, why hasn''t the King used it already? Is it a Weapon? A cultivation technique? Some sort of Artifact? Or something else entirely?''</em>


    Azaroth was sure that this wasn''t some sort of consumable thing like a pellet. The King would have definitely utilized it already.


    "What about these humans you are sending to Amville City?" Azaroth asked his next question.


    "My master wants followers who would follow his order without any hesitation. As for precisely what he wants them to do, I have no idea." The Spirit Demon replied with a bitter smile.


    Azaroth had expected this response, actually. He also wouldn''t tell his subordinates about his ns.


    "How many such demon nests does your master have in this Kingdom?" Azaroth asked his final question.


    "10 including the Demon Nest in this city. We all have the same task. To create a secret cult for our master. Train the humans and then send them to master''s side." The Spirit Demon replied.


    Azaroth nodded his head. He then looked into the eyes of all these demons and spoke seriously, "Forget about this interaction and do what you were nning to do."


    Azaroth wasn''t nning to get in the way of this Demon.


    In reality, this could be very convenient for Azaroth.


    Right now, Azaroth was in the dark while this Demon was in the light. As long as Azaroth controlled the situation carefully, he could gain maximum advantage from it.


    The Spirit Demon and the other demons soon forgot their conversation with Azaroth.


    Azaroth filled their memory with walking towards their destination. If someone reads their memory, they won''t find anything suspicious.


    <em>''It seems that I need to change my ns. Edwin must not create a civil war in the Sinyalian Kingdom while here, another Demon King is present who can be a variable in my ns.''</em>


    <em>''Time to go to the Origin Sect Branch.''</em>


    Azaroth dashed towards the Origin Sect Branch.


    Currently, Laura and Noah were in that location. The Origin Sect Branch Leader Patrick had already submitted to Azaroth.


    He had also talked to a few of hisrades secretly about working under Azaroth.


    Out of the seven leaders, only 2 others agreed. The rest were immediately attacked by Patrick, Noah, and Laura.


    Noah prevented those warriors from running away. Meanwhile, Laura had created a wooden barrier to prevent anyone else from witnessing it or hearing the screams of these men.


    By the time Azaroth arrived, the Origin Sect Branch had been cleaned of any spies by Patrick, Noah, and Laura.


    Well, at least the spies in the top chain.


    There were hardly any spies among the Inner Sect Disciples of the Outer Sect Disciples.


    The Inner Sect disciples were surprised to hear that the outer disciples had lost to some random group.


    In fact, many of them were quite disdainful as they heard this information and bullied the Outer Sect Disciples using this pretext.


    The Outer Sect Disciples didn''t resist because they believed that they had lost the face of the Origin Sect by losing to a random group like that.


    Especially those warriors who couldn''t deal with Laura''s group in closebat. Azaroth was flying in the sky as he went towards Laura and Noah''s spot.


    Currently, Noah and Laura were waiting for Azaroth in the Origin Sect''s Hall. Only two other elders were seated in that Hall.


    They were quite nervous as Noah had informed them that his master was arriving soon enough.


    Not just those elders but even Patrick was slightly nervous. He wondered just what sort of figure Noah''s master was.


    From that Holographic Figure, he had gauged that the man was young but very determined and confident.


    There wasn''t a hint of naiveness on his face.


    Soon, Azaroth crashed into the rooftop of the Hall and entered by piercing that roof.


    He wasn''t injured because his Physique was just that strong.


    Patrick and the other elders of this Origin Sect Branch were startled to see Azaroth entering the Hall in such a manner.


    Noah and Laura immediately went on their knees as they saw Azaroth, "We greet boss/ master."


    Azaroth ignored the greetings of the two and focused on Patrick. More precisely, he was observing Patrick''s emotions.


    Currently, Patrick''s emotions indicated that he was scared, nervous, and hopeful.


    This relieved Azaroth. Since Patrick was scared of Azaroth, he wouldn''t easily betray him. And since he was nervous and hopeful, he did have ambition present in his heart.


    "It was wise of you to join hands with me. Now, I will fulfill my first agreement with you. To awaken your bloodlinepletely." Azaroth spoke with a calm tone.


    Patrick was immediately excited as he heard Azaroth.


    "Really?!"


    Azaroth nodded, "Hmm." He then turned his gaze to the other elders in the room, "Let''s go to your personal training ground. You can''t be disturbed during the process of awakening your bloodline."


    "Yes, yes. Follow me." Patrick spoke as he immediately stood up and proceeded to move out of the Hall.


    Azaroth, the other elders, Noah, and Laura, followed him.


    While they were walking, Noah informed Azaroth, "Master, we killed all the elders who opposed us."


    Azaroth stared at Noah and soon replied, "I know. I don''t me you."


    Noah was relieved.. He was a bit worried about this issue.

 Chapter 207 - Blood Mastiff

    Azaroth stood ahead of Patrick with a solemn expression.


    The other elders, Noah, and Laura were gazing at them from the sidelines.


    Beneath Azaroth and Patrick''s feet was a red-colored pentagon. It contained power beyond Patrick''s understanding, and he couldn''t help but feel goosebumps as he stood over this unknown array.


    "This is Bloodline Awakening Array. Your bloodline is rted to stimting your heart. This array would be perfect for awakening itpletely." Azaroth spoke with a hint of a smile on his face.


    "I see. Then please start it, Lord Azaroth." Patrick spoke excitedly.


    "Very well." The grin on Azaroth''s face widened. He raised his hand and sliced the air.


    A red energy sh wasunched towards Patrick. Patrick nervously crossed his arms to block that attack.


    The attack soonnded on his body. He felt that energy sh cutting a bit of his skin but soon dispersing.


    He was surprised¡­ Wasn''t this attack too weak? He saw Azaroth grinning mysteriously.


    Just what was going on? Why had Azaroth attacked him? And if Azaroth did want to attack him, why was his attack so weak?


    "You should be more attentive. Look behind you." Azaroth noticed that Patrick was still confused, so he gave out a hint.


    Patrick was puzzled, and he turned his head.


    What he saw shocked him greatly. It was a red-colored liquid mixing together to conjure some sort of being.


    This red liquid was undoubtedly Patrick''s blood that had leaked out when Azaroth''s attacknded on his body.


    Soon, the shape of that blood beast could be recognized. It was a small dog-like being. This was none other than a Blood Mastiff.


    As soon as that Blood Mastiff was formed, it attacked Patrick.


    There was a ruthless look on that Blood Mastiff''s face as if Patrick had killed its beloved one.


    Patrick was confused about the situation, but he didn''t want to get hurt by the Blood Mastiff''s attacks. Thus, he immediately counterattacked.


    He drew out his trusted Axe and attacked the Blood Mastiff.


    Before he could hit the Blood Mastiff with his Axe, the Blood Mastiff had already changed his path and attacked Patrick from another direction.


    Since the Blood Mastiff was rather small, his movements were nimble. Using Axe to hit this puppy-like beast was more or less impossible!


    The Blood Mastiff managed to bite Patrick''s arm, which held his Axe.


    Patrick screamed out in pain, "<strong>Ahhhh¡­.</strong>" It was an earsplitting scream which forced the other two elders to cover their ears.


    Laura and Noah stared at that array. They couldn''t help but remember the second phase of their training under Azaroth.


    It was a lot simr to what they were witnessing right now.


    The Axe slipped out of Patrick''s hand as the Blood Mastiff bit his arm. While Patrick was screaming, he had brought his other arm towards the Blood Mastiff''s face and was pushing it with all his might.


    Unconsciously, he began to use the Raging Heart Bloodline to increase his strength. This allowed him to push the Blood Mastiff away.


    Patrick stared at his arm. Especially the spot where the Blood Mastiff bit him. Even though he could see the bite mark that had pierced his skin, no blood was leaking from that wound.


    As he raised his head to look at that Blood Mastiff, he noticed that it had grownrger.


    At around this moment, Azaroth spoke and exined, "This is a Blood Mastiff, congealed from your blood. Every time it touches you, it will absorb your Ardor. If it hurts you and makes you bleed, it will absorb that blood and grow stronger."


    Patrick felt like cursing Azaroth at this moment.


    If he knew this earlier, he would have fought more seriously and not allow this Blood Mastiff to drink his blood.


    In reality, Azaroth had concealed a piece of important information from him. This Blood Mastiff contained the true essence of Patrick''s Bloodline.


    If Patrick could defeat this Blood Mastiff and absorb it in his body, he would possess the ability to control his Raging Heart Bloodline.


    Also, the Blood Mastiff would continue to grow stronger, but it won''t grow stronger than Patrick.


    This was the greatest advantage of this array. It was in huge favor of the user trying to awaken his Bloodline.


    Patrick charged at the Blood Mastiff and brandished his Axe to destroy him. The Blood Mastiff dodged those shes as if it was very familiar with them.


    As soon as the Blood Mastiff found an opportunity, it attacked Patrick.


    This time, Patrick was ready for this attack. He knew that his Axe attack wouldn''t be able to hit the Blood Mastiff because of its superior agility. Thus he was waiting for the moment when the Blood Mastiff would attack him.


    Patrick raised his right hand, with which he held his Axe. He couldn''t allow this Blood Mastiff to bite it again.


    He nned to have the Blood Mastiff bite his left arm and then strike it using his Axe with his full power.


    However, the Blood Mastiff had realized Patrick''s n.


    It had immediately changed its target from Patrick''s left arm to his leg. Its speed had been quite fast as it tackled Patrick.


    The tackle had messed up with Patrick''s bnce as he fell down.


    The Blood Mastiff was now biting Patrick''s stomach.


    It was absolutely merciless as it bit Patrick. Once again, Patrick let out a loud scream of pain. This time, he was somehow even louder than before.


    Patrick let go of his Axe and held the Blood Mastiff''s head before using all his Ardor to push it away.


    Azaroth saw the fight between Patrick and the Blood Mastiff before he sighed out.


    He could imagine the result from what he had witnessed. Patrick was bound to fall unconscious sooner orter. Meanwhile, the Blood Mastiff was growing even stronger.


    Azaroth walked towards the other two elders, who stood by Noah and Laura''s side.


    The two elders were quite worried for Patrick. They looked towards Noah and Laura and spoke, "Shouldn''t we go and help him out? He will die if this continues."


    Noah and Laura remained silent as they gazed at Patrick.


    Azaroth spoke up at this moment, "The Blood Mastiff will disappear once Patrick loses his consciousness. However, make sure to hide this from him. He needs to be under a constant threat of death to activate his Bloodline."


    He then focused on the two elders, "For the two of you, I was thinking of awakening the bloodline hidden within your bodies, but it is far too faint, and even after awakening it, you might not experience a boost."


    The two elders looked at each other and bitterly smiled. The two then stared at Azaroth, "Please do not mind us two. We are already satisfied as long as you can train our disciples and make them stronger."


    Azaroth looked surprised at their answer and then shook his head, "You misunderstood my words. I didn''t mean that."


    Azaroth spoke seriously, "I meant that I was going to give you another bloodline altogether. It would be much superior to the bloodline you currently possess."


    The two elders were surprised, "G-Give us a Bloodline? But it''s very precious. Why are you wasting it on us?"


    "Whether I am wasting it or not, only time will tell. Your only task is to do what you are ordered. Don''t be bothered about the other things that are outside your control.." Azaroth spoke while shrugging in response.

 Chapter 208 - Fusing With The Spirit Master Bloodline

    Patrick had fallen unconscious as he lost his battle against the Blood Mastiff. It was only natural for him to lose.


    He had been living in Veninza City and had stopped his training. His body was stiff, and his reflexes were slow.


    In the fight against the Blood Mastiff, there were some moments where he showed his potential, so Azaroth believed that it wouldn''t take long for Patrick to win against this Blood Mastiff.


    Currently, he was focused on the Origin Sect Branch''s other two elders.


    The two were on the ground, wriggling in pain. But the two refused to let out a sound. Although their talent wasn''t good, their endurance seemed to be praiseworthy.


    These two elders were in the process of fusing a Bloodline with Azaroth.


    The Bloodline with which they were fusing was, in reality, the Spirit Demon''s Bloodline. The same Spirit Demon Azaroth had interrogated earlier.


    He had secretly taken their blood and stored it in his ring. Their bloodlines weren''t that good for him, but it was a significant boost for people like these two elders.


    Azaroth wasn''t nning to convert them into demons. So, he had purged the demonic properties in the blood.


    The power of the Spirit Demon Bloodline had gotten weaker, but it had be morepatible with a human.


    If Azaroth injected the Spirit Demon Bloodline as it was, then these two elders would most likely die.


    Currently, he had told them that this was a Spirit Master Bloodline possessing a Great Hero''s abilities.


    The Spirit Master Bloodline would boost them Spiritually and use it to attack their enemies. Although unlike the Spirit Demon''s ability, their attacks wouldn''t be strong enough to kill their opponent, they would still be strong enough to make him mentally unstable.


    Most importantly, their potential capped at the 4 Star Rank would be greatly boosted. They could have some chance of breaking through to the 5 Star Rank.


    The two elders were very grateful to Azaroth. They felt as if epting the offer was the best decision of their life.


    While the two were fusing with their bloodlines, Azaroth went towards Noah and Laura, "Test the disciples here and make them join your group. Recruit only those warriors whom you can control or those who will listen to you. If anyone refuses to follow orders, kill him and make an example out of him."


    His words were spoken with a chilly tone. However, Noah and Laura weren''t scared. They nned to do the same as well.


    "Noah, you can test out the Intent Training Facility in this Origin Sect Branch. It might be useful to you." Azaroth informed him.


    "Alright, boss!" Noah replied cheerfully.


    Azaroth then turned towards Laura, "You need to go and check out the herbal garden of this sect. I will give you a bunch of seeds, nt them and use your abilities to make them grow quickly."


    Laura''s eyes brightened up at this job.


    "I doubt that this ce has the herb you want, but you can try your luck here," Azaroth added.


    She really did want to check out the Herbal Garden to search for the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    Azaroth''s two retainers went in the same direction. Their first task was to check out the inner sect disciples. Whether they were worth recruiting or not.


    Recruitment would be easier for Noah than for Laura since finding a skilled Archer was much more difficult than finding a skilled closebat warrior.


    It was simply the difference between ratios. There were a lot more closebat warriors than rangers in Origin Sect.


    The Origin Sect didn''t possess very good techniques for an Archer; thus, few archers would join this sect.


    Some were forced to change their fighting style from an Archer to a closebat warrior.


    On that very same day, Noah challenged all the Inner Sect Disciples who thought of themselves as ''geniuses.''


    This was his method of destroying their arrogance or pride.


    He was merely a 3 Star Warrior, the same as all the Inner Sect Disciples. There were nearly 50 Inner Sect Disciples.


    The inner sect disciples thought that Noah was courting death by challenging all of them together.


    However, only when their weapons collided did they understand just how wide the difference between them was.


    Noah possessed Sword Intent and could boost his power to as great as a 4 Star Warrior.


    Laura stared from the sidelines as she observed the fighting style of these Inner Sect Disciples.


    During their battle against Noah, only 5 individuals had caught her eye.


    These five individuals had tried to keep their distance from Noah and attacked him from a distance.


    Moreover, their aim wasn''t bad. These individuals weren''tunching Arrows at Noah. Instead, they were attacking him with long-range Ardor attacks.


    Such as the Crushing sh. Leaf Impact, Soul Wave, Fading Spiral Surge, and so on attacks.


    <em>''Such good aim. Moreover, these disciples are not flustered while battling Noah. They have a perfect disposition for an Archer.''</em>


    Laura had decided to recruit these warriors into her group. They possessed good potential.


    Meanwhile, Noah had already shortlisted the warriors he would recruit into his group. The warriors he had chosen were able to withstand a single blow from him.


    Azaroth had observed this entire event from the sky. He was slightly disappointed that there were only 7 warriors with Bloodline Abilities while the rest were duds.


    <em>''This method of training won''t work for long. I need to think of something else. Something that would be very dangerous and also rewarding.''</em>


    Azaroth had to spend a couple of minutes in deep thought before he had an idea.


    "Yes, that can work." He whispered with a grin and immediately dashed off towards Veninza City.


    Within Veninza City, Azaroth was actually flying towards the Demon''s Nest! What better way to train his warriors than to make them fight against Demons continuously?!


    Soon enough, Azaroth flew into the Demon''s Nest. He wasn''t scared as he flew into the Demon''s Nest.


    To some extent, it could be said that Azaroth was morefortable in this ce than the human world.


    He continued to fly in this hollow tunnel for some time until he saw the end. The other side of this hollow tunnel was apletely open space.


    ''<em>So it''s the Earth Swallowing Demons who have created this ce.</em>'' Azaroth immediately concluded as he saw the open space within the ground.


    Azaroth''s eyes automatically turned purple as he looked around. He saw many demons in this open space. If Azaroth began to count, he would find more than tens of thousands of Demons in this demon nest.


    Even if the majority of them were weak, the sheer quantity of them would be enough to make many warriors shudder with terror.


    The demons had also noticed the stranger.


    Out of these 10,000 demons, only 7 were Demon Lords. They were tasked with managing this location.


    "Obey me or die," Azaroth ordered with a cold andmanding tone. He was currently speaking in Demon Language.


    His Demon God''s Prestige immediately affected these demons and prevented them from moving.


    To these demons, it truly felt as though their God had arrived.


    As Azaroth was looking around, he noticed a demon actually standing up while resisting the Bloodline Pressure. It was one of the seven Demon Lords in this location.


    This demon''s actual form stood on two legs. It hadrge golden wings, and its physique was simr to that of an Eagle. The skin and eyes, that is.


    Azaroth slightly smiled as he saw this demon, "The Golden Roc''s descendant? Interesting."

 Chapter 209 - New Training Faculty

    The Golden Roc was a Demon Emperor-level expert. In Purgatory, it was considered one of the fastest flying demons.


    ''<em>Why has it been left behind in such a ce?''</em> Azaroth found it weird that this Golden Roc''s descendant was in this demon nest.


    If it was him, he would assign such a valuable subordinate to a better location.


    <em>''Perhaps his bloodline isn''t known to them. In fact, this guy himself doesn''t appear to be aware of his Bloodline Ability. My Bloodline Pressure is forcefully activating his Bloodline Ability, though.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''For him to have be a Demon Lord without even activating his Bloodline Ability. Impressive.''</em>


    Azaroth was impressed because a demon had to forge his path over corpses to be a Demon Lord or a stronger being.


    Without activating his Bloodline, a demon would have rather limited strength. At least, he could only be considered among the average demons.


    For an average demon to be a Demon Lord, he had probably reinforced his will and refined his power along the way.


    Now, with this Bloodline Ability, this Demon Lord''s power was bound to elevate to another level again.


    At the very least, this Demon Lord would be stronger than all other demonic beings in this Demon Nest.


    Well, it still amounted to nothing to Azaroth.


    Azaroth checked the entire Demon Nest with his Spiritual Senses and found the Spirit Demon and the other demons he had encountered in the outskirts of Veninza City.


    He was relieved because this meant they had aplished their task. They had prepared the signal.


    With amanding tone, Azaroth ordered in demon tongue, "Follow me."


    Azaroth flew out of the hollow cavity with an emotionless look on his face.


    While he was flying, he contacted Noah, "Go and wake Patrick up. I need to ask him something."


    Noah was immediately on the move. He left his current task and was dashing towards Patrick''s location.


    Patrick was still unconscious, but his body had been brought back to the infirmary.


    Noah appeared in the infirmary and immediately began to shake Patrick''s body before speaking, "Wake up¡­. Wake up¡­ My boss wants to ask you something. Wake UP!"


    Noah had tried for a couple of minutes before he lost his patience and threw water at Patrick''s face.


    Patrick''s face and half of his upper body were immediately drenched with cold water. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see Noah standing ahead of him.


    "W-What is it?!" He asked, his voice barely holding back his annoyance at being woken up in such a manner.


    Noah couldn''t be bothered about what Patrick felt. He simply raised his ring in the air.


    His Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring began to shine before it disyed a holographic image of Azaroth.


    "W-What is it, Lord Azaroth?" Patrick spoke a little nervously. All his annoyance was gone as he realized it was Azaroth who wanted to talk to him.


    "Your sect should have a secret location where you can store arge number of people, right?" Azaroth asked him quickly.


    Patrick was a little confused as he heard Azaroth''s question. But he still answered quickly, "Yes. We have many such ces for that. It''s just 3 miles south of the main base. It''s an abandoned site that was used to store treasures. But since the construction of the new treasury, it had been left abandoned."


    "Is itrge?" Azaroth asked with a serious look.


    Patrick immediately assured Azaroth by saying, "It''s sorge that Lord Azaroth might find it unbelievable. We were even thinking of constructing our main base in that location before someone mentioned the geographical disadvantage of that ce."


    "I see¡­" Azaroth muttered as he tried to imagine just how wide the ce could be.


    "How many people are you bringing?" Patrick asked casually. He was curious about the number.


    "Nearly 12000 demons. Give or take a couple of hundreds." Azaroth replied just as casually.


    Patrick was bbergasted as soon as he heard the number! However, this shock was was nothingpared to the shock he felt when he discovered Azaroth was bringing demons, not humans!


    "D-Demons? So many of them? L-Lord Azaroth has joined hands with the demons as well?!" As a human warrior, Patrick absolutely abhorred the demons.


    Azaroth noticed Patrick''s hesitance and thought ''Would he betray him if I say yes? Well, I can''t be bothered to deal with such an event right now.''


    Thus, Azaroth spoke, "No. They will be training dummies for the sect disciples."


    Patrick was startled to hear those words and muttered out, "Training dummies?"


    The term wasn''t unfamiliar to him, but it was the first time he heard someone using demons as training dummies.


    "Actually, I have another task for you. Select the best outer sect disciples. Even among those possessing 2 Star Rank and give the list to me. It''s time to transform this greenhouse into a ce where only experts can survive." Azaroth spoke with a cold glint in his eyes.


    "But what if the demons escape? It would be disastrous if someone discovers that we are keeping demons in our territory. The main branch would send experts to kill us all." Patrick shouted with a scared expression.


    "You worry too much. Firstly, a demon can''t escape from my grasps. Well, let''s say by some luck, a demon does escape. Then do understand that a demon won''t return to save other demons. The demon would be more scared of being captured again. Moreover, who will this demon ask for help? No human will listen to him."


    Azaroth added, "Most importantly, if the escaped demon is creating terror in themunity, then you can go and capture them under the pretext of dealing with a demon. I mean, wasn''t the primary motive for the establishment of sects to shield citizens from the terror of demons?"


    He paused as he saw the look of realization on Patrick''s face. A scheming smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he continued, "The main branch will even send someone to reward you for killing demons. So rx. As long as your disciples keep their mouth shut, no one will find out anything."


    Azaroth was rather rxed about this entire situation. He felt that the entire situation was pretty much under his control.


    "¡­A few disciples might send this information back to their families," Patrick spoke with a bitter smile, "It would be difficult to restrain them."


    "You can''t even control your disciples?" Azaroth was truly speechless.


    Patrick looked a lot embarrassed, and he immediately exined, "I can restrain them forcefully, but their families might take action against us then. It wouldn''t be good if 5 Star Warriors attacked us¡­."


    "I see¡­ So that''s what worries you. Then you can be relieved. Dealing with those warriors would be my task. Just make sure to prevent those disciples from spreading information outside." Azaroth assured Patrick.


    Patrick was slightly curious about how Azaroth was nning to deal with them, but he didn''t dare to ask him right now.


    Azaroth cut off the connection and soon led the demons to that location. He was using his sensing abilities and chose a path in which he won''t encounter a human.


    The demons were absolutely terrified of Azaroth.


    They had a feeling that if they didn''t obey his order, they would immediately die. This was kinda true since Azaroth was going to use his Mystic Eyes of Perception to destroy his spirit immediately.


    Soon enough, they reached the location mentioned by Patrick.


    Just as Patrick had mentioned, the entire building was quiterge. However, Azaroth doubted whether it could hold all these demons. They numbered more than 12000 demons, after all.


    He turned his head to look at the demons.


    Even the demons, who had lived in a cruel environment since their birth, were absolutely terrified of Azaroth at this moment.


    "Low-Rank Demons. Stand over there.." Azaroth pointed towards his left.

 Chapter 210 - Purging Low Ranked Demons

    The low-ranked demons were all gathered on one side. They alone amounted to more than 5000 in number.


    The demons were wondering just what Azaroth was nning with them. Firstly, his motive of bringing them out of the demon nest to this secluded ce confused them.


    Now, he was even splitting the Low-Ranked Demons from the main group. Was he going to give them something?


    Azaroth was currently revealing his cultivation base, and the seven Demon Lords could sense that his cultivation was at the same level as them.


    However, they felt utter despair while even thinking of fighting against him.


    Each one of these Demon Lords had great talent and a strong mentality. They had be demon lords by stepping up on numerous corpses.


    Yet, when they looked at Azaroth, they felt as if all their experience amounted to nothing.


    Azaroth stared at these demons with a casual look.


    The Golden mes of Heaven lit up on his palm. The Demons immediately showed hostile expressions as they sensed that me.


    However, they didn''t dare to make a move. Their fear of Azaroth was greater than their hatred for this detestable me.


    Azaroth disregarded their enmity and directed his palm in the direction of the Low-Ranked Demons.


    "Ring of Fire."


    The Golden me over his Azaroth''s palm disappeared.


    A thin strand of Golden mes encircled the Low-Ranked Demons'' perimeter. It only took a couple of seconds for a thin ring of fire to form around these Low-Ranked Demons.


    The Demon Lord possessing the Golden Roc''s bloodline was the only one who mustered up the courage to ask Azaroth, "W-What are you nning to do to our subordinates? Do you know that we are the subordinates of a Demon King?"


    Azaroth suddenly paused his attack and then turned towards his direction. He focused on that demon and quietly observed him.


    The Demon possessing the Golden Roc''s Bloodline noticed that Azaroth had stopped because of his words.


    Was this Demon Lord also scared of a Demon King?


    When this notion crossed his mind, he instantly felt more certain. He spoke with a voice filled with confidence, "We all serve a Demon King named ck Hurricane. This was one of his strongholds. You are making a mistake by taking action against us. Once our master finds you, he will capture your spirit and torture you! He will also kill all the people close to you. It is best if you let go of us or else suffer these consequences."


    That was very much a threat by this Demon Lord.


    The Low-Ranked Demons noticed Azaroth had actually paused as if he was considering it deeply. They were relieved since this meant there was some chance for their survival.


    This relief was short-lived as they heard Azaroth mutter, "Burst."


    The Low-Ranked Demons didn''t have the time to even let out a sound before the ring of mes covered the entire ring with Pure Golden Holy mes.


    The entire ring was filled with a column of pure Golden Holy mes. All the low-ranked demons in this Holy Golden mes were purged!


    The death energy released by these demons was automatically absorbed by Azaroth through his Heavenly Demon Cultivation Technique.


    His cultivation didn''t improve all that much. However, this was to be anticipated. The amount of energy necessary to be a Demon King was enormous.


    Moreover, Azaroth''s Triquetra Ardor demanded much greater energy than normal.


    But it didn''t worry Azaroth that greatly.


    The universe was boundless. Also, he wasn''t in a hurry to get stronger. Everything had to be done step-by-step.


    His n to be a Demon King had already been in motion.


    As Azaroth purged those Low-Ranked Demons, he looked at that Demon Lord possessing the Golden Roc''s Bloodline.


    That Demon Lord had a bbergasted and a terrified look as he perceived Azaroth''s gaze.


    "Do you get the message?" Azaroth asked with a cold voice.


    The Demon Lord nodded with a nk expression. He didn''t expect Azaroth to actually take action even after hearing that they were a Demon King''s subordinates.


    Was he crazy? There truly were a lot of crazy demons who would kill first and thinkter.


    Wait¡­ A Demon?


    But it was at this moment he could think clearly. He wondered why he was even thinking of Azaroth as a Demon.


    The aura he gave off was simr to a human. However, the time when he had suppressed them was through a Demon God''s Bloodline. And just now, Azaroth had utilized Holy mes to purge the low-ranked demons.


    The Demon Lord couldn''t wrap his head around this situation. No exnation appeared in his head.


    Azaroth couldn''t be bothered about this Demon Lord''s thoughts. He addressed all the demons, "This building is where you shall live from now on. You can''t take a step out of this building, or else you will be purge simr to how I purged these Low-Ranked Demons. You can be the judge of whether it''s an empty threat or a promise."


    "Follow me," Azaroth spoke.


    The Demons soon followed him into the building.


    This building had four floors, including the ground floor. This building had 300 rooms. 75 rooms on each floor.


    These rooms were actually asrge as halls, and many things could be stored in them.


    Azaroth assigned a set of demons in each room.


    For the Mid-Ranked Demons, it was 50 Demons in a single room. They all numbered 3750 or so.


    Thus, these Mid-Ranked Demons upied the 75 rooms on the ground floor.


    For the High-Ranked Demons on the first floor, a group of 30 High-Ranked Demons was formed and assigned a single room.


    These groups upied all the rooms on the first floor as well. The High-Ranked Demons totaled 2250 in number.


    The Elite-Ranked Demons numbered 600 or so, and their groups consisted of 10 Elite-Ranked Demons. They were assigned the second floor.


    And thest but not the least was the third floor. There were many rooms on this floor, but most of them remained empty.


    Only 7 rooms were upied. Each one was upied by a Demon Lord.


    After assigning these rooms to these demons, Azaroth first created a gigantic array that would prevent these demons from escaping the building.


    In fact, he had even added some mechanisms in the array which would prevent them from getting out of their rooms.


    However, these mechanisms couldn''t be trusted for now, especially in the case of the Demon Lord. If they burned their Blood Essence, they could indeed break his array. However, it would be surprising if they paid such a heavy price when they knew they would be captured easily.


    However, Azaroth couldn''t really leave behind such a loophole for a long time. Thus, he nned to visit each room and construct an array individually.


    It would take a lot of time, but fortunately, he did have time now.


    During this time, Patrick was investigating all the outer-sect disciples and choosing the elite ones among them.


    Azaroth gave him another task. And that was to prepare thetest ranking of all the disciples in this Origin Sect Branch.


    By this ranking, he would assign them different rooms in this building and make them fight against the Demons.


    These disciples were going to grow by literally stepping on demons'' corpses. If nothing else, they would know how to kill. This was what Azaroth wanted from them.


    The survivors would be a sharpened sword under Noah''smand, ready to y any opponent.


    As for Laura''s group, she had to choose her men carefully. Only those warriors with good talent or persistence could be excellent archers.. And finding such men was truly not easy.

 Chapter 211 - Dark Hearted Eye Flower King

    Underground Labyrinth of the Demons, shire City.


    Sargan was checking out this Labyrinth and searched for the treasury. These undergroundbyrinths were formed of a simr format. It made constructing the Labyrinth easier for the demons as they won''t need to think of new architecture every time.


    Moreover, if a Demon wished to from his enemies and entered that particr Labyrinth for the first time, he wouldn''t need to waste too much time exploring it.


    Since nearly all the Labyrinths had a simryout, the demons just needed to remember thatyout, and they would be familiar with most of the Labyrinths on the Frascoia Continent.


    As an heir of the Bach n, Sargan was familiar with the standardyout of a Labyrinth. It didn''t take him long to find the main treasury room in this Labyrinth.


    Sargan checked out the treasury and was surprised to find multiple weapons, armors, and even raw ores in it.


    There was a section for herbs and pills, but as Sargan entered that room, he was immediately forced to use his Ardor and block his nose.


    <em>''What an awful smell!''</em>


    These herbs and pills had been left in this location for nearly more than a hundred thousand years. It was only natural for them to be decayed to such a point.


    The precious pills or heavenly herbs had now be a potent poison.


    Sargan''s Evil Eyes immediately activated as it countered the effects of the poison. Fortunately, the Demon Emperor''s Bloodline flowing within his veins allowed him to remain safe.


    If it was another demon, human, or even a Celestial, that person would have died or copsed due to such potent poison.


    Sargan used his Evil Eyes to look around and observe the entire room. There was something in the corner of this room that caught his attention.


    Using his Spiritual Connection with the Labyrinth, Sargan investigated it but sensed that he couldn''t move it.


    Sargan knew he had no choice but to take action personally. He approached it slowly and with a cautious look.


    When he was within 200 meters of that thing, the mist ahead of his eyes cleared up as he finally saw what it was.


    This was a Herb. However, not just a simple herb. But a pure Yin Herb!


    As Sargan got closer, the form of this herb became clearer. It was a flower with pure ck Petals and a dark green colored stem.


    In the darkness, it was extremely difficult for anyone to see it. However, this darkness was not much of an issue for Sargan''s Evil Eyes.


    However, even though the darkness wasn''t much of an issue for Sargan, he had no idea what flower it was.


    Before touching this flower, Sargan sensed a faint threat of death. He didn''t dare to take another step forward.


    In this situation, he decided to contact Azaroth. He thought ''<em>Boss will definitely know about this flower.</em>''


    His Mystical Spiritual Connecting Ring began to shine for a couple of seconds. It was sending a signal to Azaroth.


    It took nearly 10 seconds for Azaroth to receive this signal as he was rather far away from Sargan''s location.


    "Hmm?" Azaroth spoke as his holographic image became visible ahead of Sargan, "What is it?"


    Sargan took a deep breath and exined, "Master, I found an Underground Labyrinth of the Demons near shire City, and I am currently inside of it. I found many treasures within its treasury, and currently, I am standing inside its herbal section."


    That exnation was more or less enough for Azaroth as he muttered a soft, "I see¡­."


    His Mystic Eyes of Perception immediately began to work as he looked around to examine this Labyrinth.


    <em>''I see¡­ A Labyrinth that was initially controlled by a Demon King before it was abandoned. Many of its arrays had stopped working due to the passage of time. Perhaps only the Spatial Arrays have remained stable.''</em>


    Azaroth immediately deduced a lot of information by checking out the walls, the arrays, and even the aura within this Labyrinth.


    He finally focused on the Herbal Room and then at the flower which had troubled Sargan. Azaroth squinted his eyes when he stared at the flower before sighing out.


    "The <strong>Dark Hearted Eye Flower</strong>. You have found a treasure." Azaroth praised Sargan.


    "This is a Dark Hearted Eye Flower?!" Sargan''s eyes widened in shock as he heard that name.


    "Although this Dark Hearted Eye Flower is rare, I have still seen some of them in my n''s Herbal Garden. Its shape is very differentpared to this flower. Moreover, the Dark Hearted Eye Flower only has a single petal. However, this flower has nearly 12 petals," Sargan spoke while maintaining a shocked expression.


    Azaroth replied calmly, "It''s only natural. This is a mutated Dark Hearted Eye Flower. In fact, it can be considered <strong>Dark Hearted Eye Flower King</strong>. And this is an absolutely rare flower."


    "It''s a good thing you contacted me before touching this flower; otherwise, you wouldn''t have realized how you have died," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    However, Sargan still couldn''t understand a few things, and he asked Azaroth, "But how can a Dark Hearted Eye Flower King be born in this ce? Although the Yin Ardor here is quite potent, it''s still nothingpared to the intensity of Yin Ardor in Purgatory. Yet, there is hardly any Dark Hearted Eye Flower King there."


    Azaroth replied with the same calm tone as before, "It is only natural that there is hardly any Dark Hearted Eye Flower King in Purgatory. The conditions for this flower to be born are extremely harsh. For such a herb to be created in this ce¡­ It can''t be a coincidence."


    "If my guess is right, this Herbal Garden was set up to create this Dark Hearted Eye Flower King. Along with thebination of multiple different kinds of energies, the main requirement to create a Dark Hearted Eye Flower King is that Yin and Yang Laws must initially remain bnced, and the Yin Ardor must gradually increase over time. The Yin and Yang Laws are only bnced in the Human World. So it makes sense why someone would try to create a Dark Hearted Eye Flower King here."


    Azaroth''s words terrified Sargan, "You mean this was nned by someone? Doesn''t that mean I am intruding in a senior''s territory? He will kill me once he realizes that I know of this ce."


    Azaroth understood why Sargan was so worried. However, he still retained a calm expression.


    "You actually don''t need to be so terrified. You should be aware of how cruel Purgatory is. Even if that Demon is from some sort of prestigious n, it''s doubtful whether he still lives today. Also, even if he is living. As long as you eat the herb and leave the Labyrinth and break your spiritual connection to it, he won''t be able to find you."


    Azaroth''s words sessfully cated Sargan''s worries.


    However, he had another issue¡­


    "Boss, there is another problem with this n. In reality, I just nned to check out this Labyrinth today and take any valuable treasures from this ce. I am thinking of giving away this ce to someone and use him to build my foundation here. If the Master of this Labyrinth ever returns, he would definitely find me then." Sargan exined his situation to Azaroth.


    Azaroth now understood how troublesome the situation was for Sargan. He soon began to think deeply.


    <em>''The Master of this Labyrinth created this herb and nned to use it. If he had purposefully left it here, he should have left his subordinates in this Labyrinth who would inform him once the Dark Hearted Eye Flower King has been created. However, there were no demons in this Labyrinth when Sargan entered. In fact, ording to what I can sense, there hasn''t been anyone in this Labyrinth since hundreds of thousands of years ago.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Either the Master of this Labyrinth was killed, or he was forced to flee to Purgatory. If he had left this location purposefully, he would have taken the treasures along with him. Now so many years have passed, and he can''t return to this Labyrinth in fear of humans and Celestials.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Azaroth came to a conclusion soon enough.

 Chapter 212 - Evolution Of The Evil Eye

    "You can go along with your original n. If the Master of this Labyrinth returns, I will handle him." Azaroth informed Sargan.


    Sargan was absolutely relieved to hear this. Even though he had no idea how Azaroth would handle the Master of this Labyrinth, he trusted Azaroth enough to believe that he could indeed aplish it.


    "This Dark Hearted Eye Flower King would be ideal for recovering the Blood Essence you lost when you offered it to me. If you refine it ording to the method I describe, it will not only help you restore your lost Blood Essence but would also help to strengthen your Eye Prowess. Perhaps you might even unlock another ability of your Evil Eye." Azaroth spoke seriously.


    Those words excited Sargan as he thought ''Another ability?! Wouldn''t that put me on par with the Patriarch of the Bach n?! Only he has unlocked 3 abilities of the Evil Eye till now! And that''s all because his cultivation has reached the Demon Emperor realm. By the time I reach Demon Emperor Realm, I might unlock 4 or even 5 abilities of Evil Eye!''


    "What do I need to do?" Sargan asked excitedly.


    Azaroth stared at him for a few seconds and replied, "¡­Pluck all its petals. However, make sure to not use your Ardor while plucking its petals. If you use Ardor to pluck its petals, the flower will counterattack. It will use the Yin Energy in the surrounding toy waste to your body."


    "Once you have gathered the petals, ce them in water and then drip your blood in that container. After half a day, eat the petals." Azaroth finished speaking.


    Sargan was a little shocked. He asked with a confused look, "That''s all I need to do?"


    "That''s all," Azaroth confirmed while nodding his head.


    After a few seconds, he added, "Sometimes the simplest methods generate the greatest results. That''s how mysterious nature is."


    Sargan epted that exnation. Well, he had no other choice than to ept it.


    Actually, Azaroth wasn''t just speaking philosophically about this. He did know and understand the concept behind this.


    Once the Dark Hearted Eye Flower King made contact with Blood, the energy within it would be stimted.


    Sargan''s Evil Eyes Ability was a Bloodline from a Demon Emperor. It was going to stimte that Dark Hearted Evil Flower King to its full potential.


    It was said that once the Dark Hearted Evil Flower King was made to reach its full potential, it would grant Eye Abilities to those who ingested it.


    The Eye Abilities it would grant differed from user to user.


    However, Sargan''s Evil Eyes were different. Those eyes already possessed a great number of sealed abilities and currently couldn''t be utilized by him.


    This Dark Hearted Evil Flower King possessed the ability to unseal one of them.


    Naturally, Sargan could only use this flower once in his life. And that time hade.


    Sargan followed Azaroth''s instructions carefully. He brought the petals of the Dark Hearted Evil Flower King out of the Herbal Section and then ced it in a bowl, filling it with water before mixing his blood in it. He then gently ced the Dark Hearted Evil Flower King''s Petals in it.


    As those twelve petals soaked in the water mixed with Sargan''s Blood, they began to radiate dark light.


    Sargan understood that the process had begun. He had to wait until the aura around these petals was practically blinking. That would be its saturation point.


    Just as Azaroth had spoken, it took nearly half a day for these petals to reach their saturation point.


    Sargan pulled out those petals and ingested them all at once. During all this time, he made sure to not use Ardor at all.


    Azaroth told him that the petals were dangerous even after they were plucked. If Sargan was not careful and used the slightest amount of Ardor, a Spiritual Eye would appear on the Petal''s surface. It would immediately use the Yin Ardor in the surroundings to attack Sargan.


    This was one of the reasons why they were called Dark Hearted Evil Flower King.


    The Dark Hearted Evil Flower wasn''t that dangerous, so its Spiritual Eye was practically ignored. But the same couldn''t be spoken about the Dark Hearted Evil Flower King!


    At least, Sargan would die without any chance of resisting.


    After ingesting the petals, Sargan closed his eyes.


    Dozens of secondster, Sargan felt his body shaking. The Yin Ardor flowing in his body. However, it wasn''t trying to harm his body. No¡­It was moving towards his energy center!


    Sargan immediately began to utilize the Nether Devil God Mantra to absorb this Yin Ardor. This Yin Ardor was practically what he required to cultivate the Nether Devil God Mantra.


    While he broke through to the next stage of the Nether Devil God Mantra. It was now the second stage of the Nether Devil God Mantra.


    This stage allowed him to finally infuse his Nether Energy within his Element. His Lightning Element. This had already boosted hisbat ability greatly.


    However, this was merely the first of the many advantages of this.


    His cultivation speed had increased, his spirit was stronger, and the regeneration of his body and spirit had been boosted considerably.


    Sargan felt his mid-ranked 3 Star Rank cultivation advance.


    Before he could realize it, his Ardor broke through to the 4 Star Rank. In fact, his cultivation still continued to grow even after breaking through to the 4 Star Rank.


    This increase in cultivation only halted when Sargan reached the peak of the mid-stage of the 4 Star Rank.


    Sargan had no idea that his cultivation had increased to such a considerable degree. He had lost his mind due to pain after all.


    The pain he felt was as if someone was stabbing his eyes with knives or needles. He let out loud screams and even groans as he felt the pain getting worse.


    His eyes were bleeding heavily!


    However, Sargan didn''t know that internally, his eyes were changing. The thin ck ring now covered his red-colored pupil.


    If the Bach n had seen it, they would have definitely made their move to make Sargan as their young n head or stolen his eyes.


    However, stealing his eyes would do more harm than good. Sargan''s eyes would only bepatible with his own body and spirit. Even if anyone else possessed his eyes, they would never be able to use them to their full potential.


    This was also one of the reasons why individuals never bothered to steal the eyes of those possessing eye abilities.


    They wouldn''t bepatible! And it would do more harm than good, like using a lot of Ardor for something insignificant.


    There were also cases where it would lead to abnormality. The person wouldn''t be able to see properly and so on¡­


    It took another half a day for Sargan to wake up. When he did wake up, the first thing he noticed was his cultivation base.


    It had increased tremendously. Sargan realized he was a 4 Star Rank Expert.


    The next thing he realized was that his Nether Devil God Mantra had broken through to the second stage.


    Hebined his Nether Ardor with his Lightning Element. His Lightning was pure dark in color.


    Andstly, he remembered Azaroth''s words. There was a chance he could have awakened another ability.


    As Sargan sent Ardor in his eyes, he realized he could truly use three abilities now.


    <strong><em>''Petrification, Hypnosis and¡­Mirage!''</em></strong>

 Chapter 213 - The Mirage Ability

    When Sargan realized he had unlocked the Mirage ability, he was iparably excited.


    As a member of the Bach n, he knew what he could do with this ability. He could show illusions.


    He could show illusions to people now. Using those illusions, he could figure out the ambitious desire in his opponent''s heart.


    He could even construct a scenery from his imagination and confuse his opponent. The special part of this illusion was that the details would be filled not by the user but by the opponent.


    The user was only going to trigger the mirage. It would depend on how the opponent would be viewing the situation.


    There are numerous instances in a person''s life where he unconsciously wishes for things to go his way. Sargan''s Mirage ability would show him such a future and make him act ordingly to it.


    Sargan would naturally be aware of what his Evil Eye was showing to his opponent and the real situation as well.


    Thus, he would be able to act ordingly and takeplete advantage in a battle.


    Naturally, such an ability had its restrictions as well.


    This ability wouldn''t work on individuals who possessed stronger Spiritual Energy than Sargan.


    Well, Sargan''s Spiritual Energy was quite great because of Nether Devil God''s Mantra.


    Among Azaroth''s retainers, Sargan''s mirage ability wouldn''t work on Noah and Laura only.


    Noah''s Spiritual Energy was weaker than Sargan''s, but this sort of ability would never work against him because he possessed an Enlightened Sword Heart.


    Moreover, his sword intent was so strong that it could easily destroy illusions unless it was created by someone at Azaroth''s level.


    Sargan''s mirage ability wouldn''t work on Laura simply because her Spiritual Energy was stronger than his own. Moreover, it was iparably purer in quality as well.


    The second issue of this ability was that Sargan would face a severe bacsh over his spirit if someone broke his illusion.


    In fact, he would need one whole day to recover his Evil Eyes from that bacsh.


    However, these restrictions didn''t dampen Sargan''s excitement. It merely informed him that he had to be cautious before using this ability against an opponent. Which was only natural to do so.


    Showing off his cards to the opponent without knowing about him or his abilities was an extremely foolish thing to do. Sargan was smarter than that.


    He used his Mystical Spiritual Connection to contact Azaroth. Azaroth''s holographic image soon appeared.


    "What is it now?" He seemed tired and bored.


    "I apologize for disturbing you, boss. But I genuinely require your assistance. Among the treasures here, is there anything we should keep for ourselves?"


    Sargan had naturally returned to the treasure room.


    Azaroth gazed at the treasures and found none he fancied. However, he found some treasures that would be greatly useful to Sargan and Yrellea.


    One of them was a Mirror that would repel attacks, and there was a small chance it could reflect the attack.


    This mirror was rather small and could be strung up to form a locket and be tied around one''s neck.


    Sargan would require something of this sort. It could repel attacks even from a 5 Star Warrior or, in other words, a Demon Lord.


    However, there were two more treasures he took.


    One was a Blue Sword that conducted Lightning. This was perfect for Sargan as he did know many sword techniques.


    Although he could never defeat Noah in sword fighting in a million years, his techniques required pure Ardor, and the sword techniques he possessed were better than his unarmed techniques.


    While thest one was a Dark Ribbon.


    Azaroth asked Sargan to hand it over to Yrellea. This ribbon could be manipted and made to take any shape the user desired.


    Moreover, Yrellea was proficient in controlling water and wouldn''t take much time to be proficient in controlling this ribbon.


    If Yrellea managed to utilize this ribbon, herbat strength would upgrade greatly.


    Soon after Sargan cut off his connection with Azaroth, he contacted Yrellea.


    "Come meet me at the location I am giving you. The ring will show you the way." Sargan spoke with a calm voice.


    "Why?" Yrellea asked him curiously.


    Sargan gave a simple exnation, "It would be better if youe in person. It''s Boss''s order."


    This was more than enough for Yrellea.


    She immediately looked to her assistant and informed her, "Continue to check the situation here. I will be going outside for some fresh air."


    "As youmand, madam," Yrellea''s assistant immediately replied.


    Yrellea soon left the Misty Flower Pavillon building. She was dressed like an average woman with a simple disguise on her face. She roamed around and kept watch of her surroundings to check whether she was being followed or not.


    It didn''t appear that she was being followed. Atleast, she saw no suspicious men around herself.


    Yrellea decided to take the risk and go to the undergroundbyrinth where Sargan was waiting for her.


    As soon as she entered the area of the Underground Labyrinth, Sargan used his Spiritual Energy tomand the Labyrinth to teleport her inside the Labyrinth.


    Yrellea was utterly shocked as she was teleported. She felt like puking after she stepped inside the Labyrinth.


    Sargan''s voice soon resounded in the Labyrinth, "Come. I am waiting for you in the treasury. I trust you know your way around the Labyrinth."


    Yrellea replied out, "Very well." She began walking towards the treasury and soon reached it.


    She noticed Sargan holding a sword and practicing swings with it.


    "So, what is Master''s order?" Yrellea asked after entering the treasury.


    Sargan stopped swinging his sword and stared at her. He spoke calmly while pointing at the ck ribbon, "Master wishes for you to take hold of this ribbon and learn to control it."


    Yrellea nced at the ck ribbon. She nodded her head and replied, "¡­Alright."


    Yrellea picked up the ck Ribbon and was surprised when she saw the grade of this weapon. A 5 Tier Weapon!


    "You are rather lucky to have found abyrinth with treasures still in it. Good to see you aren''t cking off." Yrelleamented while picking up the ck Ribbon.


    "The same for you. I hear that your Pavillon is strongly bing popr among wealthy individuals and even those from the middle ss." Sargan replied.


    Yrellea shrugged in response, "With the support of the Governor and a few other high-ss merchants, it wasn''t difficult."


    Sargan nodded, "That''s true." And he added casually, "There are rumors that the Governor is nning to propose a marriage between his son and you."


    Yrellea''s pupils widened in shock. She had no information regarding this.


    "Is this true? Who did you hear it from?!" Yrellea asked with a slightly anxious voice.


    Sargan replied, "It''s the talk within every wealthy merchant''s home in shire City."


    "It''s said that Zaraki Family supported you and promoted your Pavillion because they wanted to boost your image. A boost in your image would mean a boost in their image once you marry Minos Zaraki," Sargan added ahead.


    "The customers. Howe I never heard about this from them?" Yrellea whispered in disbelief.


    Sargan spoke seriously, "The wealthy ones still do not trust your Pavillion. Those who know a lot of information prefer to not visit your Pavillion for now. They believe that the Governor has installed ears everywhere, and it''s dangerous to talk there. Understand now? Your attempt to use the Governor''s influence and promote the Pavillion is now showing its disadvantages."


    Yrellea clenched her fists as she whispered, "What do I do now?"

 Chapter 214 - Yrelleas Breakthrough

    "What do I do now?" Yrellea whispered as she clenched her fists.


    When Sargan heard her words, he wanted to help her, and thus, he suggested, "Perhaps its time to cut off the connection with the Governor."


    Yrellea shook her head, "No. That would just ruin the Misty Flower Pavillion and put the Governor on my back. At that time, it would be impossible for me to establish this Pavillion here."


    "The Governor might even use his influence to ban me from other cities in the Glerian Kingdom. And there is no Governor in the entire Glerian Kingdom that would support me while offending Governor Zaraki, the man controlling one of the wealthiest cities in the Glerian Kingdom."


    Yrellea exined why Sargan''s idea was rather bad.


    Sargan then spoke, "You are right. That does seem bad. And marriage is absolutely no considering your feelings for Boss."


    Yrellea red at Sargan but didn''t speak up anything. After all, it was hard to silence the truth.


    But Sargan wasn''t done. He had more to say. With a brilliant smile on his face, he added, "The Governor wants a marriage between you and his son, but we are against it. What if his intended groom dies, though?"


    Yrellea scoffed, "You are nning to kill him? Oh, please. His guards are at least 4 Star Warriors. And one of them is a seasoned 4 Star Warrior at the very peak of the rank. I doubt you can defeat them all."


    "If you told that to me a few days ago, I would have agreed to your words. But today, it''s different. I dare to say that I can easily kill Minos Zaraki while keeping my identity concealed." Sargan confidently spoke.


    This confidence was startling for Yrellea. She got the feeling that he was speaking the truth.


    Sargan spoke, "This Labyrinth didn''t just grant me treasures. It has greatly increased my cultivation base and bestowed another gift over me. Currently, my cultivation has increased to 4 Star Rank."


    Yrellea whispered in shock, "I see¡­ Well, I guess it would be best if you can just kill that guy."


    "Yes. However, it''s not just my cultivation that will be boosted from this Labyrinth."


    Those words only served to confuse Yrellea. Before she could ask what he meant, Sargan added, "Follow me."


    Sargan led her to the herbal section brimming with a poisonous aura due to the herbs'' dposition over such a long period.


    Sargan added, "Boss mentioned that this will be a perfect ce for you to practice your Heavenly Poison Scripture."


    Yrellea whispered as she observed the room, "Most of the energy had dissipated back to nature. However, the poison remains behind. I can break through the Heavenly Poison Scripture''s next stages using this poison."


    "That''s correct. I will be outside and wait for you to finish absorbing this poison."


    That was all Sargan spoke before leaving Yrellea alone in this Herbal Section.


    Meanwhile, Yrellea took a deep breath as she walked to the center of this room. She sat in a cross-legged position and began to chant the Heavenly Poison Scripture underneath her breath.


    A colorless aura began to radiate from Yrellea. It soon spread to each and every corner of the room.


    This aura tightly held the poison in the room, and when Yrellea was ready, she pulled it towards herself.


    The poison in the entire room immediately covered Yrellea''s body.


    Yrellea felt her body absorbing this poison from all pores of her body. She experienced unbelievable pain while absorbing this poison.


    This poison was harmful to her body, so Yrellea''s blood rightfully began to fight against this poison and purge it.


    However, at that moment, Yrellea''s Poisonous Physique activated and prevented her anti-bodies from acting up.


    Yrellea''s Ardor forced this Poison to flow through her body¡­ Slowly but surely, it was being absorbed and bing a part of her physique.


    Her Heavenly Poison Scripture soon broke through to the second stage.


    However, as Yrellea''s physique continued to absorb the poison, her Heavenly Poison Scripture broke through to the third stage.


    Around the same time, her cultivation broke past the barrier between the 3 Star Rank and the 4 Star Rank.


    Just like Sargan, Yrellea was now a 4 Star Warrior.


    Her cultivation stopped after reaching the mid-stage of the 4 Star Rank.


    In reality, her cultivation would have grown more if so much of Ardor hadn''t dissipated away from this poison. Their heavenly energies hadn''t been absorbed by the Dark Hearted Eye Flower King.


    Yrellea was rather satisfied with her progress.


    When she opened her eyes, she left the herbal section soon enough. She noticed that Sargan was actually sleeping in the treasury.


    <em>''How long have I been inside?''</em>


    She quickly went and shook Sargan''s body. He opened his eyes and was slightly annoyed as he wanted to have another hour of sleep.


    "How long was I inside?" Yrellea asked the question she was most curious about.


    It took some moments for Sargan to regain his consciousness and reply, "¡­I waited for you for nearly 20 hours before finally sumbing to sleep. It''s been 2 hours since I slept."


    "Nearly a whole day?!" Yrellea was shocked to hear this, "Send me out of this ce. I need to return to Pavillion now!"


    "Alright. Alright. Let me take a moment to wake myself uppletely." Sargan spoke before slowly standing up.


    His eyes were truly tired right now. They had just unlocked another ability by straining themselves greatly, and he was greatly tired due to this reason.


    Yrellea was soon teleported out of the Labyrinth.


    She returned to her Misty Flower Pavillion. She knew a lot of issues must have piled up by now. Her assistant couldn''t handle most of the tasks.


    She didn''t possess the ability, the experience, or even the respect of herrades toplete those tasks.


    While Yrellea was returning to her Misty Flower Pavillion, Sargan sprinkled some water over his face and left the Labyrinth as well.


    He was going in the opposite direction as Yrellea.


    It was Ruben Kari''s Private Vi where he was headed to. He had promised him that he would hand him the key to enter the Underground Labyrinth after three days.


    It was nearly the end of the third day.


    The guards tried to stop him, but when he mentioned his identity, the guards let him enter Ruben Kari''s Private Vi. They further informed him that he awaited his presence.


    Sargan soon met up with Ruben Kari inside his private vi.


    It appeared as though Ruben Kari was alone right now. He had ordered his servants to return.


    Currently, within the room, Ruben Kari and Sargan stood alone. Ruben Kari had ensured that this talk wouldn''t get out of this room. Even his guards were waiting outside the mansion.


    "I heard that a special field had formed around this Labyrinth. It harms whoever tries to pass through it. How will I enter the Labyrinth if I can''t pass this field?!" Ruben Kari was quite distressed.


    He felt as though Sargan had shown him an empty dream.


    But soon, Sargan pulled out a red-colored rock from his ring. He spoke with a thin smile, "Rest assured, Ruben. I am a man of my word. Take this rock with you."


    Ruben Kari asked with a suspicious look, "Is this the key?"


    "Drip your blood over it, and it will connect to you spiritually. Once you enter the range of the Labyrinth, you will immediately teleport inside of it." After saying that, Sargan handed over the rock.


    Ruben was shocked and gently held that reddish rock.


    "I hope you honor your word then." Sargan extended his hand as he said that.


    Ruben smiled and shook his head before replying, "I intend to, friend."

 Chapter 215 - Master Pazzi

    In the Sinyalian Kingdom, the King had heard the news of how the Roger Dukedom had not only survived but annihted the Radiant Church.


    When he heard of this news, he had to force his face to remain calm despite the excitement in his heart.


    Although he had given up on the Roger Dukedom in his heart, it was because he did not wish for the entire Sinyalian Kingdom to be embroiled in a civil war.


    The consequences would be disastrous. And the destruction of the Radiant Church could indeed ensure a civil war.


    However, the situation was slightly different from what he imagined.


    It appeared that Duke Steven Roger had already prepared a countermeasure for this situation. The Visionary Connecting Array had prevented that situation from urring.


    He knew that the Walsh Dukedom had greatly benefited from this situation. Moreover, he had heard the news that Duchess Siluca was taking quick actions to takeplete advantage of this situation.


    The King Valliadis called out for a servant, "Summon Duke Steven Roger to the Royal Pce. Do not speak of this to another man."


    The man gave a half-bow and spoke, "As youmand, your Majesty."


    ~~


    Edwin had stepped into the Mesenana City, the capital of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    His motive toe here was simple. To investigate the Royal Family.


    The spies he had in the various Noble Families hadn''t found anything worthwhile regarding the Royal Family.


    It was just a bit more borative information than themon people.


    It was clear that the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom had many secrets they managed to conceal even from the spies of the Noble Families.


    And if the Noble Families did know about such secrets, they were rather discreet in talking about it.


    Edwin had naturally asked Siluca about the Royal Family, but she couldn''t tell him anything useful.


    Considering her infatuation and feelings for him, Edwin knew that Siluca wouldn''t withhold such information from him.


    This meant either her spywork was rather weak or the Royal Family was just too mysterious.


    Thus, Edwin was forced to enter Mesenana City. He had a contact he could use to check out the Royal Family.


    That contact was naturally none other than Sophie.


    Thest time she met with Edwin, she had witnessed a bit of his Heavenly Tribtion. She believed that this Heavenly Tribtion was due to Edwin''s status as a Hybrid.


    He had broken through to the 5 Star Rank, and the heavens had ruthlessly thrown Heavenly Lightning at him.


    She had seen that Edwin had barely survived the Heavenly Lightning. Moreover, the next time he would encounter this Heavenly Lightning would be during his breakthrough to the 6 Star Rank.


    At that time, the Heavenly Lightning was bound to be even stronger. She had to quickly learn the 6 Star Ranked Arrays.


    The best barrier techniques that could protect Edwin during his Heavenly Lightning.


    Naturally, her master was quite shocked to see how devoted she was to the array training now.


    She spent so much time studying these array techniques that he was slightly worried about her. He decided to consult Bianca (Sophie''s mother) regarding this matter.


    "Good morning, Madam Rita." Sophie''s master greeted Bianca as he stood outside their house.


    "Good morning to you as well, Master Pazzi." Bianca gave half bow to the man ahead of her.


    Master Pazzi''splete name was Hendrix Pazzi. He was greatly respected by all individuals in the capital, including the Royal Family.


    It made sense as he was one of the only 6 Star Array Masters of the Sinyalian Kingdom. Although his cultivation was only at the 5 Star Rank, he could still draw 6 Star Ranked Arrays as long as he was provided with precious resources.


    He was considered one of the rarest talents in the Array Masters within the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Bianca and even her husband Spencer were delighted when they heard the news that Master Pazzi looked favorably upon their daughter''s talent. It was out of their expectations when he asked them to take their daughter as his disciple.


    The number of disciples Master Pazzi had could all be counted on one hand. All of them were reputed 5 Star Array Masters now.


    Sophie was Master Pazzi''s fifth disciple. He had been rather satisfied with her progress regarding arrays.


    "Pleasee inside." Bianca invited Master Pazzi inside her house.


    Master Pazzi nodded before following Bianca to the living room. The two sat across from one other on couches, with a table in the midst.


    Bianca ordered a servant to bring some jasmine tea for Master Pazzi.


    "It appears that your husband still hasn''t returned yet, Madam Rita," Master Pazzimented.


    Bianca had a bitter smile as she replied, "It was a mission from the King, so, naturally, it would beplicated. However, he did talk to me recently and informed me that he would return in a couple of weeks."


    Master Pazzi spoke, "That would be most fortunate." His voice became a bit solemn as he continued, "In reality, Madam Rita, I came here to talk to you regarding your daughter."


    Bianca was startled and immediately asked, "About Sophie? Did something happen, Master Pazzi? She hasn''t done something silly, right?"


    "¡­As you might know, your daughter has great talent in array formations. Her natural talent has been so great that she had reached her current level through it. I remember she took a leave for nearly an entire month, and since she returned, she had buried herself in studying the array techniques."


    "I have always chided her for being so casual regarding the array training. Even though she became a 5 Star Array Master, she stillcked in knowledge. She didn''t know how to examine them carefully or even break an existing one. Her intuition and talent merely allowed her to create a 5 Star Array."


    "However, just as rxing too much is futile, the same is true about being too serious. Sophie''s mind and heart are clearly chaotic right now. If she continues to study and attempts to create an array while her mind is in such a state, the results might be disastrous for her spirit. Before confronting her, I thought it would be best to consult this matter with you." Master Pazzi spoke seriously.


    Bianca was genuinely shocked to hear this. She knew her daughter was more serious regarding the array formations and was happy. She never imagined that Sophie''s condition was so serious.


    "Is she some sort of stress? Did she witness a close one die recently?" Master Pazzi asked with a solemn expression.


    Bianca spoke while shaking her head, "No¡­ As far as I am aware, none of my daughters'' friends died. I don''t understand why she would be under stress. The only reason I can think of is that she probably misses Spencer."


    "No. This isn''t the first time your husband had left for a long mission. Your daughter never showed any abnormal behavior. This behavior began since she returned from that trip," Master Pazzi responded.


    "That trip? But she only went to visit her friend. Maybe something happened there that Sophie isn''t telling me," Bianca concluded.


    Bianca finally spoke, "I will talk to her regarding this and find out what happened."


    Master Pazzi stood up after hearing those words. He appeared satisfied as he replied, "Please figure out what happened. Because before we know the situation, we cannot confront Sophie. Her emotions appear rather unstable."


    After saying that, Master Pazzi turned around to move out of the house.


    Bianca immediately spoke, "Please stop by for the tea. It''s about to be prepared."


    "No. I merely came here to consult you regarding this matter. I need to return now. I am working on another array."


    Bianca then respectfully bowed her head while speaking, "Thank you foring all this way, Master Pazzi. I shall be eternally grateful to you."


    A glint of desire appeared in Master Pazzi''s eyes as he stared at Bianca before it quickly vanished.. He soon began to walk out of the mansion.

 Chapter 216 - Bianca Interrogates Sophie

    On the very same day, Bianca contacted Nina Smith, Sophie''s friend.


    When Sophie had gone to Kloras Town, she had used the excuse of Nina Smith to go out of the Mesenana City without her guards.


    Bianca agreed to it at that time as this wasn''t the first time Sophie was sneaking to her friend''s ce without the guards'' protection.


    The guards would monitor her everywhere to protect her. It would be socially disturbing to meet your friend and having your guard follow you everywhere.


    Bianca understood this all too well as she had experienced the same frustrations. Thus, she had tacitly consented when Sophie told her she wanted to sneak out of the city without the guards.


    In fact, Bianca was the one to order the guards around so Sophie could get the chance to leave the house.


    She never imagined that it would lead to such consequences, though.


    Althoughte, she had realized that she would need to get to the bottom of this situation.


    And the person who could inform about this situation clearly was Nina.


    Nina''s family had good rtions with Bianca''s maiden family, the Lewis Marquis Family. Thus, it wasn''t difficult for her to contact Nina using the Voice Transmitting Array Stone.


    Nina knew that it was Sophie''s mother who wanted to talk to her regarding something.


    Nina spoke with a polite tone, "I wish you good morning, Auntie."


    "Thank you, dear. I wish you the same," Bianca replied through the Voice Transmitting Stone.


    Bianca spoke, "Do you remember a couple of months ago when Sophie visited your house?"


    Nina replied a little nervously, "Yes, of course, Auntie."


    Sophie had informed Nina of what excuse she had given at home. She had to deal with the situation if Sophie''s mother ever contacted her regarding it.


    Nina had more or less forgotten this event since it urred months back. "What happened, Auntie?" She asked.


    "It''s regarding Sophie. It seemed that something has happened to her. Today, her master visited me and informed me that Sophie''s mental health hadn''t been the greatest since she returned to the city. He mentioned that something must have happened when she came to visit you." Bianca spoke with a serious voice.


    Nina was startled and scared as she heard those words. She eximed, "Sophie''s mental condition isn''t good?!"


    Bianca added, "Yes. Her teacher mentioned that if this continues, she would sooner orter injure herself."


    There, she took a small pause. She then continued on speaking with a solemn voice, "I need to help my daughter Nina. So tell me, what happened when she visited you. Was there any strange thing that urred or anything unique?"


    Nina was utterly confused at this moment and chose to remain silent, "¡­."


    Bianca felt that Nina''s silence was quite strange. She spoke, "I do not wish to vite your privacy, but this concerns my daughter. Even if it''s something rted to your family, share it with me. You should know that I do not deal in politics. I won''t spread any secret about your family. So please, share it with me."


    That helpless tone Nina heard felt like forcing her to make a decision. And her conscience seemed to tell her that it would be best to reveal the truth to Bianca.


    Nina spoke, her voice trembling with fear, "Madam, I do not know what happened at that time."


    Bianca replied back a bit more intense, "You were with her! How could you not know what happened with her?!"


    Nina answered with a faint whisper, "Because she wasn''t with me at that time."


    "What?" Bianca was confused.


    Nina then exined, "Auntie, Sophie never came to visit me¡­."


    Soon enough, a cold look appeared on Bianca''s face as she understood the situation a bit more than before, "What did Sophie tell you? I want to know everything."


    Bianca''s voice carried a threat. Nina had no other choice than to inform what she knew. About what Sophie had told her and everything.


    Nina didn''t n to hide the truth from Bianca because she knew that if she couldn''t give her a satisfying answer, she was sure to investigate this by asking her mother and father about this situation.


    They would definitely not lie to Bianca. So, she made a wise decision to inform Bianca of the entire truth. At the very least, Bianca won''t me her for lying to her.


    Soon enough, half a day passed.


    Sophie had been summoned by her mother. It was a Royal Guard who informed Sophie about this.


    Sophie wasn''t much surprised. She thought her mother wanted to meet her and talk to her. It had been several days since shest met her.


    It was dinner time when she returned to her house. However, Bianca had still not eaten her food. She appeared to be waiting for her daughter.


    Soon, Sophie was standing ahead of her.


    "Hey, mother," She spoke while trying her best to smile.


    Bianca stared at her and then slowly stood up, "I have been waiting for you, Sophie."


    "What is it, mother? Did you miss me? I was still in the city and seriously studying array formations just as you always want me to," She asked a little humorously.


    "It''s not about this," Bianca replied with a serious tone.


    "Then what is it, mother?" Sophie asked with a confused expression.


    Bianca stood up and red at her daughter while replying, "It''s about you lying to me. Lying to me that you went to Nina''s house when in reality you went to meet your little sweetheart."


    Sophie''s eyes widened as she heard that statement, "Why do you know about this?"


    "I investigated a bit and found the truth," Bianca didn''t want to harm Sophie''s friendship with Nina, so she didn''t tell her that she heard the truth from Nina.


    However, Sophie responded just a bitter, "Why did you investigate it now?!"


    "That''s not important. The main point is that you lied to me and went somewhere else. What if something had happened to you?!" Bianca yelled out while ring at Sophie.


    "¡­" Sophie remained silent as she knew she couldn''t win an argument against her mother regarding this matter.


    Deep within her heart, she knew she was wrong to lie to her mother about this. Thus, now, she had to listen.


    When Bianca noticed how Sophie was silent and seemed ready to be admonished, she changed her approach.


    Bianca asked while cing her hand over Sophie''s head and caressing her hair, "Who is he?"


    Sophie remained silent. She knew she couldn''t mention his identity here.


    "Why are you scared to speak out his name? Does that mean you are in a rtionship with someone we absolutely won''t agree to?" Bianca asked.


    "¡­" Sophie''s expression changed, but she didn''t deny her mother''s words. She was right.


    A resolute look appeared in Bianca''s eyes as she spoke, "Do you think you can hide your rtionship with him for eternity? Even you don''t speak, I have many ways of finding his identity."


    "Y-You will hurt him," Sophie spoke hesitantly.


    Bianca immediately ced her hands over her daughter''s hands and spoke, "Do you have such little trust in your mother? If it was your father, perhaps he might have been hotheaded enough to make a move against your little lover. But I promise you to not hurt him as long as he hasn''t harmed you."


    "Tell me, who is he?" Bianca asked gently this time.


    Her mother''s words convinced Sophie, and she softly whispered, "Edwin Rhodes."

 Chapter 217 - Edwin Arrives In Mesenana City

    Bianca heard the name of Sophie''s sweetheart, and she was shell-shocked. The family name of this guy coincided with her husband''s rival, Jonas Rhodes.


    "Edwin Rhodes? An heir to the Rhodes Family?!" Bianca unconsciously raised her voice as she asked this question.


    Sophie cowered a bit as she heard her mother''s loud voice. She realized it was a mistake to have mentioned Edwin''s name to her mother.


    "Y-Yes," Sophie stammered while replying to her mother.


    What''s done was done. Now, Sophie couldn''t lie about this. Her mother had too many sources to find more information regarding this issue.


    And she would punish her severely once she found out that Sophie was lying to her about such an issue. This punishment might include harming Edwin, so Sophie was scared of it.


    Bianca had noticed that her daughter was trembling. She understood that she had been too hard on her.


    ''The matters of the heart can''t be helped.'' She muttered in her mind as she thought of what she should say to her daughter.


    Soon, Bianca spoke with a softer tone, "¡­You already know about your father''s rtions with the Patriarch of the Rhodes House, Jonas Rhodes. Yet¡­ You are in a rtionship with his son."


    At the end of her statement, Bianca sighed out.


    Sophie clenched her fists in slight annoyance as she spoke out, "I couldn''t help it, okay. I don''t even know why father has bad rtions with the Patriarch of the Rhodes House, but Edwin''s isn''t like that! He is very nice and takes good care of me! I feel happy when I am with him."


    Bianca was taken aback when she saw her daughter speaking so fiercely for Edwin.


    She recalled some fond memories. She had behaved simrly when she was trying to convince her family to allow her to marry Spencer.


    It was her grandfather who saw potential in Spencer and allowed Bianca to marry him.


    <em>''So this is what mother felt when I was stubbornly asking them to allow me to marry Spencer even though he was a meremoner at that time.''</em> There was a bitter smile on Bianca''s face as she thought this.


    With a determined look, Bianca spoke out, "What if he has concealed his motives? He might have been asked by his father to seduce you."


    Sophie rolled her eyes, "That''s impossible. While we studied at Acadia Academy, he never managed to talk to me. And we met during that Beast Raid operation in Kloras Town after our graduation. He couldn''t have possibly known that I would be there. Even if he did, I was the one who went to talk to him. He had never tried asking me regarding you or father or anything else. If he was tasked by his father, then he should have asked for something by now."


    "¡­Alright. It was my fault. I was wrong to doubt your rtionship, okay?" Bianca spoke as she looked at her daughter.


    Bianca knew her daughter wouldn''t lie about such an issue. There was also the fact that Jonas Rhodes hadn''t taken any action against them in these months, so it was unlikely that Edwin found any important information through Sophie. It meant that her guess was most probably wrong.


    Sophie hmphed at those words.


    "Alright. Now tell me, why have you been studying arrays all of your time since you went to meet Edwin Rhodes?'' Bianca finally addressed the main subject.


    Sophie''s eyes widened slightly as she heard that question. She replied with an annoyed voice, "I am just studying arrays. Weren''t you always telling me to be serious? Now I am serious, but it seems it''s still a problem."


    Bianca spoke with a stricter look, "Sophie, you don''t realize it, but you are spending too much time on your array formations. You need to take a break every now and then. Your mental condition is growing worse with each passing day."


    "Now, tell me, what happened that has forced you to this point?" Bianca asked with a resolute voice. It seemed that she wouldn''t be satisfied without an answer.


    However, she was surprised when she saw a determined look in Sophie''s eyes.


    Sophie spoke, "I apologize, mother, but this is something I can''t tell you. No matter what you do, I won''t tell you about this."


    Those words and the tone Sophie used truly startled her mother.


    Before Bianca could say anything else, Sophie left the room. Bianca didn''t try to go after her as she knew just how stubborn Sophie could sometimes be.


    "It appears I need to choose the hard method." Bianca thought as a cold glint was released from her eyes.


    She summoned her servants and ordered them, "Find everything you can about Edwin Rhodes and inform me at once!"


    The servants immediately followed her orders as they went outside the mansion to investigate Edwin''s information.


    Bianca found out about Edwin a dayter. She found out that he was managing Kloras Town and was living there for a rather long time.


    There were also rumors that he had given up on inheriting the Rhodes House from Jonas. This information greatly surprised her.


    The Rhodes House had a tremendous amount of power and riches. Although itcked the riches and resources of a Dukedom, its authority could rival that of a Dukedom.


    Thus, it was shocking for Bianca to know that Edwin Rhodes had been rumored to give up on the Rhodes House''s Inheritance.


    <em>''Perhaps Sophie was right. He might not be that bad of choice for her.''</em>


    As a mother, Bianca wanted Sophie to marry a good man. An honest and strong man whose first priority would be Sophie.


    <em>''I need to meet him and check whether he is truly suitable for Sophie or not.''</em>


    Bianca had sent some men to meet Edwin and invite him to their house.


    While this entire situation was urring, Edwin was on his way towards Mesenana city.


    2 dayster, he had reached Mesenana City.


    Without thinking deeply about it, Edwin went towards Sophie''s mansion. Thest time he appeared in the capital city to meet Rein Schwarz, the Vice-Head of Merchant Union, he had remembered the map of this city.


    It didn''t take much time for Edwin to reach Sophie''s mansion.


    Edwin wasn''t wearing a mask right now. He knew that a suspicious and unfamiliar person would never be allowed inside Sophie''s mansion.


    Two guards stood outside the mansion. They had a neutral look on their faces as they looked around.


    They noticed Edwin as he was walking in their direction. From his facial expression, it didn''t seem like he was nning to change his direction. In fact, it seemed that he wanted to enter the mansion.


    Once Edwin was close enough, the guard asked rudely, "Who are you?"


    It was unclear if the animosity was motivated by envy or just because Edwin was a stranger.


    "My name is Edwin. I am Sophie''s friend and havee to meet her. Please allow me to enter the mansion." Edwin spoke with a neutral tone.


    The two guards snorted simultaneously. They had heard these words thousands of times. And in the majority of those cases, the person would be speaking nonsense.


    One of the guards spoke, "Show us the proof that you are young miss''s friend."


    Edwin''splexion changed slightly as he asked, "Proof of friendship? Are you kidding me?"


    With a stern face, the second guard replied, "No. If you don''t have some proof of that, scram!"


    Edwin stared at them and asked them seriously, "I have a simple question for you. Do you go around and give proof of your friendship to your friends?"


    One of the guards replied, "No. Since we don''t need to. Too many people want to meet the young miss. We can''t allow them to enter the mansion and trouble our young miss."


    "Fair enough.." Edwin let out a sigh as he pulled out a Voice Transmitting Array Stone, "I wanted to give her a surprise, but I guess it can''t be helped."

 Chapter 218 - Subtly Extracting Information

    The guards were surprised when Edwin pulled out the Voice Transmission Array Stone. They rarely met such pretentious people, but still, they stood their ground.


    Meanwhile, Edwin''s Voice Transmission Stone connected to Sophie''s Voice Transmission Stone.


    "Hmm? Who is it?" She grunted. She didn''t know who was trying to contact her on her personal Voice Transmission Stone.


    Edwin spoke, "It''s me, Sophie."


    "Edwin!" Sophie eximed excitedly when she found out it was her lover.


    Edwin only contacted her on few asions. In fact, in the past few weeks, Sophie was the one who contacted Edwin.


    "How are you doing these days?" Sophie asked in a soft tone.


    "Let''s talk about thatter. Actually, I am here in Mesenana City and was thinking of meeting you." Edwin spoke.


    "Really?! Where are you? I will immediatelye to meet you," Sophie spoke with an excited tone.


    "Sure. I am in the main market near the Big Bulls cksmith Store. I needed some weapons for the guards in Kloras Town," Edwin lied as naturally as he breathed.


    Meanwhile, the guards outside Sophie''s mansion were shocked to hear Edwin talk to their young miss.


    From the voice, they knew it was undoubtedly their young miss who was on the other end of the Voice Transmission Stone.


    After hearing the location, Sophie cut off the connection between their Voice Transmission Stone.


    Once the connection was cut, Edwin put away the Voice Transmission Stone.


    A guard asked Edwin, "Why did you lie?"


    "My motive was to surprise her. Since you won''t allow me to enter the mansion, I naturally need to change my approach and surprise her in another manner." Edwin responded casually.


    The guards were taken aback when they heard suchments. They realized in their hearts that Edwin was truly Sophie''s friend.


    The two guards faced each other and nodded. They faced Edwin and simultaneously spoke out, "W-We apologiz-"


    The guards spoke out simultaneously but stopped when they saw Edwin cing his finger on his lips.


    "Shhh¡­" He was signaling them to stop speaking. Edwin added, "You were doing your jobs. I don''t me you."


    "Thank you for your kindness. We won''t keep you any longer," One of the two guards spoke.


    Edwin shook his head, "No. I n to wait for Sophie here now."


    "Eh?" The two guards were startled.


    "Don''t worry too much about it. I will tell Sophie I wanted to surprise her like this. She won''t me you," Edwin spoke with a smile.


    The two guards felt grateful to Edwin as they heard him say that, "Thank you."


    "But still, I never thought Sophie was so famous here, and so many people have tried to meet her," Edwin spoke while sighing out.


    The guards looked at Edwin with a smile as one of them spoke out, "Can I speak candidly?"


    "Sure." Edwin appeared amused as he replied.


    "Young miss is a rare beauty and also a talented genius in array formations. She is the student of Master Pazzi, who is a 6 Star Array Master. And most importantly, her father ismander Spencer whose prestige is just below the King within Capital city. It would be strange if she wasn''t famous here." The guard spoke out with a proud look.


    Edwin smiled and then spoke out, "Now that I think about it, it does make sense."


    "So, what kind of people have tried to enter the Mansion? Was there someone with a good status?" Edwin asked casually.


    "Hmm¡­. There have been all sorts of people. The Merchant Union President''s Son. Some elders from the Array Association. And once, even an Inquisitor appeared." The guard babbled out without thinking about it much.


    Edwin''s pupils narrowed immediately as he asked, "An Inquisitor? When did hee?"


    "If I remember correctly, it was just a little more than 2 months ago," The other guard replied, "He said he was here to talk to our Young Miss about something. Madam sent him away, though."


    "It was a strange scene. Normally, an Inquisitor woulde for Master Spencer, but he was actually here for young miss," The first guard spoke out.


    When he heard these two guards, Edwin was more or less sure that Inquisitor Fox arrived here to talk to Sophie.


    ording to the timing, it was when Sophie was still living with him in Kloras Town.


    <em>''He must have tried to investigate me thoroughly. And thus, the only other survivor of that Beast Raid was Sophie. It does make sense for him toe and ask her about the events and cross-check it with what I have informed.''</em>


    <em>''However, it''s impossible for him to have found any valuable information for him. What Sophie said was all that I told her. There shouldn''t be any obvious holes in the exnation or the event details.''</em>


    He concluded it was a good idea to have made so much effort in manipting them as they gave him rather useful information.


    Moreover, they wouldn''t suspect Edwin for asking those questions. To them, it would appear as if he was talking just to pass the time.


    Edwin talked a bit with the guards about the random things. Like, how they were doing in life and so on.


    The guards went on to narrate everything happily. They had a good impression of Edwin as they felt he was a rather good person. They wanted to leave behind a good impression as well. Thus they talked a lot and so on¡­


    Sophie soon left her mansion. She was startled to see Edwin seated on a chair outside her mansion, facing the two guards and calmly listening to them.


    Edwin soon faced her and spoke, "Hey."


    Sophie was startled and even scared as she saw Edwin sitting there with that casual smile on his face. She stammered out, "Y-You¡­W-Why did youe here?"


    "A. You break my heart. Can''t I evene to your house?" Edwin spoke in a fake hurt tone.


    "No. It''s not that. Forget it, I will tell youter," Sophie spoke while letting out a sigh, "Let''s go somewhere else."


    "Sure," Edwin didn''t understand why Sophie seemed so nervous, but he agreed nheless.


    The location didn''t matter to him much. He had to use Sophie to contact the Royal Family.


    Before he was about to leave, though, anotherdy left the mansion.


    It was none other than Bianca. Unlike Sophie''s Silky ck Hair, Bianca had Fiery Red Colored Hair with contrasting Blue Eyes. Her bust was a littlerger than Sophie''s breasts, and her ass appeared even curvier.


    In terms of breasts, she was just a little smaller than Siluca, but she had Siluca beat in terms of her ass''s curve.


    "Sophie, where are you going?!" Bianca asked. Suddenly, she noticed Edwin standing outside the mansion.


    She asked the guards near Edwin, "Who is this?"


    "Madam, he calls himself Edwin," A guard immediately replied out.


    "Edwin? Edwin Rhodes?" She asked while staring in Edwin''s direction.


    Sophie was nervous as she heard her mother questioning Edwin. Before she could say anything, Edwin nodded his head.


    ~~


    A/N: Guys, I want to make a manga in the next couple of months. Please follow my insta ount: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 219 - Special Juice

    Bianca asked with a soft voice, "So, you are Edwin Rhodes?" This soft voice appeared to be filled with an invisible pressure.


    Only Edwin could feel this invisible pressure. He knew Bianca was trying to frighten him.


    <em>''Does she know of my rtionship with Sophie? I guess it was only natural she would find out by now.''</em>


    "Mother!" Sophie spoke out as she stared at her mother. She knew her mother was probably going to make things difficult for Edwin. She couldn''t have that.


    Edwin turned towards Sophie and spoke, "Woah! You never mentioned that even your mother was a 5 Star Warrior."


    Bianca''s eyes widened as she heard Edwin''s words. Soon, she sensed Edwin''s aura as well. It was actually as intense as her own!


    In reality, Edwin''s Ardor was much denser and stronger than Bianca, but he had controlled its aura so she won''t find out his true power.


    <em>''He is a 5 Star Warrior?! Just how old is he?! He is just 19 years old, yet he has already reached the 5 Star Rank?! Even Spencer wasn''t as strong as him at this age. Only the Golden Mayor who became a 5 Star Warrior near the age of 16 could be considered superior to him!''</em>


    This informationpletely stunned Bianca.


    Sophie replied to Edwin''s words, "Hehe¡­ We never talked about this topic." She then turned towards her mother, "Mother, I will go and take a walk with Edwin. I promise to return soon."


    Bianca soon got out of her shock as she looked at her daughter and then spoke, "Your friend came to see you from a very distant ce. Don''t you think he should have something to eat and take some rest for now?"


    Sophie frowned at those words. She knew her mother was probably going to ask a lot of questions from Edwin.


    "She is right, Sophie. I am actually hungry and a bit tired. How about you show me the city in the evening?" He spoke with a smile.


    <em>''¡­Edwin really has no sense of danger, does he? Just because my mother has a smile on her face does not mean she is harmless.''</em>


    <em>''However, he might really be tired. I can''t have him walk around in such a condition. Maybe he indeed should take some rest,</em>'' Sophie let out a sigh as she thought this.


    "Alright. Come, I will show you my house," She spoke cheerfully.


    Edwin nodded his head as he stepped towards the mansion.


    There was a calcting smile on his face as he stared at Bianca. Bianca had no idea that she had be Edwin''s target.


    Soon after, the three entered the mansion, and Edwin and Sophie took seats on one side of the couch, while Bianca took her position on another couch ced with a table in between the two couches.


    "What will you have? Tea? Juice? Or Alcohol?" Bianca asked rather politely.


    "Juice," Edwin spoke immediately.


    Bianca stared at Sophie and ordered her, "Sophie, go and prepare juice for him. You already know where the fruits are ced. Make your special juice."


    "Have you drunk her special juice, Edwin?" Bianca asked Edwin with a smile.


    Edwin replied with a teasing smile, "Not really. But I give her a lot of my special juice. She drinks it happily."


    Initially, Sophie didn''t understand his words. But when she saw that yful smile on Edwin''s face, she immediately blushed as she understood the meaning behind his words.


    <em>''He is so crude right in front of my mother. It would be disastrous if she finds out about the real meaning behind his words. I can''t let my mother think about this for long.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Sophie immediately stood up and spoke, "Hehe¡­ You will love it! I will be back in a jiffy!"


    Sophie was actually thrilled since she had intended to create something for Edwin. She wasn''t particrly skilled in the kitchen, but she could brew tasty juice.


    Edwin couldn''t help but sigh and think ''She is truly na?ve sometimes. Her mother wanted to talk to me privately, and she used this excuse to make her leave.''


    However, Edwin didn''t reveal this because he wanted the same to happen as well.


    After Sophie walked away, Bianca began speaking, "I heard you and my daughter are in a rtion-"


    Bianca suddenly turned silent as a nk look appeared in her eyes.


    "You shall follow my orders from now on!" Edwin ordered Bianca while using his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    It was the Hypnotic Ability of his Mystic Eyes of Perception! This ability''s cooldown was one whole month.


    This ability had the side-effect of interfering with the spiritual talent of the target as well. Thus, Edwin rarely used it on individuals whom he could manipte through other means.


    Before using it on Bianca, he had considered the consequences already and knew the situation would only be favorable to him. There were nearly no disadvantages of this act.


    Bianca was a 5 Star Warrior, so it wouldn''t be strange that she couldn''t break through to the 6 Star Warrior. The barrier between a 5 Star Rank and a 6 Star Rank was a huge one.


    Since she was Sophie''s mother, she was bound to possess even greater influence within the capital.


    Moreover, she had information regarding Inquisitor Fox''s visit to this ce. He had to find out about that.


    Perhaps she could use her influence to find who he was underneath that mask.


    Once Edwin found out who Inquisitor Fox was underneath that mask, dealing with him would be a lot simpler!


    The first thing Edwin asked was, "Who knows about my rtionship with Sophie?"


    Bianca soon replied, "Only me."


    "Not even your husband? Why doesn''t he know about it yet?" Edwin asked while his pupils narrowed.


    "No. Spencer hasn''t been home since thest couple of months. Also, I only found out about it just a half a week ago." Bianca answered truthfully.


    "I see¡­" Edwin muttered before speaking up, "I heard that Inquisitor Fox came to this mansion a few months ago. What happened? Why was he here?"


    "¡­He wanted to talk to Sophie. I asked him to go away and told him that Sophie was at her friend''s house," Sophie replied. She soon continued, "I sent someone to monitor him as I was wondering why an Inquisitor was looking for my daughter, but the scouts lost his position."


    <em>''He is a sensor as well. But he also can''t sense the individuals concealed by an array.''</em>


    Edwin also couldn''t sense someone being concealed by an array. Well, unless he looked in that direction using his Mystic Eyes of Perception or that person was deliberately releasing killing intent.


    However, in sensing, Edwin was still superior since his sensing range was muchrger than Shun''s range.


    "What is Inquisitor Fox''s true identity?" Edwin asked his next question.


    Bianca replied, "I don''t know."


    <em>''As expected. It would be strange if Bianca did know about the secret group working under the king. But it was worth a try.''</em>


    Edwin noticed the sound of footsteps. It was Sophie who was returned with a tray in her hands.


    Edwin immediately ordered Bianca, "Behave normally for now, but you will remember that you are still my servant. When I give you an order, you must follow it without hesitation."


    Bianca''s eyes began to show a lot more emotion as she looked at Edwin, "What were we talking about? Oh right, how do you find this house, Edwin?"


    "Absolutely lovely. I wouldn''t get bored of living in this house for eternity," Edwin spoke jokingly.


    "That''s a greatpliment considering that you live in an even greater mansion," Bianca spoke.


    "Hehe¡­" Edwin rubbed the back of his head.


    Sophie heard their interactions and internally let out a relieved sound. She was happy that her mother wasn''t intentionally making things difficult for Edwin and was being nice.


    She had no idea that the reality waspletely different.


    ~~


    A/N: Guys, I want to make a manga in the next couple of months. Please follow my insta ount: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 220 - The Crown Prince Of The Sinyalian Kingdom

    Edwin exchanged a few words with Sophie and Bianca before being allocated a room to rx in.


    Sophie spoke to her mother, "Thanks, mother, for not saying anything that would make him ufortable."


    Bianca smiled, and she replied, "Don''t worry, my sweetie. I don''t have anything personal against Edwin. As long as he can treat you well, then in my eyes, he is a fine man for you."


    "I asked him a bit about the Rhodes House, and he confirmed the rumors that he has given up on inheriting the Rhodes House. This means the family has given up on him, and he wasn''t sent by Jonas Rhodes to spy on you," Bianca spoke all sorts of nonsense with a convincing smile.


    She spoke all this nonsense even without Edwin''s order because she was now his servant. As Edwin''s servant, other than following his orders, she also had to assist Edwin in the best possible way she knew.


    Thus, she praised Edwin in a way that wouldn''t seem suspicious to Sophie.


    Sophie smiled upon hearing her mother''s words about Edwin. She spoke, "What about father?"


    "I will talk to him, so you don''t need to worry about it," Bianca spoke while rubbing her daughter''s head.


    "Okie~! Thank you, mother. I love you." Sophie said before hugging her mother.


    She knew that her father would definitely listen to her mother.


    Sophie went to her own room. She didn''t try to go and meet Edwin. Firstly, she believed Edwin was tired, and he should rest currently.


    Secondly, she couldn''t openly show her affection for Edwin in her house. Although her mother agreed to her rtionship with Edwin, she might go back on her words if she finds out that Sophie had lost her virginity to Edwin.


    In fact, she might even take drastic actions against Edwin. Thus, she had to remain within her limits in her house.


    Sophie had no idea that her mother was talking to Edwin right now. Naturally, the two were talking spiritually.


    Edwin had to ask her a few more things. And what better opportunity than this?


    Sophie believed he was resting so she wouldn''t disturb him for the next few hours. And during this time, he could extract useful information from Bianca.


    "You are from a Marquis Ranked Family?" Edwin was surprised as Bianca informed herself.


    Once she gave her maiden name, he understood she was most probably from the Lewis Noble House.


    Edwin had some spies in that Noble House, but they didn''t have any real authority in the mansion. They couldn''t find out the true secrets of a Noble House.


    However, Bianca was different. She still possessed some influence in her maiden family.


    If she asked them something, they wouldn''t hide it from her. Especially if Bianca used Spencer''s name.


    This wasn''t what Edwin wanted at this moment, though. Currently, he wanted to find out more about the Royal Family.


    The information he possessed about the Royal Family wasmon knowledge across the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    King Valliadis was the sovereign of the Kingdom. He was initially the third in line for the throne.


    However, King Valliadis''s eldest brother had suddenly be deranged. Thus he was dered unfit to rule the Sinyalian Kingdom. Currently, he was locked inside an underground dungeon of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    His Second Brother was killed by some foreign assassins while he had gone hunting.


    It was said that King Valliadis was dered the crown prince after his mainpetitors could no longer inherit the throne. Within two weeks, he found all the assassins and publically executed their entire organization.


    Many people suspected that King Valliadis took action against his brothers and hadter dealt with the assassination organization he had hired to harm his brothers.


    King Valliadis''s fourth brother and even his fifth brother had disappeared like they never existed. And all the princesses of that era had been married to nobles in different kingdoms for diplomacy.


    Most of the women in King Valliadis''s harem were from different Noble Families of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Out of his ten or so wives and concubines, King Valliadis genuinely loved only two women.


    He had a single child with all his wives and concubines but only with his dearest wives did he have two children.


    Moreover, the Noble Family of these two women wasn''t that highly ranked, but King Valliadis would help them behind the back. Even he couldn''t show tant favoritism towards the Noble Families of his dearest wives.


    Edwin was pretty much sure that King Valliadis had indeed killed all his brothers. It was probably to secure his position as a King and prevent their children from ever threatening his own.s


    Edwin believed there were better options avable, but nheless, the King still made a good decision. But it did tell Edwin that this man could do anything to get power.


    He was simr to Azaroth in the fact that he could go to any lengths for power. However, the power Azaroth wanted was absolute power that could crush all his enemies. But King Valliadis seemed to want great prestige so that he could keep on ruling the Sinyalian Kingdom for a long time.


    Most importantly, Edwin believed King Valliadis was a rather insecure person. This showed why he took such ruthless actions when there were better options avable.


    Anyway, this was merely King Valliadis''s Generation.


    Nearly 25 years had passed since then.


    He now had twelve children. Eight of them were his sons, while the rest were his daughters.


    His eldest son, David Valliadis, was naturally the Crown Prince. However, the situation was quite different from King Valliadis''s era.


    David Valliadis was actually a true talent. He was currently 23 years old and had built a great amount of prestige in the Kingdom.


    The reason for such a situation was quite simple.


    Unlike his father or other members of Royalty, since he turned 18, he had departed for the battlefield and was actively fighting against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s enemies.


    In the east, the Rhodes House was guarding the Sinyalian Kingdom against the Glerian Kingdom''s threats, while in the west, it was the Crown Prince leading the battle against the Republic of Raleroma.


    It had been nearly 5 years since he had gone to the battlefield. And he had aplished a lot during these 5 years.


    Currently, things were rather tense on that battlefield, so the King had sent Spencer Russel to protect the Crown Prince.


    King Valliadis was satisfied with his sessor. He was truly the best amongst all his children and deserved to rule the Kingdom.


    Naturally, a few of David''s siblings were trying to challenge him for the throne, their cultivation talent or strategies and tactics fell short.


    "Tell me more about David Valliadis now. Some secret information, that is." Edwin ordered Bianca.


    Bianca immediately obeyed his order as she began speaking, "Master, even with the wide disparity between them, his brothers haven''t given up. They believe that as long as they managed to kill David, this battle for the throne would be bnced amongst them."


    "However, despite their best efforts, they clearly haven''t seeded." Edwin sneered as he replied.


    "Yes, master, but they continue to try. The only reason they dare to try it is that David is said to be rather fond and protective of his siblings. There had been no rumors where he counterattacked and beat up his brothers."


    Edwin remained quiet for some time.


    ''Is that a mask he has created? Does he feel that his brothers are of no threat to him? If so, he must have great confidence in his ability.''


    "What is David Valliadis''s power?"

 Chapter 221 - The Mysterious Royal Bloodlines Powers

    "¡­He is greatly proficient in fighting in closebat using his Fist Techniques. He also possesses the Gold Element and can control it efficiently," Bianca spoke all she knew about David''s fighting style.


    <em>''Gold Element, huh? That''s on the same level as the Wood Element. However, instead of the flexibility of the wood, it contains pure power. Moreover, other than the Earth Element, it can suppress all other elements.''</em>


    "Is the Gold Element the Bloodline Ability of the Royal Family?" Edwin asked curiously.


    Bianca replied, "No, King Valliadis possesses Earth Element. The Royal Bloodline isn''t clear to anyone, even to my husband. He mentioned that it seemed to possess many abilities. Firstly, whoever fights them will feel their own presence weakening as the fight progresses. Anyone from the Royal Family would rarely run out of Ardor no matter what techniques they were using. And most importantly, the attacks they performed were much stronger."


    "Much stronger? How so?" Edwin asked while furrowing his brows as heid on the bed.


    "If two warriors of roughly simr strength perform a technique. When one of them has the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Bloodline, and the other has a regr or even Noble''s Bloodline, the strength of the technique performed by the fighter with the Royal Bloodline is approximately 4-5 times stronger." Bianca exined as best as she could.


    Edwin''s eyes widened as he heard the ability of the Royal Bloodline. He had used his Hypnotic Ability on Bianca and knew she was telling the truth or at least what she believed to be the truth.


    <em>''Is it rted to their Cultivation Technique as well? Or is it purely the Royal Bloodline''s power? The Royal Family''s Ardor receives a boost nearly equal to mine. Do they have Triquetra Ardor?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''No. As far as I know, there hasn''t been a single person who has even attempted to fuse these three energies even in this era. This means the power they possess is different¡­.''</em>


    Edwin couldn''t help but smile in excitement as he thought <em>''How the world has changed in these years. The humans truly don''t disappoint. They have created a whole new method of bing stronger. Royal Bloodlines¡­ Just what secret do you possess?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    "Do you know someone from the Royal Family? A friend or an acquaintance?" Edwin asked curiously.


    "Personally, I don''t have a friend in the Royal Family. I do have acquaintance he concubines, and even the Royal Princes and Princesses." Bianca replied truthfully.


    <em>''Pretty much everyone except the King and the Queen. If I consider her influence over her husband, then even these two would be included.''</em>


    There was a scheming smile on his face.


    <em>''Time to figure out what this Royal Bloodline is.''</em>


    "Listen to my orders and execute them tomorrow morning¡­."


    Edwin then gave a set of orders to Bianca before closing his eyes and connecting his mind with Azaroth, informing the main body about everything.


    After Azaroth received the entire information, he cut off the connection between them.


    Azaroth, on the other side, was thinking <em>''The Royal Family is rather mysterious. Maybe I should begin my experiments here as well. There has to be a reason why that Demon King took over the body of a Prince and willingly lowered his cultivation base.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''It does make sense if that Demon King knew he would receive a greater power that''s actuallyparable to my Triquetra Ardor.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    During this time, special arrays had been created in the rooms where the demons stayed.


    These arrays weren''t created just to prevent demons from escaping. They had a deeper purpose.


    Any disciple who died in this array would be teleported to another room on the third floor. This was actually an empty room, and Azaroth had set up healing arrays in it.


    If the disciples appear here injured after their fights against the demons, they would slowly make aplete recovery.


    Some of them were bound to lose their lives, but it was still a good training method.


    In fact, this would even be useful for Laura and Noah for their training. Only by repeatedly experiencing a threat to their life would they grow more now.


    The demons had their own rooms for recovery as well, naturally. However, unlike the humans, these demons would be teleported to their rooms back once they have recovered half of their health.


    This was because a demons'' regeneration was quite good. Once a demon has recovered half of his vitality, he could recover to full strength in a day.


    However, this had been very expensive for Azaroth to set up these arrays.


    It didn''t affect the higher ranking resources he possessed, but most of his 5 Star resources were used up.


    The Origin Sect branch possessed a lot of treasures, but it was nothing in Azaroth''s eyes. That sort of treasury wouldn''t even be able to create 10% of the arrays he had created in this mansion.


    However, he ignored this price for now. He had his way of recovering the wealth. There was also the matter of investigating the Royal Family in this ce.


    The club members had already been sent to the Demon King''s ce. Azaroth had marked one of them spiritually so that he could find that Demon King''s residence.


    Anyway, the night passed in the Sinyalian Kingdom, and the next day Edwin woke up in the early morning.


    He went to the dining hall to eat breakfast.


    In the dining hall, he met up with Bianca. The two stared at each other before Bianca ordered some servants to bring breakfast for him.


    The servants were ordered to leave. Edwin soon spoke, "Proceed with the n now."


    "Alright," Bianca spoke with a submissive tone.


    She soon called out for a maid. It was a very loyal maid of Bianca.


    Bianca gave her the task to send a message to none other than the Third Prince''s Party secretly.


    She possessed a rare bloodline that allowed her to conceal her presence. Since she was a little girl, she had served Bianca and hade along to Spencer''s house from the Lewis Noble House.


    She dealt with all kinds of shady things on behalf of Bianca and Spencer.


    The maid was surprised because Bianca had ordered her to hide this even from Spencer this time. Bianca would rarely hide something from her husband.


    Especially if it is considered something like meeting a Royal Prince. However, she didn''t question her mistress.


    Edwin''s first order to her had been rather simple. He asked her to send a message to any of the Royal Prince interested in Sophie.


    King Valliadis had so many children. Edwin was sure that some of them definitely liked Sophie. However, since she was Spencer''s daughter, they probably hesitated to show their affection for her.


    The Third Prince was the only one among them who dared to dere his affections for her. The Third Prince''s Circle considered Sophie as their sister-inw. Most of the third prince''s friends believed it would only be a matter of time before Sophie married him.


    The Crown Prince had disyed no interest in her, so atleast he won''t be in the way of pursuing Sophie.


    As for the other princes, they all had their specialties. The Third Prince''s business dealt with trading the raw materials for the Array Formations.


    Moreover, he had already taken the initiative way ahead of his siblings.


    He was thrilled today because he had received a message from none other than Bianca to meet him secretly.


    He understood that since Bianca wanted to meet him, it meant she was open to the idea. The rest would depend on whether he could satisfy her or not.


    At the very least, the Third Prince believed he was far ahead of his brothers or anyone else.


    He simply had no idea that the woman he loved had already lost her virtue to someone else.. Moreover, it was the same man who was calling out for him through this secret meeting.

 Chapter 222 - Planning A Date

    Just half a dayter, Bianca''s maid returned with a response from the Third Prince. He had agreed to the secret meeting.


    He asked her toe and meet him during the nighttime within his personal manor just outside Mesenana City.


    <em>''It seems that he has agreed. Since he has secretly invited Bianca to his personal mansion, he will have few subordinates stationed there. They would all be his loyal subordinates, and they wouldn''t easily divulge this information.''</em>


    Edwin had already asked Bianca to message the third prince that meeting him there won''t be an issue.


    When the third prince received this message, he was feeling rather excited. With that, the time and location had been decided.


    Now, he had to handle Sophie. This wasn''t a hard task, so he remained calm.


    Since he was in an ''official'' rtionship with her, he amused her a bit. With this action, he would also aplish another objective.


    That was a public appearance with Sophie. Naturally, the two would be a little disguised to hide their identity, like wearing a hat and sunsses to hide their hair and eyes that would attract the most attention.


    This sort of disguise won''t fool the people actually keeping an eye on them. Edwin wanted to tell them that Sophie was secretly spending her time with a guy of her age.


    Sophie woke up just half an hourter. She was rubbing her eyes while walking out of her room. She was still in her red nightgown as she walked inside the dining hall to ask for breakfast.


    When she entered the dining hall, she paused as her mouth was left agape. She saw Edwin sitting on the chair, eating an omelet.


    Internally, Sophie panicked as she thought <em>''Oh right. How could I forget that Edwin wakes up early?! I should have brushed my hair at the least!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    "You woke up reallyte. Were you studying array formationsst night?" Edwin asked while staring at her.


    Sophie was a little surprised to hear him ask that question. But she quickly understood that it was probably her mother who bbered about it.


    Seeing that Edwin hadn''tmented on her appearance right now, she calmed down and sat on the chair ahead of her.


    "I was bored, and you were sleeping, so I thought why not study array formations," Sophie replied.


    "¡­I see," Edwin replied as he took another bite of his omelet.


    Sophie was surprised he wasn''t saying anything to her.


    "I thought you would nag me like my mother does about spending not too much time on it," Sophie spoke.


    Edwin shrugged in response, "Giving you that advice would be meaningless unless you realize why your mother wants you to rx. I am not your superior, so I can''t order you."


    "Mistakes are a part of life. Your mother and even your master probably wish that you won''tmit any mistake, but in my opinion, it''s wrong for them to do that. Even a geniusmits mistakes and learns from them. Withoutmitting mistakes, his experience would be greatlycking."


    "So, Sophie¡­ Do whatever you believe is right. Ignore the academic suggestions you have heard before. I believe that when the timees, you are smart enough to make the right decision," Edwin spoke.


    Sophie was absolutely shocked and amazed when she heard Edwin''s words. She could feel her heart beating quickly.


    "¡­Thank you. I won''t ever betray your trust in me, Edwin," Sophie replied shyly. She was truly touched right now. And her love for Edwin had be even deeper.


    At this moment, Bianca appeared in the dining hall, "So what are you lovebirds talking about?"


    Edwin calmly looked in her direction while Sophie''s reaction was the exact opposite. With arge blush on her face, she tried to speak out, "N-Nothing, mother."


    "Oh right, I want to have oatmeal. Also, some milk as well," Sophie quickly gave her order to the maid who apanied her mother.


    The maid immediately replied, "Alright, young miss."


    Edwin asked Sophie with a smile, "Weren''t you going to show me the capital? Let''s go out in the evening."


    Sophie was instantly scared as she looked in her mother''s direction. However, there was not much reaction from other than a raised eyebrow.


    "Oh right. I do remember Edwin mentioning yesterday that you promised to show him the capital. Since you did promise it, you can''t back out now, daughter. Don''t spend too much time outside, though," Bianca spoke while staring at her daughter.


    Sophie was ted to know that her mother wasn''t opposed to this. She nodded quickly, as if she was afraid her mother would immediately take back those words.


    "We won''t need any guards, mother. Edwin is a 5 Star Warrior, after all!" Sophie proudly dered.


    Bianca had been ordered to act naturally. Thus, even though she knew this information, she looked at Edwin with a shocked expression, "Edwin is a 5 Star Warrior?! He is a 5 Star Warrior at such a young age?!"


    "Yup! Edwin doesn''t want to gather a lot of attention, so he never publicized it! In fact, when he became a 5 Star Warrior, he wasn''t even 19. He has definitely broken the record set by Shun Gordon!" Sophie proudly told her mother.


    She knew that the more she revealed such information about Edwin, the greater the chances her mother would allow her to marry him.


    "It''s just superficial strength. I can''t bepared to a true 5 Star Expert," Edwin replied humbly.


    Bianca spoke, "Regardless, the fact remains that you are the youngest 5 Star Expert of this Kingdom,"


    She then turned towards Sophie, "Convincing your father would be much easier¡­."


    "Hehe¡­" Sophieughed happily.


    After having breakfast, Edwin talked to Sophie for a bit before returning to the guest room. Bianca soon returned to her room as well.


    An hourter, the door to Edwin''s room opened. It was Sophie who entered his room.


    She was no longer in her nightgown and was instead wearing a beautiful white-colored dress.


    Edwin smirked as he saw her. He wasn''t surprised at her entrance. He was the one who whispered to her toe to his room after having breakfast.


    He didn''t think she woulde after changing clothes and brushing up her hair.


    "You are wearing a beautiful dress, Sophie," Edwin spoke while walking towards her.


    Sophie hugged him as she greedily ingested his scent. She missed this so much, hugging him and being in his arms.


    Edwin''s arms moved around her waist as he hugged her tightly as well.


    "You wasted your time in changing your clothes, Sophie¡­." He spoke as he loosened the strings of her dress.


    Since thest time she met him, she felt he was slightly different. His aura had be more oppressive. It would dominate any bits of her proud aura and force her to be docile to him. She loved every bit of this.


    Sophie began to speak up, "We can''t do it here¡­ Not in this house at least. If my mother finds out, it will be troubl-"


    Edwin sealed her lips with his own, and his hands continued to remove the clothing on her body.


    Once his kiss ended, he spoke, "Shh¡­ Don''t be so worried. No one will find out anything. I checked earlier that there are no guards stationed here."


    Sophie let go of thest bit of her restraint as she fell into the ocean of pure pleasure.

 Chapter 223 - The Third Princes Anger

    No one disturbed Edwin and Sophie while they were lost in their sexual activities. Bianca made sure of that.


    Their sexual intercourse was a lot more intense than before. It was mostly because Sophie was greatly craving for it.


    She couldn''t get enough of masturbation, so every time Edwin pushed himself into her, she let out a moan of delight.


    She wanted to scream out in excitement. This was what she was missing! Sophie honestly believed that she was currently the happiest woman in the world.


    It was getting close to evening time when they came to a halt. There were still another 2 hours before the sunsets.


    Edwin and Sophie soon entered the bathroom. It was connected to his room, so they didn''t need to wear clothes.


    The two took a bath in cold water, filling an entire tub. Sophie was in Edwin''s arms as the two submerged their naked bodies in the bathtub.


    The bathtub wasrge enough to fit four of them, so space wasn''t an issue for the two.


    The two spent just a bit more than half an hour before getting out of the bathroom. They wore their clothes, and Sophie quickly left his room.


    Sophie was very relieved that she saw no servants on her way bath to her room.


    Once she returned to her room, she immediately removed her dress and changed it to a very ordinary-looking dress.


    Even in this ordinary clothing, Sophie looked particrly charming. She picked out a hat and sunsses.


    This was what Edwin asked her to wear while they were going on their date.


    He gave her the excuse that he didn''t want to ughter all her fanboys in the Capital City.


    Sophie didn''t mind hiding her appearance much as long as she could roam around with Edwin.


    Edwin had done the same as he told Sophie. He was also a rather handsome guy, and with his Absolute Beauty skill, his charm was quite great.


    He didn''t want to gather unwanted attention like that of mobs. The men who should notice him would do so even with all this low-quality disguise.


    Edwin and Sophie needed a low-quality disguise since these men wouldn''t be able to spot them if they wore a high-quality disguise.


    Soon, the two left the house to go on their date.


    As Edwin entered the main market street, he immediately felt someone gazing at him from above.


    He sensed the guy and found out he was on a rooftop and was pursuing them by jumping from one rooftop to another.


    He appeared to be really careful as he would only look in Edwin and Sophie for a few seconds before hiding his head.


    Edwin purposely turned his head in such a way so that he could show his face to this man. His face couldn''t be recognized in Mesenana City.


    And even if they did, Bianca could take the stand that she was aware of Sophie and Edwin''s rtionship. Spencer was bound to support his wife and would protect him if she asked him to. Thus, there was no real harm.


    Currently, Sophie was taking Edwin to different shops. Most of them were food shops, so Edwin tried out many different kinds of food.


    There was Ramen, Sushi, Ice-cream, and even a Cake. These things were actually well-made, so Edwin dly tried them out.


    While he was eating these things, he sensed those individuals contacting other people.


    This information naturally reached the Royal Pce soon enough. After all, most of these informants belonged to the Princes who liked Sophie.


    They wanted to know what she did in the city. Who she met and so on¡­ They would use that information to create a scene where they could interact with Sophie.


    However, they had never yet acted like this. Mostly because Spencer Russel would be in the Capital City, and the Royal Guards would definitely investigate anything that happened to Sophie.


    I Spencer Russel found that the princes kept an eye on his daughter. Even their father wouldn''t protect them from his anger.


    Currently, the most deeply affected by this information was none other than the Third Prince.


    "What?! Sophie is roaming with another guy of her age?! Who is he?!" The Third Prince Bernado shouted out at the servant who informed him of this information.


    The servant shrunk as his master shouted at him like that.


    He spoke with a low tone, "W-We d-don''t know¡­."


    "What did you say?! Speak loudly!" The third prince had already heard his subordinate, but he still shouted due to frustration.


    The servant had to obey his master, so he braced himself while speaking, "We don''t know him, master. None of our subordinates have seen this guy in the capital before."


    "Never seen him?! Then why the fuck is he roaming with my woman?!" The Third Prince shouted at his subordinate as if it was all his fault.


    The subordinate had no choice but to listen to his master''s shouts. If he dared to speak up now, his seven generations would be massacred.


    "Who is this guy?! I will annihte his nine generations! Fucking bastard!" The Third Prince continued to rant out.


    After ranting for a few more minutes, he finally calmed down.


    He now realized that he didn''t need to be so angry, "Is Sophie in disguise?" He asked his subordinate.


    His subordinate replied just a momentter, "Yes, that''s what our informants saw."


    "She is in disguise? Perfect! This means all is not lost!" The Third Prince spoke as he slowly began tough out, "Hahaha¡­."


    The subordinate knew what his master was thinking, but he still had to act perfectly and please this man.


    "Please share it with your stupid servant, Your Highness," The subordinate spoke with a curious and scared tone.


    The Third Prince was slightly pleased right now. He spoke out, "Sophie is in disguise. This means she wants to hide her rtionship with this man. Her family probably has no idea who he is since she is scared they would cut off their connection. Knowing Spencer Russel and his wife Bianca, they would definitely not allow some random person to get close to their daughter."


    "Only someone possessing an identity equal to mine or greater than mine would be eptable as a son-inw for Sophie''s parents."


    A n quickly formed in the Third Prince''s head.


    "Follow this man after the two splits up. Investigate him and where he lives. If it''s some insignificant family, then hire a few goons and kill him. I will leave that up to you." The Third Prince immediately gave this order.


    His subordinate acted quickly as he gave the orders to his men in the area to pursue Edwin and Sophie.


    Currently, Edwin and Sophie were enjoying the sunset view in a park.


    He had noticed the presence of warriors around him and thus suggested to Sophie, "Let''s return now. It''s gettingte, or else your mother might hold me ountable for this."


    "Mhm~!" Sophie agreed as she held Edwin''s hand, and the two began to walk towards her house.


    Nearly half an hourter, the Third Prince received a piece of shocking news.


    "M-Master, the two returned to Sophie''s house."


    Immediately, the Third Prince threw things on the side in his anger and frustration.


    <em>''Why the heck did Sophie''s mother agree to meet me?! Does she not want to negotiate?! Is she nning to humiliate me?!''</em>

 Chapter 224 - Meeting With Bernado

    Edwin had no idea that his little trick had aggravated the Third Prince very greatly.


    He just intended to irritate all of the princes to activate them so they would begin attacking him. By reading the memories of those subordinates, he could find out more about their respective princes.


    As for the Third Prince, Bianca would tell him that Edwin was someone approved by Spencer Russel. However, she could assist him at an appropriate price naturally.


    And the price wasn''t going to be cheap. This was how Edwin believed he could extract the maximum benefit from this situation.


    Bianca was dressed in greenish-colored official clothing that she would normally wear to meet some important delegates.


    Her dress flew from top to bottom and had a scoop neckline, which gracefully revealed the delicate dress worn below it. Her dress''s exquisite, buttoned-up fabric covered her stomach, where the continuous flow was broken up by a slender leather belt worn fairly high around her waist.


    Her sleeves were purposely too long and a little wide. These were the same fabric and color used to outline the edges of the dress.


    Following Bianca to Bernado Valliadis''s personal vi was none other than her trusted maid. Officially, this was the case.


    Another person was following Bianca. Naturally, this was Edwin.


    In the night, his concealing techniques would be much more effective. Thus, he agreed to this timing to meet with Bernado.


    Bianca and her maid had left through a secret passage that wasn''t guarded by the Royal Guards. Thus, they had no idea that Bianca was no longer in the mansion and had gone to meet up with the Third Princete at night.


    A couple of hourster, the three reached their destination.


    There was a single guard stationed outside this private mansion of the Third Prince.


    Edwin was surprised as he sensed nearly 16 warriors inside this mansion, including the one at the gate.


    14 out of these 16 warriors were 5 Star Warriors. Thest remained two were 4 Star warriors!


    <em>''Even a random prince has so many 5 Star Warriors as his guards? That''s impressive.''</em> Edwin thought.


    Edwin was actually wrong to think that. Excluding David Valliadis, the other princes only had 7-9 warriors at the 5 Star Rank.


    The Third Prince possessed great prestige amongst his siblings. Naturally, this was due to his business of dealing with raw materials for Arrays.


    Thus, he had a lot of contacts in the Array Association. So, he could naturally afford the services of all these 5 Star Warriors.


    Bianca and her personal maid entered through the front door while Edwin jumped across the wall.


    Soon, Bianca entered the mansion and came across a servant who was waiting for them.


    "Greetings, Miss Bianca. His Highness has been waiting for you," The servant bowed as he greeted Bianca.


    Bianca nodded her head and replied, "Take me to him."


    Bianca and her maid were led to the internal hall where the Third Prince was waiting for them.


    There was a hint of a sneer on Bernado''s face as he stared at Bianca and her maid.


    It vanished from his face a momentter. Bernado stood up and greeted Bianca with an amicable smile on his face, "Thank you for epting my offer, Miss Bianca. As you know, there would be a greater chance of our meeting to be discovered in the day than in the night, so I was forced to choose this time for us to meet."


    "That''s not an issue. Tell me what you wish to discuss with me," Bianca was rather straightforward with her words.


    "Haha¡­ You are just as frank as I have heard about you, Miss Bianca. Please take a seat first," Bernado said to her while pointing at the seat ced for her.


    He then focused on the maid behind Bianca and spoke, "I am afraid your maid can''t listen to our talks, though."


    The maid frowned, and she was about to respond when Bianca suddenly spoke, "Alright. She will leave the room."


    The maid didn''t want to leave Bianca here with Bernado. However, she couldn''t disobey Bianca in front of Bernado. That would affect Bianca''s prestige.


    She focused on the room and sensed that there was no warrior in this room other than Bernado.


    Bernado only had the strength of 4 Star Warrior. Thus he couldn''t harm her mistress.


    If the other warriors were about to attack, she could quickly close the gap between herself and Bianca and act as a shield for her, allowing her to flee.


    "As youmand, Madam."


    Around this moment, Edwin was gazing inside this room outside the window. Naturally, he had used Shadow Concealment Technique to cover his body, and he was nearly transparent right now.


    Even if Bernado or someone else stared at the window, they would not notice Edwin.


    The door to the room closed. Bianca sat on a chair in the middle of the room while Bernado sat near a desk on edge.


    "Before we start talking about the main issue, I wish to know something, Miss Bianca," Bernado spoke with a very calm tone.


    Meanwhile, Edwin continued to stare at Bernado with his Mystic Eyes of Perception. The room waspletely soundproof, but Edwin could hear whatever Bernado was speaking through Bianca.


    The fact that this was apletely soundproof room wasn''t known to Bianca''s maid. She had failed to notice that array in the room.


    "What is it, Third Prince?" Bianca spoke with a monotonous tone.


    "I heard that a man had been seen together with your daughter. The two were holding hands and disying rather intimate behavior. Who is this person?" The Third Prince was holding back a great deal of his anger as he asked this question.


    Edwin frowned greatly as he couldn''t see through the Third Prince''s emotions.


    <em>''What is going on?''</em> He asked himself as he wondered he couldn''t see the Third Prince''s emotions. His Mystic Eyes of Perception had never failed him.


    He changed his target and focused on Bianca. The color of emotionless was visible to him. He then focused on the other warriors in the mansion and could see their emotions as clear as day. However, this skill didn''t work when he stared at Bernado.


    <em>''Is he wearing some sort of spiritual clothing that prevents my Mystic Eyes of Perception to see through it? That must be the reason.''</em>


    Although he couldn''t read the Third Prince''s emotions with his Mystic Eyes of Perception, Edwin was experienced enough to figure out his emotions by reading his face.


    <em>''Anger and envy¡­.''</em>


    "That man''s name is Azaroth. He is a warrior my husband met during his recent mission. He saved my husband''s life by taking a blow on his body while my husband was injured. He is a 4 Star Warrior, which is quite impressive for someone of his age. He is also very brave and an honest person. Thus, my husband has an idea of matching him with my daughter." Bianca created a story out of nothing as easily as batting her eye."


    She added at the end, "You can consider him Sophie''s fiance."


    "Fiance?" Bernado''splexion turned rather ugly.


    He considered Sophie as his woman and to hear that she had a fiance. It pissed him off more than anything.


    Edwin could see how angry Bernado was right now and frowned <em>''Isn''t he getting too emotional?''</em>


    "However, I am not in favor of this match. This man, in my opinion, is unworthy of my daughter.." Bianca spoke towards the end, which startled Bernado.

 Chapter 225 - Bernados Evil Motives

    "This man is unworthy of your daughter?" Bernado asked with a shocked look, "He possesses great talent. Your husband has praised his bravery and honesty. What do you look for a man worthy of your daughter?"


    "The one who possesses riches and status!" Bianca spoke strongly.


    Those words seemed to relieve Bernado. By the grace of heaven, he was blessed with both of these things.


    "They appear rather materialistic. I had imagined someone of your stature to look for a son-inw with morals and values as your priority," Bernado spoke while trying to hide a foolish grin on his face.


    "Those with morals and integrity die quickly. This man took an arrow for a stranger. Even if that stranger was my husband. What if he does that again in the future? My daughter does not deserve to be a widow to such a man who does not value his life," Bianca was very clear as she gave this statement.


    Bernado was excited, and he could barely contain it in himself.


    A solemn look appeared on Bianca''s face as she added, "However, even with all that said, this man does have the approval from my husband. It would be difficult to change his mind. This is especially true since he has given his word to Azaroth."


    Bernado''s excited look became to calm down. He knew why Bianca had organized this meeting now. However, he also remembered that she mentioned she wanted a son-inw possessing wealth and status.


    As a Prince, he possessed status already. And as someone who supplied the raw materials to the Array Association, it could be said that he had no shortage of wealth.


    "Miss Bianca, you mentioned it would be difficult, not impossible. This means there is a chance you can convince Sir Spencer. Please tell me, how is it? What would be the price?" Bernado asked.


    Bianca spoke with a serious expression, "You put it rather crudely. However, I will not deny the truth."


    Bernado merely smiled upon hearing those words. He got the impression that he had already won half the fight.


    Bianca soon gave her terms, "The three mines near the Walsh Dukedom your men have recently seized. I wonder if you could gift them to me."


    Those words immediately made Bernado''s wife stiffen. Nheless, he choked out the words, "What are you saying, Miss Bianca? They aren''t my men-"


    With a smile, Bianca asked Bernado, "Do you take me for a fool, Third Prince? The weapons they hold came from the Royal Pce. Even one of your former personal guards had been recognized there, acting as if he is a mercenary from the Roger Dukedom. But as your former person guard, he could be considered to have some fame amongst warriors."


    Before Bernado could say anything, Bianca added, "Naturally, you can still deny and say that he stopped working for you years ago and so on. But this also means that you are not capable enough for my daughter''s hand."


    Outside this room, Edwin continued to observe their conversation and analyzed Bernado''s expressions.


    <em>''Strong hateful emotions. Anger and greed, I can perceive only these two emotions from his expression. If only Mystic Eyes of Perception had worked against him.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''I am at a 5 Star Rank, and he is merely at the 4 Star Rank, so cultivation cannot be the reason for this. Then Bloodline? His blood isn''t reacting to it, though. So what is this strange power that conceals him even from the Spiritual Eyes of a Demon God? Just what is this secret that the humans found that it even surpasses my abilities from my previous life?''</em>


    Edwin was truly very curious about such an ability.


    Bernado remained silent for a short period. He then finally asked, "¡­How did you know they were my men?"


    "Now¡­That''s a trade secret. Perhaps I might mention this another time," Bianca replied decisively.


    In reality, the method was very simple. The soldiers of Duchess Siluca beat it out of them.


    It wasn''t just a single soldier who was aware of their true master. Most of them were aware of it. And among 99 good apples, there was bound to be a rotten one.


    And in this case, several soldiers were willing to give up this information to save themselves from future beatings.


    Bernado asked, "¡­Do you guarantee that your husband would change his mind?"


    Edwin frowned as he heard those words from Bernado.


    ''<em>The man is showing greedy and angry look from his facial expressions and bodynguage. Yet, he is still talking calmly. This is strange. Does he have something nned?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Soon, a servant entered the room with a tray. There were two cups in that tray.


    When Edwin used his eyes to look at those two cups, he noticed green tea inside them. However, he focused not on the green tea but on the few mixed things in these cups.


    It didn''t take him long to receive an answer. It was an aphrodisiac. A potent one at that.


    <em>''So this was his n. Since this aphrodisiac has been prepared earlier, it means he never wanted to negotiate. I misread his facial expression. It wasn''t greed but lust. Lust for Bianca.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Edwin wondered what he should do now.


    <em>''He ns to have fun with her and then ckmail Bianca through it. He knows Bianca won''t tell Spencer that she met with the Third Prince at night, and he drugged her and had raped her. Using this information, he can ckmail her into doing his bidding. Well, at least the original one won''t have told Spencer. This one can.''</em>


    <em>''However, the disadvantages would far outweigh the advantages. Firstly, it would take more than 2 weeks for Spencer to return. I can''t wait for that long. Secondly, her rtionship with Spencer will be strained. To control Spencer, I can''t let that happen. Thirdly, I will get nothing from this situation. The three mines I want Siluca to control would still remain under the Third Prince''s control.''</em>


    Edwin began thinking up another n.


    Around this time, Bianca drank the tea, and the same was true for Bernado.


    Bernado''s gaze remained fixed on Bianca''s body. His gaze was fixed on her chest region. And soon, he also revealed a roguish smile on his face.


    He looked in his servant''s direction and ordered him, "Get out!"


    The servant knew his master was about to get busy. He immediately left the room and closed the door.


    The maid outside had little to no idea that her mistress was about to be raped inside.


    <em>''I couldn''t figure out the secret behind the Royal Family''s Bloodline using my Mystic Eyes of Perception. It''s time for me to take action. It''s a good thing that this mansion is away from the city. It can''t be in someone''s sensing range.''</em>


    However, at this moment, Edwin sensed a warrior on the mansion''s ground floor suddenly attacking in his direction.


    The attack destroyed the walls in the way and continued on its way to attack Edwin. Edwin knew that this attack couldn''t harm him, but it would cancel out the Shadow Concealment Skill for a moment.


    Since his Shadow Concealment Skill was going to be canceled anyway, Edwin moved to dodge that attack.


    Once Edwin moved, his figure was visible in the moonlight.


    "Intruder!" The man even shouted out loudly.


    Edwin was utterly shocked as this event urred. Someone had sensed him while he was using Shadow Concealment skill?!


    It wasn''t inconceivable, but still, it was very difficult for someone to see through his ability. Only someone with sharp eyes could see through him.


    However, there was a wall between him and that warrior.


    This meant the warrior had sensed Edwin based on his Spiritual Sense. Finding Edwin through that method should have been impossible unless he possessed a special bloodline for sensing.


    <em>''Even if he does possess a bloodline for sensing individuals. My Shadow Concealment Skill isn''t that simple. It creates arge spiritual sphere around me that covers nearly all directions. It''s impossible to pinpoint my location. Yet, this man attacked me urately.. If I was standing at my position, the attack would have perfectlynded on my chest.''</em>

 Chapter 226 - Soul Explosion

    The shout from a guard had immediately startled all of Bernado''s guards.


    Only Bernado and Bianca weren''t aware of this scene because they were seated in a soundproof room.


    The guards came outside andid their eyes on Edwin''s body in the sky. They noticed he was flying. It indicated he was a 5 Star Warrior.


    However, they sneered and thought ''Just a mere 5 Star Warrior dared to spy on us? How ridiculous!''


    Meanwhile, a servant rushed inside the room Bernado and Bianca were sitting. He looked extremely shocked as he informed the Third Prince, "Your Highness, an intruder has been sighted."


    Bernado was slightly shocked upon hearing this information, but he immediately ordered, "Then what are you waiting for? Go and capture him!"


    Although the presence of this intruder had surprised him, he knew that his guards could take care of a single person. He couldn''t allow this matter to ruin his ns.


    Meanwhile, Edwin was flying in the sky, staring at the man who had sensed him.


    <em>''He possesses a Bloodline rted that sends out ultrasonic pulse. He probably spent a lot of time finding my exact location by sending many ultrasonic pulses. And once he was 50% sure, he attacked in my direction. His bloodline must also be sensitive to killing intent. This exins why he managed to sense me.''</em>


    <em>''I need to be more careful next time. I always need to be cautious about these sound techniques. I only have a few methods to detect it.''</em>


    Edwin seriously thought while looking at these guards flying towards him.


    One of the guards reached the same altitude as Edwin. He was nearly 100 meters away from Edwin right now.


    "Who are you? And who sent you? If you reply truthfully, we might consider being kind to you. His Highness is fond of talents like yours," The guard spoke calmly.


    "Pfft¡­" Edwin began tough upon hearing those words, "Finding me was your worst mistake."


    The man coldly replied, "We will see about that."


    <em>''What a fool this man is. If he had epted our offer, he could have a chance to serve under High Highness,''</em> The man thought in his heart.


    Edwin looked around and noticed 9 warriors, each one at the 5 Star Rank moving towards him.


    If the guy ahead of him was included, there were a total of 10 warriors here who nned to fight him.


    "You all don''t need to take action. I will have his head," A man holding a Halberd spoke excitedly.


    Edwin noticed that the other warriors actually consented to his words.


    <em>''I see¡­ These warriors use this guy to test the strength of the opponent.''</em>


    When Edwin nced at this man''s delighted expression, it was apparent that he had no clue that his friends were using him to put the opponent''s power and talents to the test.


    They didn''t want to take the risk because they feared getting hurt by an unknown ability. However, if they learn about Edwin''s abilities, the likelihood of Edwin hurting or killing them would decrease substantially.


    The man was using Wind Element to greatly increase his flying speed as he charged towards Edwin.


    The Halberd in his hand was glowing with white light as it moved towards Edwin''s head.


    Edwin remained at his position, his hands still in his pockets while staring at that attack getting closer to him.


    The warrior''s halberd struck Edwin''s throat. However, as the warrior struck Edwin''s throat with his halberd''s de, he realized it couldn''t move ahead.


    He couldn''t slice off Edwin''s head.


    <em>''How is this possible?! The de of this Halberd can even pierce the skin of a Purple Alligator Lord! How can it not even pierce a human''s head?''</em>


    His shock was quite genuine since a Purple Alligator Lord had rather powerful defensive scales. To be able to damage his skin... The de of this Halberd could be considered very sharp.


    Edwin stared at this man and spoke, "<strong>Wind Burst.</strong>"


    In an instant, the wind burst tossed this man towards a particr direction. The sensor of this group was located in the direction this man was thrown.


    The sensor immediately flew to the side to dodge this attack while also thinking about Edwin''s abilities.


    ''<em>High defensive capabilities. And judging from this attack, this man possesses good progress in wind element as well¡­.Wait, what?! Where is he?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Before he could more deeply, he noticed that Edwin had disappeared.


    ''<em>How can that be? He disappeared in the blink of an eye? Is he using some sort of ability to conceal himself?</em>'' The sensor thought while staring at the spot he had seen Edwin.


    Around this time, he heard a voice from his right side, "¡­You are not sensitive to killing intent. Moreover, your sensing skills are so bad that you couldn''t detect me even though I stood so close to you. Tell me, how did you find my location?"


    When the sensor turned his head, he saw Edwin staring at him with a puzzled expression.


    There was not a trace of worry or fear on his face. He didn''t seem to care that he was massively outnumbered.


    In fact, he was more worried about something else.


    Edwin suddenly grabbed his throat and asked, "Was that a fluke then?"


    The other warriors around Edwin took action at that moment. They fired their long-range strikes towards Edwin so that he wouldn''t be able to grasp and throw them like he had done with theirrade earlier.


    "<strong>Assault ming Incinerator!</strong>"


    "<strong>Volt Shredding Barrage!</strong>"


    "<strong>Geo Arrow!</strong>"


    "<strong>Zap ster!</strong>"


    These four attacks were simultaneouslyunched at Edwin.


    The Assault ming Incinerator was more or less a thin stream of pure me energy that was shot at Edwin.


    The Volt Shredding Barrage was quicklyunched at Edwin. It consisted of multiple voltage bolts that were shot at him.


    Edwin was struck by these bolts rather quickly, and the lightning energy tried to damage his internal muscles.


    As for the Geo Arrow, it was clear from the name that a gigantic arrow created from Earth Element was thrown at Edwin.


    The Zap ster was a pure wave of lightning energy thrown at Edwin. Unlike the Volt Shredding Barrage, it was a single bolt, possessing a great amount of energy.


    Edwin ignored these attacks and remained focused on the guy ahead of him. He wanted answers to his questions!


    The man hadn''t spoken anything yet. He was terrified of Edwin. And also, he had no idea how he could exin what he had experienced.


    The attacks thrown at Edwin suddenly struck an invisible barrier. It was then the other warriors understood why Edwin ignored their attack.


    He was already prepared.


    In reality, even if their attacks struck him, they wouldn''t have hurt him. He set up this barrier to prevent someone from assassinating the man in his hands.


    "Speak!" Edwin ordered coldly.


    "I-I don''t know¡­." The man muttered out.


    Edwin knew he was telling the truth due to his Mystic Eyes of Perception. A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he spoke, "I see¡­."


    "<strong>Soul Reading Skill!</strong>" Edwin immediately used this skill.


    However, right after he used this skill on this man, he sensed the spirit of the man suddenly getting berserk.


    Before Edwin could do anything, the man''s soul exploded!


    Edwin continued to levitate on that spot with a nk look on his face.

 Chapter 227 - Azure Flame Dragon Jaws

    Edwin waspletely speechless as the man''s soul exploded.


    <em>''How did this happen?! I had already sealed his ability to control his Ardor, so how could he explode his soul?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''A strange human this was¡­.''</em>


    Edwin thought as he stared at the man''s body.


    He then focused on the other warriors who were attacking him from a distance.


    They were trying to break the barrier Edwin had created and were more or less seeding in damaging that barrier. After all, there were eight of them.


    "<strong>Azure me Dragon Jaws!</strong>"


    Blue mes were conjured around Edwin''s body. These mes were created using his Humane Ardor.


    Although the destructive power of these mes couldn''t bepared to his Hell mes or his Heavenly mes, it was still more than these warriors could handle.


    These warriors didn''t possess any special bloodline that could deal with these mes. Also, Edwin had used enforced it with a great deal of his Ardor.


    The mes soon swirled around Edwin''s body and took the shape of a Dragon''s Head.


    The barrier around Edwin''s soon shattered, and the attacks were going to hit him.


    The me Dragon''s Head immediately opened its mouth and spewed out pure Azure mes.


    There were various elemental attacks on one side, while on the other, pure Azure mes opposed them.


    These elemental attacks didn''t resist the Azure mes for a single second.


    It wasn''t just that their Ardor was weaker than Edwin. In reality, their numbers would have easily covered up that fact.


    Their attacks couldn''t stand a chance against those Azure mes since instead ofbining their entire power and fighting the Azure mes, the different elements lowered the power of the elements on their side.


    Inyman terms, their coordination was extremely bad.


    Edwin flew towards the room where Bernado and Bianca were seated.


    Since the room waspletely soundproof, Bernado had no idea what was going on. The drug hadn''t even begun to work on Bianca yet.


    It would take another 15 minutes for it to begin working.


    The warriors noticed Edwin was moving towards the Third Prince''s location. They concluded that he wanted to take the Third Prince as his hostage.


    It made sense to them since they felt it would be one way for this individual to get out of this difficult predicament.


    The Third Prince was merely at the 4 Star Rank. It would be extremely easy for Edwin to kill him.


    They immediately tried to move towards Edwin, but suddenly, a wall of Azure mes was raised! This Azure me Wall was rather thick. By the time a warrior could reach the other side, he would be ashes. At the least, none of the warriors here possessed the capability to go to the other side.


    The me Dragon was the one who created this me Wall! Edwin established a connection between the me Dragon''s spirit and his own. Through this link, he could swiftly give it with power.


    Also, this dragon contained a faint spirit that allowed it to operate without Edwin''s intervention.


    The Azure me Dragon soon flew towards its opponents. Edwin''s order for this Azure me Dragon had been to destroy these warriors.


    As the Azure me Dragon''s head moved, it spouted mes towards these warriors.


    The warriors were now more than aware of how dangerous those mes were. They immediately moved aside to dodge those mes.


    They tossed aside any thoughts of preparing for an attack as they first had to preserve their lives!


    The Azure me Dragon Head was flying towards them as it prevented them from regrouping byunching Azure mes at them.


    Around this time, Edwin had already broken the window and entered the room where Bernado and Bianca were seated.


    The two were peacefully drinking tea.


    Once the window broke, the soundproof array copsed immediately. The one condition of this array was that it would only work in a closed room.


    Now that this room had copsed, it was only natural for it to malfunction and stop working.


    Bernado was shocked to hear someone breaking the window and entering through it.


    He looked in Edwin''s direction and saw Edwin flying towards him. There was an emotionless look on Edwin''s face, but when Bernado stared at him, he couldn''t help but experience great fear.


    <em>''He¡­He is a 5 Star Warrior?!''</em>


    However, Bernado did have a prince''s prestige in him. He showed a calm expression and asked Edwin, "Who are you?!"


    Edwin didn''t reply and slowly stood on the floor of the room. He began to move towards Bernado while observing him carefully.


    More precisely, he was observing his spirit through spiritual senses.


    His Mystic Eyes of Perception wouldn''t work on Bernado for some unexinable reason. As a result, he had to go back to the basics and use Spiritual Sense to figure out how Bernado''s Spiritual Energy was responding.


    Currently, it was behaving normally.


    "Guards! Come and take care of this man!" Bernado shouted out with all his might.


    Bianca remained seated in her ce as she stared at Edwin nkly. She was awaiting further orders from him.


    Bianca''s maid rushed towards the room and entered it quickly. Bernado''s four guards in the mansion were rushing towards this room as well.


    When Bianca''s maid entered the room, she was shocked to see Edwin standing ahead of Bernado.


    She began to wonder how did Edwin know that they were here? Why didn''t she sense him pursuing them? Was he an enemy?


    At this moment, Bianca suddenly spoke out, "Stand down, Miku. He isn''t our enemy."


    When Bernado heard that statement, he was startled before he understood something. He red at Bianca and spat out, "You bitch! You nned to murder me?!"


    "Who are you to act so righteously when you nned to rape me?" Bianca red at Bernado.


    "Hoh¡­So you knew about that. Yet, you drunk the tea." Bernado stared at her with a mocking look on his face.


    Edwin felt as though he had observed enough. This man''s spirit was absolutely normal.


    <em>''Time to kill him!''</em>


    Just as Edwin thought of this, he sensed a quick and strong attack heading his way. It was a sound-based attack¡­


    He turned towards the direction of the door and immediately raised his hands to block it.


    "<strong>Echo Bullets!</strong>"


    Multiple bullets containing sound energy were shot at Edwin. Edwin felt his body being struck by those sound wave attacks.


    These Echo Bullets were unexpectedly rather strong. They managed to push Edwin back by a couple of steps.


    It was to be expected. The sound attacks could be considered to be apletely different category of attacks from the standard.


    The power of these attacks depended on the person''s skill, his Ardor''s power, and most importantly, his weapon and how loud it could be.


    Currently, the man ahead of Edwin was using a flute through which he shot out Echo Bullets at Edwin. Moreover, an enchantment on that flute amplified the loudness in those echo bullets to a great degree.


    Other spiritual weapons could amplify an element simr to this method. But¡­ The amplification the sound attacks received was too great with the lowest cost.


    Edwin didn''t want to be on the receiving ends of this attack. Blue lightning flickered around Edwin''s body a secondter as he thought ''<strong><em>Electric Field.</em></strong>''


    ~~


    A/N: Guys, I want to make a manga in the next couple of months. Please follow my insta ount: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 228 - Strage Phenomenon

    The Electric Field around Edwin''s body was very faint. It was so faint that a warrior might even miss it.


    The Echo Bulletsunched by the warrior possessing Sound Element noticed his Echo Bullets dispersing before touching Edwin.


    It was a strange phenomenon, and this was the first time he witnessed it. Thus, for a couple of seconds, he couldn''t react at all.


    "What is going on? Why aren''t your attacks reaching him anymore?" Another guardmented while staring in Edwin''s direction in shock.


    Meanwhile, Bernado was utterly terrified for his life as he witnessed this situation. He ordered one of his warriors, "Take this woman as a hostage."


    He thought that by taking Bianca as his hostage would the situation be in his control.


    "As youmand, your highness."


    One of Bernado''s four guards immediately moved forwards to capture Bianca. Bianca remained seated on her spot with a calm expression.


    When Miku (Bianca''s maid) heard Bernado''s order action, she became extremely angry as she moved towards him.


    Just as she took 3 steps towards Bianca to shield her from their enemies, a couple of Echo Bullets struck her back.


    It was that sound warrior who made his move against her. Since he couldn''t hit Edwin, he decided to hit this woman who was moving towards Bernado.


    Meanwhile, the other two warriorsunched Water and Lightning Attacks at Edwin.


    <strong>"Hyrdo Spray!"</strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong>"Zap ster!"</strong>


    One warriorunched a massive flow of water towards Edwin. This attack''s motive wasn''t to harm him but to dampen the surroundings.


    The other warrior hadunched Zap ster, which meant that he hadunched an intense lightning beam towards Edwin.


    No one could dodge thisbo! This was because the Lightning of the Zap ster had already flown through the moisture in the air and paralyzed the opponent.


    Once the opponent was paralyzed, how could he dodge the Zap ster?


    Edwin sensed how greatly Hydro Spary had amplified the Zap ster, but it didn''t frighten him.


    Thisbo was indeed impressive. However, against Edwin, it couldn''t work. After all, this level of Lightning couldn''t paralyze him.


    And since this lightning couldn''t paralyze him, he could get out of the way and dodge that Zap ster.


    However, Edwin didn''t feel like dodging this Zap ster.


    Instead, he raised his arm and released pure blue lightning while whispering, "Zap ster!"


    It was the same attack that his opponent had used. However, Edwin had been much faster while using this attack. Moreover, the Lightning Beamunched by Edwin was even smoother and faster than the oneunched by his opponents.


    The two Zap ster shed against each other. This sh continued for a second before Edwin''s Zap ster won and pierced his opponent''s attack.


    This attack was so quick that it had pierced Edwin''s opponent before he could jump out of the way.


    One of the four warriors under Bernado in this mansion had lost his life already.


    However, during this time, a guard had closed the gap between him and Bianca. He had been ordered by Bernado to take Bianca as their hostage.


    Just as this guard was about to touch her, Bianca turned in his direction and created a Water Drill in her hands.


    The Water Drill was rotating at a rapid rate as she attacked the Bernado''s guard.


    The guard used Earth Ardor to immediately reinforce his body. This merely bought him a couple of seconds before a hole was created in his chest by that Water Drill.


    This was the second guard in this mansion that died.


    There remained a calm expression on her face as she killed this man. This wasn''t just because she was hypnotized and ordered by Edwin but also because she truly wouldn''t bat an eye after killing someone.


    As a descendent of the Lewis Marquis Family, she had witnessed far too much killing to be affected by it.


    It was only after bing a mother did she decide to live a new life entirely. However, her experiences in Lewis Marquis Family couldn''t be so easily forgotten by a few years of peace. It had be part of her by now.


    Bernado was extremely terrified. In all directions, he saw his men losing their lives.


    Bianca then turned towards her maid Miku and spoke, "Let go of your restraints and use your bloodline. It''s time to kill them!"


    Miku was delighted to hear those words.


    Suddenly, her nails began to increase in length while her hair length increased by a few inches. Her eyes began to glow with golden pupils. Marks were spreading around her body gave off a terrifying feeling to Bernado.


    Bernado knew what this transformation meant. This woman was a Demi-Human with the bloodline of a Beast!


    Edwin had already noticed Miku''s bloodline when he had first seen her. It was the Shadow Leopard Bloodline.


    She could perfectly conceal her presence due to this bloodline.


    Currently, Miku''s attacks were much stronger and contained a trace of Shadow Element in them.


    Miku possessed Wind Element, and this trace of Shadow Element had made her attacks a lot sharper and stronger.


    She wouldn''t easily use this transformation unless Bianca gave her the order or Bianca was in life-threatening danger. After all, it would greatly affect Bianca''s prestige if word spread out that her personal maid was a demi-beast.


    Miku had been prepared to use this transformation since she couldn''t anticipate how the fight would go.


    Bianca had stayed sitting the entire time, indicating that she didn''t feel she was in any danger. Thus, Miku didn''t dare to use this transformation till she heard Bianca''s order.


    Bianca chose to deal with the man who possessed the water element while Miku fought the warrior using Sound attacks.


    While these two guards were handled by Bianca and her maid, Edwin was gazing at Bernado with a calctive look on his face.


    <em>''Time to kill him now.''</em> Edwin thought while staring at Bernado. He moved his arm and prepared tounch Azure mes to burn Bernado to ashes.


    Suddenly, a gigantic rock was heading in his way.


    Edwin was startled as he sensed that attack. He immediately turned around and burned that rock to ashes.


    As he looked on the other side, he noticed it was a man who had passed the Azure me Wall.


    Edwin knew how he had aplished this feat.


    <em>''He is in an Enlightened State?!''</em> Edwin''s eyes widened with shock as he noticed that look on the warrior''s face.


    The warriorunched a barrage of rocks at Edwin from different directions.


    Edwin frowned slightly as he sensed the size and the speed of these barrage of rocks. The power inside these rocks was much greater than this warrior could possess. It confirmed his guess that this man was in an enlightened state.


    Dozens of rocks were heading his way with each passing second. Edwin used Azure mes to burn the rocks and convert them to ashes.


    He noticed that the skin of the warrior ahead of him was turning red.


    <em>''The price of this power boost is his life force. It''s burning quickly as he attacks me in this Enlightened State.''</em>


    Edwin turned towards Bernado and then thought <em>''Time to test my theory.''</em>


    He raised his hand and pointed it at Bernado. ''<em>I should kill him now.''</em>


    <strong>Boom!</strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    A loud explosion urred on the other side of the me Wall.


    Edwin looked in the me Wall''s direction and saw another warrior passing the Azure me Wall.


    <em>''I see now¡­ So that''s what''s going on.''</em><em></em>


    ~~


    A/N: Guys, I want to make a manga in the next couple of months. Please follow my insta ount: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 229 - Roasting To Death

    There was another warrior who passed the me Wall set up by Edwin''s Azure me Dragon Head.


    It could be considered inconceivable that two out of those remaining 9 warriors had aplished this feat.


    The first warrior had entered an enlightened state and passed the me Wall as his Ardor was boosted at the cost of his lifeforce.


    The second warrior had passed the barrier because two of hisrades had created a protective sphere barrier around his body.


    This protective sphere was formed by Earth Ardor and Water Ardor.


    And the third warrior threw a powerful Fire st at the Azure me Wall.


    When the Fire st shed against the Azure me Wall, it created a loud explosion. The me Wall stood erect even after the explosion.


    Although it appeared undamaged, its energy had naturally been reduced in that part for a few seconds.


    The warrior in the protective sphere had used that moment to rush at the barrier, using his Forbidden Skill. The Lightning sh to pass that me Wall.


    The earlier attack weakened the Azure me Wall''s energy. However, the Azure me Wall still managed to burn the barrier around this warrior''s body. The warrior''s skin had begun to burn, but this only motivated him to be even faster.


    Thus, he managed to pass this terrifying Azure me Wall.


    Edwin had used his Spiritual Sense to investigate what was urring.


    <em>''A mysterious energy is at work. It''s somehow controlling the situation and preventing me from killing Bernado. Its effect is triggered is every time I want to kill Bernado genuinely.''</em>


    Edwin was in utter shock as he realized this. He further thought ''It''s as if the World wants to preserve his life.''


    <em>''There was no such power during my previous life. What is this that the humans have discovered?! Wait¡­ Is this Bernado''s ability or the ability of a Royal Bloodline as a whole? I need to understand this mysterious power more.''</em>


    <em>''Let''s check out its limits. What would happen if I kill all the warriors who can save Bernado? How would this mysterious power try to prevent me from killing him?''</em>


    Edwin grinned as he decided it was time to be on the offensive.


    He ignored the warriors in the room as he left their fate up to Bianca and her maid. The Shadow Leopard''s Bloodline ability was more than enough to deal with them.


    The Shadow Leopard''s Bloodline didn''t just possess the ability of concealment. Its second ability increased the user''s flexibility and speed. And the third ability allowed the user to re up his power for a short burst and unleash a terrifying technique.


    Edwin pulled out a couple of swords from his Purple Ring and shot them at Bernado.


    Before Bernado could do anything, his hands and legs were pierced by swords. There were in total 8 swords.


    Itpletely prevented him from moving around.


    While he attacked Bernado, Edwin remained attentive as he used his spiritual senses to watch the entire battlefield.


    No one had managed to make a move to save Bernado this time. No one experienced a significant boost¡­


    It only verified his guess and slightly delighted him.


    <em>''Good. This power does not prevent me from injuring Bernado. It will only trigger if I n to really kill him. However, if the situation remains the same, he will die of blood loss. The situation might change at that time, and someone mighte to save this guy. I need to be quick with this cleanup.''</em>


    Edwin was slowly flying in the sky as he red at those warriors ahead of him.


    The rocks were targeted at him, so they slowly no longer targeted the room where Bianca and others were fighting.


    The Azure me Wall suddenly dispersed along with that Azure me Dragon Head.


    The warriors were shocked to see this situation ur. However, they consoled themselves by thinking that perhaps these attacks had a time limit and had just passed it.


    It would make sense for such strong techniques to have a time limit.


    They raised their heads to stare at Edwin, who was flying in the sky.


    None of them dared to underestimate Edwin any longer. The techniques he utilized against them were far too strange, and they had never heard or witnessed anything like this before.


    Edwin had a wicked smirk on his face as he faced them all.


    "It''s time to extinguish you all," He whispered while his eyes turned Purple.


    The first warrior he nned to kill was the individual in an enlightened state. Needless to say, he was the strongest warrior among them.


    Also, Edwin wanted to test another thing.


    The other warriors noticed Edwin charging at theirrade. They immediatelyunched multiple attacks at him in an attempt to damage him.


    Edwin''s speed was so quick that none of their attacksnded on his body.


    Meanwhile, the warrior he intended to fight continued to fly with a solemn expression.


    He didn''t fear Edwin right now. He was currently overflowing with power. Along with this great power, his mind was constantly thinking of many ways to use this power.


    He even arrogantly believed that he was invincible in the 5 Star Rank!


    When Edwin was close to his position, he immediately created an Earth Hammer and charged at Edwin with it in his hands.


    Edwin''s body shed with Blue Lightning as he suddenly disappeared from his vision.


    The warrior remainedposed even though he could no longer see Edwin.


    Suddenly, a shield of Earth Element was created over his head. And a secondter, there was a strong impact on that shield.


    It was Edwin''s punch on that shield.


    The Shield had cracked from that single punch and would probably copse with another blow


    However, the warrior rotated his body posture and immediately struck his own shield with his Earth Hammer.


    The Earth Shield could naturally not withstand that blow and copsed a millisecondter.


    The warrior struck his Earth Shield with his Hammer to strike Edwin, who was supposed to be on the other side of the Earth Shield.


    What a pity it was for the warrior that he had severely underestimated Edwin''s power and speed. He was no longer on the other side.


    "<strong>Air Cannon!</strong>"


    The warrior was struck by a strong wind pressured attack from his left.


    By the time he created a protective Earth Cover around his body, Edwin was already in another direction,unching another Air Cannon.


    This Air Cannon made the warrior puke out blood while he forced himself to remain flying in the air.


    The Warrior finally decided to create a protective Earth Dome around his body.


    This Earth Dome was supposed to block all attacks from Edwin and allow him to recuperate. It could be considered the best decision in this situation.


    This was working as the warrior used his great amount of Ardor to heal his injuries. These injuries were preventing him from reacting efficiently. Once they were healed, he could fight against that opponent with his full power.


    Regrettably, Edwin had no intention of giving him this opportunity.


    A few minutester, the warrior felt the temperature in his Earth Dome rising.


    Meanwhile, Edwin stared at that Earth Dome that was engulfed by his Azure mespletely.


    This was checkmate for that Enlightened Warrior.


    There was no way out of this situation. Even his intuition was going to tell him about this soon enough.


    "This is not the first time I am fighting an Enlightened Warrior. An Enlightened warrior''s fighting prowess is dependent on his previous experiences and his potential. They make the best decisions while fulfilling these two conditions. Unfortunately, your potential wasn''t good enough to be considered a match for me. Your actions are far too easy to predict."


    Just after 10 or so seconds, the man burnt to death. His life force had already been burned greatly in the fight earlier, so it was natural for him to die at this point.


    ~~


    A/N: Guys, I want to make a manga in the next couple of months. Please follow my insta ount: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 230 - Wind Flame Fusion Technique

    The other warriors stood as theirrade was burned to death. It wasn''t that they didn''t try to save him.


    They couldn''t save him!


    They had tried to reach out for him and even attacked Edwin but those attacks dispersed before even reaching Edwin.


    They were far too weakpared to Edwin. His Triquetra Ardor gave him absolute supremacy over them.


    Edwin was using only his Humane Ardor to fight them because he didn''t wish to alert some warriors in Mesenana City who would take action upon sensing the Demonic or Celestial Ardor.


    As he was roaming in Mesenana City, he had sensed the presence of multiple hidden experts checking for the presence of Demonic or Celestial Ardor.


    A normal human wouldn''t have noticed, but since Edwin possessed these attributes, he was extremely sensitive to them.


    Edwin knew that there was a low chance of them to try and inspect a Prince''s Personal Mansion. However, he couldn''t underestimate that mysterious power that continued to save Bernado''s life repeatedly.


    As for thismotion of fighting, Edwin believed they wouldn''t find out about it.


    These individuals were trying to locate the presence of some particr attributes of Ardor in arge area. There were bound to be restrictions.


    At best, they would only be able to sense the presence of Ardor being utilized. These sensors couldn''t sense the Ardor in great detail, unlike Edwin. Meaning they would be clueless about the quantity of Ardor being utilized.


    Thus, it was only natural they would ignore it.


    Edwin stared at these people and noticed they were ready to fight against him. They had created pure Ardor Barrier around their bodies.


    It would provide them good protection against all elements. They stacked that barrier multiple times by using it on each other.


    They believed it would be able to withstand a good amount of Edwin''s power now.


    Without further ado, they charged at Edwin.


    They knew well enough they couldn''t win in a one-on-one closebat fight against him no matter how good they were. It was also impossible for them to defeat him in long-range attacks.


    The only choice left was to get together and attack him.


    They had 8 people while Edwin was just one person. No matter how strong he was, he couldn''t react to them at the same time. They were bound tond a hit or two and injure him.


    "Everyone, remain calm and make sure to not get in each other''s way! Let''s make him regret killing ourrades!" A woman among them spoke out loudly.


    A secondter, they vanished from their spots. They could be seen charging at Edwin with a quick speed.


    Edwin remained on his spot as he waited for them. Why did he need to move if they were going toe at him?


    There was a thin smile on his face as he thought ''<em>This saves me the trouble of gathering you all.''</em>


    Not even one of them realized that Edwin gathered arge quantity of Ardor to use one of his strongest techniques.


    When they were close to his body, they could hear him speaking, "You have covered yourselves with multiple barriers. Your defensive prowess will truly be impressive. I have a question for you, though."


    When these warriors looked at Edwin''s face, they saw a disdainful smirk on his face, "Can you survive this?"


    "<strong>Wind and me Fusion Technique: The Great me Cyclone!</strong>"


    Suddenly, arge scale of air began to rotate around Edwin in a counter-clockwise direction! The inward spiraling winds rotating in this Cyclone forced these warriors closer to the Center!


    The barriers around these warriors'' bodies were strong enough to resist the pressure to prevent them from being injured. However, these warriors couldn''t resist this pressure and leave the cyclone


    For that, they needed to possess a force strong enough to win against this strong wind pressure. Unfortunately, none of them was strong enough.


    "<strong>Burn!</strong>" Edwin whispered with a low voice.


    As if by hismand, the gigantic cyclone was lit aze by Azure mes.


    That gigantic me cyclone forced Bernado, Bianca, Miku, and even Bernado''s guards to stop all fighting and look at it with an awe-struck face.


    Bernado was thinking with an astonished look on his face ''W-Who is this man? This power¡­ It would put him on par with David! Does he possess a Royal Bloodline as well?! But why do I not feel any fluctuations from his Royal Bloodline?!''


    Even though Bernado had witnessed one of the strongest attacks from Edwin, he still only ced him at the same level as his eldest brother.


    It spoke volumes of David''s strength.


    Naturally, this was only Bernado''s personal opinion. It didn''t actually mean Edwin was equal to David.


    After all, Edwin hadn''t shown off his true trump cards to Bernado.


    However, it had to be known that even David probably hadn''t shown off his true trump cards to Bernado.


    Moreover, Edwin still didn''t understand this Royal Bloodlinepletely.


    It took less than 6 seconds for all the guards under Bernado to lose their lives. Only two were alive. They were fighting against Miku and Bianca.


    The two guards were greatly injured at this point, and when they raised their heads to look at that Great me Cyclone, they somehow lost their will to fight.


    They were also 5 Star Warriors, but they never thought someone at the 5 Star Rank would be so strong.


    As soon as their will weakened, Miku and Bianca took advantage of it and killed them!


    The two warriors'' bodiesid on the floor, lifeless.


    Edwin then stared at Bernado. And just like before, he raised his hand to target Bernado.


    <em>''Can someone still save you now? Let''s see about that.''</em>


    His hand shed with blue lightning as he targeted Bernado.


    "<em><strong>Lightning Spear</strong></em>," Edwin whispered as heunched a Lightning Spear at Bernado.


    Bernado tried to move his body, but it was useless. He couldn''t move an inch with the swords stabbing his arms and legs.


    Edwin waited for someone to intervene at this moment.


    He frowned as he sensed no one was approaching. Just as he was about to cancel the attack, Edwin stopped himself<em> ''What if that mysterious energy anticipated I would call off this attack and hence hadn''t activated? I can''t call off this attack. I can experiment on other Royal Heirs after this man''s death.''</em>


    However, just a secondter, Edwin understood why no one appeared. There was no need for someone to appear.


    A barrier had mysteriously formed around Bernado''s body. It was formed of Golden Colored Energy.


    A locket on Bernado''s body was shining brightly. Edwin understood that this was the thing that was protecting Bernado''s body.


    He also sensed this locket giving off signals in all directions.


    <em>''I was careless. I didn''t prepare for this situation.''</em>


    Edwin immediately ordered Bianca and Miku to return to the mansion. He couldn''t have them get caught here. Experts from the Royal Pce and from the nearby outposts were going to arrive as quickly as possible.


    While Bianca and Miku followed his order and left the area quickly, Edwin continued to fly at the same spot.


    A solemn look appeared on his face as he decided it was time to pull out the big guns.


    "<strong>Divine Holy Demonic Transformation!</strong>"

 Chapter 231 - The Limits Of That Mysterious Ability

    White Wings sprouted on Edwin''s back, and two horns formed over his head. His appearance and presence were extremely oppressive as he stared solemnly at that Golden Barrier surrounding Bernado''s body.


    The aura he gave off was a mixture of Holy, Demonic, and Humane.


    This aura immediately alerted those warriors who were looking for Demonic and Holy Ardor.


    The experts of the Royal Family who had been signaled by Bernado''s locket were already rushing towards Edwin''s location. Currently, two more groups had also charged in Edwin''s direction.


    These two groups were Celestial yer Corps and Demon yer Corps, respectively. Each human kingdom would possess these corps.


    Their task was to purge Celestials or Demons.


    To aplish their tasks, they possessed weapons to deal with their adversaries. The Demon yer Corps possessed weapons or abilities that worked well against Demons.


    While the same was true for the Celestial yer Corps. They possessed demonic weapons, poisons, and other supplements that allowed them to fight against the Celestials on an even ground.


    Edwin was sensing multiple aurasing towards him. The power he sensed from them was much stronger than the guards hired by Bernado.


    He was sure that Bernado would survive if they reached this location.


    He also understood another part of this mysterious energy.


    <em>''If a Warrior wasn''t nearby to save him¡­ The warriors from afar would be notified through some bullshit means, and they would move to protect him as soon as possible. In my normal form, I can''t destroy that barrier before they reach this position.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <strong>"Heavenly Thunder!"</strong>


    Edwin threw his Red Lightning in the sky. The clouds rumbled immediately as they were charged by that red lightning.


    A secondter, the clouds shed with a dense Red Lightning and targeted Bernado.


    <strong>"Hell mes!"</strong>


    Edwin''s Hell mes immediately moved towards Bernado''s direction and swallowed the entire barrier. It was quickly weakening that barrier''s energy.


    <strong>"The Great Tornado!"</strong>


    Finally, thest bit was the Tornado that was seemingly drilling its way into the barrier. The Red Lightning suddenly struck at the barrier.


    Bernado was shocked to see that barrier shatter! This barrier was created by none other than his father, King Valliadis.


    It didn''t exactly possess the strength of a 6 Star Warrior since the artifact would have exploded if the King truly infused it with his own power.


    However, this barrier possessed the strength of a peak 5 Star Warrior. Moreover, this cultivation was of the King


    As a Royal Bloodline Holder, the King''s Ardor was nearly five times stronger than normal. For this barrier to shatter now, Bernado didn''t dare to imagine just how strong Edwin was at this moment.


    "Lightning doesn''t strike twice. But your case would be an exception." Edwin spoke with a grin.


    "<strong>Fall!</strong>" Edwin gave hismand coldly.


    The Heavenly Lightning crackled in the dark clouds before it fell on Bernado''s body!


    This time, it did strike Bernado''s body. Bernado was already very weak because of those wounds over his body.


    And Edwin had used hisplete strength in this Heavenly Lightning. It was only natural for it to have killed Bernado right now.


    Edwin was slightly surprised before his expression returned to normal.


    <em>''So this was the limit of that Mysterious Ability. To kill someone like this, Bernado, I need to take a great risk and possess absolute power; otherwise, I won''t seed.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''If these are the conditions to kill someone like Bernado, it would be even more troublesome to kill the Crown Prince or the King.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Edwin didn''t know about the power of Crown Prince David Valliadis. At the least, he would be much stronger than Bernado here.


    Defeating him would be much tougher, and Edwin even guessed that he probably wouldn''t be able to kill him like he killed Bernado unless he advanced to the 6 Star Rank.


    Advancing to the 6 Star Rank wasn''t easy, though.


    Edwin needed the Sinyalian Kingdom tomence a proper war against the Glerian Kingdom. Only then would he be able to gather enough death energy to advance to the 6 Star Rank.


    During the battle between the Radiant Church and the Roger Dukedom, he had gathered some death energy, but it was merely a drop in the ocean. He required much more than that energy!


    However, Edwin wasn''tpletely helpless.


    First, he had to leave this location. He dispersed his transformation and immediately used the Blue Lightning to fly in the opposite direction.


    This meant he was running away from Mesenana City.


    In reality, Edwin was just flying as far as he could from Mesenana city until these warriors reached the location where the Third Prince''s personal mansion stood.


    Once they saw Bernado''s dead body, most of them would probably remain at this location to investigate what had urred while the others would look for him.


    Edwin could take advantage of that opportunity to fly to Sophie''s mansion.


    What he had anticipated soon urred! The warriors who reached the location were utterly shocked to see Bernado''s dead body.


    They immediately scattered a few warriors and ordered them to search for the assaulter.


    Meanwhile, the other warriors remained behind to investigate the enemy. Just how many were there and so on¡­


    Soon, the Demon yer Corps and the Celestial yer Corps arrived.


    The two were surprised to see the other. They sneered coldly and thought collectively <em>''What are they doing here?!''</em>


    The Demon yer Corps and the Celestial yer Corps were servants of the king, but their rtions weren''t very good.


    The cause of their bad rtionship was because both these groups wanted the Royal Court to increase their budget.


    The Demon yer Corps killed many demons within a month, so they felt they deserved a much greater sry and budget.


    As for the Celestial yer Corps, they had to use many expensive treasures to defeat Celestials. Thus, they believed they deserved more budget.


    The King had opted to lean on the Demon yer Corps'' side in recent years because their presence was required more frequently.


    This had naturally disappointed the Celestial yer Corps, but they couldn''t go against the kings'' orders. Thus, they could only swallow their resentments and throw them at these warriors of the Demon yer Corps.


    During this time, Edwin had already flown to Bianca and Miku''s side.


    Bianca already ordered Miku to keep her mouth shut about everything she witnessed today.


    Edwin could see her emotions and knew she waspletely loyal to Bianca. She won''t open her mind even in front of Spencer Russel.


    While they were returning, Bianca''s face began to turn red as her body began to get hotter.


    The aphrodisiac was now working.


    Edwin noticed it and stared at Bianca''s body. He touched Bianca''s forehead with his finger.


    He began to whisper the Heavenly Poison Scripture and absorbed that aphrodisiac from her body. The aphrodisiac couldn''t affect Edwin''s physique, so it was soon converted into pure energy and absorbed by him.


    Bianca''s body returned to normal once Edwin was done. The two continued to walk towards her mansion.


    Edwin''s spiritual sense was still focused on the warriors gathered near Bernado''s Mansion. They should have concluded their investigation till now.


    These warriors wouldn''t be able to guess the number of warriors since they didn''t know which ability was used by whom.


    This meeting was pretty much aplete secret, so no one would reach Bianca''s house. After all, how could she be a suspect in the killing of a prince?


    Edwin concluded that he was going to be very safe in that mansion.

 Chapter 232 - Lauras Worries

    Edwin connected his mind with Azaroth and informed Azaroth of all that happened.


    When Azaroth read those memories, he was extremely startled.


    His Clone''s Mystic Eyes of Perception couldn''t bepared to his own because Azaroth''s body possessed the Demon God''s Blood. He could use those abilities to an even greater extent.


    However, ording to what he had witnessed in those memories, he doubted his own Mystic Eyes of Perception would work on Bernado.


    <em>''Was this mysterious ability that guy''s personal skill or Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family''smon ability? Killing such a person would be troublesome.''</em>


    Azaroth then recalled the information he had heard recently. A demon king took over a Royal Prince''s Body and willingly reduced his cultivation base by a rank. He even gave up on Demonic Ardor.


    Azaroth hadn''t managed to think up a good reason why the demon king would attempt this. But now, he believed if this mysterious ability was granted to a Royal Bloodline of each kingdom, it would make sense for the Demon King to try and acquire it.


    <em>''The Demon King must have resisted that mysterious ability''s effect by using absolute power he possessed. He merely had to take control over the king''s body and not act suspicious.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''If this Demon King now possesses this mysterious ability, dealing with him would be very troublesome. I might even lose if I am careless.''</em>


    There was a solemn look on Azaroth''s face as he understood that perhaps he was a bit too hasty in taking action against this Demon King.


    He had destroyed one of his dungeons and captured all the demons. Currently, those demons were being used to train the origin sect disciples.


    Nearly all the origin sect disciples considered Noah as theirmander now.


    Well, they had been beaten to a near-death state by Noah. As arrogant as they were, they realized Noah was at a level far beyond them!


    Moreover, Noah and Laura were the only ones who reached the second floor. The second floor had rooms filled with demons of 4 Star Rank, or they could be considered Elite Ranked Demons.


    Noah couldn''t defeat them because his Ardorcked the decisive power to defeat them. Although he could injure most of them, their numbers were still somewhat troublesome for him to deal with.


    The fighting style of the demons waspletely different from that of humans. They were a lot less cautious and were more ruthless while attacking.


    Noah''s Enlightened Sword Heart allowed him to make perfect moves. However, even if Noah''s body was moving perfectly, it still couldn''t dodge some attacks due to the demons'' power or speed.


    It was already impressive that he could fight them for as long as he could while he was just a 3 Star Warrior.


    Azaroth believed no other 3 Star Warrior could fight against these Elite Ranked Demons for so long.


    Laura''s Ardor was iparably pure in nature, and itpletely suppressed the demonic ardor.


    However, Laura was still not used to the ruthless fighting style of the demons. If someone was attacking them, the demons would continue moving and endure that attack rather than dodging it.


    Laura was rather used to utilizing hermon sense to think up ways to defeat her opponents.


    Herck of experience fighting demons was now the reason she couldn''t battle them for long.


    Laura internally felt that she was probably disappointing her Race by losing to these demons even when her Ardor granted her superiority over them.


    Azaroth noticed her low morale. Usually, he would let a warrior deal with this kind of situation by themselves.


    But Laura''s situation would get out of hand if ignored right now. He had to intervene.


    It was nighttime, and everyone was done with their dinner. The disciples returned to practice their techniques while some sat in the rooms and meditated peacefully.


    Each day, after fighting against the demons and constantly experiencing themselves in those constant life-and-death battles, their ability would improve tremendously.


    Theirbat experience was increasing at a very quick rate. And they were picking up on the demonic style of fighting.


    The ruthless style ced more emphasis on killing the enemy than safeguarding their life.


    Due to the special arrays designed by Azaroth, these disciples understood they wouldn''t die while fighting against these demons.


    Thus, they had begun to gopletely crazy while fighting against them. They unleashed their strongest techniques and endured more pain than ever in their lives.


    Although from a certain point, their techniques themselves weren''t getting stronger. Their grasp over timing, breathing, concentration, and adaptability was progressing to new levels.


    And in a battle, this was more effective than knowing a technique.


    Azaroth went to meet up with Laura, who was meditating and enhancing her Ardor. She was already at the high stage of the 4 Star Rank.


    Just one more step, and she would reach the peak stage. However, she couldn''t take this one step¡­


    It felt as though there was an invisible wall between the high stage and the peak stage.


    Laura soon opened her eyes as she sensed Azaroth entering her house. By the time she stood up, Azaroth had entered her room.


    Laura spoke with a respectful tone, "Greetings, master,"


    "We are alone right now, so you can act as you want," Azaroth spoke while stepping forward and gently caressed her head.


    "O-okay, master," Laura spoke with a flushed expression. She didn''t think Azaroth would start stroking her hair. Did he like her long blonde hair?


    Laura didn''t wish to express her embarrassed look to Azaroth. Thus, she asked him, "W-What brings you here, master?"


    There was a yful smile on Azaroth''s face as he asked her, "I need a reason to visit you?"


    Laura caught a glimpse of Azaroth''s face out of the corner of her eye and felt her heart pound loudly in response to his yful smile and his remarks.


    "Let''s sit down, shall we?" Azaroth suggested with a gentle tone.


    "Mhm~ I will get the chair for you, master," Laura immediately moved to the only chair in the room and picked it up for Azaroth.


    She soon ced it near Azaroth''s position and then sat on the bed.


    Azaroth''s chair was ced very close to the bed. It was so close that if Azaroth wanted, he could stretch his arms and easily pull Laura into a hug.


    "You appear worried these days. And its'' not just your results against those demons. Something else is bothering you, isn''t it? If you arefortable sharing it with me, then do so," Azaroth''s gentle and sincere voice entered Laura''s ears.


    <em>''Was it that obvious?!''</em> She internally panicked upon hearing those words.


    "If you don''t want to tell me, then that''s alright. I won''t force you. But take care of yourself. I don''t like to see you in such a bad mood," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    Those words immediately made Laura panic for a couple of seconds longer before she calmed down.


    She made up her mind to talk to Azaroth about this. Laura also wanted to get it off her chest for some time¡­


    "Actually, I really was worried about something, master," Laura admitted while looking at the ground for a couple of seconds before raising her head to look into Azaroth''s eyes.


    "Master, you are a demon. I don''t know why you possess Holy Ardor, but your true identity is that of a Demon, right?" Laura asked with her voice filled with slight fear.


    Azaroth didn''t even need to use his Mystic Eyes of Perception to understand what this was all about. He sighed internally while seriously nodding to Laura''s question. There was no point in trying to hide it from her.


    Azaroth spoke, "I was indeed a demon before my rebirth."

 Chapter 233 - Azaroths Response

    When Laura heard Azaroth''s words, a distressing feeling enveloped her heart.


    She had more or less guessed this already. However, deep within her heart, she still wanted to be proven wrong.


    If Azaroth was a Celestial and merely utilized the demonic ardor, Laura wouldn''t feel so distressed.


    However, it waspletely different when she heard that he was originally a demon from his mouth.


    "¡­You are distressed. What is it? You should share it with me," Azaroth''s soft voice entered Laura''s ears.


    Laura spoke as her voice trembled with pure emotion.


    "Master, since I have lived with you, I understand that what I have been taught about the demons in the Elven Kingdom has been inurate. It''s not all the demons who are bloodthirsty monsters who would just think of killing at all moments. At least, I have never seen Yrellea, Sargan, or Master giving such an aura."


    "You have a cruel method to teach, but you are really kind. Before allowing us to fight against these demons, you prepared such precious arrays that would teleport us as soon as our vitality is low."


    "I¡­I feel good when I spend my time with you. My heart beats crazily when I see your smile. Your voice drives my thoughts crazy. Even when I am following your orders, it makes me want to perform my best to hear your praise. You are really reliable as you can deal with any situation."


    "You allow me to do what I love the most. Raising the herbs¡­Even though you know of my true identity, you have never asked or done anything bad to me. Unlike those humans who captured me and intended to sell me, you give me such freedom and trust me so greatly."


    Laura continued to reveal all she thought about him.


    "Master, recently, I came to a realization that I am in love with you," Laura confessed with a serious voice.


    Laura wasn''t just getting caught up in the moment. She had actually thought a lot about this thing.


    She didn''t wait for Azaroth to reply before adding, "However, I also know that my mother would never approve of a demon as my husband. Nor would the Elven Race. They won''t hear or care about my exnations. They will try to kill you as soon as they realize the connection between us, master."


    Laura spoke, "I am confused, master. I don''t want them to harm you. But I also don''t want to break this connection we have. I want to continue to remain here, talk to you freely, follow your orders, and stay away from that boring life back in the Elf Kingdom."


    Once she confessed all that, she became silent.


    Azaroth concluded that she had finished all she wanted to say. He thought for some time about how he should deal with this situation.


    <em>''She has surprisingly informed me about her thoughts and feelings honestly. Her resolve is impressive.''</em>


    Azaroth knew that the calmness Laura disyed was fake bravado. He felt that he needed to take care of this situation a little differently.


    A smirk appeared on his face as he responded to Laura, "I am happy to hear your honest feelings, Laura."


    His voice grew solemn as he added, "However, you were wrong on so many points."


    "I am kind? You should throw that thought out of your mind immediately. You will sooner orter receive my orders tomit ughter. I don''t want you to be weak-willed at that time. All this training is for you to aplish those tasks."


    Laura actually knew that he was very cruel as well. When she mentioned he was kind, she meant he was kind to his subordinates.


    Even Laura believed in showing no mercy to the enemy. When the Silent Death Organizations'' warriors had killed all her guards even when they didn''t provoke them made her understand the cruelty in this world.


    If you don''t kill, you would be the corpse on the ground. If Laura became stubborn in her pursuit of the lovely ideals, she wouldn''t even realize when she was captured or killed by a human.


    "You love me? Perhaps you do. I won''tment on those feelings. How you feel is none of my business as long as you don''t expect me to reciprocate. Don''t let the emotions affect the tasks I assign you. The day you decide to disobey my order is your final day as my retainer," Azaroth''s voice became colder as he uttered this sentence.


    Laura had prepared her heart for those words. However, she still couldn''t help but be upset upon hearing it from Azaroth''s mouth.


    "Lastly, you shouldn''t worry about your mother killing me. Even if the entire Elf Race wants to kill me, they still won''t seed," Azaroth confidently stated.


    Before Laura could ask a question, Azaroth added, "To protect my life from them, I don''t need to harm the Elf Race. I just possess some very secret information that your Elf Kingdom urgently requires. She won''t dare to kill me once she knows about it."


    Laura was surprised to hear Azaroth''s words.


    <em>''A secret information that the Elven Kingdom needs? Master even has something like that?!</em>'' Laura thought.


    Laura had tried to overestimate Azaroth as much as she could, but she realized that she still ended up underestimating him.


    "Now, one of your worries should be resolved," Azaroth stated at the end.


    Laura nodded in agreement. She was truly relieved to know that the Elven Race won''t harm him despite his identity as a demon.


    She trusted Azaroth so greatly that she didn''t doubt his words for even a single second.


    "¡­Master, you mentioned it won''t matter how I feel as long as I don''t ask you to love me. And don''t allow my emotions to affect the tasks. But I feel that it would be impossible for me to control my emotions like that," Laura spoke seriously.


    "It''s not that I wish to go against your orders or your tasks, but if I suppress my emotions, won''t I be sealing myself off? My mother told me that I must never seal my heart or else I won''t ever reach a high rank in the future. You don''t want me to stay weak, right? You want a strong retainer, right?" Laura asked while staring at Azaroth.


    Azaroth didn''t even bat his eye as he heard those words. He was aware of this fact.


    He knew that suppressing her feelings would just destroy her future potential. It would create a heart demon in her mind, which would restrict her cultivation from now on.


    There were methods to destroy the heart demon, but another would form if the root cause wasn''t dealt with. The second heart demon would be even stronger and more terrifying.


    Azaroth spoke with a chilly smile, "You are unexpectedly bold to think about negotiating with me."


    Laura immediately shook her head, "No¡­I didn''t mean like that, master. Please forgive me if it sounded insolent. I am sincerely begging you. I won''t ask you to love me or be kind to me. J-Just allow me to disy these feelings to you."


    An amused smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he heard those words, "Interesting, so you are begging me. I have heard that the person kowtows while begging, and yet you...."


    The words spoken by Azaroth couldpletely infuriate the entire Elven Race. Azaroth was actually asking the Royal Princess of the Elven Race to kowtow in front of him!


    Laura was startled to hear Azaroth''s words. But she felt they did make sense¡­ If she was begging him, she had to be sincere about it.


    She slowly got up from the bed and soon walked some steps away while falling on her knees. Just as she was about to lower her head, Azaroth walked over to her side and ced his hands over her shoulders, preventing her from lowering her head.


    "Alright, that''s enough. I have seen your resolve, and you have indeed pleased me," Azaroth whispered in her ears softly.


    Laura couldn''t stop herself from having wild thoughts when that hot breath touched her skin.


    One of Azaroth''s hands slithered around Laura''s waist as he slowly lifted her up till she stood on her feet.


    The two continued to look into each other''s eyes. They slowly leaned their face and titled their face as their lips touched.


    The two began to kiss passionately. Their tongues were having a fierce battle against each other. It was Azaroth who took the initiative since Laura was pretty inexperienced as this was her first kiss.


    After a couple of minutes, their lips parted. A few secondster, Azaroth spoke, "The only thing I can offer you is a physical rtionship with me."


    Laura, who had previously settled for nothing, was overjoyed with this offer.


    To express her happiness, she immediately kissed Azaroth once again on his lips.. Azaroth slowly moved his head forwards, and Laura''s body fell on the bed with Azaroth on top of her, still kissing her lips.

 Chapter 234 - Breaking A Royal Elf (R18)

    Azaroth removed Laura''s garments, and soon, she showed her nude appearance to his eyes.


    She was blushing badly while crossing her arms as she saw Azaroth intently gazing at her body.


    Laura could see intense mes of lust in Azaroth''s eyes as he began to fondle her breasts.


    Laura''s breasts were incrediblyrge. They were even a littlerger than Yrellea''s breasts. Laura''s breasts appeared very soft as well.


    Azaroth felt his fingers sinking deep in those massive globes of flesh. Her pink nipples werepletely erect, and he pinched them while he fondled herrge breasts.


    In return, Laura let out some delightful moans, "Ahhh¡­ Ahhhh¡­!"


    As she felt Azaroth fondling her breasts, she could sense a strange and amazing feeling.


    This feeling was so intense that she couldn''t stop herself frommenting, "¡­S-So¡­ good¡­ Ahhh¡­"


    When Azaroth heard it, he abruptly pinched both of her nipples and tugged them a little roughly.


    Laura''s nipples were very sensitive. When she felt that tug, she couldn''t help but experience an intense wave of pleasure. This pleasure was so intense that it numbed her mind for a split second.


    "Wet already, huh?" Azarothmented as he noticed her pinkish pussy was drenched right now.


    However, Azaroth wasn''t done ying with her breasts.


    He pulled down his pants and revealed a massive cock to Laura.


    Laura stared at that dick with some fear in her eyes as she thought <em>''That thing is going to be inside me?''</em>


    She had naturally been aware of how humans reproduced even though the elves didn''t need sexual intercourse to reproduce.


    The marriage in the Elven Race would be conducted through a special ritual dedicated to the World Tree. The couple would then sacrifice their blood essence to the World Tree.


    After nearly 10 years, their child would appear in the form of a Life Fruit. It would take another 10 years for this child to be truly born into the form of an elf.


    Laura was aware of sexual intercourse since her mother and instructors had told her that it was a vulgar activity that demons and humans liked.


    She felt weird as she stared at the dick that was getting closer to her face.


    <em>''I¡­I am sorry, mother. But I love him. I-I want to please him in any way I can,</em>'' Laura mentally apologized to her mother as she made up her mind.


    The elven race was emotional and pure. An elf was believed to fall in love only once in her lifetime. And she would be prepared to give up everything for the one she loved.


    A few rumors could be considered exaggerated, but it was indeed true that an Elf would fall in love only once in her lifetime.


    For Laura, this moment had arrived. And she embraced it tightly.


    Azaroth''s dick had entered into the valley of those two towering hills that could make any man go crazy.


    "Use your tits. Press them against my dick and pleasure me now," Azarothmanded.


    Laura felt as though her Royal Aura didn''t even exist right now. She just wanted to follow hismands.


    "Mhm~!" She immediately ced her hands over her massive tits and began to push them towards Azaroth''s dick.


    She wasn''t actually aware of using this method to pleasure Azaroth, so her movements were rather rigid.


    Azaroth felt his manhood being tightly encircled by those huge breasts. He immediately started moving his body back and forth.


    Laura felt his dick brushing off against her sensitive breasts and experienced waves of pleasure.


    Suddenly, it seemed as though Azaroth was disappointed with how Laura was performing. He swatted her hands away and grasped thoserge tits himself.


    "Be faster, intenser¡­ Just like this." Azaroth spoke as he immediately increased his speed of thrusting.


    Laura felt Azaroth moving her breasts really quickly and intensely. However, instead of the pain she expected, she only felt pleasure and excitement.


    Suddenly, Azaroth twisted her breasts such that her hard nipples were pressing against his dick.


    When this urred, Laura experienced an electrifying pleasure. She even experienced goosebumps¡­


    It made her recall that pleasure she had experienced for a split second. This time, it was a bit longer than a split second. This feelingsted for nearly a couple of seconds.


    After a few minutes, Azaroth didn''t n to hold onto any longer.


    Without any warning, he sprayed a massive load onto Laura''s face and even her breasts.


    Despite just cumming, Azaroth''s dick showed no signs of exhaustion. In fact, it remainedpletely erect as before.


    Azaroth then ordered Laura while pointing towards his dick, "Clean it."


    Laura moved her hand towards Azaroth''s dick to clean it. However, Azaroth further ordered, "With your mouth!"


    Laura asked out with a startled expression, "With my mouth?"


    Azaroth nodded as he pushed his dick closer to Laura''s face, "That''s correct. Clean it with your mouth."


    Just a titty fuck wasn''t going to be enough for him. He was going to have that mouth pleasure him as well.


    Soon, Laura let out her pink tongue and began to lick Azaroth''s dick that was so close to her face.


    The white semen was still being released out of Azaroth''s dick, and Laura was rather nervous as she didn''t exactly know what that was.


    Soon, her tongue licked that white semen that was flowing out of Azaroth''s dick.


    Her eyes widened in shock immediately as she relished the taste. It was extremely sweet like honey.


    "Mhm~" Laura moaned as she became excited. She was no longer worried about the taste and began to lick Azaroth''s dick with her tongue.


    It was such a sweet taste that she felt that she couldn''t get used to it. She was truly cleaning Azaroth''s dick with her tongue.


    After dozens of seconds, Azaroth suddenly grabbed Laura''s back of her head and thrust his dick in her mouth.


    Laura was surprised to see that ur as she felt Azaroth''s member deep inside of her mouth.


    Just like during the titty fuck, Azaroth began to thrust back and front with his dick inside of Laura''s mouth.


    Laura had no idea what she had to do, but she tried to lick Azaroth''s dick with her tongue as fast as she could.


    Azaroth was stimted by those actions, and his thrusts became even faster.


    Nearly 10 or so minutester, Azaroth released his load inside of Laura''s mouth.


    "Swallow it," Azarothmanded while he showed a satisfied look as he continued to release his semen inside Laura''s mouth.


    Laura would have done this even without the order. She wouldn''t waste this tasty semen!


    Soon, Azaroth pulled out his erect dick from Laura''s mouth.


    Laura gulped down that massive load and allowed it to reach her stomach.


    "You are already so wet. Seems as if there isn''t a need to wait any longer."


    Before Laura could register those words in her mind, she felt a sharp pain in her pussy as Azaroth suddenly shoved his dick inside her.


    Blood flowed out of Laura''s pussy thatpletely drenched Azaroth''s dick.


    For a brief period, Azaroth stopped as if to allow Laura''s pussy to get used to his dick.


    And then, Azaroth suddenly began to thrust back and forth in Laura''s pussy. He was a lot faster and intenser than before. Laura felt great pain because she had just lost her virginity and wasn''t used to this activity yet.


    However, each time Azaroth thrust ahead, Laura felt an electrifying pleasure that reached each cell of her body. It was because Azaroth''s dick touched her G-spot that made her experience boundless joy.


    "Aaaahhhhhh!" She moaned in a voice that was a mixture of pain and pleasure.


    Azaroth locked his gaze on the breasts that were bouncing in response to their motions. His hands moved and instantly grabbed and stroked Laura''s enormous breasts, causing her to feel waves of ecstasy.


    "Ahhhh¡­ Aahhh¡­ Aaaaaahh¡­!" The pain was starting to go away, and Laura could only feel the pleasure now.


    Laura couldn''t count the number of times she felt that exhrating sensation. In fact, she thought she was going insane from the ecstasy.


    Just after a couple of minutes, Laura let out a shout, "Aaah¡­ I-I am peeing¡­!"


    Laura, who didn''t understand the difference between having an orgasm and peeing, mistook herself for peeing while she was actually having an orgasm.


    Soon, Laura had an orgasm while Azaroth still continued to thrust inside her.


    Azaroth was delighted to have sex with Laura. Among all the women he had sex with till now, Laura''s pussy was most definitely the tightest.


    Her pussy''s walls would tighten perfectly, providing him a tremendous deal of pleasure.


    "I¡­AM¡­ Cumming¡­!" Azaroth spoke slowly.


    He then released his massive load inside Laura''s pussy!


    Soon, Azaroth pulled out his dick which was surprisingly still erect. He then stood up on the floor.


    He then ced his hands over Laura''s waist and turned her over so that her back was now facing him.


    Azaroth stared at those perfectly curved buttocks and raised his hand.


    <strong>Smack!</strong>


    Laura felt a painful sensation on her buttocks and let out a groan, "Hiya!"


    She was surprised by that spank. However, Azaroth gave her no exnation before he thrust his dick into her pussy once again.


    He grabbed that ass and fondled it with both his hands. He even smacked it a couple of times and watched it jiggle.


    It was very enjoyable!


    This time, Laura didn''t let out any sound as she endured those smacks.


    The night was just beginning for the two¡­

 Chapter 235 - Natures Blessing

    Azaroth and Laura continued their sexual activities until the next morning.


    If the Elven Race knew that a demon had fucked their princess for an entire night, they would probably be infuriated enough to die for anger.


    Azaroths halted after he had dealt with nearly all his pent-up lust. And Laura justid on the bed, an exhausted look on her face.


    "¡­Sleep now," Azaroth spoke gently.


    "Mhm~ I hope I pleased you well. The next time, I will do even better, master," She gave him a coquettish nce while speaking those words.


    Azaroth slowly patted her head and spoke, "That was indeed satisfying. Now you can rx. But remember that this is our private rtionship. Don''t mention it to someone else."


    Laura agreed immediately, "Yes, master." She then closed her eyes and slept on the bed.


    Azaroth let out a sigh as he stared at Laura.


    He never imagined that he would take the virginity of a Royal Elf after reincarnating. That was a huge aplishment, even by his standards.


    <em>''It would be hrious when the elves find that their princess has lost her virginity to a demon. But the Elf Queen might banish Laura from the Elven Kingdom. That wouldn''t be ideal.''</em>


    <em>''Normally, this sort of thing wouldn''t be revealed, but that World Tree has too many powers. It might possess the power to detect that Laura has lost her vital yin.''</em>


    Vital Yin Energy was possessed by females, and it would continue to build until the woman loses her virginity. The man who took her virginity would be blessed with this vital yin energy.


    The loss of this Vital Yin Energy won''t affect Laura. In fact, this Vital Yin was reced by intense Yang Energy from Azaroth.


    Azaroth''s Ardor possessed three attributes. This triquetra ardor was much stronger than the elven attribute.


    Thus, Laura''s Ardor had be much denser, and she had even broken through to the peak of the 4 Star Rank.


    As long as she cultivated more for a couple of months, she could reach the 5 Star Rank.


    Laura''s spiritual power had also been affected by Azaroth during the intercourse. Her Spiritual Energy had increased in quantity, and it had somehow also be stronger.


    There was another bloodline deep within Laura''s body that had also awakened due to the stimtion from the Demon God''s Blood in Azaroth''s body.


    This was the Elf Queen''s Bloodline Ability from her ancestral generation.


    The ability to merge with nature! The current royal bloodline of the elves possessed several skills.


    They included the ability to merge their aura with nature, the Royal Elven Ardor, Heartforce Soul Technique, Advanced Wood Maniption, Raise all kinds of nts, the World Tree''s Manifestation, excessive vitality, andstly, the great aptitude in shooting arrows.


    Among these abilities, Laura hadn''t unlocked the ability to merge her aura with nature and the World Tree''s Manifestation. She possessed all other abilities, though. Which was naturally very impressive.


    And now, Laura had acquired the ability to merge with nature. This was an evolved version of merging the aura with nature.


    This would increase her sensing prowess. Laura wouldn''t need to be near trees to urately sense people in arge area. Also, she would be able to sense that area in detail.


    She could also conceal her aura along with her physical body in nature. It meant she could merge her body with the air if she so wanted to. Or with wood and so on, and the opponent would be none the wiser.


    Only those opponents possessing extremely sharp senses would be able to sense her.


    Azaroth sensed the changes in Laura''s body before he wore his clothes and left the room.


    Azaroth had also massively benefited by acquiring Laura''s Vital Energy.


    The most useful ability he received was the Blessing of Nature.


    The Blessing of Nature would allow Azaroth''s Ardor to be on the same frequency as Nature''s Ardor.


    It would be easier for Azaroth to absorb Ardor from nature, and he could do so at a much greater pace now.


    The Elven Barrier that prevented all outsiders from entering the Elven Kingdom would never be an issue for Azaroth. It was akin to having a master key to enter the Elven Kingdom.


    This was the true reason why the elves frowned upon sexual activities with other races. If they gave Blessing of Nature to other humans, wouldn''t their ancient barrier be useless then?


    Laura waspletely unaware of this reasoning. If she did know, she would have been much more reluctant to do such a deed with Azaroth.


    Andstly, Azaroth also received the ability to control wood and raise nts.


    This ability was truly going to be very useful to Azaroth.


    It was a pity that only Azaroth was blessed by nature and not his clone. Azaroth would have to rbine with Edwin and then create him from scratch to give him all these abilities.


    However, he couldn''tbine with Edwin right now. The two were too far away. Azaroth couldbine with Edwin''s spirit at any moment, but that would mean the body would be left behind.


    Edwin would lose too much time traveling back to Mesenana City. Azaroth decided in his mind <em>''After the war then.''</em>


    Azaroth was waiting for those humans to reach their destination. The cult members under that demon named ck Hurricane.


    The spiritual imprint he infused within a few selected humans among those cult members was constantly moving.


    It would probably take them another week before reaching their destination. Thus Azaroth took his mind off it.


    He walked to the Origin Sect Branch and met up with Patrick.


    In thest couple of days, Patrick had constantly been going to fight against that Blood Mastiff.


    And just a day earlier, he had finally won against that Blood Mastiff.


    He had been rather rusty after not fighting for so many years. Fighting against the Blood Mastiff had allowed him to regain those instincts.


    Moreover, he had managed topletely awaken his Raging Heart Bloodline now. He could now control the berserk aura within his blood. This allowed him to use this bloodline to his full potential.


    When Azaroth met up with Patrick, he immediately noticed that confident aura around Patrick. He knew Patrick had seeded in awakening his Bloodline Ability.


    Upon seeing Azaroth, the first thing Patrick did was immediately kneel down to him.


    "I am at yourmand, master," He spoke with a serious expression.


    Azaroth smirked upon seeing him behave like that, "Very well. You can stand now."


    "Although you have awakened your bloodlinepletely, it''s still nothing impressive. You have wasted 10 years. For you to cover that gap and crush your opponents, just awakening that bloodline ability is far from enough." Azaroth spoke seriously.


    Patrick knew this, but he still spoke, "Perhaps my bloodline won''t help much now. But you gave me hope¡­ I can never forget this favor. If not for that mysterious array, I definitely wouldn''t have awakened my bloodline."


    "That''s a good mentality," Azaroth spoke. He took a small pause before adding, "I wanted to tell you that I can allow you to recover your 10 years'' worth of cultivation. Maybe even more."


    Patrick was very excited to hear this news. He immediately kneeled down and asked, "What do I need to do?!"


    "Endure the pain," Azaroth spoke mysteriously.


    "Endure the pain? What kind of pain?" Patrick asked with a slightly confused expression.


    "A pain so great that you will feel that your body is boiling inside," Azaroth replied with a smirk.


    He then pulled out a pill bottle from his pocket. There were three pills in it.


    "This is Blood Boiling Pill. It will increase your vitality and give you a greater chance of breaking through to the 5 Star Rank. After reaching the 5 Star Rank, just focus on making your core as dense as you can. Your ten years as a 4 Star Warriors won''t be in vain.. You have a solid foundation which won''t shake too much by the sudden increase in your power."

 Chapter 236 - Awakening Patricks Bloodline

    After ingesting the Blood Boiling Pill, Patrick immediately entered seclusion. Azaroth mentioned that he would need to endure torturous pain for three days three nights.


    Patrick believed Azaroth''s words and understood that the pain would truly be very intense. He couldn''t underestimate it.


    Yet, his excitement easily suppressed his fears. His excitement of reaching the 5 Star Rank was far beyond his fear of pain.


    He had endured torturous nights during these 10 years. He wanted to do something about it. He tried¡­ But it was all for naught.


    Any path he picked felt like a dead end. From a certain perspective, it felt like someone controlled the scenes to prevent Patrick from bing stronger.


    That was indeed true.


    Hugo Corlett, the great elder''s grandson in the Origin Sect, and currently the youngest elder of the Origin Sect. He could be considered Patrick''s love rival who had more or less seeded in getting what he wanted.


    The woman Patrick was in love with. He sessfully seduced her and toyed around with her.


    Hugo Corlett had always been jealous of how Patrick possessed a bloodline superior to his own.


    He was also very angry that he couldn''t win against Patrick inpetitions. Thus, he decided to do what he could and strike Patrick so heavily that he could never stand again.


    He thought that maybe he should transfer Patrick to the branch in Veninza City. Itcked resources, and the spiritual energy was also rather thin. However, he soon felt that he was underestimating that guy a bit too much.


    Even though the branch in Veninza City didn''t have many resources or dense spirit energy, Patrick could still reach the 5 Star Rank soon.


    To prevent this, he needed to focus on Patrick''s mind and attack it so hard that he would never be able to break through.


    Fortunately, he knew how he should get that.


    He knew Patrick was in love with a woman. Well, he did fancy the woman as well since she was rather pretty.


    She was an inner sect disciple of the Origin Sect. Her name was Cara. Hugo Corlett knew that he could use her to break Patrick mentally.


    He used his grandfather''s influence to transfer him to this branch in Veninza City.


    Cara was still an inner disciple of the Origin Sect. Even though she liked Patrick, she couldn''t leave behind the main branch for the branch in Veninza City. The main branch was much more superior to the other branches.


    During this time, Hugo Corlett just had to prevent Patrick from contacting Cara. The first thing he did was have someone smash Cara''s Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    This would prevent Patrick from contacting Cara. And even if Cara got a new Voice Transmission Array Stone, she wouldn''t be able to contact him unless they could contact each other.


    Thus, Hugo Corlett prevented any of their letters from reaching each other.


    Most of Patrick''srades back in the main branch had already been bought by Hugo Corlett.


    Thus, Hugo Corlett seeded in separating him from Cara.


    After that, Hugo Corlett created various instances so that he could interact with this woman. He helped her on each asion unconditionally.


    As an example, he saved her father from bandits. Well, the bandits he hired, that is.


    Her father had suffered great injuries at the bandits'' hands and was grateful to Hugo Corlett for saving him. When he found out Hugo Corlett was the son of the Great Elder of the Origin Sect, he was even more thankful and excited.


    When Cara found out her father had been attacked by bandits, she immediately rushed to his position. Her father told her a rather exaggerated story of how Hugo Corlett saved him.


    Cara believed most of what her father spoke and was very grateful to Hugo. She even went to thank him and invite him to a meal.


    This was merely one event.


    Hugo Corlett had a lot of time to arrange such events to interact with Cara.


    Their rtionship began to progress smoothly. It reached the point that Cara began to hang out with him naturally. She stopped talking about Patrick or even missing him altogether.


    Hugo Corlett knew that Cara''s feelings for Patrick were reducing. However, she wouldn''t ept him unless something drastic urred.


    In the next couple of days, he gave Cara''s close female friends some resources and informed them of their tasks.


    Those friends then informed Cara about Patrick and how he was doing in Veninza City.


    They told Cara how they had family in that city, and they mentioned that there were rumors that something was going on between Patrick and ady from a rich merchant family.


    Cara remained calm. However, she didn''t know why but she felt relief as she heard this information.


    She had her own guesses about Patrick. Patrick had never written to her since he went to Veninza City. Deep in her mind, she felt that he was cheating on her.


    Even though she had written to him multiple times to inform him of her new Voice Transmission Array Stone''s Code, he still never contacted her.


    Her friend''s words confirmed those guesses. She was so sure of her guesses that she never even tried to confirm those words.


    This was rather convenient for Hugo Corlett. Hugo Corlett knew that he should strike her while the iron was hot.


    The two met up and had some drinks together. Cara told Hugo Corlett what she thought about Patrick and how she felt when she heard he was cheating on her.


    Hugo had already slipped a weak aphrodisiac in her drink. It couldn''t be too strong since she would be suspicious of him then.


    The drug was used in just the right amount, so she would feel horny.


    The drug worked like a charm, and Hugo Corlett led Cara to an empty room where they both fucked each other like rabbits.


    After that moment, Hugo knew Cara was in the palm of his hands. However, he still decided to be careful, so he spent nearly 3 whole months to deeper his feelings with Cara.


    The tale of capturing Cara could be considered to have ended.


    But since the tale had ended, the conclusion had to be shown to her former partner.


    Thus, Hugo Corlett took Cara to Veninza City and met with Patrick.


    When Patrick saw Caratched onto Hugo Corlett''s arm, he received a great shock. He didn''t raise his voice and ask her what happened.


    He could imagine that this man took advantage of this transfer to capture Cara''s heart.


    It was at that moment his heart shattered.


    When Hugo Corlett saw his distressed look, he knew he had seeded. The man he hated so much finally had that defeated expression on his face.


    Moreover, Hugo Corlett knew that this man couldn''t get over this event at all. He could be considered finished.


    ~~


    However, it had been nearly 10 years since that incident.


    Patrick vividly remembered that event that had crushed him. Today, he was enduring great pain as he swore to himself ''Revenge! I will crush him just like he crushed me!''


    As for Cara¡­ He didn''t have any thoughts about her.


    He was over her at this point. In these 10 years, he had just felt that it wouldn''t yield any results no matter what he did.


    However, Azaroth had changed things for him. He allowed him to see the light of hope again by awakening his bloodlinepletely!


    And this pill which was boiling his blood¡­ It felt as though it was activating all thetent power in his body.


    After 3 days and 3 nights of enduring that torture, Patrick left his room to take a bath.


    However, this time, there was a determined expression as well as a bright radiance on his average-looking face.


    ~~


    A/N: Check out my insta: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 237 - Attacking The Fort

    Azaroth had already given a general outline of what Patrick was supposed to do. For now, this was going to be more than enough.


    He was more focused on observing the training of these origin sect disciples. He wasn''t personally interacting with them since he wanted Noah and Laura to continue building their prestige.


    It was going to be especially important for Noah to build his prestige among these proud disciples. After all, a monthter was <strong>The</strong><strong>Heavenly Dragon Battlefield Tournament</strong>, and Azaroth wanted Noah to take part in that tournament.


    This was going to be a pretty important tournament presided by the Prime Minister of this Kingdom.


    Unlike normal tournaments, each participant was toe along with 30 subordinates. They would be judged collectively and individually.


    These participants would face each other. They would receive ranks depending on how they fared in the tournament.


    The top 3 participants would be assigned important cultivation resources and an official position in the Glerian Kingdom''s Army.


    ''The position in the Glerian Kingdom''s Army would be useful. If Noah can grab hold of it, it would make it easier for me to control the Glerian Kingdom''s movements during their war against the Sinyalian Kingdom.''


    Azaroth looked at Laura, who was rather motivated to fight against the demons these days. It had been the case since their rtionship became intimate.


    At the least, it wasn''t a mistake to have a physical rtionship with her. The benefits had far outweighed the demerits.


    Before Azaroth even realized it, another week passed.


    During this week, Azaroth focused on his personal cultivation. He also created many pills for himself and his retainers.


    He distributed them using the special function of his Mystical Spiritual Connecting Rings. The ability to pass resources ignoring the spatial distance between them.


    The pills he had created were known as Apex Blood Pills.


    They were useful for the warriors under the 4 Star Rank. They allowed a warrior to activate the hidden potential in their bodies. And even perfectly awaken their bloodline.


    The only one who didn''t use it was Tiana. She and her subordinate had their physiques enhanced by the Seven Star Yin Pills.


    There was noparison between the Seven Star Yin Pills and the Apex Blood Pills.


    The Apex Blood Pills were much easier to make than the Seven Star Yin Pills, and Azaroth could concoct them inrge quantities.


    This one week was rather well spent, and Azaroth was satisfied.


    Just as he was going to check the training of these disciples, Azaroth paused in his tracks as a frown appeared on his face.


    <em>''My Spiritual Imprints vanished?!''</em>


    All the spiritual imprints from those humans had vanished at the same time.


    Soon, Azaroth regained his calm as he thought ''It appears that this ck Hurricane''s Spiritual Prowess isn''t something to be underestimated. That''s also fine. I know the location where they were purged. I can check out that ce.''


    Azaroth looked at the sky and then blew a high-pitched whistle.


    His entire surroundings remained silent for nearly 10 seconds. After that, he suddenly heard a loud screech as well.


    Azaroth noticed it was Zena who was rushing towards him at top speed.


    These past few months, Zena had been going in the nearby forests of Veninza City. These forests were under the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    She was killing humans and also taking control of the low-ranked beasts in that location. Naturally, Azaroth had ordered Zena to fly away as soon as she felt she couldn''t win.


    Azaroth naturally wasn''t nning to let the beasts slip from his fingers. They were going to be good to surprise the enemy¡­


    Moreover, unlike the humans, it was a much easier task to get these beasts'' loyalty.


    The bloodline suppression if the beasts were at the same rank. If the beasts were at different ranks, then the stronger one would have a greater say.


    Currently, Zena was merely a 3 Star Beast. Thus, she was only flying around, taking charge of the 2 Star or 3 Star Beasts.


    Now that Azaroth had called out for her, Zena had immediately responded and rushed towards his position.


    She was in her original appearance so that she could carry Azaroth.


    Azaroth suddenly jumped over Zena and ced his feet over her body.


    "I will send you the point. Just move towards that direction at your quickest pace." Azarothmanded Zena.


    Zena nodded at those words, and soon the location appeared in her mind.


    She twisted her massive body in that direction and took flight like an arrow from a bowstring.


    Azaroth''s flying speed couldn''t bepared to Zena''s flying speed.


    He had to reach the spot where his Spiritual Imprint was purged as soon as possible. The longer it took, the greater the chance that the ck Hurricane would be able to cover his tracks, preventing Azaroth from finding him.


    At Zena''s top speed, Azaroth only required 3 days to reach the spot where his Spiritual Imprint had been purged.


    Before they reached the point, Azaroth was quite shocked as he saw many auras present at the scene when he checked using his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    These warriors'' presence wasn''t what shocked him. It was the fact that he couldn''t sense their presence using his Spiritual Senses.


    <em>''They have also eaten those pills!''</em> Azaroth soon understood the entire situation <em>''Instead of running away, the guy had been waiting for me to arrive. He probably nned to wait for an entire week and surprise me.''</em>


    "Zena. Wait here. Stay ready for my signal." Azaroth ordered Zena.


    He received a confirmation signal from Zena before Azaroth suddenly jumped off Zena''s back as he flew towards the location.


    The location seemed to be an abandoned ruin of a broken castle.


    Now that Azaroth stared at the entire castle using his Mystic Eyes of Perception, he saw many warriors in this location.


    They were cult members of this demon. Even after using the Spiritual Senses, this abandoned castle would appear to bepletely empty.


    An individual wouldn''t realize he was heading into a trap until he was in one.


    <em>''Ten 5 Star Warriors. The rest are 4 Star Warriors, huh? I wonder if that ck Hurricane is among them as well.''</em>


    A thin smile appeared on Azaroth''s face. He would rarely get the chance to use his true powers to fight against someone.


    After getting the memories of his clone, his hands were itching for a fight as well.


    Purple mes immediately shot out of Azaroth''s palms as they headed towards the abandoned fort ahead of his eyes.


    His Hell mes had established a perimeter around the entire Fort in a matter of seconds. There was a hint of disdain in Azaroth''s eyes as he whispered, "<strong>Hell re!</strong>"


    Suddenly, his Hell mes shot out and covered the entire area in that perimeter.


    The warriors in the castle didn''t realize what had urred before their bodies came in contact with those terrifying Hell mes.


    No matter which direction they went, they couldn''t get away from Azaroth''s Hell mes.


    Some of them even began to shout loudly, "Save us, Lord ck Hurricane!"


    Azaroth kept his eyes focused on a specific spot as he noticed his Hell mes hadn''t managed to cover that area.


    It wasn''t so much that they hadn''t covered the region, but rather that they couldn''t.


    <em>''Creating a vacuum around him to prevent my Hell mes from reaching him? That''s a clever idea.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''But¡­''</em>


    <em> </em>


    The vacuum around that individual immediately began to copse. The Hell mes were destroying the Ardor infused in the wind around that individual.


    Once that individual realized that his vacuum barrier won''t hold any longer, he immediately shot out of the fort!


    He was in a disheveled appearance.. He looked absolutely shocked as he stared at the man ahead of him.

 Chapter 238 - Battle Against Black Hurricane

    "What are you?" The man ahead of Azaroth asked with a shocked voice.


    Azaroth''s appearance was of a human. However, the man could feel a terrifying presence from him.


    Moreover, he recognized those Hell mes used by Azaroth. Those were Demonic Spiritual mes!


    A human couldn''t possibly possess such terrifying demonic mes!


    "Me? What about you?" Azaroth asked with a smirk, "Your appearance suggests you are a human. Your clothes give away your identity as a Royal Prince. Are you the fourth prince of the Glerian Kingdom? Or should I call you Demon King ck Hurricane?"


    The man''s eyes widened even more as he heard that statement.


    Azaroth then suddenly added, "You should stop with those cheap tricks like trying to attack me with those hidden wind des."


    "¡­So you detected them. And here I thought I acted good enough for you to fall for them," The man titled ck Hurricane spoke with a surprisingly calm voice.


    "You are aware of my identity as the fourth prince of this Kingdom. I am curious why you still dared to show me your face and that you aren''t running away right now. Your assassination attempt has failed! You won''t get such a chance. Currently, the strongest warriors from the nearby city are gathering their forces before darting to this ce," The ck Hurricane spoke calmly.


    Azaroth remained calm as he gazed at the ck Hurricane''s face.


    ''I still can''t see his emotions using Mystic Eyes of Perception. That mysterious energy seems to be guarding him as well. This confirms my doubt. The mysterious energy is an ability of all the Royal Bloodlines of these humans.''


    Azaroth responded, "Those warriors aren''t my match. I had been expecting those reinforcements when I acted against you. After all, you are currently a Royal Family Member."


    ck Hurricane''s pupils narrowed at that statement, and he spoke, "I see¡­ You are one of those fools who wish to continue the pointless fight against fate."


    <em>''What did he just say? Fight against fate?''</em>


    Azaroth spoke with a calm tone, "I can''t be sure unless I try it."


    "Even though you could perfectly survive that attack, those reinforcements are still about to arrive. I wonder what would ur if I attack you with the intent to kill again. Would a 6 Star Warriore to protect you?" Azaroth asked with a slight grin.


    Hell mes was released from his palm, and he shot them towards ck Hurricane.


    The ck Hurricane was prepared for such an attack as an array formed underneath his feet. It was a vacuum barrier,bined with an array that provided it more stability and prevented the Hell mes from making the vacuum barrier copse again.


    "Showing my face to you? So what if you know of it?" Azaroth asked with a matter-of-fact tone.


    That tone and expression on Azaroth''s face made ck Hurricane think with a frown <em>''Does he not fear that I would have someone make his portrait and order the kingdom to search for him? Does that mean he hides in a ce the Glerian Kingdom cannot find him? What is this guy? Is he a human or a demon?''</em>


    Azaroth didn''t require the Mystic Eyes of Perception to understand what ck Hurricane was thinking.


    <em>''This guy is confused¡­ Should I really try to kill him?''</em> Azaroth thought in his heart.


    <em>''I should test more of the Royal Bloodline''s abilities. If he really dies, well, the Royal Bloodline isn''t as impressive as I was expecting. If he does survive, his presence could be useful in the future.''</em>


    Soon, Azaroth disappeared from his spot. He had charged towards ck Hurricane.


    A demonic sword had appeared in his hands. It was one of the strongest swords he could utilize at his current level.


    "<strong>Heaven Rending sh!</strong>" Azaroth used the sword skill he had taught Noah.


    Unlike Noah''s sh filled with Sword Intent, Azaroth''s Heaven Rending sh was filled with pure power and bloodlust.


    When this Sword Skill shed against the Vacuum Barrier and the array supporting it, it failed to resist for even a second before copsing.


    ck Hurricane had already moved back from the spot to dodge Azaroth''s Heaven Rending sh!


    Azaroth didn''t n to let him off and chased after him.


    Just when he was about to sh him again, ck Hurricane seemed to have prepared for a countermeasure as he suddenly disappeared and another human reappeared at that spot.


    <em>''The substitution array! He seems to have created them on his subordinates to substitute his position with them and run away. What a good trick.''</em>


    Azaroth was already in motion and couldn''t stop right now. He shed that human and then looked around with his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    He soon found ck Hurricane, but he was rather far away. Azaroth called out for Zena to chase after this man.


    The experiment wasn''t over yet!


    The ck Hurricane had used substitution to save his life, but this technique had a particr range in which it was effective


    Moreover, the ck Hurricane couldn''t use this array again. This was a limitation of this kind of array. Only a single array could be drawn on the body.


    Zena soon appeared, and Azaroth stood over herrge body and ordered her to chase after ck Hurricane.


    Zena shot off towards the ck Hurricane as she used her top speed. Her entire body was crackling with red lightning as she moved forwards!


    Azaroth ignored the human warriors he saw and focused on the ck Hurricane.


    "Alright. This is as far as you go," Azaroth whispered as he pointed his finger at ck Hurricane.


    Suddenly, the dark web shot out of his wrist and stuck with the ck Hurricane''s leg.


    The ck Hurricane felt the dark web stick to his leg. He immediately looked back.


    ''<strong><em>Shit!</em></strong>'' This was the first word he thought when he saw Azaroth holding a dark web string that was stuck to his leg.


    Azaroth gave him a disdainful smirk as he pulled that web string.


    The ck Hurricane felt that he could no longer fly forwards. In fact, he was flying in Azaroth''s direction.


    Hell mes covered Azaroth''s fists as he waited for ck Hurricane''s body to arrive.


    The ck Hurricane had naturally utilized his strongest defensive body skill he knew as he braced himself for impact.


    Azaroth sensed multiple attacks approaching him from other human warriors around them.


    <em>''No¡­This is not the activation of that mysterious ability. Otherwise, thispse of timing wouldn''t have urred. This guy is still not in life-threatening danger yet.''</em>


    Azaroth punched ck Hurricane''s stomach, and it easily pierced his guts.


    "<strong>Dark Tornado!</strong>" Just as Azaroth had punched ck Hurricane''s guts, ck Hurricane used this technique and created a dark tornado around them!


    Azaroth sensed many wind des in this Dark Tornado that were trying to harm him. He created a hell mes barrier around his body while thinking ''<em>No need to reveal my wind or lightning element yet.''</em>


    The ck Hurricane immediately cut off his lower body so that his upper body could escape Azaroth''s grasps. He then left the Dark Tornado while gazing in Azaroth''s direction with a sneering look.


    He spoke, "This is the price you pay for your arrogance."


    Soon, he whispered slowly, "<strong>Forbidden Regeneration Skill!</strong>"


    Suddenly, the ck Hurricane''s upper body was shining with white light. His vitality reduced significantly while his lower body began to regenerate.


    It was a swift regeneration. As expected of a forbidden technique.


    Meanwhile, the dark wind tornado that he utilized against Azaroth had turned converted into pure purple mes.


    That Hell me Tornado was heading away from Azaroth and ck Hurricane''s position.


    ~~


    A/N: Check out my insta page: Reveriecreations04

 Chapter 239 - Black Hurricanes Trump Card

    The Hell me Tornado was dealing with all the warriors around Azaroth and ck Hurricane.


    The humans couldn''t deal with an attack on such a level that was sucking them in and burning them to a crisp.


    Many warriors didn''t even dare to join this fight any longer as they fled in different directions.


    Azaroth thought ''<em>They should have atleast tried to put up a fight. I should wait until they are far away that they can''t rescue ck Hurricane.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    "You are rather weak for a reincarnated Demon King. I was expecting you to put up more of a fight," Azarothmented with a sneer.


    The ck Hurricane was panting heavily as he had just regenerated his body at the cost of his vitality.


    "You merely caught me off-guard. If you give me time, I can put up more of a fight against you," ck Hurricane spoke seriously.


    <em>''He is also waiting for something</em>,'' Azaroth concluded as he immediately charged towards the ck Hurricane.


    However, ck Hurricane suddenly flew down. His entire body turned reddish in color as his flying speed increased.


    Azaroth noticed the direction in which ck Hurricane was heading. There were three 5 Star Warriors in that direction.


    "Stop! Stop this man! He is trying to kill me, a Royal Prince!" ck Hurricane shouted with all his might.


    Azaroth noticed how the three 5 Star Warriors paused for a moment.


    Suddenly, three energy beams were released from ck Hurricane''s body as they struck those three 5 Star Warriors.


    Before they could even realize what was urring, their body began to shrivel.


    Azaroth noticed this phenomenon and frowned ''<em>Recovering his vitality through them. That''s a pure demonic technique. There are traces of demonic ardor in his spirit now.</em>''


    There was another strange thing Azaroth noticed. His Mystic Eyes of Perception could suddenly see through ck Hurricane''s emotions.


    <em>''What is going on? Is it because of the traces of demonic ardor in his spirit? Does that disable the protection ability provided by that mysterious ability? This is rather strange.''</em>


    Azaroth frowned at this mysterious ability. However, he put it in the back of his mind as he focused on ck Hurricane and used his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    ''<em>Calm? Why is this guy calmer now? He should have realized the difference between us by now.</em>''


    Azaroth decided to find out. He darted forwards while conjuring up a dark sphere in his hands.


    "Finally, it has activated," ck Hurricane whispered as his muscles suddenly expanded.


    They were twice the size of before, and he faced Azaroth without any fear in his eyes.


    The size of his muscles wasn''t the only thing that changed. His Ardor received a significant boost.


    ''<em>This time, it''s the bloodline activating that gives him strength</em>.''


    Azaroth calmly analyzed ck Hurricane, and the two shed against each other soon enough.


    ck Hurricane was using a dense wind sphere to counter Azaroth''s Dark Sphere.


    A great shockwave urred that threw the two in opposite directions.


    ''<em>He has the same strength as me right now.</em>'' Azaroth thought with a serious expression.


    ''<em>The Bloodline in his body gives him a different sort of power than the one Bernado possessed. Bernado''s bloodline was to increase his Ardor''s strength by 5 times. Meanwhile, the ability this guy ck Hurricane possesses is to gradually increase his power over time.</em>''


    ''<em>What is his upper limit, though?</em>'' Azaroth wondered.


    "Time to bring this fight up by a notch!" Azaroth softly spoke as he used more of his Ardor.


    Soon, the two warriors disappeared from their positions.


    Their speed was so quick that an untrained eye wouldn''t be able to follow their movements at all.


    Consecutive shockwaves urred in the air, and these shockwaves soon began to affect the ground as well.


    The ground was cracking due to those strong shockwaves.


    Azaroth was naturally dominating this fight as he fought against ck Hurricane in pure hand-to-handbat.


    Azaroth''s closebat skill was greatly superior to ck Hurricane. Each attack targeted ck Hurricane''s vital organ.


    ck Hurricane recovered his injuries by burning a massive amount of his vitality.


    It allowed him to put up a fight against Azaroth for some moments.


    Suddenly, his muscles expanded again, and his Ardor became even stronger.


    Azaroth was slightly surprised as he noticed that ck Hurricane''s energy was at the 6 times of an average warrior.


    ''<em>He is equal to my normal form''s true power? Now, this is surprising¡­.</em>''


    Azaroth had to quickly increase his Ardor''s output. If he kept on holding back, he would probably lose against ck Hurricane.


    ck Hurricane wasing towards Azaroth, pure Ardor radiating from his fist as he targeted Azaroth''s face.


    Azaroth raised his hand and grabbed that punch at thest possible moment. He then kneed ck Hurricane''s guts and sent him flying with a kick.


    ck Hurricane crashed against the ground.


    He was utterly shocked as he thought ''<em>What is this man? How is he so strong?! My body is at its limit with this power, but that guy is still not even breaking a sweat. Moreover, he seems to be well used to fighting in closebat. He even feels more experienced than me. But how?!</em>''


    Those questions were swirling in ck Hurricane''s mind. He opened his eyes and stared at Azaroth''s body.


    There was a hint of fear in his eyes as he saw rings of those Hell mes!


    ''<em>This guy is toying with me! He isn''t even trying to kill me, or else the Fate Energy would have already activated to protect me.</em>''


    ''<em>Do I need to use my final trump card?</em>'' A serious expression appeared on ck Hurricane''s face.


    Azaroth noticed that ck Hurricane''s emotions had suddenly calmed down. He was about tounch these rings of mes to break him. Torture him until he would answer all of his questions.


    However, the situation appeared to be slightly different now.


    ck Hurricane suddenly created a de of pure energy and then stabbed himself with it.


    Azaroth knew what ck Hurricane was doing and frowned ''<em>Summoning a demon? Who is he sacrificing his blood to?</em>''


    A crimson-colored pentagon array formed beneath ck Hurricane''s feet. It was shining with a blinding light that it was impossible to look at it directly.


    Azaroth could actually interrupt this summoning array by using his Holy Ardor. But revealing his Holy Ardor wouldn''t be a good idea in his mind.


    Moreover, he was slightly startled to sense the aura of a Demon King. The aura of this Demon King was very simr to that of ck Hurricane''s personal aura.


    Azaroth immediately understood what was going on.


    ''<em>This guy tricked his subordinates into thinking he gave up on his previous body and cultivation by taking over the body of the 4th prince.</em>''


    ''<em>After using a bit of his spirit to take over the 4th Prince''s body here in the Glerian Kingdom, this Demon King''s body entered seclusion. He must have still suffered some decrease in his cultivation base, but he has more or less regained it during his seclusion. And this is his true trump card. He can summon his original body to fight against an enemy he can''t defeat.</em>''


    A smirk appeared on Azaroth''s body as the Demon God''s blood in him became excited.


    ''<em>This just became a lot more interesting.</em>''


    ~~


    Check out my insta page: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 240 - Fate Energy

    The Demon King ck Hurricane''s face appeared to be simr to a Vulture. He hadrge purple wings as he slowly appeared out of the summoning circle.


    There was an emotionless expression with a hint of annoyance present on his face. He stared at his human counterpart to ask him about this situation.


    The ck Hurricane in the 4th Prince''s body immediately narrated the entire situation to his true body.


    The Demon King immediately focused on Azaroth. With a cold harumph, heunched several invisible des at Azaroth.


    Those were Spatial des, possessing the power of Spatial Element. Even a 6 Star Warrior would be cautious of this attack.


    Azaroth remained calm as he saw those Spatial des attack him. Dodging these des was impossible, so he remained at his position.


    When they entered within 50 meters area around him, the Spatial des suddenly disintegrated.


    The Demon King frowned as he couldn''t understand why his Spatial des dispersed like that. He spoke with a superior tone, "You should have run away while you had the chance."


    "<strong>Spatial Barrier!</strong>"


    Suddenly, Spatial Energy leaked out of the Demon King''s body, and it expanded up to 10 miles around him. This was a dome-like barrier that prevented warriors from entering this space.


    Even the energy fluctuations inside it couldn''t be sensed from outside this Spatial Barrier.


    In certain terms, this was another dimension. Though a dimension that existed in the main world.


    <em>''During the summoning, much of his Demonic Ardor was leaked. Many warriors have been alerted, and the humans are probably sending their own experts to this area. This guy wants to prevent the humans from figuring out his exact location and leave after dealing with me.''</em>


    "Perhaps. But if I did run away, I wouldn''t have found out about this trump card of yours. I never thought that you only used a bit of your spirit to take over the 4th Prince''s body. Even your subordinates aren''t aware of this fact," Azaroth spoke with a smirk.


    The Demon King didn''t seem scared as he responded with a snort, "So what if you know of it? You cannot leave now."


    "<strong>Demonic Waves!</strong>" The Demon King unleashed a wide-ranged demonic beam attack at Azaroth.


    "Now, that''s dangerous," Azarothmented as he saw the huge amount of Demonic Ardor in that attack.


    It was easy to deal with the Spatial Attacks since Azaroth had created a Spatial Shield ahead of him that dispersed those Spatial des.


    The Demonic Waves wouldn''t be so easily dispelled.


    "<strong>Tyrannical Asura Devil God Bloodline Activate, Suppression</strong>," Azaroth whispered as pure killing intent was released from his body.


    Azaroth knew he couldn''t fight against a 6 Star Warrior. He would lose without a doubt. However, that was the case if the opponent wasn''t a demon. If the opponent was a demon, his Demon God Bloodline could greatly suppress his opponent''s power.


    An oppressive demonic aura was released from Azaroth''s body that overwhelmed the Demonic Ardor in his surroundings.


    The Demonic Ardor was so greatly overwhelmed that the Demon King who had just appeared felt like thews around him had changed. Thews had somehow gotten weaker.


    Azaroth released Hell mes at the iing Demonic Waves attack and burned it. Since it was a Demonic Attack, his Bloodline had suppressed it to the point that it wouldn''t affect him.


    Both forms of ck Hurricane continued to stare at Azaroth with shock visible in their eyes.


    The Demon King form felt as if the suppression over his body was gradually increasing. Suddenly, the strength in his knees copsed as he kneeled in front of Azaroth.


    The same thing urred to the human form of the ck Hurricane. However, he could still try to resist the Bloodline Pressure from Azaroth since he was currently a pure human, unlike his true form.


    "I have a couple of questions for you. Why did you take over the 4th Prince''s Body here? What is your n in this kingdom?" Azaroth asked with a serious look.


    The Demon King responded with a question of his own, "¡­Who are you? I fail to recognize your noble existence. The bloodline you possess must be highly regarded in Purgatory!"


    The Demon King merely wanted to figure out Azaroth''s identity through his bloodline.


    "It''s nothing worth mentioning. Just remember that it belongs to a being far stronger than you," Azaroth responded.


    <em>''E-Even a Demon Emperor''s Bloodline can''t overpower me to such extent. That means¡­ This is the Bloodline of a Demon G-God?!''</em>


    When that realization dawned upon the Demon King, he immediately showed a respectful look.


    Since this opponent possessed the Bloodline of a Demon God, the ck Hurricane''s true body had no chance of resisting.


    "Now¡­ Answer my question!" Azaroth stated with his voice releasing killing intent.


    "¡­I took over the body of this human because he possesses a Royal Bloodline of these humans," The Demon King began to talk.


    "A Royal Bloodline is useful for you? How so? From what I saw, it doesn''t appear to be anything too exceptional." Azaroth spoke.


    "The Bloodline itself is naturally nothing impressive. However, a Royal Bloodline of these humans possesses Fate Energy that protects them from life-threatening situations. They also possess the power to steal energy from nature andbine it with their Ardor," The Demon King gave his primary reason for taking over the fourth prince''s body.


    "I see¡­" Azaroth whispered while deeply thinking about what he had just heard.


    <em>''Fate Energy? That''s the first time I heard of this kind of energy. Even this thing exists, huh¡­ Moreover, this Fate Energy appears to be much more impressive than even my powers as a Demon God, or else I could have seen through it using my Mystic Eyes of Perception.''</em>


    "What is your ultimate goal?" Azaroth asked the Demon King with amanding tone.


    "¡­My goal has been to take over the throne of this Glerian Kingdom. I would be able to receive a massive boost in my fate energy. Moreover, after bing the king, I would receive the Fate Dragon of this Kingdom as well. Afterbining with it, I can surely reach the Demon Emperor Rank. This was what I had been nning."


    The Demon King revealed his true n.


    <em>''A Fate Dragon? What sort of existence is that? I can''t ask much about Fate Energy from this Demon King, or else he will figure out that I don''t know anything about it. He might burn his life-essence and try to attack me. The Bloodline Pressure won''t be able to deal with such an attack.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    A Bloodline Pressure would weaken an opponent''s strength by oppressing his energy. However, a full-powered attack from a Demon King was bound to be stronger than what his Bloodline Ability could handle. Even after being suppressed, the attack would possess enough power to kill him.


    <em>''I need to make him believe that the entire situation had been under my control.''</em>


    Azaroth then smirked and responded to the Demon King, "Very well, you can continue to act how you want. It seems that you won''t get in my way. That is a good thing for you."


    "You can return now. I am sure you can''t stay here for long, or else the 6 Star Warriors of the Glerian Kingdom will appear and attack you."


    The Demon King was thankful that Azaroth didn''t intend to kill him. In reality, Azaroth saw no benefit in ying this Demon King.


    Now that Azaroth knew about this Demon King''s motive, he knew that this guy would sooner orter be at goods with other members of Royalty or even the King himself.


    <em>''I need a detailed n to control the situation.''</em>


    Currently, Azaroth was flying in Zena''s direction.


    The Demon King was talking to his human counterpart, "Never ever provoke this guy. But still, create a countermeasure for him as well. Use those ''brothers'' of yours. Only thebined fate energy can protect you from this guy."


    "I was nning the same. You should clear the Demonic Energy from my spirit now," ck Hurricane told his Demon King counterpart.


    Just a secondter, the Demon King''s spiritual aura swept over his human counterpart and then absorbed all the demonic residual particles.


    Once all traces of the demonic particles vanished from his human counterpart''s spirit, the Demon King immediately entered the Spatial Array through which he had arrived.


    The Demon King gave him onest instruction just as he was about to disappear, "Don''t call out for me for the next 3 months."


    "I know."


    ~~


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 Chapter 241 - The Ministers Gather

    While Azaroth had investigated ck Hurricane and found out more about the Fate Energy, Edwin watched chaos erupt within the Capital City of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The news of Bernado Valliadis''s death spread in just an hour after his body was found.


    The King had been sleeping since it was nighttime. His personal maid came to know on his chambers.


    As he was rather drowsy due to being woken up in such a manner, the King yelled out, "Who dares to disturb my sleep?!"


    The maid backed away as she heard the King''s furious voice. However, the information she had received was far too precious. If she dyed any longer, the King might be even more furious at her.


    "¡­Your Majesty, it''s your maid Ayah. I bring you urgent news," The maid named Ayah spoke with a grave tone.


    A few secondster, the King responded, "For your sake, I do hope this is truly very urgent information or else¡­."


    The King left the threat hanging. It told Ayah of the unthinkable methods with which the King could punish her for disturbing his sleep.


    However, the information was truly urgent. Ayah was sure that when the King heard her, he wouldn''t me her.


    After a couple of minutes, the King allowed Ayah to enter his chambers.


    Within his personal chambers, the King was seated on arge bed. It was evenrger than a king-sized bed. The bed had many beautiful designs, and its frame was made of pure gold-like metal. This metal was rather useful for enhancing the life force and would calm the spirit of the individuals sleeping on this bed.


    The maid noticed a fair-skinneddyying beside the King. She was covering her body with the bedsheet.


    This was one of the Queens from the King''s Harem.


    Ayah immediately understood that the two were indulging in sexual activities before they turned in for the night.


    It was because of her that the two were awake now.


    The King Valliadis ordered, "Speak now!"


    The maid spoke while trembling with fear, "Your Majesty¡­ It''s¡­It''s the Third Prince. His dead body has been found in his private mansion. There were signs that a massive battle urred there."


    "What did you say?!" The King Valliadis spoke out with a powerful voice.


    His voice was unconsciously imbued with intense Ardor. Ayah immediately crashed against the wall.


    Fortunately, she had prepared a defensive technique beforehand, or else this crash would have broken a couple of her bones.


    "¡­This is the truth, Your Majesty. A few guards patrolling that area sensed a huge battle urring, and when they approached it, they saw that most of Third Prince''s Mansion had been destroyed. They also found Third Prince''s corpse in that mansion." Ayah forcefully squeezed those words out.


    The King remained bbergasted at that information. Even his queenying by his side could hardly believe it.


    "There is someone who dares to make a move against my son! What of the assants? Have they been caught?" The King asked the maid.


    Ayah replied a momentter, "¡­The guards are still searching for them."


    The pupils in the King''s eyes narrowed at that statement. He immediately stood up and wore a robe to cover his upper body as he stormed off the room.


    Suddenly, Ayah stood on the ground as she felt the oppressive aura around her disappear.


    Meanwhile, the Queen looked at Ayah and ordered her, "Close the door and dress me up."


    "As youmand, your highness," Ayah replied while moving forward to close the door of the room.


    Meanwhile, the King was summoning his servants, guards, and ministers.


    The courtroom was soon filled with his ministers. The Ministers had been informed of Bernado''s death, and they were absolutely shocked, just like the king.


    For a few minutes, there was a deathly silence in the entire court.


    The King then shouted out, "¡­Speak! What happened?! Why have I suddenly received the news that Bernado is dead?!"


    All the ministers visibly flinched at those words. Most of them remained in the dark about this situation.


    They looked at each other, trying to figure out the perpetrator of this entire scenario.


    These ministers were all from different Noble Families and had joined different princes'' factions. Each one doubted their opponents.


    No one could be trusted right now.


    There was an elder minister who felt this was a great opportunity for him to speak. He stood up while gazing at the King with a respectful expression.


    "Your Majesty, there is a great chance that it was someone from the faction opposing the Third Prince who arranged this." This was the great elder speaking about the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Dozens of elders found this statement rather offensive. They were well known to support the second prince, fourth prince, or fifth prince.


    The great elder was supporting the first prince, who was also the crown prince at the moment.


    To say that this was something prepared by the opponents meant he was pointing fingers at them, which could be considered rude.


    Naturally, they all had a clear conscience about this since they really didn''t arrange for Bernado to be killed.


    However, they still had to be suspicious of each others'' factions. Thus, a rather tense court meeting had been formed.


    Each one gave their own alibis and reasons why they couldn''t have killed the third prince, Bernado.


    The King heard their alibis, but he still couldn''t help but be suspicious of a few ministers. One of them was this great elder who had spoken earlier and pointed fingers at the other ministers.


    Even without his orders, the Crown Prince''s faction must have taken action against Bernado.


    There were many other people the king was doubtful of, but he remained quiet in the court.


    Naturally, no one dared doubted Bianca and her family residents. It could be said that the king trusted Spencer more than them.


    If someone dared to point fingers at Spencer''s family, they had to be prepared for the consequences.


    On more than one asion, Spencer had proven himself to be absolutely loyal to the Royal Family.


    Thus, the King was more likely to believe Spencer''s side of the story than any other minister. And rightly so.


    Currently, Edwin had this card under his direct control through Sophie and Bianca.


    Spencer hadn''t returned to the capital yet, but Edwin knew that things would only get smoother from that point.


    The King had also activated all of his sources to find out Bernado''s murderers.


    However, even after a week of investigation, he found nothing regarding Bernado''s murderers.


    He was getting rather anxious about this entire situation. The information was spreading about how Bernado had been killed.


    Since even a Royal Family Member wasn''t safe, the citizens'' trust in the Royal Family decreased greatly.


    Many of them were hiring private guards. Hiring private guards couldn''t be considered safe by any means.


    This showed that the people didn''t trust the security provided by the Royal Family.


    And a weekter, Azaroth shared his memories with Edwin. Thus, Edwin found out about Fate Energy as well.


    ~~


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 Chapter 242 - Preparing A Sacrifice

    "This fate energy is the reason I had so much trouble in killing Bernado. Someone woulde to save him at thest possible second. Because it''s fated for them to not die by my hands?" Edwin wondered with a frown.


    While cing his finger under his chin, Edwin further whispered, "The Heaven itself is going to try to save them?"


    "Now, this is exhrating." A thin smile appeared on his face.


    "ording to what ck Hurricane mentioned, the fate energy of the King was much greater than that of a Prince. The protection the fate provides the King must also be much greater."


    "What happens when a Royal Prince tries to kill another Royal Heir? Would the Fate Energy activate against them? Or would it sh out, and the one with the greater Fate Energy would be victorious?" Edwin wondered out loud.


    There were too many things to be considered after this information.


    Bianca suddenly sent a spiritual message to Edwin <em>''My husband contacted me some seconds ago. He mentioned that he would be returning within this week.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''I see¡­If I remember correctly, your husband was sent to protect the Crown Prince on the battlefield. Does that mean the Crown Prince is returning as well?''</em> Edwin asked.


    <em>''Yes, master,''</em> Bianca replied a secondter.


    In the Royal Pce, the King had summoned three Inquisitors.


    They were Inquisitor Frog, Inquisitor Rat, and Inquisitor Cat, respectively.


    "What did you find about the assants? Tell me who attacked my son!" The King asked with a cold and domineering voice.


    The Inquisitor Frog replied a bitter, "¡­Your Majesty, the clues on the scene indicate a fight urred between 4-5 people. Moreover, one of the assants is a demi-beast. The second one is a me Elementalist. And the third one remains unknown."


    "There were also marks on the ground in the form of a straight line. This suggests the use of a rather strong me technique. I believe that the me Elementalist is a peak 5 Star Warrior. Moreover, the energy fluctuations that remain behind give me a feeling that his energy is much stronger than normal," The Inquisitor Rat added.


    "What do you mean?" The King''s expression turned colder. He had a good reason to believe that this was done by a Royal Family Member.


    Inquisitor Cat stepped forward and spoke, "Please allow us to investigate the Royal Family and find out where they were during the time of this event."


    The King remained silent for a couple of seconds as he thought about the situation.


    ''<em>I can''t find a w in this logic. Only a Royal Family Member can resist the fate of another Royal Heir to some extent.</em>'' The King thought seriously.


    ''The sensors near the area sensed huge outbursts of energy from that position. It was filled with Demonic Ardor and Celestial Ardor. Did one of my children join hands with demons or celestials to kill hispetitors?''


    ''<em>Who could it be?</em>'' Now the King was truly suspecting it was someone within the Royal Family who did this.


    He stared at the three Inquisitors kneeling down before him and spoke, "I give you my authorization to investigate my heirs and their faction. Do so discreetly. Don''t use your powers as Inquisitors. Understood?"


    The Inquisitors understood that although the King suspected it was someone from the Royal Family, he didn''t want to make this information known in the court.


    The courtroom was already rather tense, and it would get even more so after the ministers find out that the King was suspicious of them.


    The Inquisitors knew that they had to use their personal contacts to investigate the Royal Princes instead of their identity.


    It would be troublesome since finding the information about the Royal Princes wasn''t as easy as it sounded. After all, no random man would be able to find it.


    Fortunately, the Inquisitors had formed many personal connections who had no idea about their true identity.


    They were ountants, servants, carriage drivers, jewelers, and so on¡­


    The King allowed them to leave.


    Meanwhile, he also activated his Voice Connecting Array Stone to send a message to his servant, "Activate the Sacred Star Prying Mirror. Also, get the sacrifices ready."


    The servant asked on the other side, "Which sacrifices should we ready, your majesty?"


    "The corpses of ten 5 Star Beasts," The King replied coldly.


    "Ten corpses of 5 Star Beasts?!" The servant leaped in shock as he heard the order.


    The King asked, "Will this be an issue now?"


    "W-We will need 3 weeks or more to get those sacrifices ready. There are no 5 Star Beasts in this area," The servant replied with a nervous voice.


    "Then find them! I will give you 2 weeks at most," The King''s voice thundered at the servant.


    The servant replied with a submissive tone, "¡­Yes, your majesty."


    Edwin went to meet with Rein Schwarz. The man was more than happy to receive Edwin. Naturally, this meeting was urring in secret.


    Rein Schwarz didn''t want to spread the information that he was meeting with Dark Shadow here.


    It was Edwin who wanted to meet with him. The reason was naturally to extract information.


    Edwin believed that acquiring information from Rein Schwarz would be much better than any other source.


    Rein Schwarz was very happy with Edwin. He had suddenly received huge contracts from the Walsh Dukedom.


    These new contracts could generate nearly 20% overall annual revenue of the Merchant Union. Many elders in the Merchant Union were pleased with Rein Schwarz''s contributions.


    They didn''t know how Rein Schwarz aplished this, but this showed his great skills. Even the President of the Merchant Union had never had such great aplishments.


    In the elections for the new President, the elders were more likely to support Rein Schwarz as their candidate for the President seat.


    This was possible because Edwin had assisted the duchess with those arrays, and now the duchess returned the favor.


    After entering his house, Edwin drank some tea with Rein Schwarz and spoke, "Looks like you are about to shift to another house. Well, this house certainly can''t be considered good enough for the Merchant Union''s President."


    "You tter me, Young Master Edwin. I am still just the vice-president of the Merchant Union. Until the results of the elections arrive, we can''t say anything for sure," Rein Schwarz spoke humbly. However, he couldn''t hide the massive grin on his face.


    "Your contract with the Walsh Dukedom has increased your fame. As long as you handle it correctly, you are bound to receive more contracts from the other Noble Families. I strongly doubt someone can outdo you now as long you don''tmit a blunder," Edwin spoke seriously.


    "That is indeed true, young master Edwin," Rein Schwarz nodded his head in agreement. He then asked, "So, what is the reason behind today''s meeting? I believe it wasn''t just to congratte me."


    Edwin nodded and spoke, "I need you to introduce me to some of your spies within the Royal Family. I need information about the Royal Family."


    "My informants in the Royal Family?" Rein Schwarz was puzzled at those words.


    Edwin exined calmly, "As you know, the King has already conducted an investigation regarding his son''s death. He is bound to have doubts over some individuals. We can sell this information to some ministers in return for what we need. Don''t you think it''s a good opportunity for us to earn greatly?"


    Edwin''s evil grin was contagious, and Rein Schwarz soon realized what he was talking about and had a simr expression on his face.


    <em>''I can also make them use their connections to sway the opinions of more elders. This is a great deal!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Rein Schwarz didn''t know that money had never been Edwin''s aim. His true aim had always been to get information.


    ~~


    A/N: Please follow me on my insta page: Reveriecreations04 (I will soon update things rted to the uing manga of my other story on this page.)

 Chapter 243 - Nancy Gill, The Inquisitor Cat

    Just as Edwin wanted, Rein Schwarz introduced him to his contacts in Royal Pce. Edwin met each informant only met a single time, and he connected his Voice Transmission Array Stone with this man.


    He recorded their addresses and informed them how he would send them their money. It would be passed to his family at home rather covertly. They had to be very careful in spending it, or else someone might get suspicious.


    Naturally, the informants knew how serious the situation was aspared to Edwin.


    They trusted Edwin greatly that he would pay them properly because he was introduced by Rein Schwarz.


    Rein Schwarz''s words had value and credibility.


    Edwin asked them a couple of questions. They were rather simple, like where the princes go on a walk. He also gave them a task to find where each minister goes after the courtroom.


    Is it really their home or somewhere else?


    That sort of information would be useful to him.


    Edwin nned to guess which prince''s faction they belonged to after grouping these ministers.


    Each faction would have its ministers, and once Edwin found out about them, he could n ahead.


    <em>''The most suspicious faction for the King should be the Crown Prince''s faction. They possess enough resources and power to havemitted such a deed. The other princes are at a simr level. Even if they can resist fate to a certain extent, they can''t move many forces without leaving the traces or proofs along the line.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Only the Crown Prince''s faction can attempt such a thing perfectly and prevent it from spreading.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''I should try and manipte them to control the situation in the Capital and the Royal Pce. Also, they might know something regarding this Fate Dragon.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    He never got the feeling of a Dragon Bloodline from Bernado or even from that Demon King ck Hurricane in the fifth prince''s body.


    Even if Edwin''s power was insufficient to sense the presence of the Dragon Bloodline, Azaroth should have managed to sense it.


    A Dragon''s Majestic Aura was very hard to conceal through some sort of treasure. At the least, Azaroth was sure that ck Hurricane in the fourth prince''s body didn''t possess a Dragon''s Bloodline.


    If he did, he would have used it against Azaroth rather than summon his true body.


    Moreover, he specifically mentioned that it was the King who possessed this ability.


    ''Is it some kind of Spiritual Dragon congealed by gathering Fate Energy?'' Edwin frowned at this thought.


    Edwin shuddered in thought as he estimated the power of that Fate Dragon. The Fate Energy was even superior to a Demon God''s Existence. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that this power was par to the powers of a Demon Venerable - a 9 Star Rank Existence.


    <em>''It''s a good thing that the king doesn''t know who his son''s killer is. He can''t take action against me any time soon. I have the time to control the Royal Court.</em>'' Edwin was overflowing with confidence.


    The Royal Court was assembled every single day.


    Each time a different minister would speak up in the Royal Court, giving his own theories on who might have harmed Bernado and their possible motives.


    Bernado possessed the trade routes of the raw array materials, connections with the array association, massive wealth, and a deep secret.


    The motive of his murder could be rted to one of these three things. His enemies most likely benefit greatly from Bernado''s death.


    It may be someone looking to establish ties with the array association and enter the raw array materials trade industry.


    Naturally, all the used ministers denied those charges. They were innocent, so they had to deny those charges.


    Some ministers among them were actually thinking of taking advantage of this situation to enter the array materials trade industry.


    These charges against them prevented them from taking advantage of this situation.


    If they tried to set up an array materials trade industry now, it would be akin to shouting that they were probably involved in the Third Prince''s death.


    It was best to reign their greed for now and let the situation cool down.


    Until then, the Royal pce had decided to handle the array materials trade industry so that the array association had a stable supply of resources.


    The officials were absolutely loyal to the King. And it was risky to approach them with a proposal. Until the situation cools down, that is.


    There was a high chance that this was the King''s trick to determine who was lusting after this industry.


    After the Royal Court meeting ended, the ministers walked out of the Royal Pce. Edwin''s informants began to follow those ministers.


    They were following these ministers at a rather safe distance. These informants had spent most of their life living in the Royal Pce. Thus, they knew a lot about this ce.


    They had to act as usual and make the guards think it was part of their routine.


    However, these servants had little to no idea that they were followed by a guard.


    This guard was one of Inquisitor Cat''s informants. Inquisitor Cat had used his personal connections and asked them to check out any suspicious activity urring in the Royal Pce.


    As they were informants, they were very attentive to what urred in the Royal Pce. Currently, a guard among them found these servant''s behavior quite odd.


    Almost a half-dozen of them had moved together. The servants'' routes were surprisingly the same as that of the ministers'' path.


    <em>''Something is strange. I should check it out.''</em>


    The guy couldn''t tell hisrades about this because he wasn''t sure about it. Maybe it was one strange coincidence. He couldn''t ask them to abandon their tasks and just follow him because of his gut feeling.


    A couple of hourster, the moles sent the information to Edwin.


    Edwin noted this information and made a mental note to tell Rein Schwarz to send money to their house.


    Currently, he had no idea that one of his informants had already been caught by the Inquisitor Cat''s informant.


    Inquisitor Cat''s informant had witnessed the servant sending that information to Edwin.


    This confirmed his guess that these servants were indeed up to something. Someone had put them to work.


    The informant immediately contacted Inquisitor Cat.


    "Miss Nancy, I just got my hand on something. And it might be something big." The informant was rather happy that he could be useful to his mistress.


    Inquisitor Cat''s true identity was that of a mistress of a wealthy banking family in the Capital. Her true name was Nancy Gill


    "What is it? Tell me in brief," Nancy Gill voiced out.


    "Six or seven servants had been moved by someone to gather information regarding the ministers. They were following the ministers. I was a little suspicious of them, so I followed one of them. One of them used a Voice Transmission Array Stone to contact his master and inform him of the location of where the minister is staying," The informant immediately gave a basic description of the situation.


    "¡­" Nancy Gill remained quiet for a couple of seconds. This wasn''t something that might involve Bernado''s death. She believed it might be rted to another political strategy from some minister.


    Her informant didn''t know that she was only looking for information rting to Bernado''s murder. And she wanted to keep it that way.


    There was no rtion between Nancy and Bernado. So it would be strange if someone discovered that she was investigating Bernado''s death. Her identity might bepromised.


    "Bring him to the base and interrogate him. I want to know the name of his employer."


    "As youmand, Miss Nancy," The informant responded respectfully and excitedly.

 Chapter 244 - Nancy Gills Plans

    Nancy entered her prison where her men had brought Edwin''s informant. They nned to extract information from him.


    The informant''s willpower to resist was very weak. Since he had been caught, his mind had been working non-stop to figure out how he could escape this situation alive.


    He also didn''t want this event to affect his family. If these people came after him to harm his family, he might never be able to forgive himself.


    However, the informant also knew that they might not believe him if he gave away the information too easily. Or might consider his information as less valuable.


    This was something he had heard from an experienced spy. To never be too rigid or break too easily.


    He refused to give them any information during their interrogation, and only when they started to torture him should he speak up about it.


    His words would have maximum value.


    Nancy Gill was the one who entered her prison. She had an emotionless look on her face as she faced this informant.


    By one nce, she could see that this man had all but surrendered. Only a bit of pain, and he would reveal everything.


    Nancy turned to her subordinates and spoke, "Bring that hot iron rod. Let''s roast this guy until he says something."


    The prisoner was shocked to hear those words, "W-What?!"


    They hadn''t even interrogated him yet. Just how could they begin to torture their prisoner before even asking a question?


    The main point of torture was to extract information, normally that is. This didn''t appear to be the case here.


    "Why do you think we brought you here? We couldn''t really torture you on the trees in broad daylight," Nancy spoke while rolling her eyes.


    Her subordinates readied that hot iron rod that Nancy wanted. The informant gulped down a mouthful of his saliva in fear.


    He shuttered, "I-I will speak¡­ So please, don''t torture me with that. Or harm my family."


    Nancy looked at the informant with a smile, "Now that was a smart decision." She turned towards her subordinates and dismissed them from the area.


    A little whileter, only Nancy and this informant stood in that prison.


    "Now tell me, who is your employer. Why did he want you to follow the ministers?" Nancy asked with a serious expression.


    "The employer is actually unknown to us. He was wearing a mask and a robe that concealed his appearance from me. I have little to no idea about his motive for asking us to follow these ministers," The informant responded a bitter.


    Inquisitor Cat''s expression turned cold as she inquired him, "¡­Aren''t you useless then?"


    The informant was instantly frightened. He was feeling suffocated, as if the air around him had be too heavy for him to breathe.


    He slowly muttered out, "I-It was the V-Vice P-President of M-Merchant Union who introduced this guy to us."


    "Vice President of Merchant Union? Rein Schwarz, you mean?" Inquisitor Cat''s pupil narrowed at that statement.


    "T-That''s right. It was only because he was the one to introduce that suspicious man to us that we chose to believe in that guy," The informant added ahead.


    He couldn''t miss this chance of survival!


    Inquisitor Cat thought with a serious expression ''Now this isplicated. Does the Vice-President of the Merchant Union really have anything to do with Bernado''s murder? I did hear that he has the ambition of bing the President of the Merchant Union.''


    Nancy Gill''s Merchant Family had rather good rtions with the officials of the Merchant Union. Thus, Nancy knew Rein Schwarz personally since her family had conducted many business deals in the past.


    Nancy Gill thought <em>''Maybe I should find out about this employer directly from Rein Schwarz.''</em>


    The informant was allowed to return home.


    Naturally, there was a strict condition. He had to be a double agent for Nancy.


    He was going to give her the same information as the one that he passed onto Edwin.


    <em>''This sort of fishing line shouldn''t be cut off so easily. He could get careless and reveal some clues about his identity.''</em>


    Nancy also knew that if the information from this guypletely stopped, that man might be alerted and be a lot more cautious.


    A cautious enemy would be harder to deal with than a careless enemy.


    <em>''I need to groom up a bit before meeting with Rein Schwarz. It has indeed been some time since the two of us met over a drink.''</em>


    Rein Schwarz and Nancy were from nearly the same generation. Their age difference was merely 3 years.


    And on more than one asion, Rein Schwarz had shown that he was interested in Nancy.


    Naturally, Nancy wasn''t interested in romance stuff. She was an Inquisitor, a King''s Secret Agent.


    There was no telling when she would be assigned a dangerous task or some other kind of task. She couldn''tmit herself to a rtionship.


    Her first loyalty was towards the Kingdom. As long as it remains stable, she was ready to do anything.


    Meanwhile, Edwin had little to no idea that one of these informants had been caught already. Moreover, the informant had already revealed Rein Schwarz''s name.


    He was drawing out a map of the minister''s whereabouts andbeling them ording to the information provided by the informants.


    After spending a couple of hours, the map was ready.


    These ministers all belonged to different Noble Families. They were here to put forward the interests of the Noble Families within the Royal Court.


    All of them were naturally scheming old monsters who had been carefully selected from their respective Noble Families.


    One of the ministers was naturally of the Walsh Dukedom.


    It was easy to extract information from that minister. All he had to do was contact Siluca and ask her to get the information he wanted.


    Siluca was so infatuated with him that she didn''t question him.


    Besides, Edwin wasn''t asking for a very rare bit of information. It was supposed to be rather standard knowledge in the Royal Court. And it was also very natural for the head of the Walsh Dukedom to demand such information.


    Edwin wanted to know which Royal Prince was the Noble Families supporting.


    Mainly to figure out the Crown Prince''s faction.


    The minister had decent information regarding this issue. He didn''t disappoint Edwin with this.


    Edwin quicklybeled the Noble Families on the map ording to the Royal Princes with whom they coborated.


    After some time, he chose one of them. It was the fifth prince of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    This man controlled thergest herbal garden within Mesenana City. It meant that he exported the herbs for the Alchemy Association.


    His influence in the market was just slightly lower than Bernado''s. It was all because Bernado was older than him and had a business mindset.


    The fifth prince was merely talented in growing herbs and thinking of new tactics to increase its yield.


    He hadn''t yet managed to develop his business or trade routes that well.


    <em>''First, I should make things spicy before making my move against this Fifth Prince..''</em> Edwin thought with a sinister grin.

 Chapter 245 - The Second Princes Decision

    Minister Kenny had been appointed by the Walsh Dukedom within the Royal Court of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He was also a member of the Second Prince''s Faction. The second prince managed weapons and armors for the guards in the capital.


    He had a good influence in the capital as well. However, because the Crown Prince''s faction also dealt in the armors and weapons. The difference between their task was that the Crown Prince''s faction was to supply these armors and weapons to the soldiers and warriors fighting on the battlefield.


    Since the Crown Prince supplied weapons directly to the army fighting on the battlefield, he held a greater priority than the second prince regarding the number of weapons and the quality of those weapons.


    For this reason, the second prince''s poprity was suppressed in the capital.


    The second prince was the one who hated the crown prince the most.


    Currently, the second prince had organized a meeting with all his ministers. He was very anxious at this moment.


    The reason for his anxiety was easy to guess. The death of his brother Bernado.


    The second prince and the third prince had coborated many times and could be considered allies against the growing prestige of the crown prince.


    However, one of his main allies had just died. This indicated to the second prince that Bernado''s death might have been arranged by the crown prince.


    All his ministers gathered up in the Hall within the second prince''s Pce. The second prince was seated on the central throne while the ministers took their own seats.


    The second prince soon spoke out, "These past few days, I have been rather distraught because of Bernado''s death. I never imagined he would die like this. Strangely, no one has any clue about the assants." The second prince spoke solemnly.


    His ministers nodded their heads. One of them immediately spoke out, "It must be someone very influential who has deepworks in the capital. The two associations and the unions might be involved in this matter as well."


    Before the other ministers could agree, the second prince raised his voice and spoke, "No! They don''t have the ability to kill Bernado."


    The ministers were startled to hear the second prince''s words. They looked at him and saw that he wanted to add something, "You are underestimating Bernado too much. Do you think he didn''t keep an eye on these associations and the merchant union?"


    "He seems like a lustful fool, but he is very cautious when ites to his own life. Do you know, there are almost thirteen or fourteen 5 Star Warriors around him, protecting his life. Not even the Merchant Union can move so many 5 Star Warriors without raising the rm," The second prince was quite serious as he clenched his fists somewhat angrily.


    A minister wondered with a puzzled expression, "Then who killed the Third Prince?"


    The entire hall remained quiet for a couple of seconds.


    Minister Kenny opened his mouth and answered that question, "Who else could it be but the Crown Prince?"


    The entire hall had a pin-drop silence. In reality, even one hade to this conclusion, but how could these words be spoken here?


    The consequences of uttering such words were too dire. No one of them dared to even consider them.


    However, Minister Kenny was from the Walsh Dukedom. He had been ordered to point the me at the Crown Prince by Siluca.


    Minister Kenny didn''t know why Siluca was adamant about going against the Crown Prince, but he had to follow her orders.


    Thus, Minister Kenny added ahead, "Trying to remain oblivious to it won''t do us any good. Let''s ept this fact that the Crown Prince has begun to make his move against his enemies."


    At this moment, another minister spoke up, "¡­Impossible! It''s well known that the crown prince has no desire to take action against his Highness or other Royal Princes."


    In reality, those words somewhat irked the second prince. It made him feel as if his eldest brother didn''t even view him as an opponent.


    The second prince couldn''t help but feel greatly inferior to the crown prince every time the two met.


    Minister Kenny immediately countered the statement from his fellow minister by responding with a sneer, "It is this very thought in your head that allows him to make his move without having anyone to investigate his faction. Even if it wasn''t the crown prince who acted¡­ Can you guarantee that the crown prince''s faction yed no role in this?"


    Those sharp words immediately silenced the other minister. Indeed, he couldn''t say this. They allcked crucial information regarding the crown prince''s faction.


    "The Crown Prince''s faction is already on the move. If we don''t do something, it might be the second prince''s turn to be buried under the ground," Minister Kenny finally stopped speaking after stating thatst line.


    The Second Prince immediately red at Minister Kenny and threatened, "Keep a leash over your mouth, Minister!"


    Minister Kenny responded with an emotionless look, "Yes, Your Highness."


    Other ministers found Minister Kenny rather strange. He was a lot more active in today''s discussion.


    Why was he so actively going against the Crown Prince?


    "I will ignore those words earlier, but you need to prove your worth. Speak, what solution you have for me?" The second prince added after a few seconds of silence.


    "¡­If we try tobat against the crown prince, we will be destroyed without a doubt!" Minister Kenny stated a verymon fact.


    But he wasn''t done. He continued ahead, "But what if we make the crown prince''s faction sh against someone even greater?"


    Instantly, many of the ministers understood what he meant.


    The only faction that could be considered greater than the Crown Prince within the Sinyalian Kingdom was none other than the King!


    "¡­My father won''t take action against my eldest brother. He is his heir apparent!" The second prince yelled out angrily.


    "What if he finds that the Crown Prince David killed the Third Prince Bernado to grab hold of his trade routes and the raw materials of the array? Using those raw materials, he nned to pull the array association into his faction." Minister Kenny exined rather calmly.


    "¡­Did this really happen?" One of the ministers seated on the opposite side asked curiously.


    "¡­Perhaps it did. My informationwork isn''t strong enough to verify this information. However, I do know that this information is enough to make the king be suspicious of the Crown Prince and slowly take the powers assigned to the Crown Prince."


    "If the King begins to take action against the Crown Prince, taking away his powers would just be a single method. The best method would be to enhance his opponents so that the Crown Prince or his faction can''t kill them. Who do you think is in the prime position to receive the King''s favor?" Minister Kenny ended his speech with a question.


    The question from Minister Kenny answered most of the doubts in these people''s minds.


    "¡­What an eloquent tongue you have, Minister Kenny. Because of how silent you have been in thest few meetings, some of us had forgotten the sway you hold over us by using those clever words," One of the ministers stood up and spoke while looking straight into Minister Kenny''s eyes.


    "¡­I already said all I had to say. It''s now His Highness''s decision. He can consider my suggestion as a mere fool''s jabbering, or he can act on it. If His Highness wishes to act on it, then I suggest being quick. Another week and the Crown Prince would be back to Mesenana City. Our actions would be greatly limited during that period." Minister Kenny made onest attempt to sway the second prince''s mind.


    The other minister noticed it, and he immediately focused on the second prince while speaking, "His Highness, please ignore the words of this fool."


    "Silence!" The second prince''s voice thundered in the hall, and the entire hall slowly went silent.


    The second prince''s yell was still echoing in the hall, and no one dared to speak up at this moment. Currently, the second prince was deeply considering both possibilities.


    After a couple of minutes, he asked, "How do we frame David''s faction then?"


    Minister Kenny and a few other ministers had a bright smile when they heard those words while the other ministers groaned in defeat. The second prince had decided to go against the Crown Prince!


    ~~


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 Chapter 246 - Party

    In the next couple of days, Inquisitor Frog and Inquisitor Rat received information through their personal links that a few ministers from the Crown Prince''s faction had started a secret trade firm.


    The motive of this trading firm was to take over the trading of the raw materials for array from the King''s officials.


    The creation of this trading firm wasn''t publicized, and no minister had actually taken direct control over it.


    It should have been very difficult for Inquisitor Frog and Inquisitor Rat to find their connections to this trading firm.


    The one thing that spoke louder than words was the money reaching their mansion.


    Both Inquisitor Frog and Inquisitor Rat had contacts within various carriage drivers that carried this money to the minister''s houses.


    Inquisitor Frog and Inquisitor Rat received information on the other end that the raw materials had been stolen en route.


    The fact that nearly a simr worth of money was sent to these minister''s houses made them understand that these ministers were actually running a twoyered business.


    On the surface, they were cooperating with the King''s orders while under the table. They were stealing the raw materials of the array and then selling them privately. Thus, increasing their personal wealth.


    This action was akin to betraying the King, though.


    Inquisitor Frog and Inquisitor Rat immediately informed the King about this matter.


    "Such a thing is urring now?! David''s faction is getting out of control¡­ They seem to have stayed in power for too long!" The King was stunned to hear this information.


    The two Inquisitors had nothing to say regarding those words.


    "Apprehend those ministers!" The King gave his order.


    The Inquisitors nodded their heads and were going to carry out those orders.


    "Do we use our powers as Inquisitors or apprehend them through the Law Enforcement Branch?" Inquisitor Frog was curious about this part.


    The King remained silent for a couple of seconds before he replied, "Use the Law Enforcement Branch. It''s still not time to reveal the presence of Inquisitors in this matter."


    "As youmand, your majesty!" Inquisitor Frog and Inquisitor Rat replied collectively.


    Meanwhile, Nancy Gill asked one of her friends to invite Rein Schwarz to a special party. At the party, she nned to meet with Rein Schwarz and find out all information regarding that secret employer and what he nned to do against the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Rein Schwarz epted the invitation to the party. He thought it wouldn''t be a bad idea to use this party to meet some new acquaintances.


    The party was in the evening. This was a birthday party of one of Nancy Gill''s close friends'' brothers.


    In reality, she was nning to ditch this party. But she believed it would be a good opportunity to meet with Rein Schwarz here and concocted this n.


    If her friend''s brother wasn''t conducting a party today, then she would have merely asked her friend to arrange a banquet.


    A celebratory banquet for hunting some sort of rare beast. Nancy could have easily arranged the beast''s corpse.


    Fortunately for her, she didn''t need to go through all that trouble.


    Rein Schwarz entered the party. The party was urring in arge garden. The grass was neatly cut, while there were many food and drink stalls in the garden.


    The food and drinks appeared exquisite, and one couldn''t help but salivate at the thought of ingesting it.


    Rein Schwarz went to talk to a few men standing near the bartender''s section.


    Only by apanying these men for a drink would he be able to have some small talk with them.


    While talking, most men praised Rein Schwarz. They had heard how he had received a massive order from the Walsh Dukedom that had greatly enhanced the Merchant Union''s revenue.


    Rein Schwarz responded to their praise byuding them in return.


    As these guys continued to converse, Rein Schwarz''s attention was drawn to a specific woman who had just entered the party from the entryway.


    He knew this woman and couldn''t prevent his heart from beating a bit faster than normal. It was Nancy Gill, the heiress of the Gill Merchant Family.


    <em>''She looks even more beautiful than usual.''</em>


    Nancy''s appearance was bound to attract him since she had groomed up specifically to captivate Rein Schwarz.


    Naturally, Rein Schwarz wasn''t the only one ncing in her direction. Many other men looked at her, very surprised at this new look from her.


    Instead of wearing traditional clothing, Nancy wore a top that looked smaller for her and a long skirt that skillfully concealed her long legs. Because of the small top, her midriff was slightly visible, making it appear incredibly sexy.


    Her breasts couldn''t be considered veryrge, but her face was quite beautiful. The current hairstyle really suited her looks.


    Nancy smirked internally when she saw Rein Schwarz staring at her for a couple of minutes.


    She had to approach him now. And it was quite easy for her to do so.


    Rein Schwarz was standing next to the stall that served the drinks. She could easily approach him under the pretext of getting something to drink.


    When Rein Schwarz noticed that Nancy was approaching his direction, he immediately averted his gaze and looked elsewhere.


    However, he still couldn''t help but peek in Nancy''s direction when he thought she wasn''t looking.


    Nancy continued to move in that direction confidently as she ignored all the looks she received from men.


    "Get me a shot of vodka," Nancy spoke.


    The bartender immediately began to create a shot of vodka for her.


    Nancy looked around and acted as if she just noticed Rein Schwarz, "¡­Hey, Rein! Is that really you?"


    Internally, Rein Schwarz was excited to know that Nancy wanted to talk to him. He quickly calmed down his emotions to reply, "Yeah. It was Kiara who invited me to this party. I had nothing better to do, so I thought, why not? Thus here I am."


    Nancy spoke with a smile, "Same for me."


    Soon, the vodka shot was prepared. Nancy gulped that down in one go and then turned in Rein Schwarz''s direction, "Do you wanna catch up?"


    "Yes!" Rein Schwarz couldn''t conceal his excitement. He was internally relieved when he saw that Nancy wasn''t startled at that burst of excitement.


    In fact, she showed him a smile, telling him that she really wanted to talk to him.


    The two took seats around a round table as they faced each other.


    It was Rein Schwarz who began to tell how things had been going on for him. Nancy listened to him while quietly taking a sip of her drink.


    She could see his excitement and how his eyes were roaming all over her body.


    <em>''I don''t need to use the drugs I prepared. This will be easier.''</em>


    Nancy did ask him whether he met some special individual in the past few months. But Rein Schwarz remained quiet about Edwin''s presence.


    He knew that if he ever revealed information regarding Edwin, he would lose Edwin''s trust.


    Edwin had given him a lot of things. His current fame was mostly due to Edwin. He wasn''t going to betray him like this.


    However, Nancy also wasn''t nning to get up without extracting every bit of information from Rein Schwarz.


    As the party was about to end, she took the initiative and kissed him.. After the kiss ended, she whispered in his ears, "Come to my house after this."

 Chapter 247 - Trontes Order

    Rein Schwarz was instantly excited upon receiving that offer from Nancy Gill. A woman of her beauty would rarely approach him.


    For a few minutes, he felt that the situation was too unbelievable. However, after that, he slowly calmed down and began to think of the possible reasons.


    <em>''Maybe my current fame is much greater than I think. Her father might have asked Nancy to approach me and build good rtions between us. When I be the President of the Merchant Union, her family would benefit greatly if the two of us have good rtions.''</em>


    Humans were creatures who liked to ept the facts that appeared to their way of thinking.


    It was simr to the situation of Rein Schwarz here. He didn''t want to know the truth. He simply epted the facts presented to him and aligned them to his way of thinking.


    Hisziness, lust, and greed won against his cautious nature.


    After the party, Rein Schwarz went to the Gill Estate.


    Since Rein Schwarz was a Vice-President of the Merchant Union, Nancy Gill knew she couldn''t use the rough methods.


    She had already prepared some drugs to make it easier for her to extract information from Rein Schwarz.


    These drugs were custom-made by the Alchemy Association. Nearly all the Inquisitors had such drugs avable with them at all moments.


    There was no telling when these things might be useful. Thus, the King had provided it to them already.


    He allowed them plenty of leeway in how they used it.


    Naturally, these drugs were beneficial. Rein Schwarz had no idea how his night had passed, and he was suffering from a severe headache right now.


    Meanwhile, Nancy Gill had a rather serious look on her face.


    She had extracted a lot of useful information from Rein Schwarz.


    <em>''Edwin Rhodes has an intimate rtionship with Spencer Russel''s daughter?''</em> This information wasn''t all that shocking for Nancy. She didn''t care much about the rtionship between the two youths.


    It was the next bits of information that utterly shocked her.


    <em>''Edwin Rhodes is Dark Shadow?!''</em>


    <em>''Dark Shadow is considered a 5 Star Array Master. This means that the Rhodes Family''s Heir is a 5 Star Array Master¡­ How could this information have remained concealed for so long?! Is this one of Jonas Rhodes''s tactics?''</em>


    <em>''Moreover, it was him who wanted all the information about the ministers from the Royal Court?! Why would he use Rein Schwarz''s contacts instead of his Noble House''s contacts?''</em>


    This entire situation was far too confusing for Nancy Gill. She sent that information to her supervisor and asked him whether she should inform the King. She believed it would be best to inform the King about this sensitive issue.


    However, Inquisitor Cat never gave that information to the King. This was because she received a message from a homing pigeon.


    When Inquisitor Cat read the message, she destroyed all ns of informing the King about this information regarding Dark Shadow or Edwin Rhodes.


    The name of the sender read Tronte. This was naturally Edwin Rhodes''s friend in Wrihull City who had sent the message to Inquisitor Cat.


    Tronte already knew more or less of what was urring in the Sinyalian Kingdom. He had his contacts in very important positions, just like the Inquisitor Cat here.


    Even the King would find it impossible to believe that Inquisitor Cat had sworn her allegiance to someone else other than him.


    Another surprising event urred in the next couple of days.


    The Law Enforcement Branch had suddenly acted and ced several dozens of ministers in detention under the pretext of illegal trading.


    The ministers weren''t given a chance to resist arrest, and all of them were taken to detention centers within Mesenana City.


    Many ministers in the court were surprised by this sudden arrest of their ministers. They knew it was the King who had made his move.


    Meanwhile, Edwin sitting in Sophie''s mansion, couldn''t help but smirk when he heard this information.


    The second prince''s faction had made its move just as he wanted them to. Now, it was time for him to make his move as well.


    With the mask in his hands, Edwin stepped out of the mansion.


    He had already used Bianca to find the detention centers. He knew where these ministers had been taken.


    It was time to ''free'' them.


    In the evening time, thew enforcement officers had gathered around, and they were all talking about their recent grabs.


    This was the first time, so many ministers had been captured like this. Even if it was rted to illegal trading, it shouldn''t have spread so much.


    This indicated that the King was merely looking for an opportunity to apprehend them! The charges about Illegal trading would only be clear after investigation, but these ministers couldn''t return home until then.


    These ministers who had been captured by the Law Enforcement Officers found this entire situationpletely unbelievable!


    "Do you know what you are doing? Do you even understand who you are talking to?! How dare you barge into my house?!"


    "You will arrest me?! What illegal trade are you talking about?!"


    "You will regret it! You all will regret arresting us like this! When the Crown Prince returns to the mansion, you all will be publicly executed."


    Naturally, the Law Enforcement Officers didn''t fear those threats. They had received the King''s order.


    They dared to even capture the Crown Prince with the King''s support, let alone these ministers.


    All these arrests were made on the same day, and another spicy event urred in Mesenana City! Naturally, its news only spread a day after this event urred.


    Three detention centers in Mesenana City had been attacked, and the captured ministers had escaped!


    It went without saying that this was a serious offense against the Sinyalian Kingdom. The severity of this offense was far greater than the offense of illegal trade, which was still under investigation.


    The King and the entire city soon heard of this news.


    Needless to say, it was a stunning piece of information. Something so shocking that it made people doubt whether they heard it correctly.


    However, this was indeed the truth!


    Three detention centers had been attacked in a single night!


    The second prince''s side was taken aback when they learned of this, but they were overjoyed soon enough.


    They believed it was the Crown Prince''s faction that had moved out to bring out those ministers.


    Most people in Capital believed the same.


    At this moment, the second prince of the Sinyalian Kingdom was thinking with a gleeful face, <em>''The Crown Prince''s group has be ustomed to being able to do anything they want that they didn''t even think about the repercussions of their actions. Now, they have justmitted a massive blunder. Hahahaha¡­''</em>


    Edwin was not done with his n, though. This was merely the first part of his n. To frame the Crown Prince and make the king very suspicious about the Crown Prince.


    The second phase of this n was to deal with the 5th Prince and further frame the Crown Prince!


    After this event, no matter how sharp the King was, a faint suspicion nted in his mind that the Crown Prince wanted the throne. Or, urately speaking, the crown prince wanted more power.


    And he was unwilling to wait for it any longer. Thus, he was taking action and seizing power.


    Currently, he was only making his move against his brothers, who couldn''t resist his faction as it had grown too strong under the King''s influence. But he would soon lock onto the King as his target.


    And this action of attacking the detention centers. The King didn''t know whether it was the Crown Prince who conducted this attack or someone else. However, ording to his knowledge, only the Crown Prince possessed the resources and boldness to attack those detention centers.


    This disyed that the Crown Prince wanted to break free from the King''s control now!


    ~~


    A/N: Follow my insta ount: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 248 - The Herbal Garden

    The three Inquisitors stood ahead of the King.


    "I gave you the task to investigate the Third Prince Bernado''s death. What are the results?" The King asked with a cold, authoritative voice.


    "¡­Your Majesty, we investigated all the loose ends. However, there is nothing that points towards those assants'' identities." It was Inquisitor Cat who gave this information.


    Clearly, she was following Tronte''s order in concealing Edwin''s involvement in this entire scenario.


    The King frowned slightly as he heard Inquisitor Cat''s words. ording to Inquisitor Frog and Inquisitor Rat''s sources, the Crown Prince or his faction atleast was rted to Bernado''s death.


    Moreover, they had even figured out the motive behind the Crown Prince''s faction''s actions. They were nning to expand their business now.


    They wanted to control the raw materials useful for creating an array. If they could monopolize the array business under them, thenbining it with their weapon supply to the army, the Crown Prince''s faction would control nearly half the business of the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Although the Crown Prince was bound to inherit the throne, there was still some time, and the King was in perfect health right now. The King wasn''t ready to give up his im of the throne to his son.


    The fact that Inquisitor Cat didn''t find any rtion of those assants to the Crown Prince made the King wonder whether the Crown Prince or his faction was truly guilty or they were framed.


    <em>''Who possesses enough power to have done this?</em>'' The King was truly puzzled regarding this question.


    <em>''All the experts of this caliber aren''t here. Is it one of the Guardian Elders then? No¡­ They won''t do anything that would weaken the Sinyalian Kingdom.''</em>


    "For now, find the individuals who attacked the detention centers and capture them," King gave them this order and dismissed them.


    ''What is the motive of this individual?'' This question continued to internally eat the King.


    Meanwhile, Edwin was gathering information regarding the fifth prince.


    Andre Valliadis, the fifth prince of the Sinyalian Kingdom, stayed in either his pce or in the herbal garden.


    Unlike the other princes, this man was considered a rather honest and simple-minded individual. He could even be considered to have a clean history.


    There had been no controversial incident regarding him.


    <em>''I don''t need to kill him. It would be better if he is alive after my attack.''</em> Edwin thought with a scheming smirk.


    Edwin had also researched about the warriors serving under the Crown Prince. He was going to use a fighting style simr to that man and fool the Fifth Prince.


    Because of Edwin''s Ardor Control and Skills, only he could copy and recreate the fighting style through mere rumors.


    It took some time for him to build up a profile about that warrior, but he was ready now.


    The Crown Prince had his personal army, which he had been building since he was 7 years old. All the warriors who had served under him since that period were nowmanders of his army.


    Edwin was going to impersonate the fighting style of themander who was still stationed in Mesenana City.


    Eachmander received orders only from the Crown Prince. It was said that even if the King ordered them, these warriors would first ask for permission from the Crown Prince before executing the King''s orders.


    Thus, if one of thesemanders was found attacking the Fifth Prince, it could be considered that the Crown Prince was attacking him.


    The King was definitely going to take action against the Crown Prince if this news went viral.


    Edwin was counting on this information. He wanted to know what would happen if the King went up against the Crown Prince.


    Who would win that confrontation?! ording tomon logic, the King should win without an issue.


    However, this fate energy seemed rather strange. There might be other rules that he wasn''t aware of.


    Perhaps even the ck Hurricane Demon King had no idea about these rules.


    The best way to figure them out was to see the situation. Besides, if this battle against the King and the Crown Prince urred, many people were bound to die.


    This was also very beneficial for Edwin. In fact, if nothing else, Edwin was counting on this.


    It was the evening time, and the sun was about to set. Edwin sneaked inside the Herbal Garden.


    Andre Valliadis would arrive at this time to do a final check of the herbs for the day. This was his routine.


    Edwin found out about this routine rather easily.


    There were seven 5 Star Guards near Andre Valliadis. Initially, he didn''t take his guards along when he went to check up on the herbs, but the death of Bernado had changed a lot of things.


    He had been advised to take guards along with him by numerous advisers who were worried about him.


    Each guard was from a different Noble Family. They could be considered the elites of their family.


    It was considered degrading for a Noble Family Member to be a guard. However, this was not the case if the post was the Crown Prince''s Guard or the Fifth Prince''s Guard.


    The charm of the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince was considered so great that people would holdpetitions to be their guards.


    The Crown Prince was more famous among thedies, while the Fifth Prince was famous amongst both genders.


    The Fifth Prince was so polite and respectful that there was practically no individual who could hate him.


    Even the King was very friendly to his fifth son. He treated him the best among all the Royal Princes.


    If not for theck of the Fifth Prince''s Ambition, he would certainly be a contender to sit on the throne. Well, hisck of ability inparison to the Crown Prince was the other reason he would have failed anyway.


    Edwin knew this entire information. But attacking the fifth prince was the only option present to him.


    The fourth prince of the Sinyalian Kingdom didn''t have an important position for which the Crown Prince would possibly attack him. His abilities were even inferior to Andre Valliadis, and his management skills were even more inferior.


    The third prince was dead. The second prince needed to remain safe to fan the mes. The other princes were too young to even consider attacking them.


    Currently, Edwin held a curved saber in his hand. The colorless wind was revolving around this sword, making its edges and attacks even sharper.


    The fighting style of amander under the Crown Prince was rted to using Wind shes to attack the enemy from a distance. His title was Razor Hawk.


    Razor Hawk used a sword style named Razor Wind Style to fight against his enemies in close range.


    Edwin had more or less researched this style and could be considered proficient in it. At the least, he was good enough to fool an amateur.


    Edwin had buffed up his body using Ardor since this was how the body shape of Razor Hawk appeared like.


    Naturally, he was wearing a mask that concealed his face. Since he would leave Andre Valliadis alive, he couldn''t allow this guy to see his face.


    Currently, Edwin lookedpletely different from his normal appearance.


    ~~


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 Chapter 249 - Lost Gamble

    Soon, Edwin appeared in the middle of the Herbal Garden while flying in the air.


    He caught Andre Valliadis and his guards'' attention. They immediately faced and red at him. One of them shouted out, "Who are you?! How dare you fly in this Herbal Garden?! Don''t you know that flying is forbidden in the Herbal Garden?!"


    Edwin responded with an authoritative voice, "Since when did this rule apply on Crown Prince''smanders?"


    Andre Valliadis remained at his position and stared at Edwin quietly.


    Another one of Andre Valliadis''s guards stepped forward and asked Edwin, "Yeah? Which one are you then?"


    "Who do you think?" Edwin didn''t give out a clear answer. It would be absolutely stupid to give this answer.


    They would ask him to remove his mask and prove his identity then. Edwin''s face didn''t resemble Razor Wind''s, and he would be found out in an instant.


    He had to fight them and then make them believe he was Razor Wind through his fighting style.


    At this moment, Andre Valliadis spoke, "You aren''t willing to reveal your true identity, and that must be the reason you are wearing that mask. However, you also want to represent eldest brother David, and that must be the reason you mentioned that you are one of hismanders, right?"


    Edwin stared at Andre Valliadis and thought ''Unlike Bernado, this guy has a true poker face. Either he was prepared for such a confrontation, or he has something else nned.''


    Edwin knew he couldn''t stay silent for long. He responded coldly, "The Crown Prince wishes to take over the Herbal Garden. Give up your rights over it to the Crown Prince."


    The entire area remained silent for a couple of seconds. Andre Valliadis''s guards began to grind their teeth in anger.


    They had all seen just how Andre took care of these herbs. How happy he was just at the simple job of watering them.


    "What a load of bullshit! Do you even know how much his Highness Fifth Prince had worked on this Herbal Garden?! There were less than half the species in this Herbal Garden before his Highness took control of it!"


    "Yeah! He imported so many precious herbs from the other Kingdoms. He endured such great hardships when the Alchemy Association wanted to take direct control over this Herbal Garden!"


    "It''s only because the Fifth Prince controls the Herbal Garden that the prices of the herbs remain stable! Themon people and the Noble Families can afford them! It directly benefits the entire Sinyalian Kingdom!"


    "And inparison, just look at the prices of the weapons and armors that the Crown Prince manages. They fluctuate because the Crown Prince is more interested in supplying his personal army with the best armor and weapons. If those armors were utilized by our army at the frontlines, we would have a fewer death rate!"


    The guards surrounding Andre Valliadis yelled furiously.


    To them, Edwin was one of the Crown Prince''s Personal Army''s Commanders. They noticed his exquisite weapon and armor and were quite jealous of him.


    They knew that this exquisite weapon and armor could only be provided by the Crown Prince!


    Edwin wanted to smile when he heard the guards'' words.


    He thought <em>''Good. Shout more¡­ Cry out more¡­ The more you shout out, the more you will be sure that I am one of the Crown Prince''s Commanders.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Suddenly, a burst of loudughter resounded in the entire Herbal Garden, "Pffh¡­ Hahahahaha¡­"


    Thatughter grabbed Edwin as well as the guards'' attention. Edwin knew what thisughter meant.


    <em>''¡­I lost the gamble.</em>'' Edwin let out an internal sigh as he knew that he had failed against the fate energy.


    "You are not one of my eldest brother''smanders, are you?" Andre Valliadis asked with a smile.


    Edwin remained silent as he knew that giving an answer right now was the same as admitting it.


    "In fact, you are the guy who attacked Bernado and killed him. I never imagined you would really target me next," Andre Valliadis spoke as his smile widened.


    Once again, Edwin remained silent.


    "I can sense dense Wind Ardor around your body, but I believe it''s because you are trying to impersonate Razor Wind, one of the four pirs of eldest brother''s army. In reality, your disguise is very impressive. However, no matter how well done it is, you would have failed to fool me using this excuse," Andre stated while shrugging.


    Edwin was curious about the reason. Was it the personality of Razor Wind? No¡­ Edwin chose that man because the man normally hid his face behind a mask.


    It shouldn''t be that strange to see Razor Wind in a different mask.


    Andre exined, "You couldn''t have known that I have actually tried to gift this Herbal Garden to my eldest brother many times. But he rejected each time."


    There was a worshiping look on Andre''s face as he added, "Do you know how David would respond each time? David said that he would never spend time developing the Herbal Garden or other businesses. He would be more relieved if each of his brothers managed their particr business. And on the off chance that David did something corrupt, we would possess enough influence to go against him."


    Edwin heard this reasoning and let out a sigh ''So I never had a chance of winning this gamble. I failed to anticipate the Crown Prince''s Character. He is much closer to his brothers, especially the Fifth Prince, than others.''


    "¡­You got me," Edwin admitted helplessly. There was no point in continuing this fa?ade.


    "However, you still won''t figure out my true identity through this," Edwin spoke as he charged up the saber in his hands.


    "<strong>Twin Wind sh!</strong>"


    Edwinunched two diagonal wind shes towards Andre.


    Suddenly, a wooden wall appeared and blocked those Wind shes for Andre.


    <em>''Wood Element?! Although this aura isn''t as pure as Laura''s wood element, it''s much stronger than Laura''s variant. This man isn''t an elf or possesses the Royal Bloodline of the elves, so why is his element so strong? The Royal Bloodline of the Sinyalian Kingdom has boosted it to such an extent, or is it the fate energy ying its part here?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Because of the interference of the fate energy, Edwin couldn''t analyze Andre using his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    <em>''I need to use my Hell mes or the Heavenly Lightning to break past that Wooden Wall,</em>'' Edwin frowned as he didn''t want to use these two elements right now.


    Edwin immediately moved forward as he knew it was time to switch to closebat.


    "<strong>Quick Slice!</strong>"


    Edwin infused a lot of his Ardor in his sword and sliced the Wooden Wall.


    Before the wooden wall could regrow, Edwin passed that wall and reached on Andre''s side.


    The guards on Andre''s side had all moved by now.


    Out of the seven guards, five were charging at Edwin while two stayed behind to create Earth and Water Barrier Technique.


    This was the elemental barrier that contained Earth''s rigidity and the water''s fluidity. The barrier would slowly absorb the attack''s impact through its amazing sticity while infusing it with their Ardor.


    The attack would then be infused with their Ardor, and they wouldunch it at their enemy.


    Edwin already knew what kind of barrier this was after a single look at it. This wasn''t the first time he was witnessing this kind of barrier.


    He had fought against individuals possessing even stranger techniques.


    Currently, Edwin was more focused on the guards charging at him with an attack in their hands.


    ~~


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 Chapter 250 - Summoning Relic

    Two warriors had infused their arms with an intense amount of Ardor. The color of their Ardor waspletely different.


    One of them had his arm enveloped with reddish Ardor, while the other guard''s arm was enveloped with a colorless Ardor.


    "<strong>ze Fist Barrage!</strong>"


    "<strong>Origin Punch!</strong>"


    The other three warriors seemingly waited a bit and allowed these two warriors to charge ahead and strike Edwin.


    The two warriors approached Edwin from opposite sides so that Edwin couldn''t escape.


    Oneunched a barrage of quick consecutive punches embedded with orange-colored me Ardor.


    These mes'' punches were hot and explosive. They possessed a strong shockwave as they struck Edwin''s body. The momentum of that fist barrage increased as the warrior continued to throw out punches at Edwin.


    Origin Punch was apletely different attack, though. This attack possessed pure Ardor that was released in a single punch.


    As soon as this punch struck Edwin, it released a strong impact nearly tens of times stronger than the ze Fist Barrage. It was released in one go¡­


    This could be considered a very simple but difficult-to-execute attack.


    Even Edwin''s body that had been bolstered with pure Ardor experienced some pain. But Edwin could easily endure that bit of pain.


    These individuals were all using their special abilities to even damage Edwin. Needless to say, they didn''t interest Edwin much.


    "<strong>Wind Sphere!</strong>" Edwin whispered as he created a Wind Barrier around his body.


    The impact of the Wind Barrier was so strong that these two warriors were immediately thrown back. The zing Fist Barrage tried to pierce that Wind Barrier, but the winds revolving around Edwin were so strong that the mes were extinguished before they could reach Edwin.


    Meanwhile, the other three warriors noticed the Wind Barrier forming around Edwin. They had been gathering their Ardor while observing Edwin.


    Their techniques were soon ready.


    "<strong>Lightning Pierce!</strong>" A warriorunched himself at Edwin while the lightning crackled from his short sword.


    For some brief seconds, the weapon shed against the Wind Barrier around Edwin''s body.


    The final remaining two warriorsunched theirbination attack.


    "<strong>Wind me Combo: Great methrower!</strong>"


    A very intense beam of mes wasunched at Edwin and that Wind Barrier. Soon, another warrior supported that intense beam of mes with a gentle wide-angled Wind Breeze.


    The mes suddenly spread around that entire area where the wind was flowing. Soon enough, Edwin and his Wind Sphere werepletely covered by the mes.


    The mes engulfed that Wind Sphere so greatly that Edwin''s body was no longer visible.


    Within the Wind Sphere, Edwin felt some heat reach his body. He wasn''t much affected by the heat, though.


    He had tolerated the heat of the Hell mes when he had to subdue it. So, this was nothing¡­


    Edwin focused on Andre, who remained standing on the ground while holding a badge-like object in his hands. Andre held that badge close to his chest and was looking up at Edwin.


    Now, Edwin suddenly noticed something.


    <em>''¡­Now that I sense his spiritual fluctuations, this guy doesn''t appear to be a 5 Star Warrior. How did he block my attack earlier?''</em>


    Edwin frowned slightly as he immediately charged towards Andre.


    The Mud Barrier around Andre immediately solidified as it guarded him against Edwin. Edwin knew there were two barriers. The first was a solid earth barrier, while the other was a swampy barrier that would absorb the impact of Edwin''s attack.


    Edwin created a small wind ball ahead of his palm. The task of this wind ball was very simple. To crush the solid earth barrier and then swipe away the swampy barrier.


    This wind ball worked wonderfully as it swiped away the mud barrier. In reality, as long as someone understood the working of this barrier, it wouldn''t be difficult to deal with it through any element.


    Andre noticed Edwining for him, but he remained calm.


    The badge in his hands shone with a green light. Edwin frowned as he sensed a suppressive aura over his body.


    It was an aura that made him tremble with excitement.


    ''<em><strong>Spatial Element!</strong></em>'' Edwin immediately understood what was going on and backed away.


    However, he was still a stepte as he saw a Golden Lion of pure energy charging at him.


    It raised its paw and struck Edwin. That attack immediately threw Edwin far away and made him crash into multiple herbs.


    "<strong>Majestic Golden Lion''s Avatar</strong>?" Edwin wiped a trail of blood running down his mouth while staring at that Golden Lion.


    <em>''This guy was borrowing energy from that badge. I guess his body is about to copse¡­ I should finish this soon.''</em>


    "<strong>Aero Dragon.</strong>"


    Edwin whispered as a Wind Dragon immediately coiled around his body. He had used a lot of his Ardor to create this Aero Dragon.


    The Golden Lion ahead of him was conjured by the Gold Ardor. If Edwin didn''t use hisplete strength, he would lose.


    He also noticed a void portal opening up next to Andre.


    Andre was panting heavily as foreign energy had just left his body. He looked in Edwin''s direction with a smile and exined, "My eldest brother predicted that you would target me next. So, he asked one of his loyal subordinates to give me a life-saving relic."


    "¡­This relic allows me to temporarily utilize my eldest brother''s Ardor. Release an attack he stored in this relic and also summon him from anywhere in the Sinyalian Kingdom," Andre finished speaking with a wide smile.


    Edwin''s eyes widened slightly as he heard those words. He knew someone was arriving through that void portal but to think it would be the Crown Prince David.


    Edwin didn''t n to reveal his presence to Crown Prince David so soon. But there was no choice as he saw someone step out of that void portal.


    The man who stepped out of the void portal was wearing majestic clothing. Just his appearance gave great pressure to all the individuals whoid their eyes on him.


    Edwin''s eyes widened as he carefully observed this man.


    <em>''What tremendous aura this guy has¡­?! That Royal Bloodline has boosted his aura so greatly?! No¡­ Why can''t I sense the presence of the Royal Bloodline then? This must be that mysterious Fate Energy!''</em>


    This was Crown Prince David Valliadis. He was wearing white clothing with an exquisite design of a lion holding a sword in its paw.


    His Blue Hair was swaying due to the wind, and his golden eyes stared at Edwin gently. The man had very fair skin. It was very simr to Edwin in some aspects. His features were also especially attractive, and David could be considered very handsome.


    If not for Edwin''s Absolute Beauty Skill, David would be on the same level as Edwin.


    "¡­You called out for me, Andre?" The man soon looked in Andre''s direction.


    Andre Valliadis nodded his head and responded quickly, "Yes, Big Brother David. This is the warrior who killed big brother Bernado. Now, he came here to kill me too¡­."


    David looked at Edwin and then saw his Aero Dragon. With a signal, David ordered his Majestic Golden Lion tounch itself at Edwin.


    Meanwhile, Edwinunched his Aero Dragon at that Lion. The two shed, resulting in a very strong shockwave.


    Only Edwin and David remained unaffected as they continued to observe each other.


    Both could sense a very oppressive aura about the other. It was especially true for David.


    He had been on the battlefield for so long, and the killing intent he had umted wasn''t little. For that reason, he could faintly gauge Edwin''s killing intent, and it shook his heart slightly.


    He felt that Edwin had killed nearly thousands of times, if not millions of times more people than him.


    This would be an absolutely shocking number since David had umted his killing intent by killing hundreds of thousands of individuals!

 Chapter 251 - David Vs Edwin

    David and Edwin continued to gauge each other. Edwin soon reverted to his true form, where his muscles had shrunk to their original size.


    Edwin had a feeling that he had to fight seriously or else he might even regret it.


    David''s aura was slowly rising to its peak as he remained in his position. ording to his battle instincts, the man ahead was far beyond any opponent he had ever faced. If he was even slightly careless, he would suffer greatly!


    David soon raised his hand and pointed his finger at Edwin. He ordered, "All of you, get away. This will be my fight!"


    Andre''s guards were surprised to hear those orders. They looked in Andre''s direction and saw their master nodding in agreement.


    Edwin noticed that David was building up a great amount of Gold Elemental Energy within that finger.


    "<strong>Golden Sr Finger!</strong>"


    An intense golden beam of pure Gold Elemental Energy wasunched at Edwin. It was quick and possessing a piercing power!


    Edwinunched towards David as he created a Wind Sphere to block that beam from striking his body.


    When the Gold Elemental Energy struck that Wind Sphere, Edwin experienced a massive shockwave.


    He increased the energy he used in the Wind Sphere and moved towards David.


    David Valliadis frowned as he saw Edwin pushing past his Golden Sr Finger. He realized this attack wasn''t enough to deal with this enemy.


    He unfolded two more of his fingers and pointed them in Edwin''s direction.


    "<strong>Twin Golden Sr Finger!</strong>"


    Soon enough, the two more beams of pure Golden Element wereunched at Edwin. These beams were thicker and appeared to be as intense as the Beamunched previously.


    Edwin''s eyes widened slightly as he couldn''t create a durable defensive barrier in time.


    He controlled the Aero Dragon that immediately appeared and blocked those two beams for Edwin.


    Although these two golden energy beams pierced the Aero Dragon''s Body rather easily, their direction was slightly deflected and failed to strike Edwin''s body.


    The Aero Dragon soon dispersed after it was struck with those Golden Beams.


    Currently, that Majestic Golden Lion''s Avatar was rushing towards Edwin with a ferocious look on its face.


    "¡­I was arrogant to think I could win against you just by using my wind element," Edwin whispered to himself.


    Hell mes released from Edwin''s body as he immediately whispered the name of his next technique, "<strong>Hell Dragon!</strong>"


    A long dragon of pure Hell mes was formed. As soon as it was formed, it shed against the Golden Lion.


    When the two shed, no shockwave urred. The shocking thing was that the Majestic Lion''s body had begun to shatter.


    David Valliadis and Andre Valliadis were shocked to see those mes. They eximed at the same time, "<strong>Demonic mes!</strong>"


    Edwin''s body was enveloped by a great amount of Hell mes, and he immediately rushed towards David.


    David couldn''t block him using those Sr Finger attacks. Instead, he fixed his feet on the ground and readied his body to fight against Edwin in closebat.


    The Gold Element was considerably strengthening his physique. The Gold Element''s increased power, along with his Bloodline Ability, quickly bridged the gap between his Ardor and Edwin''s.


    Edwin threw out a punch at David, which was quickly blocked. David thenunched a double kick at Edwin while rotating his body.


    Edwin blocked those two kicks by raising his left arm. He was waiting for thebo to end before he could counter-attack.


    As soon as he felt David''s second kick striking his left arm, Edwin unleashed a massive quantity of mes from his right foot.


    Edwin then whispered, "<strong>me Wheel!</strong>"


    Edwin''s entire body rotated as heunched multiple kicks at David. David had no choice but to block them while stepping back.


    He found these Hell mes quite strange. They would break his Gold Elemental Armor easily, and he would have to consciously reinforce it with his Ardor, or else he would be gravely injured by a single kick from Edwin.


    Edwin finished that me Wheel attack by kicking David''s chest.


    David was pushed back by ten or so steps. Some blood leaked out of his mouth as he tried to shrug off the pain.


    Edwin then soon moved forwards, increasing his speed with the Hell mes around him.


    The momentum was on his side, and he could defeat David if this continued.


    David was aware of this fact as well. So when he saw Edwining towards him, he strongly pressed the ground.


    Multiple Golden Beams wereunched at Edwin. They were so quick that Edwin had no time to react.


    They immediately pushed Edwin away and prevented him from reaching David''s body.


    David''s motive for using this attack wasn''t to harm Edwin. He knew that an attack of this caliber wouldn''t be able to aplish that. He just wanted some time to catch his breath.


    A couple of secondster, Edwin had already managed to pass those Golden Beams.


    Meanwhile, Edwin''s Hell Dragon had already defeated that Majestic Golden Lion Avatar and was now charging towards David.


    David closed his eyes as he concentrated deeply. He had already estimated the time it would take for Edwin and his Hell Dragon to reach him and was prepared.


    "¡­<strong>Vermillion Lotus!</strong>" David''s eyes snapped open as he stared at Edwin. There was a red-colored me lotus forming ahead of his hands.


    Edwin''s eyes widened in shock as he saw those Vermillion mes! He immediately recognized them ''<em>The Phoenix''s mes?! Not just the Gold Element, but he is even a Phoenix''s Inheritor?!</em>''


    The Vermillion Colored Lotus was expanding rapidly. Soon, it wasrge enough to form a shield ahead of David.


    Edwin and his Hell me Dragon shed against that Vermillion Colored Lotus. Edwin sensed thews of his Hell mes shing with thews present in that Vermillion mes.


    Thews returned to nothingness after shing.


    ''<em>¡­Phoenix mesbined with this irritating bloodline and that Fate Energy. A very annoyingbo this is.</em>''


    ''<em>Humans have developed by leaps and bounds, really. To think some humans can inherit Phoenix''s mes. My knowledge and abilities are outdatedpared to these Royal Bloodline Inheritors. Just who is behind this evolution?</em>''


    While fighting, Edwin didn''t know why he was thinking about these random things. But he was bing very curious about this now.


    David suddenly spoke up at this moment, "This Lotus won''t hold out for long. But I am curious¡­ Why were you attacking my brothers? What sort of grudge do you have against us?"


    "¡­I had nothing better to do," Edwin shrugged in response.


    "¡­You killed my brother and then attacked another because you had nothing better to do? That was your reason?" David''s voice turned cold for the first time since he had arrived.


    Edwin noticed that furious look on David''s face. He grinned sinisterly and spoke, "That''s right. I got to say, the Third Prince managed to endure the torture for quite long before he died. I was wondering how long the fifth prince would survive."


    David''s aura became calmer in response to Edwin''s answer. He whispered calmly, "Very well, this means I don''t need to feel guilty about crushing you."


    An even oppressive aura was released from David''s body in response to his words. He was absolutely serious now!


    ~~


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 Chapter 252 - The Fusion

    Edwin noticed that David was going to power up even more. The Vermillion me Lotus was growing unstable with that huge influx of power.


    It was time to get back. And that''s what Edwin did. He jumped back from his spot.


    Soon after he jumped back, the Vermillion me Lotus exploded! A dust cloud began to rise at that spot and covered the areapletely.


    Edwin knew how David had suddenly boosted his energy. It was a rather risky method and required exceptional control over his elements.


    <em>''He is fusing his Gold Element with the Phoenix''s mes. The boost in these two elements won''t just be an addition¡­ Theirws are fusing as well.''</em>


    A lot of energy was leaking from David''s body. Meaning, he was wasting a lot of energy just by this power-up.


    ''<em>He has received a significant boost from this fusion. I might need to use my Divine Holy Devil Physique to defeat him or maybe sessfully run¡­''</em>


    Edwin wasn''t thinking about running away from David. He was more worried about the presence of those 6 Star Warriors who would approach this spot after sensing so much energy.


    The dust cloud soon dispersed, and David''s figure was visible to Edwin.


    A faint outline of the Phoenix''s Aura was visible around David''s body. Moreover, there was another Golden Outline around that Phoenix''s Aura¡­


    It showed that the two powers had fused. This was merely an imperfect fusion.


    No matter how much of a genius David was, he couldn''t perfectlybine two different energies. To do that, he had to gain insight into their respectivews. And this was impossible at his current realm.


    This was still a rather impressive fusion. At the least, David was strong enough topletely crush Edwin right now.


    "<strong>Fireball!</strong>" David used a very basic technique at Edwin.


    He was overflowing with so much energy that he was confident in winning against Edwin. This fireball wasunched out of his palm.


    The fireball was actually ratherrge. Edwin felt as though David had thrown a miniature sun at him.


    Moreover, this miniature sun didn''t just hold the power of mes. It held the Gold Element''s power as well. Thus, it would be very hard to stop or explode.


    <em>''There is not much point in concealing my power any longer¡­</em>'' Edwin thought.


    Edwin knew he had failed here today. He couldn''t kill Andre Valliadis any longer. Even if he tried, Edwin was sure that Fate Energy would protect Andre by using David.


    Killing David felt very difficult as well. If it was his original body, it would have been very much possible. But this body didn''t possess his Demon God''s Bloodline.


    His Demon God''s Bloodline would have been very useful in resisting this fate energy! That Bloodline possessed many abilities through which the chances of killing David or Andre would increase greatly. There was also the fact that his Celestial Bloodline had mutated in his original body. It was at the same level as a Celestial God.


    Because of these two bloodlines, Azaroth''s Divine Holy Devil Transformation was much stronger than Edwin''s.


    Edwin used ck lightning and shed away. He wasn''t stupid enough to remain at his spot and let that Fireball strike him.


    David''s eyes moved as he searched for Edwin.


    David couldn''t find him in his left, right, or front. He even took an about turn as he thought Edwin might be behind him. However, he still failed to find Edwin.


    Soon, he sensed the sound of lightning crackling and raised his head. David''s eyes widened slightly as he saw Edwin releasing his ck Lightning in the clouds.


    ording to what David saw, it was as if Edwin was supercharging those clouds. Edwin grinned slightly as he saw David had noticed what he was doing.


    <em>''Far toote to stop me now!''</em>


    "<strong>Lightning Rain!</strong>"


    Immediately, ck Lightning was released by those supercharged clouds as it approached David!


    The Phoenix Aurabined with the Golden Aura around David''s body was strong enough to resist that ck Lightning Bolt.


    However, this wasn''t just a single bolt. There were a whole lot of them approaching David from different angles!


    The number of those lightning bolts couldn''t be estimated by a naked eye.


    David wasn''t scared, though. Currently, he was overflowing with power and confidence.


    It was rightly so¡­ Edwin truly couldn''t damage David using multiple lightning bolts like this.


    In reality, Edwin used this attack to check whether David had congealed the phoenix aura perfectly or was it imperfect or weak in some parts.


    However, after this attack, he realized that David wasn''t solidifying the aura perfectly around his body. It was imperfect in many areas, but David released a lot of energy to cover that part.


    <em>''He isn''t scared of Energy Exhaustion. I guess that''s to be expected of Fate Energy. It''s quickly filling up his reserves even as he continues to burn that much Ardor.</em>'' Edwin let out a sigh as he knew he truly was too weak to fight against David in this form.


    "I will need to get very serious¡­" Edwin whispered solemnly.


    "<strong>Divine Holy Devil Transformation!</strong>"


    Edwin initiated this transformation quickly, and soon enough, the White Wings appeared on his back.


    Two demonic horns grew out of his head, and his eye color changed as well. One eye was of Purple Color, while the other had a Golden Pupil.


    The blood in David''s body boiled excitedly as it sensed Edwin''s energy.


    Even David was bbergasted as he sensed Edwin''s energy rise. Currently, it had risen so high that it was utterly unquantifiable.


    "¡­You still possessed this sort of Ace under your sleeve," David spoke to Edwin, "Moreover, what a strangeposition of energies this is. It''s a fusion of the Humane, Demonic, and Holy energies¡­."


    Edwin remained emotionless as he gazed at David. He soon pointed his index and second index finger at David before whispering, "<strong>Extinguishing Ray!</strong>"


    David immediately retaliated with his Golden Sr Fingers- Five Finger Version.


    The two beams collided and resulted in a veryrge explosion. David had a frown on his face as he noticed that this was a draw.


    He had used five fingers in that attack earlier and was expecting to overpower Edwin''s Extinguishing Ray.


    "<strong>Phoenix Wings!</strong>" Wings of me were created on David''s back as he immediately charged at Edwin.


    Edwin was moving towards David as well. He didn''t fear David now that he was using his Divine Holy Devil Physique.


    They soon shed in the air. Their first sh resulted in Edwin punched David''s face. However, David sent a kick to Edwin''s guts and threw him away at the same time.


    Because of David''s bad posture, his attackcked any real power behind it.


    "<strong>Devil Spheres!</strong>" Edwinunched a couple of Spheres filled with Demonic Energy.


    Although David possessed the Phoenix Energy, he couldn''t be considered immune to the Demonic Ardor.


    It would still hurt him if a strong one struck him.


    David, though, didn''t bother defending those orbs. He congealed multiple me arrows in the air.


    "<strong>Fire!</strong>"


    All those me Arrows were immediatelyunched at Edwin. They pierced those demonic orbs and tried to strike Edwin.


    Edwin used his Heavenly Lightning to dodge those me Arrows and approached David. David had anticipated Edwin''s movements this time and hadunched me Spears in that direction.


    These me Spears possessed the Phoenix mes as well as the Gold Elemental Aura.


    Edwin let out a sigh and raised his hands.


    "<strong>Lightning Arrows!</strong>"

 Chapter 253 - A Path Forward

    Edwin''s Lightning Arrows shed against those me Spears, resulting in multiple small explosions.


    From a distance, these explosions would appear to be fireworks for themon individuals.


    While these explosions urred, Edwin and David were soon fighting closebat in the air.


    Their speed was so swift that even Andre only saw shes of their figures before they would disappear from his view.


    ording to what Andre understood and felt, his eldest brother was losing¡­


    ''<em>Eldest Brother David can''t win even after utilizing his full power?</em>'' It was the first time Andre saw someone overwhelming the Royal Bloodline of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Moreover, he could sense that Edwin was overwhelming David in pure power as well as techniques.


    If not for David''s fortuitous encounters and his experience in fighting, he would have already died to Edwin''s hand.


    And if Edwin was asked why David had survived for so long. He would have one answer. That Fate Energy!


    Every time he was about to strike David with a solid blow that could kill him, thews around him would weaken, and that power was added to David''s Armor.


    It urred so subtly in the fight that if one didn''t possess Edwin''s sharp instincts and his Mystic Eyes of Perception, they would have never found about it.


    Edwin knew something like this would ur, but seeing it happening in front of his eyes yet remaining helpless was a very frustrating and addicting feeling.


    He wanted to challenge this fate and surpass it! Thus, he needed to persist against David right now.


    As the fight continued, Edwin noticed that David''s body was trembling due to the massive strain ced over it.


    David''s reactions were getting slower.


    Edwin kicked David''s gut while David brought his arms forward and blocked it.


    Vibrations reverberated through David''s body as Edwin''s kick struck him. Edwin''s Hell mes neutralized the Phoenix me''s protection around David''s body, and a faint amount of Red Lightning was injected into David''s body.


    This Red Lightning wasn''t strong enough to particrly harm David. It would merely slow his reactions.


    Suddenly, Edwin used the Red Lightning to increase his body''s speed.


    David was surprised at the sudden boost in Edwin''s speed, and before he realized it, Edwin struck his head and threw him down at the ground.


    David''s body was soon about to crash into the ground where the herbs were growing. Suddenly, wooden vines grew from the ground and caught David before he could crash into the ground.


    This was done by Andre. Andre hatefully red in Edwin''s direction. If not for his intervention, David''s crash would have destroyed a part of his Herbal Garden!


    Edwin hardly cared about how Andre felt.


    "<strong>Nether me Dragon!</strong>"


    This technique was slightly different from the Hell Dragon.


    The Hell Dragon would create a long and thin dragon that would attack the enemy. The Nether me Dragon was muchrger than a Hell Dragon.


    Moreover, the energy it contained was a mixture of pure Demonic Energy and the Destructive Hell mes!


    "Wooden Golem!" Andre shouted out as he used that attack.


    A Wooden Golem was created just ahead of David''s body. This attack was used by Andre after using thest bits of David''s Energy in that relic.


    Now, if he tried to resist Edwin''s attacks, he would bepletely helpless against it.


    But Andre felt that this risk was worth it if he could save his eldest brother.


    Edwin let out a sigh when he saw that Wooden Golem.


    The Wooden Golem was actually not that strong. The Nether me Dragon only needed three hits to destroy it.


    However, the time it took for the Wooden Golem to be destroyed was more than enough for David to get up and get away.


    "<strong>Majestic me Golden Lion!</strong>"


    David soonunched another Lion Avatar in Edwin''s direction. This time the Lion Avatar was filled with his Gold Elemental Energy and the Vermillion mes of the Phoenix.


    The Nether me Dragon and that Majestic me Golden Lion crashed into each other. The Majestic me Golden Lion lost out against the Nether me Dragon in their first exchange.


    However, the Golden Lion Avatar managed to push back the Nether me Dragon in their next exchange.


    The two Avatars were getting weaker with each sh. Edwin and David focused on each other.


    David was panting heavily at this point while staring at Edwin. He was thinking of ways to defeat Edwin but came up with nothing.


    Edwin wanted to keep fighting because he saw himself winning soon. Fate, on the other hand, had different ns, literally.


    <em>''Two 6 Star Warriors approaching this area soon. Alright¡­ If I don''t run quickly, they might catch up to me.''</em>


    However, Edwin also didn''t just want to run away. He stared at David and spoke, "I had thought that the Crown Prince of the Sinyalian Kingdom would be able to give me some challenge. But you aren''t much. Even with that Fate Energy."


    David, Andre, and Andre''s guards heard Edwin''s words. Andre''s guards immediately became angry as they furiously red at Edwin.


    They felt that this guy was going too far.


    Even though they were all angry, no one tried to attack Edwin. This wasn''t a joke! They had all witnessed Edwin and David''s fight.


    They were also 5 Star Warriors, but no one was delusional enough to believe they could survive against Edwin for even dozens of seconds.


    David and Andre remained calm even after hearing Edwin''s provoking words.


    David spoke with a sigh, "There is always someone greater. Even I believed no one of my age would be my match. In fact, I believed that no one in the 5 Star Rank could defeat me or overpower me. But you have clearly proved me wrong. My body is at its limits."


    Edwin remained silent at those words. He didn''t expect this man to suddenly admit it truthfully. He wanted to mess up with David''s mentality, not help him advance mentally.


    David added after a long pause, "¡­Thank you. Your presence gives me confidence that I won''t be lonely even if I try my best to be stronger. There will someone be above me or at the least equal to me in that rank."


    Edwin could rte to those words, actually. He had experienced that feeling of loneliness multiple times in his previous life.


    It broke him when he experienced it. There would appear to be no path forward. Sometimes, he would even lose his motivation to work hard. He would lose his passion for growing stronger.


    And Azaroth would always be reminded of that when he met someone stronger than himself. Someone whose power would make Azaroth admire him. However, admiration would stay in his mind for a brief period before the desire to crush that person would emerge.


    Edwin now understood David''s mentality deeply. It was too simr to his own!


    The only difference between the two was that Edwin was a transmigrator whose mentality had been rebuilt in Purgatory. Meanwhile, David''s mentality was a na?ve version of Edwin''s mentality.


    Just the pure desire to get stronger and help hisrades!


    Without even realizing it, Edwin was bitterly smiling behind his mask, "¡­You crushed my ns by appearing here today. I am frustrated but also relieved. Fighting against you has shown me a ray of light that there is no limit to growth."


    <em>''I was wrong to assume that the Triquetra Ardor would make me invincible in the same rank. I can never underestimate the mysteries of this world. Even a Demon Venerable won''t know them all, let alone me!</em>''


    ~~


    I hope you guys love the chapter.


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 Chapter 254 - First Loss

    Edwin had no choice but to escape from that location soon enough. With his Angelic Wings, he didn''t find it difficult to escape at a quick speed.


    Edwin was feeling slightly down at this moment. He had a bitter smile behind his mask as he thought about what he had spoken about earlier.


    <em>''I lost. I lost against Fate. I lost against David Valliadis. And I lost against the Royal Bloodline of the Sinyalian Kingdom.''</em>


    Since his reincarnation, this could be considered the first time he had utterly lost in a situation.


    His strategy had failed, and the oues would be the pr opposite of what he had hoped for.


    Edwin knew that admitting his loss was the first step of improvement. He now had to analyze what he had done wrong and how he should move forward.


    Fortunately, the situation was bad but not the worse. Edwin''s identity and his rtion to Sophie hadn''t been revealed.


    All his ns of framing the Crown Prince had copsed, though. Once the king receives this information, he would definitely feel guilty over doubting the Crown Prince.


    The King is going to gift something to the Crown Prince in the form of an apology.


    Meanwhile, David Valliadis knew a lot about Edwin''s techniques. Especially about his Divine Holy Devil Physique.


    Once this information is revealed, the king will be absolutely startled and ask his men to investigate for an individual who fits that profile!


    ''<em>I might need toy low for some time.</em>'' Edwin thought with a frown.


    Meanwhile, David Valliadis and Andre Valliadis fell on the ground when they noticed Edwin had left.


    Two guardians of the Sinyalian Kingdom living in the Capital City appeared in the Herbal Garden.


    They frowned when they sensed that the demonic and holy ardor had vanished. They couldn''t even pursue it¡­


    They flew down to meet the two princes and their guards right away. They wanted to learn more about the event from them and track down the perpetrator.


    Just knowing the direction in which the perpetrator had fled would be very useful to them.


    "Greetings, Your Highness!" The two collectively spoke when they talked to David Valliadis and Andre Valliadis.


    "Let''s cut to the chase, shall we? The perpetrator fled to the north," David Valliadis immediately spoke.


    The two 6 Star Warriors immediately furrowed their brows. They understood why the perpetrator had fled to the north.


    If the perpetrator went to the north, he would reach the main city of Mesenana City. He could conceal his aura, and the two 6 Star Warriors would never be able to find him among them.


    They knew that this warrior was very skilled in concealing his aura since they couldn''t sense it right now.


    Still, one of the two Guardians immediately flew in the North direction to track Edwin. The other one stayed behind to figure out the situation.


    "We sensed Demonic Ardor, Holy Ardor, and Humane Ardor being utilized at the same time. Was this an alliance of sorts?" He asked rather curiously.


    It was rare for an organization to have a Celestial and a Demonic Being co-existing peacefully.


    David and Andre shook their heads at the same time. It was Andre who responded to that question.


    "You are mistaken to believe that there are numerous perpetrators. There was a single one," Andre spoke seriously.


    The guardian''s eyes widened slightly as he wondered, "A single one? I see¡­ He was using a Demonic Weapon and a Holy Weapon."


    The two princes shook their heads again.


    David spoke, "Wrong again. That wasn''t some weapon releasing that much energy. The warrior was using Holy, Demonic, and Humanely Ardor at the same time."


    "He was a 5 Star Warrior, and I fought against him using everything I had, but I lost. His power was beyond anything I have ever witnessed of someone at the 5 Star Rank," David spoke solemnly.


    "What?! His Highness fought against him and lost?!" The guardian stepped back in shock.


    This was pretty big news! David had been defeated by a warrior of the same rank! This sort of thing had never urred before!


    David had been blessed with great martial talent. Never had he suffered a defeat against someone at the same rank.


    Many individuals of the same or lower rank would give up when they knew that they would be fighting against David.


    Naturally, this prestige wasn''t without its feats.


    Just 2 years ago, the Glerian Kingdom had sent many geniuses to the battlefield against the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    They numbered nearly 30 andprised of many different sects. Most of them were from the Red Crown Sect that was under the Royal Family.


    Well, only 3 of them returned from that battlefield. And none of those 3 were from the Red Crown Sect!


    Among those 30 geniuses, there were two Royal Princes as well. They both lost their lives under David''s hands!


    It wouldn''t be wrong to say that David was feared inside and outside the Sinyalian Kingdom by the warriors of the same rank.


    The Guardian felt as if David''s Legend had just shattered after this loss and thought David would feel down about it.


    However, he was startled to see a wide grin on David''s face. That smile was filled with the pain of the loss and also a strange excitement.


    "Bring me to my father. I need to inform him of this news personally," David pleaded seriously.


    Even though David was the Crown Prince, he couldn''t actually order the guardians. They were respectful to him only because he was the future king. But until he became the king, he wouldn''t gain the power tomand them.


    "¡­Very well," The Guardian still agreed to the Crown Prince''s request.


    Although David didn''t have the power tomand them, his prestige was great enough that a guardian would normally grant his request.


    Both David and Andre were very tired. But they soon felt mysterious energy around their bodies. This was the Guardian''s energy through which he was controlling their bodies.


    The two Royal Princes were taken to the Royal Pce!


    Within half an hour, they reached the Royal Pce.


    David, Andre, and that Guardian soon stood ahead of the King. They all kowtowed to pay proper respects to the King.


    "¡­David? Andre? And Guardian Metal? What are you doing here?" The King asked with amanding voice.


    "Allow me to exin, Your Majesty," It was Andre who spoke up.


    "The perpetrator behind what had been urring since a few weeks ago attacked me today in the herbal garden. He seemed to know my routine and attacked me when I had all my guards with me. Meaning, he didn''t fear my guards at all," Andre spoke solemnly.


    The King received a shock to hear that this had urred. Moreover, in the Herbal Garden.


    He couldn''t help but stare at David and frown.


    Andre noticed the King''s action and added, "The perpetrator isn''t rted to Eldest Brother David. I am sure of this."


    "The perpetrator was acting as one of Eldest Brother''smanders. And he asked me to give up my Herbal Garden to Eldest Brother. However, he had no idea that I had already offered the Herbal Garden to Eldest Brother on numerous asions. If the eldest brother wanted it, he only had to ask. He didn''t need to threaten me."


    "After he found out that his lie won''t work. He tried to kill me. However, earlier this event, one of eldest brother''smanders had given me a spatial relic that contained eldest brother''s power, his attack, and the ability to summon the eldest brother to that location. I believe eldest brother''smanders gave such a relic to each one of us." Andre spoke while staring at David.


    David nodded slowly, "I wasn''t sure of who would be targeted next, so I thought it would be best if you all had a life-preserving relic. An armor wouldn''t work since Bernado was dead even after wearing it. But now that I have fought against this warrior, I know that even my relic wouldn''t have provided sufficient protection. If not for our great luck, the two of us would be dead."


    The King continued to listen to their words with a nk expression. He was struggling to understand this entire situation.


    Things had changed too swiftly for his mind to register. He had been thinking that the Crown Prince''s Faction was growing too arrogant, but it seemed that this entire thing was nned by a third party.


    "¡­Tell me all that you noticed about this warrior. Don''t leave behind a single detail!" The King ordered with a threatening tone.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all loved this chapter. Follow my insta page: reveriecreations04

 Chapter 255 - The Mysterious Sensing Array

    The two princes narrated the entire event to the King in detail.


    After listening to everything, the King frowned deeply as he noticed how this individual had framed David. Moreover, he would have seeded in driving a grudge between the King and David if not for David''s cautious actions.


    The King was also rather ashamed to know that someone had manipted him so urately. This embarrassment also led to his anger towards this perpetrator.


    David then added, "I will take my leave now. I need to go and train."


    The King was left in the hall with his mouth agape. His son was finally going to resume his training?!


    David had nearly stopped training after his fight against those geniuses from the Glerian Kingdom. He had always thought he was too strong and also wanted to enjoy a challenge and experience excitement.


    Only with the threat of death from someone of the same level as him could excite him.


    Today, he met this person. Someone in the same realm who was much stronger than him!


    The King was delighted to see this change. He knew that David was bound to surpass him. He had been chosen by the Legendary Phoenix Spirit as her next inheritor.


    Andre spoke out, "I apologize, father, but some parts of the herbal garden were destroyed due to that individual and eldest brother''s battle. Allow me to return and tend to the herbs again."


    The King thought for some moments before nodding, "Alright." He soon added with a slightly worried face, "Take a guardian with you. If this perpetrator attacks you again, he needs to pay the appropriate price in response."


    "¡­Yes, father," Andre replied before taking his leave.


    The King considered several options for obtaining additional information about the offender, but the best he coulde up with was to prepare a reward. David Valliadis and Andre Valliadis described Edwin''s full appearance in this bounty. It also stated his powers, and it was advised that if anybody saw him, they should report him to the Kingdom''s authorities as quickly as possible.


    Needless to say, this bounty was quite useless. A random person won''t rte this bounty to Edwin Rhodes.


    Only those who knew of Edwin''s true power would rte this perpetrator to Edwin. These individuals were Jonas Rhodes, Shun Gordon, Bianca Russel, Rein Schwarz, Nancy Gill, Tronte, and Sophie Russel.


    Even Siluca didn''t know that Edwin was actually the Rhodes Family''s Heir. She only knew of his identity as Dark Shadow and his name as Nudar.


    All the people who knew of Edwin''s true power had their reasons for concealing this information from the King.


    Edwin nned to stay in Sophie''s mansion for another week before returning to Kloras Town. The main reason was that Spencer Russel was returning to his house.


    He had to meet that man. Spencer was definitely going to find out about his rtionship with Sophie through the Royal Guards stationed around the mansion.


    Even Bianca couldn''t order them to keep their mouth shut. Actually, if Bianca gave such an order, they would only be suspicious of her¡­


    The best action in this situation was to act naturally.


    ~~


    <em><strong>Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.</strong></em>


    It had been nearly one and half a month since Helena had begun to train under Tiana.


    Helena could now spar against her newborn partner, which was a Frozen Spirit Fox. Now, Helena was proficient in guiding someone else in the same techniques she had trained in.


    Tiana thought with a serious expression, <em>''I need to make the sect famous first.''</em>


    She knew how to aplish that.


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Yrellea did send me information that a convention between the sects is going to begin soon enough. All newly created sects can participate in this convention. If I reach the top 10 ranks, my name should spread in the entire kingdom.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    "Helena, I will leave the sect for a month or two. It will be in your hands till then. Come with me. I will link your spirit to the sensing array of our sect. You will find out when someone is approaching our sect. When you go into the array chamber, you can even see who is approaching the sect." Tiana spoke.


    Helena was slightly startled before she nodded, "¡­Alright, elder sister."


    The two walked inside the array chamber of this Ice Pce that was created by Azaroth. Every time Helena walked inside, she couldn''t help but stare at this magnificent view here.


    There were too many arrays working at the same time.


    The best thing about these arrays was that one array literally converted the cold air in the surroundings to the energy that empowered most of the arrays in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was not wasting its resources to operate these arrays.


    Helena had studied cultivation for this one and half months very seriously. She knew just howplex it was to create arrays.


    And she was inplete awe of the person who had created this Ice Pce and all these arrays.


    <em>''Elder Sister Tiana refers to him as Master Azaroth. I hope I have the opportunity to meet him.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Helena also thought of her parents. She longed to go out and meet them, but she knew she wouldn''t be able to do so anytime soon.


    Tiana had to leave, and the entire sect was left in her hands, and she couldn''t betray Tiana''s trust.


    Naturally, Tiana wouldn''t have trusted a random person to take care of the sect while she was away. However, she had gauged Helena''s character during this time.


    She was a very simple and honest individual. Tiana was a very good judge of someone''s character. She also knew that to build a longsting sect, she had to have someone trustworthy.


    ording to Sargan, Helena''s background was absolutely clean. There was no possible reason for her to betray Tiana.


    Anyway, the two walked to the sensing array.


    Tiana stared at that array with a serious expression and then extended her arms towards it. She ordered, "Follow my lead."


    Helena didn''t understand what they were going, but she followed Tiana''s actions.


    Soon, a blue light covered Tiana and Helena''s palms. This blue light was slowly enveloping their entire bodies.


    Helena''s spirit experienced a tingly feeling as this blue light continued to linger over her body.


    Suddenly, a wide scenery appeared in Helena''s mind, and she was absolutely startled, <em>''W-What?!''</em>


    Helena soon noticed something strange and immediately thought <em>''Wait a second¡­ This looks like the surroundings of the Sect.''</em>


    "I have connected your spirit to the sensing array. An image should have appeared in your mind. Now, try to use your spirit to look around." Tiana''s instructions suddenly appeared in Helena''s mind.


    Helena did as she was ordered and asked her spirit to show her the scenery on the right side.


    The image in her head began to move at a quick pace. It was as if someone was turning his head.


    Soon, Helena could see the scenery in that direction.


    <em>''Was I always able to see such far distance?''</em> She wondered in confusion.


    "You will also be able to sense when someone enters the range.. It will feel weird for the first few times, but I am sure that you will get used to it." Tiana added

 Chapter 256 - Qadville City

    After connecting Helena''s spirit to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, Tiana left the area.


    She was hiding her beautiful face behind a veil. Azaroth had given her a mask, but she was to use it in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    That mask was to prevent Jonas Rhodes from figuring out Tiana''s true identity. However, in the Glerian Kingdom, this mask was unnecessary.


    Behind the veil, Tiana''s face appeared rather blurry. However, if someone looked at her face, the person would know that Tiana was a beautiful woman. She was concealing her lovely face beneath the veil imperfectly to avoid getting into any sort of trouble.


    This was actually very normal in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Beautiful women wore veils to conceal part of their beauty and avoid trouble. Only the women who had a disfigured or rather ugly face would wear a mask.


    Many individuals in the Glerian Kingdom actually looked down on those women. This was the natural psychology of the people.


    They would be more inclined to try and befriend a beautiful woman rather than an ugly woman. That was especially true regarding men.


    Qadville was the city where this Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament was going to be held.


    More than 20 sects were participating in this tournament, including the small sects.


    Tiana was going to represent the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and form connections with these delegates from the other sects.


    The top sects like the Red Crown Sect, the Origin Sect, the ck Lake Sect, and the Night Mountain Sect all had 5 Star Warriors as elders and a peak grade 5 Star Warrior as the sect leader.


    <em>''It would be a bad idea to form connections with a top sect. I need to form connections with those of a simr rank at myself for now. Well, until the sect expands in size, that is. Once the sect has more disciples, I can take the risk,</em>'' Tiana thought deeply.


    The rtions with the other sect would also determine the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s standing in the future.


    Only if it had a good standing could it affect the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    It would take her nearly one whole week on her mount. Tiana''s current mount was her Frozen Spirit Fox Queen.


    In terms of age, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was barely 2 months old or so. But she had advanced to 3 Star Rank in two short months. This rapid cultivation was due to the spiritual condensing array.


    Moreover, Azaroth had created a special spot where these foxes could grow quickly. Among them, this Frozen Spirit Fox Queen possessed the best bloodline and thus gained the most.


    The speed of this Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was quite quick as she swiftly ran on the icy ground.


    If she continued to run at this speed, she would reach the ins after 3 days.


    Naturally, Tiana informed Azaroth of her current actions.


    Azaroth approved of her actions as she was doing a good job. The sect did need to get famous. And this might be the best possible way to make the sect famous.


    The ck Lake Sect may be a problem, but Azaroth had strategies for dealing with them if they became a nuisance.


    Currently, Azaroth was entirely silent as he read Edwin''s memories.


    <em>''David Valliadis. That guy''s current strength is probably beyond that of ck Hurricane''s human form. What a surprising talent he is.</em>'' Azaroth thought with a grim face.


    Regardless of how much information or methods he possessed, he would never underestimate someone''s talent.


    ''<em>I killed those stronger than me in Purgatory. If I could do it, why can''t someone else do it? Moreover, this guy seems to be supported by Fate as well. He has an even greater chance of aplishing such a feat.''</em> Azaroth thought.


    He further analyzed <em>''Edwin''s fight against David Valliadis has given me a lot of information. Fortunately, the Fate Energy doesn''t assist David Valliadis in his fight against me other than recovering his energy.''</em>


    "Mhm~ What''s the matter, Master? Are you alright?" He was abruptly brought back to reality when he heard a question. It was Laura''s voice.


    Azaroth soon replied to her, "Nothing much. I was just thinking about some stuff."


    Since the time he had sex with Laura, their rtionship has changed a lot. Laura found out that Azaroth had inherited the Wood Element and the Nature''s Blessing from her.


    She was excited when she found out about that.


    Laura assigned a few tasks to her subordinates and ordered them to train until they aplished those objectives.


    Meanwhile, she went to an empty training ground with Azaroth. She told him that she would help him in training the wood element.


    Azaroth was truly an amateur in controlling the Wood Element. Unlike these other elements, thews in the Wood Element werepletely different.


    It even seemed to contain life energy¡­


    Azaroth had always been controlling the destructive force in the elements. Or the elements capable of mass destruction.


    It was the first time he was controlling an element that possessed something simr to life energy.


    Thus, Azaroth found it difficult to control it. This issue wasn''t due to hisck of talent but more rted to his instincts.


    Laura saw this as an opportunity to spend some alone time with Azaroth. Moreover, she knew that her master wouldn''t deny it if it was training.


    Azaroth was getting better as he observed how Laura controlled her wood element using his Mystic Eyes of Perception. So he thought it wouldn''t be a bad idea to spend some time with her.


    "Master, I now have 80 subordinates. Most of them are at 2 Star Rank, while nearly 20 are at 3 Star Rank. What should I do next?" Laura asked while moving a little too close to Azaroth.


    She kept her expression entirely calm, but it was entirely useless. Azaroth could easily see through her emotions using his Mystic Eyes of Perception. He knew she was nervous.


    Internally, she was screaming in excitement.


    Azaroth smiled slightly and muttered, "Focus on their foundations more. I will give you a pill in the next couple of days. That should help all the 2 Star Warriors to break through to the 3 Star Rank."


    While speaking, he raised his hand and caressed Laura''s blonde hair. Her blonde hair was very soft, and Laura nearly purred in delight as she felt Azaroth''s gentle touch.


    "Let''s go to the market. I want to eat something," Azaroth suddenly suggested.


    "<strong>YES!</strong>" Laura spoke a little bit too excitedly. When she realized her error, she paused for a couple of seconds and spoke with a faint whisper, "¡­I mean, if that''s your order, master."


    Azaroth chuckled at her antics and soon walked in the market''s direction.


    Laura shook her head swiftly and bolted after Azaroth. She stopped running when she reached Azaroth.


    Nervously, she turned her head and looked at his face.


    Azaroth raised his brow in confusion, and Laura immediately averted her gaze.


    A couple of secondster, Laura asked with a low voice, "¡­C-Can we hold hands, master?"


    Azaroth replied almost immediately, "¡­Sure."


    Laura was surprised to hear Azaroth agree with her request. She had been preparing herself for rejection.


    She then moved even closer to Azaroth and held his hands. Holding hands was merely the first step. The next task for Laura was to not identally release Azaroth''s hand.


    Soon, some random worries crept into Laura''s head ''<em>I hope my hand isn''t sweaty. Master doesn''t dislike my skin, right?''</em>


    Azaroth noticed Laura''s worried expression, but he let the situation continue as it was. He was thinking about his next possible actions.


    Mainly thinking about how he could initiate the war between the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom as soon as possible.


    ~~


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 Chapter 257 - Joining The Queue

    The week passed rather quickly. Tiana was in Qadville City. It appeared to be a very peaceful city on the surface.


    In reality, Qadville City was ruled over by a tyrannical lord. The governor basically did whatever he wanted.


    No matter how much the peopleined, the authorities of the Glerian Kingdom won''t act against him.


    Onlyter did the people figure out that the Governor had connections within a few top sects. The man had two sons and three daughters.


    His two sons were the underlings of some great talents in the top sects, while two of his three daughters were concubines of the descendants of the elders from the Origin Sect and the Night Mountain Sect.


    His third daughter, the youngest out of the three, was a disciple of a respected elder of the ck Lake Sect.


    The Governor''s strength was at the peak of the 4 Star Rank. It couldn''t be considered much in the eyes of the sect, but to the people, this man was an invincible demon.


    The governor overtaxed his subjects to gain more wealth. Those who couldn''t pay that excessive tax had their property seized and then killed secretly.


    Even after receiving severalints about this governor, the King did nothing. It was because the governor usually offered the Glerian Kingdom arge portion of the tax money.


    The King was satisfied as long as he received the tax money and this governor didn''t go against his rule.


    The city was having a rare period of tranquility at the time.


    This was due to the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament.


    Many tourists would be arriving in this city. These tourists would be paying money to watch this entire tournament.


    As a result, the sects couldn''t have this governor scare the visitors away.


    If the visitors ran away, the reputation and the money they earned would be significantly less.


    The sects would demonstrate the supremacy of their pedagogical skills over one another using the Eclipse battleground''s Tournament.


    Moreover, this would also be an opportunity for a sect''s genius to gain prestige. Most of the disciples who achieved a good ranking in this tournament were considered the future pirs of the sect.


    Normally, this tournament urs every 10 years. However, this time the situation was slightly different as this tournament was urring just 3 years after the previous one.


    The reason for this change was David Valliadis!


    Two years ago, David Valliadis had in nearly all the renowned geniuses who had gained tremendous fame from this event.


    All the sects of the Glerian Kingdom had been absolutely humiliated! To recover their prestige, they decided to create a new batch of elites. One that would be even stronger than before.


    And now, after 2 years, they had created a tournament where the rewards were even more extravagant than before.


    Tiana looked around the city and soon walked towards a citizen who had just walked out of a shop with a bag in her hand.


    "Where should I go to register for the Eclipse Battlefield''s Tournament?" She asked with a respectful tone.


    The woman tilted her head in Tiana''s direction. There was an emotionless look on her face as she gauged Tiana''s identity.


    She remained silent for a couple of seconds which confused Tiana.


    "Do you know or not?" Tiana asked a little impatiently.


    "It would be slightly troublesome for me to inform you about it. If only you could help me out a bit¡­" The woman spoke, showing a glint of greediness in her eyes.


    Tiana immediately understood what this woman meant. She was asking for a tip in return.


    Tiana pulled out a couple of gold coins from her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring and handed them to this woman.


    The woman immediately held those gold coins and ced them in her purse. She was so fast that Tiana barely saw her movements.


    Instead of that emotionless look, there was now a bright smile on that woman''s face.


    "Go straight down this road, take a right. You will see a long line for people registering for Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament. Join that line and register yourself." The woman replied happily.


    Soon, she lowered her voice and whispered, "A tip for a kinddy like you. Stay careful about the molesters. The men try to use this opportunity to grab some benefits."


    Tiana understood what this woman was trying to say and nodded, "Alright."


    Tiana followed the instructions provided to her and reached the spot where she saw a long line.


    There were nearly hundreds of warriors in the line.


    Tiana frowned slightly as she thought <em>''So many warriors are going to participate in this tournament?! They number in hundreds or probably even more than that!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    In reality, Tiana was underestimating the number severely. There were more than a thousand participants after including all the disciples from the different sects.


    There were no restrictions regarding the number of disciples who could participate from a single sect. The restriction was focused on their cultivation base. They had to be stronger than the 2 Star Rank, and their age had to be less than 25 years.


    Each sect would use this opportunity to find precious talents within their sect and find disciples who were worth grooming.


    It was a very precious opportunity for the disciples possessing low cultivation.


    However, Tiana also didn''t know that the 4 Star Ranked Warriors didn''t need to get in the line like other people. They could skip this lengthy queue and directly inform the officials that she possessed the 4 Star Rank Cultivation.


    The officials would first test her cultivation before focusing on the other participants.


    However, since Tiana was unaware of this rule, she joined the queue like a normal participant.


    Many men gasped in shock when they looked in her direction. Tiana seemed to be a perfect ice-cold beauty¡­


    The white clothes she wore made her appear simr to a fairy to these men''s eyes.


    There were even a few men who approached her and spoke, "Would you like to join ahead of me? I am ready to give you my position in the queue."


    Tiana cast a peek at these ''gentlemen.'' Even a blind man would see that these men were simply doing their hardest to create a positive impression on Tiana.


    Tiana didn''t want to owe them any favors, so she rejected these offers.


    The guys were dissatisfied, but in their hearts, they were relieved that they wouldn''t have to swap ces with Tiana in the queue.


    It wasn''t fun to wait for so long.


    The men returned to their positions while Tiana waited for her turn. She sensed that there was not a single 4 Star Warrior in this queue.


    ''Are the disciples fighting in this tournament so weak? Won''t I win easily then?'' She was slightly excited as she thought of this.


    In reality, the 4 Star Warriors of the different sects were living and enjoying themselves in the Inns of Qadville City.


    They didn''t need to personallye and line up in this queue. Such menial tasks were to be handled by their junior brothers.


    Unfortunately, Tiana hade alone and couldn''t assign her tasks to someone else.


    Within this queue, some troublemakers were excited to see a beauty like Tiana here. They tried to move towards her position and molest her.


    Unfortunately for them, Tiana sensed their actions and unconsciously released an Ice Aura that froze their hands.


    The troublemakers were startled as their hands suddenly froze and shouted, "<em><strong>Ahhh... AHHHH</strong></em>.."


    ~~


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 Chapter 258 - The Eclipse Battlegrounds Tournament

    The loud scream from one of those troublemakers startled many individuals in the queue, including Tiana.


    She had reacted unconsciously and didn''t even realize what had happened.


    When she turned around, she saw three warriors had their hands frozen.


    <em>''I just released a bit of my Ice Energy very close to my body. Why was their hand so close to my body anyway?</em>'' She was confused, but she soon concluded ''Maybe it was an ident.''


    Just as she was about to speak, the men who had their hands frozen ran away. They thought this woman was going to punish them more brutally.


    The people began to whisper among each other.


    "Did you see that? The woman froze his hand before he could even touch her body."


    "I can''t even see her cultivation, and I am at the 3 Star Rank."


    "Does that mean she is at the 4 Star Rank?! Why did she join the queue?!"


    "Maybe she didn''t like the rule that the 4 Star Warriors could skip the queue and directly register. She must believe in impartiality."


    There were women in the queue as well. They heard those words and were very happy as they stared at Tiana.


    "Woah! She is such a nice person. Also, she looks so pretty from afar. I wonder how her face looks like beneath that veil."


    "Same. Will she show me if I ask her?" Another woman asked.


    "I doubt it. Why would such a strong and pretty woman interact with us?" Another woman responded with a distressed voice.


    "True." Another woman in that group nodded in agreement.


    Tiana had no idea that people had already begun to judge her just because of that single unconscious action.


    As the disciples were talking among themselves, an official was alerted about this event.


    The man was rather confused and believed it would be best if he personally checked it. He approached Tiana and sensed her cultivation base.


    He couldn''t sense it! The official was utterly shocked!


    Even though he was a 4 Star Warrior, he couldn''t check this woman''s cultivation! This indicated that she was either at or above his level.


    "Come with me. I need to check your cultivation base." The man ordered Tiana.


    Tiana nodded her head and soon followed him to the front. The man handed her a ck sphere.


    Tiana held that ck sphere and soon infused it with a bit of her energy. Suddenly, the ck Sphere began to shine with white light.


    The light blinked four times, and the official''s eyes widened in shock.


    "You are at a 4 Star Warrior? Why were you standing in the queue then?" The man asked with some surprise.


    Tiana was slightly embarrassed as she didn''t know about this rule. She replied with a neutral voice, "Was I not supposed to?"


    Her remarks elicited an entirely different response than Tiana had hoped for. She was genuinely asking this question, but those words sounded as if she was threatening the official.


    The official shrank back when he heard that question and just nervouslyughed.


    Meanwhile, the other people in the queue thought collectively ''<em>She is so cool!</em>''


    The official soon recovered hisposure and said to Tiana, "Come with me. I''ll allocate you to your living quarters. Someone wille to get your details."


    Tiana silently nodded her head.


    She went away, leaving the crowd in hushed conversation.


    The crowd continued to talk about Tiana for some time before they eventually stopped. They were talking about other matters.


    Like their sect positions and how nervous they were¡­ Just some random topics.


    They talked to some other people around them and made new acquaintances.


    A disciple entered Tiana''s quarters rather nervously to note down her details.


    Tiana kindly answered all the questions he had. The forms required her name, cultivation rank, and the name of her sect.


    ~~


    A dayter, all the participants were gathered in a gigantic stadium. This stadium had a veryrge arena where these participants were going to perform.


    A judge was standing in the middle of the arena who was going to supervise the fight. He was going to stop the fight if it became too dangerous.


    There were elders from the top ten reputed sects of the Glerian Kingdom. The guests included the third elder from the Red Crown Sect, the Great Elder from the Origin Sect, the second elder from the ck Lake Sect, the Great Elder from the Night Mountain Sect, and so on¡­


    These guests had been assigned special seats in the stands from where they could gaze at the entire arena.


    Soon, the announcer spoke with sound-boosting equipment, "This will be the 241st opening of the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament. I hope you are all excited about this!"


    The audience that hade from afar immediately let out an excited shout at those words.


    They wanted to show their excitement to see some amazing fights ahead. The tickets for this tournament were quite expensive. They wanted to see the fights worth that price.


    Tiana looked at the crowd around her and was slightly nervous. Even though these people couldn''t see her appearance, she was still nervous about fighting in front of so many people.


    When she was a college student and danced at an event, the crowd was quite small. However, the crowd here numbered hundreds of thousands.


    <em>''I need to stayposed. It will be disastrous if I mess up because of my nervousness.''</em> Tiana promised herself.


    Tiana was standing in a special group that was different from the other participants. All the warriors in this group were actually 4 Star Warriors.


    "This tournament will have three different categories. Naturally, the rewards for each category have been determined. All those in the top 10 rankings would be rewarded handsomely!"


    "The first category would be the battle between 2 Star Warriors! You will all be assigned a number and then receive a call when it''s your turn. Also, you must stop immediately when ordered by the judge, or else you will be disqualified from the tournament." The announcer stated the rules clearly.


    The announcer added, "Until then, the other warriors will observe the fight from the stands. You all have been assigned your seats. Just go and sit there and wait for your turn."


    All the participants were soon led to their seats.


    Tiana sat in her seat and noticed that a girl with red-colored hair sitting next to her.


    These seats were decided ording to their cultivation base as well. Since this girl was sitting next to her, Tiana guessed that she was at the 4 Star Rank.


    From her appearance, this girl appeared quite young. Even younger than Helena.


    The red-haired girl suddenly looked in Tiana''s direction and spoke out with a smile, "Hey. My name is Christina. What about yours?"


    Tiana coldly replied while shaking Christina''s hand, "I am Tiana."


    "Cool. From which sect are you?" Christina asked rather excitedly. She didn''t seem to mind Tiana''s cold tone. Or maybe she couldn''t detect it.


    Tiana answered almost immediately, "<strong>Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.</strong>"


    Christina appeared to be startled as she spoke, "Ehh... That''s the first time I hear the name of this sect. Where is it located?"


    "¡­At the foothill of the Arctic Summit." Tiana replied after some consideration.


    Christina''s eyes narrowed at that statement, but she didn''t say anything.


    Tiana then asked Christina, "What about you? Which sect do you belong to?"


    Christina answered with a grin, "I am from the ck Lake Sect!"


    "The ck Lake Sect?!"


    ~~


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 Chapter 259 - Possible Recruits

    "<strong>The ck Lake Sect?!</strong>" Tiana was absolutely startled to hear the name of this sect. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil, and it was impossible to see her current expressions.


    The ck Lake Sect''s camp near the foothill of the Arctic camp had been destroyed by Azaroth''s scheme. Moreover, many disciples in that camp had noted Tiana''s appearance.


    Tiana and Azaroth''s information must have been passed on to their main sect via those disciples.


    Tiana was curious if Christina was aware of her existence and was conversing with her on purpose. Maybe testing her or something like that.


    She decided to remain calm. If things got worse, she could always contact Azaroth. He would definitely have a way to save her.


    Christina suddenly spoke out excitedly, "I never heard of this sect in the foothills of the Arctic Summit. Is it an ancient sect?"


    Tiana mentally thought ''What a perfect exnation! This girl is a savior!''


    She replied with aposed voice, "Yes. Our sect has been living in seclusion all this time. My master has foreseen some turbulent times ahead for the Glerian Kingdom and decided it was time for us to surface and interact with the world again."


    This was something Tiana made on the spot. However, these words made Christina''s eyes shine with ecstasy!


    "What?! Your master is a seer?! He must be really strong to possess the ability to look into the future. Is he an Emperor Ranked Warrior or the King Ranked?" Christina continued to ask her questions in a hurry.


    Tiana didn''t know most of what Christina spoke. She nkly nodded at the first few questions of Christina. As for the Emperor Ranked Warrior, Tiana believed Christina meant 7 Star Warrior, and the King Ranked Warrior meant the 6 Star Warrior.


    "¡­My master was a 7 Star Warrior, but his energy has dropped to the 5 Star Rank due to an injury." Tiana calmly exined.


    Azaroth had informed her of what she should say in such situations. It was a half-truth.


    Christina''s eyes sparkled when she heard that Tiana''s master was a 7 Star Warrior!


    "Woah! No wonder your energy is so pure and strong! Can I meet your master?! Please¡­ Pretty please. I am sure even my mother will want to meet him," Christina spoke enthusiastically.


    Tiana nervouslyughed as she couldn''t just agree to this girl''s request. She couldn''t possibly trouble Azaroth by asking him to meet some random folks.


    Tiana added, "My master is very prideful, and he doesn''t meet someone randomly. You will need to prove your capability or if you have a very good Yin Physique."


    Christina was slightly upset when she heard those words. She was unsure if she possessed the capability to meet a 7 Star Warrior. And she didn''t possess a Yin Physique.


    "¡­I know someone who has a Yin Physique. Can I apany her to meet your master?" Christina suddenly asked.


    Tiana was startled to hear those words but asked calmly, "Who is she?"


    "She is my best friend, Aria. She didn''te for the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament. She wants to be a general, and she is preparing to participate in the Heavenly Dragon Battlefield Tournament." Christina immediately informed Tiana.


    Tiana remained quiet for a short period.


    <em>''Noah is going to participate in that tournament soon. Maybe he will encounter her. The Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystals are bound to shine when they approach her. She might even join the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.''</em> Tiana was quite happy to know of another possible member.


    "Alright. I will request my master to allow you to see him as well. But your mother is a no-no," Tiana was very adamant about this.


    Christina immediately nodded as if she was afraid that Tiana would go back on her words.


    "Thank you...umm¡­ Tiana!" Christina eximed after thinking for some time to remember Tiana''s name.


    Tiana sweatdropped at this girl''s antics.


    Soon, the match ahead of hermenced. Two warriors at the 2 Star Rank were going to fight soon enough. They were wielding an Axe and a Halberd, respectively.


    Tiana nned to watch this fight carefully and take mental notes of other people''s fighting styles.


    Tiana suddenly heard a yawn from her side. She didn''t even need to turn her head to figure out who that was.


    It was Christina. Even though the fight hadn''t begun, she seemed bored already.


    Tiana initiated the conversation this time by asking her, "What happened? You aren''t interested in this fight?"


    Christina shrugged and spoke, "This will be a long and boring fight, most probably."


    Tiana raised her brows and asked with curiosity, "And how can you say that before the fight has even begun?"


    Christina offhandedly replied, "Their power is barely above the standard for 2 Star Warriors. The weapons they utilize will consume a lot of their energy, so they will try to fight normally and use their techniques during the climax."


    Tiana was slightly surprised at her analysis, "I see¡­That makes a lot of sense."


    The fight soonmenced. Just as Christina had analyzed, it was a rather boring fight.


    Tiana had witnessed Azaroth''s other retainers fight. She had even fought against them.


    In those fights, they had to constantly move and think about using a technique to gain the upper hand. However, the fight Tiana had just witnessed was nowhere on the same level.


    It felt as if two kids were moving closer and striking their weapons with each other. They made a lot of wasteful movements that Tiana couldn''t even bear to look at their fight. It was just too cringy.


    Christina suddenly spoke seriously, "Just as expected. I am curious about who you will fight, Tiana."


    Tiana spoke humbly, "You shouldn''t hold some high expectations from me. I doubt I can live up to them."


    "You don''t need to be so humble. You are trained by someone who was a 7 Star Warrior in the past," Christina immediately replied.


    Tiana didn''t say anything in return.


    <em>''I truly can''t disappoint Master Azaroth by performing poorly</em>,'' Tiana thought solemnly.


    Christina hadn''t mentioned her identity, but she was, in reality, the daughter of the current mistress of the ck Lake Sect.


    She observed the battles of these 2 Star Warriors of her sect because she would choose a few retainers among them. Preferably those with great potential.


    As these battles urred, Tiana was surprised to see her pendant shine a few times. She immediately understood that the woman possessing the Yin Physique was on the stage.


    Tiana made a mental note of all these women who were possible members of her sect. She wasn''t going to contact them yet.


    These women wouldn''t just leave their sect for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. Tiana first had to show them just how superior the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was to their current sect and then approach them.


    Well, for that, she had to wait for her turn.


    For the first three days, the category for just 2 Star Warriors continued. There were nearly 700 warriors at the 2 Star Rank.


    It was the third day, and only 4 remained now. The semi-finals were going on.


    Even Christina was observing these fights seriously. These four individuals possessed their own individual fighting style, and it was truly hard to guess who would be the victor among them.


    Among all these participants till now, Tiana had found nearly 11 possible recruits for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, so she was rather excited.


    None of these possible recruits reached the semi-finals of the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament for the 2 Star Rank Category.


    ~~


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 Chapter 260 - Carnival

    Sam Hayes won the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament within the 2 Star Warriors category.


    He possessed the Earth Element and used Sword as his main weapon. There was another sword on his back, but he never pulled it out.


    Since he was using a sword, Tiana couldn''t help butpare his skills to Noah''s sword skills. The difference between the two was immeasurable.


    Noah could probably defeat Sam Hayes with his eyes closed, without even using his Sword Intent.


    Tiana had trained with Noah, so she remembered his skills. How he could use a simple skill in aplex manner¡­


    Sam Hayes received 10,000 Spirit Coins, a Blood Condensing Pill, and the Earth Essence Stone.


    A Blood Condensing Pill would awaken the user''s blood and gradually unlock their sealed potential in their bodies. Even though it was a 3 Star Pellet, it was an Ancient Pill Form. In fact, this pill form was so rare that it was considered a priceless pill.


    As for the Earth Essence Stone, Sam Hayes could increase the density of his Earth Element by absorbing the Earth Essence in it.


    For an Earth Elemental Warrior, this was a priceless treasure.


    The other top rankers were rewarded appropriately as well. Some warriors even exchanged their rewards so that they would fit their respective elements.


    Soon, the matches of the second category of this Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament were going tomence.


    The announcer''s voice was soon heard in the stadium, "I hope the audience enjoyed these matches for these couple of days. Today, we will end the day here. The Red Crown Sect, ck Lake Sect, Night Mountain Sect, and the Origin Sect have collectively organized a carnival for the audience. Please follow us to the site where you can enjoy yourself for the rest of the day."


    The audience was rather happy to hear the announcer. They wanted to enjoy themselves after witnessing these fights.


    This carnival would be the perfect opportunity for them to enjoy themselves.


    Christina suddenly spoke to Tiana, "Let''s go together."


    She grabbed Tiana''s hand and immediately sped towards the Carnival''s direction. It was as if she already knew where it was organized.


    Tiana was actually more surprised that Christina''s hand wasn''t frozen even after touching her hand.


    In fact, Tiana sensed an aggressive aura from Christina''s body. As far as she knew, it was the me Element.


    Moreover, this me Element was probably very strong. At the least, it was on the same level as Tiana''s Sacred Seven Star Yin Physique.


    <em>''¡­It''s not just some sort of bloodline. It''s something else. I am sensing almost another aura from her body that doesn''t belong to her. What is that?''</em> Tiana thought with a serious expression.


    She believed that this Christina girl was quite strange. She must have a great status in the ck Lake Sect.


    <em>''It would be beneficial to maintain cordial ties with her.''</em>


    For now, she followed Christina to this Carnival.


    The Carnival was arge festival-like thing that had lots of stalls. Most of them were food stalls selling different kinds of foods.


    The food that these food stalls served was very beneficial for the body and cultivation.


    Alchemists set up their stalls, sold their medicinal pellets, and gave some pointers to concoct the pellets to the interested audience.


    Multiple array masters had set up simr stalls and sold talismans to the people. They also gave them a few pointers on how to create their own arrays or set up one.


    In reality, these stalls had been set up by different kinds of associations belonging to the top sects, like the Red Crown Sect''s Alchemy, Hunting, Array Master associations, and so on.


    Each sect had its own associations. The ck Lake Sect had its separate ones, which was true about the other two sects as well.


    Christina took Tiana to the ck Lake Sect''s Stalls.


    Christina immediately informed Tiana, "These are the stalls set up by my apprentice brothers and sisters."


    Tiana looked around and indeed saw most of the stalls in this area.


    Many ck Lake Sect''s disciples noticed Christina and immediately moved towards her to greet her. However, Christina gave them a silent re and forced them to remain at their spots.


    She didn''t want them to reveal her identity to Tiana.


    Tiana thought about some time before telling Christina, "Let''s check out the food stalls first."


    Christina nodded and soon walked towards the ck Lake Sect''s food stalls. She asked Tiana, "What do you want to eat?"


    "¡­Fish," Tiana decided after a few seconds.


    Christina led Tiana to the stalls, where they served dishes made of fish. The menu was ratherrge, and Tiana saw a variety of names in it.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t recognize a single name. She was slightly embarrassed to mention this reason to Christina.


    So, Tiana spoke, "Order the one you like. I am curious about your choice."


    The ball was in Christina''s court now. As long as Christina didn''t have a weird taste, Tiana could eat a delicious dish without embarrassment.


    Christina didn''t overthink it and thought that Tiana was genuinely interested in her choice. Now, she was caught in a tough spot.


    She wanted to leave behind a good impression on Tiana. That was why she brought her to the ck Lake Sect''s stall.


    <em>''Maybe she is testing me. If I can''t even satisfy her stomach, why would she request her master and allow me to meet him.''</em> Christina thought with a serious expression.


    She soon readied herself and ordered, "Serve us with the Shallow-Fried Silver Angelfish."


    This was apletely unfamiliar name to Tiana, but she felt that it sounded tasty for some reason.


    Meanwhile, the cooks and even the other ckke sect''s disciples working in this stall were startled to hear that order.


    "Y-Young Mis- I mean, Senior Sister, a-are you sure about this?" They sounded really nervous about this.


    Christina instantly became angry. She felt as though this bunch of disciples was humiliating her in front of Tiana. She angrily asked, "Did I stutter?!"


    "N-No." The disciples fearfully replied. They were aware of just how dangerous Christina was when she was really angry.


    Tiana looked at Christina with some surprise and asked her, "Is there some issue with the dish? We can change it if that''s the case."


    Christina immediately replied, "This is the fish dish avable here. We are definitely going to eat it today." She then red at the man who appeared to be the manager of this stall, "There should be ''no'' issue in cooking it, right?"


    The manager had a helpless look on his face.


    He then stared at his otherrades and soon ordered them, "¡­Guys, get to work. Senior sister wants to eat Shallow-Fried Silver Angelfish. We cannot disappoint her."


    Tiana internally sighed as she understood why the situation had turned into this. This was definitely some rare fish.


    Tiana couldn''t do anything because Christina was adamant about eating it.


    After nearly 30 minutes or so, the dish was ready. And it was served to the two.


    Tiana took a deep breath and smelled this dish. The dish was quite aromatic, and she was getting really hungry just by breathing in that smell.


    Soon, Tiana picked up a fork and began to eat it elegantly.


    Christina and even the workers in the stall couldn''t help but turn their heads in Tiana''s direction.


    This was because Tiana lifted her veil slightly to take a bite of that dish. They saw extremely fair skin and cherry lips.


    Her facial shape, that fair skin, and those lips seemed enough for them to imagine how she looked like. They all couldn''t help but gasp in shock as she was truly too beautiful.


    Meanwhile, Tiana had entered a state of ecstasy as she took a bite of this dish. The taste was truly heavenly!


    After that one bite, Tiana slightly picked up the pace as she ate that fish.


    Christina realized that she had to begin eating, or else Tiana would finish it up soon.


    ~~


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 Chapter 261 - Hidden Schemes

    This Silver Shallow-Fried Angelfish was a rare, healthy fish. Not only did it have a divine vor, but it also improved the user''s body, increasing the capacity to hold Ardor permanently.


    Even though it benefited Tiana''s body, the effect wasn''t that visible since her physique was the Sacred Seven Star Yin Physique.


    Tiana was now eating this fish just for its great taste.


    Christina noticed that Tiana wasn''t feeling ufortable at all. She understood that Tiana''s physique was far better than what this Silver Shallow-Fried Angelfish could enhance.


    <em>''She is the disciple of a former 7 Star Warrior. This is only natural.''</em>


    Tiana soon finished eating the Silver Shallow-Fried Angelfish. She waspletely stuffed.


    The heavenly taste of that fish remained on her tongue. Tiana didn''t want to eat anything else that would rece this sensation.


    "That was honestly amazing," Tiana spoke while wiping her lips with a napkin.


    Christina showed a bright smile, "I am d you loved it."


    Tiana then asked, "What was the price? I will pay."


    Immediately, Christina raised her hand and said to Tiana, "You don''t need to pay for this!"


    Tiana furrowed her brows and asked, "Why? I can pay for this stuff, you know." Her tone made it apparent that Tiana was annoyed that Christina was underestimating her.


    Christina was slightly scared upon hearing Tiana''s angry tone. She instantly responded, "I know. I don''t doubt you. I just wanted to treat you."


    "Alright, if you say so¡­" Tiana muttered as she stood up, "I want to check out some other stalls. Let''s go!"


    A ck Lake Sect disciple approached their table and stated, "We need to chat privately with our senior sister."


    He then turned in Tiana''s direction and asked her, "I hope it''s okay if we borrow her for a few moments."


    Tiana wasn''t sure what they were talking about, but she agreed with a nod.


    Christina appeared annoyed as she could guess what they wanted to talk about.


    She decided to stay silent in front of Tiana and walked along with that guy to talk to him privately.


    Tiana could guess that this might have been rted to the Silver Shallow-Fried Angelfish.


    <em>''Since Christina said it''s okay, I should trust her.''</em>


    Meanwhile, Christina and her junior brothers had gathered in a private room this stall.


    Christina asked them with an annoyed look, "What is it? Now speak!" That annoyed look and her authoritative voice made these disciples step back in fear.


    "Y-Young Miss, t-that was thest serving of the Silver Shallow Fried Angelfish. We served it for Madam Filia. Madam Filia won''t be happy when she finds out that you ate thatst Silver Shallow Fried Angelfish. Moreover, you shared it with a random disciple eat it too." The man who appeared to be managing this food stall spoke with a nervous expression.


    "You are too anxious about it. In reality, this is not such a huge issue. I have my reasons for this, and you can inform Madam Filia to talk to me if she has an issue regarding it." Christina boldly replied.


    "¡­I am relieved to hear those words. There was another issue," The man spoke after a short pause.


    "What is it?" Christina asked with a hint of frustration in her tone.


    "A few troublemakers areing and fighting with our disciples managing the stalls. One group even attacked our stalls set up by the ck Lake Sect''s Alchemy Association under the pretext that we were selling poisonous medicinal pills," The man had a bitter smile as he narrated this issue to Christina.


    Christina instantly became angry as she asked the guy, "Who is so bold to have done this?"


    Christina was a member of the Alchemy Association of the ck Lake Sect. She was one of the core members, so she was truly angry that someone would falsely use her alchemy association like this.


    "They look to be random people gathered by someone. Not just us, they have targeted the Origin Sect and the Night Mountain Sect as well." The man responded quickly.


    "¡­It''s only natural that they don''t dare to some trouble for the stalls set up by the Red Crown Sect," Christina sarcastically said.


    "I don''t mean to point fingers at someone. But some of our disciples witnessed these people meeting some disciples of the Red Crown Sect," The man soon added.


    Those words were all that Christina needed to hear to figure out the perpetrator.


    "I will handle this," Christina spoke before she walked out of the room.


    Soon, Christina returned to Tiana''s side. She informed her, "I will need to go somewhere. Sorry, but I can''t apany you anymore."


    Tiana was startled and asked her, "What happened? Is it due to this fish?"


    Christina shook her head, "No. That''s really not a big issue. It''s just that I need to deal with some troublemakers who don''t know their ce."


    "I''lle along. Maybe I can help out," Tiana spoke with an adamant tone.


    She didn''t n to back out no matter what Christina said.


    "I¡­I don''t want to trouble you," Christina spoke after some hesitation.


    "I want to help you out! Just tell me what happened," Tiana spoke with a stubborn tone.


    Christina furrowed her brows and then thought <em>''The Red Crown Sect''s disciples won''t dare to go too far. It won''t be a bad idea to take her along.''</em>


    "Alright. Come with me. I will exin on the way," Christina said as she left the stall.


    Tiana followed after her and soon found out what had happened.


    However, she couldn''t help but feel that this situation wasn''t as simple as Christina believed.


    <em>''If the Red Crown Sect was truly behind it, they would have asked these troublemakers to target them as well. Targeting the stalls of the other sects except their own simply points in their direction,''</em> Tiana thought with a frown.


    <em>''This situation can only be true if the disciples of the Red Crown Sect are brainless. There is a good chance of that as well.''</em>


    Tiana was truly confused. She knew that if it was someone like Azaroth, he would create a situation to sow discord between the two sects.


    The prestige of these disciples couldn''t be underestimated. All the disciples who were the nominal heads of their respective sects would inherit prestigious positions in their sects.


    If grudges were formed between the disciples of two different sects, it might permanently affect the rtionship between the sects in the future.


    She suggested to Christina, "Let''s stop. I think it''s a good idea if we wait."


    "Wait for what?" Christina asked with a confused look, "We already know where our enemy is. Let''s go and deal with it!"


    "¡­Alright. But let me do the talking," Tiana then spoke.


    Christina didn''t look convinced as she wondered, "What''s there to talk with those people. They even attacked the disciples of my Alchemy Association. I won''t forgive them no matter what exnation they give out."


    "Really? Then do you want to beat an innocent person?" Tiana asked Christina.


    Those words made Christina stop. She now understood that perhaps she was too excited, "You mean that the Red Crown Sect might not be behind it?"


    Tiana spoke, "If my guess is right, they are innocent in this. This is some other sect''s tactic."


    She then added, "To figure out the true perpetrator, we still need to approach the Red Crown Sect."


    "Do you know an influential disciple of the Red Crown Sect?" Tiana inquired curiously.


    Christina nodded, "Mhm~!"


    "Then invite him," Tiana spoke.


    ~~


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 Chapter 262 - Tianas Plan

    Elias Callides, the personal retainer of the Second Prince. He was one of the participants from the Red Crown Sect.


    His cultivation base was at the 4 Star Rank, and he was one of the strongest disciples of the Red Crown Sect.


    Because of his strength and status as the Second Prince''s Personal Retainer, he was very influential.


    Currently, this man hade to meet Christina in a location in the east of the Carnival.


    It would be scandalous if news of Elias''s meeting with Christina spread. One was a personal retainer of the Second Prince and an Inner Sect Disciple of the Red Crown Sect, while the other was the future inheritress of the ck Lake Sect.


    Elias didn''t know why Christina had asked to meet him, but he couldn''t refuse this woman. Christina had some dirt on him, and he wanted to keep that information hidden for now.


    Elias was surprised to see another woman apanying Christina. A deep frown appeared on his face as he spoke with a cold tone, "Why did you bring a stranger?"


    This meeting with Christina was already very sensitive for him. He didn''t want a third person to know that he was meeting her.


    However, he never realized that Christina would bring someone with her. Thus, annoying him.


    Christina disliked the way Elias called Tiana a stranger. If not for her junior sister, who was in love with this guy, she would have made a barbeque out of him.


    Tiana understood what this guy was thinking. She spoke directly, "I am Tiana, and I am the one who requested her to meet you."


    "And? What is it?" Elias spoke with a cold and aloof tone.


    If Christina was talking to him, he would have been slightly respectful. He couldn''t show that respect to another random woman.


    Tiana didn''t know why but she felt her blood boil when she heard that aloof tone. She felt as if only a single person had the right to talk to her like that.


    At the least, someone equal to her couldn''t talk to her with that tone.


    Without even realizing it, Tiana spoke out coldly and arrogantly, "You don''t realize it, do you? Your Sect just prevented a cmity through this meeting. It would be better if you get serious, or else we can be back to square one."


    For some moments, Elias didn''t understand what Tiana was talking about. He noticed Christina''s expression and asked her, "¡­You are serious?!"


    "Yes. I was nning to attack your sect," Christina boldly admitted it.


    Elias''s eyes widened in shock when he heard that statement, "And why would that be? Do you want to start a war between the Red Crown Sect and the ck Lake Sect?!"


    "Please¡­ Don''t overestimate your importance. The Red Crown Sect won''t start a war against us for killing you. Our rtions will be strained at most. A war between us would only start if you sessfully kill me. But I strongly doubt any of you can." Christina responded with a haughty tone.


    Elias didn''t want to get into this argument. He knew a few details regarding Christina and knew that he couldn''t defeat her. In fact, it would be exceedingly difficult for even a Royal Prince at the 4 Star Rank to defeat her.


    He was more curious about Christina''s reason for attacking the Red Crown Sect''s disciples, "Why were you thinking of attacking us?!"


    Christina replied with a snort, "Shouldn''t you be clearer about that?"


    Elias showed a puzzled expression as he truly didn''t understand the reason. Tiana noticed his confusion and spoke up, "¡­Some troublemakers are creating troubles at the stalls set up by the various sects save for the Red Crown Sect. Another rumor is that the Red Crown Sect''s disciples ordered these guys to do it."


    At this moment, Christina spoke up angrily, "These idiots even attacked disciples of my Alchemy Association. Should I not get revenge for them, Elias Callides?!"


    "¡­Impossible! As far as I am aware, the Red Crown Sect isn''t involved in such a lowly scheme. Someone is framing us!" Elias spoke unwaveringly.


    Tiana added at this moment, "That''s what I believe as well. The Red Crown Sect won''t be so brainless to have created a scheme with so many loopholes. Most likely, someone is framing you. However, keep an eye on the disciples of your Red Crown Sect. Especially the low-ranked disciples. There is a strong possibility they are involved in this."


    "You still doubt my sect?" Elias spoke with an annoyed voice.


    Tiana responded firmly, "There''s no smoke without fire. These low-ranked disciples might have been bribed by someone else. You need to investigate their movements and find out if they are rted to those troublemakers or not. Once you do, hand over their names. Christina and I will handle them."


    With a smile on her face, Christina gazed at Tiana and thought ''<em>She is so coooool. She has such amanding presence about her. Even I feel like I will follow all her orders.''</em>


    While Christina was squealing mentally at themanding presence of Tiana, Elias furrowed his brows. He disliked how Tiana seemed to be ordering him. He was the second prince''s retainer. Not even Christina had any power to order him. Let alone this random woman.


    However, he didn''t dare to speak anything because of the dire topic. He had to suppress these ufortable feelings and deal with the matter seriously.


    If this was the truth, then the Red Crown Sect really prevented a cmity!


    "I will immediately return and investigate this scene. You will get the names soon," Elias left after speaking those words.


    Once Elias was gone, Christina looked at Tiana and suddenly startedughing.


    "Woah! This is the first time I saw someone beating Elias in an argument. You must be really smart! Teach me too!" Christina gazed at Tiana with a sparkly look in her eyes.


    Tiana shook her head and spoke, "This is nothing. If it was my master, he would have found the true culprits and punished them without even revealing his presence."


    "Oooh! So your master is even smarter. I am getting more curious to meet him now," Christina spoke with a look of admiration in her eyes.


    Tiana thought ''I want to meet him again too¡­s, I can''t. Not until I''ve reached a significant milestone with the sect.''


    "Let''s return and find those troublemakers now. The ck Lake Sect shouldn''t be their only target," Tiana suggested.


    "Yes! Let''s go. Leave them to me. I will beat them until they reveal everything they know!" Christina spoke with a tone that promised a lot of pain.


    Tiana decided to stay silent and walked away.


    Christina swiftly followed Tiana back to where the Blue Lake Sect followers had put up the booths.


    Christina asked her fellow apprentice brothers and sisters, "Did you find those troublemakers?"


    One of her junior apprentice brothers replied, "¡­No. After attacking our Alchemy Booth, they seem to have disappeared."


    Tiana frowned as she heard that statement. She asked them, "Did you check the other sect''s booths? Like the Origin Sect''s booths or the Night Mountain Sect''s booths?"


    "Err¡­ No. We were busy setting back the Alchemy Booth and also bolstering our other booths to prevent such a situation from urring again," The ck Lake Sect''s disciple replied.


    <em>''These troublemakers didn''t make a move after that. Were they waiting for Christina to attack the Red Crown Sect''s disciples? It seems that they know about Christina''s character and used such a scheme since they knew it would work. My presence was probablypletely unexpected for them, though.''</em>


    <em>''Once they realize that Christina isn''t going to attack the Red Crown Sect''s disciples, they should make another move.</em>'' Tiana thought with a serious expression.


    "Christina, tell them to rx. Those troublemakers won''t attack again. They can focus on their booths instead of keeping an eye over the other booths," Tiana spoke to Christina.


    Christina didn''t understand what Tiana was talking about. Tiana noticed that Christina was puzzled and softly whispered in her ears, "Trust me."


    "Mhm~! Alright," Christina replied.


    She conveyed those orders to all the ck Lake Sect''s disciples and then walked away with Tiana.


    ~~


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 Chapter 263 - Christinas Anger

    Christina and Tiana were walking around in the Carnival, checking out the other booths that appeared interesting.


    The two bought ornaments for each other and began to wear them. Christina was really happy to go on a walk with someone she could call a friend.


    She knew that Tiana had most likely realized her identity, but she still remained normal around her. She didn''t change her way of talking by adding that unnecessary respect to her name.


    She had been tired of how her fellow disciples showed those respectful nces in her direction. She had a single friend in the ck Lake Sect, and that girl didn''te with her due to her preparations for the Heavenly Dragon Battleground Tournament.


    When she arrived for this Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament, she heard about Tiana''s name. Tiana''s name had created waves because she lined up in the queue even though she was a 4 Star Warrior.


    Many people considered her ignorant. And after that incident, Christina was coincidentally given a seat next to Tiana''s seat.


    The more she talked to Tiana, the more she admired her. Christina knew that Tiana hadn''t lied to her about her master. The only way she could have lied to her would be if she believed it with all her heart.


    The two were enjoying themselves quite a bit. For Tiana, Christina''s presence was very uplifting.


    She had been stressed for these days. It was fun to spend time with Helena, but the joy she was experiencing with Christina was something else.


    Christina''s happy-go-lucky attitude was honestly quite amusing for her.


    The two waited for 2 hours before Christina''s Voice Transmission Stone began to beep up.


    Christina immediately used her Spirit and spoke out, "What is it?" She was slightly annoyed since she was enjoying her time with Tiana. Just who dared to disturb her at this timing?!


    Meanwhile, Tiana looked in her direction with a slight interest in her eyes.


    The person on the other side of the Voice Transmission Stone spoke with a hint of urgency in his tone, "Young Miss, they are back! This time, they even brought theirrades. They are attacking our Array and Alchemy Booths at the same time."


    "Good. I was waiting for them," Tiana suddenly spoke as she held Christina''s hand and sped towards the ck Lake Sects'' booths'' direction.


    Christina failed to understand what was going on, but she sent the message to herrades, "Alright, wait for me. I will arrive soon. Just hold on until then."


    Her fellow apprentice brothers and sisters were immediately relieved. They knew that everything would be okay once Christina arrived.


    Once the connection between the Voice Transmission Array Stones was cut off, Christina put it away while asking Tiana, "Tiana, didn''t you say that they won''t attack anymore? Howe they are attacking now."


    Tiana immediately exined while the two were rushing towards the Blue Lake Sect''s booth''s position, "I didn''t lie at that time. If the situation was left as it is. They truly wouldn''t have dared to attack you. I asked you to let them rx the security so that these troublemakers couldunch an attack. If they don''tunch an attack, we can''t catch them, right? Also, it seems we caught a big fish this time. Maybe their entire group hase."


    Suddenly, Christina''s body revealed a terrifying aura as she asked Tiana, "¡­You used my fellowrades as a bait?"


    Tiana was surprised and hurriedly released Christina''s hand that red up with Golden mes.


    Tiana looked in Christina''s direction with a startled look.


    "Don''t you want to find out about the true perpetrator? This would be the quickest method. I admit I used them as bait, but only because I hadplete confidence that we could prevent the situation from getting out of hand. I never meant to put your people in danger that might kill them," Tiana exined calmly.


    The Golden mes slowly receded within Christina''s body, and she spoke with an extremely serious expression, "Never attempt this again. And I mean never! You are my friend, so I am letting you off with a warning. The next time, I won''t be so kind."


    Tiana understood that Christina was really angry. She nodded, "Alright, I promise to never attempt this again."


    Soon, the two were on their way again. This time, Christina kept a bit of distance from Tiana as she rushed towards the location at her top speed.


    Tiana let out a sigh internally. She should have expected such a response from Christina. But she didn''t regret it.


    Soon, they arrived at the scene.


    14 warriorsunched multiple attacks at the Blue Lake Sect''s disciples, who remained seated in their booths.


    The protective barriers around those booths protected them from the attacks, but the booths themselves had been demolished due to the shockwave.


    Christina immediately became angry as she saw these warriors.


    Golden mes red out as sheunched a fireball at the warrior nearest to her location.


    Those Golden mes instantly annihted that man! The man only had a brief time to scream out in pain before he was purged!


    His scream caught hisrades'' attention, who turned in Christina''s direction. They were absolutely shocked to see her standing there.


    "Those Golden mes¡­ You are Young Miss Christina!" One of them eximed shortly before they all turned to flee in the opposite direction.


    This could be considered the stupidest decision in this situation. Christina wasn''t going to hold back on them just because they were trying to flee!


    "<strong>Golden Annihtion!</strong>"


    Christina released her Golden mes in thirteen parts as sheunched them at the rest of the warriors who were trying to escape.


    Her mes were rather swift as they immediately covered the distance between Christina and her enemies.


    It felt like those Golden mes were destroying the air in between as well!


    A few warriors turned around to see arge me balling towards them. They immediately released their respective elemental attacks at those Golden mes approaching them.


    These warriors were barely 3 Star Rank Warriors. Their attacks made no difference to those Golden mes.


    The Golden mes weren''t affected even after they used all their power to survive.


    A few warriors even closed their eyes as they saw those Golden mes approach them.


    They felt their bodies getting cold. It was a strange feeling even though the mes were getting closer to them.


    Several believed it was because they were going to die soon.


    However, that was false. They were experiencing this cold because their bodies had literally frozen.


    It was Tiana who froze their bodies.


    The Golden mes struck the Ice that encased their bodies.


    It was Tiana''s Ice battling against Christina''s Golden mes.


    Christina''s Golden mes slowly lost their power while Tiana''s Ice Statues had melted a bit.


    Christina had an annoyed frown on her face as she turned in Tiana''s direction and asked her, "What is the meaning of this?! You are protecting them?!"


    This time, Tiana didn''t back away. She replied with identical intensity, "You can''t kill them yet! We need to find out about the true perpetrator. How can we do that if you kill them all?!"


    Those words made Christina take a step back. She then realized she had actually lost herself in her anger.


    Meanwhile, the ck Lake Sect''s disciples continued to stare at Tiana with shocked expressions.


    They were all thinking the same thing ''<em>Monster! This girl is a monster like young miss Christina! Her Ice is actually a bit stronger than Young Miss Christina''s Golden mes?!''</em>


    <em>~~</em>


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 Chapter 264 - Beating Elias

    Soon, Tiana released those warriors from her Ice.


    It was then Christina realized that Tiana''s Ice was barely affected by her Golden mes. It startled her greatly.


    She knew that her Golden mes were far beyond the ordinary. How could Tiana''s Ice Element be stronger than her Golden mes?!


    Tiana didn''t think much about this situation. Her physique had been transformed by Azaroth. It was only natural that her Ice Element would be superior to Christina''s Golden mes.


    Tiana red at those warriors and coldly spoke, "Tell us what we want to know. Or else you can suffer Christina''s wrath. This time, I won''t protect you."


    These warriors had lived through death''s horror. They have no intention of going through that again!


    "W-We are willing to tell you everything we know." A warrior spoke out for his fellowrades.


    "Who asked you to create trouble for the ck Lake Sect?" Tiana asked with a deadly calm voice.


    "¡­It was Red Crown Sect disciples," One of the warriors spoke with a fearful tone.


    Tiana raised her brow in response while Christina was about to blow up. She whispered with a dangerous tone, "It really was that Red Crown Sect?!"


    "We want names of the disciples. Not the sect. If you don''t have the names, then their appearance," Tiana spoke with aposed tone.


    One of the warriors ahead of Tiana responded, "¡­We don''t know their names, but we can describe their appearances."


    "Christina," Tiana turned towards her friend and then instructed her, "Get some Array masters to draw the appearance of these Red Crown Sect''s disciples."


    Christina was so startled as she received those instructions that she could only nod with a nk expression on her face.


    ~~


    After an hour, the drawings of the appearances of those Red Crown Sect disciples were finished.


    Once those drawings were finished, Tiana spoke to Christina, "Now, let''s go and meet up with the Red Crown Sect."


    One of ck Lake Sect''s disciples asked curiously, "What should we do about these troublemakers?"


    Even Christina was looking at Tiana for instructions. Tiana thought for some moments before she spoke, "Don''t harm them, for now. Keep them restrained."


    "¡­Alright, you heard her! Get to work now!" Christina looked at her subordinates and ordered them.


    Soon, Christina and Tiana were on a walk to the Red Crown Sect''s Booths.


    After 30 minutes of walk, they reached the location.


    Tiana took out the posters depicting the look of the Red Crown Sect''s disciples. She showed these posters to a few Red Crown Sect disciples near her position and asked them, "Do you know who he is?"


    The guy who was asked this question was startled when he saw a woman wearing a veil asking him this question. He then looked at Christina, and his eyes shone with fiery excitement.


    Christina possessed a unique charm to her beauty. It was more than enough to captivate the heart of most men. Clearly, this guy was in that category as well.


    Tiana felt slightly reassured when she saw the expression in this guy''s eyes. Since this guy was fascinated by Christina''s appeal, he was sure to make every effort to aid and impress her.


    The guy''s expression changed slightly as he noticed whose appearance was drawn on that poster.


    "Ehh¡­Isn''t this Brother Fotis? That''s Yannis. And Miron too¡­."


    The guy slowly named all the names on the 5 posters in Tiana''s hands.


    Christina and Tiana were sure that these were the Red Crown Sect''s disciples.


    ''There are three possibilities. First is that those guys lied to us and drew the appearance of these disciples to fool us. Second would be that Elias deceived us. And third, these Red Crown Sect disciples acted on someone else''s orders.'' Tiana believed.


    "Alright. Thank you for your help. Can you lead us to Elias Callides''s resting ce?" Tiana asked him politely.


    The guy immediately spoke out, "Yup! Follow me!"


    While the two followed that guy to Elias Callides''s resting ce, Christina asked Tiana, "What''s going on? Is the Red Crown Sect really responsible, or is the true perpetrator someone else? I am so confused."


    "Just rx. I will find the true perpetrator for you. You only need to stay ready to slug them. Isn''t that what you prefer anyway?" Tiana asked Christina with a smirk.


    "Yup! Beating people is so simple!" Christina responded with a delighted expression.


    "¡­Yes, it sure is," Tiana agreed while resisting the urge to facepalm.


    After nearly 10 or so minutes, they were at the location Elias Callides had his house set up.


    Tiana handed over a couple of Spirit Coins to that guy. The man gazed at Christina onest time before he walked away.


    After he was gone, Tiana looked at Christina and whispered to him, "Barge inside and get Elias! I will wait outside."


    Christina had a big smile on her face as if she had been handed her favorite treat. She loved the task assigned to her.


    Immediately, there was a reddish aura around Christina''s body as she barged inside Elias''s personal cabin.


    The other Red Crown Sect disciples were startled to hear that loud sound. They looked in Tiana''s direction and saw a woman standing ahead of that destroyed door.


    Meanwhile, Elias was resting on his bed. As soon as he sensed a strong aura approaching him, he stood up and prepared to face his foe.


    He showed a shocked look as she saw it was Christina.


    "W-What is the meaning behind this?!" He inquired of Christina. Christina, on the other hand, instead of responding,unched a fist at his face.


    Elias raised his arm to guard his face, but once Christina''s fist collided with his arm, he showed a shocked expression as a crackling sound could be heard.


    ''<em>What the?! She broke my arm even with my guard on?! Just how strong has she be?!</em>'' Elias knew he wasn''t Christina''s match, but he had never thought the rift was wide.


    Christina wasn''t even using her Golden mes. Yet, she could suppress him so effortlessly!


    A momentter, Elias crashed into the walls of his cabin before he was seen flying in the street.


    Once Elias''s bodynded on the ground, Tiana made her move as well. His lower body was frozen solid by her.


    Christina jumped out of the cabin and noticed that Tiana had already restrained Elias.


    "Elias Callides. I believe you owe us an exnation." Tiana spoke while throwing the posters towards Elias.


    Elias used his Ardor to make those posters levitate in the air. He immediately recognized the faces depicted on the posters.


    "What about them?" He asked while trying to keep his voice calm.


    Meanwhile, the other Red Crown Sect disciples had gathered around as they saw this scene.


    They couldn''t believe Elias Callides had been restrained by these two unknown women.


    A few of them recognized Christina, but Tiana''s appearance was unknown to most of them.


    "What are you doing to our Senior Brother?!" One of them shouted at Christina and Tiana.


    ~~


    I hope you all like the chapter.


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 Chapter 265 - The Culprits

    Christina and Tiana were forced to turn in the direction from which they heard the shout.


    Their eyes sparkled when they gazed upon that man. This man was coincidentally one of those five Red Crown Sect disciples who had hired those troublemakers to attack ck Lake Sect''s booths.


    Tiana recalled that his name was Fotis.


    "Perfect. We even have one of the culprits here," Tiana spoke with a grin that was hidden behind her veil.


    Before the guy named Fotis could understand her words, Tiana whispered, "Ice Shards!"


    Multiple Ice Shards were created in mid-air near Tiana''s body. These Ice Shards were immediatelyunched at Fotis.


    Before Fotis could move from his position, the Ice Shards stabbed his thighs, preventing him from moving any more.


    While Fotis was immovable, his knees touched the ground, and he showed a terrified look. He had no idea why this woman wearing a veil had attacked him, but he didn''t get a good feeling about this.


    "This guy, including the 4 others whose appearances are drawn on these posters, instigated a group of troublemakers to attack the ck Lake Sect''s booths. It''s time for you to give us an exnation, Sir Elias," Tiana spoke with a deadly calm tone.


    Elias''splexion turned ugly as he realized that he was trapped in this ice right now because of these individuals.


    "These people?! I had no idea they had such ns," Elias spoke out.


    Tiana didn''t look convinced, though. She turned in Christina''s direction and gestured towards her, "My method likely won''t work here. It''s time for you to do your thing, Christina."


    Christina immediately grinned as she was surrounded with a reddish aura and charged towards Elias.


    Elias knew she wasing to attack him. However, he found it shocking that he couldn''t utilize half of his Ardor.


    It was as if, along with his legs, his Ardor had been frozen as well.


    He could barely raise his left arm to block that attack while reinforcing his body with his Ardor.


    Once Christina struck his chest, he realized how useless his defense was.


    The ice that trapped his lower body broke because of the impact of Christina''s punch.


    Christina then moved forward to punch Elias one more time. This time, Elias was prepared as he immediately sent Ardor in his legs and dodged her punch.


    He then raised his broken arms and spoke, "Wait, wait, wait¡­! Give me some time. I was truly not involved in this scheme!"


    At that moment, Tiana spoke out with a calm tone, "As one of the Inner Disciples of the Red Crown Sect, shouldn''t you be held responsible for the actions of your Junior Brothers? Are you going to shrink from that responsibility, Elias Callides?"


    Elias felt like cursing Tiana as he heard that sentence.


    He knew that those words only lit up Christina''s desire to hit him even more.


    "¡­Give me half an hour! Just half an hour, and I will gather everything before presenting it to you!" Elias requested while dodging another attack from Christina.


    Tiana thought for a few seconds before nodding, "Alright. You have half an hour."


    Tiana spoke out, "Christina. Let''s stop now. If you slug him too badly, he might fall unconscious, and we would personally need to gather information."


    Christina looked slightly frustrated, but she listened to Tiana''s words and stopped. She had just begun to enjoy this!


    "¡­Okay," She spat out while staring in Elias''s direction.


    The two women soon walked away while Elias immediately roared at the Red Crown Sect disciples near him, "Capture these five! I want to see them immediately!"


    A few disciples even called out for their physician to check up on Elias''s injuries.


    ~~


    Tiana and Christina were walking in the area nearby while waiting for Elias to gather the necessary information.


    "Is the Red Crown Sect involved or not?" Christina asked Tiana with a curious gaze.


    Tiana answered calmly, "It''s involved. But not like you are thinking. Only the low-ranked disciples are involved."


    "I know this for sure because if they really nned on going against your ck Lake Sect, they would have prepared a counter-measure for you. Currently, there is not a single expert of your level in the Red Crown Sect here. All their experts are apanying the elders and enjoying a banquet with the organizers. If they were here, I doubt you would be able to do much."


    Christina looked extremely agitated at those words, but she didn''t deny them. That was the truth.


    This time, the Red Crown Sect was led by the 6th Prince. And she wasn''t confident in defeating him.


    "I believe that it was some other sect who used gave a bunch of benefits to these Red Crown Sect disciples and asked them to instigate those troublemakers to create trouble for the ck Lake Sect."


    "That sect knew that you will find out it was the Red Crown Sect disciples who instigated those troublemakers. Knowing your temper, you will immediately attack the Red Crown Sect''s booths and even destroy them. However, what do you think this will aplish?" Tiana asked Christina.


    Christina remained silent as she digested Tiana''s words. Before she could answer, Tiana continued, "You would have punished hundreds of innocents and let the true culprits enjoy the results."


    "Once the 6th Prince returns and finds out about your actions, even if he finds out the truth, he will prioritize punishing your ck Lake Sect," Tiana finished exining the consequences to Christina.


    "Woaaah! I never thought that the situation would be so bad. So that''s why my mother asks me to not do anything. I always seem to create one trouble or another for the sect, and I never knew why. So I had to think so deeply about this," Christina let out a tired sigh while revealing this bit of information to Tiana.


    Tiana was instantly speechless at those words. She changed the topic by saying, "All we need to do is wait now."


    "Waiting is something I despise the most!" With an irritated tone, Christina spoke.


    Tiana had a sweatdrop behind her head as she didn''t know what she should say to this girl.


    After half an hour, a Red Crown Sect disciple came running in their direction.


    "Young Miss Christina and Young Miss Tiana, Senior Brother Elias calls out for you," The Red Crown Sect''s disciple spoke with a respectful tone.


    He had witnessed how Christina and Tiana had dealt with Elias. It didn''t even seem like a fight.


    They were thrashing Elias.


    And Elias could easily thrash most of the Red Crown Sect''s disciples who hade here. This allowed them to understand their position in front of Christina and Tiana.


    Christina and Tiana didn''t focus on the emotions this disciple was experiencing. They were more interested in learning who was the true perpetrator.


    Soon, they reached the location where Elias was waiting for them.


    His arms had been bandaged properly, and there was a greenish glow over his arms.


    They were probably healing through some sort of Talisman''s effect.


    Tiana stared at the five disciples who were kneeling ahead of Elias. There were also other Red Crown Sect''s disciples who were gathered around him.


    "¡­These five are the culprits who instigated those troublemakers. And they did that because they received some benefits from an Origin Sect''s elder," Elias wasn''t in the mood to chat about other topics, so he got right to the point.


    ~~


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 Chapter 266 - Punishing The Perpetrator

    "The Origin Sect''s elder, huh? What''s his name?" Christina immediately asked Elias.


    Elias hesitated a bit before finally replying, "¡­Elder Lazaros. He asked these five to instigate those troublemakers. And seemed to have also offered to protect them if the situation turned dire."


    "I see¡­ Just as I suspected," Tiana muttered.


    Christina was the only one who heard Tiana''s whisper. She looked at her in shock and wondered what she meant.


    Tiana whispered to Christina, "¡­Later."


    "Mkay~!" Christina agreed before turning her gaze back at Elias.


    "Our grudges can be considered resolved if you hand over these five to me," Christina said to Elias.


    A visible frown appeared on Elias''s face. But he nodded, "Very well."


    The five disciples were extremely terrified to hear those words. They knew they were going to die!


    Tiana also didn''t n to protect them. She was sure that Elias must have gathered all the useful information from them.


    She was thinking deeply about the information she had received just now.


    <em>''This was a tactic of creating a rift between the rtionship of the Red Crown Sect and the ck Lake Sect. What exactly does the Origin Sect gain from this? This tactic won''t work for long, so this elder from the Origin Sect must also have a short-term goal.''</em>


    While Tiana had been buried in her profound thoughts, Christina bound the bodies of the five warriors with a cord, then began to thrash them on the ground.


    These warriors felt their bones break each time their bodies crashed into the ground. It was a slow death filled with excruciating pain!


    Many of them puked out a mouthful of blood as their internal organs tore apart.


    Soon, Tiana and Christina were on their way back.


    Tiana asked Christina, "What are you nning now?"


    "Hmm? What do you mean?" Christina asked while raising her brows, "I am naturally going towards those Origin Sect''s booths. An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and blood for blood!"


    "That wouldn''t be a good idea. You aren''t using some disciples this time. You are using a sect elder. You don''t have enough proof. Just the confession of some disciples won''t work against him," Tiana spoke seriously.


    "Then we let him off?!" Christina asked with an angry tone.


    "No. I mean to say that there is a better way to punish him," Tiana responded with a smirk, "He used this tactic to create a rift between the ck Lake Sect and the Red Crown Sect."


    "He should have brought a few personal disciples here. Since he wanted to attack your sect''s disciples, he shouldn''t me us if we do the same. Let''s find out about them and hunt them," It was good that Tiana''s face was concealed behind a veil, or else Christina would havemented how wicked her grin appeared right now.


    "Send this instruction to Elias Callides privately," Tiana then gave this hint to Christina.


    Christina then understood what Tiana meant to say, "Oooh! I can use the Red Crown Sect as allies, and we can punish this Origin Sect together!"


    "Yes. First, let''s hunt his dear disciples. And if he retaliates, use your status to move the ck Lake Sect''s elders. Even the Red Crown Sect should support you in dealing with this guy. Once such a huge scene is created, a lot of importance would be attached to it. It might even be the reason for a future alliance between the Red Crown Sect and the ck Lake Sect," Tiana exined.


    Christina was quite excited to hear Tiana''s exnation. However, she suddenly thought of something and asked Tiana, "What about beating Elias? Won''t the Red Crown Sect be angry at me over beating him?"


    "Don''t worry about it. It''s the 6th Prince who hase to lead the Red Crown Sect''s disciples. Once he hears that you beat up 2nd Prince''s retainer and finds out the true reason, he will help you keep this matter concealed," Tiana exined.


    "Woah! This will be amazing then!" Christina felt as if Tiana could deal with all her issues. She could actually see so far ahead!


    Soon, Christina asked Elias to find out about Elder Lazaros''s disciples.


    Elias promised to find those disciples within another half an hour.


    It was already midnight time. However, the Red Crown Sect''s disciples were really busy as they investigated the Origin Sect''s disciples and found out the location of the Elder Lazaros''s disciples.


    In reality, Elias had also nned to target Elder Lazaros''s disciples. He was very frustrated over being beaten by Christina.


    He nned to beat them up and make himself feel better.


    Elias had no clue that as soon as he told Tiana and Christina the location, they would be on their way to beat them up!


    Since the Elders were enjoying a banquet for this night today, they wouldn''t return. It could be said that the disciples could do whatever they wanted.


    Christina and Tiana knew that what they were doing could be considered absolutely evil or wicked, but there was no such thing as going too far between the battles of the sects.


    Since they dared tounch those lowly schemes at the ck Lake Sect, they had to be prepared for the ck Lake Sect''s retaliation!


    While all this was urring, Tiana was actually building a strong connection with Christina. Tiana knew that she could use Christina and easily recruit more disciples for her sect.


    However, the bond between them was still too fragile. They had to connect with each other even more!


    ~~


    The next day, the elders of each sect returned.


    The Red Crown Sect elders and the 6th Prince heard of what urred. They were stunned to hear that Christina attacked Elias Callides. However, when they heard the reason, they felt it was quite appropriate.


    They also met those five disciples who had been beaten to a near-death state by Christina.


    The 6th Prince was furious at these disciples and decisively chose to kill them! He incinerated them to death!


    The elder of the ck Lake Sect was also informed of what had urred, and he was incensed that the Origin Sect''s elder had undertaken such a petty plot against their sect.


    The two had shared a drink the night before, but he had no idea there was a scheme going on in that man''s head.


    However, among the three sects involved in this scenario, the most furious one was none other than Elder Lazaros.


    When he returned, he saw that all of his personal disciples, in whom he had ced great trust, had their limbs and legs shattered.


    In fact, some of them even had their limbs burned or cut off with an Ice Shard.


    Elder Lazaros could still see faint Golden mes lingering over their wounds. They were probably preventing them from regenerating.


    Even those limbs cut off by the Ice Shards couldn''t regenerate. It was as if that part of their body was frozen now.


    Elder Lazaros didn''t recognize that Ice Element, but he did recognize those Golden mes.


    His face turned red with anger as he understood that this was done by none other than the ck Lake Sect''s Inheritor, Christina Aubert!


    Meanwhile, a loud horn resounded at this moment. This was a signal by the officials that they had to gather for the next category of the Tournament!


    Now, it would be the turn of the 3 Star Warriors.


    Elder Lazaros was even angrier as nearly 5 of his disciples who could have achieved really good results in this category could no longer fight! All the rewards that he could possibly earn were out of his reach now!


    ~~


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 Chapter 267 - The King Finds The Truth

    While thispetition was urring in the Glerian Kingdom, another major event urred in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The Sacred Star Prying Mirror was ready now!


    The sacrifices had already been prepared. And the King could use the abilities of the Sacred Star Prying Mirror at any moment at the cost of those sacrifices.


    Corpses of ten beasts. All at the 5 Star Rank! The warriors had to work their asses off to first find these many beasts in the allocated time and then kill them.


    It wasn''t easy to ughter a 5 Star Beast. Normally, a beast lord was together with its herd. Targeting their lord and killing him was very challenging since the other beasts could interfere in their fight.


    The King had naturally handsomely rewarded his hardworking warriors. He handed over a very precious Sea Lord''s Orb.


    This Sea Lord''s Orb possessed mysterious Lightning and Water Abilities. This Orb could be used to strengthen their Lightning Essence or Water Elemental Essence. They might also get insight into the element they had by utilizing this orb.


    There was another use of this Sea Lord''s Orb. But that was a one-time short-purpose use.


    It could be used to defend themselves from an enemy. Using this Sea Lord''s Orb, they couldunch a high-density Water or Lightning Element attack. If their control was good, they could create a barrier and make this Sea Lord''s Orb an energy center for it.


    "¡­O, All-Knowing Sacred Star Prying Mirror, give the secret I desire. Actually, who killed my third son?" The King voiced out his question.


    In that mirror, millions of stars began to shine brightly. They were responding to the King''s question.


    Suddenly, millions of rays shot out of the mirror that blinded the King. Those raws headed for the sky.


    Those raysbined with the clouds in the sky.


    This wasn''t the first time the King was utilizing this Sacred Star Prying Mirror. He knew that such a scene was very normal.


    He could never get used to the blinding effect, though. That always felt sudden to him.


    When the light returned to his eyes, the Mirror would normally be ready with the answer. This time should be no different. The King''s eyes slowly recovered from that blinding effect.


    Meanwhile, Edwin turned his gaze at the sky with a frown. He felt as if someone was staring at him from above.


    He was about to ignore this gaze when a thought suddenly struck him <em>''Was someone spying on me? I could only barely detect that someone was gazing at me. I couldn''t even sense that person''s energy signature. This person was a Royal Prince, or was it a unique technique?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Edwin was confused as he saw no person''s presence even after utilizing his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    <em>''It was a spying technique used from another location.''</em> Edwin thought solemnly.


    Because of this feeling that someone was watching him, Edwin became much more cautious.


    Even Edwin had no idea that this technique waspletely different. It could look into Heaven''s Secrets.


    Soon, the King remained frozen on his spot as he read the name on the Mirror. Edwin Rhodes.


    This name wasn''t unfamiliar to him. He frowned and thought <em>''A couple of months ago, Jonas arrived and requested that I reduce the tax for Kloras Town. And that town was handed over to his son named Edwin. Is it the same man?''</em>


    Soon, he was shown the scene of how Edwin killed Bernado. Edwin''s face was clearly visible in the mirror.


    If someone from Earth was present, he would call it a high-quality video.


    "Draw a portrait of this man and investigate if he is Rhodes Family''s Heir or not?" The King asked his subordinates to immediately step forwards.


    He couldn''t be bothered to describe this man''s features when they were so clearly visible at this moment.


    All of them here were his trusted people. They would definitely not dare to leak anything about it.


    <em>''If this is your tactic Jonas, then you and the entire Rhodes House can be prepared to face my wrath!''</em> The King thought with a decisive look on his face.


    He had decided how he was going to deal with Jonas.


    Soon, the King''s subordinates had identical portraits of Edwin prepared. He then ordered them to send this to Jonas and ask him whether he was truly his son or not.


    This task was done on that very same evening.


    Jonas received that portrait in a few days. After he received it, he frowned deeply.


    <em>''The King is asking me to confirm my rtionship with Edwin? Did Edwin do something in the capital?''</em> Jonas was rather anxious.


    Unlike the King, Jonas actually knew who this person was. It was a Demon God within Edwin''s body.


    Edwin''s every action could be rted to the Rhodes Mansion. Even if they emunicated him, the King would still be doubtful regarding the Rhodes Noble House.


    They could be the targets of the King at any moment.


    Before contacting the king, Jonas decided to talk to someone who could advise him on this.


    There were only a couple of people whose advice Jonas would listen to and act seriously. One of them was Shun Gordon. Or known as Inquisitor Fox!


    Shun pulled out his Voice Transmission Stone and connected to it.


    "Yes?" He whispered softly. Someone was contacting him on his Voice Transmission Stone connected to his Inquisitor Fox identity.


    Jonas whispered back, "It''s me."


    Immediately, Shun understood that it was Jonas. He was surprised and spoke out, "Why did you contact me today? Anything urgent?"


    "Something like that," Jonas started off with a sigh. He then added, "The King sent me Edwin''s portrait. What do you think this means?"


    "¡­What did you say?!" Even Shun was stunned to hear this information.


    "I have been keeping an eye on Edwin''s movements. I know he was in the capital and somehow involved in the Third Prince''s death. In fact, I believe it''s Edwin who killed the Third Prince. I can''t verify that since I won''t be able to arrive at the site and thoroughly study it," Shun gave out the information from his end.


    Jonas was utterly speechless, "¡­Edwin was in the Capital? Since when?!" He had thought that Edwin was in Kloras Town.


    The Kloras Town was developing nicely. Many houses had been set up. Most of thend was used for agriculture. The pubs and bars generated a rather nice ie.


    The rise of the Kloras Town had been so sharp that the only Shun''s City of Vanta could bepared to it.


    However, in Shun''s case, he already had manpower avable to him. The same wasn''t true for Edwin''s Kloras Town.


    Edwin had literally raised this Kloras Town from the ground. Moreover, at an absolutely demonic growth rate.


    Naturally, this was all because of his clever strategies and hisck of wealth. If not for his wealth, many of his strategies would need to be modified. He wouldn''t have been able to use the best ones straight away.


    And that all happened while Edwin was away from Kloas Town for the majority of the time.


    "Don''t contact the King. I will do so on your behalf. It seems I need to intervene, or else the situation will slip out of my hands as it did at the Roger Dukedom," Shun spoke solemnly.


    ~~


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 Chapter 268 - Spencer Returns

    Edwin continued to move towards his Kloras Town. It was time for him to sow the herbs he was carrying.


    These were the herbs Azaroth had received from the King of the Glerian Kingdom. He never found an opportunity to imnt them.


    Edwin had nned to nt them in Kloras Town''s fields.


    nting these herbs wouldn''t necessarily be a huge task, but taking care of these herbs would be. Edwin would need to remain nearby to take care of them initially.


    He could also train a few people who could take care of these herbs while he was gone.


    When he returned, Edwin noticed that nothing was amiss. Everything was going as he had instructed.


    There were no sightings of any strange individuals. This was actually surprising for Edwin.


    He was expecting Inquisitor Fox and Jonas Rhodes to send some people to investigate the Kloras Town while he was gone.


    They should have found out he wasn''t in Kloras Town. Why had they note to investigate Kloras town deeply?


    <em>''Was my diversion tactic too effective? That''s surprising. I thought Inquisitor Fox would be more challenging.''</em> Edwin even sighed out with a tired expression.


    <em>''These have been a tough couple of months. I had to scheme at every second. But the results should be worth it,</em>'' Edwin thought seriously.


    In the next couple of days, Bianca''s husband, Spencer Russel, had returned.


    He met up with his wife and his daughter. It had been a couple of months since he had been away from them. He naturally missed them a lot.


    The same could not be said for his wife and daughter. They didn''t miss him at all.


    Sophie didn''t miss her father because she wanted to spend more time with Edwin. She knew that her father''s return was one of the main reasons Edwin had gone away.


    Meanwhile, Bianca was under Edwin''splete control. She no longer felt anything for Spencer and was going to act ording to Edwin''s wishes.


    "You are finally back, dear," Bianca spoke as she weed her husband.


    The two hugged for a few moments before they separated. Spencer looked around and searched for his daughter, "Where is my lil princess?"


    "She is in her room. Sleeping right now," Bianca answered casually.


    She then added, "Oh right. While you were gone, Sophie''s boyfriend lived with us for a couple of weeks."


    "Sophie''s boyfriend?!" Spencer received a great shock, "Who is this guy?!"


    "It''s Edwin Rhodes," Bianca immediately answered.


    In reality, it was Edwin who ordered Bianca to reveal this to Spencer. This information couldn''t be concealed for long. The Royal Guards who were guarding the perimeter were sure to inform Spencer about him.


    It was better if he heard it from Bianca. At the least, his trust in Bianca wouldn''t waver.


    Moreover, since Bianca informed Spencer about it, he was bound to trust her word a bit more easily.


    "Edwin Rhodes has abandoned his seat at the Rhodes House and is ruling over Kloras Town in peace. I talked to him when we met. You trust my judgement, right, hubby?" Bianca asked with a coquettish tone while she removed her husband''s jacket and then caressed his chest.


    "Yes," Spencer nkly responded.


    Spencer had remainedpletely loyal to Bianca as he held back his lust and didn''t have an affair with another woman. He was given many chances.


    He was also sure that Bianca would never found out if he fooled around a bit. However, his heart would feel guilty.


    If his heart held guilt about this, it would affect his future path of cultivation. He wanted to remain true to himself!


    Before he even realized it, his hands snaked around Bianca''s waist and pulled her closer to himself.


    The two shared a long kiss soon enough, and then Bianca pushed him on the bed.


    Without any doubt, the dominant person on the bed was Bianca.


    Spencer followed her lead as he came inside her soon enough. Bianca was mildly satisfied, but the two continued on for round two, and Spencer finally made her cum.


    After the two shared some very intimate moments, Spencer asked Bianca, "¡­That was good. It seems you missed me as much as I missed you."


    "Obviously. I was worried whether you would even return or not. Your job is getting dangerous. This time, it''s the Crown Prince now. There are a lot of people who want to kill him," Bianca spoke with a slightly scared tone.


    "Don''t worry. Those people can never harm your husband. I am stronger than them!" Spencer replied confidently.


    "¡­Alright," Bianca spoke while turning her body to the other side.


    This was a sign that she was angry.


    Spencer noticed it, and there was a slight smile on his face. He turned his body in her direction, and his hand moved around her thin waist.


    He pulled her closer to himself and hugged her tightly.


    Spencer softly spoke, "Alright. As you say, I will be more careful. Besides, it seems that this time the Republic of Raleroma had suffered disastrous losses at the hands of the Crown Prince. They shouldn''t dare to raise their weapons against the Sinyalian Kingdom for the next 3 years."


    "I don''t care. It doesn''t lower the danger we are in. Do you know, the Third Prince died in his personal mansion? What if something like this happens to us while you are away?" Bianca asked with a broken voice.


    Spencer immediately felt a lot more guilty, "¡­I apologize. I won''t go anyway. I will be with you and Sophie for the next couple of months. Tomorrow, I will go and meet King Valliadis to apply for leave."


    "Mhm~!" Bianca''s mood instantly improved at those words.


    <em>''I will also need to ask the King about the death of his Third Son. Moreover, there were also rumors that the Fifth Prince had been attacked. That was why the Crown Prince had suddenly disappeared and had appeared in the Capital.''</em>


    <em>''The assant has yet to be caught. That assassin could escape the Crown Prince''s clutches. He must be rather strong.''</em> Spencer thought.


    Meanwhile, Bianca sent all this information to Edwin.


    Edwin was satisfied. He didn''t want a 6 Star Expert with a great influence like Spencer Russel investigating him.


    If Spencer Russel really used all his sources, there were chances he could figure out it was Edwin.


    That would be too dangerous. It was better to keep this piece under his control through Bianca and Sophie.


    The next day, Sophie met up with her father when the family gathered for breakfast. She still remained very cold to her father as she didn''t even greet him and picked up her te before returning to her room.


    "Why is my pearl angry at me?" Spencer was confused and asked Bianca.


    Bianca shrugged in response and replied, "Maybe it''s because you didn''t contact her while you were gone."


    "I couldn''t use amunication device over there. Well, I could only use them rarely, and I used them to talk to you, dear. I did try to contact Sophie, but she was mostly busy at those moments." Spencer exined his reasons.


    "Sophie won''t understand those excuses. You need to spend more time with Sophie, husband," Bianca spoke as she served him another piece of white bread.


    "Alright."


    ~~


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 Chapter 269 - Noahs Team

    The warriors of the Origin Sect branch in Venninza City had all ingested the Apex Blood Pills concocted by Azaroth a couple of weeks ago.


    They had all experienced arge breakthrough and a couple of smaller breakthroughs in their energy.


    All the residual energy and their dormant potential within their bodies had been activated.


    Even Noah was no different. The Apex Blood Pill allowed him to break through to the 4 Star Rank.


    As a 3 Star Rank Warrior, he could already defeat some random 4 Star Warriors. But after this breakthrough, his power had been boosted significantly.


    Noah organized a team of fifty warriors and led them to the Heavenly Dragon Battleground Tournament.


    This Heavenly Dragon Battleground Tournament was different from a standard tournament. Instead of standard one-on-one fights, each participant had to bring a total of fifty warriors with him.


    An entire group would fight with amander leading them. Themander was the participant.


    Eachmander would be handed a special badge that couldn''t be replicated. They had to steal othermander''s badges.


    After 10 days, themander with the most badges would win this Heavenly Dragon Battleground Tournament.


    Unlike the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament, this was an open tournament. All kinds of factions from the entire Glerian Kingdom could participate in it.


    Moreover, the rewards of this Heavenly Dragon Battleground Tournament were much greater than the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament. It was the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom organizing this event.


    The King was going to appear as a guest for this tournament. The entire forest would be under his surveince.


    Unlike the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament, where the random civilians were the audience and could view the fights, the same wasn''t the case for the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament audience.


    Only the officials in direct service to the Kingdom could view the fights in this tournament.


    The seeded participants of this tournament were those retainers who had pledged their loyalty to one of the Royal Princes.


    Only if they had contact with one of the Royal Princes could they receive great resources required to build up a strong force and also work on their cultivation.


    ck Hurricane as the Fourth Prince naturally mixed his retainers among them as well. He had an uglyplexion because his retainers who participated in this tournament were very weak and ipetent.


    His truly strong and loyal human retainers had been burned to death by none other than Azaroth.


    This urred when ck Hurricane and his subordinates were nning to ambush Azaroth by staying in the fort.


    They had never expected Azaroth to purge that entire ce with his Hell mes!


    Only ck Hurricane found an opportunity to escape with his life intact. The rest of his retainers died.


    This Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament was a great opportunity for ck Hurricane. If one of his subordinates won or achieved a good ranking, he could begin to control a private army and use it to influence the other armies of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Just a bit of control over the Glerian Kingdom''s army would be sufficient for his n.


    But Azaroth''s intervention had destroyed those ns. He was now forced to change his ns and look for another method to control the army.


    This meant coboration with another Royal Prince of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Crario, the capital city of the Glerian Kingdom.


    The Crarian Forest near this City was where the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament was organized.


    The King had pulled out ancient Draconic Bones from his treasury and buried them underneath the center of the Crarian Forest.


    Using these Draconic Bones as the center, arge array was constructed to prevent the Dragon''s Prestige and Aura from leaking out.


    The Dragon''s Prestige and Aura continued to build up within that array until it waspletely saturated with it.


    The purpose of these Dragon''s Prestige and Aura was to separate the diamond from the rubble.


    All warriors that have a weak aura surrounding them will be subdued to the point of immobility.


    A great general must possess enough aura that he and his subordinates wouldn''t be affected by this Dragon''s Prestige.


    Only then could they be useful for the Glerian Kingdom and deserved to be a general.


    Naturally, the Draconic Bones wouldn''t generate too great pressure for the 4 Star Warriors. The talented warriors at the 4 Star Warriors could resist it and safeguard their subordinates as well.


    When Azaroth had received the details regarding this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament, he knew that these bones couldn''t belong to a true dragon.


    He was mostly sure that these bones belonged to a Flood Dragon.


    Even a 5 Star Warrior would find it difficult to resist its pressure if it was a True Dragon.


    For Noah, the pressure from a Flood Dragon would mean nearly nothing. He possessed an Enlightened Sword Heart.


    The sword in his heart was capable of resisting all sorts of illusions and suppressive aura. As long as he held a strong belief in his sword, no one could suppress him!


    Among Azaroth''s retainers, only Noah could resist the pressure from his Demon God''s Bloodline and fight back with the same intensity!


    Noah reached the Crario City with his subordinates. He remembered Azaroth''s instructions and took them to a tavern first and let them drink all the booze they wanted.


    The drinks in the capital were much more expensive than in Veninza City. However, their quality was much greater as well.


    After that, Noah handed over nearly 50 Gold Coins to each warrior under him.


    He then told them, "Do whatever you want with this money for the next 2 days. Have all the fun you want. However, you should be prepared for what happens next. You will be experiencing life and death battles every day."


    "There will be no time to rx. Only if you survive those next few days filled with life-threatening danger would you be allowed to enjoy to your heart''s content. So, go now," Noah''s tone was very grave and serious when he informed this information to his subordinates.


    Even though Noah was asking them to have fun, they could hardly rx. They knew that Noah wouldn''t lie to them. Since he mentioned that it would be a life-threatening danger for the next few days, they believed him.


    However, they maintained this mentality only until they reached the bar and had their drinks.


    Once they drank alcohol, it was as if their bodies were in a state of excitement. There was a feeling within them that they could do anything.


    Some were talking with theirrades. Some talked to strangers, and some were even dancing¡­


    The bar owners were astonished to see such arge and wealthy group. They thought they had struck a lottery.


    To make these warriors spend even more money, the bar owners sent their best hookers to seduce them.


    A lot of Noah''s subordinates ended up in a hotel room, enjoying one of the best nights of their life.


    The women who spent the night with Noah''s subordinates were utterly exhausted. However, they were happy because they knew they had struck it rich!


    Noah''s subordinates woke up and paid for everything they had done the previous night in the morning.


    They all gathered in the nearby za as instructed by Noah.


    ~~


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 Chapter 270 - The Situation In Lamhilhan Theocracy

    After Noah''s subordinates gathered, he led them to the location where the registration for the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament was urring.


    While his men were enjoying themselves in bars and brothels, Noah gathered information about it in Crario City.


    The participants could only register from a particr entrance to the Crarian forest.


    When Noah reached the location, he noticed a huge crowd. If he counted each person, they would number more than a thousand individuals.


    If each group had brought 50 warriors along with them, it meant atleast 20 groups were participating in this tournament.


    It was extremely unusual to find 20 private groups capable of rearing 50 or so warriors who had attained the 3rd or 4th Star Rank in the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    Most of these groups were formed through the Royal Princes'' influence or by using wealth to hire the sect''s disciples.


    A few groups even belonged to the sects and their core disciples. They held a great desire to attain control over the Glerian Kingdom''s army as well.


    If they possessed control over the Glerian Kingdom''s army, their manpower would increase, and they could be slightly free of the Royal Family''s control.


    All the sects were forced to obey the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family. The major reason was this army''s devotion to the Royal Family.


    The army possessed soldiers whose strength varied from 2 Star Rank to 5 Star Rank.


    The 4 Star and 5 Star Ranked Soldiers were actually officers. The 4 Star Soldiers were allowed to lead their personal team, while the 5 Star soldiers could lead a battalion.


    After soldiers, another force threatened these sects. The Union of the Knights and the Pdins.


    These Knights and Pdins were in service to obey the orders of the King or those of the Royal Family.


    They naturally followed a wless hierarchy. Thus there was no dispute in carrying out amand.


    The King''s words were of supreme importance. And then those of his brothers or his children.


    Their task was simr to that of the Royal Guards in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, this system was much more diverse in the Glerian Kingdom than in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The King was in a good mood these days.


    The materials he had bought from Azaroth at the cost of those rare herbs were working wonderfully. They were actually even better than he initially expected.


    As soon as they were ced at the sight along with the boosting effect of an array, the resources in the mines had begun to replenish at a rapid rate.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom had no idea that it would take the Glerian Kingdom at most 2 months to recover enough resources to continue the war against them.


    They would definitely be caught by surprise. That would be the perfect opportunity to deal massive damage to the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, there was another matter being discussed in the courtroom.


    To divert their attention from the Sinyalian Kingdom to the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    "Supreme Pontiff of the Lamhilhan Theocracy just died after fighting a lengthy battle against the Demon Emperor. The Demon Emperor is injured and in hiding. It''s said that his cultivation has dropped, and he no longer possesses his power at the Demon Emperor Level. It would be a good idea to send our experts there and finish him off. The Head of a Demon Emperor is quite valuable. Moreover, we will have a chance to get the treasures from his Spatial Ring," One of the King''s advisors spoke.


    A long discussion started because of those words. Some were in favor, while some were against it.


    "A Demon Emperor should never be underestimated. We don''t know anything about his injuries, whether he can recover his power or not, and how long it will take him. Without knowing this, sending our soldiers after him would be equivalent to putting them on a suicide mission. We should wait it out and use our spies to gather more information."


    Another advisor put forward his point.


    The King was inclined to concur with this logic. The King was greedy but not hopelessly foolish.


    Trying to deal with the Lamhilhan Theocracy and the Sinyalian Kingdom would be asking for too much.


    The Lamhilhan Theocracy was extremely wealthy. It was also one of the sources from which the Glerian Kingdom might obtain emergency supplies.


    It was not the time to oppose them.


    A lengthy debate began in the courtroom. The advisors were split into two factions.


    Some were in favor of the first proposal, while others favored the second proposal.


    Just as the King was about to mention his preference, another advisor requested permission to speak.


    The King granted him the authorization to speak. The advisor took a deep breath and spoke, "Your Majesty, I have another suggestion. While we are focusing on the Demon Emperor, I believe we shouldn''t ignore that the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s Head seat is now empty."


    "The Supreme Pontiff has just died. A new one will be nominated based on the cardinals'' votes. What if this new Supreme Pontiff is sympathetic to us and our cause rather than the peace that the previous one envisioned?"


    The entire courtroom remained silent as this proposal was spoken.


    Suddenly, there was a burst of loudughter and then a delighted voice that spoke, "A most interesting proposal. Continue thinking in this direction."


    Once the king had given this order, all the advisors were now thinking along that suggestion.


    The advisor who spoke the proposal quietly sat down. However, the king''s eyes remained focused on him for a couple of minutes before he turned his gaze away.


    The King vividly noted down the advisor''s appearance who had presented this fantastic idea.


    The man was in histe twenties. His face appeared rather unremarkable, but now that the King observed him, a mysteriously dense aura was around this man.


    Naturally, the aura didn''t give a threatening feeling to the King, but for a 4 Star Warrior, it was quite deep and hard to analyze.


    Thus, all the advisors in the courtroom began to think of a way to influence the elections in the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    And how they could appoint a candidate that might serve them.


    There were many issues that the Glerian Kingdom was facing. Theycked money, resources, and even the army to some extent.


    The army was barely adequate to protect the boundaries of the Glerian Kingdom. The King couldn''t deploy his troops and risk exposing a weakness in the Kingdom''s defenses.


    A specialized team had to be created. This team had to be led by an extremely smart individual with an eloquent tongue.


    Someone with the ability to influence people.


    <em>''I can''t send someone already famous in the Glerian Kingdom. It needs to be someone with an unfamiliar face. Who should I choose?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''I need to use the Silver Command to find such an individual who can lead this operation.''</em> The King thought seriously.


    The Silver Command was one of the King''smands to order one of his intelligence agencies known as the Silver Hawks.


    The King was convinced that the Silver Hawks could find such a person for him. They were his most secretive organization that was active in various cities and sects.


    Only the King and its members were aware of this agency''s name. All others who knew were dead.


    All the advisors also promised the king that they would find appropriate warriors for this mission.


    At the end of this debate, the king ordered them to take an oath of secrecy. This information must not spread in the Kingdom.


    The advisors solemnly took an oath. They knew that the King was utterly serious. If they dared to leak this information, the King would know and have their head!


    ~~


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 Chapter 271 - Troublemakers

    The King activated his secret intelligence agency and asked them to look for an individual who could be useful in this mission to the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Installing a new ruler sympathetic to the Glerian Kingdom was a huge mission. Even if they seeded, the Lamhilhan Theocracy couldn''t openly support the Glerian Kingdom.


    If nothing else, the king wanted the new ruler of the Lamhilhan Theocracy to not sign an alliance with the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    In the war against the Sinyalian Kingdom, if the Sinyalian Kingdom received Lamhilhan Theocracy''s support, defeating them would be nearly impossible for the Glerian Kingdom.


    Thus, this mission was extremely crucial.


    The Silver Hawks Agency''s men were spread wide within the Glerian Kingdom. However, this was such a secret organization that most of its members worked under the Silver Hawks Agency without even knowing their organization''s name.


    All the core members of this Agency''s name who knew the name had different methods of gathering their information.


    These core members of the Silver Hawks Agency had divided their tasks. Some members would gather information rted to trade and the economy. Some would focus on rare talents.


    Some would focus on information regarding infamous criminals, hunters, and even the actions of influential warriors of the Glerian Kingdom.


    These people also kept an eye on the enemy Kingdom''s spies. They controlled the information these spies received¡­


    Purging all of the enemy''s spies was impossible. However, nting fake information was very much possible.


    Currently, the entire Silver Hawks Agency has received a new assignment. To find a talent who could influence the crowds and was good in diplomacy. This talent couldn''t be too famous in the Glerian Kingdom.


    The core members of the Silver Hawks Agency immediately began to search for such an individual.


    They decided to pay attention to small towns and viges instead of the cities. They could find a worthy talent fitting the profile set up by the King without much trouble. He would be lowkey since the information would rarely spread much from a small town or a vige.


    Atleast, the citizens in the city would normally ignore a rumor that originated from a small town or vige.


    When the situation calls for it, they can always massacre the entire town and me it on a Beast Raid or some demon, and no one will notice.


    Fortunately, the King gave them one whole week to look for an individual fitting this profile.


    Around this moment, the King and other influential people were seated in arge hall. Ahead of them, certain holographic images appeared.


    These were the images within the forest. The visual transmitting arrays had been tranted at specific points in the entire forest.


    The King wanted to see how these warriors would fight and lead their men to victory. Even if someone lost this tournament, the King was ready to make an exception and enlist him in his forces as long as he possessed extraordinary talent.


    There were nearly 20 groups who were waiting after their registration for the Heavenly Dragon Battlefield Tournament. The registration hadn''t closed, so they couldn''t be allowed to enter the forest.


    Currently, these groups were staying in an inn, waiting for the summons.


    The registrations closed once there were 32 groups in total.


    Each group was leading 50 men in this tournament. Interestingly, most of these warriors in these groups were 3 Star Warriors. There were fewer 2 Star Warriors aspared to the 3 Star Warriors.


    There was profound reasoning behind this.


    Most of the groups participating in this Heavenly Dragon Battlefield''s Tournament belonged to reputed factions. Nearly 21 of these groups belonged to reputed factions.


    These factions could naturally afford to send all 50 warriors at the 3 Star Rank. They were all prepared for this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    The same couldn''t be spoken about the small individual groups.


    They had entered this tournament just to try their luck. If they could get lucky, their group might gain a bit of prestige just because they were participating in it.


    Before the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament could officially begin, a few individuals came to meet Noah and his subordinates.


    These individuals were wearing very high-ss spiritual clothing. There was also a basic outline of the armor they were wearing underneath that spiritual clothing.


    Clearly, they belonged to a rather influential and wealthy group. Noah and his subordinates looked like poor chaps ahead of them.


    "¡­Who is Noah?" A brown-haired guy among them asked with a neutral tone.


    Noah raised his brows while staring at them. Meanwhile, Noah''s subordinates also turned their gaze in these men''s direction.


    They wondered what these individuals wanted from Noah.


    Even though they were curious, no one answered that earlier question. No one possessed the courage to point his finger in Noah''s direction.


    The three warriors couldn''t help but frown at this tant disregard from Noah and his subordinates.


    "I asked, who is Noah?!" The same brown warrior asked with a forceful voice.


    Noah stepped forwards and then spoke, "I am Noah. What business do you have with me?" His voice was extremely cold as he asked them this question.


    Azaroth had ordered Noah to not be afraid of getting into any trouble. He had to make sure that no one would look down on him and his men.


    Noah was extremely unhappy at their rude andmanding tone towards him. Since they were asking about him, they should have known that he was the leader of this group.


    For them to speak in that tone indicated that they looked down on him. Since they were disrespectful to him, he had to respond to them in kind.


    Meanwhile, the three individuals stared at Noah. Two of them were stunned, and the man with green hair''s pupils narrowed.


    The brown-haired guy immediately responded with a despising look on his face, "What a coward this Noah is. He actually sends out a child to talk to us. He must have been scared shitless after seeing us."


    "¡­Coward?" Noah whispered as killing intent suddenly shone in his eyes.


    Noah''s subordinates immediately backed away as they saw the look on his face.


    Noah''s hand touched his sword while staring at the brown-haired warrior. He spoke with a dangerously calm voice, "How about you look down on our leader after you sessfully block my attack."


    The brown-haired guy snorted in response, "Looks like I need to teach you a lesson and then make you take us to your leader."


    The brown-haired warrior immediately stepped forward, indicating that he had epted Noah''s challenge.


    Noah suddenly grabbed his sword''s handle, and his entire aura changed.


    These three unknown individuals immediately sensed a sharp dominating aura. The brown-haired warrior was extremely intimidated by that aura, and he took a step back in shock and fear.


    ''<strong><em>Quick strike.</em></strong>''


    Noah''s body suddenly moved forward.


    Just as the brown-haired warrior was getting ready to block Noah''s attack, he felt someone pulled his hair.


    The brown-haired warrior''s body immediately moved back. His eyes widened in shock when he noticed a metallic de narrowing missing his throat.


    Within a second, his entire life shed before him.


    Noah came to a halt as he realized the brown-haired man had evaded his strike. It wasn''t so much that he dodged as it was that the emerald-haired man had dragged him away from the danger.


    The emerald-haired man had a serious expression on his face as he gazed at Noah, "What is your name?"


    There was a trace of respect in his tone. He knew that if not for his intervention, hisrade would have died.


    In fact, he could also see that this wasn''t Noah''s limit. This was probably only a trace of his power.


    Noah replied calmly, "The one you are looking for."


    ~~


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 Chapter 272 - Representatives Of The Origin Branch

    Noah''s answer made the three warriors stare at him with a shocked expression. The emerald-haired man was the fastest to recover from his shock.


    "What a swift technique that was. If I hadn''t moved, you would have sliced off myrade''s head before he could even blink his eyes." Those words were spoken with a solemn and grave expression.


    It made the brown-haired warriorprehend the gravity of the situation.


    Meanwhile, Noah remained calmed as he sheathed his sword, "Your reaction time is also impressive. Despite moving after me, you were able to pull him out of danger."


    "I can see why you are the leader of this group, Noah," spoke the emerald-haired warrior. He soon added, "Greetings, Noah. I am Sakis Melelis, the leader of the group from the main branch of the Origin Sect."


    "Main Branch of the Origin Sect?" Noah whispered with a confused expression. He then suddenly realized what the issue was.


    Sakis Melelis noticed that look in Noah''s eyes andmented, "It seems you understand it now. I havee to question you why the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza Town has sent their own group to the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament."


    "Why did you not participate in the tournament that urred in the main branch of the Origin Sect where the representatives for the Origin Sect for the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament were chosen?"


    Suddenly, the third warrior from their group asked with a frown, "How can a specific branch of a sect send their group independently? Are you nning to rebel?"


    Noah''s eyes narrowed at those questions. He didn''t expect that these warriors hade to inquire him regarding these issues.


    Noah recalled one of Azaroth''s instructions. It was <em>''If someone from the main branch of the Origin Sect questions you, make them talk to me.''</em>


    "¡­Talk to my master," Noah raised his hand, and the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring on his finger shed.


    Azaroth''s figure didn''t appear, though. Noah frowned and sent Ardor in his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring, but it had no effect.


    Just as he was wondering whether someone was wrong, his Voice Transmission Stone began to beep.


    Noah immediately used his Ardor to connect to the Voice Transmission Stone.


    Azaroth asked with a cold tone, "What is it?"


    "It''s the Origin Sect''s Main Branch disciples. What should I do about them, master?" Noah asked with a respectful tone in his voice.


    "¡­I see. Point this towards them," Azaroth ordered.


    Noah did as he was instructed, and the three warriors heard Azaroth''s voice, "I am Noah''s master. You don''t need to know my name. Tell me what issue do you have with Noah and his group''s participation."


    Sakis answered Azaroth, "This guy named Noah and the other warriors have no right to participate in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament from the Origin Sect''s side. They didn''t participate in the Origin Sect''s Representative Tournaments from where the participants and the leader for the group to the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament were chosen."


    "I thought that the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament didn''t prohibit the participation of multiple groups from a single sect. At the least, no rule states this," Azaroth calmly replied.


    The brown-haired warrior spoke out angrily, "Don''t you think it would make us look like idiots if Noah and his group participated in thispetition on behalf of the Origin Sect? After all, we put our lives on the line to gain the right to represent the Origin Sect."


    He seemed quite angry for the reason mentioned above and the fact that he lost to Noah. He wanted to release his frustrations somehow. And this appeared to be the best possible method.


    Noah got a little angry when he heard that brown-haired warrior''s rude tone while speaking to Azaroth.


    If talking rudely to Noah was a crime deserving of death, then talking rudely to Azaroth was a crime deserving of thousand deaths; at least to Noah, that is.


    Just when Noah was about to say something, Azaroth spoke out, "¡­I see. So that''s the issue. Very well, we will change this group''s name. Noah won''t represent this branch of the Origin Sect."


    Sakis was a bit surprised to hear that statement.


    Azaroth then added, "Since your issue has been dealt with, you should leave." This time, Azaroth''s voice had amanding aura in it.


    When Sakis and his fellowrades heard it, their instincts screamed at them to run!


    The three remained at the location for some moments before they nodded their heads and walked away.


    As the three walked away, Azaroth then spoke to Noah, "¡­Didn''t I tell you to call me by using this Voice Transmission Array Stone. You shouldn''t have used your ring to call out for me."


    Azaroth scolded Noah fiercely.


    Noah instantly recalled this instruction and realized his mistake. Azaroth added, "I will forgive you this one time. This shouldn''t happen again."


    "Yes, master," Noah spoke with a devoted tone.


    Azaroth was slightly annoyed because he didn''t want to show his appearance to these origin sect disciples.


    If they had seen his face, he would have to kill them. It wasn''t a good idea for the origin sect branch in Veninza city to rebel against the main branch dynamically.


    "Since you can''t register this group under the Origin Sect''s Branch name, then use another name¡­." Azaroth soon informed Noah of the name.


    "Alright, master," Noah spoke excitedly.


    "Good. Inform me if another issue urs. I will take care of it," Azaroth spoke before cutting off the connection with Noah''s Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    Noah immediately ran towards the building where the registration of the groups urred. The registration had closed after the 32 teams had recorded, but the final day remained to make somest-minute changes. Naturally, they had to pay a fine ording to what they wanted to change.


    Whether it was the name of a member, the name of their group, and so on¡­


    The fine was the heaviest for changing the group''s name. After all, this affected the entire group.


    Noah didn''t care about the fine, though. He was merely following Azaroth''s orders.


    The fine was merely hundreds of spirit coins.


    "The new name will be?" The guy at the registration desk asked with an emotionless tone.


    Noah proudly replied, "The Heretical Pdins!"


    The man at the registration counter looked slightly surprised at the new name. But the shock soon vanished as he realized Noah was just a little kid.


    <em>''I guess it''s his naivety of a youth that is making him choose this kind of evil name. He probably chose this name because it seems cool.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    In reality, Azaroth didn''t choose this name because of such a reason. This name was more likely to be approved by the civilians in the future if he went against the Kingdom''smon beliefs.


    After Noah renamed his group''s name, he returned to his subordinates'' side and waited.


    He asked them to sleep peacefully since the tournament wouldmence tomorrow.


    The night passed in the blink of an eye.


    In the early morning of the next day, all the groups gathered near the entrance of the Cranian Forest.


    Ahead of them were the two guys who registered their groups.


    "Now¡­The King will address you all, and this tournament shallmence."


    Those words excited all the warriors present there. Well, except Noah, that is.


    ~~


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 Chapter 273 - The King’s Illusionary Figure

    The King''s illusionary figure appeared ahead of all the groups participating in the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    The man''s body had been conjured using some blue-colored element. It was simr to Azaroth''s Holographic Figure that was conjured by the Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings.


    Only Noah couldpare the King''s illusionary figure with Azaroth''s Holographic body.


    <em>''Master''s spiritual figure is densely concentrated with Spiritual Energy. This doesn''t seem to be the case with the King. This illusionary figure might copse even if I used a slight hint of my sword intent.</em>'' Noah analyzed deeply.


    The King soon opened his mouth and spoke, "So, you are the participants this time around?" He nced at them and quickly analyzed them.


    Upon seeing the King of the Glerian Kingdom, all the participants except for Noah suddenly held a desire to prostrate themselves before him.


    There was a powerful and dominating presence around the King.


    It made them want to submit to this man. However, these warriors resisted this desire fiercely. Each one was an ambitious youth who wanted to achieve great heights in the future.


    To surrender to the King willingly now would be a betrayal of their personal ambitions.


    The King noticed their minute internal struggle and ignored it. He had witnessed it far too many times.


    Soon, his vision passed over Noah.


    He was slightly started when he noticed that his prestige couldn''t affect Noah. In fact, not a single one of Noah''s subordinates was affected by the King''s prestige.


    It was the mysteriously sharp aura guarding Noah and his subordinates. In fact, the King felt that this aura was quite threatening.


    Because of his vast experience, the King recognized that aura.


    <em>''This boy can utilize an Intent! Moreover, it has reached the point where it''s instinctively protecting him and his subordinates.''</em>


    The King was startled because it was extremely rare to see such an individual participating in this tournament.


    Firstly, the people who possessed an intent at such a level would be quite old. To awaken an intent, the individual must possess great talent, experience, and a stroke of luck.


    He was unaware of the fact that Noah possessed an Enlightened Sword Heart. He had already been enlightened regarding the way of the sword.


    Now, all that was left for him was to umte more sword techniques and ways of fighting.


    <em>''This is a precious seed. I need to send some people to analyze his background. He might be one of the pirs for the Glerian kingdom. His talent must be extremely amazing if he has truly awakened his intent at such a young age.''</em>


    The King resisted the urge to grin as he thought of Noah''s future potential.


    "As you all might be aware, I am Tryfon Res, the King of the Glerian Kingdom!" He dered this sentence with a lot of pride in his voice.


    "You all have gathered today to participate in the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament. You must be aware that the winner of this tournament shall be awarded special positions in the army. However, I have decided to grant the winner with special powers. He can raise his force independently without any upper limit. The Kingdom will provide a basic sry, food, shelter, weapons, and the armor for your army."


    "Naturally, the winner will need to obey me, but you will gain the privilege to refuse my order and ask me to rethink for a whole month. If my decision remains unaffected, then you will need to follow it without any exceptions." The King dered with amanding voice.


    All these warriors participating in this tournament understood what a great honor this was. To actually possess the power to even dy the King''s order by a month was very special.


    Also, they could possess an independent army without any upper limit, and they could maintain it essentially for free.


    The basic needs of the soldiers would be taken care of by the kingdom.


    Naturally, all the top rankers would be provided with sufficient cultivation resources so their cultivation could advance even further.


    All the disciples were hyped up and excited.


    "It appears that you are very excited about this tournament. Very good." The King spoke as his illusionary figure smiled.


    "Step onto the array, and you will be thrown into a random part of this forest. Remember that your opponents aren''t just the other groups or participants. Even the forces of nature are your enemies," These words from the King confused a few participants.


    It was understandable that they were perplexed. This was the first time they had heard anything like this about the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    The disciples from the great influences or sects had been guided about what they should expect regarding the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    As a result, they were unsurprised to learn that even nature''s forces might be one of their most formidable foes.


    However, no one was scared. Each one had participated in this tournament to show that he could achieve a good rank. Nomanding warrior wanted to show any signs of hesitation or puzzlement to his subordinates.


    They remained stoic.


    "I wish you all the best of luck. May the best one amongst you win." The King spoke at the end before his spiritual figure dispersed.


    All the participants and their respective groups stared at the spot with a respectful gaze.


    Soon, one of the two warriors who registered these groups spoke, "¡­Alright. We will name the group, and they will step onto this array."


    "Crimson Beast Team," The other warrior seemed to be in a hurry and spoke the name of the team.


    The Crimson Beast Team was one of the few groups that had no connection to a prince or any sect.


    Many members of this team had young members who seemed just out of the academy. They also appeared very na?ve.


    They stepped onto the array quickly. It took nearly one whole minute for the array to activate and send these warriors to a random part of the forest.


    Unfortunately, the luck of these warriors wasn''t too good.


    After being teleported, they soon heard a growl from above.


    They realized just what was wrong. They had been teleported to a spot in the jungle where a pair of deadly manhunting Leopard was lurking.


    These deadly leopards were at the 4 Star Rank.


    This group only had a single 4 Star Rank Warrior. In terms of numbers, they were superior to the Leopards, but theirck ofpetence rendered them inferior to the Leopards.


    And there was an even greater issue. These warriors found that an unknown pressure was exerted on their bodies which prevented them from moving!


    The second group wasn''t so unlucky. They had also teleported to a beast''s territory, but this appeared to be a rather weak beastpared to those pair of leopards. It was a Wild Boar.


    Soon, nearly 12 more groups were teleported to different parts of the forest. Some were lucky, and some were unlucky.


    Just as the King had said, the teleportation was truly random.


    "The Heretical Pdins! Step forward!"


    This was a call for Noah and his group. They stepped on the array as they were instructed.


    A hexagon shone around them with a reddish light, and their bodies suddenly disappeared.


    They found themselves in a pool of green water as they opened their eyes. Most of Noah''s subordinates were terrified when they discovered where they had been transported.


    ¡­ It turned out to be a marsh teeming with alligators. Furthermore, these were the deadly Iron-Steel Alligators!


    ~~


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 Chapter 274 - Camping And Ambush

    Noah and his subordinates felt their bodies slowly sinking in the marsh. The Alligators slowly approached them while opening their mouths and showing off their deadly teeth.


    "Oh no! The alligator is about to reach me. Save me, master!" One of them shouted loudly.


    Noah turned his head in that direction, and a sharp sword qi was shot at the Alligator.


    The sharp sword qi swiftly and effortlessly pierced the Alligator''s head. The warrior who had screamed for help earlier breathed out in relief.


    Soon, Noah heard multiple shouts for help.


    "Help us, master. We are slowly sinking in this marsh! Even after using my Ardor, I can''t get out of this ce!" One of them shouted with a frightened expression.


    Another one shouted as he looked at the other Alligators, "These Alligators are still approaching us! We can''t fight them in this marsh!"


    "¡­You are right. We need to deal with this irritating marsh," Noah whispered to himself.


    "<strong>Sword Domain!</strong>"


    Suddenly, an intense amount of sword qi leaked out of his sword, and it began to slice apart the swamp.


    The sword qi slicing the swamp was so great in number that the marshy area itself had stopped restricting Noah.


    Noah soon controlled his sword qi and sword domain and helped out his subordinates.


    The Alligators sensed a deadly feeling from that Sword Domain. Most of them paused at their spots while a few stupid ones still approached Noah''s subordinates.


    They were all sliced apart without any exceptions.


    When the remaining Alligators realized what had happened to theirrades, they immediately fled in the opposite direction.


    This was a wise decision since Noah''s subordinates were getting out of the swamp one by one. They all stepped onto the nearbynd and then looked around.


    Once they were all standing on thend, Noah appeared and instructed them, "Let''s go. We need to find the other groups."


    These subordinates used their Ardor to jump over the marsh andnd on the other side. They were following Noah''s lead as they moved ahead while maintaining a spear-headed formation.


    The ones in the rear were all proficient in ranged magic. Naturally, they were much better in closebat, but their long-range support was more useful in a battle.


    However, even after roaming for a couple of hours, they found no group.


    Noah''s group came across many kinds of beasts. They ughtered them before continuing their walk.


    When Noah looked at his subordinates, he noticed that their movements were rather sluggish. They were tired, hungry, and even thirsty.


    "Let''s set up a camp here," Noah spoke while pointing in arge tree''s direction.


    The tree was huge and thick that it could provide shade for the entire Heretical Pdins group.


    Soon, the entire group sat under that huge tree. A few individuals stood up and began to set up the tents.


    The first tent was pitched for Noah. Then for the other members of this group.


    They even lit up a bonfire to heat up their food. Naturally, this group carried the supplies with them and was prepared to live in this forest.


    The same was true for the other groups.


    All the groups were aware of howrge the Cranian Forest was. They naturally had to prepare sufficient supplies for when they lived in this forest.


    Most of them carried supplies that couldst an entire month for their group. This was a rough estimate about how long it would take for a winner to emerge, considering the size of the entire forest.


    And even if the time exceeded one month, they were confident in filling up the supplies from the forest.


    There were many kinds of healthy fruits, vegetables and other kinds of food in this forest. As long as they knew where to look, they could find everything they needed to survive.


    Naturally, this ced a huge emphasis on their knowledge, leadership, and luck.


    Noah and his group were peacefully enjoying their meal. After that, Noah decided to take some rest before moving forwards.


    They rested in that location for an hour before they were on the move again.


    Noah and his group walked for multiple hours, but once again, they found no other group.


    It was the nighttime now. Noah chose another spot and decided to camp there for the night.


    They lit up a campfire and then cooked their food. It was a delicious dinner, and all of them were pretty satisfied with the taste.


    Soon, Noah gathered them all and assigned them the patrol timings for the nighttime.


    Currently, 10 warriors out of the 50 warriors were assigned on the night patrol.


    They were each handed a bell, which they were required to use as soon as they noticed something in the vicinity.


    Noah began to meditate in his tent while using the Mysterious Qin Technique.


    He was delighted to find out that the absorption of the Spiritual Ardor was much quicker in this forest.


    It was approximately twice as quick whenpared to the normal speed.


    The reason was quite simple. The Mysterious Qin Technique''s speed depended on the Spiritual Ardor in nature.


    If nature was saturated with Spiritual Ardor, the body would absorb more of it while utilizing the same suction force as before.


    There was no upper limit for the rate of absorption for the Mysterious Qin Technique. It depended more on how much the user''s body could handle.


    Currently, Noah''s physique wasn''t strong enough to handle this amount of energy. He had only recently advanced to the 4 Star Rank.


    Even though he possessed a solid foundation to advance to the 4 Star Rank because of the pellets, but this rate of absorption was still too straining for his body.


    He had to make his physique stronger to handle this absorption rate and take full advantage of his Mysterious Qin Physique.


    Suddenly, Noah heard a loud bell''s sound. Not just him, but the entire camp heard it.


    All of the warriors who had been asleep abruptly awoke. They knew this was the signal for an enemy attack!


    Noah immediately rushed out of his tent, and the same could be considered true for hisrades.


    As soon as Noah was out of his tent, he saw multiple arrowsunched at him and his subordinates.


    These arrows were too quick, and Noah couldn''t deflect them all.


    Noah immediately shouted, "Roll out of the way!" He also released his Sword Qi at its full potential and deflected as many arrows as he could.


    "Immediately take cover behind the trees." Noah''s next instruction resounded in the area.


    However, he was startled when he sensed the attacks from behind him too. When Noah turned his body, he saw multiple arrows wereunched from that side as well.


    ''We are surrounded!'' He realized with a grave look on his face.


    "There are enemies at the back too. Go and ughter them!" Noah spoke as he suddenly used Phantom Steps to run on a tree.


    He was climbing the tree to look at the entire scene from above.


    After climbing the tree with 300 meters of height, Noah finally saw all his enemies. He also noticed a man standing a bit farther away from Noah''s camp.


    The man was a 4 Star Warrior, and he appeared to be actively concealing his presence there. Noah understood that this was the enemy leader.


    ~~


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 Chapter 275 - Counterattack

    Noah''s subordinates had now begun to counterattack against the enemy forces. They had more or less understood from where the enemies were attacking.


    The men proficient in long-ranged attacksunched several elemental sts at them. Although these attacks didn''t strike those warriors, they did stop them fromunching another flurry of arrows at Noah''s subordinates.


    Once this flow broke, Noah''s subordinates tookplete advantage of it. They immediately closed the gap and turned this battle into closebat!


    The enemy forces were also quite confident in a closebat battle.


    It was unfortunate for them that Noah''s subordinates were just beyond them in terms of closebat.


    While Noah''s subordinates were fighting against these warriors, Noah was rushing towards the leader of this group.


    The leader of this group, who was content in gazing at the battle from afar, had no idea that Noah was approaching him.


    The man was rather proud as he witnessed his warriors fighting against Noah''s subordinates.


    He had sessfully ambushed an enemy so soon after this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament began.


    Before this tournament started, he believed his group had the least chances of bing the victor.


    When they had been teleported inside this forest, fortunately, it was a quiet and empty ce. This indicated that his luck was quite good.


    It gave him time to adjust his aura to contend against the Dragon''s Prestige in this forest. His subordinates felt the suppression effect on their bodies weaken.


    This was because this suppression was linked to the strength of their leader''s aura.


    If their leader''s aura submitted to the Dragon''s Prestige, they would find it impossible to move. However, his subordinates wouldn''t feel the suppressive effect if their leader''s aura could contend against the Dragon''s Prestige.


    Thus, choosing a suitable leader was very important for this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    Anyway, this guy then led his men to look for food and water. Even a location to hide¡­ By a stroke of utter coincidence, they found a pond nearby.


    Near this pond were many bushes. On these bushes grew sweet berries that energized the warriors and boosted their Ardor.


    This man had ordered all his subordinates to pluck these berries and stored them in his spatial ring.


    After roaming around for some more time, he noticed smoke rising in the distance.


    Even though his men were tired, he ordered them to walk in that direction and close the distance between them and that smoke.


    After some hours of walking, the smoke suddenly disappeared. However, it wasn''t an issue for this man and his group. They could approximately gauge the distance remaining between them and this smoke.


    However, when they arrived at the scene, they saw an extinguished campfire. It had probably been extinguished just a couple of hours ago.


    The man ordered hisrades to look for the tracks.


    It didn''t take them long to find tracks that led him and his subordinates to the second camp set up by Noah''s group.


    The man immediately handed over the berries to all his subordinates and then informed them of his n.


    They were to surround Noah''s group from all directions and then suddenlyunch an attack.


    Unfortunately, his subordinates couldn''t execute his n perfectly. One of Noah''s subordinates, who was on night patrol, saw a few warriors and used the bell provided to him.


    At once, Noah''s entire camp was ready to battle!


    However, this man was still confident in his subordinates that they could win against Noah''s subordinates.


    He was thinking with a disdainful sneer on his face ''The leader of this group is an amateur. This will be an easy victory.''


    His sixth sense tingled, alerting him to the fact that something deadly was approaching him.


    He looked around but saw nothing and thought ''Maybe I am thinking too much.''


    If this man had turned around, he would have known just how right his feeling was.


    Noah approached this man at a quick pace while brandishing his sword. His steps were soft and didn''t make any noise.


    Before the man''s sixth sense warned him, Noah had closed the gap between them.


    With one swift movement, Noah jumped and sliced off that man''s head!


    Blood erupted from his neck, drenching Noah''s upper torso with the scarlet hue.


    Noah''s impassive face was likewise sttered with a few droplets. To wipe away the blood, Noah waved his sword.


    He then sheathed his sword and then went to pick up this man''s head as well as themanding badge.


    "¡­I should have at least asked for his name. What should I shout now?" Noah whispered with a deadpan face.


    This was the first time he was leading his forces against another force. He was rather rough along the edges when it came to battling another force.


    Azaroth knew that Noah couldn''t be considered the most suitable person to lead a group against the other experienced group in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    In terms of ability, Sargan would be the best pick amongst his retainers. He was calm, ruthless, smart, and strong enough to achieve a good ranking. However, there were a couple of reasons why Azaroth didn''t allow Sargan to participate in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    Firstly, Sargan was a Demon. If his demonic identity was revealed, the King might take action straight away and capture him.


    Secondly, Sargan was in the middle of settling up arge informationwork. No one else could do this task other than him.


    Andstly, Azaroth wanted Noah to learn more aboutmanding troops. His intelligence was probably not on par with Sargan or anyone else because of his young age. But his charisma was too great!


    Azaroth witnessed how Noah''s subordinates listened to him. That sort of obedience was drilled into them by beating them to near death.


    However, none of Noah''s subordinates had thoughts of betraying him. They all respected him greatly and never failed to follow his orders.


    Noah''s training methods weren''t traditional. They could even be considered demonic to some extent. But they worked!


    His Enlightened Sword Heart allowed him to react to his foe''s assaults wlessly. On the other hand, Noah was astute enough to notice how the opponent could have used his strikes more effectively.


    He advised them. Which was normally very helpful to the fighting style of that particr warrior.


    Because of his assistance, the warriors felt theirbat power grow. Naturally, it wasn''t so evident against Noah, but they would realize the difference if they fought against a random warrior.


    Just like in this situation. By the time Noah returned to his camp while holding the enemymander''s head, his subordinates had won their side of the battle.


    Only a few dozens of enemies had been killed. A few warriors had run away while the rest were still fighting.


    As Noah returned to the camp, he raised the head in his hands and proimed, "Your strongest warrior is dead now! Surrender, or you will suffer the same fate!"


    Those words were amplified using Ardor.


    When the enemy warriors heard Noah''s words, they felt like surrendering to him.


    Themanding badge Noah had picked up earlier shed with a blue light. Suddenly, all the enemy warriors felt a strong aura crashing onto their bodies.


    They felt as though a tremendous load had been thrown over their body! It was excruciatingly painful, and even the warriors who had fled were affected.


    ~~


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 Chapter 276 - Submit

    Noah''s subordinates apprehended all of the attackers.


    It wasn''t challenging to capture them since these men could no longer move due to the Dragon''s Prestige.


    Since their lord was already dead, his aura in the Commanding Badge could no longer shoulder this Dragonic Prestige for them.


    Noah''s entire group was quite surprised when they witnessed this scene. They were confused since they didn''t experience that suppressive feeling at all.


    They had no idea that the Dragon''s Prestige was suppressing them, and it was Noah''s aura that was defending them.


    Noah recalled the details he had heard from Patrick regarding this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    <em>''They are all suffering under the Dragon''s Prestige?''</em> He wondered.


    "Your master is already dead. You can no longer stand, let alone run away. This simplifies matters for you. If you want to survive, then surrender. That is all I want to say," Noah spoke while sitting on a stone as he gazed at these warriors who had attacked them.


    For a couple of seconds, no one spoke. They were thinking deeply about Noah''s words.


    They observed Noah''s subordinates and Noah as well. They wondered whether it would be a good idea to submit to this guy.


    Suddenly, one of these warriors shouted, "I submit. I submit! Please deal with this suppression now!"


    Noah nodded his head and pulled out hismanding badge.


    Blue light from themanding badge was shot out that scanned the man. After a couple of seconds, the man felt the dragon''s prestige disappear.


    As that man''srades saw him stand up, they immediately decided to submit to Noah as well.


    Noah epted their surrender.


    In the end, only ten warriors remained stubborn and refused to surrender. Noah naturally didn''t show them any mercy.


    He ordered these warriors who had just surrendered to kill these warriors. He was testing their resolve.


    He noticed the hesitation in the eyes of the warriors chosen for this task.


    Noah was slightly confused as he witnessed that hesitation. They might hold some hidden resentment for Noah because of making them ughter theirrades.


    Or should he be pleased that they were willing to listen to his orders? Didn''t this mean that his group had expanded?


    Currently, there were 80 warriors in Noah''s group if these were to be counted. 3 warriors from Noah''s group had lost their lives in the earlier battle.


    Soon, the stubborn warriors who refused to surrender were killed by the newly surrendered warriors.


    Noah gazed at them and ordered them with a monotonous voice, "Introduce yourself."


    Slowly, the warriors began to introduce themselves one by one. After half an hour, they were done.


    "Set up the camps for us all and also patrol during the night," Noah ordered before he stood up and returned to his tent.


    These warriors were quite startled to hear this order.


    They were awaiting some sort of heavy punishment. Perhaps some whips or torture or even interrogation at the hands of Noah''s subordinates.


    However, Noah gave them a very light punishment.


    A few of them even believed <em>''He is just a little na?ve kid.''</em>


    These warriors did as they were instructed. Noah''s subordinates watched these men pitch the tent and quickly set up the camp.


    Their coordination was a lot better than Noah''s subordinates. And Noah''s subordinates felt like they had seen something new.


    Many of Noah''s subordinates belonged to the Origin Sect''s Branch. They had never done menial tasks like setting up camps or something else. They had servants who would do such tasks for them.


    However, they couldn''t bring those servants along with them here in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    In the Hall, the King and his entire group of ministers had witnessed this battle.


    A minister had his eyes fixed on Noah as he spoke out with an excited smile, "This time''s batch is truly exceptional. This boy has not only gained insight into the sword, but he has evenprehended a part of the Sword Domain! I have never witnessed such a talent in the world!"


    This minister''s identity was quite special. Because other than being a minister, this man was also the King''s tutor.


    Naturally, that was the case when the King was a youth.


    However, the King still greatly respected his tutor and would normally listen to his words.


    When the other ministers heard the final sentence, they couldn''t help but stare in the King''s direction with a doubtful gaze.


    This man had tutored the King, yet he had just uttered that this boy was the best talent he had witnessed!


    Wasn''t he implying that the King''s skill wasn''tparable to this boy''s? In reality, he was looking down on the king.


    This was a very disrespectful statement. These ministers were curious about the King''s response.


    The King remained quiet as his eyes focused on Noah.


    He seemed to have ignored his tutor''s words. The other ministers turned their gaze back at the multiple screens.


    "Your Majesty Tryfon, even if this boy does not win. It would be prudent to approach him after the tournament," The King''s tutor added this statement.


    The King nodded after some moments, "I had the same thought. He is inexperienced and na?ve. But his strength and potential can make up for these faults."


    A minister suddenly spoke out, "¡­This is just the beginning, your majesty. I believe there will be many more warriors who will surprise us."


    This minister had another identity. He was also a member of the Night Mountain Sect.


    "It looks that you have a lot of faith in your disciple, Danil," Another minister voiced her opinion. It was a semi-dark-skinned woman with a modestly proportioned physique.


    Unlike Danil, she possessed no other identity and was merely the King''s advisor.


    However, she didn''t fear anyone among the ministers. And possessed the sharpest tongue among them.


    "I do. If this kid is only on this level, then he will be soundly defeated by my disciple, Takis," Danil replied with a confident tone.


    "Is that so? Was your disciple as strong as him when he was merely 10 years old?" The dark-skinned woman asked with a sneer.


    Danil was speechless as he replied, "¡­No."


    "Yeah. How amazing your disciple is. He can win against a 10-year-old, and you can assert his supremacy by pointing out this feat. Aren''t you ashamed of yourself?" The dark-skinned woman asked while pointing her finger at Danil.


    Danil''s face flushed with embarrassment. He didn''t think his random words would be used against him in such a manner.


    He managed to squeeze out a response, "¡­I have never spoken anything against this boy''s talent. Just as Lord Kostos had spoken, this boy has the greatest talent I have ever witnessed in my life. However, what we should focus on now would be who would win this tournament. I merely believe my disciple has a greater chance than this boy."


    Danil was trying to divert the attention away from this boy and towards the other tournament participants.


    Another minister suddenly spoke, "I concur with Danil''s statement. The boy appears strong, but his Sword Domain is iplete. And he doesn''t seem to possess any treasures. It would be difficult for this boy to challenge the other warriors who possess the awakened spiritual weapons with them."


    The minister who assisted Danil was one of Danil''srades in the court. He possessed a good influence in the court and had sessfully changed the topic.


    ~~


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 Chapter 277 - Twelve Horned Deers

    The next day, Noah asked his subordinates to spar against the newly recruited warriors.


    This was a spar, so they were using blunt weapons. They didn''t want to severely injure each other.


    Naturally, Noah''s subordinates won the spars effortlessly.


    Noah witnessed their battles and personally advised each one of them. The newly recruited warriors didn''t understand this advice''s true value and ignored it because of Noah''s young age.


    However, Noah''s subordinates from before kept his advice in mind and nned to work ordingly.


    Noah and all his subordinates roamed around, looking for another group. From these newly recruited warriors, he realized why these warriors could ambush him and his group.


    They were staying at a single spot for too long. Moreover, they shouldn''t have lit up a campfire for so long.


    Noah should have packed food that could be stored for a long time and eaten raw.


    Azaroth hadn''t mentioned anything regarding this. He wanted Noah to realize this on his own.


    This Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament was a kind of Noah''s smelting ground.


    Noah was going to realize most of the issues rting tomanding men and correct them here.


    Noah''s crew soon arrived at the huge pond. This pond was totally full of water. The water was so transparent that Noah could see his image in it.


    This was the same pond that his enemy had found earlier.


    Noah and hispanions drank and even filled their containers with water from this pond.


    Soon, Noah noticed 3 deers on the other side of the pond. They were the rare Twelve Horned Deers.


    Their meat was considered very healthy and tasty. Noah immediately decided to hunt them.


    However, just three deers couldn''t be considered a lot for a group of 80 warriors. They had to find more.


    "You two, follow those deers and find out if there is a group of them nearly or not. Immediately return after you find their location. Do not engage them!" Noah ordered with an emotionless tone.


    "Alright," One of the two warriors shouted before he moved ahead to follow that order.


    The three deers didn''t notice these two warriors. After drinking water, they ran back into the forest.


    The two warriors secretly followed these deers. And soon, they came across a huge herd of these deers.


    They numbered nearly 30 or so. However, this wasn''t what shocked these two warriors.


    There were three gigantic deers in this group. Their height seemed to surpass 20 meters. Their Twelve Horns were nearly 10 meters or so in length.


    "We need to inform master about it immediately!" The two warriors ran away quietly.


    The three gigantic deers snapped their eyes open and stared in that direction. The horns of one of these three deers illuminated with white light.


    Two beams of pure white light were shot out, targeting both the warriors.


    Those two beams struck these two warriors. Those beams even pierced their bodies, but they endured it and ran.


    Noah and his group could see them now.


    Once Noah noticed that they were injured, he immediately moved. He was using Phantom Step to run on the water in the pond while approaching those two subordinates.


    Meanwhile Noah''s entire group remained behind, somewhat shocked as they saw a herd of deers appearing in their vision.


    All of Noah''s old subordinates moved towards those deers. They were very confident in fighting and even fighting against this herd.


    Meanwhile, Noah''s newly recruited warriors were slow to react. They were observing whether it would be okay to engage this herd or not. And their cognitive mind was telling that it wouldn''t be a good idea.


    However, when they noticed their otherrades rushing towards this deer herd, they were forced to follow them.


    Noah released multiple sword qi to strike therge deers. His sword Qi wasn''t strong enough to pierce their bodies, but it did push them back.


    They were the closest to those injured warriors. To protect those injured warriors, those deers had to be pushed back.


    By the time these three deers regained their footing, Noah stood in front of his injured subordinates.


    "That was a job well done. Now leave this to me." Noah whispered while pulling out his sword.


    He clenched his sword tightly while rushing towards the three deers.


    One of the deers rushed towards Noah, lowering his head and nning to hit Noah with hisrge horns.


    Those horns were illuminating with a metallic white light. Noah immediately brandished his sword and struck those horns.


    Sparks emitted as the two shed against each other.


    However, Noah infused his sword with his Sword Qi and made it much stronger and sharper.


    The horns that emitted a metallic white light failed to resist any longer. They had begun to crack¡­


    The deer immediately let out a resounding cry as it felt unbearable pain. The other deers heard that cry and were startled.


    They hatefully red in Noah''s direction and immediately rushed towards him. This was a stampede! It was a unique skill of the entire herd.


    It prevented the opponent from moving from his spot. All the opponents had to remain at their spots and take on this attack head-on.


    A warrior at the same level as these beasts'' leader couldn''t resist this attack. The warrior would be crushed underneath the feet of dozens of deers.


    Unfortunately for these deers, they failed to realize that they were overestimating themselves.


    Noah''s abilities were far beyond them!


    He pushed back the deer and then raised his sword while whispering, "Rapid Slice."


    He then moved forwards immediately before repeatedly slicing therge deer ahead of him.


    Out of the twelve horns, Noah sliced off seven of them! The deer experienced excruciating pain and let out a painful cry!


    Noah ignored the deer and then focused on the other deers that were approaching him while using that stampede.


    The stampede''s effect of forcing him to remain at his spot was working. The stampede wasn''t using some sort of aura to force Noah to remain at his spot.


    This aura wouldn''t have worked. In reality, it was the vibrations through the ground. Those vibrations were rather strange, and this was the first time Noah had been struck with such an ability, so he was lost on how to deal with it.


    Even though Noah didn''t know how to deal with this stampede ability''s immobilization effect, he wasn''t afraid of facing these deers.


    "<strong>Fleeting Cresent sh - Triple shes!</strong>"


    This triple sh was actually thebination of the <strong>Fleeting Cresent sh''s Horizontal, Vertical, and Diagonal shes!</strong>


    At the same moment, all of these shes were released! Because Noah''s feet could not move away from the spot, the attack could not be deemed Noah''s full force. It did, however, have enough strength to murder many deers along its path!


    Using the stampede, pure energy covered the deers as they rushed towards Noah.


    That pure energy shed against the <strong>Fleeting Cresent sh</strong> attack from Noah. The entire stampede was halted for a second because that energy couldn''t push back Noah''s attack.


    The deers used more of their energy, but Noah didn''t stay still as well. He used <strong>Fleeting Cresent sh ¨C Diagonal sh!</strong>


    This Diagonal sh further empowered those Triple shes from earlier. The Energy gathered by the herd of deers using the Stampede attack immediately broke.


    And soon, what Noah and his subordinates witnessed was a bloodbath of these herd of deers!


    ~~


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 Chapter 278 - Camping Out

    After most of the deers were ughtered, Noah ordered his subordinates to deal with the rest.


    He then signaled for a physician toe forward and heal those two warriors. Thankfully, the two warriors were able to recover because their injuries were minor.


    After the deers were ughtered, a few warriors gathered the corpses of these deers and began to cook them.


    They also found a few different kinds of fruits near that area, and Noah''s group had a luxurious lunch and dinner that day.


    After eating his dinner, Noah was rather content. He gazed at the pond from his camp and thought <em>''This is a gorgeous ce. An area that would undoubtedly be approached by both humans and beasts. It would be preferable if I could establish a base camp from which I could easily view the entire region.''</em>


    ''<em>This ce can be a trap.</em>'' He thought as he ordered his subordinates to be prepared to move out in the early morning.


    Noah''s subordinates remained behind in groups while Noah went to his tent to meditate and bolster his Ardor using the Mysterious Qin Technique.


    Noah''s newly recruited subordinates were discussing things with Noah''s old subordinates.


    "Our leader is actually so strong. He could deal with the skill of an entire herd so easily!" One of the newly recruited subordinates stated.


    "That''s right. I have actually been looking down on him because of his young age. I thought he caught our previous leader off-guard. But I see that his victory against our leader wasn''t a coincidence." Another newly recruited warrior admitted truthfully.


    "Hehe¡­You have seen nothing. What you witnessed was just a hint of our master''s amazingness!" The old recruits of Noah''s group spoke smugly.


    They were actually very proud that they were Noah''s subordinates.


    Slowly, these veterans began to inform these plebians about Noah. He was probably the youngest 4 Star Warrior in the Glerian Kingdom''s history.


    He was the youngest Sword Intent and the Sword Domain Warrior in the Glerian Kingdom''s history.


    These warriors realized what it meant to be the youngest Sword Intent and the Sword Domain Warrior.


    As they continued to discuss this, the new recruits were a lot less resistant to serving Noah.


    This could be considered soft brainwashing, and Noah had no idea that such a thing was urring.


    The next few days remained very calm and quiet.


    Noah kept an eye on the entire area, and he was rather unsure when he saw no other human groups approach that pond.


    <em>''Do the people know this pond is a trap? Or are there too many ponds that they don''t need toe to this one?''</em>


    Noah''s guesses werepletely off the mark. The reasoning was very simple. Many groups were teleported too far away.


    There was a low chance they could even find the pond here. Also, most of the groups here only had a rough map of this forest.


    Noah''s patience bore fruit.


    He finally noticed signs of other groups appearing near the pond. Immediately, Noah ordered his subordinates to stay silent.


    If the opponents had a sharp listener or powerful sensor, they could find Noah''s group.


    Noah asked his men to stay silent to prevent a sharp listener from finding them. He had released his Sword Qi all around them, forming a barrier that would prevent any sensor from sensing them.


    Noah had improved from the mistakes he made on the first day.


    He at least knew how to perfectly hide the presence of his entire group.


    He noticed the group was rather small. There were only 20 warriors in that group.


    <em>''Theirmander is too far away. I can''t sense his presence. And if I use the Sword Sense to gauge his level, he will find out and will be extra cautious.''</em> Noah thought with a grim look.


    He focused on them and noticed most of the warriors of this group were actually female.


    There were 15 female warriors among the 20 fighters.


    Noah nced at the woman at the front. He observed her carefully. This woman had a slender physique and possessed a beautiful face.


    Her white, shoulder-length hair braided to reveal a round, friendly face. Round blue eyes, set appealingly within their sockets.


    Currently, her facial expression disyed how anxious and worried she was.


    <em>''She doesn''t seem to be injured. So why is she running? Someone is pursuing her?''</em> Noah remained at his spot as he kept his eyes focused on the scene ahead of him.


    This group of 20 warriors immediately halted after they were within 50 meters of the pond. They turned to the direction they had arrived and waited.


    After half an hour, another group appeared. This one was muchrger in number. There were approximately 100 warriors in this group.


    "You can not run any longer, Aria Kelly!" A man from this group shouted out.


    Aria turned around and gazed at this man with a hateful expression on her face.


    "Why did you think I was running in this direction?" Aria asked while she remained stood ahead of the pond.


    "You have already been betrayed by your own warriors. They even poisoned you, and your Ardor is nowhere strong enough to deal with us! It''s only natural you would run away!" The manughed aloud as he dered that.


    "¡­Correct. I didn''t expect that my own subordinates would be despicable enough to betray me like that," Aria spoke with a hint of sadness in her voice.


    "It''s time for you to give me an answer. Join me, or should I make an example out of you? I must say, though, your followers are truly beautiful." The man spoke while licking his lips with a lustful expression on his face.


    Aria''s eyes showed a cold intent as she heard those words. She could tolerate anything said to her but not to her followers or friends. That was going too far!


    The water within the pond behind them started moving soon enough.


    "I wish you were ready to pay for your despicable actions," Aria whispered as a dangerous killing intent could be seen in her eyes.


    Behind her body, nearly 30 Ice Snakes formed by using the water from the Pond.


    When the man ahead of them witnessed this scene, he showed a dumbfounded expression! It was only natural he was astonished.


    The aura he sensed from these Ice Snakes was far beyond his own! It meant that each one of these Ice Snakes possessed enough power to defeat him!


    "How?! How could your Ardor recover so quickly?! That was the Infernal Bark Poison!" The man shouted out in shock.


    A crazed smile appeared on Aria''s face as she slowly replied, "¡­Even my followers aren''t aware of the true secret of my physique. I can recover from all sorts of ailments if I take a dip in natural water for half an hour."


    "That''s impossible! You are bluffing!"


    Aria''s eyes turned even colder as she heard these sentences. The statements weren''t what angered her. It was the face of the person who had uttered those statements.


    This was the man who had betrayed her!


    "Duncan. I recall you expressing a desire to be closer to Madam Christina. Is this how you intend to win her heart? By betraying her best friend, me?" Aria''s words weren''t spoken loudly.


    In fact, those words were spoken with a dangerously calm voice. And Duncan couldn''t help but shrink when he heard those words.


    He clenched his fists and spoke out, "She will never know the truth! Once you are all dead, I will inform her that I took revenge for you and ughtered the group sent by the Night Mountain Sect!"


    ~~


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 Chapter 279 - Noahs Offer

    Aria Kelly was the leader of the ck Lake Sect''s followers. They were lucky enough to be teleported to a region where the creatures were weak.


    They built a base within that region while exploring their surroundings. They found many kinds of fruits and other sources of food.


    Moreover, the area was slightly elevated aspared to normal ins.


    After a couple of days, Duncan, one of Aria''s trusted subordinates, secretly met with the Silver River Sect''s leader.


    A long-standing partnership existed between the ck Lake Sect and the Silver River Sect.


    Duncan wanted to win Christina''s heart. For that, he knew he had to do something big in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    Either that or achieve something for the ck Lake Sect.


    However, he knew that even if he did achieve something, Aria would receive the credit as she was the ck Lake Sect''s Group Leader.


    Her Icy Aura was strong enough to resist the Dragon''s Prestige.


    Thus, to counter her, Duncan knew he had to join hands with someone. So, even before this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament urred, he contacted Wilfrid Bran.


    Wilfrid Bran was the representative leader of the Silver River Sect. He was also a rare talent as he possessed a twin elemental physique.


    His control over both his elements was quite impressive. His physical body had a lot of room for growth, but his spiritual energy was quite dense.


    Aria Kelly possessed a special physique due to which her Ice Element was much stronger than normal. Otherwise, she couldn''t win against this man, and the ck Lake Sect might have even lost in the sparring matches against the Silver River Sect.


    Wilfrid Bran wanted to remove that stain of loss against Aria Kelly and push her on his bed. Basically, having fun with her body before killing her and removing all traces of her and her group.


    Duncan had bought most of the ck Lake Sect''s disciples by either hook or crook.


    After that, he made these disciples join the Silver River Sect''s group. Wilfrid Bran scanned them using hismanding badge to officially make them join his group.


    These disciples were now fighting against Aria and her loyal followers.


    Aria had recovered her Ardor''s strength by curing herself of all ailments using her physique''s special skill.


    The thirty Ice Snakes she had created truly intimidated Duncan, Wilfrid Bran, and the followers on their side.


    All the Ice Snakes wereunched at them.


    Wilfrid Bran immediately shouted, "Attack them! Destroy them before they can touch us!"


    Wilfrid Bran''s followers instantly responded by raising their arms andunching the quickest destructive attack they could muster.


    Wilfrid Branunched a wide-ranged water stream. These wide-ranged water streams barely managed to contend against the Ice Snakes.


    The Water Streams were freezing at a quick rate because of the low temperature of the Ice Snakes.


    However, Wilfrid Bran wasn''t done with his attacks.


    These Water Streams managed to buy some time for him and allowed him to use one of his strongest skills.


    "<strong>Razor des!</strong>"


    Instantly, wind des shot out of Wilfrid Bran''s body, and they struck those solidified Water Streams along with the Ice Snakes.


    The Razor des pierced the frozen Water Streams and the Ice Snakes.


    They were even dealing with the other Ice Snakes. Thus, Wilfrid Bran alone dealt with more than 7 Ice Snakes.


    Great enough on its own but small whenpared to the number of Ice Snakes shot out by Aria.


    Those Ice Snakes weren''t actually targeting the warriors.


    They struck the ground near the warriors, and slowly, the ground underneath them began to freeze.


    Duncan was the first one to notice it and shouted out, "I understand now. She is trying to immobilize us before killing us all. We need to withdraw now! We can''t win against her. Definitely not here!"


    Wilfrid Bran red at Duncan with bloodshot eyes. He didn''t like that this man was telling him to run away.


    But when he noticed the ice near his feet, he clenched his fists tightly and gave out the order, "<strong><em>Retreat!</em></strong>"


    Wilfrid Bran''s followers were more than happy to obey thismand!


    Soon, they fled from the area. It was unknown whether they had given up on Aria or not, but at least they weren''t visible in in sight.


    Once they were gone, Aria remained stood on her spot. Soon, her facial expression turned pale, and she was breathing heavily.


    Aria''s loyal subordinates immediately approached her and asked her, "Are you alright, Miss Aria? Is it the poison acting up?"


    "Yes. I managed to suppress it by using the water and the special function of my physique. But dealing with this poison isn''t so simple. At least my physique can''t solve it in a short time," Aria spoke while coughing heavily.


    The poison had reached her lungs!


    Suddenly, one of Aria''s followers looked in the sky and noticed an arrowing towards them!


    "W-What is that?" She asked while pointing at that arrow approaching them with a quick pace. Soon, her curious look was reced with a terrified expression as she realized something, "Oh no! They haven''t left the area! They must have stayed behind to check up on us! We need to run!"


    Aria was startled to hear that statement. She had used so much of her strength to scare Wilfrid and his followers.


    If they really returned, they would have no chance to resist them.


    However, when she stared at the arrow, she noticed it wasn''t a pointed arrow but a round arrow. In fact, there was an unfamiliar symbol on it.


    "No. It''s not the Silver River Sect," Aria spoke with a confident tone.


    She knew that the Silver River Sect wouldn''t use an arrow that didn''t have its personal inscription.


    This was someone else altogether.


    Aria and her devoted subordinates soon spotted 6 warriors approaching them. These six warriors included Noah and 5 other strongest warriors of the Heretical Pdins!


    When Aria noticed their numbers, she was internally relieved. Even her followers were the same. They were confident in their ability to defeat these warriors.


    Their numbers were insignificant. Their power didn''t appear to be particrly amazing. At least, that''s what their Ardor implied. They were also bringing a kid along. Were they not worried that this kid might be used as a hostage?


    If these warriors knew the thoughts going on in Aria and her followers'' minds, they would probablyugh to their death.


    Using Noah as a hostage? Pfft¡­They were wee to try that!


    As Noah and his small group approached Aria. Aria couldn''t help but nce at Noah seriously.


    She found out that this kid was the one giving off the most threatening feeling to her.


    What surprised her was that this kid''s aura might even be greatly superior to Christina!


    "I am the leader of the Heretical Pdins. My name is Noah. Who are you? And what is the name of your group?" Noah asked with a calm tone.


    Aria''s followers were pretty shocked to hear Noah''s introduction. Just when someone was about to say something demeaning to him, Aria opened her mouth and spoke, "¡­I am Aria. The leader of the group sent by the ck Lake Sect."


    "I see. Miss Aria, I''d like to make you an offer. Will you fight us or surrender peacefully?" Noah spoke as he discharged hisbat intent.


    ~~


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 Chapter 280 - Arias Group Vs Noah

    As Aria was on the receiving end of Noah''sbat intent, she felt that it even exceeded Wilfrid Bran''sbat intent in terms of pressure and sharpness.


    Moreover, Noah''s words were spoken with confidence as if he dared her to deny his proposal.


    His tone suggested that he was confident in absolutely destroying her and her group if she rejected his proposal.


    "Heretical Pdins. I have never heard of your group. You are affiliated to which faction?" Aria asked while narrowing her eyes.


    Her subordinates at her side immediately red at Noah. They all released theirbined aura, but it still barely allowed them to ignore Noah''sbat intent.


    Noah''s expression turned colder as he responded, "You don''t deserve to know. First, answer my question."


    "¡­We aren''t going to surrender to some no-name group. We will preserve our dignity and fight to our death!" Aria dered with an awe-inspiring tone.


    Her subordinates immediately prepared to engage Noah and his group inbat. They were slightly scared because of Noah''s overwhelmingly strong aura, but they couldn''t back away at this point.


    Noah replied, "Fight it is then."


    Once he spoke those words, Noah and hisrades instantly rushed towards Aria.


    Aria could no longer fight at her full potential. Her eyes could follow Noah''s movements but her reactions were a lot slower.


    She created a Snow Covering to guard her arm against Noah''s attack that was imbued with Sword Qi.


    Noah was surprised when his Sword Qi could actually not prate that Snow Covering.


    <em>''This Ice is strange. I need to use more power.''</em>


    Before Noah could utilize more power, the water in the pond suddenlyunched multiple ice needles at him.


    Noah used his invisible Sword Qi to destroy those Ice Needles.


    By this time, another female warrior attacked Noah using an attack known as Lightning Pierce.


    Her knife was covered with pure yellowish-colored Lightning, and she rushed forwards to strike Noah with it.


    Noah knew that this attack was considerably stronger. He couldn''t block it by using his Sword Qi alone.


    He broke the lock and took a step back. While he was in mid-air, the female warrior smirked as she spoke, "Perfect. <strong>Lightning Pierce Beam!</strong>"


    She thought that Noah couldn''t dodge this attack now that he was in mid-air. He had no support to move his body, so her guess was fairly urate.


    However, she was underestimating Noah too much.


    Noah didn''t need support to move his body. He forcefully rotated his body in the opposite direction and clenched his sword tightly.


    ''<em><strong>Cross Slice!</strong></em>''


    The sword in Noah''s hands moved so quickly that the woman couldn''t even follow his movements. Let alone her, even Aria''s eyes couldn''t follow Noah''s movements.


    The Lightning Pierce Beam that was heading towards Noah had been sliced apart. The female warrior soon felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.


    When she looked down, she saw a mark on her dress and her abdomen, which had been sliced by Noah''s sword.


    "Noo! Daisy!" Aria let out a concerned shout as she saw herrade being sliced by Noah''s sword.


    Meanwhile, Noah''s subordinates were suppressing Aria''s subordinates.


    There were actually more Aria''s followers who remained by her side and hadn''t begun to attack Noah yet.


    In reality, they had been immobilized due to fear.


    They didn''t dare to move and even protect Aria from Noah at this point.


    Now that they had witnessed one of theirpanions'' bodies being severed by Noah, they were even more certain that fighting Noah would be a terrible idea.


    However, they couldn''t remain safe just because they didn''t want to fight Noah. Noah noticed these warriors who remained immobilized. He felt it was the perfect opportunity to purge them. Thus Noah moved towards those five warriors with a calm expression while he raised his sword.


    Since Aria couldn''t move and protect them, she was utterly helpless as she watched Noah make a move against her other loyal followers.


    She knew that if she didn''t do anything, what happened to daisy would happen to her other followers as well.


    <strong>"Ice Floor!"</strong>


    She gathered all her energy to use this skill to freeze Noah''s feet and prevent him from moving towards her loyal followers.


    However, Noah had intuitively guessed that she was about to use such a technique. When he sensed even a faint flow of Ardor, he immediately jumped in mid-air and moved towards her disciples.


    This time, in mid-air, he took a very strange stance.


    "<strong>Heaven Rending Stance</strong>," Noah spoke as he prepared to kill all these warriors ahead of him.


    Even if they resisted by using some sort of technique, it would be useless. Aria was sure about that.


    This skill was slightly inferior to that other one in terms of swiftness, but it was a lot superior in power.


    Even if the opponent knew that the warrior was using this skill, it would be difficult for him to counter it.


    Aria clenched her fists in frustration as she shouted, "Wait!"


    Noah and his subordinates, along with Aria''s subordinates, nced in her direction.


    Noah soonnded on the ground, but he maintained the Heaven Rending Stance''s Aura around him.


    He could utilize this skill at any moment.


    Aria clenched her teeth as her pink lips soon uttered, "I surrender!" She pulled out hermanding badge and threw it in Noah''s direction.


    Noah caught thatmanding badge and ced it in his pocket.


    "If you had done this from the beginning, we wouldn''t have squandered that needless blood," he said with a bright smile as he gazed at Aria.


    Aria was irritated by his casual tone.


    She turned her head in herrade''s direction, who had been severely injured by Noah.


    Noah immediately pulled out his personalmanding badge and scanned all the warriors he had recently acquired.


    He was quite excited. His group had now expanded up to 85 warriors!


    He then slowly walked towards Daisy''s side. A pill appeared in his hand, and he handed it to Aria.


    "She can still recover if she eats this," Noah casually spoke before walking away.


    Meanwhile, Aria remained seated with a nk expression on her face for a couple of seconds.


    She then immediately ced that pill in her mouth and asked her topletely chew that medicinal pill.


    Aria, her followers, and even Noah''s followers witnessed a rare scene.


    Daisy''s lower body was regenerated soon after she ate that pill!


    Many of Noah''s subordinates knew who had created those pellets. Ever since they had ingested the Apex Blood Pill, they knew that Azaroth waspletely unfathomable in concocting pills.


    Thus, they weren''t a whole lot surprised to see this scene ur in front of their eyes.


    The same couldn''t be spoken about the new recruits, especially Aria and her group. They were utterly astonished and amazed.


    Aria wasn''t happy to be forced to submit under another group. It was the ck Lake Sect''s only group.


    And she had been forced to surrender to another group. There was nothing more shameless than this!


    However, she also didn''t want to let herrades die for nothing!


    Out of the two, she decided to choose the lesser evil. She traded the lives of herrades with the prestige of the sect.


    And she felt that it was a good deal. Even her injuredrade had her legs healed.


    She was very curious about Noah and which faction he belonged to.


    ~~


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 Chapter 281 - Ultra Regeneration Pill

    The King and his ministers had witnessed the entire scene.


    The minister who had some rtion with the Silver River Sect couldn''t help but frown. His disciples had been caught red-handed as they betrayed the ck Lake Sect.


    However, the minister who was utterly depressed now was none other than the individual who was the ck Lake Sect''s representative.


    The ck Lake Sect''s group had already been swallowed by another group. Moreover, the group to which they had submitted had no fame.


    In the initial phase, the ck Lake Sect''s group had been thrown out of the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    The other ministers were rather d to see this entire event. They felt that onerge enemy had been dealt with. At the least, the ck Lake Sect''s group won''t win this tournament.


    They did, however, believe Noah and his group were growing increasingly threatening. The fighting abilities they had demonstrated were more than sufficient topete on an equal footing with the top sects.


    "What was that Pill? How could it recover that disciple''s entire lower body?" One of the ministers curiously asked.


    It wasn''t just him who was curious. The other ministers in the hall were curious about that pellet''s name as well. And even the King could be considered mildly interested in that pill. If they could mass produce that pill, it would be very helpful in their battle against the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    One of the ministers spoke up, "That is Ultra Regeneration Pill. It''s a higher tier of the Superior Regeneration Pill. Ultra Regeneration Pill recovers the entire body, down to the severe injuries and the small hidden injuries within one''s body. Its value can''t be measured in wealth."


    The other ministers nced at him. This was a rather old man who would rarely talk regarding political matters.


    However, he was given a seat in this Hall because he was an Alchemy Expert. He could ce arguments and give a detailed exnation about many things rted to Alchemy.


    There were Inscription Experts, Array Experts, and so on in this Hall.


    When the other ministers and the King heard those words, their eyes shone with excitement and even greed.


    Everyone required a Pill of this kind. Either they had to use it right away to fully recover from an injury, or they could keep it in their home for future generations.


    Such a fantastic medicine was bound toe in handy at some point.


    The King decided to question Noah about the restorative pill. The fact that he''d offered it to Daisy casually to heal her implied he was carrying arge number of pellets.


    It meant Noah knew the alchemist concocting this medicinal pellet. However, in case Noah didn''t know the alchemist.


    If he had enough pellets, King could order alchemists under him to reverse engineer the pill form.


    Once the King acquires the Pill Form, he could use it to formrge quantities of this pill and sell it at high prices.


    It had to be known that pills generated nearly 30% of the total ie of the Kingdom. And if this precious pill was introduced in the market at a high price, it would greatly boost the Kingdom''s economy.


    In fact, such a pill form could even be used in diplomacy talks with another Kingdom.


    ''<em>This kid has no idea what he''s holding!</em>'' The King thought with an indignant expression.


    In the meantime, Noah led Aria and her group to their base.


    Aria was rather dumbfounded when she noticed howrge Noah''s group was.


    When Noah had arrived with just 5 subordinates, she thought his group was probably very small.


    But now, she realized that it wasn''t that they were small in number. Noah didn''t even ce them in their eyes.


    She stared at Noah with a bitter smile on her face. Even though she was injured, Noah should have seen her power when she scared away Silver River Sect''s group.


    Yet, Noah was confident in dealing with all of them with barely 6 warriors.


    Either he was extremely foolish, or he was very strong to have gauged her level from that disy!


    ''<em>To think Christina and I thought we were very strong. There is someone greater¡­.</em>'' Aria thought while staring at Noah.


    ''<em>I should inform Christina about him</em>,'' Aria thought with a bitter smile.


    She wanted to be consoled by someone, preferably by her close friend.


    Noah ordered some of Aria''s subordinates to pitch their tents.


    Thus, Aria and her group soon began to live with Noah''s group. Aria knew that she couldn''t be free of him until the end of this tournament.


    If she tried to go against him, Noah would push them out of his group through themanding badge.


    The Dragon''s Prestige wouldn''t work against her, but her subordinates would feel it.


    And there was nothing Aria could do to help her subordinates at that time.


    She''d have no choice but to abandon them to perish in the open.


    This was not what she wished for. However, she had no idea that Noah wasn''t nning to let them off after this tournament.


    His n was topletely make these new recruits submit to him.


    Azaroth asked him to participate in this tournament so that he could gather enough experience to lead his army in the future.


    However, Noah also wanted to expand his group here in this tournament!


    When he had heard the description of this tournament, he realized the possibility of expanding his group!


    Noah knew that making these recruits submit to him was going to be very challenging. However, he also knew that it wasn''t impossible.


    He had to be a symbol of power for these new recruits for them to fully surrender to him.


    This was the reason he brought only 5 warriors along with him.


    In reality, he could have dealt with Aria''s entire group alone. He saw no one who could pose a challenge to him.


    Aria was pretty injured, and if she was in her peak state, she could have put up a good fight against him.


    However, the reality was often disappointing. Noah could heal Aria''s injuries and that poison as well.


    Noah knew that Aria had realized it. He had seen that look of realization in her eyes when she witnessed her subordinate''s body regenerating in front of her eyes.


    However, he wasn''t going to give her the antidote for nothing.


    Wasting Azaroth''s resources was sphemy in his eyes! He was nning to use that pill to have a firm grasp over Aria.


    As for more details, he was nning to consult Sargan regarding this. He was much better in these situations.


    Perhaps he would have another innovative idea.


    At midnight, Aria contacted her best friend Christina using the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    "Hey." Aria calmly spoke.


    From the other side, she heard a familiar excited voice, "Heya! I thought you would never contact me."


    Unknowingly, a smile appeared on Aria''s face as she spoke, "How can I not contact you? You would have irritated me to death if I didn''t contact you."


    "Hey! I am not that bad. Umm¡­ I think atleast. Hehe~!" Christina responded with a joking tone.


    ~~


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 Chapter 282 - Discussion Between Friends

    "¡­You are delusional if you think you aren''t that bad," Aria spoke while shaking her head with a small smile on her face.


    "Hehehe¡­" She heard that Christina chuckling at her words.


    She was very happy to talk to her friend after such a long period.


    She didn''t contact Christina for a long time since she wanted to focus on her training. Christina understood her reasons and gave her some time.


    However, now that she thought about it deeply, Aria realized that the training was essentially useless.


    She should have focused on her subordinates more. If so, she might have noticed the hints regarding their betrayal earlier.


    Suddenly, Christina asked Aria, "Did something happen?"


    Aria was startled and curiously inquired, "How did you know?" She didn''t think she had shown any unnatural signs that might have hinted something to Christina.


    "I have known you for 10 years. You think I wouldn''t know if something happened to you. Now be a good friend and tell me what happened. Why is my dear friend sad?" Christina asked with a confident tone.


    Her tone showed that she was confident in dealing with any issue guing Aria.


    "¡­You are right. I am truly blessed to have you as my friend, Christina," Aria spoke a little emotionally.


    Christina remained silent as she let Aria continue, "I feel that I have done something that might have damaged the ck Lake Sect''s reputation. I feel guilty¡­ The ck Lake Sect has taken care of me for so long, and I am repaying it like this."


    "What exactly happened?" Christina''s voice was serious as she asked Aria.


    Aria let out a sigh and spoke, "¡­Let me start from the very beginning."


    She proceeded to inform Christina about everything that happened. From how she was betrayed to how she came to serve under Noah.


    Christina silently listened to Aria''s words.


    "Silver River Sect. And that Duncan! He actually betrayed you! I will ughter his entire family!" Christina spoke with pure venom in her voice.


    Aria knew that Christina might make some rash decisions and spoke immediately, "Christina, I don''t want you to make a rash decision. Please inform the sect mistress about this. I will ept what she has decided."


    "¡­My mother might not take revenge for you, Aria. You know how she is," Christina spoke with a vexed tone.


    "As I said, Christina. Inform her about this situation. I will ept whatever she decides. I don''t really demand justice or revenge. This entire situation urred because I was careless," Aria replied, her voiceced with guilt.


    "Don''t me yourself. And I am serious about this. Even my mother will share this opinion. You couldn''t have known that Duncan was involved with the Silver River Sect. It''s the failure of the entire ck Lake Sect that one of our disciples coborated with another foreign sect. You cannot shoulder the me for this alone," Christina spoke solemnly.


    "¡­Thanks, Christina. Truly," Aria was really moved to hear Christina''sments.


    Christina didn''t further respond to those words and spoke, "And what about this guy to whom you surrendered? You mentioned he is a kid. But still, tell me specifically. How old is this kid?"


    Aria thought for some moments and then answered, "10-12 years old at the max."


    "Ehhh? So young?!" Christina was honestly shocked for a short period before she burst out inughter, "Ahahahahaha! Aria lost to such a young kid! Wahahahahahaha! Sucks to be you!"


    A tick mark appeared on Aria''s head as her friend wasughing at her. She spoke with a cold tone, "Hmph. Not like you would have done any better. I think he would have beaten you easily as well."


    Obviously, Christina thought nothing of those words. She casually responded, "Yeah, yeah. Keep saying that to make yourself feel better. Maybe you will even believe it someday."


    "You would have understood if you had fought him," Aria responded seriously.


    Christina suddenly stoppedughing and inquired seriously, "¡­You mean you would have lost even if you weren''t poisoned?"


    "Most probably," Aria replied.


    Christina was honestly startled to hear Aria say that so seriously.


    She then began to deeply think about what Aria had informed her. Soon, she was speaking, "He came alone even after he saw your power disy against Silver River Sect. Either he possesses some treasure or knowledge to know your condition. Or he was that confident to deal with you, huh?"


    Christina added solemnly, "¡­How can such an individual remain unknown for so long? Why didn''t we know about him when he was a 2 Star Warrior or a 3 Star Warrior. In fact, howe we only know of this guy after he participated in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament? If he was from some private force, a word about him should have still spread. At least, the rumors that there is a kid with supernatural strength."


    Aria agreed with her friend''s analysis, "That''s right. And this group''s name. Heretical Pdins. This is the first time I have heard it."


    Suddenly, Tiana''s image appeared in Christina''s mind, and she wondered out loud, "Does he belong to some ancient n or sect?"


    Aria spoke, "I honestly have no clue regarding this. He didn''t mention it. However, he does rare and ancient medicinal pills."


    "Find out about this tomorrow. If not from him, then have your subordinates question his group," Christina suggested.


    "I was thinking the same," Aria responded.


    "Oh right, make sure to ask him the antidote for that poison, Aria," Christina spoke seriously, "I don''t want your condition to get any worse."


    "Requesting him for the poison won''t be a good idea. I will owe him another favor. If he demands me to repay that favor, it might put me in an awkward situation," Aria spoke while biting her lips.


    Christina understood what her friend was worried about. However, she insisted stubbornly, "As long as he doesn''t ask you to take action against the ck Lake Sect or demand your life or body, you should agree. In fact, even if he asks you for some information regarding the ck Lake Sect, then give it to him. Just tell me what information you provided him. I will tell my mother, and she will deal with it ordingly. I don''t want you to die because of your stubbornness! You are really very important to me."


    Aria unconsciously smiled as she heard those words. She knew that the situation was much more serious than Christina made it sound.


    Theplications would be much greater. However, even though she knew this, Christina still valued her life more.


    "If you were a guy, I would have confessed my undying love for you," Aria spoke with a joking tone.


    Christina let out augh, "Hehehe¡­"


    "Don''t worry. I have no ns to die yet. But I also won''t do anything against the ck Lake Sect. It will all be fine." Aria reassured her best friend.


    Aria soon sighed out, "Previously, I used to think you are a monster because of that power you possess. My physique that could somewhat hold out against your power is pretty amazing in itself. But now I realize just how little we have seen the world. There are really all sorts of amazing warriors in this world."


    "You are right. I also met a very strong Ice Elemental Warrior in this Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament. Her background is also very mysterious. She represents an unknown ancient sect named Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect," Christina informed Aria about what was going on her end.


    "She is really smart and very strong. Also, even after she realized my true identity, she still talked normally with me. Her strong personality makes me want to imitate her. Hehehe¡­" Christina spoke excitedly.


    Aria was somewhat interested in Christina''s new friend, "I am happy that you found such a friend. What is her name?"


    "Tiana Rhodes," Christina responded quickly.


    ~~


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 Chapter 283 - Truth Or Lie

    Fortunately for Christina and Aria, the king wasn''t keeping an eye on their conversation. Not so many visual transmitting arrays had beenid in the forest.


    Moreover, the King and the ministers were gazing at many other groups. However, they had left the hall as well to take some rest.


    Thus, they didn''t know that after her conversation with Christina, Aria stood up and went to meet Noah.


    As it was the nighttime, Noah noticed his Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystal glowing underneath his shirt.


    Noah had strung it around his neck in the form of a locket.


    He was taking a walk around his camp to find out which individual made this crystal glow.


    Aria was searching for Noah and found him soon enough. She walked towards him with a calm expression.


    Meanwhile, Noah noticed that the Winter Ice Fluorescence Crystal was glowing even more brightly.


    Noah believed that if he pulled it out, it would illuminate the entire area.


    When he looked around, and saw that Aria was approaching him. He understood what was going on and thought ''<em>She must be the reason.''</em>


    He was rather excited to find this individual.


    Aria noticed his excited expression and thought ''<em>So he was waiting for me to approach him. This kid doesn''t have good motives in his mind.''</em>


    In the meantime, Noah was thinking enthusiastically ''<em>Master will definitely be happy when he knows that I found such a strong warrior with that Ice Physique. He may even praise me.''</em>


    "What do you want?" Noah asked as he tried to conceal that enthusiasm with an emotionless tone.


    Aria spoke with a cold tone, "I wanted to know whether you possess the antidote for my poison or not."


    "I most probably do," Noah casually responded.


    "¡­Most probably? You mean you aren''t sure it will cure me?!" Aria asked while raising her voice.


    An antidote was a great deal. Only a particr kind of antidote would cure a particr kind of poison.


    Noah frowned as he heard her loud voice. He spoke with a cold expression, "Next time, don''t raise your voice in my presence." He ced his hand on his sword and was ready to cut down Aria.


    The aura he released was strong enough topletely suppress Aria. She didn''t know why he red up so much, but she clenched her fists and made sure to not anger him like this again.


    She didn''t want to die in such a manner.


    "As for your question earlier. I have a couple of pills that are capable of solving many poisons. If your poison is among them, then you will be cured. If not, I will need to contact my master," Noah spoke calmly.


    Noah thought while ring at Aria ''Hmph. If not for the fact that she has that Ice Physique, I would definitely not think of disturbing Master for her.''


    Aria didn''t understand why but she felt Noah''s sharp gaze piercing her.


    Aria inquired curiously, "¡­What is that pill?" She had heard about such pills. However, the pellets she had heard about could only cure dozens of poisons.


    They were essentially useless against many different kinds of poison. Or even those fused poisons.


    Noah soon pulled out a pellet and spoke out, "This is Hundred Poisons Remedial Pellet."


    Aria was slightly startled upon hearing the name. She thought with a sneer<em> ''Hundred poisons? What an arrogant name of the pill. How can a single pill solve a hundred poisons? He shouldn''t boast randomly.''</em>


    "My boss said that before using this pill on an unknown poison, I have to re up its medicinal energy using my Ardor," Noah infused his Ardor within that medicinal pellet andpletely red up its medicinal power.


    The medicinal power was released from the pill as it moved towards Aria.


    When Aria was surrounded by that medicinal energy, she felt the poison''s outbreak in her body.


    And just when it was going to harm Aria''s vital organs, the medicinal energy of the Hundred Poisons Remedial Pellet acted on it.


    The poison was immediately suppressed and dealt a serious blow.


    Aria could feel her Ardor recovering at a quick pace.


    Soon, the medicinal energy around her body was exhausted. Noah was gazing at her with an emotionless expression as he inquired, "So, did it work or not?"


    At this point, Aria had two options. She could speak the truth or lie to him.


    If she spoke the truth, she would receive this pill on Noah''s condition. If she lied, Noah would be forced to contact his boss. Aria could talk to his boss or find out more about him. She could then inform Christina about their boss or the person''s true identity backing this Heretical Pdins group.


    She noticed that Noah was getting anxious. She clenched her fists tightly before speaking, "¡­Yes, it is working."


    Aria opted to tell the truth. She wasn''t clear why, but she had a feeling that if she lied at that time, Noah would assault her and probably even kill her.


    And this was the truth.


    Noah was extremely sensitive to the aura of an individual. Especially the aura of someone standing so close to him.


    He could feel her aura bing more powerful. If she had lied to him that her poison wasn''t cured, then Noah would have made her face his sword techniques.


    There was another scenario. Even if Noah couldn''t figure out she was lying to him, Azaroth would have known.


    And death would be the least of Aria''s concerns at that moment. Aria had unknowingly saved herself from a grueling future.


    "What is your condition for giving me this pill?" Aria asked straightforwardly.


    Noah replied clearly, "Leave the ck Lake Sect and join my group! Also, convince your subordinates to do the same."


    "¡­That is all?" Aria raised her brows as she stared at him with some surprise evident in her eyes. She had been prepared to hear some outrageous conditions.


    "Yes. Your previous identity means nothing to me. From now on, you are my subordinate. Follow my orders. That''s all you need to do!" Noah spoke while looking straight into Aria''s eyes.


    "¡­As long as those orders aren''t outrageous. I will obey them," Aria spoke with a determined tone.


    She wasn''t going to back down even if Noah threatened her this time.


    Noah surprisingly didn''t threaten her. In fact, he threw the pill towards her and ordered her, "Ingest this pill and recover your energy properly."


    Soon, Aria ingested that pill that began to treat her poison down to its roots. It took nearly one whole night for Aria to be free from her poison and its aftereffects.


    Her Ardor that had been suppressed by that poison, was now in an excited state and was probably much stronger than normal.


    In the early morning, she heard the sounds of sword shes.


    When she went out of her tent to see who was training so early in the morning. She came across Noah, who was practicing his stances and other sword techniques.


    Noah ignored Aria''s presence and continued to practice with a focused expression.


    It wasn''t the first time someone hade to see him while he was training in the early morning.


    Aria was surprised when she witnessed Noah''s techniques. She thought with a solemn gaze ''<em>Do I have a chance to win against him now?''</em>


    When this question appeared in her mind, Noah suddenly nced in her direction, "Hey. Do you want to spar?" He asked casually.


    And just as casually, Aria replied, "Sure."


    A few hourster, an injured and tired Aria would be regretting her decision to spar against Noah.


    And this was when Noah was utilizing only his Wooden Sword. Not his true sword. Naturally, Aria hadn''t used her killing techniques as well. But she knew that even if she used them, it would hardly make a difference.


    ~~


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 Chapter 284 - Christinas Desire

    Christina and Tiana were waiting for their category toe and participate in this tournament.


    Just like the first one, the second category took a couple of days as well.


    And another celebration urred after it was concluded. However, this time, no one tried to use some cheap tricks against the other sects.


    Elder Lazaros, one of the Origin Sect''s elders, was truly itching to go and deal with Christina, but he knew that since they had taken action against him, they must have sufficient proof to deal with his usations.


    When he investigated a bit, he found out that Elias from the Red Crown Sect was also involved.


    "¡­I need to take revenge in some other way," He clenched his fists as he concocted a scheme to deal with Tiana and Christina.


    He didn''t know a lot about Tiana, but he knew that she was representing her sect alone.


    He wasn''t a na?ve idiot like Christina to believe that Tiana was from an ancient sect.


    He guessed that Tiana was from a newly found sect and the only strong disciple of that sect. He could ignore her background while dealing with her.


    However, dealing with Christina was tricky. The only location he could deal with her uprightly would be on the stage.


    Only a participant in this tournament has a chance to hurt Christina. Otherwise, the ck Lake Sect would chase him down to the ends of the world.


    Elder Lazaros wasn''t arrogant to believe that the Origin Sect would fight to the death against the ck Lake Sect for him.


    In fact, the Origin Sect would be more than willing to give him up in the form of an apology.


    He had to do something quickly. Once the representatives return to their respective sects and inform them of all that transpired here, it would create a permanent crack between the rtions of the Origin Sect and the Red Crown Sect.


    Well, the Origin Sect was to me since it wanted to pit the Red Crown Sect and the ck Lake Sect against each other.


    They failed because of Tiana''s presence.


    Tiana had realized their motive and was filling Christina''s ears about what the Origin Sect might do next.


    "You mean they will attack me on stage? There is nothing to fear then," Christina replied with an air of confidence around her.


    Tiana let out a sigh as she spoke, "I know you are confident in your strength and all. But what if they give some rare weapon to their disciple? Or use some other tactic to beat you? What will you do then?"


    Christina shook her head and replied, "I would agree with you on many things, Tiana. But this isn''t one of them. This isn''t the first time someone is thinking of scheming against me. On more than one asion, I had to fight an enemy with a superior weapon or power. Yet, I came out on top. I have my own secrets just like you have yours. Believe me when I say that nothing will happen."


    "¡­Alright. I will trust you. However, if I feel that you can''t handle it, I will step in, and you cannot stop me," Those words were spoken with a resolute tone. Tiana appeared determined to assist her friend.


    Christina was greatly touched and hugged her, "You are willing to forfeit your right to participate in this tournament to protect me?! You are an amazing friend, Tiana. I would do the same for you in a heartbeat!"


    Tiana hugged Christina and rubbed her back while thinking ''<em>I would have aplished my objective of gaining the fame for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. Giving up my right to participate in this tournament for my friend who happens to be the heiress of the ck Lake Sect ought to create more waves than winning this Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament.''</em>


    Tiana had her motives, but she would have tried to protect Christina''s life regardless of the situation. Perhaps it might not have been a direct help, but she would have done something to indirectly protect Christina''s life.


    On that very same night, Aria contacted Christina.


    Christina was truly excited to talk to Aria. She could hardly sleep that night.


    When she heard that the guy Aria submitted to was even stronger, she felt an intense desire to get stronger.


    This was one of the rare times when she was experiencing this strong desire. It was such a powerful desire that she heard a voice in her mind say ''<em>More. More power!</em>''


    Unknowingly, Christina''s eyes had turned golden. They stayed Golden while she trained in the nighttime.


    Her mes were even strongerpared to when she used them before. If it was now, they could easily contend against Tiana''s Ice.


    Tiana was actually resting in a location quite near Christina''s cabin. When she felt the temperature around her rising, she knew that Christina was outside and was training again.


    Soon, she left her cabin to ask Christina to sleep.


    "Why are you still not asleep?" Tiana inquired while yawning.


    Christina suddenly fell as she heard her friend''s voice.


    "Oops. I woke you up," Christina spoke with a sheepish look on her face. She wanted to find a hole and hide in it.


    "What happened? Are you actually nervous? This shouldn''t be the first time you are participating in a tournament," Tiana spoke while yawning again. She was quite sleepy.


    "No. It''s just that I talked to my good friend who has participated in the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament. She said something that excited me a little and made me want to train right now," Christina spoke while rubbing the back of her head andughing innocently.


    Tiana was mildly curious. She recalled that Noah had also participated in this tournament and asked her, "What did she say that excited you so much?"


    "She mentioned that there is a little kid of around 10 years old who might be stronger than her or even me. I find it a little unbelievable. But I also trust her a lot. Since she has said that, it might not be far from the truth. That kid is probably very strong," Christina spoke with an enthusiastic voice.


    Immediately, all signs of sleepiness vanished from Tiana''s face as she asked Christina, "A 10-year-old kid who might even be stronger than you? And she found this person in the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament?"


    Christina immediately nodded in affirmation, "That''s what she said." She then shrugged her shoulders and added, "Well, I don''t know if it''s the truth. Maybe that kid used some secret technique and didn''t grow old after that particr age."


    Tiana chuckled as she realized who Christina was talking about. She asked while maintaining that curious expression, "She mentioned his name?"


    "Yeah. She sure did. That kid''s name is Noah," Christina immediately replied.


    <em>''Just as I thought. There could have been no other individual who fits this description,</em>'' Tiana thought while shaking her head.


    Tiana then thought of something and smiled. Christina remained immobilized when she saw that smile on Tiana''s face since Tiana wasn''t wearing her veil at this moment, and her face appeared especially beautiful underneath this moonlight.


    "Since we are friends, let me tell you a secret. I know Noah that you speak of. And he is truly just a 10-year-old kid. Also, he is strong. And in my opinion, much stronger than you or me. We can''t defeat him even if we fight him together," Tiana spoke with that beautiful smile on her face.


    "Ehh?! How are you so sure? Do you even know how strong I am?" Christina didn''t like how Tiana was seemingly underestimating her.


    "I am not looking down on you, Christina. It''s a fact that Noah is much stronger than us. He is my master''s favorite disciple for a reason. And if he has reached the 4 Star Rank, he is my master''s strongest disciple as well," Tiana responded casually.


    Christina was utterly shocked to hear those statements, "What?!"


    She recalled that Tiana''s master was a 7 Star Warrior. Someone at the level of an Emperor.


    His favorite disciple must truly be strong. And since both her friends were vouching for his strength, it must be the real deal.


    This sort of revtion didn''t depress her. It lit up the desire inside her to beat him and suppress him! To be superior to him!


    ~~


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 Chapter 285 - Tianas First Opponent

    The Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament had finallymenced for Tiana and Christina. The third and the final category was finally going to battle.


    The entire stadium was filled with people. The audience was much greater than the previous categories.


    The fights urring in the third category were the ones they truly wished to witness! This was why they paid for those expensive tickets in the first ce!


    There were various who already had some fame in the world. They were powerful 4 Star Warriors belonging to their respective sects.


    Upon seeing those warriors, the crowd immediately cheered on for them.


    The cheering and the apud were a little bit too much for a few warriors as their bodies shook due to nervousness.


    Unsurprisingly, Tiana was one of those warriors. The crowd was truly too great.


    She looked in Christina''s direction and noticed she appeared to be unaffected by the crowd''s cheering.


    In fact, she was acting naturally even in the presence of the crowd. She waved out at the crowd and probably her fans in them with arge smile on her face.


    Soon, Christina sensed someone gazing at her. When she looked in that direction, she saw it was Tiana.


    She observed Tiana for a couple of seconds and noticed how Tiana''s hands were actually shaking.


    Christina immediately rushed towards Tiana''s spot and asked with a bright smile, "You are nervous?"


    When Christina asked her this question, Tiana instinctively wanted to shout ''<em>No.</em>''


    However, the expression in Christina''s eyes showed that she already knew the answer. Thus, she asked with a bitter smile, "Is it that obvious?"


    Christina''s smile widened a bit and suddenly held her hand, "You are worried about really silly things."


    Tiana pulled her hand away from Christina''s grasps. She then spoke, "It''s the first time I will be fighting in front of so many people. So many people will be judging me. It''s only natural for me to be a little nervous."


    "Hehe¡­ Then there''s no need to worry. You are already superior to these individuals since you are here and they are sitting on the other side of this barrier! These folks are afraid to take part in thepetition. If they truly had the qualifications to evaluate you, they would be on this side of the barrier."


    Tiana was strangely feeling better after hearing Christina''s words.


    "Always have confidence in your ability. Also, remember that your hard work will never betray you," Christina spoke with a loud and clear tone.


    Her motivating words actually made Tiana stop shaking.


    She was also aware of this notion. However, hearing it from another person verifies that they were correct. That they should give it a go.


    This was exactly what Tiana was thinking.


    Soon, all the participants were given a particr number. Tiana''s number was 10, while Christina''s number was 87.


    All the numbers from 1 to 137 were written on small pieces of paper and then mixed together in arge bowl.


    After that, one of the Tournament Organizers would pull out two chits from thatrge bowl.


    When those chits were opened and the numbers were revealed. The warriors who were assigned those numbers would have toe up on the stage and fight.


    The first chit that was pulled out had the number 17, and the number on the second chit was 61.


    The warriors who had been assigned those two numbers immediately came on the stage.


    The crowd went wild when those two were on the stage. This was because the individual with the 61 number was a man with some fame in the world.


    His name was Gavril Moratos. He belonged to the Night Mountain Sect and was one of their strongest disciples.


    Gavril possessed a powerful Water Element and strange martial art forms that worked well with his Element.


    He managed tobine his closebat style with his elemental prowess and created his personal fighting style.


    It was a fighting style unique to him that allowed his movements to flow without an issue. He would lead the momentum against his opponent and prevent them from using any technique.


    So, his Ardor wasn''t considered anything impressive. It was his fighting style that earned him renown.


    Meanwhile, this man''s opponent was fairly unknown. He was from a newly found sect named ''Heart Shore Gang.''


    The announcer suddenly shouted, "On the count of three, start!"


    "One." The announcer spoke slowly and allowed the momentum to build up.


    "Two." The announcer continued to try and create tension in the air.


    Both the participants had taken their stance. They were ready to rush at their opponent as soon as the announcer spoke three.


    And soon, the word that the participants and the audience were waiting for came, "Three! Now, start!"


    Both contestants ran towards each other as soon as the announcer said that word.


    The first one to throw his punch was none other than Gavril. However, his punch was surprisingly blocked by his opponent.


    But this shock only urred briefly before Gavril immediately brought his other fist forward to strike his opponent.


    The opponent was even quicker, though. He struck Gavril''s chest and sent a strong shockwave through his body.


    Just as Gavril was being pushed back by that strike, his opponent sprang to his feet and kicked his chest with both legs one by one.


    While Gavril was trying to regain his breath and footing, his opponent was on the move once again.


    He immediately covered his leg with Earth Chakra and kicked Gavril.


    This time, Gavril was ready as he congealed Water in mid-air and absorbed that kick''s impact before it struck him.


    With his other hand, Gavril sends a powerful water stream to force his opponent back. This allowed him to gather his breath and energy for the nextbo he was about to do.


    Tiana watched this fight seriously. She was somewhat impressed by the closebat skills of these two warriors.


    <em>''I can''t fight against the warriors in closebat. I am much inferior to them in this. I need to maintain a particr distance and also prepare some attacks in case of an emergency.</em>'' Tiana thought seriously.


    The fight continued for nearly tens of minutes. It ended in Gavril''s victory. However, the audience could see that it wasn''t an easy fight.


    The audience immediately cheered loudly upon seeing that Gavril had won. Many people had bet on him, and they would have lost an entire fortune if he had lost this match.


    Meanwhile, some people were apuding Gavril''s opponent. He had fought so well and lost only because hemitted a small mistake.


    His skill was worth praising. In fact, some people believed that he was slightly superior to Gavril in close range.


    The only reason Gavril this battle won was because of his richer experience.


    Gavril was nearly 23 years old, while his opponent appeared to be only 19 years old. The difference in their experiences was evident.


    After their battle ended, Gavril went to shake that guy''s hand, "That was a good fight."


    His opponent was somewhat ttered, and he responded sincerely, "Thank you."


    The audience was quite happy to see such a gesture. Many people soon realized that they couldn''t bet randomly.


    Even though Gavril''s fame was much greater than his opponent''s, he barely won his battle.


    Rich folks who were considering using this betting system to make a fortune were now nning to study thebatants for a while before bettingrge.


    This was a prudent decision on their part.


    ~~


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 Chapter 286 - Christinas Strange Opponent

    Tiana''s turn soon arrived. Her battle was against a guy with the 41 number.


    In contrast to Tiana''s physique, this man''s physique was quiterge. He was extremely buffed up and looked very intimidating to the general audience.


    When the audience nced at this man and then gazed at Tiana, they couldn''t help but feel some pity for Tiana.


    <em>''What bad luck this youngdy has.''</em>


    Tiana remained calm as she was more focused on the aura released by the warrior ahead of her.


    <em>''He seems to have focused a lot on his physique rather than his spiritual energy,</em>'' She calmly analyzed while stepping on the stage.


    Her movements were graceful, and there was a sense of transcendence in them.


    Tiana and her opponent soon stood on the stage and faced each other. The judge near them came forward and spoke, "On the count of 3."


    "One." There was a massive grin on the man''s face as he stared at Tiana.


    Now that he had a closer look, he could faintly see through that veil worn by Tiana. He knew this was a very beautiful woman.


    "Two," The referee''s voice was slightly domineering as he spoke this word.


    Tiana raised her arms and had taken a very strange stance. A strange stance to most of the general popce.


    "Three!"


    Once this word was spoken, the man rushed towards Tiana with a shocking speed. He wasted absolutely no moment and had rushed towards Tiana at his quickest speed.


    Tiana released a misty air around her body. The man ignored that mist air and easily passed it.


    The man wasn''t actually throwing a punch at Tiana. Instead, his hand was moving towards Tiana in the form of a w.


    There was a wicked grin on his face as his arm touched Tiana''s body.


    His fingertips were strengthened with Earth Chakra, so he wasn''t worried about any barrier around Tiana''s body.


    He tried to pull Tiana''s garments and strip her in public. Internally, he was salivating at the thought of how this beautiful woman looked underneath those clothes.


    However, he soon realized that Tiana''s clothes wouldn''t budge no matter how strongly he pulled. And the one he was pulling wasn''t Tiana but her Ice Sculpture.


    He realized that he had been fooled. But it was toorge as Tiana suddenly arrived and threw out a double palm attack on his chest.


    "<strong>Double Frost Cloud Palm!</strong>"


    Tiana''s opponent might have endured it andunched a counterattack if it was a pure power attack. However, this attack contained a dense amount of Ice Energy, and his muscles, along with his bones, became brittle upon being struck by that attack.


    As those bones were brittle, Tiana struck his chest once again.


    Once that hit connected, the fight was over.


    Her opponent''s bones were crushed to pieces, and he experienced excruciating pain. The audience heard the loud cry that forced them to cover their ears.


    The mist soon dispersed, and the crowd noticed that Tiana was still standing while her opponentid on the ground with a pitiful look on his face.


    He appeared to be breathing, but his injuries were so severe that he would soon die if he didn''t receive medical attention.


    Immediately, the judge dered Tiana as the winner and ordered a few medical officers to take this man away for treatment.


    Tiana walked away from the stage and sat on her seat.


    The audience and the other warriors stared at her with solemn expressions. She had won effortlessly.


    Her opponent was also a 4 Star Warrior, yet this wasn''t even a battle.


    They made a mental note to be extremely careful when fighting against her. If they were rash, their condition wouldn''t be all that different from that man who was ced on the stretcher.


    There were a few warriors who weren''t intimidated by this scene, though. They possessed special eyes or great senses through which they guessed what Tiana did.


    In this fight, Tiana didn''t use a lot of power. But her technique was quite special.


    Christina wasn''t surprised to see Tiana winning so effortlessly. She would have taken the same amount of time to deal with a warrior of that level.


    A few more numbers passed, and it was Christina''s turn.


    Unlike the time with Tiana when her opponent was looking down on her and had some wicked ns in his mind, Christina''s opponent waspletely serious.


    He was from a low-ranked sect, while his opponent was the young mistress of the ck Lake Sect.


    He could not look down on her. He possessed no qualifications.


    Currently, the betting rate was entirely in Christina''s favor. Not a single soul in this stadium believed that he could defeat Christina.


    <em>''One opportunity. I will have just a single opportunity.''</em>


    This was the thought in the warrior''s mind as he faced Christina with a resolute look in his eyes.


    Christina noticed that determined look and internally approved it. She liked fighting against such people.


    They would always give her a surprise and make her heart beat wildly. There was also some chance that she might die. That feeling was absolutely addicting.


    The warrior possessed Wind Element while Christina possessed the me Element.


    The referee soon spoke out 3 and asked them to start fighting.


    The two warriors remained at their positions. There was a cautious look in the warrior''s eye while Christina had a curious expression.


    Many warriors would try to grab the initiative when they tried to fight against her. This was one of the rare warriors who was actually waiting for Christina to attack first.


    <em>''He is very confident of his skills. He believes that he can react to my techniques in time.''</em>


    Christina''s fist was covered with mes as she punched in that man''s direction.


    Arge Fire Fist was thrown at that man, and itpletely covered his body. The speed of thisrge me Fist was so quick that it reached him within 2 seconds.


    Within these two seconds, he changed his stance, and the wind began to gather around him.


    When the me Fist was about to strike him, it was guided away from him. For the audience, it felt as though something had cut apart the me Fist from between.


    Not just the audience, even Christina was startled. She didn''t expect him to cut apart her me Fist like this.


    The strange thing was that she didn''t understand his technique. He didn''t have his wind sh against her fire and cut open a path.


    If that urred, Christina was confident that her mes would win easily. In fact, something else had happened.


    "Can you do that in Close Combat as well?" She asked while rushing towards her opponent at top speed.


    That man''s face was somber as he gazed at Christina. He shifted his body and assumed a different stance.


    The wind around him revolved in a counter-clockwise direction.


    Christina threw a punch at him with her arm covered in dense mes, but he surprisingly dodged that punch and held her arm covered in mes.


    Christina''s eyes widened as she realized her mes were being directed away from the area of her arm that he had grasped.


    She vaguely understood his technique. However, her opponent used this opportunity tounch hisbo attack.


    ~~


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 Chapter 287 - Gale Drill

    Christina felt her opponent''s fist strike her gut. She threw up a bit of saliva as she felt that strong impact.


    Her opponent then continued with an uppercut on her jaw and threw her back. He then raised his arm andunched a couple of Wind Rings.


    These Wind Rings were rings made of wind currents. These wind rings were now attached to Christina''s arms, legs, and even her waist.


    Her opponent''s n was to prevent her from releasing her terrifying mes and using them to dodge or counter his attack.


    "<strong>Gale Drill!</strong>" A high-pressured wind drill wasunched at Christina.


    Christina''s eyes widened upon witnessing that technique, and she struggled to get out of these Wind Rings.


    This was really hazardous. She tried to twist her body to get out of the way, but the wind rings remained firm.


    Christina realized that it was impossible to get out of the way like that.


    She gathered the me Ardor in her mouth and spat Golden mes at that Gale Drill.


    The Wind Rings activated immediately and dispersed most of those mes that were thrown at the Gale Drill.


    However, some of them managed to reach that Gale Drill, and a gigantic explosion urred.


    Christina''s opponent frowned. He was nning to end the fight with that attack.


    From the smoke, he saw multiple Golden Fireballsunched at him. They wereunched at him from different directions.


    He frowned as he moved from his spot and dodged those fireballs.


    The area was slowly heating up. Christina''s opponent knew what was happening.


    "<strong>Aerial Gust!</strong>" He released strong wind currents in the entire area to move the hot wind currents in the area and bring fresh cool air that would lower the temperature of his surroundings.


    However, he was gravely underestimating Christina''s mes.


    The temperature continued to rise, and Christina appeared from the dark smoke with a grin on her face.


    "I know your trick now. Your control over the wind is so great that you direct my mes away through those wind currents. No matter how strong my mes are, they are forced to follow thews of nature and burn the densely concentrated wind you are controlling."


    "However, can you still retain that control over wind in this high temperature?" Christina asked with a victorious smirk on her face.


    There was a bitter smile on her opponent''s face.


    "¡­No. I can''t control the wind currents anymore." He then turned his head in the referee''s direction and spoke, "I give up."


    Christina was slightly stunned when she heard those words.


    She didn''t want her opponent to give up just like that. She thought her opponent would fight even more seriously.


    But the opposite urred. However, the moment had passed, and she could do nothing about it.


    Tiana spotted the disappointed look on Christina''s face and sweatdropped as she imagined the reason behind Christina''s disappointment.


    The day ended after a couple of bouts.


    In the nighttime, Tiana thought it was time to contact Noah. She wanted to get the details regarding how he came across Christina''s friend and made her his subordinate.


    Noah exined the entire situation calmly.


    Once he exined the situation, Tiana added, "Don''t treat her too badly. She is one of the good friends of the ck Lake Sect''s Future Sect Leader. Also, I am going to use this woman to establish a strong connection for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect."


    "¡­Alright. However, by the time I am done, she will swear her loyalty to our boss," Noah replied after a short pause.


    Tiana was pretty much speechless for a short moment. She thought this might make things a bitplicated.


    But this much she could handle. After she finished talking to Noah, she went to meet with Christina.


    Christina had just finished her talk with Aria. Christina was excitedly exining about the interesting opponent she encountered.


    It was a pity that he couldn''t continue the battle ahead. She had a feeling that this wasn''t the only trick up his sleeve.


    Aria was somewhat interested in this opponent who managed to entertain Christina so much. She also mentioned her day to Christina.


    They trained all day, and her subordinates were ordered to fight one-on-one battles against Noah''s subordinates.


    All of them were thrashed badly. Closebat was their area of expertise. They could even defeat the disciples from one of the best batches of a top sect.


    "Maybe I should have joined the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Competition instead of this Eclipse Battleground''s Competition. It sounds a lot more interesting now," Christina spoke.


    The Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament was a fight to the death. But this wasn''t the case in the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament.


    Days passed, and Noah''s group continued to defeat one group after another. In fact, Aria and her group members were slowly getting used to being ordered by Noah.


    At least they genuinely respected Noah. They realized he wasn''t like other leaders who would sit back and order his subordinates to fight.


    In fact, he would be among the first ones to charge forward in a fight. His subordinates would only be ordered to fight against their peers or their equals.


    Aria felt that Noah gave rather entric orders. He took very logical decisions and sometimes emotional decisions as well.


    She thought he had a keen mind, albeit he asionally disyed symptoms of his immaturity.


    Meanwhile, in the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament, Tiana was reaching the final rounds as well.


    Her opponents appeared to be growing tougher with each passing round. She had to use more time to deal with her opponents.


    Other warriors were analyzing her fighting style. Thus, her opponents were prepared to deal with her.


    The same was the situation with Christina. The two had reached the quarter-finals now. If they defeated their current opponents, they would both be in the semifinals.


    However, when the numbers were pulled out, Christina and Tiana stared at each other with surprised expressions on their faces.


    The numbers that were pulled out were 10 and 87. Tiana''s number and Christina''s number!


    Tiana and Christina were both shocked for a couple of seconds. They knew that as they advanced more rounds, there was a great possibility they would fight soon.


    But now that their numbers were drawn, it felt so weird. Christina had wanted to fight against Tiana since she saw her the first time.


    She showed an excited grin soon enough as she jumped on the stage.


    Tiana soon approached the stage and stepped onto it. There was still a look of disbelief on her face.


    Christina noticed that expression on Tiana''s face and spoke, "Tiana. Don''t hold back! I know you are strong. I wanna beat you at your full strength. So if you are my friend, make sure to not hold back."


    "¡­Alright. I would say the same to you then, Christina. Make sure you use those Golden mes as well as that mysterious power in your body from the start." Tiana replied with a confident tone.


    Emotionally, she was still unstable. However, this was a fight she couldn''t lose. She had to reach the top three to achieve her goal!


    ~~


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 Chapter 288 - Christina Vs Tiana (1)

    The fight began with Tiana conjuring up Icicles and throwing them at Christina.


    Christina deflected a few of them by covering her arms with mes and dodged the rest. She then rushed towards Tiana with her top speed.


    Tiana knew that Christina was probably looking for a closebat battle. However, she wasn''t proficient in that kind of battle and was looking for mid-rangedbat.


    "<strong>Ice Floor!</strong>" She released strong Ice Ardor from her feet and covered the floor with her Ice Element.


    The Ice she released was dense enough that it could survive a couple of Christina''s attacks.


    Christina wasn''t aware of this fact. Sheunched a couple of fireballs while she moved towards Tiana, expecting that they would deal with this Icy Floor.


    A couple of small explosions urred over that Icy Floor. However, the Icy Floor was only slightly damaged.


    Tiana reinforced the damaged areas of the Icy Floor and focused on her opponent again.


    She opened her mouth and whispered, "Icy Wind." A huge gust of wind possessing faint Icy particles wasunched at Christina.


    Christina got the same feeling from this Icy Wind as that Icy Floor. She knew it would be troublesome to deal with this thing.


    However, if she retreated now, she would be following Tiana''s momentum. She knew that Tiana was probably ready tounch another attack at her as soon as she tried to retreat.


    Christina decided to remain in her position and build up a lot of Ardor.


    She then released all that Ardor by using a single attack, "<strong>Golden Annihtion!</strong>"


    Golden mes were spouted out of her arms as these mes struck that Icy Wind. Her dense Golden mes managed to fight equally against Tiana''s Icy Wind attack.


    Tiana had a serious look on her face as she witnessed that attack. She had been waiting for it!


    "She can''t move now," Tiana whispered with a smile on her face.


    She raised her arms, and suddenly some bits of Ice immediately rose in the air. And they rose so high above that Christina couldn''t even see them.


    If these bits were counted, they would appear to be thousands of crumbs of Ice. In fact, their shape was rather simr to a needle, so they could be considered sharp ice needles.


    "<strong>Fall!</strong>"


    Those needles fell down on the earth by bing High-Speed Projectiles. They could hit the ground before the blink of an eye.


    Meaning, Christina only had a few milliseconds of time to decide how she should deal with these needles.


    She was caught in a dilemma.


    If she stopped using her Golden Annihtion, the Icy Wind would strike her. But if she didn''t move, these icy needles would strike her.


    Both were equally dangerous attacks. If either of them struck her, she would be fatally injured and lose this battle.


    While she was thinking of a way to deal with these two attacks, she heard a voice in her head speak <em>''Looks like you need my assistance, after all.''</em>


    Suddenly, an empty look appeared in Christina''s eyes as she stopped utilizing her Golden Annihtion attack.


    The Icy Wind and those Icy Needles moved towards her body at a quick pace. But these attacks couldn''t touch her body.


    Christina''s body was illuminating with Golden mes that were released in all directions around her body.


    A sphere of pure golden mes was created around her body. Even the ground beneath her feet was destroyed, and Christina floated in mid-air with an empty look in her eyes.


    Tiana looked at Christina with a shocked expression as she saw her attacks strike that Golden me Sphere around Christina and disperse.


    After Tiana''s attacks had ended, Christina immediately moved towards Tiana with a quick speed.


    Tiana could swear that she had heard a screech when Christina moved. It was a sharp screech that made her back away.


    She created multiple Ice Walls to prevent Christina from getting in close range. However, Christina pierced all those Ice Walls and was next to Tiana within a split second.


    Tiana was ready for Christina and attacked her as her palm was congealed with Icy Ardor.


    This was the special skill of her physique. She could easily congeal arge quantity of Icy Ardor over any part of her body.


    However, she was shocked when her palm pierced Christina''s gut.


    Even though her arm pierced her gut and Tiana was freezing Christina''s insides, it didn''t seem to work.


    In fact, when she raised her head to look into Christina''s eyes, she noticed it hadn''t affected her at all.


    Christina raised her arm and immediately struck Tiana''s head. Then Christina continued with a kick to Tiana''s face.


    The veil covering Tiana''s face was torn apart, and she was thrown away.


    When Tiana opened her eyes, she noticed Christina''s gut wound being seared by Golden mes.


    "¡­How did she get so strong? What is this overpowering aura being released from her body?" She struggled to get up while staring at Christina.


    Christina raised her finger and pointed it at Tiana, "<strong>Sr Finger.</strong>"


    A single finger was used because all her me Energy was condensed in that single point and then released. Thus, a densely pressured beam of the pure me element was released from her finger.


    Tiana struck the ground with both her palms and whispered out, "<strong>Ice Flower - Rose!</strong>"


    An Icy Rose was conjured up just ahead of Tiana''s body. It was extremelyrge in size and could easily cover Tiana''s body.


    When the Sr Finger attack struck the Icy Rose, it was deflected in all directions except Tiana''s direction.


    After some seconds, Tiana noticed that the Icy Rose was cracking up. Another couple of seconds, and her Icy Rose would be pierced.


    She could use these few moments to conjure up more defensive techniques or¡­ She could use these moments tounch an attack on Christina.


    Without any hesitation, Tiana chose thetter.


    "<strong>Icy Spears!</strong>" She pointed in Christina''s direction.


    Those Icy Spears were much stronger than an individual icy needle. Tiana knew that at the least, this attack would pierce Christina''s body and prevent her from continuing on with this Sr Finger attack.


    However, she hadrgely underestimated Christina.


    She raised her other hand and then released multiple Sr Fingers. These were weaker than the one that struck the Icy Rose, but it was strong enough to deflect those Icy Spears.


    When Tiana noticed that her attacks had been deflected, she lost all hope. She was thinking of jumping to the side and dodge this Sr Finger attack, but at that moment, the Icy Rose was pierced.


    She closed her eyes and waited for that attack to strike her.


    However, the attack never struck her. Instead, an explosion urred just ahead of her.


    When Tiana opened her eyes, she noticed that her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring was glowing with a purple light.


    "¡­What''s going on?" She whispered in the hopes of receiving a reply.


    And sure enough, her hopes didn''t betray her. She heard Azaroth''s voice, "It seems that you are battling against a possessed warrior. Let me take over from here on out."


    Those words somehow relieved and excited Tiana. She knew that nothing could go wrong now that Azaroth had joined in this battle.


    However, she didn''tpletely understand what he meant by the "possessed warrior." Did that mean Christina was possessed by someone? But by whom?


    Meanwhile, the nk expression on Christina''s face had turned into a frown as she sensed a very dangerous aura.


    ~~


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 Chapter 289 - Christina Vs Tiana (2)

    Because of the explosion, a dust cloud was raised that shrouded Tiana''s body.


    Azaroth''s Spiritual Consciousness within the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring had decided to intervene because it sensed a strong auraing from a familiar being.


    Moreover, Tiana''s life was in danger. If he hadn''t intervened, she would have been fatally injured by that Sr Finger attack. That was uneptable at this stage.


    She had to at least reach the semi-finals before losing to someone.


    Thus, Azaroth interfered and released a quick beam of pure Ardor to nullify those highly dense Golden mes.


    Now, his Purple colored aura was surrounding Tiana''s body as he empowered her with his Ardor.


    Tiana felt a rush of pure power within her body. She felt that she was invincible with this Ardor in her body.


    "Now listen to my instructions closely. The energy you currently possess is much stronger than your usual energy. Your task is to touch your opponent. I will handle the rest," Azaroth spoke with amanding tone.


    "¡­Yes, master. I just wanted to inform you something," Tiana spoke.


    Azaroth was surprised and decided to humor her, "Sure."


    Suddenly, Tiana felt her body moving backward. A fireball struck the spot she was standing on earlier.


    "Be quick. We don''t have the time to talk," Azaroth ordered.


    "Master, my opponent is the young mistress of the ck Lake Sect. I have more or less turned her into my good friend. I think it would be best if we don''t harm her too much," Tiana added quickly.


    Azaroth whispered after a short while, "I see¡­"


    He didn''t question Tiana where she genuinely considered Christina as her friend or was merely using her.


    In fact, he would prefer it more if she genuinely considered Christina as her good friend. If he was to fight against the Royal Families, he would need these sects'' assistance.


    And only if they held a genuine bond with his retainers could they fight alongside him without any suspicions.


    "Alright. Then make sure you don''t move for 10 seconds after touching her," Azaroth instructed Tiana.


    Tiana was extremely delighted to hear those words.


    "As youmand, master," Tiana spoke with a hint of excitement. Soon, she was on the move and was running towards Christina with a quick speed.


    Christina conjured up mes out of thin air and shot them at Tiana.


    Tiana dodged a few of them while many of those me balls struck her body. However, fortunately for Tiana, she was protected by Azaroth''s Ardor.


    Azaroth''s Ardor was naturally much stronger than Tiana''s Ardor. It provided her with great protection.


    Tiana raised her arm and used, "<strong>Icy Wind!</strong>"


    Christina countered the Icy Wind with her Golden Annihtion. However, this time, the Golden Annihtion couldn''t counter the Icy Wind attack perfectly.


    In fact, Christina''s eyes widened as she witnessed the Icy Wind overpowering her mes.


    When Christina realized that her Golden Annihtion would soon lose against that Icy Wind, she released a burst of mes underneath her feet and shot towards Tiana.


    She barely dodged the Icy Wind that was freezing everything in its way.


    If that Icy Wind had struck her body, she would have definitely frozen, and the battle would have ended.


    Because of Azaroth''s Ardor, Tiana could follow Christina''s movements. She immediately raised her arms and prepared herself to fight against Christina.


    Christina threw a punch at Tiana with her fists glowing with Golden mes.


    Tiana countered that fist with an Icy Aura released from her palms and deflected it away from her body.


    Christina then suddenly jumped and double kicked Tiana''s body. It was to such an extent that Tiana staggered back by a couple of steps.


    However, she heard Azaroth''s voice at this moment, "Grab her now!"


    Tiana''s eyes snapped open as she was waiting for this instruction. She immediately twisted her hand and grabbed Christina''s right leg.


    "Now smash her against the ground," Azaroth ordered.


    Tiana obeyed that order as she smashed Christina against the ground.


    "Freeze her," Azaroth sent his next instruction, and Tiana wlessly obeyed it.


    Christina looked extremely shocked as her entire body was freezing slowly and glued to the ground.


    "¡­Now, it''s my turn," Azaroth spoke as his purple aura suddenly covered Christina''s frozen body.


    The entire audience was shocked by this turn of events.


    They didn''t understand what exactly was going on. Initially, their battle seemed to be equal. Then suddenly, Christina was overpowering Tiana.


    And now, Tiana was overpowering Christina again.


    Were they holding back earlier? And why exactly was Tiana freezing Christina like that?


    Even the referee and the other warriors were puzzled whether they should allow this battle to continue or not.


    Christina was a young mistress of the ck Lake Sect, after all. If something dangerous happened to her, they would be med for it as well.


    After a quick talk with the ck Lake Sect''s elder, they decided to continue this battle. It didn''t seem as if Christina was nning to admit defeat any time soon.


    This was known after they noticed that Golden me burning intensely within the Frozen Ice Body.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s Spiritual Energy had already invaded Christina''s mental consciousness.


    Within that mental consciousness, he witnessed a young girl with a simr appearance to Tiana''s opponent.


    However, this wasn''t the being that grabbed his attention.


    The creature next to her grabbed Azaroth''splete attention. It was a Golden Creature with arge body and wide wings.


    Azaroth instinctively activated his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    "<strong>Three-Legged Golden Crow</strong>, huh? That exins those Golden mes and the possession," Azaroth spoke while stepping towards the Golden Crow.


    "W-What are you?" The Golden Crow spoke with a fearful gaze as Azaroth stepped towards it.


    Meanwhile, Christina gazed at this unfamiliar person with a frown on her face, "Who are you?"


    "Tiana''s master," Azaroth replied to Christina while keeping his eyes on that Golden Crow.


    Christina had an understanding look in her eyes as she heard those words. She remembered that Tiana mentioned her master was an Emperor Ranked Expert.


    She was surprised to see that Azaroth looked so young and thought <em>''Is it because he is a 7 Star Expert?''</em>


    "So, what is a Golden Crow like you doing here?" Azaroth asked while purple mes shone on his arm.


    He looked ready to annihte the Golden Crow if the Golden Crow gave him the wrong answer.


    "...I am her contracted beast," The Golden Crow replied soon enough.


    Azaroth suddenly paused as he listened to that statement. He then stared at Christina and noticed a faint line of connection between them.


    He internally sighed and thought <em>''I can''t destroy this Golden Crow then. This woman''s soul will be affected as well.''</em>


    The Purple mes around his hand dispersed as he stared at Christina.


    "Do not attempt to control her body again," Azaroth ordered the Golden Crow with a cold tone.


    Christina then stared at the Golden Crow and actually saw her nod in eptance.


    She had spoken the same sentence millions of times, but this bird would never actually listen. However, Azaroth spoke a single time, and it was nodding its head like a little child.


    "Please allow me to be your disciple," Christina immediately kneeled in front of Azaroth.


    Azaroth nkly stared at her for a few seconds before replying, "¡­Let''s meet up. Ask Tiana to bring you to me."


    After that, Azaroth snapped his fingers, and Christina saw a white sh that blinded her.


    She soon woke up in the arena.


    Christina immediately gave up as she regained her consciousness. Once she gave up, Tiana released Christina from her ice.


    "We have a lot to talk about," Christina spoke.


    "Yeah."


    ~~


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 Chapter 290 - Signing The Blood Contracts

    While Tiana had reached the semi-finals of her tournament, Noah hadn''t advanced all that much in his tournament.


    The primary reason behind this was because he didn''t meet many groups. There were 120 members in his group, but regrettably, no one was a sensor among them.


    If there was a single good sensor among them, he could have fought against more groups by now.


    Naturally, this martial prowess shown by Noah wasn''t missed by the King and his ministers.


    They had already begun to investigate Noah''s background. The only thing they found out was that he was a member of the Origin sect branch in Veninza City.


    Azaroth was already prepared for this situation by using Patrick.


    Laura was training her subordinates ruthlessly. Currently, most of her subordinates could defeat the demons within those rooms constructed by Azaroth.


    The Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City was facing a tiny problem.


    The disciples belonging to prestigious families hadn''t returned home in a long time. Even though their disciples contacted them regrly through the use of letters and Voice Transmission Array Stone, their families were still getting worried.


    Servants or the members of those prestigious families showed up to meet the disciples in the Origin Sect Branch within Veninza City.


    Azaroth had investigated them all. These were prestigious families not because of their power but their wealth and connection.


    They could easily use their power to suppress a random citizen. And with their wealth, they bribed some powerful families that would return the debt or favor with their martial might.


    The same was the case now. The servants or the members of those families brought many warriors along with them.


    Nearly 50 families had sent their delegates, and each one brought an average number of 6 warriors along with him.


    Few warriors apanied the servants, while many warriors apanied the family member who hade to the Origin Sect in Veninza City.


    Azaroth gathered all of them in a single hall.


    "What is your issue?" He asked them with a loud and clear voice.


    "Firstly, who are you? Why has Patrick Kewin note to greet us?" One of the men spoke out.


    Azaroth nced at the man and analyzed him carefully.


    <em>''He belongs to the Gill Family. He is wearing rather expensive clothing and must have an influential position within the family. Right now, he is speaking on behalf of the other men from different families. Hit him down, and the rest won''t dare to speak up.''</em>


    Azaroth smiled as he found his target.


    "Patrick Kewin needs to greet you? Why so?" Azaroth asked with a shrug. He was clearly looking down on the man who asked the question.


    "I am Justin Gill! The co-founder of the prestigious Gill Industries!" He proudly dered with a loud voice.


    "¡­I see," Azaroth spoke, "And what does that have anything to do with summoning Patrick Kewin?"


    "You dare to look down on us?! Doesn''t Patrick understand where he would be without our support? If not for our support, he would have died at the hands of someone from the main branch! How dare he be so disrespectful to us?!" The guy named Justin Gill dered with a sneering look on his face.


    "I am d you brought this up," Azaroth spoke as he suddenly stood up.


    He then pointed at Justin Gill and asked him, "How much did Hugo Corlett pay you to support Patrick?"


    Justin Gill immediately stammered at that question, "W-W-What?!"


    Azaroth suddenly smiled, "Do you think I am unaware of his scheme? He was using you all to limit Patrick''s choices."


    "Patrick asked for your support, and in turn, you gobbled up the resources of this Origin Sect Branch so that Patrick couldn''t rise at all. In fact, your families seem to have gained quite a bit from this double deal," Azaroth spoke.


    "That''s not the main point behind this meeting. The primary point is why are you not allowing us to meet our kinds belonging to our families, respectively," Justin Gill immediately diverted the topic.


    Azaroth smirked at those words and replied, "True. I need to deal with this issue first."


    "Come out!" He loudly spoke.


    A few secondster, seven figures appeared in the Hall. Their appearance and aura astonished the individuals seated ahead of Azaroth.


    "ughter all those who resist. And then find their family before destroying it. I will give you three days," Azaroth ordered those Demon Lords.


    "As youmand, master," The Demon Lords fearfully gazed at Azaroth and promised to obey his orders.


    Immediately, the humans seated ahead of Azaroth stared at him with a shocked expression in their eyes.


    "What is the meaning behind this?! The Origin Sect is colluding with the demons?!" One of them shouted out his question.


    Azaroth coldly replied, "Yes."


    And in the next second, the Demon Lord possessing the Golden Roc''s Bloodline cut off that man''s head.


    After slicing off his head, the demon ate it and then proceeded to eat the rest of his body.


    The other humans were terrified of this scene.


    "It''s easy for you to survive. Sign this contract," Azaroth spoke as he threw a couple of blood contracts towards them.


    These Blood Contracts possessed a strong binding power to force them to obey their contracts.


    A man picked up that blood contract and began to read it.


    "Sell your soul for your survival. Think only about obeying me and assisting me. The day you think about betraying me is the day your soul will shatter."


    These three lines were written over that blood contract.


    "Sign the contracts quickly. The Demon Lords are getting hungry. It''s been a long time since they ingested human meat," Azaroth added this statement with a devilish smirk on his face.


    All humans, without any exception, began to sign that contract. Once they had finished signing up those contracts, Azaroth stared at the Demon Lords and ordered them, "Return to your rooms."


    The Demon Lords obeyed that order and immediately returned to their respective rooms.


    "My first order for you is to remain silent about the events that transpired here. Just make some reasonable excuses to convince your respective families that everything is fine with their descendants."


    "Your second task is to have the heads and the elders of your family sign these Blood Contracts," Azaroth snapped his fingers, and suddenly the Blood Contracts began to rain down.


    All the individuals picked up a Blood Contract with an empty look in their eyes.


    "Make sure you are discreet about it. Also, inform me if any of your families have a connection with a Royal Prince or Princess," Azaroth asked them.


    "¡­My family has a deal with the Second Princess to secretly support her in terms of resources." An individual belonging to a prestigious family spoke out.


    It seemed as though his family was the only one with any rtions to the Royal Family since the rest remained silent.


    Azaroth then ordered them to return to their houses or families.


    Soon, he went to talk to Patrick, who was seated in another room, "After a week, go to the main branch of the Origin Sect. It''s time for you to deal with Hugo Corlett and possibly take over his position."


    Patrick nodded his head eagerly. The time he had been waiting for had finallye.


    ~~


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 Chapter 291 - A Complicated Situation

    Azaroth dealt with all the families that hade to deal with him. In this manner, he had maintained a strong grasp over the area under Veninza City.


    Within a week, most of the heads of the prestigious families around this area had signed his blood contract.


    Azaroth was slightly surprised by this progress. He estimated that it would take a month to bring all of the families under his control. But it only took a single week.


    Now, it was time to attack the various groups under the Royal Family.


    He recently received very crucial information from Yrellea and Sargan.


    The two mentioned that the Governor of the shire City was actually working directly under the King. He had direct contacts with the King and not the Royal Princes.


    For this reason, he feared no one else.


    In all this time, Yrellea had set up the main branch in shire City. It was prospering slowly as the people initially believed that it was the Governor who set this up so that it could be his eyes and ears.


    The Governor probably wanted to know secretive information about his subordinates or the general popce.


    His son had been spreading the word of his marriage with Yrellea. He had begun to politically target Yrellea and force her to ept his proposal.


    He wanted to make her know that the Misty Flower Pavillion would be demolished that day if she rejected his proposal.


    Yrellea knew this would ur. But she wasn''t nning to bend to his wishes. There was a better n avable to her.


    She contacted Sargan and spoke to him, "Time to silence Minos."


    "Alright. Leave it to me. Just follow my n," Sargan responded back with a confident tone.


    Currently, Sargan possesses a very strong backing. After all, Ruben Kari had excavated a lot of treasures from the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons.


    He then gradually began to sell them on the ck market without disclosing that he obtained them from the Demons'' Underground Labyrinth.


    This allowed Ruben to amass an impressive fortune. With this fortune, he managed to tie up and make secretive deals with a sect.


    The sect he chose was slightly expensive, but their services were top-ss. It was none other than the Red Crown Sect.


    After each month''s conclusion, he had to give them a specific number of coins. They would send him their disciples and guys to help him with his problems. If they are unable to resolve these difficulties, the higher-ups will step in.


    Ruben Kari had a close rtionship with Sargan. How could he not? Sargan had allowed him to see the hope that he could suppress his brothers and take theplete inheritance of his family.


    Sargan was pretty much funding him through those treasures and resources from the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons.


    Naturally, Ruben Kari allowed Sargan to create his own group of men who gathered the information from all influential individuals in shire City.


    Now, Sargan was slowly expanding that group from shire City to the entire Grolon Kingdom.


    He had set up an entire system so that he would only receive relevant information. Basically, to filter out all the useless information.


    Currently, he also received news that Ruben Kari''s father, Ismael Kari, had heard a bit about his youngest son''s exploits.


    Ruben Kari''s sudden rise in his prestige and wealth had been very surprising. This was because he was sure that Ruben hadn''t taken anything from the family. He demanded nothing or stole anything.


    So how could he gain so much wealth? This meant someone was sponsoring him.


    He had to know who was sponsoring his son and why?


    This information soon reached Sargan''s ears.


    Sargan decided to nt a lie in Ismael Kari''s head. He used his group of informants to tell Ismael that his son was sponsored by the Red Crown Sect.


    They saw his potential and invested in him. Now, he is returning the favor by hiring their services at high prices.


    This information appeared very reasonable since the sects did use these sorts of tactics. The only thing that might have been slightly unbelievable was that the Red Crown Sect chose Ruben Kari for such a crucial task.


    However, Sargan wasn''t nning to resolve this uncertainty. There was no way he could resolve it, so he wasn''t thinking in that direction.


    His main motive to nt the information had seeded. Unless someone presented strong evidence against this information, Ismael Kari wouldn''t think in any other direction.


    Ismael Kari changed his mind about who would inherit the Kari House now that he learned his youngest son had significant links with the upper echelons of the Red Crown Sect.


    His other two sons had developed their factions nicely, but their connections to a top sect were still very weak and brittle.


    They had friends among the disciples, but the sect itself wasn''t supporting them.


    Ruben Kari''s case was different, though. Judging from his wealth, it was the Red Crown Sect that was supporting him.


    Simrly, the Red Crown Sect was also searching for Ruben Kari''s secret funding. Just from where did he get so many treasures to sell?


    They were discovered by Sargan as well. He told Ruben Kari about this and then proceeded to tell him about his strategy.


    They couldn''t very well allow the Red Crown Sect to figure out the truth. If they found the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons, they were sure to send their experts to open the entrance and take control of it.


    Although there weren''t any more treasures in the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons, the Labyrinth itself was also a treasure.


    The Spiritual Energy was richer inside aspared to outside. It could be used to create a secretive force that required no interference from the outside. It could be used to store weapons and even herbs.


    Lastly, if the traces of the demons were pursued, they might find some skeletons or archeological sites in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Sargan''s strategy was quite simple. He set up Ruben Kari with an enchantress of the Misty Flower Pavillion. The enchantress he set up Ruben with was none other than Yrellea''s assistant.


    Naturally, Yrellea was informed about the n beforehand, and she had no issue with it. She understood that Ruben Kari could be considered essential for Sargan right now. So, they had to cover up with any loose ends on their part.


    Once a connection was shown between Ruben Kari and the Misty Flower Pavillion, the Red Crown Sect got off Ruben''s back.


    They were well aware that there was another thing that might make a fighter wealthy in addition to jewels and resources.


    Information. They believed that Ruben received secret information from the Misty Flower Pavillion.


    And since there were rumors that the Misty Flower Pavillion was working under the Governor, the Red Crown Sect believed that the governor was funding Ruben.


    They got off his back once they found out the sources behind his wealth.


    However, what they didn''t realize was that this was all Sargan''s scheme. And they werepletely entangled within it.


    Ruben enjoyed benefits from both sides. Ismael Kari was taking him along to any diplomatic meeting with the other families or even the banquets.


    This demonstrated that he trusted Ruben enough to apany him to areas where crucial choices needed to be made.


    Meanwhile, the Red Crown Sect was protecting and forging deals with Ruben Kari a bit more enthusiastically. They knew that the Governor of shire City was quite rich, and they wanted to gain a portion of that wealth through Ruben Kari.


    It was the king who provided everything to the Governor and his family through indirect means. Thus, the Governor didn''t need to tie up with any sect. It would merely be squandering his wealth.


    ~~


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 Chapter 292 - Convincing Ruben Kari

    After Sargan managed to fool both the Red Crown Sect and Ismael Kari. He decided it was time to deal with Minos Zaraki, Governor''s son.


    It was very difficult to assassinate someone like Minos Zaraki. He lived in his main mansion. And if he left the mansion, he would be apanied by many warriors who would serve as his guards.


    Including the ones who protected Minos secretly, there were 50 guards around him. All of them were either peak 3 Star Warriors or 4 Star Warriors.


    So, it was extremely difficult to assassinate Minos if Sargan tried it alone. At the least, his identity would be revealed.


    He examined a variety of options. Bribing Minos'' guards was one such strategy. Alternatively, setting traps and then leading Minos there.


    All of those strategies, however, were wed. They would lead the Governor to Sargan if properly examined.


    Sargan was determined to avoid a confrontation with the Governor. Hecked the necessary power and intelligence to cope with the Governor.


    Thus, he had to use someone else. Fortunately, Sargan did possess that card as well. He decided to use Ruben Kari to deal with Minos Zaraki. The two families were already verypetitive.


    Ruben and Minos were the young masters of their families. Since they were of simr age, they shared a very fierce rivalry. In fact, their rivalry was so fierce that they could even be considered enemies to some extent.


    Both wanted to prove to their families that they deserved to lead their respective families in the future.


    However, their potential and ability were limited, and they hadn''t achieved muchpared to other youths of their age.


    Sargan went to meet up with Ruben Kari. The two met up in Ruben''s personal bar.


    This was a newly opened bar by Ruben Kari. He wanted to use this bar to gain more ie.


    Ruben invested a lot while opening up this bar. After all, he wanted to make it appear as the best pub within shire City. This pub could even beparable to the pubs in the Capital City.


    Because of hisrge investment, this pub looked quite amazing. This pub was among the best in terms of texture, architecture, look, and food and drinks.


    At the least, the investment seemed to have paid off. Many people checked out this pub and seemingly fell in love with the ambiance here.


    It was even said that the looks and ambiance would force the person toe inside for the first time. However, drinks and food in this pub would make hime to the pub every single day.


    Thus, ever since its opening, this pub has been earning quite well. At the very least, the pub could handle its servicing.


    Currently, Sargan and Ruben are meeting in this pub. The two had reduced their meetings because they didn''t want Ismael and the Red Crown Sect to reveal the truth.


    They were meeting in the private rooms avable in this pub. The private rooms possessed the basic arrays already.


    Such as the suppression array and the sound-proof array. Ruben was waiting for Sargan in this room.


    After around half an hour, Sargan entered that private room.


    Ruben gazed at Sargan and smiled, "It''s been quite a long since ourst meeting. I thought you didn''t n to meet me any time soon."


    "¡­We couldn''t be seen together. Otherwise, your father or the Red Crown Sect would have investigated me as well and found my connection with you," Sargan informed him with a straightforward voice.


    He then took a seat on the sofa while staring at Ruben.


    Sargan then added while rxing on the couch, "You are much more famous now. It''s nothing strange that you are meeting with some unknown individuals. The Red Crown Sect and your father''s informants can''t analyze everyone you meet."


    "So, what made you arrange this meeting?" Ruben got to the point as he asked this question.


    "What''s the hurry? Let''s order something," Sargan spoke as he pressed the bell on the side.


    A servant soon knocked on the door. Sargan spoke out, "Enter. The door is open."


    The servant entered the door with paper and feather in his hands. Sargan and Ruben gave their orders. Sargan ordered Butter Chicken with extra gravy and the Xtreme Energizer cocktail, while Ruben only ordered the Xtreme Energizer Cocktail.


    Once the servant departed, Sargan stood up and locked the door from the inside.


    He then asked Ruben, "How is it going? I suppose your faction is developing nicely."


    "It''s been amazing. I have the support of the Red Crown Sect, and even my father is slowly engaging me in the family business. I finally know who are the true allies and rivals of my family," Ruben spoke while giving vague information to Sargan.


    In reality, Sargan wasn''t interested in this information. He could get this sort of information any time he wanted.


    And this was indeed the truth. All he had to do was trade Ruben''s secret information with one of his brothers.


    He was sure they would be more than willing to trade their family secret for Ruben''s secret. Expanding or even keeping their faction had probably be very expensive.


    Ruben used the Red Crown Sect''s disciples and some random mercenaries to deal great damage to his brother''s factions.


    His brother''s groups were afraid to exact vengeance on the Red Crown Sect''s followers. When the other sects discovered that the Red Crown Sect was targeting them, they did not dare to get involved.


    "That''s great. But do you know that you are sitting inside a paper castle? It can copse at any moment," Sargan asked with a cold tone.


    "What do you mean?" Ruben appeared confused as he asked Sargan.


    Sargan sighed out as he noticed that Ruben had no idea how grave his situation was. He exined patiently, "¡­This influence you have created has reached this height because there is a bnce between the two sides. While one side believes that the Red Crown Sect is sponsoring you, the other side thinks that it is the Governor."


    "However, what is the truth? That you are actually selling the treasures and resources from the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons. Neither the Red Crown Sect nor the Governor has been sponsoring you. Once this secret is revealed, you can expect everyone to turn against you. Your brothers won''t miss this chance to coborate and destroy you with everything they can."


    "Your entire faction and life will be destroyed if the third side enters the scene. This side is the Governor''s faction. If they realize what is going on, they won''t hesitate to turn on you. After all, you are from a rival family. They do not want you to develop your faction so efficiently."


    "As for how can they find out the truth¡­Minos Zaraki''s marriage to Yrellea can be the trigger. Once the Zaraki familypletely takes over the Misty Flower Pavilion, many of your secrets will be revealed," Sargan finished speaking.


    He noticed that the realization had dawned in Ruben''s eyes. A terrified and anxious look appeared on his face.


    Sargan was internally pleased to see that worried look on Ruben''s face.


    Soon, a waiter knocked on the door. Sargan stood up and opened the door before sitting on his seat again.


    The two were served with their food and drinks.


    Sargan stared at Ruben, who was still lost in thoughts. He picked up the ss of cocktail and raised it while speaking, "Cheers."


    "Cheers," Ruben spoke a little unenthusiastically. He had lost all his confidence after those words from Sargan.


    Sargan drank the ss of his cocktail and then began to eat the Butter Chicken. As he was eating his food, he spoke, "There is a very simple solution for your issues."


    Immediately, Ruben raised his head and stared at Sargan while asking anxiously, "What is it?!"


    Sargan replied with a smile, "Kill Minos Zaraki."


    ~~


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 Chapter 293 - The Governors Idea

    Ruben and Sargan were concocting a n to kill Minos Zaraki. A normal approach of attacking him with numerous warriors would fail easily.


    They needed a detailed n. And a lot more people to contribute to this n.


    "I will keep a watch over the Zaraki Family''s movements. When I give you the signal, send your warriors to me. I will handle the rest," Sargan informed Ruben while he finished eating the food.


    "What do you mean?" Ruben asked, slightly curious about what Sargan was nning.


    Ruben still showed a puzzled expression. Sargan let out a sigh and ced down his cocktail before beginning his exnation, "In this particr week, the Zaraki Family is nning to tie up with some other middle-ranked families and conclude some deals with them."


    "I n to check the timing of their deals and somehow ask Minos toe to a particr location urgently without giving him a chance of informing his father about it. He is going to reach that location with his guards. We are going to kill him and bury him in that location. For the next few days, his death would remain a secret. And we will reveal it when it suits us."


    Sargan finished giving the details regarding the n. He asked after some time, "¡­Any questions?"


    "Just one. What should we do once the Governor realizes that I killed his son? Won''t hee after me with all his power and influence? How do we deal with him?" Ruben asked with a solemn expression.


    This was a rather crucial question. If Sargan couldn''t answer this, Ruben wouldn''t go through with this n.


    Sargan knew why Ruben was so worried. He spoke with a small smile, "You are worried because the Governor has connections with the King. If he knows that you killed his son, he might use the King''s influence to destroy youpletely."


    "That''s correct," Ruben nodded his head.


    Sargan then asked him a simple question, "Why do you think the King will take his side?"


    "Because I killed his son, and the King would definitely want to fulfill his subordinate''s request," Ruben replied with a factual tone.


    "How will he prove that you are the perpetrator, though?" Sargan then asked the million-dor question.


    Ruben was about to respond quickly before he stopped himself in the middle, "¡­He can''t prove it if I make those individuals disappear."


    "Exactly! If the perpetrators vanish, the connection to you would also disappear. Nobody except the two of us will know," Sargan spoke with a smile on his face.


    "I have another question. How will you get Minos Zaraki toe to a location urgently without him informing his father about it?" Ruben asked curiously.


    "That''s a trade secret. For that, I need an array master, though. At the least a 4 Star Array Master," Sargan responded.


    Ruben didn''t probe too much. He knew that since Sargan didn''t want to mention it, asking about it any more would be a moot point.


    "I see. I can provide you with an Array Master," Ruben solemnly promised. He then added, "I will leave the other details to you."


    Sargan nodded as he responded, "That''s very much alright."


    Sargan decided to depart after they discussed some more about the fighters Ruben was going to hire.


    These warriors were going to be rogue mercenaries who didn''t have anything better to do. Ruben was going to give them this job under an anonymous identity.


    They weren''t going to be told that their target was actually Minos Zaraki.


    Many mercenary groups near shire City were indeed capable of dealing with Minos Zaraki. However, they never dared to move against him because of their fear of the Zaraki Family.


    Ruben was nning to use their mercenary group and target Minos Zaraki. Since they won''t know their employer or their target, they were naturally going to demand double the price, but it was very much worth it in their mind.


    After Sargan returned to his house, he began to talk to Yrellea.


    "When I give you the signal, call out for Minos Zaraki to a private location. Don''t use the Voice Transmission Array Stone. Send one of your subordinates, instead. I will block the Voice Transmission Array Stone Waves in that area," Sargan informed Yrellea.


    "So, you are finally dealing with Minos Zaraki. I thought I had to dy the matter a bit more," Yrellea let out a relieved sigh.


    "We won''t just be dealing with Minos Zaraki. I am also going to nt suspicion on some other reputed family. If the Governor truly begins to suspect that family, he is going to take action against them. One of his greatest allies would be his enemy. I am sure that would harm his foundations greatly," Sargan added.


    "Once the Governor has been embroiled in those matters, you can develop however you want. Even open more branches in other cities," Sargan suggested as this was how Yrellea could be even more useful to Azaroth.


    "Alright," Yrellea replied.


    Sargan cut off the spiritual connection between them before he contacted a few other subordinates who informed him about the Zaraki Family''s movements in detail.


    These were his informants who kept him updated regarding the Zaraki Family''s movements.


    They just gave some basic information to Sargan. Like who hade to meet the Governor and so on.


    Sargan acquired information on those individuals and made wild assumptions about why they were meeting with the Governor.


    Most of the time, his guesses would be slightly off the mark. But at the least, he could correctly guess the general direction.


    One of his subordinates informed him that Minos would be asked to leave for a mission 3 dayster.


    Sargan didn''t know where Minos was going, and he had to find out.


    He decided to gather the rumors regarding the nearby cities at a week''s distance from this city.


    After a couple of hours, he found out where Minos was most probably going.


    A fierce criminal by the title ''<strong><em>Thundering Vulture</em></strong>'' was sighted in a nearby vige. If Sargan''s guess was right, the governor sent Minos along with the bounty hunters to gain some experience.


    The bounty hunters were going to deal with this Thundering Vulture warrior while Minos would learn how a criminal was retrained.


    He was going to see this with his own eyes and understand the entire process.


    Once he understands the process, the Governor could ask his son to lead a group to deal with a couple of criminals.


    This would allow him to gain experience and prestige. The Governor had already realized that he couldn''t allow his son to remain a wastrel.


    His son had to disy that he was capable of dealing with important tasks. And this would be the perfect method to disy that.


    After this woulde the diplomatic meetings. Soon, Minos Zaraki was going to deal diplomatically on behalf of the entire Zaraki Family.


    However, Sargan realized that he could use this event to deal with Minos once and for all.


    He informed Yrellea of the timing. Yrellea responded that she understood her task and was on the work immediately.


    The same was true about Sargan. He checked the route from where Minos would pass to reach that vige and set up those arrays that would block all signals for the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    He also informed Ruben about the timing and asked him to get the warriors ready by that time.


    The mercenary group was ready to ept this task. After all, Ruben promised them 100,000 Spirit Coins for the corpses of 50 warriors.


    That was much more than their standard rates. In fact, the price offered was a little more than double their standard cost. They asked just how strong their enemies would be, and when they found out that the strongest among them would only be a 4 Star Warrior, they were relieved.


    They epted this task without any further questions.


    ~~


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 Chapter 294 - The Governors Plan

    Currently, Minos Zaraki is seated in his father''s office. His father had a scowl on his face as he stared at his son.


    "You haven''t even been able to handle a single woman! How can you inherit the Zaraki Family in the future?!" The Governor roared at his son callously.


    Minos''s expression remained the same as before. This could be considered a routine in this house.


    Once a month, his father would demand a private meeting with Minos.


    Minos had to leave behind all his tasks and listen to his father''s scolding and advice. Even though Minos was a wastrel whomitted a lot of mistakes. He knew that he had to improve somewhere.


    His father''s admonishment would allow him to correct his faults.


    "Ruben Kari. A kid of your age has seduced that woman''s advisor! He is using that woman''s Misty Flower Pavilion to grab the information and profits necessary for him. You can see his rise in these months," The Governor spoke.


    The Governor didn''t stop, though. He added with a scornful voice, "If you had managed to subdue that woman till now, the Misty Flower Pavilion would have been ours."


    The woman he was talking about was Yrellea. Minos frowned slightly upon hearing his father speak about Yrellea like that.


    "Father, I like her. She mentioned that she didn''t wish to take our rtionship any further, and I want to respect her wishes," Minos weakly replied.


    The Governor mmed the desk ced ahead of him and roared at his son, "Since when did you be so stupid?!"


    "That woman has been using your influence to set up her Misty Flower Pavilion! The fact that she was using us to set up this Misty Flower Pavilion was something I knew all along, but I let her do as she pleased. It was so that we could gobble up once this fish wasrge enough. However, I never realized her ambition," The Governor slowly lowered his voice as he let out a sigh.


    He noticed that his son was gazing at him with a puzzled look. The Governor exined, "Before I realized it, she met up with other merchant family heads and asked them to invest in her Misty Flower Pavilion in return for future profits."


    "Now, more than half of the wealthy houses in shire City hold a share in her Misty Flower Pavilion. They have no decision-making authority, but their investment has enabled that woman to no longer require our assistance. If this continues, she will truly be independent of our control, and we can do nothing about it," The Governor finished giving his exnation.


    "¡­Eh?! She was doing all this?!" Minos Zaraki received a great shock when he heard his father''s statements.


    "That''s correct," The Governor nodded.


    He then asked his son, "Why do you think she isn''t tying the knot with you?"


    Minos was confused by this question and responded nkly, "She mentioned that she wanted to focus on her revenge and didn''t want any distractions."


    The Governor sneered at those words and felt like pping his son. Minos was truly too na?ve in some aspects.


    "Those words basically state that she believes you aren''t capable enough to work together with her on her revenge n. You are considered a distraction!" The Governor nearly shouted at his stupid son.


    Minos cowered at those words. He was slightly intimidated and worried now that he heard his father''s words.


    "W-What do I do now, father?" He asked with an anxious tone.


    He was well aware that if Yrellea truly became independent of their support, he would have no chance with her.


    In reality, she could be forever out of his grasp.


    When the Governor noticed that anxious look on his son''s face, he was slightly satisfied. At least his son understood this grave situation.


    "All is not lost. She has used my prestige, and I won''t allow her to easily slip out of my grasp. Until then, you have to show her that you aren''t a wastrel. That you are a reliable man," The Governor spoke with an overwhelming tone.


    Minos had a solemn expression as he asked his father, "Order me, father. What do I need to do?"


    The Governor then threw a poster in Minos''s direction and spoke, "¡­I have a mission for you. Your task would be to apany the bounty hunters and capture a criminal by the title ''<em><strong>Thundering Vulture.''</strong></em> This warrior is a state criminal with charges of smuggling the Kingdom''s goods to our enemies."


    <em>''Once he is captured, I will add charges of rape and destruction on him. The news about his capture should spread far and wide. Minos''s prestige should increase a significant deal once the people find out he led the team that captured this man.''</em>


    Minos excitedly nodded his head and returned to his room.


    He had begun to pack his clothing and had also instructed his attendants to pack provisions as he would be departing the house in three days.


    The wagon was prepared as the driver was informed of where he was going.


    These people were Sargan''s informants. Thus, this information was immediately shared with him.


    Sargan''s guess had turned out to be correct, but he didn''t know the precise reasoning behind this event.


    In reality, this reasoning was useless to him.


    While the Governor worked to boost his son''s prestige, he had no idea that Yrellea and Sargan were also working behind the scenes to achieve their motives.


    Three dayster, it was evening and the time to depart for Minos Zaraki.


    He was seated in the wagon with nearly 50 warriors apanying him to a nearby vige where the criminal was sighted.


    The exact location of the criminal had been found, and Minos''s task was merely to restrain him and bring him back.


    Among these hundred warriors apanying him, 40 were his guards while the other 10 were bounty hunters.


    In total, there were twenty-one 4 Star Warriors and twenty-nine 3 Star Warriors.


    The Governor had worked hard to make sure his son would remain safe on this expedition.


    Just as Minos Zaraki and his team were about to leave shire City, a woman in a pink dress appeared on horseback.


    Minos Zaraki''s guards were startled to see this woman. It was a beautiful woman who possessed a great charm that made her appear extremely cute.


    "I wish to meet with Young Master Minos. I bring a message from My Mistress Yrellea," She spoke as she requested a meeting with Minos Zaraki.


    Minos was soon informed that it was Yrellea''s subordinate who brought her message.


    He immediately left his carriage and met up with her.


    "What is it?" His voice was a little cold. He now realized that Yrellea was merely using him and his influence.


    She even thought he wasn''t worthy of her. This had naturally bred some repulsive feelings in Minos''s heart.


    "Young Master Minos, mydy, invites you to her personal estate to drink tea," The woman spoke with a calm tone.


    Minos responded with a cool voice, "I regret to reject this invitation since I shall be leaving the city on an important expedition."


    "¡­I see. That is indeed regretful. Mydy had mentioned that she wished to meet young master Minos and further deepen her rtionship with you. But it can''t be helped if you are busy," She spoke with a hint of pity in her tone.


    When Minos heard those remarks, his eyes widened in astonishment. His heart was racing unconsciously, and his mind was imagining some wild notions.


    <em>''Was father wrong?! Does that mean Yrellea is ready to take our rtionship to the next base?! Can I really eat that beautiful woman?!''</em> There was no end to his overthinking.


    Meanwhile, Yrellea''s subordinate had already turned around as she prepared to leave and inform herdy of this information.


    However, before she could leave, Minos spoke out, "Wait."


    ~~


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 Chapter 295 - Poison

    Minos added, "Now that I think about it, I can leave for this expedition tomorrow. Inform her that I will arrive soon."


    "As youmand, young master," The woman spoke a little submissively as she kicked her horse''s abdomen and left the area.


    Minos immediately pulled out his Voice Transmission Array Stone to contact his father. He wanted to inform his father that he would leave tomorrow.


    However, he frowned when he noticed that his Voice Transmission Array Stone wasn''t working.


    He cursed angrily, "It had to malfunction today only?!"


    Because of his high excitement, he wanted to inform his father and run towards Yrellea''s location as quickly as possible.


    However, the malfunctioning of his Voice Transmission Array Stone had irritated him greatly.


    He was quickly thinking of a way to update his father. Soon, an idea appeared in his mind.


    He summoned a warrior and ordered him, "Go and inform my father that I shall depart tomorrow. Give this slip to him."


    Minos had already stated the reason within that slip. Minos stamped that slip with his seal so that his father would know it was truly sent by him.


    The warrior immediately nodded and left the area to inform the Governor about this information.


    This warrior had barely covered a mile towards the Governor''s Residence when he was suddenly showered with arrows.


    These arrows were mixed with poison water. Once they struck him, the warrior felt as if his arms and legs could no longer move.


    He couldn''t even shout out for assistance.


    A handful of warriors arrived out of nowhere and repeatedly stabbed his body. They even stabbed his heart, head, and stomach. It seemed as though they were double-checking to be sure he wasn''t alive.


    Thus, this information never reached the Governor''s ears. Minos remained oblivious to this information.


    Minos was excitedly heading to Yrellea''s private estate. He already knew of its location since he had visited it numerous times.


    It was a little outside of shire City.


    Yrellea did inform him of the reason. She exined that she wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and spend some time alone in the woods.


    Naturally, it was Sargan who asked Yrellea to buy this mansion and give such reasoning if Minos ever asked for it. He had nned for Minos''s death long before this event.


    This was merely the climax. The nning had begun ever since the day Minos introduced himself to Yrellea.


    While Yrellea was considering utilizing him, Sargan considered how to get rid of him once they had exhausted all his potential.


    Thus, it didn''t take him long to apply this n. He just had to distribute the tasks to appropriate individuals.


    Minos led his warriors to Yrellea''s estate, oblivious to the fact that this location was a massive trap for him and his warriors.


    Once Minos and his warriors stepped inside the area of this vi, a faint green smoke began to spread in the area.


    This greenish-colored smoke was spreading in a particr area. And this area was restricted by using an Array.


    Naturally, this was a poisonous gas created by Yrellea and stored in the array. This gas would only be released once the Array was activated.


    After these warriors stepped inside the area, Sargan and hisrade activated that poisonous gas Yrellea provided.


    Yrellea''s poison was quite deadly. This poisonous gas was a skill of her Heavenly Poison Scripture. The deadly poison could even kill some very poisonous creatures, let alone somemon humans.


    While Minos and his warriors were checking out the area to find Yrellea, the poisonous gas had reached their lungs.


    The effects of this poisonous gas weren''t just death. Before the death, it would slowly tire the muscles of the poisoned warriors.


    Those who possessed stronger Ardor thanmon individuals would remain conscious for a longer period. But sooner orter, they would sumb to the effects of this poison as well.


    A few warriors soon realized what was urring, and they went to inform Minos about it. When they touched Minos''s body, they were started to see him coughing blood and falling unconscious.


    "W-What is going on?!" Other warriors were shocked at this scene and asked with a frightened look on their faces.


    "Oh shit! This is a trap. We are being poisoned!" A warrior who realized this immediately shouted out.


    "Split up! Run! Inform the Governor of what is happening!" Another warrior shouted as he ran in the east direction at a quick pace.


    Suddenly, a spear struck his back and pierced his heart that killed him instantly.


    When the other warriors gazed in the direction from which this spear originated, they noticed arge group of warriors seated on trees.


    They all threw a spear or arrow at the warriors on the ground. These were the mercenaries hired by Ruben.


    Some of them even dropped on the ground to kill them manually. A couple of warriors had even begun to fake their deaths to make their assants lower their guards and have a chance of escaping.


    Unfortunately, these mercenaries had been given strict instructions that there could not be a single survivor.


    A single survivor here would mean that the Governor would be informed of his son''s death. He would definitely begin to investigate it.


    If he investigated it, he would find out that Ruben had recently withdrawn many of his loans. But why would he do so? This meant he was doing something with all that money.


    And if the Governor investigated a bit more, he would find that Ruben hired these mercenaries. He would also find that these mercenaries werest seen in the area where his son and his warrior''s dead bodies were found.


    For this reason, Sargan and Ruben wanted to make sure that news of Minos''s death wouldn''t spread no matter what.


    At the least, it had to be concealed for enough time that the Governor wouldn''t begin to investigate Ruben''s movements.


    And sooner orter, Ruben would settle these ounts. By the time the Governor finds out about his son''s death, he won''t know when it urred.


    Since he won''t know the timing of his son''s death, he couldn''t very well connect it to Ruben. It could be anybody in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Searching for the perpetrator would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Absolutely impossible and improbable to do so!


    After these mercenaries had aplished their jobs, they were paid the promised amount.


    However, these mercenaries hadn''t yet realized that they had killed Minos Zaraki and his warriors. It was only natural that they didn''t find out about this.


    They had never seen Minos Zaraki and had only heard about it. Also, if someone like Minos Zaraki was dead, news about him would circte in the entire city very quickly.


    Thus, they thought he was some random merchant and were extremely happy with their payment.


    They had no idea that Ruben Kari had requested some forces from his father to deal with a Mercenary Group living near shire City.


    The members of the mercenary gang have been used of brutality, rape, robbery, and even murder.


    ~~


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 Chapter 296 - The Mercenary Groups Destruction

    In thest couple of days, Ismael had been feeling a bit of pressure. His youngest son had shown off his diplomatic and trading skills as he developed his wealth and invested in other corporations.


    However, he heard that the Governor''s son, Minos Zaraki, led a group of bounty hunters to capture a vicious criminal.


    Ismael wanted his sons to aplish something even greater. And today, Ruben Kari informed him that he had found the hideout of the Crimson Rats Mercenary Group.


    Ismael was beyond excited to hear that news. This Mercenary Group was used of all sorts of crimes.


    For their arrest, the Kingdom has established a special prize. Aside from the mary prize, that individual would be entitled to a portion of the area around shire City.


    This was what Ismael was after.. He wanted that piece ofnd.


    Even though he possessed a very high official position in shire City, he didn''t have a lot of privatends.


    If he had arge amount of privatend, the Kari family would have overtaken the Zaraki Family by now.


    Ruben Kari was leading arge group of his father''s subordinates who belonged to the special forces of shire City''s security agency.


    The mercenaries he was going to kill were the same ones he had hired earlier.


    Since he would kill them all, no one of them could mention anything about Minos Zaraki''s death.


    After that, only a couple of individuals would remain who would know the truth about Minos Zaraki''s death. Ruben believed he had handled all of them.


    Sargan wasn''t going to betray him. So, Ruben expected that Sargan''srade wouldn''t betray him as well.


    As for the Array Master, Ruben held his lifeline in his hands. Ruben held too many of his secrets. So, there was no way the Array Master would even think of going against Ruben.


    When the mercenaries'' hideout was attacked by these warriors, the mercenaries fought with all their might.


    But how could they resist the might of trained warriors? Before the sun rose, the entire mercenaries hideout had been purged by Ruben and his warriors.


    Soon, they cut off the heads of all the members of his mercenary group and brought them to the bounty office.


    The rumors about this began to spread in the entire city.


    Ruben''s prestige increased immensely because of this event.


    Through this event, Ruben didn''t just manage to increase his prestige. He had purged the group that could reveal the information regarding Minos Zaraki''s death. Andstly, he had recovered the handsome reward he promised these individuals.


    He could now loan this amount back to the individuals and ask them to pay him when they could.


    The people who had taken a loan from him were surprised when they suddenly heard that he required arge sum. But they were happy that they had helped him at that moment.


    Now, Ruben was loaning them this amount without charging any rate of interest on his end.


    This was an unexpected boon for them, and they were extremely excited. However, Ruben asked them to keep this use a secret. If another person was told about it, this use would be terminated immediately.


    The Governor was growing worried for his child, who, ording to him, was on his way to the nearby vige and arrest that vicious criminal.


    A week passed. Yet, there was no news from his son.


    He then asked some of his guards to contact their friends. However, it turned out to be a fruitless endeavor as well.


    He knew that something wrong must have happened to his child. There was no way his child wouldn''t contact him after reaching the vige.


    He decided to talk to some of his contacts in that vige. And from them, he found out that his child, Minos, and his guards never reached the vige.


    ''<em>Someone must have got to him on the way. But who can it be?</em>'' He wondered while thinking deeply about it.


    ''<em>Their motive isn''t to gain money. Otherwise, they would have ckmailed me by now. Since the assants have remained silent, that means their target was Minos all along.</em>'' The Governor thought as he had a headache.


    His son has made several errors. And figuring out who this assant was based on the fact that he had a grudge against Minos was not narrowing the screen in the slightest.


    ''<em>They didn''t kill him, right?</em>'' The Governor wondered as he clenched his fist. He was most afraid of this possibility.


    However, he slowly reassured himself by thinking ''<em>No. They won''t dare to kill him. I need to figure out where they captured him.''</em>


    His subordinates were now searching if there was something weird on the way. However, they found nothing.


    Naturally, this was all because Sargan and Ruben had been prepared for this situation and cleaned all pieces of true evidence.


    And the shreds of evidence that remained behind would lead these individuals to some other person''s house.


    These individuals were, in reality, some close allies of the Governor.


    Even though the Governor wouldn''t tear the treaties with these families, their rtionship was bound to turn frosty.


    The Governor would be investigating them since he would be suspicious of them for his son''s death.


    It would be impossible to persuade the Governor unless they could offer alibis of every member of their family.


    There was also the Misty Flower Pavilion and Sargan''s informants to fan the mes. Thus, the Zaraki Family''s power was decreasing.


    Since the other families were breaking contact with the Zaraki Family, they chose the other family with simr prestige and power as the Zaraki Family, the Kari Family.


    Ismael was smiling from ear to ear as he invited these individuals inside. Their talks continued for nearly 4 hours. But the basic terms had been decided.


    The detailed conditions would be decidedter. At the least, a foundation of their cooperation had been nted.


    This all urred due to Ruben Kari. Ismael was much more relieved to leave the Kari family to Ruben.


    As for Yrellea and Sargan, now that Minos Zaraki was out of the picture. The Governor''s focus would be diverted to figuring out his son''s perpetrator.


    Sargan had already prepared those false leads. While the Governor was investigating them, he asked Yrellea to set up another branch of Misty Flower Pavilion in another city.


    The next time, she had to do something simr. However, it would be a lot simpler. They might now point to shire City''s Misty Flower Pavilion as an example.


    shire City''s Misty Flower Pavilion had worked wonderfully. It could definitely work in other cities as well.


    Meanwhile, Sargan also had to expand his scope of information. Just shire City was too small aspared to the Glerian Kingdom.


    Thus, Sargan decided to leave shire City as well.


    The next city Yrellea chose to set up the Misty Flower Pavilion was Veninza City.


    She heard from Laura that her master Azaroth was in this city. Azaroth also mentioned that it would be best if she set up her next branch in this city.


    Noah, Laura, and Ralph possessed great prestige in this city. It would be extremely easy to make the Misty Flower Pavilion famous. The three just had to visit it every day with their followers.


    ~~


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 Chapter 297 - Edwins Secret Deal

    Within the Sinyalian Kingdom, Edwin was developing the herbs and town nicely. The town was finally self-sufficient in terms of food.


    The major cause for this was the enormous growth in agriculture. Edwin was exporting food while importing weapons inrge quantities on the pretext of raising an army to protect the Kloras Town.


    The Kloras Town was right next to a forest that possessed arge number of beasts. It was only natural that this town had to possess a strong military might to restrain those beasts.


    This was the deal on the surface. In reality, Edwin was smuggling those weapons to none other than the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Nearly 3 days ago, Edwin was seated in his office, checking out the various reports from different departments of his town.


    He received 5 guests who were of suspicious origin.. When the guards informed Edwin that they wished to meet him, Edwin decided to entertain them.


    Their Ardor was different from a standard individual in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    While Edwin and Azaroth stayed in two different kingdoms, they had noticed something strange.


    The citizens of each kingdom would possess an Aura trademark to their respective Kingdom.


    Like, the Glerian Kingdom''s citizens possessed an aura that appeared to be overwhelming when sensed by some foreigners. This would make the other person think that the man ahead of them is nothing but a brute. Which was true in most cases.


    For the Sinyalian Kingdom, the citizens would give off a calm aura that concealed their sharpness.


    As for the people from the Lamhilhan Theocracy, they gave off a holy aura.


    Azaroth was quite sensitive to this holy aura. In his previous life, those individuals possessing this aura woulde to hunt him.


    However, the situation was different. These individuals belonging to the Lamhilhan Theocracy hade to strike a deal with him.


    Now, Edwin had two options. One was to inform the authorities of the Sinyalian Kingdom about this faction that wanted to smuggle the goods to the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Basically, let the Kingdom deal with these people. Or¡­ He could actually strike a deal with these people and profit from it.


    ording to what Edwin understood, someone among the higher-ups had died within the Lamhilhan Theocracy. And a massive battle was going tomence in the Lamhilhan Theocracy to fill that power vacuum.


    <em>''Wouldn''t it be great if I could include the Lamhilhan Theocracy in the war raging between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom?''</em>


    Edwin had mixed feelings about it. He didn''t know a lot of details regarding this Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Moreover, if they had a Royal Family that possessed the power of fate, it might make things even trickier for Edwin or Azaroth.


    However, Edwin believed that there was no danger in making a bargain with these people. At the very least, the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s factions would be incensed, and there would be a tense warlike scenario.


    Azaroth and his retainers seeded in slowly increasing the tension between the different sects and factions within the Glerian Kingdom.


    Edwin had aplished the same in the Sinyalian Kingdom. And with this deal, they could establish a foundation in the Lamhilhan Theocracy as well.


    Thus, Edwin struck a deal with these individuals.


    Their demands were extremely simple. They would buy those weapons at 1.5 times the market price.


    This would allow Edwin to garnerrge profits in return for this risky deal.


    Naturally, this wasn''t the end of Edwin''s demands. He also asked for 100 warriors at the 4 Star Rank.


    Edwin''s demand caught those people off guard. They debated it for a couple of hours before telling Edwin that they were in agreement.


    In reality, Edwin didn''t have a particr task for these 4 Star Warriors. He was just wondering about the strength of this faction.


    Since these individuals could give away a hundred 4 Star Warriors just to strike a deal with a Town Lord of an enemy kingdom, that meant they had more than thousands of 4 Star Warriors working under them.


    ''<em>So, I am dealing with the government of the Lamhilhan Theocracy.</em>'' Edwin deeply thought while staring at these individuals.


    However, he further thought ''<em>Why would the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s Government pay such a heavy price to strike a deal with a mere Town Lord. Do they know about my true identity?''</em>


    Edwin soon thought of a reason as this question appeared in his head ''<em>No. There''s a chance I''m not the only one they''re trying to reach out to. In reality, they must be contemting approaching other towns and cities close their border, from where they may easily smugglemodities.''</em>


    A scheming smile appeared on Edwin''s face as he understood the situation.


    "Just give me twenty 4 Star Warriors. In return, I want thend in the Lamhilhan Theocracy. You understand what I mean, right?" Edwin asked with a devious smile on his face.


    The individuals from the Lamhilhan Theocracy were astonished to hear this demand. Their faces paled as they stared at that devious look on Edwin''s face.


    One of them still managed to retain hisposure and respond calmly, "We don''t possess enough authority to promise you a part of the territory of our Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    "¡­How surprising that even the Government of the Lamhilhan Theocracy doesn''t possess such power. Maybe I need to have a talk with my father about it. He could help probably help me a lot in getting what I want, right?" Edwin asked that question with that same devious smile as before.


    These individuals from Lamhilhan Theocracy knew that Edwin was the young master of the Rhodes House.


    If his father, the head of the Rhodes House, came to know about this deal, there was no telling what he might do.


    He might capture them or actually attack the Lamhilhan Theocracy to take advantage of this situation.


    They couldn''t allow Edwin to inform his father about this information.


    One of them gritted his teeth while speaking out, "Alright! We promise you and that is asrge as this town! Are you happy now?!"


    Thatst sentence was spoken with an incensed tone.


    How could he not be incensed? The man was giving up his own town to Edwin just so this deal could remain a secret.


    These individuals were thinking ''<em>We shouldn''t havee here to strike a deal with him.''</em>


    Meanwhile, Edwin was smiling widely as he received such arge territory within the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    "Hand over the documents, the official seal along with those twenty 4 Star Warriors, and you got yourself a deal," Edwin spoke seriously.


    "¡­Very well." These individuals whispered those words and left the office as soon as possible.


    Once they were a bit farther away from the Kloras Town, a burly-looking guy from that group was shouting at a rather timid-looking guy of that same group.


    "Didn''t you say he was nothing special and his family didn''t focus a lot on him? It was nothing like the reports you had on this guy! That confident expression and that devious smirk! He seemed like a thousand-year-old monster who was nning to eat us whole."


    None of the other group members stopped this burly guy from shouting at the timid guy. They were all too shocked at what had transpired in the meeting.


    "I don''t know what happened. Maybe a transformation after we stopped observing him," The timid-looking guy spoke softly.


    The burly guy immediately stomped the ground angrily as he spoke, "We lost a lot in just negotiating with this guy. I hope it''s worth the cost."


    "It will be. As long as we have the Supreme Pontiff on our side, all losses would be recovered swiftly." Another guy spoke, reassuring hisrades.


    ~~


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 Chapter 298 - The Entire Truth

    Edwin received the twenty 4 Star Warriors and the official seal and papers of the territory in Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Edwin created a recruiting program for soldiers. All the people below the age of 15 were eligible for this training program.


    These 4 Star Warriors were going to train those new recruits. They were going to drill discipline and exercise within them.


    Meanwhile, he also teleported that official seal and papers to Azaroth. Edwin felt that it would be better for Azaroth to hold onto them.


    A copy of those two objects had already been created, so Edwin would have no issue utilizing the territory he had acquired.


    Meanwhile, within the Royal Pce of the Sinyalian Kingdom, an individual wearingpletely white-colored clothing was seated on the throne..


    The Lion''s Character was imprinted on his clothing as he stared at the individual who knelt in front of him.


    It was a warrior wearing a Fox Mask. Naturally, this was none other than the Inquisitor Fox, Shun Gordon.


    "Your Majesty, it''s time to confront your son''s murderer," Shun spoke with a serious voice.


    The King didn''t seem pleased as he heard that sentence. He asked with a visible frown on his face, "In all these years of your service, I have never once asked a reason for your actions. Even when you asked me to not hunt Edwin Rhodes, I listened to you and stayed my hand even though this man is my son''s murderer!"


    "However, I admit that my patience has reached its limits. Why did you not allow me to deal with Edwin Rhodes? Tell me the truth now!" The King''s voice resounded in that hall.


    Fortunately, there were only two individuals in the Hall. One was the King, and the other was Shun Gordon.


    Shun was wearing a mask, so the King had no idea what his facial expression was. Whether he was worried or calm right now.


    But soon, Shun Gordon spoke out with his calm voice, "I didn''t mention this reasoning to Your Majesty before because it wouldplicate the situation. Both for Your Majesty and for the entire Kingdom."


    "I was also not sure just how wide Edwin Rhodes''swork was. It had been muchrger than I expected. And now, I have an idea of what thiswork is and how we should deal with it," Shun Gordon spoke with a confident tone.


    The King was interested in hearing the details. He never realized that Edwin was such a big deal.


    "Your Majesty, do you remember that Royal Elf Princess who escaped from the Silent Death Organization''s clutches?" Shun asked the King.


    "Naturally, I do. But what does that have anything to do with it?" The King responded with a confused expression.


    "Edwin Rhodes is the one who freed this Royal Elf Princess and has sent her somewhere else," Shun responded.


    He then further asked another question, "Does Your Majesty remembered that Emperor Ranked Beast Egg?"


    The King nodded to his question. Shun then added, "It was stolen by this Edwin Rhodes as well."


    Shun wasn''t done, though. He continued, "This man is also a 5 Star Array Master roaming in all parts of the Sinyalian Kingdom. I am sure Your Majesty has heard of Dark Shadow''s name. This is Edwin Rhodes''s Alias."


    "He is also the one who instigated the battle between the Radiant Church and the Roger Dukedom. I don''t know how but he has gained stable control over the Walsh Dukedom. Perhaps he struck a deal with the Duchess of the Walsh Dukedom, but there is no doubt that he has great control over the Walsh Dukedom."


    "He has a strong connection with your Royal Guard Captain''s daughter. My guess is that it''s a romantic connection. ording to what I have heard and observed, the girl is fully intoxicated with him," Shun spoke.


    "I don''t know why he killed Bernado or how he killed him. How he found out that Bernado was alone in his mansion and so on. But since he killed him, he must have had a deeper motive. His attack on the 5th Princeter only proved my hypothesis. He wanted to make you and the Crown Prince against each other," Shun finally finished speaking.


    "¡­I understand that this man is much more mysterious than I ever expected. So, what is his secret? I am sure you know about it," The King looked straight into Shun''s eyes.


    "¡­Yes. But I believe you need to prepare yourself. His identity is far beyond what you might expect," Shun responded while staring back into the King''s eyes.


    The King was startled to hear those words and began to wonder about Edwin''s true identity. Was he a spy of some other Kingdom? A reputed warrior? Or a Royal Family Member of another kingdom.


    Shun took a deep breath as he spoke, "His true identity is that of a Demon God from millions of years ago who has reincarnated into Edwin Rhodes''s Body."


    Stomp!


    "WHAAT?!" The King couldn''t help but yell out with all his might!


    "It''s exactly what you have heard, Your Majesty. His abilities, his power, and his intelligence, most of them arepletely unknown to us. I was hesitating to take action against him because there was no telling what he might do if he was forced into a corner," Shun spoke with a solemn expression.


    "In thesest couple of months, other than managing my territory, I had made it my personal mission to stop him! I investigated and analyzed all his movements. I have been creating my counter n to stop him as well. Thus, it took a little longer than I expected."


    "The main issue for me was how to deal with the Walsh Dukedom without reducing the Sinyalian Kingdom''s strength. I don''t wish to make the Sinyalian Kingdom weaker than before," Shun spoke solemnly.


    "What is the solution you thought of?" The King slowly recovered from his shock and asked Shun.


    Shun replied with a cold look in his eyes, "Assassinate the entire bloodline of the Walsh Dukedom down to thest child."


    Even the King was shocked to hear those words. It would be a massacre of one of the greatest Noble Houses in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Something that had never urred in their history!


    "The entire territory would be split into three parts. Thergest part would be recovered by the Kingdom. It would be best to let the Crown Prince handle it. While the other two smaller parts should be handed over to the Rhodes House and the Roger Dukedom," Shun spoke solemnly.


    The King had no issue giving thergest territory to David and a smaller territory to the Roger Dukedom. However, he was curious why Shun mentioned the Rhodes House.


    Shun noticed that the King wanted an exnation and spoke out, "There is one other than me who knows of Edwin Rhodes''s true identity. It''s Jonas Rhodes. The two of us realized Edwin''s identity at the same time, so he naturally knows about it."


    "And while I was investigating and analyzing Edwin''s movements, he and the Rhodes House assisted me greatly. I believe he deserves a reward for his efforts," Shun added.


    "I see¡­ You are indeed right. The two of you have realized a massive threat to the kingdom and have dealt with it without letting the enemy know. Very well, this can be the reward for the Rhodes House. I will need to think of an official reason, though," The King spoke while massaging his temples.


    Shun sincerely spoke, "Thank you, Your Majesty."


    The King ignored those words and asked him, "I understand the gravity of the situation. So, what is the timing you chose to confront him?"


    The King received a swift response from Shun, "Two weekster."


    ~~


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 Chapter 299 - The Sixth Prince

    Around this moment, Tiana was preparing for her semi-finals. She had a solemn expression when she found out about her next opponent.


    It was the 6th Prince of the Glerian Kingdom, the man leading the Red Crown Sect.


    Among the final four individuals of the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament, one was Tiana. While two were from the Red Crown Sect, and the final one belonged to the Night Mountain Sect.


    Tiana was a dark horse for the crowd. She came from a mysterious and unknown background, yet she had ovee Christina, one of the tournament''s powerhouses.


    The crowd was unsure whether Tiana could ovee the 6th Prince as she defeated Christina.


    Even the 6th Prince was unsure of how he should fight against Tiana. He had witnessed her battle against Christina..


    He was confident in the fight against Christina even after the Golden Crow within her had taken over.


    But he knew he couldn''t overwhelm Christina in the same way Tiana did. At the very least, his existing abilities would preclude him from achieving a sweeping victory over Christina.


    Thus, the 6th Prince was rather worried about his battle against Tiana.


    Naturally, he had no idea that it was Azaroth who lent his energy to Tiana that allowed her to achieve that sweeping victory against Christina.


    His retainers were also worried about their young lord. It was necessary for the 6th Prince to win this Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament.


    That is if the 6th Prince wished to have any chance of inheriting the throne.


    "Should we go and threaten that woman? To give way to young master?" One of the 6th Prince''s retainers suggested.


    The other retainers considered it for a few seconds, "Would the threat work in intimidating her? This woman is Christina''s bosom friend. She would probably mention this to Christina. And if that woman found out about it, there is no doubt that she is going to raise hell for us or at least our young lord."


    "True. Her influence among the Royal Princes isn''t small. The second and third princes are her dogs. She throws candy, and they happy run after it," Another individual within their group spoke with a sneer.


    "You should tone it down a notch. It''s possible that if someone else hears about it, they''ll let them know. If the second and third princes wish to deal with you, they can do so in a variety of ways," Another individual in their group advised that guy who was speaking too loudly and provocatively.


    "You should listen to him, Gerd. You may suffer badly because of those words," A cold voice was heard, one that made all these individuals experience goosebumps.


    When these individuals stared in that direction, they couldn''t help but stand up and speak out with a startled and respected look on their faces, "Your Highness!"


    The individual who had entered was the sixth prince of the Glerian Kingdom. The one who was going to fight against Tiana soon.


    "Don''t take any stupid actions. By that, I mean don''t threaten that woman," The sixth prince spoke as he entered the room.


    He sat on an empty sofa and then ordered his retainers, "Sit."


    His retainers obeyed him and sat on their respective seats. One of them was rather nervous and asked the sixth prince, "We never realized that His Highness was right here."


    "Hmm. I can see that," The Sixth Prince responded with a snort. He then spoke out, "I have gauged her strength. It''s nothing too impressive if we ignore that sudden boost she received against Christina."


    "And if we do use that mysterious energy?" One of his retainers couldn''t help but ask.


    "It should be a close match. I can''t say for sure. I noticed that Tiana couldn''t handle that energy as well. Her body was trembling when the battle ended. The strain must have been great for her body," The Sixth Prince spoke.


    "That''s relieving," One of his retainers spoke.


    "¡­Did you talk to those individuals I told you about?" The Sixth Prince suddenly asked his retainers.


    "Yes. We gave them your offer. Seven of them have already agreed and signed the contract, while 14 of them have given verbal agreements, and 30 are still unsure. They want more time to think about it," One of the sixth prince''s retainers in the room responded.


    "I see. That''s good enough for now. Make sure to record their personal information. If they are choosing someone else, I must know whose faction it is," The sixth prince ordered coldly.


    "As youmand, your highness."


    The Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament was an opportunity for various factions to flourish, just as it was a stage for sects to show off their superiority and provide exposure to the talents they possessed.


    The sixth prince was attempting to grow his faction. His faction might readily grow if it included several well-known figures.


    He had already created a list of those individuals and asked his retainers to approach them.


    The number of people who epted his proposal was a lot lesspared to his expectation.


    However, he knew that his fight against Tiana could make many of them change their minds. If his power made them believe that he had the potential to truly strive for the throne, they would ept his proposal.


    Or else, it was best to try their hand somewhere else. They didn''t have to enter into a political struggle between the princes.


    It would be far more hassle than it would be worth.


    Many warriors would try to stay clear of any political struggle. It would normally destroy the lives ofmon warriors or their families.


    "Tomorrow''s battle would decide everything. I might need to use my Greed Jade de," The sixth prince whispered.


    The Green Jade de was his trusted Halberd that allowed him to defeat many strong warriors. It boosted his energy and further enhanced his fighting style.


    The sixth prince was better in fighting with this Green Jade de than with his bare fists.


    "Should we start charging it?" One of his retainers inquired about it. The immense strength contained within this Green Jade de has essentially stored energy.


    The sixth prince spoke out solemnly, "I will charge it myself."


    The Green Jade de could be charged by any fighter, but the boost would berger if the warrior who would wield it charged it.


    Since the sixth prince was nning to charge it, it showed that he was utterly serious about fighting against Tiana.


    He was going to use all his strength to win against her.


    In the meantime, Tiana had gone to meet with Christina, who was waiting for her.


    Tiana was somewhat speechless as she had no idea what she should say. Azaroth''s interference was absolutely unexpected for her.


    But now, she thought that maybe he didn''t want her to be eliminated before reaching the semi-finals or finals of this tournament. Thus, he interfered. But how could she tell Christina about this?


    Fortunately for Tiana, Christina spoke out after some time while rubbing the back of her head, "¡­Hehe. I didn''t know you held your master''s energy. I guess we were even. Without using our trump cards, you were slightly stronger than me, so I can ept the result."


    Tiana raised her brow as she heard that sentence, "What? How did you know about that?"


    "I met him. He was there in my mind," Christina spoke and then began to inform Tiana of the entire story.


    ~~


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 Chapter 300 - The Eight Great Groups

    Noah was roaming around in the Crarian Forest with his group.


    The other individuals in the Crarian Forest had realized just how great of a threat Noah posed to them.


    Even if his personal strength was excluded, his group was sorge, and each individual warrior was powerful enough to hold his own against a warrior from the top sects.


    And if Noah''s personal strength was included, he was nearly unbeatable.


    Not just these disciples, even the King, and his ministers thought the same. Within the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament, they had never witnessed such domination by a single group.


    Normally, the battles between the groups within this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament would be evened out. Even if a group was exceptional, their group leader would still need to struggle against the Dragon''s Prestige and its pressure.


    In a battle, these group leaders couldn''t disy their full power in this location.. Moreover, the groups couldn''t be toorge since the group leaders had to safeguard their group members from the Dragon''s Prestige.


    If they had too many group members, the Dragon''s Prestige would destroy the group leader.


    However, Noah was different. He was capable of directly ignoring the Dragon''s Prestige. So, there was no limit to the number of members he could bring under his control.


    There were Eight Great Groups in this tournament that remain right now. The rest were small groups that weren''t worth mentioning for them.


    Noah''s squad was unquestionably the most powerful. The Heretical Pdins. There were 245 of them.


    The next squad belonged to the Fourth Prince''s Faction. The fourth prince was naturally the one whose body had been taken over by the Demon named ck Hurricane.


    He had developed a rather impressive faction till now. Its name was ''The Gold Warthogs.''


    He had asked them to participate in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament since a victory for his faction in this tournament would allow him to achieve his motive.


    It was said that the winner of this tournament could demand anything from the Glerian Kingdom''s Treasury.


    There was a precious treasure within the Glerian Kingdom''s treasury that he urgently required.


    However, even with his identity as a Royal Prince of the Glerian Kingdom, he couldn''t demand that thing.


    Only if he ascended the throne could he get that thing. Or he could demand that thing if he won this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    Naturally, this rule did not apply to every individual.


    This was only known to the Royal Family and applicable only to them.


    The Glerian Kingdom wasn''t stupid. They won''t create such a rule that would make them pass a precious treasure to an unknown warrior of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Thus, even if someone else won the tournament, the fourth prince wasn''t worried about that thingnding up in someone else''s hands.


    The King had kept it in his treasury because he wanted to use it on himself. But the thing was too powerful for him. There was no way he could use it in the short term.


    In fact, ck Hurricane was doubtful whether the King could ever reach the Emperor Realm to utilize that thing on himself.


    Currently, this Gold Warthogs was arge faction with 130 members.


    The third-strongest faction in this forest belonged to the Second Prince. Its name was The Brown Boar Crew.


    The leader of this gang was a brown-skinned guy with average features. But his physique disyed that he was stronger than an average individual.


    He was, in reality, a demi-human with a beast''s blood. The Bloodline was of a Geo Hog.


    It possessed an impressive Earth Elemental Wild Boar''s ability.


    As the second prince''s subordinate, he had been treated very greatly since the start. He possessed wealth, resources, and even the talent to serve under a Royal Prince.


    For that reason, he had been chosen to lead a group of warriors to participate in this tournament.


    The Royal Princes were forbidden to participate in this tournament. Even though it was urring in the King''s and the Minister''s scrutiny, they couldn''t safeguard someone''s life if they really wanted to.


    Even if they moved as soon as they noticed an incident, they would be veryte when they reached the scene.


    So, it was very risky for the Royal Princes to participate in such a tournament. Hence, the Royal Princes had been banned from this tournament.


    They could participate in the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament to prove their ability, though. There, the referee or the judge could at the least safeguard the participant''s life.


    It was clearly much safer than the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    Anyway, this was the third strongest faction in this entire tournament. This faction possessed 112 members.


    The leader of this faction had stopped after his faction held 112 members. He realized his fighting ability was greatly affected as he recruited even more members.


    It meant he had reached his limit. There was no point in increasing the numbers. The general power or the level of those warriors would remain the same.


    Instead, he wanted to maintain his personal strength. It would allow him to defeat the opposing army''s leader and end the battle against any other faction.


    This was a fine strategy. Most group leaders who were confident about their strengths preferred this strategy.


    The first prince''s faction didn''t participate in this tournament. He was somewhatzy to raise apetent squad for this tournament.


    Thus, the final five factions belonged to the sects.


    The Origin Sect. The Night Mountain Sect. The Red Crown Sect. The Stony Rock Sect. And the Vermillion Jade Sect.


    Naturally, there were more factions that remained until now, but these were the top eight factions that held at least 100 members.


    And Noah''s faction was the strongest that held 245 members.


    Aria''s faction could have also been among these top eight factions. But Noah had cut off her path.


    Currently, all the leaders of these Eight Factions had an overall idea about each other''s position. That much, they had explored the forest by now.


    Noah had tried to attack them, but their opponent would have packed up and fled by the time his faction reached them.


    They were willing to be hungry for the next couple of days and then search for supplies anew but didn''t dare tobat Noah''s faction.


    Just the numbers were enough to scare the heck out of them. Then the fact that each warrior was apetent warrior.


    They felt it was better to flee than to fight this faction. In a sense, Noah''s motive had been aplished.


    The Heretical Pdins had been deeply imprinted in their minds. These individuals wouldn''t forget it even if they wanted to.


    And currently, the leaders of the top eight factions, excluding Noah, were having a secret meeting together.


    A man named Casten Tarr stood up. This man was the leader of the Gold Warthogs. The faction was set up by the Fourth Prince.


    He addressed all the other leaders, "I am delighted to see that you all responded to my invitation to this meeting and have shown up here."


    "¡­I won''t waste all of your precious time and get straight to the topic. As stated in my letters, I invited you all so that we could discuss how we should deal with the Heretical Pdins and its somewhat abnormal leader," Casten Tarr spoke with a solemn expression.


    ~~


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 Chapter 301 - The Meeting

    The other group leaders heard Casten Tarr''s words and expressed their views on them.


    The leader of the Brown Boar Crew, us Behr, banged his palm on the table to gather everyone''s attention.


    The leaders of other gangs stared at him with a slightly dissatisfied expression. This was a roguish method to force everyone to focus on himself.


    us Behr ignored those dissatisfied looks and spoke, "I epted the invitation for this meeting to check out my opponents. I am not that interested in the Heretical Pdins. Unlike all of you, I do not fear them. I am confident in defeating their so-called invincible leader."


    The dissatisfied looks on everyone''s face converted into looks of disgust.


    The leader of the Night Mountain Sect''s gang was a woman named Luna Backhaus, "¡­And just that''s why brutes shouldn''t hold speaking rights.."


    "What did you say, woman?!" us Behr became incensed and angrily questioned her.


    "Exactly what you heard. Brute," Luna Backhaus calmly responded while staring in his direction.


    One would notice that she was even looking down on us Behr.


    This sort of gaze especially irritated us Behr. However, before he could take any action, a suppressive aura acted on the two.


    Luna and us both felt that suppressive aura and then turned their head towards the source of that aura.


    They noticed it was radiating from Casten Tarr. Even though he appeared calm on the surface, they understood he must be furious due to this dispute.


    "This meeting was called by me to discuss how we should handle the Heretical Pdins. Not to allow you to take personal digs at each other. If you want to continue this dispute, then feel free to leave. But if this urs another time, you will be answering to me," His calm voice sounded pretty intimidating.


    Luna snorted in response while us responded, "Whatever." us fell silent, knowing that irritating this man any further would be a horrible idea.


    The silence returned to this meeting room. Casten Tarr began speaking calmly, "Let''s talk about the first issue. The size of the Heretical Pdins. It has surpassed 240 warriors. In terms of pure numbers, they are nearly double the size of my gang."


    Casten Tarr''s words reminded everyone of how much of a threat the Heretical Pdins were to them.


    "Moreover, the ck Lake Sect''s representative, Aria, has surrendered to him and is assisting him in hunting other groups. If we don''t find a solution soon, their numbers will increase even more. Unlike us, the leader of this Heretical Pdins doesn''t seem to care about facing this Draconic Pressure," Casten Tarr informed them calmly.


    "Hmph. The ck Lake Sect deserves to be apuded. They act all high and mighty, but their disciples are merely cowards who fear death," Luna spoke with a voice full of malice.


    None of the heads spoke anything at those words. They were well aware of the friction between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect.


    Moreover, Luna and Aria knew each other personally. The two were rivals and hated each other down to their bones.


    If Luna sighted Aira, she would do her best to kill her, ignoring the consequences. Meanwhile, Aria was slightly calmer when facing Luna.


    However, she was quite irritated by the fact that she was constantly targeted by Luna. Thus, she had given up on all pretense and would attack her when she saw her.


    She had already realized that there was no point in acting nicely to Luna.


    "Whatever the case may be. It''s a fact that with her presence, our enemy has be even stronger. They have two top geniuses in a single group," The Origin Sect''s group leader spoke. This was Sakis Melelis.


    "¡­I met with the group leader of the Heretical Pdins before this tournamentmenced. From what I know, they belong to the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City," He revealed this information while maintaining a calm expression.


    "And? What is your opinion of him?" The Stony Rock Sect''s representative inquired curiously.


    Casten Tarr and the others exchanged nces with Sakis. It appeared as if they were pressuring him to talk.


    Sakis soon began to speak with a solemn and grave voice, "He is a little kid who doesn''t seem to be over 10 years old. Typically, there is no special aura around him. When I first saw him, I thought the Heretical Pdins were messing with me by telling me that he was their leader."


    "However, his aura transforms when he grabs his sword. His sharp aura just floods the area. I admit I even trembled in fear when I first sensed that aura," Sakis spoke.


    "If that was your entire aura, Casten Tarr, I can fairly say you don''t stand a chance against him in terms of aura. It was far more terrifying than yours," Sakis spoke while staring at Casten Tarr.


    Casten Tarr''s eyes narrowed slightly. He understood what Sakis wanted to say.


    Sakis wanted to suggest that Casten Tarr would definitely lose to Noah in a battle against him.


    Aura was a mixture of ability, confidence, and experience.


    Considering Noah''s young age, it was impossible for him to be more experienced in battles than them. However, this just demonstrated how confident he was in his abilities.


    Since itpletely overpowered Casten Tarr''s aura, their abilities were probably worlds apart.


    Casten Tarr didn''t get angry even at this revtion from Sakis. Instead, he smiled and responded calmly, "Personally, this was half of my aura. But if the difference between our aura''s strength was so great, then I might lose to him in terms of aura. However, I won''t lose so easily in a battle."


    us added at this moment with an arrogant voice, "Hmph. Even if Casten can''t deal with him, I can."


    No one gave those words a second thought and ignored them right away.


    "But it''s interesting, isn''t it? To know that this young man is from an Origin Sect Branch. Since he is so amazing, he should have been leading the Origin Sect''s representatives," It was the Stony Rock Sect''s representative who spoke those words.


    Naturally, these words could be considered incredibly disrespectful towards Sakis. It seemed to suggest that he didn''t deserve this spot. Which was true in a way.


    "Due to some reason, he didn''t participate in thepetition we held to choose our representatives," Sakis responded with a monotonous tone.


    The Stony Rock Sect attempted to rile up Sakis, but he didn''t expect him to respond calmly.


    He knew he shouldn''t taunt him any further lest Casten Tarr would be irritated.


    "Our enemy is strong. Both in terms of individual strength and his numbers. We need to join hands to deal with him," Casten Tarr spoke with a serious expression.


    us responded almost immediately, "My group won''t be joining any group. As I said earlier, I am here to gauge my opponents. I am not scared of Heretical Pdins. If they get in my way, I will extinguish them!"


    Casten Tarr didn''t mind that response. All these were group leaders. They were naturally going to choose the option they felt was best for their group.


    "My group will have a temporary alliance with yours, Casten Tarr. But only because I want to deal with this Heretical Pdins and that hateful Aria," Luna responded.


    Casten Tarr happily responded, "You won''t regret this decision. Anyone else?" He questioned while looking around and staring at the faces of other group leaders.


    "I am willing to forge a temporary alliance with your group, Casten Tarr," Sakis spoke.


    In this manner, out of seven individuals here, two had already joined Casten Tarr.


    One was dead set on not making any alliance so he could be considered neutral.


    The final three group leaders belonged to the Red Crown Sect, Vermillion Jade Sect, and the Stony Rock Sect.


    The Red Crown Sect''s group leader, Karsten Wenzel, spoke up at this moment, "Just forming an alliance with a single group won''t be a good idea."


    "Since the Night Mountain Sect and the Origin Sect''s groups have already joined Casten Tarr''s group, yourbined group is strong enough to deal with the Heretical Pdins."


    "My group will form a temporary alliance with the Stony Rock Sect and the Vermillion Jade Sect. In this manner, we won''t just focus on the Heretical Pdins and can still battle against each other. After all, we are ultimately rivals, not allies, and we should keep such difference between us," Karsten Wenzel spoke.


    ~~


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 Chapter 302 - Surprise

    The group leaders of the Stony Rock Sect and Vermillion Jade Sect epted Karsten Wenzel''s offer.


    In fact, not just them but the other group leaders found this offer quite reasonable.


    Casten Tarr was calm on the surface, but internally, he was fuming. Karsten Wenzel was just making things difficult for him.


    Casten Tarr had arranged this conference to discuss Noah and his gang and establish himself as the de facto head of an alliance with all of these group leaders from different factions and sects.


    However, Karsten Wenzel had managed to split this conference into two parts. Casten Tarr''s potential influence had shrunk.


    The even more frustrating thing was that there was no logical counter to Karsten Wenzel''s argument.


    With a heavy heart, Casten Tarr spoke out, "¡­I agree.."


    He had no choice but to agree because there was no logical rebuttal to that assertion. Otherwise, Luna and Sakis would think of him as a narrow-minded individual, lowering their regard for him.


    That was out of the question for him. He had no choice but to grab everything he could. Otherwise, his master would be dissatisfied with his performance.


    His prime motive had remained unchanged. ording to him, only Noah stood in his way of winning this event.


    They suddenly heard shouts from outside the tent where they were sitting.


    Casten Tarr and all the individuals turned in the direction. They knew that it came from their subordinates.


    "What is happening? Didn''t you order your subordinates to remain calm?" Casten Tarr spoke with a frown.


    "Speak for yourself. My subordinates won''t raise such a ruckus without a good reason," us spoke with an irritated expression.


    He recognized a few shouts. Those shouts belonged to his subordinates, and thus hisplexion was especially ugly.


    A guy ripped the tarpaulin as he was being hurled into the tent.


    Luna raised her hand and controlled the wind currents to soften the blow for this guy.


    "Just what is going on?" Casten Tarr inquired as he stared at that man and then at the hole in the tarpaulin.


    He did have a faint idea of what was going on. But it was far too unbelievable for him to believe.


    Three more guys were thrown inside the tent at the same time. Luna, as well as all of the gang leaders, backed away from their ces this time, ripping the canvas and exiting the tent.


    Once they left the tent, they looked around to find out what was going on.


    Their surroundings shocked them greatly. All of them noticed their group members fighting against another unfamiliar group.


    When Luna turned to look around, she realized that a number of her subordinates had been frozen. This sensation was so familiar to her that it caused her hair to stand up in rage.


    "<strong>Aria!!!</strong>" She shouted in rage as she rushed towards the location Aria was fighting.


    Her speed was boosted by the Wind Currents around her as she rushed towards Aria.


    Aria soon noticed Luna, but she was back to fighting with the warriors around her. This tant disregard from Aria angered Luna even more.


    She drew her Sword and wrapped it in Wind Rings. Those Wind Rings whirled around her de at breakneck speed.


    As Luna was rushing towards Aria with her top speed, she sensed an oppressive aura in her way.


    This aura was so powerful and oppressive that it caused her toe to aplete halt and stare in the direction from where it emanated.


    She turned to face a little boy holding a sword that was longer than his arm.


    He brandished his sword and sent a sh in her direction filled with Sword Qi and Pure Ardor.


    Luna''s subordinates noticed this Sword sh heading towards their leader. They immediately jumped in front of this Sword sh, attacking it with their strongest defensive skills.


    Unfortunately, the Sword sh still pierced through their bodies. Its power had diminished a bit, but Luna still got the feeling that it would be best if she didn''t take it head-on.


    However, it was impossible to get out of the way in time. The sh was quite wide in range.


    She brandished her sword and took a step back as the sh struck her sword.


    A Wind Ring was whirling around her sword. It shed against that Sword sh and soon directed it a bit away from Luna''s direction.


    The Sword sh passed above Luna''s head, cutting off a few of her hair strands.


    Luna''s heart was thumping wildly as she realized that she had barely survived this sword sh. If not for her subordinates sacrificing themselves to block this attack, she couldn''t have sessfully redirected away from this Sword sh.


    "Y-You are?" She inquired, her voice trembling, as she was genuinely scared at the moment. This was the first time she was so close to death.


    It would take some time for her to handle this shock.


    Noah hadn''t heard her voice because it was too faint. In fact, her presence felt rather weak now, and he changed his target.


    His next target was us Behr.


    us Behr had returned to his subordinates'' side and discovered that Noah and his subordinates had cut and beaten them ck and blue.


    He was furious and wanted revenge. us Behr immediately charged in Noah''s direction to make him pay for what he did to his subordinates.


    Among all the groups, his subordinates had suffered the most damage. It would suggest that his group was the weakest among those gathered here.


    The reality was actually somewhat different.


    Each of these groups had set up their camp in a particr direction. And the direction from which Noah began attacking them was coincidentally the direction where us Behr had set up his camp.


    Thus, his side suffered the most damage as they were Noah and his subordinates'' first opponents.


    Soon, the battle escted, and all the groups were involved.


    us Behr brandished his mace as he attacked Noah. It was a Grey Colored Mace with spikes on it.


    Noah raised his sword and blocked that mace''s path. He stared at us emotionlessly and used more Sword Qi to cut apart his Mace.


    Sparks were released as Noah''s sword managed to pierce the Mace a little. us frowned as he realized the threat Noah posed.


    He used all his strength to pick the Mace and sent a kick in Noah''s direction.


    Noah shifted his position as he wielded his sword, intending to sever us''s leg, which was about to kick him.


    us realized the threat from Noah but still continued with his attack.


    Surprisingly, Noah''s sword could not sever us'' leg when it collided with his kick.


    Noah sensed Earth Chakra being utilized. But this was somewhat different from the standard Earth Chakra.


    It was much more powerful and resilient.


    Suddenly, us'' leg bloated up, and us lifted Noah with that leg effortlessly. In terms of pure power, us was much stronger than Noah.


    He thenunched Noah into the air. When Noah was flung into the air, us first re-sized his leg before bending down and leaping into the air to strike Noah with his Mace.


    Currently, there was a brown aura around his body and Mace that contained pure Earth Elemental Energy.


    Noah was still in mid-air, trying to regain his bnce while us hade to attack him ruthlessly.


    Noah ced his sword in his sheath and then looked for us. In a couple of seconds, he found us and smirked while gripping his sword''s handle tightly.


    ~~


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 Chapter 303 - Cutting Down The Numbers

    "<strong>Quick Draw and Slice!</strong>" Noah used a skill to quickly pull out his sword from his sheathe and slice us''s entire body.


    us''s entire body was covered by that Brown Ardor. He was confident in taking on this attack from Noah.


    However, a strong shockwave suddenly struck us and flung him away.


    us waspletely startled, and he was quite furious. He wondered just whounched this attack at him.


    When he looked in that direction, he saw it was Casten Tarr.


    Soon, usnded on the ground and rushed towards Casten Tarr with a quick dash. There was a furious look on his face..


    He sent a lot of energy within his arms and prepared to strike Casten Tarr with them.


    Casten Tarr clenched his fist and then threw a punch in us''s direction. A high-pressured air punch wasunched by him, and it struck us''s body.


    This forcefully slowed him down. When us slowed down, Casten Tarr decided to exin his actions, "If I didn''t push you out of the way, you would be dead by now."


    "I know what I am doing! If you didn''t push me out of the way, I would have had his head by now!" us responded with an irritated voice.


    He then stomped the ground strongly while speaking, "Do not attempt that anymore. Otherwise, you will regret it."


    Casten Tarr was already feeling quite a bit of regret. He felt that it should have been better if he had let Noah kill this guy.


    It was indeed impossible to convince a stupid guy that he was doing something for his benefit.


    Naturally, Noah noticed how the two of them had gathered and were talking. There was some friction between them.


    He moved towards Casten Tarr at a high pace. This man had just saved us from his death. If he was left alive, he could save others as well.


    It was necessary to deal with him first. Noah''s entire body was surging with Sword Qi and Pure Wind Ardor.


    His speed was already fairly high, but it had been boosted by a few levels when he used his Wind Ardor.


    "<strong>Heaven Rending Stance!</strong>" Noah decided to use this stance to deal with Casten Tarr.


    Reddish-colored energy was released from Noah''s sword as he used this skill. Now, Noah was so proficient in this skill that he could use it in any posture.


    Even if he was sprinting and shifting his stance, he could still use this technique without difficulty.


    It was due to his high talent and experience. This was how much he had utilized this technique.


    Meanwhile, Casten Tarr prepared to meet that attack while holding his spear tightly andunching quick thrusts in Noah''s direction.


    This was <strong>Hundred Thrusts of the Sea God</strong>.


    Casten Tarr couldn''t throw out a hundred thrusts within a matter of a few seconds, but the purpose of this technique was to make its user reach that level.


    Casten Tarr could barely release 30 thrusts at Noah within 2 seconds.


    Noah easily deflected those thrusts while moving forward and maintaining the Heaven Rending Stance skill on his sword. The reddish aura was just growing stronger each time he deflected Casten Tarr''s spear thrust.


    The pace and the power behind his thrust were increasing slowly. If Casten Tarr was allowed to continue on, he could begin to overpower Noah.


    Unfortunately for Casten Tarr, he was now in Noah''s range.


    Noah brandished his sword and utilized that Heaven Rending Stance to sh Casten Tarr''s entire body!


    Casten Tarr raised his spear to block Noah''s attack, but it was unfortunate that even though his spear was quite precious, it wasn''t durable enough.


    Noah''s sword filled with Pure Sword Qi while utilizing the Heaven Rending Stance managed to pierce his Spear!


    Noah had been prepared for Casten Tarr to try and protect his body and had utilized a skill that couldn''t be blocked by someone of his caliber.


    A warrior would require the Triquetra Ardor or something simr to properly defend against this technique.


    Unfortunately, Casten Tarr possessed no such power. Noah''s de reached his arms and sliced one of them quite easily.


    Casten Tarr experienced unbearable pain when his arm was sliced away. However, he remained at his spot while shouting, "Attack him now!"


    Noah didn''t even have the moment to turn around when two warriors appeared around him. One struck his chest while the other struck his back.


    These two were Sakis and the Vermillion Jade Sect''s Gang leader. They struck Noah''s body at the same time.


    Till now, they had been building up power and preparing their strongest attack.


    For Sakis, it was his sect''s secret skill known as the ''<em><strong>Delirious Scorpion w.</strong></em>''


    Sakis''s hand had turned into a Scorpion''s w that struck Noah''s chest. Meanwhile, the Vermillion Jade Sect''s Gang Leader had utilized his sect''s skill as well.


    This technique was known as the Autumn Thrust. There were four stages of this attack, and the Vermillion Jade Sect''s Gang Leader could only charge his attack till the 3rd Stage.


    It took too long for the attack to reach the 4th stage. However, just because this was the third stage of an attack, its power couldn''t be underestimated.


    This attack was the reason why Noah spat out some blood from his mouth. He definitely suffered some internal injuries due to this attack.


    However, there was still a smirk on his face as he clenched his sword tightly and whispered the name of another skill, "<strong>Forsaken Monkey sh.</strong>"


    Azaroth was naturally the one who taught this skill to him. This attack''s power couldn''t bepared to the Heaven Rending Stance.


    However, a warrior may use this move to fire rapid bursts of strikes while abruptly shifting direction.


    Thus, in this part, it was quite a bit better than Heaven Rending Stance. Noah had already realized that he was not fighting against a single warrior.


    There were many top-ss fighters here, and if he wanted to deal with them, he had to start culling their numbers.


    Thus, with a quick burst of speed, Noah sliced off Sakis''s hand that struck him with that scorpion w skill and then proceeded to thrust his sword within his heart.


    Casten Tarr immediatelyunched a couple of shockwaves to send Sakis out of the way. However, Noah was prepared this time and immediately shielded Sakis by releasing a burst of Wind Ardor.


    Noah then thrust his sword into Sakis''s heart. His facial expression remained the same as he pierced Sakis''s heart.


    Sakis'' heart had been crushed, and he began to feel his body bing colder. Now that his heart was no longer pumping blood for him, his body was dying.


    It was a somewhat slow and agonizing death.


    Noah didn''t even nce any longer at him before pulling out his sword and striking the man behind him as well.


    The Vermillion Jade Sect''s Group Leader pulled out a machete to block Noah''s attack to get some time to back away.


    But the machete didn''t stand a chance. It broke as soon as it came into contact with Noah''s sword.


    Noah didn''t waste any more time and sliced off his chest with one quick movement! The Vermillion Jade Sect''s Group Leader''s upper body had been sliced into two now!


    ~~


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 Chapter 304 - Claus Vs Noah

    After Sakis and the Vermillion Jade Sect''s Group Leader were dead, their subordinates who had been fighting bravely suddenly felt a suppressive aura act on them.


    It was so strong that their valiant aura was extinguished, and they were forced to kneel on the ground.


    Kneeling on the ground soon became insufficient. These men''s faces were glued to the ground as they begged for someone to relieve them of the stress.


    Noah had pulled out themanding badges from Sakis and the Vermillion Jade Sect''s Group Leader.


    He stared at the men who were glued to the ground with a smirk on his face.


    "I can help you," His voice was sweet and pleasant to the ears of these soldiers who awaited it with bated breath.


    "Submit to me," He seemed to order these warriors with amanding tone..


    Even this voice seemed sweet to these warriors who were experiencing the strenuous pressure.


    "I submit to you!" A warrior shouted with all his might. He wanted to be free of this pressure and didn''t care much about who he was serving.


    This warrior didn''t have a deep sense of loyalty for his sect or something. He felt that his life was the most important.


    These were the sentiments of the majority of the soldiers who had been stuck to the ground by the Dragon''s pressure.


    Noah remembered the voices of the warriors who had submitted to him. He immediately scanned them with his personalmanding badge while putting away themanding badge he had gathered.


    Suddenly, us rushed towards him and attacked him.


    Noah didn''t even nce in his direction as he side-stepped and dodged his attack while scanning the warriors who had surrendered to him.


    Noah was assured in his ability to deal with this guy whenever he wished. Thebat didn''t need to be rushed. He should first aid these warriors before continuing his battle with the other warriors.


    It was a slightlyical scene as us rushed to attack Noah. But Noah would easily dodge the attack, causing us to crash into a nearby tree or a stone.


    The other group leaders belonging to special factions and top sects were dumbfounded at how Noah was ignoring us and focusing on the downed warriors.


    Noah was unconcerned about dealing with these warriors. Azaroth had instructed him to increase the size of his Heretical Pdins as much as possible.


    Noah was just always working with that goal in his mind. He felt that it would be better to prioritize these warriors over his battle against the other group leaders.


    All the warriors were witnessing this scene of us rushing towards Noah and trying to attack him. However, Noah ignored us while dodging his attacks to scan the downed warriors with hismanding badge.


    There were nearly 150 warriors on the ground whom Noah had to scan. And Noah had barely scanned 30 or so warriors.


    us soon realized that he couldn''t hit Noah like this. He had to change his approach.


    The next time us rushed towards Noah, he was a little slowerpared to his normal speed.


    He was analyzing how Noah was going to react. Noah hadn''t moved from his spot as he waited for us to approach him.


    <em>''I can do this!''</em> us suddenly thought of a simpler way to hit Noah.


    The ground underneath Noah suddenly held his fists tightly. Noah ignored this and continued to scan the warrior ahead of him.


    This time, us was sure that Noah couldn''t dodge his attack. He rushed at Noah with his full speed to strike his head with his punch.


    Unfortunately, Noah had sensed his attack and his upper body leaned forward at thest possible second to dodge that attack.


    Once again, us''s attack had failed.


    Noah was soon done with the scanning in that area. He then tried to raise his leg, and the ground that held his leg began to crack slightly before it broke.


    The same thing urred when Noah tried to move his other leg.


    us gritted his teeth with an angry expression as he realized that he couldn''t strike Noah at this speed. He had to be even stronger.


    "I didn''t want to attempt this form since I look really uncool but losing like this is also not that cool," us spoke as he soon got into a nk position with his palms touching the ground.


    His body''s texture began to change as apletely brown-colored skin could be seen. This skin appeared much harder than a human''s skin. His eyeballs turned pure red as he red at Noah.


    "<strong>Enigma Stomp!</strong>" us strongly stomped the ground with his feet as he shook the ground in the surroundings.


    While Noah was scanning another warrior, he felt the entire ground shaking as if an earthquake had urred.


    "<strong>Skull Bash!</strong>" Before Noah could sense us''s approaching body, us struck Noah''s back with all his strength.


    Noah''s eyes widened, but he clenched his fist and tried his best to endure that attack. He took a couple of steps forward due to that strong impact.


    "Enough of you," He whispered with a deathly cold voice. Just from his voice, a guy could figure out that he was utterly furious!


    us backed away unconsciously while he remained in that same before as before.


    "<strong>Sword Domain!</strong>" Noah suddenly whispered these words and used his Sword Domain. us'' body, which was so close to him, was assaulted from all directions with hundreds of invisible de strokes.


    Their invisibility wasn''t something that troubled us that much. us could still sense them with his sixth sense and guess from where the sh was approaching him. It was the quantity of those shes.


    There were so many de strokes that he couldn''t deflect them or even attempt to protect himself.


    us felt helpless within this sword domain. He could do nothing other than boosting his defensive ability with Earth Ardor and pray that Noah would run out of energy soon.


    Unfortunately, fate didn''t seem to favor him. Noah''s energy appeared to be inexhaustible as those de strokes chipped away us''s Earth Ardor that protected him.


    us was soon bleeding due to injuries on all parts of his body. He had lost so much blood that his body began to feel cold.


    Noah didn''t even turn his head as us''s body soon lost all strength, and he fell to the ground.


    Before his body could touch the ground, it was shredded to thousands of pieces!


    At this moment, Casten Tarr suggested to his otherrades, "Run!"


    "Naturally/ Affirmative," Karsten Wenzel and the Stony Rock Sect''s group leader spoke at the same time.


    Luna couldn''t reply as she was embroiled in a fierce battle against Aria.


    She brandished her wind sword as she sliced apart the Icicle thrown at her. She was gradually narrowing the gap between herself and Aria.


    Aria had noticed this and was preparing herself for a close-ranged battle against Luna.


    She had already utilized the Icicle Shower against Luna, but it wasn''t all that useful.


    Aria suddenly released a lot of her Ardor around her body. A misty aura was created around her that not only shrouded her from Luna''s eyes but also slowed down Luna''s speed.


    Aria''s attacks grew stronger and faster within this mist while Luna''s attacks grew weaker and slower.


    "Did you forget my element? I can easily blow away this mist!"


    "<strong>Aerial Gale!</strong>" Luna shouted as she raised her arm that held the sword in the air.


    ~~


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 Chapter 305 - Mist

    As Lunaunched her Aerial Gale strike, strong winds swept through the region. Regrettably, the oues did not meet her expectations.


    The Aerial Gale couldn''t shake away the mist-like aura in the region. In fact, the mist had condensed even more, and Luna could no longer sense Aria''s location.


    This mist hadpletely shrouded Aria''s location from Luna''s senses.


    Soon, Aria''s voice resounded in the mist, "This attack is slightly different since thest time you faced it."


    Aria had utilized this attack against Luna. But it was so long ago that Luna couldn''t recall it right now.


    At that moment, Luna had effortlessly swept this mist with a wave of her hand..


    Aria''s mist was the first technique she had devised on her own. When she observed how this method couldn''t even beat her opponent, she vowed to improve it to the point where it could subdue her.


    The day woulde when this technique emerges to be the deciding factor in her opponent''s loss.


    And Aria felt that this day was today. Luna was trapped in her Mist. Her attack to sweep away this mist wouldn''t work.


    In reality, when Luna utilized her Wind Ardor to sweep away her mist, she was gathering the wind currents in the surroundings to push away her mist.


    For that, the wind current and Aria''s mist woulde in contact.


    Now, this was where Aria yed smartly. She condensed her Icy Aura on the circumference of the mist''s area where the wind woulde into contact with it.


    As soon as the windes into contact with the mist, the water particles in it would be cooled to the point of bing part of this mist.


    Naturally, there were massive defects of this mist as well. mes were one of its biggest adversaries.


    Aria had used this technique against Christina multiple times, but it never worked. No matter how many times she changed it, she realized it was a core issue of her element, and there was no point in trying to correct it.


    Another disadvantage of this technique was that it couldn''t be used in a dry atmosphere. The surroundings had to be a bit humid so that it could disy its usability.


    However, for this technique to disy itsplete potential, it had to be used during the winter season.


    At that time, it would be like a battle formation, and once a warrior entered it. It would be impossible for the warrior to leave without Aria''s consent. Naturally, this was only for a warrior of Aria''s caliber.


    This technique wouldn''t be effective if Aria''s opponent was someone like Noah, who possessed Sword Domain or Azaroth, who could see through this mist''s creation or possessed me element, and so on.


    There were still many issues with this technique, but she was satisfied with it for now. She could suppress her opponent and finally defeat her.


    "<strong>Brilliant Arctic Spear!</strong>" This was a magnificent spear that held a lot of Aria''s Ardor.


    This Spear continued to erge as Aria empowered it with her Ardor. Soon, it wasrger than Aria in terms of height.


    Aria also raised her other hand to control the Ice Element near Luna''s body. Since Luna was within this mist, it was easier for Aria to use Ice Element near her body.


    Thin branches of pure Ice coiled around Luna''s legs and held her at that spot.


    This would prevent Luna from dodging Aria''s attack. Another advantage was that Aria couldn''t change her posture to utilize another attack. Thus, it would prevent Luna from actually countering this Brilliant Arctic Spear.


    Aria threw her Brilliant Arctic Spear at Luna once she felt that it was strong enough.


    It had to be known that she couldn''t keep Luna trapped in those thin Ice Branches for a long time.


    She was expending a lot of her Ardor to keep those Ice Branches up to constrict Luna. Then she further infused her Ardor into the Brilliant Arctic Spear. Then she also had to maintain this mist.


    These three techniques were so Ardor exhausting that Aria knew she could fight like this for a couple of minutes. After that, she would bepletely out of her Ardor.


    Luna struggled to get her legs out of those Ice Branches. But unfortunately, getting out of them was not an easy task. Even when she utilized a lot of her Ardor to cut those Ice Branches or break them, they would recreate immediately and trap her feet.


    In fact, Luna stopped struggling as she realized that even if she could break these Ice Branches, she didn''t have anywhere else to go.


    Aria''s mist was visible all over her vision. This technique could imprison her no matter where she stood in this mist.


    So, there was actually no point in actually breaking these Ice Branches.


    Instead, Luna decided to stay at a single point. Staying at a single point allowed her to now calm down and analyze this mist technique more deeply.


    Her rage against Aria would normally blind her reasoning, and thus, she would be following Aria''s rhythm during their battle.


    "My wind couldn''t sweep away this Mist," She whispered while she tried to figure out the reason.


    <em>''It''s so heavy that my wind doesn''t stand a chance against it. Perhaps if I create a wind pressure from the inside, the situation might change a little.''</em>


    Thus, while Aria was creating her Brilliant Arctic Spear, Luna didn''t stand empty-handed. Luna was also gathering most of her Ardor at a particr point.


    Luna waspletely taken aback when she saw the Brilliant Arctic Spear was headed directly for her.


    She instinctively tried to move out of the way and then realized that her leg was still trapped.


    Luna gritted her teeth in frustration as she hadn''t gathered enough Ardor that could disperse this mist.


    But she realized she had no choice but to employ this approach or die. Since there were only these two options, it didn''t take her a lot of time to make her decision.


    "<strong>Aerial Sword</strong>," This attack was simr to the one she utilized to sweep away this mist.


    But this time, the wind wasn''t the surrounding wind but one that originated from her. Thus, it didn''t contain any water particles.


    Moreover, it waspressed to such a degree that the mist couldn''t really affect it all that much.


    The sword was released at the Brilliant Arctic Spear, and the two struck soon enough. Once they struck, pure elemental energy was released from these two attacks.


    The Aerial Sword released pure Wind Ardor, while the Brilliant Arctic Spear released pure Icy Ardor.


    These two kinds of energies destroyed the bnce within the mist. The mist''s effect began to weaken as Aria realized that the mist was getting out of her control.


    She didn''t know what to do because something like this had happened to her for the first time.


    Luna found her opportunity as the Ice Branches'' hold over her legs began to weaken. She knew that this was the moment and immediately burst Wind Ardor around her body to break free of those constraints.


    As soon as she was free, she looked around and analyzed the path that would lead her to Aria.


    She chose the path after hesitating for 5 or so seconds.


    Aria sensed that Luna was slowly approaching her position. She was aware that there was no point in running away.


    The mist would disperse soon, and Luna''s speed was much faster than her own. It wouldn''t take Luna a lot of time to catch up to her.


    Thus, Aria remained in her position while creating Ice Branches around her body.


    Just when Aria and Luna were about to fight again, they heard a loud and cold voice, "Surrender now or else die."


    ~~


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 Chapter 306 - Lunas Surrender

    Before Luna could realize what was going on, one of her subordinates was thrown in her direction.


    The warrior collided with Luna''s body, and the two fell to the ground.


    Luna looked in the direction where she heard the voice and saw a young boy holding a sword longer than his arm. There was a cold look on his face as he stepped towards Luna, "What will it be? Choose now," He spoke while raising his arm and pointed at Luna with his sword.


    Luna then stared at Aria and spoke out, "Throw her out, and I will join your group!"


    Suddenly, Noah''s expression turned even colder, "¡­Did I give you an option other than those two? You even want to negotiate with me under these circumstances?"


    An unreal quantity of Sword Qi was released as he stepped towards Luna. At this moment, Noah looked especially intimidating.


    Luna couldn''t take her eyes off Noah. Noah''s aura even made her feel somewhat euphoric as it utterly crushed her own..


    She even forgot about her hatred for Aria for a few moments. Only Noah and the threatening sensation she was experiencing at the time were vividly ingrained in her mind.


    Luna''s body began to get hotter as Noah neared her body.


    In reality, it was one of her fantasies. To be utterly crushed by someone and then forced to do his bidding.


    She had always craved pain and a suppressive aura to make her obedient because she was a hidden masochist. Noah''s aura was currently acting as liquor to her, causing her to get increasingly intoxicated.


    "W-What will happen once I surrender?" She asked with an expectant look in her eyes.


    Noah remainedposed and responded, "Wrong answer again."


    Many of his Sword Qi were thrown in Luna''s direction. Luna tried to block those Sword Qi by raising her sword, but she didn''t possess any Sword Qi, unlike Noah.


    The Sword Qi easily passed her Sword and reached her body. Soon, Luna experienced excruciating pain at the points where the Sword Qi struck her.


    "Die," He whispered as he clenched his hand, and the Sword Qi within Luna''s body went berserk.


    Luna felt many of her organs pierced by this Sword Qi. She coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    She then finally squeezed out from her mouth, "I-I surrender."


    It was so faint that Noah didn''t even hear her, and he directly ignored her. However, Aria heard her words and spoke out, "She has surrendered, Master Noah,"


    "She did, huh?" Noah raised his eyebrow as he stared at Luna. He calmed down those Sword Qi within Luna''s body.


    "You have surrendered?" Noah inquired a little curiously.


    "Yes, master," Luna spoke with a strange shine in her eyes.


    Noah ignored that glow in her eyes and happily smiled, "Really?! That''s great. I don''t need to kill those warriors then. They can join my group as well!"


    Aria dispersed the mist immediately.


    Luna looked around and couldn''t find Casten Tarr, Karsten Wenzel, the Stony Rock Sect''s group leader. In fact, their respective groups had also fled.


    She remembered temporarily joining Casten Tarr, but she never expected that man to flee without getting her.


    There was a disdainful look on Luna''s face as she remembered Casten Tarr''s righteous face. She vowed to make this guy pay for leaving her behind on the battlefield.


    Meanwhile, Noah asked her to give her Commanding Stone, and he kept it with himself. Soon, he scanned Luna and her warriors with his ownmanding stone.


    Currently, after this battle, Noah''s entire group had expanded to 431 warriors. Many warriors had died on both sides. And this was the number of healthy warriors in Noah''s group.


    Noah''s core group that he had brought from the Origin Sect Branch had more or less survived all the battles. Only a couple of warriors from that group lost their lives.


    The warriors he hadter recruited in this Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament were the ones who were losing their lives.


    Luna was utterly shocked when she realized the number of warriors under Noah. Yet, there was absolutely no change in Noah''s aura.


    It didn''t seem to have diminished at all. It remained the same as ever.


    Noah then ordered Luna to manage her own warriors. These were the warriors originally belonging to the group that she brought from the Night Mountain Sect.


    "The warriors who surrendered today will construct the camp and cook food for all of us," Noah ordered while choosing a particr location and let his men rest.


    Noah was in no hurry to hunt the warriors who remained. And this was a prudent decision on his part.


    This rest would allow the warriors to talk among themselves and resolve their confusion. The more they talked to Noah''s subordinates, the more they began to respect Noah.


    It was genuine respect that overwhelmed their hatred for him. Luna also heard a bit about it from her warriors.


    Soon, Noah and Aria came to visit Luna. Both of them had aposed look on their faces as they stared at Luna.


    Luna was immediately angry upon seeing Aria''s face, but she calmed down when she gazed in Noah''s direction.


    Noah frowned when he noticed those expressions on Luna''s face. He and Aria took a seat just ahead of Luna''s bed and then asked Luna, "Why do you hate Aria?"


    Luna flinched upon hearing that question. She remembered why she hated this woman. But against Noah, she felt that she needed to speak out the truth or else she would die.


    Even though she loved to be crushed, she didn''t wish to die yet. Or else, she wouldn''t have surrendered to Noah.


    Luna turned her head towards Aria and hatefully spoke, "This woman¡­She killed my little brother!"


    "Did you kill her little brother?" Noah then turned in Aria''s direction and asked her.


    Aria was slightly lost in thought as she tried to recall when she killed Luna''s brother. She had killed many warriors in her life, and she didn''t remember the identity of the warriors who died by her hands.


    "Maybe. I don''t really remember now," Aria responded truthfully.


    Luna clenched her fists in rage as she heard that response, "3 years ago, you and him met up in the White Beaver Timbend. It was the ck Lake Sect''s group led by you that ughtered a small group from the Night Mountain Sect that was detached from the main group."


    "¡­I see. You are talking about that event," Aria''s voice turned colder as she recalled the scene.


    "And? What else was I supposed to do? Your brother and his group set up traps for our group. He wanted to kill us to gain a reputation and prove his ability in the Night Mountain Sect. He had nearly killed my entire group and me," Aria responded with a cold look on her face.


    "Your brother didn''t lose his life to me. He lost it due to his greed and stupidity. If he was slightly smarter, he would have prepared for an escape route if his n failed. But he seemed extremely confident in those traps," Aria soon finished speaking.


    Luna was absolutely stunned as she heard Aria. This was the first time she heard something like this.


    Thus, it was a shocking revtion for her.


    "Resolve this issue between yourselves without fighting," Noah ordered them before leaving the tent, leaving Aria and Luna alone in that canvas.


    ~~


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 Chapter 307 - Tiana Vs Philip

    In the meantime, Tiana stood on top of the stage as she stared at her opponent. Her opponent was the sixth prince of the Glerian Kingdom.


    The sixth prince''s name was Philip Res. And he was considered an extremely skilled lightning element, and his skill in using a Halberd.


    Tiana stood ahead of Philip without any weapon. She was prepared to fight against him like this.


    Philip showcased his Royal Aura as he tried to suppress Tiana with it. And it seemed to work as Tiana''s aura suffered greatly under Philip''s Royal Aura.


    The announcer soon shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen! This is the semi-finals round that you all have been waiting for."


    "On one side, we have Tiana Rhodes belonging to a secluded sect named Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.. However, this sect has produced a wonderful talent that has defeated many talented warriors from the other reputed sects. Even Christina from the ck Lake Sect has suffered defeat against her."


    "On the other side, we have the Sixth Prince of the Glerian Kingdom, Philip Res! He is participating as a Red Crown Sect''s disciple. As a man possessing the Royal Blood, he possesses strong abilities that have forced his opponents to admit their defeat. He is one of the favorites to win the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament as his charisma, strength, and his control over his element are off the charts! And till now, he has proven that he can indeed win this tournament."


    "Sitfortably and keep your eyes on these two contestants. You might miss something amazing if you take your eyes off them for a second. Stay focused and enjoy this battle," the announcer''s shout caused the audience to cheer in response.


    "Can Tiana Rhodes still give us a surprise by defeating the sixth prince? Or will the Sixth Prince defeat Tiana Rhodes and reach the finals? This would be the most entertaining battle of this tournament!"


    Once the announcer spoke those words, the referee at the side added, "On the count of three."


    "One¡­ Two¡­ Three¡­Start!" The referee was a little quicker than usual as he counted to three. Perhaps even he was excited about the battle that would ur right ahead of him.


    Philip and Tiana gauged each other. Tiana decided to take the initiative and attacked Philip.


    She raised her arm and pointed in Philip''s direction, "<strong>Ray of Ice.</strong>"


    A thin beam of pure white energy wasunched at Philip. Philip immediately raised his arm and intercepted this beam with his Halberd that was empowered with Blue Lightning.


    The halberd split apart the Ice Beam into five parts. Some parts were diverted in the sky, while some were diverted towards the ground.


    However, this Ice Beam didn''t strike Philip. It narrowly missed his body and struck the ground on which he stood.


    While Philip dealt with this Ray of Ice, he didn''t forget to keep his eyes focused on Tiana.


    He noticed that she was moving her other hand and creating lots of Ice Stones.


    Those Ice Stones were then thrown in Philip''s direction. Unlike the Ice Beam that was a pure Spiritual Attack, this was a physical attack.


    Philip wasn''t scared, though. He raised his Halberd and struck those stones that appeared in his way.


    The stone would shatter once the Halberd struck it. However, there were more than dozens of stonesrger than Philiping his way.


    Moreover, the issue for Philip was that they wereing at different intervals.


    He could have dealt with them all at once if they had arrived at the same time. However, he now had to wait until thest one arrived before having a closebat battle with Tiana.


    As he struck thest Ice Stone that Tiana had prepared, he looked in Tiana''s direction tounch his own attack.


    However, Tiana had disappeared from that spot.


    This was her true motive for throwing those Ice Stones at Philip. She was using them to block Philip''s vision and change her position.


    Philip was about to look around to find Tiana when suddenly he felt something restricting his upper body.


    As he looked down, he noticed Ice Chains had been strongly wrapped around his body.


    "How? When?" He was quite surprised as he didn''t notice when Tianaunched this chain at him.


    In fact, he didn''t sense any attacking intent even when this chain began to restrain his movements.


    "<strong>Blue Lightning Drive!</strong>" Philip utilized this technique, and his body was immediately covered with bluish-colored lightning. The Ice Chains around her began to crackle, and soon, Philip was free.


    At this moment, Tiana also utilized her attack, "<strong>Arctic Python Chomp!</strong>"


    A massive Python wasunched at Philip, who had just been freed of the Ice Chains on his body.


    Philip sensed thisrge python heading for him, but he wasn''t flustered. In fact, he had used the perfect skill to deal with this kind of ability.


    "<strong>Vortex Lightning sh!</strong>"


    This technique he had used was a fusion of his Lightning Element with an attack named Vortex sh.


    He shed therge python with a strong energy thatpletely shook the Ardor that created the Python''s body. And Philip''s lightning element was strong enough to destroy any Ice Particles that it encountered.


    Tiana was surprised that Philip could deal with this attack so easily. She had expected this attack to at least damage Philip.


    But the reality was disappointing. Just when she was considering her next course of action, Philip ran straight towards her.


    Tiana knew she couldn''t allow him to get too close to her body. She immediately created a couple of Ice Walls ahead of her to get some time to think.


    These Ice Walls didn''t prove to be useful against Philip.


    Philip ignored the damage dealt by these Ice Walls as he ran straight into them and broke them while approaching Tiana.


    Tiana jumped back and narrowly dodged Philip''s Halberd''s thrust.


    Tiana felt that she had an opportunity to attack Philip now that he was open. She raised her hand andunched, "<strong>Ice Flower: Lotus.</strong>"


    A beautiful white-colored Ice Lotus was formed in her palm and thrown at Philip.


    However, Philip was incredibly quick in recovering his posture and striking that Ice Lotus with his Halberd.


    Once the Halberd struck the Ice Lotus, the Ice Lotus exploded while releasing a lot of Ice Energy into the surrounding.


    Philip now realized that if he didn''t possess the Blue Lightning Drive, this attack might have frozen him then and there. And he would have lost the battle.


    Fortunately, he possessed the Blue Lightning Drive that protected him from this Ice attack.


    "<strong>Ice Spears!</strong>" Suddenly, multiple Ice Spears were formed from the Icy Air in the surroundings.


    They all targeted Philip''s body from all directions. There was nowhere Philip could run to.


    Philip was surprised that Tiana had such an attack in her mind. He then struck the ground with his Halberd''s de and discharged strong electric voltage from his body.


    This electricity struck those Ice Spears and dispersed them before they could hit Philip''s body.


    Tiana was once again surprised as she sensed that attack''s output. She thought with a frown on her face <em>''Why is he using techniques that require so much Ardor. His Blue Lightning Drive should already be putting a lot of strain on his reserves. Yet, he has used this kind of high Ardor Expending skill. Or does he have reserves that surpass normal warriors? Maybe that''s why he can use these kinds of techniques.''</em><em></em>


    ~~


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 Chapter 308 - Medallion

    Tiana moved from her spot and threw Ice Rocks in Philip''s direction.


    Philip sneered when he saw thoserge Ice Rocks heading for him. He spoke with a cold snort, "The same trick won''t work twice."


    He raised his halberd, which released a strong electric charge that struck all the Ice Rocks heading for him.


    This was the same discharge technique. But it was more controlled this time.


    All the Ice Rocks heading for him were instantly annihted, and Tiana''s position was revealed.


    Without waiting any longer, Philip rushed towards Tiana and pierced her with his Halberd.


    The Blue Lightning Element was growing stronger as time passed.. Its power had nearly doubled since the beginning of the battle.


    This was something Tiana had failed to notice. She was more focused on gathering enough Ardor tounch a decisive attack at him.


    Tiana didn''t know that Azaroth''s consciousness was already awake within her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring. He was analyzing Philip''s bloodline in this battle.


    He noticed that only Philip''s Lightning Element had been strengthened by his Royal Bloodline, not his Ardor.


    There was a massive difference between the two abilities. This suggested many kinds of possibilities.


    <em>''Even the Royal Bloodline from the same family tree would have lots of diversity. ck Hurricane could strengthen his entire Ardor. However, Philip can only empower his element. It means that Philip''s understanding or his bloodline isn''t as good as ck Hurricane.''</em>


    <em>''Also, his body is trembling even though his element is only twice as strong. At the most, he can only strengthen his element by 2.5 times, but he can''t use his Blue Lightning Drive or else his muscles would tear or burn.''</em>


    Azaroth knew that this limit might be because Philip was only a 4 Star Warrior. It might increase once he advances to a 5 Star Warrior. There was a qualitative difference between the Spiritual and Physical strength between a 4 Star Warrior and a 5 Star Warrior.


    Even as strong as Noah was, he couldn''t fight against a 5 Star Warrior, let alone win against one.


    A Royal Bloodline was no exception. The ones Azaroth had seen couldn''t ovee the huge gap between a 4 Star Warrior and a 5 Star Warrior.


    Anyway, the battle between Tiana and Philip continued on for another 10 minutes or so. Tiana could barely keep her distance from Philip while Philip tried his best to reduce the gap between them and make it a closebat battle.


    And if this continued for any longer, Philip would defeat Tiana.


    Azaroth was now wondering whether he should take action and make Tiana defeat Philip or not. It would have benefits and drawbacks.


    Frankly, the drawbacks would be great enough that Azaroth would have to take personal action if Philip wanted to kill her. Yet, it would be increasingly difficult for Tiana to return to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    This sixth prince could have his guards or other 5 Star Warriors gang up on Tiana and bombard her with their attacks.


    Within this Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring, only Azaroth''s spiritual consciousness dwelt. Even if he used up all of his power, he could only withstand those blows for a few seconds. After that, Tiana would be on her own.


    Thus, Azaroth decided to not take personal action and sent amand to Tiana <em>''Forfeit after you have used all your Ardor.''</em>


    Tiana was surprised to hear Azaroth''s voice in her mind so suddenly. But she faintly nodded with a grim expression on her face.


    Philip had thought she was sending him a signal and sent a nod back. He had greatly misunderstood the signal.


    Philip suddenly assumed a weird posture, taking a step back with his left leg and facing Tiana with his right side of the body.


    Tiana was confused upon seeing Philip take such a weird stance. Suddenly, she saw a lot of Philip''s Ardor gathering in his Halberd.


    "<strong>Piercing Heart Blow!</strong>" The muscles on Philip''s left arm suddenly expanded to double the size as he whispered the name of this skill.


    The Blue Lightning Drive immediately vanished as it was concentrated over his Halberd. The gems on his Halberd began to shine with purple light as the Blue Lightning turned into Purple-Blue Lightning.


    This was the energy stored within his Halberd and was the most concentrated form of his Blue Lightning.


    Tiana sensed and saw an aura that made her feel as if she was about to die.


    However, backing down at this point didn''t seem like an option. The look in Philip''s eyes showed her that he was not going to miss.


    And judging from Philip''s strength and speed, it was going to be a very quick throw.


    This ultra-quick attack would be over within a single second, giving Tiana no time to dodge it.


    Tiana decided that now was the time to act until Philip had released that attack.


    "<strong>Ice Breath!</strong>" She released this skill while breathing out Ice at Philip.


    This was considered an Ancient Skill that Azaroth taught her after her throat was trained with special training.


    Philip''s eyes widened when he noticed this Ice Breath freezing his muscles and even cooling them down.


    His bloated muscles on his left arm began to shrink a little due to this cold ice. In a sense, his muscles were cooling down, and Philip''s body was suddenly hit with a wave of fatigue.


    However, Philip''s mind remained calm. He used more of his Ardor to maintain his form and continued empowering his Halberd and making his technique stronger.


    After a couple of seconds, Tiana was out of Ardor. She stopped with the Ice Breath, and even Philip was curious what she was going to do.


    "I forfeit," Tiana spoke loudly and clearly.


    The audience, the referee, the special guests, her opponent, her friends, and even the supervisors heard her words clearly. However, all of them shared a single emotion right now. This emotion was confusion.


    They were utterly puzzled as they wondered just why Tiana would give up so suddenly. None of them thought that Tiana had run out of Ardor right now.


    Philip actually thought that his subordinates had threatened Tiana to give up. She hadn''t even used that special energy against him.


    He had been prepared to deal with that Special Energy. But unfortunately, Tiana had never used it. She had given up without even utilizing it.


    Meanwhile, the audience felt that something fishy was going on. Maybe Philip had actually threatened Tiana and asked her to give up.


    The audience soon began to talk among themselves about how Philip was using his Royal Status to force Tiana to give up. They felt that this Tournament was fixed to let Philip win. Their disappointment was immeasurable.


    However, Tiana decided to clear all these doubts and spoke, "I can''t use that skill today. There are special conditions to activate it. If I could, I would have definitely defeated you. I have just exhausted all my Ardor, and it would take some time for me to recover it with my Cultivation Technique."


    Those words relieved Philip and the audience quite a bit.


    "Thank you for this battle today, Sixth Prince," Tiana spoke with a respectful tone.


    "You can call me Philip. You were a wonderful opponent. I have been looking forward to you utilizing that special skill you possessed that would increase your strength. But it can''t be helped if there are special conditions for you to activate it," Philip replied.


    "This is my medallion. As long as you hold this medallion, none of my subordinates will ever stop you," Philip spoke as he threw a Golden Medallion in Tiana''s direction.


    Tiana raised her hand and grabbed that Golden Medallion. She was internally excited as she realized that she had aplished her task now. It would be extremely easy to recruit those women possessing Ice Physique.


    ~~


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 Chapter 309 - King Tryfons Decision

    King Tryfon and his ministers had been witnessing the entire Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    They knew who was the winner of this time''s Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament. It was purely dominated by Noah.


    And the feat they had just witnessed proved that fact.


    Noah attacked a camp where the other top 7 warriors of various factions had gathered. He killed two of them and subdued one of them!


    King Tryfon soon announced in the Hall, "It''s time to announce the winner of this Tournament.. The tournament will still go on to get second ce and third ce. But the Heretical Pdins will be recalled from the tournament."


    "Wouldn''t it dissatisfy the other groups that Your Majesty is not giving them a chance to reim their honor?" A minister from the Fourth Prince''s faction asked.


    King Tryfon showed a disdainful sneer as a minister asked this particr question, "They had lost all their honor when they outnumbered the Heretical Pdins so greatly yet were forced to flee in defeat."


    "The Heretical Pdins have proved that they are indeed the strongest faction in this Tournament. Individually, their leader is a bit na?ve, but his strength covers up those defects. H is an unpolished gem that can be trained to bring out the best in him. Those rough patches can easily be filled and be turned into precious polished gems."


    "Moreover, the core group he brought to the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament had more or less survived and showed good fighting spirit and ability even against disciples from top sects and soldiers. I do not see why they need to prove themselves any further," The King exined.


    "I have made up my mind. The next morning, the Heretical Pdins will be announced winners of this Tournament and recalled from the Crarian Forest," The King announced at the end.


    His authoritative voice appeared topel everyone to ept his choice. The King knew he had to use this tone, or these ministers would continue to extend this issue by giving some mindless arguments.


    "Prepare the reward for the victors of the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament!" The King gave out another order.


    The ministers knew that they had to prioritize this task above anything else. Else, the king would grow furious.


    He was quite picky about the timing. If he had specified a deadline for something, he required it to bepleted by that time.


    Otherwise, blood would flow within the Hall. None of the ministers dared to test the King right now.


    They knew that since the King hadn''t specified a minister, it meant he was ordering them all.


    If they didn''t get the reward ready before Noah stepped into this courtroom, anyone among them could have had his neck severed by the King''s de.


    To some, dying at the hands of the King could be an honor, but it was a frightening ordeal for these ministers. They didn''t want to die now that they''d gotten to this position after years of hard work.


    Many of them were dissatisfied with presenting the reward to this unknown individual. He didn''t belong to any of their factions, and his victory meant their loss.


    The next day, the King''s voice suddenly resounded in the Crarian Forest, "The winner of this Tournament had been chosen."


    This announcement immediately caught everyone by surprise. All the warriors who were asleep were woken up by hisrades.


    "I-It''s the King! He is speaking to us all at the same time!" Someone within Noah''s group exined with an excited look.


    "The Heretical Pdins have performed wonderfully in this Tournament. Needless to say, they have impressed me greatly. Thus, I am using my right as the Sovereign of this Kingdom to dere them the winner of this Tournament. I am aware of their abilities, and no other group can indeed be equated to them, let alone surpass them in terms of ability. I order the Heretical Pdins'' leader to lead his men out of this forest to the Royal Pce," King Tryfon spoke.


    Noah''s entire group was extremely excited. They didn''t think that they would suddenly be announced winners like this.


    Noah frowned slightly as he didn''t want this tournament to end. He was nning to ''convince'' more people to join his group and expand it. Well, he wasn''t actually convincing them but more like giving them no choice other than to join his group.


    The two individuals who were the most shocked were Luna and Aria. Unlike Noah, they knew quite a bit about the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament''s history. This was the first time the King was using his authoritative power to announce the victor before the proper end of this tournament.


    "The rest of the groups are going to continue as it is," The King responded at the end before his voice faded in this ancient forest.


    Many warriors lost their motivation to continue this tournament as they held a strong desire to win. They weren''t satisfied with the second or the third position. They wanted the first position.


    They knew the difference between them and Noah was quite wide. However, they were still slightly hopeful as they thought that many warriors would gang up on Noah and they could fish in troubled waters. Maybe they could get lucky.


    But the king had prevented that situation from urring.


    However, many warriors were also relieved. They knew that they didn''t stand a chance against Noah and his group.


    So, they were happy that Heretical Pdins were dered victors and removed from this tournament altogether.


    This would allow them to have a better chance of surviving in this tournament.


    In the meantime, Noah led his warriors outside the Crarian Forest. He met up with a few warriors who were seemingly waiting for Noah.


    They spoke respectfully, "Please follow us, Young Master Noah."


    "Alright," Noah and his entire group of more than 400 warriors were taken to the Royal Pce.


    The Royal Pce was divided into three buildings.


    Each one of these warriors was assigned a room in the nearby mansion of the Main Pce while Noah was taken to the Main Pce.


    He was assigned a room within the Main Pce and also given some formal clothing. Soon, he would have a meeting with the King and his ministers, so he had to be in a presentable form.


    Noah first removed his clothes and decided to take a bath in the bathroom next to the room.


    His eyes shone in excitement as he saw therge pool in the bathroom filled with hot water. He jumped in the water and began to swim inside it.


    Soon, a couple of maids entered the bathroom as they were tasked to clean Noah''s body and then help him wear those formal clothes.


    Noah was startled to see those maids. The maids noticed his shock and immediately exined themselves, "We have been ordered by the Ministers to help you clean up, Young Master."


    These maids didn''t know of Noah''s identity. They were only told that Noah was a special guest. Any more than that was something they didn''t need to know.


    The maids were somewhat surprised that Noah was so young. They had nned to use their beauty and some assets to seduce Noah and grab some benefits.


    But since Noah was so young, their n failed. They knew they had to change their approach. It would be best to appear like a kind woman to this boy.


    Unfortunately, Noah could see greedy expressions on their faces, so their schemes were unlikely to result in anything.


    After almost an hour, Noah was fully clothed and ready to see the King.


    The maids soon left his room. And a few minutester, a servant knocked on the door as he asked, "Are you ready to meet the King, young master?"


    "Yes," Noah spoke.


    ~~


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 Chapter 310 - The Great Hall

    Noah soon entered the Great Hall. He looked around and noticed many people seated on therge chairs. The people were calmly gazing at Noah, seemingly analyzing him right now.


    He then stared right up ahead and saw a man seated on arge extravagant throne. This man had dull brown hair and dark ck eyes who stared at Noah with a sharp gaze. He had a round menacing face that would appear intimidating at first nce.


    This man wore arge White Robe that extended all the way down to his knees. There were many symbols on that white robe and some stars. All these symbols and stars meant that he was the supreme ruler of this Kingdom. He possessed the highest authority in this Kingdom.


    Noah remembered the face of this man. This was the same face he saw during the start of the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.. The face of that faint Spiritual Figure.


    This was the King of the Glerian Kingdom, Tryfon Res!


    Noah wasn''t scared as he nced at the King, though. He remained bold and asked out, "The King requested for my presence?"


    The entire hall seemed to take a deep breath as they heard that question. They were speechless as they heard Noah.


    This was the first time Noah met the King, and he didn''t bow down or ask for permission before speaking.


    Even the King was startled because he was used to those tedious formalities performed by all individuals of his Kingdom.


    "Do you know how disrespectful you are to Your Majesty? You dare to talk without first seeking his permission." One of the ministers stood up and shouted at Noah.


    Noah nced in that minister''s direction and innocently replied, "I don''t see you requesting permission to speak. If you don''t need to ask, why do I need to?"


    The minister''s face turned red with anger. He felt that Noah was just messing with him. However, he knew that he couldn''t blow up right now.


    Noah was the winner of the Heavenly Dragon Battleground Tournament this time. If he took any action against him, it would be linked to his support for the faction.


    Moreover, the King seemed to have the intention of properly grooming Noah. The minister knew that if he wanted to survive in this Royal Court for a longer period, he had to learn to swallow his anger.


    "There is arge difference between our status. I am a Minister appointed by His Majesty while you are a mere peasant who holds no right to speak in this Hall. That is unless His Majesty grants you permission to talk," The minister exined.


    At this moment, the King raised his arm and said to Noah, "No need to mind the small details like asking for permission to talk. However, keep control over your choice of words. If you offend anyone in this Hall, it won''t be good for you."


    Noah nodded solemnly and then asked again, "I have won the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament. I believe I deserve a reward now."


    "That''s correct. First, tell me what you desire," the King asked Noah.


    The ministers were taken aback when they heard that. This was very different from the previous Heavenly Dragon Battleground Tournament award ceremonies.


    The King would never ask this question unless the faction belonged to one of his princes. However, Noah clearly didn''t belong to any of his son''s factions, yet the King extended this offer for him.


    It clearly disyed how impressed the King was with Noah. Otherwise, he would never ask what Noah desired.


    "All the warriors I recruitedter, I want them to break their connection with their current faction or sect and join my group officially and permanently," Noah responded rather quickly.


    These words weren''t Noah''s own words. Azaroth had just whispered them in Noah''s mind, and Noah had repeated them here.


    The King raised his brow as he heard that statement. He thought that Noah would ask for something for himself. But the reality turned out to be different.


    ''<em>Perhaps it''s because he hasn''t seen the Royal Treasury. He doesn''t know what he could have asked,</em>'' King Tryfon revealed a bright smile as he spoke, "Alright. Officially, they are now a part of your faction. I will have some of my men prepare their official documents and send the letters to the respective factions."


    Noah nodded in affirmation. The King then spoke out, "There are other rewards along with the one you have just chosen. You are now a general and can possess nearly 5000 Personal Soldiers without any issue. You will be assigned a vi and a cottage in the location of your choosing. Naturally, you need to go and serve on the battlefield for two months within a year."


    "You will be given 100 Million Spiritual Coins for winning the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament and a 50% discount for weapons, herbs, Ardor Crystals, and even clothing," The King continued to list out Noah''s rewards.


    Noah was slightly overwhelmed as he heard the King. He was happy that he had won so many rewards.


    Noah had recognized the importance of the crystals with which Azaroth had built numerous arrays for him and his group now that he had arrived in this city. He didn''t know the real worth of those crystals, and he knew it would be difficult for Azaroth to restore that capital so quickly, but he was still d he could help Azaroth reim a portion of it.


    Noah was quite determined to win many such rewards so that Azaroth could recover his capital and make a great profit.


    "Lastly, I grant you the special privilege to choose a weapon, herb, Ardor Crystals, and clothing for yourself. From each category, you can choose only a single thing," The King spoke.


    This statement shocked the ministers! They remained in disbelief for dozens of seconds.


    The King was actually going to allow this peasant to enter the herbal garden, armory, treasury, and the Royal Store. However, this wasn''t all. This guy could even choose a single thing from each of these categories!


    "After an hour, a servant would arrive in your room and lead you to the herbal garden, armory, and so on. Just follow him and choose anything you," the King spoke as he dismissed Noah.


    After talking with the ministers a bit, the King dismissed them as well.


    Once the ministers were dismissed, they all rushed to their rooms and then wrote a letter and sent it to Noah through their personal servants.


    Thus, within an hour, Noah received nearly twenty letters from different ministers.


    In these letters, they had mentioned forming a deal with Noah. They wished for him to get something they wanted from the Royal Treasury, and in return, they would sponsor him for the rest of his life.


    They mentioned what they wanted in great detail.


    Like the Dragon Fruit. This was one of the only consumable fruits that would greatly strengthen an individual''s physical body.


    After eating this fruit, even a random individual''s physique would be greatly improved that even without using Ardor, he could battle a 4 Star Warrior equally.


    If a 4 Star Warrior ate it, his physique would transform, and it would reach the 5 Star Rank''s level of strength. At the least, he could endure the attacks and pressure from a 5 Star Warrior.


    Noah ignored all of them. He asked Azaroth about what he should get.


    For the weapons, Azaroth immediately told him, "If you are growing bored of the old one, then get a better sword for yourself."


    Noah replied, "¡­I don''t need a new one. This works perfectly amazing for me, master."


    ''<em>I can never part from this sword, master. This is the first thing I receive from you!</em>'' He thought with a resolute look.


    Even though this sword was slowly bing more of a liability than an asset. Noah had to use a lot of his Ardor and Sword Qi to keep it from shattering.


    However, never once did Noah think of switching his sword. Thefort this sword provided him was beyond anything else.


    He felt that nothing else would be a better fit for him.


    Noah had no idea, but this was the best decision he could have made. A swordsman who changes his sword on the spur of the moment to improve his skills would not go far down this road. The path of a swordsman was a long one.


    Even as skilled as Noah was, he was merely a beginner in this path.


    ~~


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 Chapter 311 - The Trap

    The Ruler of the Roger Dukedom, Steven Roger, received a letter from Inquisitor Fox. It was time for him to make his move on the Walsh Dukedom.


    His task was to prevent any 6 Star Warrior froming out of the Walsh Dukedom''s territory.


    Meanwhile, at this moment, a team of specially trained Inquisitors was sent to kill Siluca and her daughter Anna. For the king to acquire and give away Walsh Dukedom''s territory to the other Noble Houses for a legitimate reason, Siluca and her family had to die.


    Only Siluca and her daughter Anna had any im over the Walsh Dukedom''s territory. The King could handle all others who wanted to grab hold of this territory.


    This attack on the Walsh Dukedom''s territory would weaken the Sinyalian Kingdom, but it was for the Greater Good.


    They were sacrificing a Dukedom in return for the head of a Demon God. There was noparison between the two..


    Even if a King had to sacrifice tens of dukedoms for the head of a Demon God, he would never hesitate to sacrifice his dukedoms.


    The threat from a Demon God was far too great. He might destroy the entire Kingdom or even take over his throne if he was given enough time.


    There were many cases when a reincarnated Demon King or a Demon Emperor would destroy a prosperous kingdom or take over the throne.


    That kingdom was then destroyed by the neighboring kingdoms. Those neighboring kingdoms would form an alliance andpletely demolish the kingdom holding a Demon King or Emperor.


    This alliance was called the <strong>Purging Demonic Kingdom Alliance</strong><strong>!</strong>


    It was a special kind of alliance created only when the kingdom next to them was proven to hold demonic influence within them.


    There was another crucial point to this, though. Once a kingdom had been proven to hold Demonic Influence, it was absolutelypulsory for the neighboring kingdoms to form the Purging Demonic Kingdom Alliance and destroy that particr kingdom.


    The one who set this order was the Qin Empire in the east. They would sometimes use their reputation, strength, and even wealth to ensure that all those kingdoms would form the Purging Demonic Kingdom Alliance.


    Even two rival kingdoms would sometimes join hands to destroy the kingdom with the demonic influence.


    The King had pulled out many strange things from his treasury.


    Spencer remained at his home. He wasn''t asked to move for this mission since the king and Shun knew that his daughter was hopelessly in love with Edwin.


    Considering that the two talked every day, Sophie might mention something rted to Spencer. If Edwin caught even a whiff of what they were nning, they would never be able to catch him.


    Shun and the King made the right option by not involving Spencer. It''s not just because of Sophie; it''s because of Bianca as well.


    The woman was under Azaroth''s hypnosis, and she would be determined to learn what the King was nning via Spencer or through his influence.


    Unfortunately, even Bianca didn''t catch a whiff of this n. It remained a secret from her.


    As a result, Edwin had no idea that Shun had begun advancing towards him while expanding Kloras Town and assisting one of the factions from the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Inquisitor Fox, better known as Shun, was also one of the individuals leading his men against Edwin.


    The King had sent many other 6 Star Warriors as support in case something unexpected urred.


    They continued to move for the next three days and neared the Kloras Town with each passing day.


    A few dayster, Edwin sensed arge forceing towards the Kloras Town from the west. He was absolutely startled to sense thisrge force because it contained lots of 5 Star Warriors and 6 Star Warriors only.


    <em>''What is going on?! Why are so many warriors moving towards Kloras Town? It can''t be because of a simple check. So many 6 Star Warriors wouldn''t be required. They areing to attack the Kloras Town or me?''</em> Edwin frowned as he faintly understood what was going on.


    <em>''Alright, calm down. First, I need to figure out who is leading this force,</em>'' Edwin calmly thought.


    He pulled out his Voice Transmission Array Stone and used it to contact a couple of men who would have probably known about it.


    Edwin frowned as his Voice Transmission Array Stone didn''t connect with any of his men.


    <em>''¡­ Why can''t I get in touch with them? This is strange. Something is going on, and I need to find out about it quickly,</em>'' Edwin thought solemnly.


    Edwin then tried to contact Siluca Walsh. But unfortunately, the same thing happened there.


    Edwin knew how infatuated this woman was with him. Siluca wouldn''t ignore his connection on her personal Voice Transmission Array Stone. Only a couple of people could contact her through her personal Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    He decided to contact Rein Schwarz.


    Rein Schwarz did connect with Edwin. He spoke out, "Who is it?"


    "It''s me, Dark Shadow," Edwin responded coldly.


    "Aah. It''s you, Dark. So, what is it? Why contact me today?" Rein Schwarz spoke a little hurriedly.


    "You are busy?" Edwin asked while narrowing his eyes.


    "A little. You know, I got a lot to do these days," Rein Schwarz tried to calm his nerves and replied normally.


    Edwin ignored those words and then asked him, "Is there anyrge-scale movement you are aware of?"


    Rein Schwarz spoke a little slowly, "No. There is no such movement."


    "I see. That was helpful, Rein Schwarz," Edwin responded coolly.


    After Rein Schwarz ced down his Voice Transmission Array Stone, he stared ahead in the eyes of a beautiful woman.


    This was Inquisitor Cat, also known as Nancy Gill. She had a bright smile on her oval face as she spoke, "¡­That was a good choice, my dear. You won''t need to die now."


    Around Rein Schwarz were tens of unknown men holding different kinds of weapons.


    In the meantime, Edwin ced down his Voice Transmission Array Stone. He understood that something was going on.


    Someone had realized the threat he posed and had already begun to move after him.


    <em>''Whoever is targeting me has investigated me deeply. He has dealt with all of my possible subordinates and allies. Those regr reports I received in the recent months must have been forged by them. Perhaps they caught my subordinates and then forced them to be double agents. Or maybe they captured or killed them before cing another guy who could write simr reports as those men.''</em>


    <em>''Whatever the case is, it''s clear that someone has targeted me and has actually been dealing with the web I spread in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.''</em>


    <em>''The force that''sing for my head. Only the King or someone very close to the king could possess this authority. This means the King has realized my identity or at the least, he has an idea of it.''</em>


    ''<em>Since it''s the king who is on the move, Siluca and her family must have been massacred as well.''</em>


    Soon, Edwin picked up his Voice Transmission Array Stone. He tried to contact hisst resort.


    Edwin waited for a couple of seconds before his Voice Transmission Array Stone suddenly connected.


    "Tronte. I need your assistance. Arge group of warriors ising towards Kloras Town. Tell me who is leading it," Edwin asked.


    At that time, Edwin heard the words that utterly startled him!


    "<strong><em>Why do you think I will answer that question, demon?</em></strong>" Tronte''s calm and cold voice resounded in Edwin''s ears.


    <em>''<strong>Oh shit!</strong>''</em>


    Tronte was the person Edwin didn''t want as an enemy. This man knew a lot of information regarding Edwin. Hiswork was sorge that Edwin''swork couldn''tpare to it.


    However, fate had other ns.


    ~~


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 Chapter 312 - Jonas Arrives

    Edwin had been utterly shocked to hear that sentence from Tronte. However, when he thought deeply about it, he realized that there was nothing strange for Tronte to know about his identity as a demon.


    <em>''Considering how widespread hiswork is, I should have expected him to connect the dots by now. The situation is not out of my control yet,''</em> Edwin thought and was slightly relieved.


    He was confident in dealing with this issue.


    "I know you must have a lot of questions for me, Tronte. But believe me, I am not connected to demons. This is merely a power I used to protect myself and get closer to my ambition," Edwin tried to exin fervently.


    Tronte replied coolly, "What was your ambition, Edwin? You mentioned it was the war between the two kingdoms so that the Rhodes House couldn''t pursue you and you could lead a peaceful life. But you are involved in all sorts of things. Politics, trade, secret deals with another country, destroying viges, forcing an entire religion against a dukedom.. Do I need to mention more?"


    Edwin remained calm as he heard those words. Although he was surprised how Tronte knew such sensitive information about him, he understood how Tronte linked him to his demonic identity.


    "¡­Listen, Tronte, I don''t have the time to exin this all to you. You need to help me if I am to survive this day," Edwin spoke with an anxious voice.


    "The situation is so serious?" Tronte asked a little worriedly.


    Edwin informed Tronte, "Yes. Arge group of 5 Star Warriors and 6 Star Warriors is approaching me."


    Suddenly, Edwin''s eyes widened as he sensed more groups from the other directions as well.


    <em>''They don''t n to allow me to escape,</em>'' Edwin thought while clenching his fists.


    "Should I help you?" Tronte asked. This time, Edwin stayed silent. He found this question a bit strange.


    "Did you think I would offer you something like that, demon?" Tronte said sharply.


    "Did you ever imagine that such a day woulde for you when you took over my friend''s body?" Tronte spoke with a furious tone.


    Edwin''s eyes went wide with shock. He thought <em>''I see¡­ My identity has beenpromised. It''s the worst-case scenario then.''</em>


    He immediately threw away the Voice Transmission Array Stone and flew towards the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s direction.


    He would be safe from the Sinyalian Kingdom''s warriors if he could reach the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    A few sensors by Inquisitor Fox''s side sensed someone flying towards the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    He immediately informed the Inquisitor Fox, "Sir, a lone 5 Star Warrior is rushing towards the Lamhilhan Theocracy. Our cover has beenpromised."


    "That''s very much possible," Inquisitor Fox calmly responded.


    The man was slightly confused by Inquisitor Fox''s calm response and further asked, "Sir, should we not pick up speed?"


    "No need," Inquisitor Fox replied just as calmly.


    Edwin continued to fly towards the Lamhilhan Theocracy at his top speed. However, he suddenly sensed a huge power ahead of him.


    He recognized that aura clearly. It belonged to none other than Jonas Rhodes, Edwin Rhodes''s father.


    The man appeared to be waiting for Edwin there. He was wearing some sort of spiritual clothing that concealed his Ardor until he red it up.


    Jonas held an exquisite reddish-colored spear. Its de was sharp, and its shaft was quite long.


    "I have wanted to kill you for so long. Finally, this day has arrived," Jonas Rhodes spoke with a calm yet furious tone.


    Edwin raised his eyebrows as he wondered <em>''From his words, it''s as if he knew about my identity since a long time ago. Then who is the mastermind behind this entire scheme?''</em>


    However, Edwin knew he didn''t have the time to remain lost in thought right now. He had to fight Jonas Rhodes.


    Edwin knew he wasn''t a match against the 6 Star Warrior. This was because the energy and thews utilized by a 6 Star Warrior were fundamentally superior.


    There were methods to bridge the gap. And one such method was avable to Edwin.


    <em>''Here goes nothing,</em>'' Edwin thought while the entire aura around him transformed.


    The Demonic Ardor, the Holy Ardor, and even the Humanely Ardor was released from his body. Jonas remained calm as he sensed the presence of three greatws around Edwin''s body.


    "You truly possess the three kinds of Ardor," He spoke.


    Edwin didn''t like that tone. It seemed as though Jonas already had some suspicions regarding his Triquetra Ardor.


    "<strong>Divine Holy Devil Physique!</strong>" Once Edwin utilized this technique, two enormous horns protruded from Edwin''s forehead, and a pair of magnificent angel wings protruded from his back.


    Meanwhile, Jonas held his Spear tightly, and multiple Spear Qi wasunched at Edwin.


    Edwin remained calm as he stared at those Spear Qi approaching him. Heunched multiple Holy Rays at those Spear Qi.


    As the Holy Rays struck against the Spear Qi, it took a bit of Edwin''s effort to nullify those Spear Qi.


    Once he had nullified those Spear Qi, he immediately used his Holy Lightning Ardor to fly in another direction.


    This was his true motive for utilizing the Divine Holy Devil Physique.


    Jonas didn''t appear to be worried as he saw Edwin trying to escape.


    "<strong>Nova Thrust!</strong>" Jonas thrust his spear in Edwin''s direction.


    Suddenly, the spearunched a densely concentrated beam of pure Ardor and Spear Qi.


    Edwin moved out of the way but sadly, his shoulder was still struck by that attack. He held his shoulder and continued to flee in that direction. He was flying in a zig-zag manner this time, so it would be harder for Jonas to urately strike him.


    Meanwhile, his Triquetra Ardor was quickly dealing with the Spear Qi and Jonas''s Ardor that had been injected within his body.


    Jonas was surprised when he sensed that Edwin had already dealt with his Spear Qi and Ardor.


    <em>''So, I can''t beat him with little tricks. Well, that''s to be expected. My opponent is a Demon God,''</em> Jonas thought before immediatelyunching himself towards Edwin.


    mes were released from his back as he used them to boost his flying speed.


    Edwin sensed that Jonas was approaching him and immediately began to fly in a straight way. He couldn''t continue the zigzag way of flying in fear of Jonas catching up to him.


    Edwin was just slightly slower than Jonas when it came to flying. The fact that Edwin was so fast while having a lower cultivation base was already impressive.


    Jonas knew that if they continued to fly like this, he was bound to catch up with Edwin. However, it might take a couple of hours since the distance was shortening very slowly.


    "<strong>Spear Qi Barrage!</strong>" Heunched another dozen of Spear Qi at Edwin. These were even faster in speed as they threatened to strike Edwin.


    Edwin was unafraid of their might. He couldn''t be harmed by these Spear Qi. He was more concerned that his speed would be hampered, making it impossible for him to flee Jonas after that.


    Edwin dodged those Spear Qi as he flew up and down. Even as he was concentrated on dodging those Spear Qi, his speed didn''t slow down in the slightest.


    Jonas was quite surprised as he thought <em>''What amazing focus. He managed to even dodge without even turning his head.''</em>


    This was a feat Jonas knew he couldn''t achieve.


    Suddenly, as Jonas continued to pursue Edwin, he was struck by a very strange electric charge.


    "Eh?" Jonas found out that he couldn''t fly forward.


    The Spear Qi burst around him as he was freed from that strange electric charge.


    A serious expression appeared on Jonas''s face as he stared in Edwin''s direction ''<em>He is setting up traps for me as well. That must have been an electric mine.''</em>


    ~~


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 Chapter 313 - Celestial Hell Flames

    As he was fleeing, Edwin continued to set up electric mines that slowed Jonas by a couple of seconds.


    These electric mines were practically invisible, but if Jonas concentrated hard enough, he could detect them. However, even if he concentrated hard and discovered the mines, his peak speed would be too fast for him to dodge the electric mines.


    But if he slowed down his speed to dodge these electrical mines, Edwin would slip from his grasps.


    "<strong>me Breath!</strong>" Jonas released mes in Edwin''s direction and burned all the electric mines in his way.


    Edwin continued to use his Holy Ardor to fly at his top speed. When he sensed that Jonas was using mes to burn those Electric Mines, Edwin immediately stopped setting up those electrical mines.


    Edwin pointed at Jonas with his right arm while his body faced forward and flew in that direction.


    "<strong>Hellme Cannon!</strong>".


    His two fingers released a strong st of pure Hell mes that targeted Jonas. Edwin''s Hell mes was one of the strongest mes from Purgatory.


    Even if his cultivation was lower than Jonas''s, the me could still damage Jonas.


    Jonas was shocked when his me Breath was cut apart by those purple me sts. He knew precisely how strong his me breath was.


    Even a 6 Star Warrior couldn''t easily ignore it. Yet, an attack from a 5 Star Warrior had easily cut apart his me breath. This attack was definitely beyond ordinary.


    Jonas immediately lowered his altitude to dodge that attack.


    As he dodged the Hellme Cannon, Edwin gauged his position andunched another st at him.


    Jonas was startled once more as he soared up to avoid the assault. He was about to shift his stance to fire his own attack when another Purple me st wasunched at him, forcing him to move to avoid it.


    Jonas clicked his tongue in annoyance as he was forced to change his position again and again.


    <em>''He is ying with me. He attacks me just when I am thinking ofunching an attack at him. And his attack isunched at an angle where I will need to break my posture to dodge it. He is truly a monster!''</em>


    Jonas thought while dodging another attack.


    Edwin was quite efficient in terms of attacking Jonas. However, he knew that this wouldn''t be enough for him to escape.


    Jonas wasn''t the only 6 Star Warrior after him. Many warriors were approaching him from all directions.


    Edwin could sense these many warriors, but he wasn''t sure how many warriors were keeping their presence concealed by wearing those clothes that blocked spiritual energy.


    Due to this reason, Edwin remained clueless about the true number of warriors in any particr direction.


    He had to think a lot before choosing in which direction he should flee. And in the end, he was fleeing in the direction from where he sensed an average number of warriors.


    Soon enough, he came into contact with those warriors. When those warriors saw Edwin, they were shocked to see demonic horns on his head and celestial wings on his back.


    All the warriors stopped andunched their respective attacks at him. Multiple elemental attacks were released in Edwin''s direction.


    There were so many attacks that it was impossible to dodge them all. Edwin knew he was going to be hit with some attacks. Thus, he used his Mystical Eyes of Perception and gauged the power of those attacks.


    Not all attacks wereunched by the 6 Star Warriors. There were attacks belonging to the 5 Star Warriors as well.


    Soon, Edwin had analyzed all the attacks, and he was on the move!


    He''d determined the absolute pattern for flying between those strikes while taking the least amount of damage!


    Many warriors were surprised but also delighted as they saw Edwin diving into thatrge barrage of attacks.


    From where they stood, they didn''t believe that Edwin had any chance of surviving those attacks.


    Multiple explosions urred that blinded these warriors for a couple of seconds. No one was worried, though.


    Since Edwin had dived into those attacks, he was bound to die. Their task was done. They could return now and receive the promised reward.


    But when the light returned to their eyes, they saw waves of Purple mes beingunched at them.


    Many warriors immediately ran away to dodge those Purple mes. When they raised their heads, they saw Edwin was still flying. There were a few scratches on his body that were healing rapidly.


    <em>''Tch. One of the attacks barely grazed me,</em>'' Edwin thought as he flew ahead.


    Jonas noticed that Edwin''s speed had slowed down a little, and he could finallyunch his attack.


    "<strong>Light Comet!</strong>" His spear lit up with strong embers of me, and Jonas threw it towards Edwin.


    Edwin sensed that me Spear approaching his body and flew up ahead to dodge that me Spear.


    Jonas smirked when he noticed this attempt and spoke, "Not so quick." He raised his arm, and suddenly the spear that was about to pass Edwin stopped.


    It then changed its direction andunched itself in the direction Edwin had dodged.


    ''<strong><em>Man and Spear as one!</em></strong>'' Edwin immediately realized Jonas''s spear intent stage. Since Jonas could control his spear even though he was so far away, it meant that the spear had already be an extension of his body.


    ''<em>Oh damn!</em>'' Edwin thought as he tried to change his direction and dodge this attack as well.


    However, it ended up being useless when Jonas changed the spear''s direction again. The spear was quite quick, and it immediately stabbed Edwin''s guts.


    When the Spear stabbed his guts, he immediately sensed the Spear Qi overflowing in all parts of his body.


    Jonas smiled in relief as he felt that the battle was finally over. He had finally managed to stab Edwin''s stomach with his spear.


    His Spear was going to inject even more Spear Qi within Edwin''s body. It wouldn''t be so easy to deal with his Spear Qi.


    The connection between Jonas and his Spear was so strong that they could be considered a single entity. The Spear Qi within Edwin''s body wasing straight from Jonas.


    Jonas continued to approach Edwin and even tried to recall his spear when suddenly, Edwin moved his arms and grabbed hold of that spear.


    There was a resolute look on his face as he clenched his teeth and whispered, "<strong>Celestial Hell mes!</strong>"


    Suddenly, Purple mes and Golden mes lit up around Edwin''s body.


    Jonas frowned as he saw those two kinds of mes. They gave him a very strange feeling. Those Golden mes especially. He felt as though he had sensed them somewhere else.


    "<strong>Burn! Burn! Burn!</strong>" Edwin kept on muttering those words with a slow voice as those Golden and Purple mes suddenly red up around him.


    The heat was so great that the Warriors around Edwin felt that their skin was burning.


    Jonas frowned when he noticed his Ardor and his Spear Intent were absolutely burned.


    ''<em>Just how many abilities does he possess?!</em>'' He was slightly frustrated.


    "It seems I can''t escape without a fight," Edwin spoke with an absolutely serious expression.


    He stopped here to have this fight because he had sensed arge number of warriors in the area around him.


    ''<em>Those warriors finally revealed their presence. But still, to think there were so many of them.</em>''


    ~~


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 Chapter 314 - Starforce

    The mes around Edwin moved in response to his thoughts, attacking his opponents, who tried to get closer to him to kill him.


    Jonas was startled as he saw the purple mes approaching him. He jumped back and dodged those purple mes.


    From that, he found out that those mes had a limited reach. They could only extend up to 50 meters around Edwin''s body.


    Stretching any longer than that, the mes would be too weak to damage a 6 Star Warrior.


    Only the 6 Star Warriors dared to approach Edwin while the 5 Star Warriors flew a little farther away andunched their long-ranged attacks at him.


    Edwin ignored those long-ranged attacks. His Golden mes would meet those attacks head-on and nullify them..


    Thus, Edwin didn''t need to split his attention for those attacks.


    He was focused on the 6 Star Warriors around him. Using his Mystic Eyes of Perception, he checked their emotions and guessed who would attack first.


    Suddenly, one of the 6 Star Warriors flew towards Edwin. The Purple mes naturally targeted him and tried to burn him.


    A protective aura was created around that warrior''s body as it protected him from those terrifying Purple mes.


    His fists were lit up with orange-colored energy.


    <em>''Coming for a fistfight, huh?''</em> Edwin thought with a disdainful look on his face.


    He could sense that his opponent didn''t possess any intent even though he was a 6 Star Warrior. He had reached this rank not through his own power but by inheriting the power of another expert.


    Warriors who advanced by relying on the work of others would never make it far on this road of cultivation.


    Moreover, this kind of warrior would possess very weak individual strength.


    The Purple mes were recalled by Edwin. He was letting this warriore closer to him and fight him in closebat.


    When the two were close enough, his opponentunched a punch at Edwin with his fist glowing with orange ardor.


    Edwin dodged that attack by flying to the side and punched his face. This punch wasn''t that strong since Edwin didn''t want him to fly away.


    Suddenly, Edwin kicked his upper body. This kick was very strong as it broke and burned his opponent''s upper body.


    The other warriors noticed that Edwin was focused on his opponent in his closebat battle and felt it was an opportunity to gang up on him.


    They immediately charged towards Edwin with their quickest possible speed. When Edwin sensed all these warriorsing towards him, he smirked gleefully.


    Edwin was building up energy within his body as he flew in a straight direction. He was flying in the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s direction!


    The warriors around Edwin were confused and shocked.


    Jonas was the one who figured out what Edwin was up to. Because no warriors were remaining on the periphery, he wanted all the warriors to converge on his position so he could make a break for it.


    The warriors couldn''t change their directions so sharply and so suddenly. Thus, it would take some time for them to begin following Edwin with their top speed.


    Although their speed might be a little faster than him, Edwin could use these mes and those Electrical Mines to slow them down.


    "What a monster. Even in such a situation, he hasn''t lost hope and can actually seed in escaping from us," One of the warriorsmented.


    Another warrior who was following Edwin responded, "True. Most warriors would have given up by now."


    "Initially, I didn''t understand why the King wanted all of us to work against a single warrior. But now I see, he is strong and slippery," Another warriormented.


    Suddenly, they activated the Electrical Mines left behind by Edwin. However, along with the Electrical Mines, he left a small gift for them.


    This time, it was in the form of a small sphere of Hell mes. They immediately activated after the Electric Mines were activated.


    A small explosion urred around those Electrical Mines as those Hell me Spheres activated.


    A few warriors paused as they witnessed those explosions. Onlyter did they realize that the damage from the explosions wouldn''t be that great.


    It would only leave behind a couple of bruises.


    They realized that Edwin was ying with their minds. If this continued on, he would soon escape!


    Just as Edwin continued to fly forwards, he sensed another group of warriors ahead of him.


    Edwin was quite shocked this time. These warriors numbered nearly a few dozens. And they were all 6 Star Warriors.


    ''<em>Their aura isn''t weak. They can be considered strong even within the 6 Star Rank. I need to think of a solution quickly,''</em> Edwin thought.


    Just when Edwin was thinking of running in another direction, he soon saw the warriors who were charging towards him.


    One such warrior caught his attention. A warrior was wearing the Fox Mask, and he was entirely concealed from Edwin''s senses.


    <em>''Inquisitor Fox as well, huh?''</em> Edwin thought as he stared at this man''s mask.


    <em>''I should figure out his identity. It would be useful for my true body,''</em> Edwin thought as he changed his mind. He had decided to fight against these warriors.


    Edwin immediately dashed towards Inquisitor Fox and his group of warriors. He had already pulled out his Demonic Sword and empowered it with his Hell mes to damage his opponents.


    As he moved forwards, a couple of 6 Star Warriorsunched their attacks as well.


    "<strong>Combo Move: Lightning me Tiger!</strong>"


    This attack was utilized by two warriors. Theybined their abilities and created a Lightning me Tiger just ahead of themselves.


    However, the Lightning me Tiger couldn''t withstand thebined might of the Hell mes and the Holy mes.


    These mes were at a higher tier aspared to their elements. Thus, the Lightning me Tiger was soon dispersed.


    Meanwhile, Edwin noticed that Inquisitor Fox had moved from his spot. There was a sparkly light around his palm.


    ''<em>The heck?!</em>'' This sparkly lightpletely shocked Edwin as he recognized this energy.


    "<em><strong>Stardust!</strong></em>" Inquisitor Fox whispered slowly as heunched that sparkly light at Edwin.


    Edwin immediately raised his arms and brought both his mes ahead of his body to block that Stardust.


    With thebined might of his Holy and Hell mes, he managed to barely block that Stardust attack.


    Nearly all the particles had been burned by those two mes.


    <em>''Shit! He possesses <strong>Starforce</strong>! I never imagined that this Inquisitor Fox was an Inheritor of the Stars. To think I would meet an <strong>Inheritor of Stars</strong> so soon in this life!''</em> Edwin thought as he continued to block the Stardust.


    He then heard Inquisitor Fox''s voice, "Attack him now! I have already spread the Stardust around him. He can''t move from his spot!"


    Suddenly, a chain appeared from those mes that coiled around Edwin''s legs.


    Edwin resisted and used both his mes to burn it off, but it didn''t work. The chain was getting tighter.


    It didn''t work even after he gathered all of his elements andunched them at this chain. He was still restrained by the chain.


    Edwin eventually discovered that he couldn''t reach out to his Ardor. The mes that had enveloped him had vanished, and Edwin could be seen imprisoned in the chains that coiled around his body.


    Edwin''s horns and Wings had already vanished once those chains trapped him.


    ~~


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 Chapter 315 - The Prince Of Stars

    Once Edwin was captured in those chains, multiple arrows were thrown at him. These arrows targeted his vital organs and immobilized him.


    Only Edwin''s mouth could move after so many arrows had pierced his body.


    Shun continued to observe Edwin and frowned when he saw no trace of worry on his face, "¡­You arepletely trapped now, Demon."


    Edwin smirked as he asked, "Is that so?"


    Shun confidently responded, "Yes. All your allies have been dealt with. They have either been killed or threatened to sever their connection with you."


    Edwin still remained emotionless. He had already realized all these things..


    Shun also noticed hisck of emotion, and there would be no point if he kept going about these small things.


    "Take him to the camp," Shun ordered a few warriors, and they grabbed hold of Edwin before leading him to their camp.


    In the camp, Edwin was ced behind bars that were specially designed to nullify Ardor. Shun was sure that Edwin could no longer escape from that location.


    Meanwhile, the warriors began to celebrate as they had aplished their mission and would be rewarded soon.


    Shun didn''t join in the celebration since he was on his way to the ce where Edwin was imprisoned. He had a couple of questions for Edwin.


    Soon, he stood ahead of Edwin and asked him, "¡­What were you nning?"


    There was no response from Edwin. Shun then began to speak, "What I know is that you nned to have the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom be at war against each other. But why? What exactly would you gain if the two kingdoms were at war against each other?"


    Since Edwin was not replying to him, Shun continued ahead, "¡­Were you nning to get stronger through this event? But how?"


    Edwin remained silent, and now, this silence was getting on Shun''s nerves. Even though he had captured Edwin, he was receiving no response.


    "Why did you have the Radiant Church fight against the Roger Dukedom?" Shun asked.


    "¡­You are wasting your breath. You won''t get any answers from me," Edwin finally spoke something.


    "I see¡­" Shun whispered.


    "No, you don''t understand. You have no idea who you are talking to," Edwin spoke.


    However, Shun shook his head and responded confidently, "I do know who I am talking to. A Demon God."


    Edwin''s eyes widened slightly as he heard those words. A few secondster, he chuckled and then whispered, "My Totem, huh?"


    "That''s correct," Shun nodded his head.


    "¡­I see. How long have you known then?" Edwin asked curiously.


    Shun sneered in response and responded, "You are the one who is being questioned. I might consider answering you if you answer my question first."


    "¡­" Edwin decided to remain silent.


    He had many more questions in his mind, though. Why would the inheritor of the Stars be in such a backward kingdom?


    The Inheritors of the Stars were quite famous even during his previous life. They possessed foreign energy called Starforce.


    This energy used strength from the stars. Each of these inheritors would be connected to a single star and would derive their energy from it. During the day, they would be weak while they would be strong in the night, depending on how brightly their corresponding star was shining.


    However, even amongst the inheritors of the stars, there was an individual who could connect to all the stars in the sky.


    That man was called the Prince of Stars! He would receive a significant boost from the Sun''s energy during the daytime and the millions of stars during the night time.


    Azaroth remembered that when the Prince of Stars had reached the 8 Star Rank, the Demon Venerable and the Primordial God had attacked him in secret, killing him before he could grow any further.


    This was one secret that might have shaken the world. Till now, other than Azaroth, Demon Venerable, and the Primordial God, no one knew just how the Prince of Stars had died.


    Edwin was carefully analyzing Shun with his Mystic Eyes of Perception. His Mystic Eyes of Perception operated on Spiritual Energy, so Shun didn''t find out about it.


    Edwin noticed faint energy injected within Shun''s body. Since it was still daytime and no stars were glowing in the sky, it meant that this energy was from the Sun.


    <em>''Is he connected to the sun, or is he the Prince of Stars of this generation?''</em> He was curious about this.


    ''<em>I can''t find out like this,</em>'' Edwin internally sighed out.


    He had tried all his methods to break these chains and escape from this prison. But they all failed.


    At the least, he couldn''t escape from this prison with his physical body. He could leave behind his Physical Body here and escape with his Spiritual Body.


    After escaping with his Spiritual Body, he couldbine back with Azaroth.


    Currently, Azaroth already knew what had happened. He was quite startled that he had been caught like this. But slowly, he let out a sigh and thought <em>''If I didn''t make those decisions, I wouldn''t have reached anywhere. But still, next time, I need to be more cautious.''</em>


    Azaroth had teleported to Kloras Town and was gathering his herbs.


    Edwin had already constructed a teleportation channel from his end. So, it was extremely easy for Azaroth toe and take those herbs.


    Azaroth didn''t go and try to assist Edwin because he knew that there was no point. Revealing his identity here would not be a good idea.


    It would instead be better to allow the Sinyalian Kingdom to let out a breath of relief.


    <em>''It''s a pity that I couldn''t get what I wanted from this Kingdom</em>,'' Azaroth coolly thought before teleporting back to the Glerian Kingdom.


    Meanwhile, Edwin remained imprisoned since he wanted to gather more information before escaping with his Spiritual Body.


    However, he found out that there was no point in remaining here any longer. Thus, in the cold night, Edwin''s body suddenly fell to the ground.


    Pure spiritual energy was released from that corpse as he went past the bars. He was moving towards Kloras Town.


    Even as a form of Spiritual Energy, he could still utilize that teleportation array and teleport to Azaroth''s side.


    The next morning, a warrior who came to check up on Edwin found out that his body wasn''t moving.


    Shun was quickly notified and rushed to the scene. He was shocked when he saw Edwin''s fallen body.


    He had expected many things like Edwin making a run for it or some other trick to escape the prison. But this wasn''t one of them.


    Suddenly, he thought <em>''Is he faking his death?''</em>


    He then looked at a warrior nearby, "Have Sir Mikee and check up on his condition."


    "As youmand, Inquisitor," the warrior immediately went to look for this man named Mike.


    This man was a 6 Star Warrior and a physician as well. He definitely wouldn''t be fooled by some fake death trick.


    Soon, Mike appeared at the scene and checked up on Edwin''s body. Shun and the other warriors stared at him with a look of anticipation.


    Mike then stood up and stared at Shun before speaking, "He is dead. I guarantee it. I don''t know if he has some trick to breathe life into this body again or not. But to prevent anyplications, let''s burn his body."


    "True," A few more 6 Star Warriors agreed to this suggestion.


    Meanwhile, Shun was left stunned now that Edwin''s death had been confirmed.


    <em>''I never imagined him tomit suicide! And how did hemit suicide anyway?''</em> These thoughts began to haunt Shun for the next couple of days.


    ~~


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 Chapter 316 - Leaving The Dragon Tiger Palace

    Azaroth had been living within the Veninza City of the Glerian Kingdom. In thest couple of months, he hadn''t moved much and instead focused on creating pellets and personal training.


    He had ingested all sorts of pellets that could increase his cultivation rank and had reached the peak of the 5 Star Rank.


    Now, he required arge quantity of Death Energy and a lot of faith energy. His n for acquiring the death energy remained the same.


    The n to acquire the faith energy had to be altered. Initially, he had been thinking of letting the faith energy umte bit by bit through the people in Kloras Town.


    However, he possessed no control over Kloras Town. Inquisitor Fox was going to realize that religion was a hoax and put a stop to it. Even that supply of the bit of faith energy would stop..


    <em>''The most surprising thing was that there is a potential prince of stars within the Sinyalian Kingdom. Moreover, he''s a highly intellectual man. This man managed to corner my clone and force him tomit suicide and fuse back with me,''</em> Azaroth thought seriously.


    <em>''If my guess is right, it''s Inquisitor Fox who informed Tronte about my true identity. This man even knew that I was a reincarnated Demon God. Moreover, he seemed to have realized this since quite some time ago,''</em> Azaroth further thought as he stood up.


    He was currently in his workshop, where he modified his weapons and concocted some pellets.


    These pellets were intended for his subordinates, not himself. Azaroth''s body was currently packed with medicinal toxins, which he needed to properly digest or else they would begin to harm his body.


    Fortunately, what urred in the Sinyalian Kingdom wouldn''t affect the Glerian Kingdom. The situation here was still under Azaroth''s control.


    Yrellea had informed him that she had left shire City. The Misty Flower Pavilion had been left in her apprentice''s hands.


    Her apprentice wasn''t as strong as Yrellea, but she was skilled in managing the pavilion. Yrellea''s subordinates also seemed to respect her, so Yrellea was sure that the branch in shire City would remain alright.


    Azaroth knew that the primary reason this woman chose Veninza City was that he was here.


    However, Azaroth didn''t mind since he did want Yrellea toe to Veninza City and set up her branch here.


    The situation was a lot different in Veninza City. If her Misty Flower Pavilion was sessful in this city, herwork was going to spread even further. It would include the sects as well.


    While he was musing to himself, he received a contact from someone. The individual was directly contacting Azaroth''s spirit.


    Azaroth understood that was someone among his retainers. Only they possessed the ability to directly contact his spirit like that.


    He soon checked up who it was and realized it wasing from Ralph''s ring. He connected to this spiritual connection.


    "Master, I need your help!" Ralph spoke anxiously.


    Azaroth raised his brow in question. He wondered why Ralph was so anxious, "Calm down and tell me what happened."


    "¡­Yes, master," Ralph took three deep breaths before he calmed down a bit.


    "Master, you remember those pills you gave me, right? The Apex Blood Pellets. I handed them to my subordinates just as you told me to, and they all awakened their inner potential and managed to break through. In this month, the yearly inspection of the Dragon Tiger Pce urs ording to which rewards and ranks are distributed," Ralph informed Azaroth very calmly.


    Azaroth remained calm as he faintly understood what the issue was.


    "Many elders had been shocked by the rapid advancement of warriors in my group. They investigated a bit, and one of my subordinates informed them of the truth. One of the elders is demanding the pill form from me," Ralph spoke.


    "He has threatened me that he would kill me if I don''t produce the pill form for him," Ralph added with a slightly anxious voice.


    "That''s all?" Azaroth was mildly disappointed.


    "Master, he is a 5 Star Warrior! I can''t fight him! He was also the President''s disciple, so other than the President, nobody dares to say anything back to him," Ralph immediately responded.


    "¡­Was that all?" Azaroth asked, this time, even more disappointed, "The answer is right ahead of you, though."


    "Huh? What is the answer?" Ralph asked with a startled expression.


    "What is the size of your group? And by that, I mean those who arepletely loyal to you," Azaroth inquired coldly.


    "My group has a little more than hundred subordinates who arepletely devoted to me. The rest are in my group to get some benefits," Ralph informed as he tried to analyze his group.


    "And you have otherrades in that faction, right? How would you rate their growth? How likely is it that they would be the future pirs of the Dragon Tiger Pce?" Azaroth inquired curiously.


    "¡­It''s very likely. I have two closerades who are likely to reach a high rank in the Dragon Tiger Pce. As long as they don''t die mid-way, that is," Ralph responded to Azaroth.


    Azaroth was satisfied with that answer. He then gave a simple solution to Ralph, "That''s good enough. You also have a good number of subordinates. It''s time for you to leave the Dragon Tiger Pce."


    "¡­Alright, master," Ralph spoke.


    He never thought that Azaroth would have him pull out of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    "Our motive had always been to poach the disciples from the Dragon Tiger Pce. As it is quite famous, many warriors apply to this organization to gain money. Among these warriors are talents."


    "The warriors you have recruited might be untalented warriors who couldn''t join better groups, but I can make them realize their potential," Azaroth spoke confidently.


    Ralph was quite satisfied with that exnation as he cut off the spiritual connection between him and Azaroth.


    He soon called out for all his devoted subordinates and informed them of his decision to leave the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    He gave them the reason that it was due to the threats of the elder from the Dragon Tiger Pce. He didn''t want to make them fight against the Dragon Tiger Pce''s authorities.


    Many of his subordinates immediately spoke out, "We wille with you!"


    "Master, you changed our lives and gave us hope. Along with that hope, you also instilled a belief that we could be stronger," One of Ralph''s subordinates spoke out. His voice was so loud that it resounded in the area.


    "I wish to support you in this journey as well. The Dragon Tiger Pce had already shown that it would only support those disciples with prestigious backgrounds. If not for you, we wouldn''t have received those rewards at all. It was only because of you that I stayed in this corrupt association," Another one spoke out.


    Ralph had intended to encourage them to follow him. However, he couldn''t help but feel emotional when they all stepped up and gave him reasons to apany him on his voyage out of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    By staying in the Dragon Tiger Pce, they could be assured of a stable future. However, this wouldn''t be the case if they followed him. Yet, they showed no hesitation in deciding to leave this Dragon Tiger Pce for him.


    "Alright, I promise you won''t regret this decision," Ralph spoke a little emotionally.


    He then led them all out of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    They were all gathered in the location that was mentioned to Ralph by Azaroth.


    There were enough residences to amodate all of them. After they were asked to get settled in, Ralph went away.


    He wanted to meet up with Azaroth as soon as possible.


    ~~


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 Chapter 317 - Azaroths Intent Spirits

    Ralph soon met up with Azaroth. Once Ralph saw Azaroth, he was immediately on his knees.


    Azaroth was satisfied with his devoted look and soon spoke, "Alright, stand up now."


    He then offered him, "Have something to drink." There were lots of drinks on the shelf near Ralph.


    Ralph soon picked up a drink. He poured it out for Azaroth and then himself.


    The master and retainer began to drink their respective alcohol while rxing on their chairs.


    Ralph soon asked, "What are your further orders, Master? How do I develop from here?"


    "That''s easy.. In fact, I suspect that you know the solution already. You just want me to say it for you," Azaroth spoke with a smile.


    Ralph was a bit ashamed since he knew what he was saying was true. He couldn''t decide whether what he was thinking was a good idea or not. At the very least, if Azaroth gave him thismand, he wouldn''t be in doubt about whether it was a smart idea or not. Azaroth would never offer him a bad n.


    "Decide for yourself. If I help you now, you will never grow to be a leader. It''s high time that you learn to make and stand by your own decisions," Azaroth spoke coldly.


    Ralph remained silent for a few seconds before he nodded his head.


    "¡­Alright," He responded affirmatively.


    Ralph''s n was pretty simple. He was nning to continue his hunt within the forest with his group.


    Instead of submitting those corpses to the Dragon Tiger Pce for the contribution points, Ralph would now strike a deal with the local merchants.


    They required the beasts'' corpses as well. Through it, they could create lots of things such as weapons, armor, clothing, ornaments, and so much more.


    If the merchants were willing to pay them a good price, then they could earn quite well.


    However, Ralph was worried that he might ce his group at odds against the Dragon Tiger Pce through this n.


    They were sure to try to murder him as soon as they realized they had newpetition in the market.


    If Azaroth had narrated this n for Ralph, it meant he was willing to support him. But now, Ralph wasn''t sure if Azaroth would protect him and his group from the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    <em>''Wait. He will protect us if we produce enough gains! Or I can look for someone with whom we can pay the protection fees. Also, we might not require this protection initially, so my worries might be unnecessary.''</em>


    Azaroth smirked when he noticed the resolute look on Ralph''s face. He knew that his retainer had realized something and made up his mind.


    A few dayster, Yrellea arrived in Veninza Town. She arrived at the location mentioned by Laura and Azaroth.


    It was Laura''s residence. She was slightly surprised when she walked into the house and saw Laura massaging Azaroth''s body.


    Azarothy practically nude on a massage table, wearing just his underpants.


    When Yrellea saw his posture and his practically nude body, she felt her body bing incredibly hot in expectation. Some blood discharged from her nose as she couldn''t control the blood that was getting so excited.


    She wiped the blood before Laura or Azaroth could see it and thought <em>''Calm down, you perverted mind!''</em>


    Meanwhile, Laura was massaging Azaroth''s body. This was something she learned recently. She had begun to read some books and saw how intimately two individuals were during the massage.


    If she began to massage Azaroth''s body, she could spend some very intimate moments with him while also rxing his muscles.


    On the other hand, Laura would be incredibly aroused whenever she saw Azaroth in this position ahead of her. She only wanted to remove his underwear and sit on top of his dick, moving up and down.


    The two would have sex only when Azaroth wanted it. Laura had to keep her lust in control till then.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth hadn''t denied this massage because it did rx his muscles and his physique got a bit better. Laura was using a special oil that opened his pores, and he could absorb more Ardor from the surroundings.


    Thus, he wouldn''t mess around during the massage. He was wholly concentrated on increasing his cultivation speed.


    Laura soon noticed that Yrellea had arrived. She was about to say something when suddenly she noticed Yrellea had raised her finger and ced it on her lips, "Shh."


    Laura decided to stay silent. Yrellea soon arrived next to Laura and whispered to her ears, "Let me take it from here."


    "¡­Alright. But use this oil," Laura handed over that oil to Yrellea.


    Yrellea used that oil on her hands and immediately began to apply it to all parts of Azaroth''s body.


    She applied it on his buffed-up chest, sturdy neck, brawny legs, and muscr arms.


    Azaroth was suddenly lost in his thoughts. He was deeply meditating, and he suddenly sensed that the massage was bing a bit intense.


    The Ardor from his surroundings, which used to enter his body and then leave after a while, was now progressively merging with his body.


    His physique and his energy center were bing much stronger.


    These massaging techniques were a lot superiorpared to Laura''s techniques. Thus, Azaroth quickly deduced that it was Yrellea.


    <em>''Alright. I don''t need to worry too much about the two of them taking care of my body. They won''t allow anyone to harm it,''</em> Azaroth thought in relief.


    He then decided to focus on the task due to which he hade to his mindscape.


    Ahead of Azaroth''s spirit were dozens of spirits that seemed quite simr to Azaroth''s spirit. Their color was different, though.


    Azaroth''s true spirit was colorless. However, the spirits he was looking at were of red color, yellow color, blue color, green color, and so on.


    "It''s time for you to wake up," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    These spirits ahead of Azaroth were, in reality, his intent spirits! This was the third-highest rank for the intent spirits.


    Whenever Azaroth reached this stage of intent in his previous life, he would begin to work on another one.


    In the next stage, the intent spirit''s personality is initialized. In the final stage, the intent spirit is connected to heaven and earth, gradually absorbing all the power of the respective element present in nature.


    If someone''s intent spirit reached that stage, he could never be defeated by that element.


    For example, if someone''s me intent spirit connected itself to nature, the me intent would continue to absorb the me energy within nature and strengthen itself. Any me attack directed at that person would be swallowed by his me Intent Spirit, enhancing it even more.


    None of Azaroth''s intent spirits had their personality initialized.


    Azaroth let these intent spirits slumber because he knew he needed to have a certain level of strength before attempting to awaken them.


    Otherwise, his soul might have already been shattered.


    Azaroth had noticed that these intent spirits weren''t responding to his words. He frowned slightly as he whispered, "Time for the good old way."


    "<strong>Hell st!</strong>" Azarothunched purple mes at those intent spirits.


    All of these intent spirits were startled when Azaroth''s Hell mes suddenly sted near them.


    They all opened their eyes and showed angry expressions. They saw Azaroth''s colorless soul flying ahead of them.


    These Intent Spirits couldn''t speak. They just continued to angrily stare at Azaroth.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s soul smirked in response, "You all had fallen into slumber for too long. Don''t forget that you are my intent spirits! When I order you something, you follow it!"


    The Intent Spirits didn''t have enough intelligence topletely understand Azaroth''s words. However, they knew that this man was looking down on them!


    ~~


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 Chapter 318 - Yrellea Vs Laura

    Azaroth''s Intent Spirits had also suffered due to the passage of time. Their strength was slightly inferiorpared to Azaroth.


    They had remained in hibernation for too long. And now, Azaroth had to defeat them to force them to ept him as their master.


    The battle between the two parties was raging within Azaroth''s mindscape.


    Fortunately, since the battle urred within his mindscape, Azaroth didn''t have to be worried about running out of Ardor.


    As long as he willed it, a lot of Ardor would be created within his mindscape.


    Those Intent Spirits were losing one by one as they were struck by Azaroth''s explosive attacks.


    Once they were defeated, those Intent Spirits would suddenly fuse with Azaroth''s soul.. After these intent spirits fused with his soul, Azaroth released those same Intent Spirits from his soul.


    These Intent Spirits battled alongside Azaroth. Once they joined Azaroth''s side, it wasn''t even a battle anymore. It was a one-sided massacre.


    All his Intent Spirits fused with Azaroth''s soul and were soon released. Once they were released, they were nowpletely submissive to Azaroth and would follow his orders.


    Azaroth was satisfied with this result and soon decided to wake up.


    Once he woke up, he saw Yrellea''s flushed face. She was massaging the upper part of his chest.


    Azaroth spoke, "Stop now." Yrellea came to aplete halt and took a step back, while Azaroth turned to the side and stood up.


    He whispered without even looking up, "Get my clothes here, Laura."


    "Mhm~!" Laura happily released this sound as she went to pick up his clothes.


    Azaroth turned towards Yrellea and spoke to her, "You should go and take a bath. Join me in the fieldster. I will tell you how you should start your Misty Flower Pavilion in this city. And what shall be your objectives."


    Yrellea nodded her head and went inside therge bathroom before she turned on the shower.


    While she was taking a bath, Laura had returned with a new set of Azaroth''s clothes.


    Azaroth wore those clothes and then went outside. Laura followed him with a gleeful look on her face.


    After waiting for some time, Yrellea appeared outside as she changed her clothes. She was wearing a light pink dress that created arge contrast with her ck hair.


    Her refined dress flowed from top to bottom and had a draped neckline, which subtly revealed the elegant dress worn below it. The exquisite, corset-like, tied dress fabric covered her stomach, where the continuous flow was broken up by a dark ribbon worn fairly low around her waist.


    Below the ribbon, the dress opened up wide and revealed the dress below. The front of the top dress made it just to the ground to cover her feet while the back continued to flow arge length behind her and ended in a broad curve.


    Her sleeves were very long and wide. Their flow was broken up at the elbow, where they changed color and were divided byrge, ornamental bands. These were the same fabric and color used to outline the bottom of the dress.


    Yrellea wore such a beautiful dress because she wanted to appear charming to Azaroth.


    Azaroth thought directly ignored this beautiful dress and spoke, "You are finally here."


    "The situation here is slightly differentpared to shire City. In shire City, themunity focused on business rather than martial prowess. However, it''s different in Veninza City."


    "The stronger one is, the greater his prestige. In here, you will need to deal with gangs, groups, sect disciples, and so on. If you use the same trick here in Veninza City that you used in shire City, your subordinates will be raped and killed," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    "You need to take care of the security first. I trust that you hold arge capital with you," Azaroth spoke while looking into Yrellea''s eyes.


    Yrellea nodded her head and responded, "I was slightly worried about the situation here, so I brought as many Spirit Coins as I could."


    "Good," Azarothmented before speaking up, "Using those Spirit Coins, you are going to hire Laura and her group."


    Laura chirped in at that moment, "Ooh. So I am going to protect Elder Sister Yrellea. This is amazing! I will definitely prevent anyone from creating trouble in the Misty Flower Pavilion."


    Azaroth nodded in response before speaking up, "That''s right. If there are some very troublesome individuals, then I will deal with them."


    "Yes, master!" Yrellea spoke gleefully.


    "Well, it would take quite some time for you to construct your Misty Flower Pavilion. Until then, meet with all the rich families within Veninza City. I will give you a list," Azaroth spoke.


    This was the list of those families that had signed the blood contract. They were essentially under Azaroth''s control.


    Using their families, he could make the Misty Flower Pavilion quite popr and make its brand value very high.


    Once its brand value was high enough, he would have Yrellea set up branches of Misty Flower Pavilion in all cities of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Moreover, he had to spread a rumor within the martial world that Misty Flower Pavilion would allow their mental strength to grow.


    Whether it was due to the food, the wine, the singing, dancing, or any other artistic talent disyed within the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    They would also be given drugs without their knowledge. Those drugs would excite their emotions and increase their sensitivity.


    The three continued to walk for some time. They were soon in an empty field, and Azaroth stopped before turning around to look at Laura and Yrellea.


    He ordered the two with amanding look in his eyes, "Have a spar here."


    Yrellea was startled to hear this order. She didn''t think Azaroth would have her spar with Laura. If she knew, she wouldn''t have worn this dress.


    Yrellea didn''t have the time to have some random thoughts as she was forced to jump back and dodge a wooden vine heading for her.


    "<strong>Water Stream!</strong>" Yrellea alsounched a highly pressured water stream at Laura.


    Laura created a wooden wall ahead of herself to blocked that attack. Sheunched another two wooden wines at Yrellea while she kept her wooden wall up.


    Yrellea was forced to stop her Water Stream as she created a water bubble around her body.


    Once the two wooden vines pierced her water bubble, the bubble surprisingly didn''t burst. In fact, the speed of the wooden vines had slowed down significantly within that water bubble.


    <strong>"Water</strong> Discus!" Nearly tens of spinning wheels made of pure, highly pressured water were thrown at Laura.


    Lauraunched her wooden vines at these Water Discus and was surprised when these Water Discuspletely pierced her Wooden Vines.


    "Interesting," Laura smirked as she looked at this attack from Yrellea.


    Yrellea frowned as she saw that Laura wasn''t using another attack to either deflect or slow down the Water Discus. In fact, Laura wasn''t even jumping out of the way to dodge it.


    If the Water Discus struck her, she might be heavily injured. This wasn''t what Yrellea wanted.


    However, before she realized it, one of her Water Discus passed through Laura''s body.


    Yrellea''s eyes widened when she saw there wasn''t a wound on Laura''s body. In fact, it felt as though the water discus hadn''t even struck Laura''s body. It had seemingly passed through the thin air.


    Laura began to chuckle as she showed off her new ability to Yrellea, "Hehehe¡­"


    All the Water Discus passed through her body without harming Laura at all.


    ~~


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 Chapter 319 - The Noble Family Alliance

    This was the Ancestral Bloodline Ability belonging to the Royal Elves. The ability to fuse their body with nature.


    Laura utilized this ability to nullify Yrellea''s attacks.


    Yrellea was happy that Laura wasn''t severely injured by her attacks, but she was also confused about defeating Laura. If Laura could simply phase through her attacks, then how could she be defeated?


    Azaroth concentrated on their fight while assessing Yrellea''s strength. Her physical strength looked to have dwindled a little, but her Ardor application seemed to have improved dramatically.


    Azaroth didn''t need to analyze Laura since the two had been living together for thest couple of months. He knew everything about Laura''s abilities.


    Even this ability to fuse her body with nature..


    This might seem like a godly ability, but it wouldn''t work against a sensor. In fact, if it was a very perceptive sensor, he would be able to gauge how Laura had fused her body with Nature.


    Whether she had fused with the ground, the air, or the water. Once he figured out where Laura was, he couldunch another attack and severely injure her.


    However, attempting this in a battle was harder than it seemed. The person needed to remain deadly calm to sense so much during a battle.


    Moreover, Laura could also use her techniques to weaken the attack heading towards her.


    There were all kinds of things urring during a battle. Within the battle between two individuals of simr strength, the one who was trickier would win.


    If someone understood Laura''s ability, they would have a greater chance of winning. However, if Laura used her ability intelligently and managed to confuse her opponent, her chances of winning would sharply increase.


    The spar between Laura and Yrellea had ended in Yrellea''s defeat.


    It was only natural that Laura would win. Her control over the Wood Element was much superior to Yrellea''s control over her Water Element.


    Moreover, Laura''s element had already been strengthened, and she had also awakened her Ancestral Ability.


    Yrellea still had no countermeasure for that Ancestral Ability. Thus, she lost. However, she internally promised herself that she would win the next time.


    "Let''s return now," Azaroth spoke as the three walked back to the residence.


    Yrellea requested Azaroth and Laura to allow her to live with them. With the wealth she possessed, she could easily buy a couple of inns.


    But she wanted to live beside Azaroth. That wouldn''t be possible if she decided to live in an inn.


    Azaroth agreed to her begging.


    The next day, Azaroth left the residence quickly. He was heading towards the origin sect''s branch in Veninza City.


    He met up with Patrick and told him, "Time for you to go to the main branch and deal with Hugo Corlett."


    "The first step will be for you to be an elder. The origin sect will probably have someone transferred to this branch. If you lose to Hugo Corlett, you will be that individual. Or else, it might be another unlucky individual from the main sect," Azaroth informed Patrick solemnly.


    Patrick nodded his head and then replied, "I understand. Due to your training, I am sure that my 5 Star Rank Cultivation is absolutely stable. After activating my bloodline, I am confident that I can even defeat Hugo Corlett."


    "Yes. But don''t reveal everything too suddenly. Or else they will be suspicious of why you stayed in Veninza City for too long. Reveal your strength slowly. First, reveal your cultivation base, and then in another battle, your bloodline energy. Make them believe that youpletely awakened your bloodline ability after returning to the main sect," Azaroth spoke.


    "Alright," Patrick nodded his head.


    "As for that woman Cara. When she realizes the truth of what actually urred, she is bound to be disgusted by that man and return to you. And if she still doesn''t want to return to you, you can just give up on her. I doubt there will be a shortage of beauties within the Origin Sect. When your prestige increases, they are bound to try their luck with you," Azaroth casually spoke.


    Azaroth suddenly turned serious as he added, "Your task would be to choose the woman with the strongest background. The one whose family was so strong that they could make the origin sect listen seriously to them."


    Soon, Patrick was dispatched from Veninza City. The entire Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City was left in Azaroth''s hands.


    "Now, time to nt the seeds of conflict between the Origin Sect and the Dragon Tiger Pce," Azaroth spoke with a devilish smile on his face.


    He was looking forward to the future.


    After a couple of hours, Azaroth decided to check up on his spies within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    There were only two of them remaining within the Sinyalian Kingdom. One was Jonas''s wife, Josephine Rhodes. While the other was Spencer Russel''s beloved wife, Bianca Russel.


    The information about Edwin''s death had been concealed by the king. It was to such an extent that Bianca and Josephine still remained in the dark about it.


    However, another event urred within the Sinyalian Kingdom that couldn''t be concealed by the king.


    The Walsh Dukedom and its direct descendants had been purged!


    Many individuals, including the noble families, were shocked how such an event could ur. And so suddenly at that.


    The Walsh Dukedom wasn''t directly involved in conflict with any other party. So how could the duchess and her direct heir die so suddenly?!


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he thought ''However, I do know about it. Time to create some panic within the Sinyalian Kingdom.''


    He would have Josephine and Bianca spread the information that it was the King who purged the Walsh Family.


    Josephine was going to use her servants in the mansion to spread this news within the Rhodes House.


    Once it waspletely spread in the Rhodes House, the news was bound to reach their guests'' ears and spread in the nearby cities. In due time, the information was going to spread in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom.


    In the meantime, Bianca was going to inform this her Maiden Noble House, the Lewis Family.


    When the Lewis Family hears about this information from another source, they would definitely believe Bianca''s words.


    Bianca was going to inform them that the King was purging all those Noble Houses that he felt were threatening his rule.


    The Lewis House was a little scared as they had also been involved in some suspicious businesses. If the King found out about those businesses, maybe the Lewis Family would be the next Walsh Family.


    The Lewis House decided to create a countermeasure against the King. They spread this information to the other Noble Houses discreetly.


    The Noble Houses began to hold urgent meetings in an attempt to discuss what was going on. They were all worried as they heard that the King had purged the Walsh House''s Bloodline.


    "The next time anything like this urs, we shall go in the great hall and ask for an exnation from His Majesty. If His Majesty refuses to give any exnation for his actions, we will announce ourselves autonomous states while forming an alliance with each other. Even His Majesty will feel pressured when that urs," The Lewis House''s head spoke seriously.


    "I agree with you, Lord Lewis!" A Noble Family Head spoke out.


    Soon, more followed this man''s lead and expressed their agreement.


    Jonas Rhodes spoke up at this moment, "What if this is a mere rumor and we are worried about nothing?"


    All the Noble Houses heads turned silent. They felt that his words did make sense.


    At this moment, the Lewis House''s head spoke up, "So what if this is a rumor? I believe we need to make our stand clear to His Majesty. He can''t just kill one of us and grab all their territory and property like that! I will not stand for it, and neither should you."


    The other Noble House''s heads immediately spoke out in affirmation!


    The Lewis House''s head spoke out, "I don''t care if someone amongst us ditches this information to His Majesty. As long as we remain united, His Majesty won''t dare to take action against us."


    ~~


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 Chapter 320 - Yrelleas New Subordinates

    The King of the Sinyalian Kingdom soon found out about this alliance between the Noble Families. He was slightly worried as this alliance wasn''t weak.


    It could be considered a hidden danger for him. But dealing with them also wasn''t a good idea. It would just confirm the suspicious held by these Noble Families.


    First, he decided to spread some false rumors about the Walsh Dukedom. How Siluca was colluding with the enemy kingdom and so on.


    Once those rumors had spread in the entire Kingdom, the King was going to check the reactions of these Noble Families. After that, he was going to take subtle action against one of them.


    While taking action against one of the Noble Families, he was going to frame another one..


    In this way, the unity between the Noble Houses would be shattered. Once this alliance is shaken, the King could easily deal with them.


    Fortunately, he had his spies among this Noble Family Alliance. He knew what they were thinking and nning ahead.


    This entire sequence of events would take months, if not years. The King had time to wait for the rumors to settle in and then subtly take action.


    However, the King remained unaware that the one who nned for this situation to ur was Azaroth.


    He wasn''t going to give the King so much time to deal with this situation.


    Before these rumors settled in the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Glerian Kingdom would dere war on the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Thus, the King of the Sinyalian Kingdom would never have the opportunity to deal with this Noble Family Alliance.


    In the meantime, Azaroth was in Veninza City, helping Yrellea find some women who could be her potential subordinates.


    These women belonged to either Origin Sect or the famous families in Veninza City.


    Yrellea only had to point at the women in Origin Sect. Azaroth met with those women and gave them a choice to follow Yrellea while presenting a couple of rewards in terms of cultivation technique and wealth.


    Most of the women agreed as they were tempted by those possible rewards.


    Azaroth didn''t warn them that they couldn''t back out. That was something they would understand soon enough.


    In any case, he and Laura, and Yrellea decided to explore the Veninza City Market. During their stroll, Yrellea would assess thedies in the area and select those who would be beneficial for her Misty Flower Pavilion.


    They formed a list of women that were chosen by Yrellea.


    There were three women belonging to prestigious families within the list. He decided to deal with themter.


    Firstly, the women with a standard background had to be dealt with. Azaroth visited the woman''s family and ordered her parents to give their daughter to him if they wanted to live.


    The wording was slightly ambiguous, but Azaroth didn''t care. Most of the families gave in to his threat.


    The women were informed that a man had arrived and suddenly demanded them. The family gave in to his threats.


    These women were scared as they thought that this man would y around with their bodies and so on.


    However, when they arrived at the location mentioned by Azaroth, they found other women. All of them were women with a standard appearance. They weren''t especially pretty or bad-looking.


    Soon, Azaroth and Yrellea arrived on the stage ahead of them. Azaroth wore a dark blue-colored mask on his face as he didn''t want to show his face to these women.


    The women were startled to see Yrellea as she was such a beautiful and seductive woman. Moreover, she was walking so closely with Azaroth.


    They wondered whether she was also threatened like they were. The more they thought about it, the more they felt that it made sense.


    Azaroth noticed their gaze and ignored it.


    Meanwhile, Yrellea took a deep breath and spoke out, "Greetings everyone, I am sure you are all confused about this gathering today."


    "Let''s start from the beginning. I am Yrellea, and this is my master, Azaroth," Yrellea cheerfully introduced herself and Azaroth.


    The expressions of the women changed when they heard this statement. They felt that their guess had turned out to be the truth.


    "You all have been gathered here because I requested him," Yrellea spoke with a smile.


    "Why would you have us gather here?" A woman mustered her courage and asked out.


    "I wish to create a Pavilion in this city. It will be simr to a bar where there will be a stage at the center of this building. You all will be tasked to use your talents to entertain the customers. Like singing, dancing, poetry, and so on," Yrellea gave them a general overview of the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Yrellea noticed looks of confusion on these women''s faces. She smiled a bit and then asked them, "Have you heard of the Misty Flower Pavilion in shire City? That''s my Pavilion. And I want to create a branch here as well."


    When they found out that Yrellea was the Mistress of the Misty Flower Pavilion, a few women had amazed expressions on their faces.


    "I wish to hear what you have heard about me. Speak one by one. First¡­ You." Yrellea chose a woman amongst them.


    Her motive for asking them to speak what they had heard about her was so that the other women would understand what Misty Flower Pavilion was more clearly.


    In this situation, they were definitely not going to speak anything bad about Yrellea or Misty Flower Pavilion.


    The majority of thesedies would try to impress her.


    Soon enough, the entire group ofdies was informed how the Misty Flower Pavilion was to the naked eyes.


    Nearly all women looked interested in working in Misty Flower Pavilion. They were just a bit worried about how much they would receive from it.


    The women belonging to the Origin Sect weren''t worried. They were already promised a new cultivation technique that was better than their old one.


    For them, this was a currency that was far superior to the Spirit Coins.


    As for the others, Yrellea promised them that they would receive a sumptuous sry for working in Misty Flower Pavilion.


    She continued to entice these women with various benefits.


    And suddenly, Azaroth stepped forward before speaking up, "Everything that Yrellea had spoken is the truth. However, you must know why this Misty Flower Pavilion is being set up."


    "It will be an information-gathering branch. Your primary task will be to gather information from the customers. Yrellea will exin more regarding it," Azaroth spoke.


    Yrellea was mentioning too many benefits to them. Azaroth felt that he needed to dampen their excitement.


    "That''s right. This is the primary objective of the Misty Flower Pavilion. But no need to worry too much about it. It will be very easy. I will mention more about it during your training. Which, by the way, will start from tomorrow," Yrellea spoke out.


    The women were surprised to hear that their training wouldmence from the next day.


    "Follow me to your new homes," Yrellea soon led these women to their new houses.


    Azaroth also handed over 100 pellets to Yrellea. These were beautification and nourishing pellets.


    Each of these pellets would remove the impurities from the woman''s body and turn her skin extremely smooth.


    Her physique would slowly begin to lean towards a woman''s perfect figure, and her skin would slowly be fairer.


    If Azaroth had mentioned this pill earlier, these women would ept his offer without any further thought.


    All women loved their appearances and wished to enhance their beauty as much as they could. This pellet was something simr to a divine pellet for them.


    ~~


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 Chapter 321 - Tiana Departs

    Tiana had lost the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament in the semi-finals.


    The tournament had ended, and the Sixth Prince attained victory in the finals. The audience felt that it was as expected, and some even mentioned that the tournament was fixed.


    The rumor that the tournament was fixed began because Tiana hadn''t used that mysterious energy in her battle against the sixth prince. And some people thought that she ran out of Ardor too soon.


    If she used that mysterious energy, they felt that Tiana could have definitely won against the Sixth Prince. She could have very well won the tournament!


    Tiana was pretty satisfied as she had received the Sixth Prince''s medallion. This could allow her to form a connection with a Royal Family.


    Azaroth had informed her to look for a way to build connections with the Royal Family. This could be considered the first step in that direction..


    The reward for being in the top eight was not that good. They gave some spirit coins, pellets and allowed Tiana to choose between a treasure or a weapon.


    Tiana chose a treasure without any hesitation. Thus, they handed her a couple of nes of Ice Beads that enhanced her Ice Element even further and increased her resistance to other elements.


    Also, if she was cornered, she could break the beads of this ne and receive strong Icy Ardor within her body. With that Ardor, she could easily defeat her opponent.


    After receiving their respective rewards, they went to Qadville City and roamed in the city.


    Christina was busy as she had to meet up with her Sect Elders and her fellow sect disciples. They were discussing when they should depart from this city.


    However, Christina promised to meet Tiana in the evening.


    Around this time, Tiana was alone. She decided that it was time she focused on her primary objective.


    She pulled out her list and began to search for the warriors on her list. The warriors on the list were all women possessing Ice Physique.


    They all belonged to different sects, and she was nning to poach them from their respective sects.


    Till the evening time, she met up with 9 out of 17 women. They all agreed to her proposal.


    They were actually excited to hear that Tiana wanted to recruit them. They had witnessed her battles, and since they possessed Ice Ardor as well, they knew how extraordinary she was.


    They had more or less be her loyal fans who wanted to follow Tiana. Now that they even received an offer from Tiana.


    However, despite their excitement, they couldn''t just shout out that they would follow Tiana. After all, they belonged to different sects. And if they all left like this, their families at home might suffer.


    They informed Tiana of these facts. Tiana said after a few seconds of thought, "Okay, how about we take a trip to each of your hometowns? We will take them along with us and then settle in a city near my sect. In this manner, they won''t easily disturb your training, and you can meet them whenever you are free."


    "Amazing! We can take our families along!" A few women were quite excited by this offer.


    Their previous sects had been a bit too far away from their hometown or families. However, beggars can''t be choosers. They had to be satisfied with whatever they received.


    "What if our old sects pursue us?" A woman asked this question.


    Tiana smiled and responded to her, "Let me and my master worry about that. I can assure you that they would never reach you or your family."


    "Woah! I agree to join you, Miss Tiana!" A woman among them spoke eagerly.


    After a couple of hours of talking to these women, Tiana went to meet up with Christina. They had already decided on a meeting spot.


    When Tiana reached that meeting spot, she noticed that Christina was seated there, waiting for her.


    She was gazing at the sunset urring just in front of her eyes.


    Soon, Tiana arrived and spoke out, "Did I make you wait?"


    Christina nodded her head and pouted, "I was waiting for an entire hour! You don''t have any notion of punctuality, do you?"


    Tiana sweatdropped at those words as she spoke, "I don''t want to hear the word punctuality from you. Why would you arrive before the specified timing?"


    Christina suddenly jumped towards Tiana and hugged her tightly. Before Tiana could ask why she was doing this, Christina whispered near her ears, "I will be leaving soon. I just wanted to meet you onest time before returning to my sect. I don''t know when we will meet again, but I promise that I will always consider you my best friend, Tiana."


    "Mhm~!" Tiana softly sounded, "You will always be my good friend as well, Christina. I loved spending my time with you. It was rxing, exciting, and fun."


    "Let''s promise to meet each other in the future!" Christina spoke as she released Tiana from her tight hug.


    "En!" Tiana nodded her head in affirmation.


    The two soon parted as Christina met up with her fellow sect disciples while Tiana remained at that position.


    She felt a bit empty after Christina''s departure. She had be more emotionally attached to Christina than she expected.


    A bitter smile was on her face as she thought ''I need to get used to this empty feeling. I can''t allow this feeling to weigh me down like this,''


    Meanwhile, Christina felt like crying as she ran towards her group. She was feeling the loneliness that seemed to swallow her whole.


    Even as she returned to her group, this feeling of loneliness didn''t go away. These people were her fellowrades, but they weren''t her friends.


    They couldn''t even hold a proper conversation with her.


    Herrades from the sect also didn''t try to talk to her. It wasn''t their fault, actually. They opted to leave Christina alone after noticing her troubled expression and the aura she exuded, which suggested she wasn''t in the mood to talk to anyone.


    They soon departed for the ck Lake Sect.


    It was in the opposite direction to the Arctic Summit. Thus, the distance between Christina and Tiana was quite wide.


    While Christina was returning to her sect, Tiana talked to a couple ofdies more and invited them to her sect.


    Unfortunately, these women rejected her offer.


    Tiana remained calm in the face of this rejection. She knew that they must have their own reasons for rejecting her offer. She was already satisfied that she recruited 10 more women for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    She soon decided to contact Azaroth and inform him about how her day went.


    Azaroth was indeed a bit startled to hear that the Sixth Prince had given his medallion to Tiana. Tiana had managed to form a connection with the Sixth Prince. Azaroth noted down this fact as he felt that it might be useful in the future.


    Tiana further informed him that she recruited ten more disciples for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    She was having their families settle up in the nearest city to the sect.


    Azaroth was satisfied with her way of handling things. The expense of these families wouldn''t amount to much. The women would remain emotionally stable since their families would be in the distance they could travel to within a day.


    "Don''t allow their families to step into the sect. Also, don''t tolerate any unruly behavior from them. If you tolerate it once, you will need to tolerate it again. Make them understand that this is no republic or democracy. You are the sole leader of this sect!" Azaroth spoke seriously.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you like the novel. Vote for the novel.

 Chapter 322 - Gifts

    In the meantime, Noah had chosen his rewards from the Royal Treasury. He chose a weapon which was an Ice Sword.


    He was nning to give it to Aria. Her sword had cracked, and she required a new one. This seemed the strongest sword within the Armory that possessed the Ice Element. Its name was "<strong>Arctic Rose Sword.</strong>"


    It had been nourished by the Ice Energy of an extremely cold environment. This Sword would absorb the user''s energy and automatically condense it.


    Any Ice Elemental Attackunched through this sword would be nearly thrice its original strength.


    Thus, it would be perfect for Aria, whocks firepower right now..


    In reality, another sword in this armory was even stronger than the "<strong>Arctic Rose Sword.</strong>" However, it belonged to the Lightning Element, so Noah ignored it.


    Azaroth had asked him to get something for his subordinates. He didn''t need to think about anything else.


    The next location he visited was the Herbal Garden.


    Noah had no idea what kind of nts were growing here. There were warriors around who told him about the myriad nts'' properties.


    However, he was still unsure about which one he should choose.


    He decided to contact Azaroth for this, "Master, which herb should I choose?" He whispered with a low voice.


    Azaroth understood that there were individuals near Noah, and his hologram didn''t appear. His voice resounded in Noah''s mind, "Give me their names."


    Noah asked the warriors near him to give the names of all the herbs in this location.


    "<strong>Dragon Fruit?</strong><strong>Seven Colored Bodhi Tree?</strong> And, <strong>Five Heart Living Lotus</strong>?" Azaroth was startled to hear the names of these herbs.


    These were very rare herbs. Especially the <strong>Seven Colored Bodhi Tree</strong>. This herb was as rare as the Moonlit Snow Lotus with which Azaroth had concocted the <strong>Seven Star Pill</strong>.


    The Dragon Fruit was a very rare fruit that could act as a recovery medicine and strengthen a warrior''s body. Some warriors would awaken the Divine Strength after ingesting the Dragon Fruit.


    Andstly, the Five Heart Living Lotus. It could hold five different elements and be used to create a special pill that possessed the abilities of all these five elements.


    The body would be nourished by all kinds of elements and would receive resistance to all these elements.


    After some moments, Azaroth spoke out, "Get the Seven Colored Bodhi Tree."


    This herb wasn''t actually useful for Azaroth''s body. His body had already been strengthened to its limits through his Demon God''s Blood.


    However, he could have Laura grow this Seven Colored Bodhi Tree with her Wooden Abilities.


    Once they had grown multiple Seven Colored Bodhi Trees, he could use them to permanently strengthen the spiritual energy and improve their physique''s quality.


    This effect was different from the Apex Blood Pellets. The Apex Blood Pellets allowed a warrior to unlock their hidden potential within their bodies. Thus, their strength would receive a massive boost.


    However, the Seven Colored Bodhi Tree would increase those limits. It would allow them to surpass those limits that had been set since by the heavens.


    The Seven Colored Bodhi Tree was considered quite valuable to the warriors at the Demon King rank. They would normally need this kind of herb to increase their body''s potential.


    There was another effect of this Seven Colored Bodhi Tree. Even Azaroth was tempted by that ability.


    It is imed that if you keep a piece of the Seven Colored Bodhi Tree near your body, your chances of attaining deep enlightenment would considerably improve.


    It had never worked on Azaroth before, but he felt that there was no harm in trying.


    If one of his retainers could achieve deep enlightenment, his strength would be significantly enhanced.


    Azaroth felt that Noah had the greatest chance of entering that deep enlightenment state because of his Enlightened Sword Heart. Even he was curious about what would be the result of Noah''s enlightenment.


    Naturally, Azaroth wasn''t nning to let the other herbs off. He realized that the Glerian Kingdom was much richer in rare herbs than the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The next thing Noah was asked to choose was a rare crystal. The Glerian Kingdom couldn''t be considered rich in this aspect.


    None of the crystals they possessed tempted Azaroth. The Crystals he held were still much greater than the Glerian Kingdom.


    Noah chose a random crystal with a lot of Ardor, which he could use to recover his energy or power up an array. Because the element was neutral, there was no constraint on how an array might be powered up. This Ardor Crystal may be used to power up any elemental array.


    He then arrived at hisst destination. The clothing store. This certainly wasn''t a typical shop as this was the store where the Royal Family''s clothing was stitched and designed.


    Their cloth quality was top ss. Whether they were Spiritual Clothing or Ordinary Clothing.


    Noah still wasn''t utilizing any kind of Spiritual Clothing. And this rted to his way of the Sword.


    A swordsman would never use something to enhance his energy. His path was to believe in his sword and sever everything in his way.


    If he used some supplement to temporarily increase his strength, his ability with the sword would be weaker instead of getting stronger.


    He was quite confused as to what he should get from this clothing store. It didn''t feel right to just give up on this kind of free offer.


    He then began to think about his faction. Currently, other than him, there were two more experts at the 4 Star Rank. Aria and Luna.


    He already got something for Aria. So, it might be good if he got something for Luna as well.


    He immediately contacted Luna and ordered her toe to this Royal Clothing Store.


    The warrior next to Noah was surprised when he noticed that Noah wasn''t nning to get something for himself.


    Instead, he was asking his subordinate toe and get her dress custom-made from this store.


    He was the same warrior who apanied Noah to the armory and knew Noah had chosen an Ice Sword.


    He knew that Noah possessed Wind Element, yet he chose an Ice Sword. He understood that this Ice Sword was most likely for his subordinate who possessed the Ice Element.


    He was a little envious of Noah''s subordinates for having such a great boss. Noah didn''t even wrinkle his brows in displeasure when he gave them such extravagant gifts.


    Luna was startled when she received Noah''smand. She immediately got out without even setting her hair.


    She had recently received a message from the Night Mountain Sect that they had no connection with her. From now on, she was going to be a member of Noah''s faction only. She could return to get her things at any moment she wanted.


    When she requested for a reason, Luna found out that this was the King''smand!


    This had startled her, but she understood that Noah must have mentioned this to the King.


    Noah briefly exined the situation to her as she reached the clothing store, "The King mentioned that I can get any dress for free. I don''t have really need anything, so you can choose one for yourself."


    "Eh?!" She was absolutely stunned!


    She looked around and saw many exquisite and beautiful dressesid in this store. Yet, there was an indifferent look on Noah''s face as he went out of the store.


    Luna immediately followed Noah and asked him, "A-Are you sure? There are many Spiritual Clothing that can be useful to you. Do I deserve such a gift from you? We were rivals and enemies not long ago."


    Noah frowned at that question and then asked her, "Are you going to choose or ask more questions? I should have called out for Aria. She would have definitely not annoyed me like this."


    ~~


    I hope you like the chapter and vote for the novel to boost its ranking. Please send a gift to the novel if you are loving the plot.

 Chapter 323 - Red Phoenix Dress

    Luna soon chose a dress for herself. It was a Red Colored Dress that appeared extremely beautiful on her.


    This dress''s name was <strong>Red Phoenix Dress</strong>. It absorbed the user''s Ardor and converted it to me Ardor.


    Once the user had mastered how to use this dress, she could actually use two kinds of elements.


    For Luna, this was a significant boost as she possessed Wind Element. If she could master the me Element that was created through this dress, she could significantly boost it with her wind element.


    Her firepower would be significantly magnified.


    She was certain that once she got the hang of this outfit, she''d be able to easily surpass Aria. As a result, she was in a great mood after selecting this garment..


    Naturally, she remained oblivious to the fact that Noah had chosen a special weapon for Aria.


    It wouldn''t be as simple for her to defeat her as Luna imagined.


    Anyway, the two returned to their respective rooms. A whileter, Noah was called in the Great Hall again.


    He went to the Great Hall wearing the same clothes as earlier.


    The King was slightly surprised as he thought that Noah had changed his clothes and chosen the ones from the Royal Clothing Store.


    He nned to question his subordinate about itter. The King wanted to know just what Noah had chosen.


    "In the next couple of days, you will be granted the title ''General.'' After possessing this title, you can join any battlefield of the Glerian Kingdom. On most asions, you can make independent decisions without my consent. However, this doesn''t include initiating a battle against any Foreign Kingdom. For that, you need to inform the Kingdom about it first. Only if we agree can youunch an attack at them," The King spoke solemnly.


    Well, he indeed had to be serious about this. He couldn''t just have Noah initiate battles against the foreign kingdoms like a crazy man.


    That would sooner orter bring an end to the kingdom.


    "In the next couple of days, you will be given a Spatial Pouch with the 100 Million Spirit Coins. Also, you can mention the location where you want your vi and the mansion," The King spoke.


    Noah nodded solemnly and then returned to his room.


    The other ministers couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief.


    They felt ufortable every time Noah stepped into the Great Hall and stared at them. Thebination of his presence and the King''s aura made the atmosphere too heavy and intimidating for them to breathe.


    Noah remained in the capital for the next couple of days.


    During these days, the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament had officially ended.


    Karsten Wenzel, the Red Crown Sect''s representative, hade second, while the Stony Rock Sect''s representative hade third.


    Casten Tarr was gritting his teeth in anger as he cursed Noah in his heart. If not for Noah, he would have been the winner of this tournament.


    And if not the winner, then at least entering the final three would have been very much possible.


    Unfortunately, he lost two of hisrades in that battle against Noah. Karsten Wenzel and the Stony Rock Sect''s faction leader continued their alliance and easily defeated Casten Wenzel.


    Casten Tarr didn''t know how he could show his face to the Fourth Prince. He remembered boasting to the Fourth Prince how no one in this tournament could defeat him. There were a few more statements simr to this one.


    Once all formalities were done, Noah decided to leave the capital. He was returning to Veninza City.


    During these days, Noah''s subordinates enjoyed their fill as they were provided with exquisite food, great facilities, and maids who took care of their sexual needs.


    Many men in Noah''s faction had restrained their lust during their time in the Cranian Forest. This lust erupted when those maids stripped ahead of them.


    Thus, the nightly battles began every single day. Each warrior was allocated a maid who would look after their needs, including their sexual desires.


    These men had no idea that the King had nted thesedies. The King was well aware of how vtile a man''s emotions could be.


    If a woman looked after a guy every day, there was a good possibility that feelings would develop between them.


    Once this connection was strong, there was a strong chance that many of them would bring these maids with them.


    Thus, the King had lowered their price for freedom so that these men could buy these maids'' freedom and take them along.


    However, Noah or his group didn''t know that these women would act as eyes and ears for the King. He wanted to check Noah''s background in detail and gauge whether he was a threat to the Kingdom or not.


    Naturally, his other sources were checking up on Noah''s background, but until now, they found nothing.


    Thus, the king decided to nt some spies within Noah''s faction.


    After a couple of weeks, Noah returned to Veninza City. He had informed Azaroth of the exact timing when he would arrive.


    Azaroth had arrived at the location and was waiting for Noah.


    When Noah spotted Azaroth, he went forward and kneeled in front of him. Azaroth nodded in affirmation while speaking, "You can stand up."


    Azaroth then focused on Noah''s group. Just as Noah had mentioned, it had grown veryrge.


    Meanwhile, Luna and Aria were utterly startled to see Noah kneel in front of Azaroth. They had gotten used to his overbearingly intimidating aura.


    Yet here he was kneeling in front of another individual. They became very curious about Azaroth''s identity.


    "You have done a good job, Noah. It''s time for you to take some rest," Azaroth informed Noah.


    Noah was overjoyed by thepliment and felt like dancing. He immediately followed Azaroth''s orders and went to sleep in the cabin nearby.


    Azaroth soon stepped forwards and gazed at Noah''s subordinates.


    The original group of Noah''s subordinates who had gone to the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament from Veninza City recognized Azaroth.


    They all stepped forwards and kneeled in front of him while collectively speaking, "We greet the Great Master Azaroth."


    Azaroth nodded slightly as he acknowledged their greeting before analyzing the other warriors.


    "So, you are Aria and Luna, huh?" Azaroth inquired with a curious look in his eyes.


    Aria nodded in affirmation while Luna spoke out, "Y-yes."


    She was a little nervous since Noah had just kneeled in front of this man. Also, her instincts told her that this man was much more terrifying than Noah.


    Azaroth noticed their ufortable looks and soon smiled, "You don''t need to be scared too much. I won''t eat you alive."


    Those words relieved all the new warriors who had joined up Noah''s group.


    Soon, Azaroth added, "I can''t say the same about traitors, though."


    Nearly 80 individuals gulped down a mouthful of saliva at this moment. They were nervous and thought that Azaroth was talking about them.


    Out of these 80 individuals, 74 of them were the King''s maids, while the rest of the six were the warriors from Noah''s group who had willingly be the king''s spies.


    Azaroth didn''t miss a single warrior as he gazed at them with his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    The smile on his face widened as he spoke out, "Traitors never have a good ending. You don''t believe me? Fine, I will demonstrate it to you."

 Chapter 324 - Burning The Warriors

    As he gazed at the warriors in front of him, Azaroth''s hands lighted up with Azure mes.


    They totaled 600 people, including the maids given by the King. Eighty of them were the king''s spies.


    There were also some maids who were meless. And Azaroth had no intention of killing them.


    Aria and Luna focused on the Azure mes on Azaroth''s hand.


    Aria was used to fighting against a me Elemental Warrior as she often sparred against Christina.


    Aria knew that Christina''s mes were quite special. Her mes belonged to the Three-Legged Golden Crow. Their destructive power was considered the greatest among the mes..


    But today, Aria felt like questioning that fact. The destructive energy she felt from these Azure mes was much greater than Christina''s Golden mes.


    They belonged to different dimensions! The irony was that these mes were Azaroth''s second most devastating mes. His Hell mes were his most destructive mes.


    Luna spoke out with shock evident in her eyes, "<strong>The Azure Sea Heart me?!</strong>"


    "You have a good eye," Azaroth affirmed those words with a smile.


    This was indeed the true name of Azaroth''s Azure mes that was filled with Humanely Ardor.


    Azaroth snapped his fingers while whispering, "<strong>Burn.</strong>"


    Once he whispered that word, the Azure mes in his hand immediately stretched into multiple parts.


    Each portion of the Azure me was scorching the spies that had mixed into Noah''s group.


    The individuals who stood near those spies were startled, and they immediately backed away as they feared that these mes might harm them as well.


    The Azure mes engulfed the spies and slowly incinerated them. Azaroth had purposefully kept the temperature low so that the spies wouldn''t perish too fast.


    Each spy gave out agonizing cries. The warriors surrounding them couldn''t help but sympathize with thedies and men who were being burnt by the Azure mes.


    "W-Why are you burning them?!" Aria asked with a startled look on her face.


    The men who held rtions with those women were also startled and red in Azaroth''s direction angrily.


    "Keep this sight in your mind. This is what happens to traitors. You would do well to never betray me," Azaroth spoke as the Azure mes red up in intensity.


    Even the ashes weren''t left behind of these individuals. They were wholly annihted by those mes.


    Azaroth soon recalled his Azure mes before speaking out, "You cane and settle inside. You will understand the rules around here pretty soon."


    All these newly recruited warriors gulped down a mouthful of saliva nervously. They all thought the same thing ''<em>We have stepped into Hell, and there is no way back!''</em>


    All of them felt very distressed. They felt that surviving in this ce would be extremely difficult.


    At this moment, Noah''s subordinates, who actually belonged to the Origin Sect, casually began to walk forwards. They were returning to their residences.


    One of the newly recruited warriors asked him, "Aren''t you scared?"


    "Hmm? Why?" These warriors were confused by the confusion.


    "Didn''t you see what he just did?! If you annoy him, you all might suffer the same punishment!" One of these newly recruited warriors shouted.


    Noah''s old subordinates nced at each other before they burst out inughter.


    "Master Azaroth isn''t an unreasonable person. He hates traitors with a passion. This is somewhat we all are aware of. However, he never killed anyone amongst us because there was no traitor within us."


    "He doesn''t kill without any reason. Since he killed these individuals, they must have been spies," Another warrior added with a confident tone.


    "Andstly, if nothing else, this man will make you stronger. That''s something we have experienced, and you will experience soon," Another warrior spoke out.


    Aria and Luna were surprised to hear those words. They wondered how this man named Azaroth could make them stronger.


    He appeared to be their age based on his physical appearance. Aria and Luna still felt as though they were separated by an imprable barrier.


    They soon walked forward and decided to check out their residences.


    Laura was also present here as she happily talked to Azaroth.


    Azaroth soon ordered Laura, "Help them get settled. Also, there are more women than I expected. Create some residences for them."


    "Mhm~!" Laura was happy with this task as she moved towards these new warriors Noah had brought from the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament.


    Aria and Luna were taken aback to encounter such a stunning woman in this location. When they saw how Azaroth had mercilessly burned those men and women with his Azure mes, they assumed he was a savage, as was his whole group.


    Laura first came forward and spoke out, "Hello, everyone. I am Laura, and I will be your secondmander along with Noah. It''s nice to meet you all."


    These people were all taken back by her soothing and clear voice.


    "It''s nice to meet you as well,mander," A few men suddenly spoke out as they gazed at Laura.


    Laura ignored that greeting and then asked them curiously, "Who amongst you is an archer?"


    Fortunately for Laura, 60 of Noah''s 400 men were archers. These people raised their arms a little hesitantly.


    Laura happily smiled when she saw so many archers in this group and spoke out, "Amazing! You all will join my group then."


    The individuals who raised their hands were stunned by this information. They felt extremely blessed to have chosen the path of an archer.


    They didn''t mind fighting under Noah, but they would prefer to have a gorgeous beauty as theirmander.


    "Alright, I will lead you all to your houses. Follow me," Laura spoke as she led them to the locations where some apartments and houses had been constructed.


    These houses were constructed with a mixture of Earth Ardor and Wooden Ardor. Thus, they were very durable.


    However, Azaroth had another reason for asking Laura to personally create these houses. If some sort of problem did ur, he could control the wood within these houses and create a stronghold to protect himself.


    If he empowered that stronghold with his Arrays, then it might even repel a 6 Star Warrior!


    As Laura led these warriors to their respective houses, she was left alone with the women who had still not been assigned any houses.


    This was since only a few houses had been constructed in the area where the women lived.


    Luna and Aria were among these women.


    Laura raised her arms while closing her eyes as the wood rose from the group. Many vines came together, formed the basic structure of the house. She then clenched her fists, and the vines that were constructing the basic structure suddenly thickened.


    From another direction came the logs that were instilled in that house.


    Aria and Luna stared in shock as they saw what was happening. Actually, they wouldn''t have been so stunned if it was just a single house that Laura was constructing.


    Laura was constructing more than 30 houses at the same time with the same rhythm and same carpentry.


    This level of control was truly impressive. Aria knew she couldn''t achieve this with her Ice Element.


    <em>''Just who are these people? I thought Noah was already a monster, but there are two more here who seem just as much of a monster as he is. In fact, that man named Azaroth seems even greater monster than Noah,</em>'' Aria thought with a shocked look.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like the chapter. Vote for the novel if you do.

 Chapter 325 - Conflict With The Dragon Tiger Palace

    While Aria, Luna, and the other new recruits were settling in, Azaroth activated the array prohibiting them from contacting anybody via the Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    If the other sects caught wind of what Azaroth was doing, they would definitely send their scouts to gauge the situation.


    Azaroth had his own methods for dealing with them, but he figured why bother when he could just avoid it?


    Around this time, the Dragon Tiger Pce appeared in Veninza City, blocking all routes to neighboring cities.


    This was only natural. The Dragon Tiger Pce must have realized that an entire group of 100 warriors had vanished from their Pce.


    This was Ralph''s group that had grabbed a lot of attention within the Dragon Tiger Pce. It had reached the point that an elder was threatening Ralph to get the secret behind his group''s sess.


    And just a few dayster, Ralph and his entire group had vanished from the venue. Initially, the higher-ups of the Dragon Tiger Pce believed that Ralph had led his group on another hunt..


    It was quitemon for Ralph to suddenly organize a hunt with the close members of his group. So, they didn''t realize the truth until a few dayster.


    Various groups in Dragon Tiger Pce had been tasked to find Ralph. These guys first blocked all exits of Veninza City while the other groups split up and decided to search the nearby cities for any trace of Ralph and his groups.


    The higher-ups had ordered these groups to find Ralph''s group and bring them back. However, several of these groups resented Ralph and his group quite a bit.


    They promised the higher-ups that they would bring Ralph back at all costs. However, they privately had a deal to kill Ralph and all members of his group as soon as they were found.


    These groups were intimidated by the rise of Ralph''s group. They had seen how quickly the members of Ralph''s group were getting stronger. Within thest three months, each one had ascended by a rank.


    Moreover, their sumptuous rewards afterpleting those seemingly impossible missions just further increased the disparity between them.


    Their groups were better than Ralph''s group only in terms of a stable foundation. The group leaders possessed a lot of connections and created obstacles for Ralph and his groups all the time.


    However, this could never stop Ralph. After all, Ralph had Azaroth as his background who had given himplete consent to do whatever he wanted.


    Ralph used all kinds of ideas avable in his mind. No matter how self-destructive they seemed, in the end, those ideas worked, and the strength of his group rose collectively.


    Ralph and his group were staying near the Origin Sect Branch.


    While these groups were checking up Veninza City, one of them decided to check Origin Sect Branch here as well.


    Normally, the Dragon Tiger Pce had to inform the Origin Sect about this kind of check-in advance.


    However, since the Dragon Tiger Pce had ordered their warriors to find Ralph, these groups were operating independently.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce had issued no such notice or informed the Origin Sect about this.


    Moreover, the warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce were ustomed to bullying the disciples of the Origin Sect Branch.


    Patrick was the leader of the Origin Sect Branch earlier, and he was merely a 4 Star Warrior. The warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce were at his level or stronger. They threatened him via their strength or their association''s name, which was enough to scare Patrick.


    Patrick knew that the Origin Sect didn''t value him at all. To appease the Dragon Tiger Pce, they might even sacrifice him. Thus, he had endured everything these warriors did and would neverin to the main branch.


    As a result, the warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce invaded the area of the Origin Sect Branch with confident expressions on their faces.


    They naturally had no idea that even though Patrick was still the official leader of this Origin Sect Branch, the true leadership had passed to Azaroth.


    As these warriors walked towards the Origin Sect Branch, a few warriors noticed an arrowing from afar.


    The arrownded near the feet of the leader of a group who led his warriors into the Origin Sect Branch.


    A scowl appeared on that man''s face as he saw that arrownding near his feet. He yelled with all his might, "What is this meaning behind this?!"


    "Why have you entered this territory without any advance notice?" Azaroth''s voice resounded in the area.


    The group''s leader sneered in response as he spoke, "Since when do we need to give advance notice to enter this area. We left you alone for a few months, and you now appear to be bold enough to demand an exnation from me?!"


    "¡­Back away before we take further action," Azaroth once again spoke.


    "Hehehe¡­Do you dare to strike us? I doubt it. You should know that the Dragon Tiger Pce will demolish this sect branch if you take any action against us!" He spoke with a confident tone.


    If it was Patrick from a couple of months before, he would have been scared by those words.


    But unfortunately for this man, he was talking to Azaroth.


    "Fire!" Azaroth shouted themand.


    At the next second, nearly 100 arrows wereunched in the sky.


    The group from the Dragon Tiger Pce was shocked as they saw so many arrows heading their way. They were about to pull their swords when those arrows suddenly stabbed their bodies.


    It felt as though the arrows had elerated suddenly. Laura was the one who elerated these arrows.


    These arrows were created from pure wood. And Laura could manipte this wood to a certain extent.


    Thus, she could slow down or elerate them whenever she wanted. She had elerated these arrows so that the opponent couldn''t dodge or counter them.


    Her 4 Star Ardor had also strengthened those arrows, ensuring that their defenses would be prated.


    The group''s leader was utterly stunned. Two arrows stabbed his body. One stabbed his right arm while the other targeted his left thigh.


    All these warriors who had been stabbed by the arrows could be instantly killed by Laura.


    Laura could still manipte and stretch these wooden arrows before killing these warriors'' bodies from the inside.


    To y all of these warriors, she would have to spend all of her Ardor. They were a long distance away from her location, and the number of arrows Laura had to stretch was ratherrge.


    However, Azaroth didn''t n to kill them.


    His voice soon resounded in the area, "This was a warning. You can return and inform your sect that they can''t step into the Origin Sect''s Territory without asking for consent first."


    "Now, you can choose to remain here. But that choice would lead to you being buried underneath the ground you stand. Or you can return now while I am generous," Azaroth spoke with a neutral tone.


    Without any hesitation, the group''s leader shouted out, "Retreat! Get the injured warriors to the infirmary!"


    He internally swore to make this Origin Sect Branch pay for what they just did.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce was soon informed of the entire event. Needless to say, just like their warriors, the higher-ups were also used to suppressing the Origin Sect Branch.


    Moreover, these warriors had returned and informed the higher-ups that they had entered the Origin Sect Branch''s territory to find Ralph and his group, but the Origin Sect Branch suddenly attacked them. The injuries on their bodies counted as proof of that.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. Vote for the novel if you do.

 Chapter 326 - Patricks Primary Task

    Azaroth suddenly contacted Patrick while Patrick was on his way to the main branch of the Origin Sect, "I have a task for you. When you meet with the elders of the Origin Sect, inform them that the Dragon Tiger Pce is looking for trouble with the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City."


    "What?! We are in a conflict against the Dragon Tiger Pce?!" shouted Patrick. He was utterly shocked by that statement.


    He had sacrificed a lot to prevent this kind of conflict from arising. He knew that the Dragon Tiger Pce was truly powerful. It could easily destroy the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    However, this would make them fall out with the Origin Sect. They had close links with the Origin Sect, and it was pointless to jeopardize them for an insignificant reason.


    Azaroth affirmed, "Yes. They sent their warriors to our territory.. I warned them twice and asked them to return. But they paid no heed to my warnings. So, I ordered my warriors to assault, and all the warriors from the Dragon Tiger Pce were gravely wounded. I still showed them mercy but not killing them and allowing them to return to the Dragon Tiger Pce."


    "Master, w-why would you attack those warriors?!" Patrick inquired a little emotionally.


    Azaroth''s voice turned cold as he spoke, "You want a reason from me?"


    Patrick knew that if he dared to push this topic any more, Azaroth would be displeased. And that wouldn''t be good for him.


    The distance between the two didn''t relieve him. He knew that Azaroth could do anything. He could kill him despite the distance between them.


    His instincts were on point. Azaroth could indeed kill him despite this distance. He had his spiritual seed nted in his mind.


    Just a single thought was required to activate that Spiritual Seed which would immediately explode and destroy Patrick''s soul.


    However, Patrick was still puzzled about something, and he asked Azaroth, "What reason should I give to the superior elders for this conflict?"


    "They barged into Origin Sect Branch''s territory without consent," Azaroth spoke seriously, "That will be good enough."


    Patrick frowned and asked Azaroth, "Will that truly be enough? It is Dragon Tiger Pce, after all. The Origin Sect might even sell us out to pacify the Dragon Tiger Pce."


    Azaroth let out a sigh and decided to exin his thoughts.


    "You are wrong to believe that the Origin Sect won''t take our side. If they do that, it sends a message to all their other branches that the main branch won''t stand up for the smaller branches. What do you think will happen then? Those branches will soon try to gain power and dere their independence from the Origin Sect. This would ultimately weaken the Origin Sect."


    "Their alliances with the other sects would weaken. Its direct impact would be visible on their economy and resources."


    "However, let''s say that they feel that the conflict with the Dragon Tiger Pce isn''t worth it and do take their side. That just gives us a reason to dere our independence from the Origin Sect. Other branches of the Origin Sect are sure to follow our example and dere their independence as well. We can form an alliance with them and form our very own organization or a new sect altogether."


    "Also, do you think we are truly weaker than the Dragon Tiger Pce? Then think again. You have no idea what I am capable of," Azaroth spoke with an authoritative voice.


    Patrick was utterly shocked to hear those statements.


    As he stood still and thought about it a bit deeper, he remembered the demons that were ced within the building near the Origin Sect Branch.


    However, Patrick had his own worries about using those demons.


    <em>''If it''s found out that we are sheltering the demons, then the King might take action and destroy us. But if I could think of it, then the master must have considered it as well. This means that he has another n in his mind,''</em> Patrick thought.


    "Now, do as you are told," Azaroth spoke onest time before cutting off the connection.


    Patrick felt incredibly nervous about the future of the Origin Sect Branch. But he realized that the matter was already out of his hands.


    The only path he had was to follow what Azaroth had ordered him.


    However, it would take some time for Patrick to reach the Origin Sect. After reaching the Origin Sect, he would need to deal with many issues before presenting this news to the elders of the Origin Sect.


    Until then, Azaroth had to deal with the Dragon Tiger Pce by himself. This could be considered a challenging task for some but not for Azaroth.


    Azaroth was waiting for the Dragon Tiger Pce''s higher-ups to react to this event.


    Noah and Laura knocked on the door to his room. They stood together with serious expressions on their faces.


    "Enter," Azaroth spoke out.


    Noah and Laura entered his room. Both were wondering what Azaroth wanted to say to them.


    "I asked you both to develop your forces and possess the ability tomand them," Azaroth spoke seriously while staring into Noah and Laura''s eyes.


    Laura didn''t dare to have any wild thoughts at this moment. She knew Azaroth was utterly serious, and he would be extremely displeased if he knew that her mind was loitering elsewhere.


    Azaroth noticed that he had their entire attention, so he continued, "I expect that you have grown aftermanding warriors for so long. It will soon be time for you to show me that growth. Stay ready."


    Noah spoke devotedly, "At yourmand, master!"


    Azaroth nodded in satisfaction and whispered, "Very good. Go and get your subordinates ready. There will be huge battles in the near future."


    "Mhm~!" Noah and Laura spoke out collectively. They turned around and nned to rush out of the room at the same time.


    Azaroth then sat on his chair while closing his eyes to concentrate deeply.


    <em>''What is the status over there?''</em> Azaroth asked his subordinate within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Bianca Russel immediately replied to her master''s voice <em>''The Alliance between the Noble Houses had been formed. However, the king has already found out about this alliance.''</em>


    This was nothing surprising for Azaroth.


    <em>''What has this alliance done till now?''</em> Azaroth asked her.


    ''They are taking it slow for now. A leader has been chosen, and they are dividing power among each other while forming new treaties to strengthen each other so that they won''t be dependent on the Royal Family for those things,'' Bianca spoke.


    Azaroth frowned at those words ''Too slow. At this pace, they won''t take action any time soon. The king or that Inquisitor Fox might find some method to deal with this alliance by then.''


    ''The two parties are in conflict because the Noble Houses feel threatened by the King. However, this alliance is only sessful if the King also experiences this threat.''


    <em>''Do you have someone entirely loyal to you in the Lewis House? Someone whose loyalty lies with you alone just like that personal maid you have,''</em> Azaroth inquired.


    Bianca replied to him a momentter <em>''I have an elder cousin who was infatuated with me. He even confessed to me, but I rejected him since I loved Spencer. Thest time I met him, we had a brief talk. He mentioned that even after my marriage, his feelings for me have never changed.''</em>


    <em>''This is a good dog. What is his position in the family?''</em> Azaroth asked.


    <em>''My eldest brother is leading the Lewis House, and he is his advisor,''</em> Bianca responded.


    Azaroth then spoke a whileter <em>''A useful dog he might be. Talk to him on the Voice Transmission Array Stone and subtly ask him everything rting to this Noble House Alliance. Also, invite him to Mesenana City. I will have a task specially designed for him.''</em>


    <em>''As youmand, master,''</em> Bianca spoke.


    ~~


    I hope you all liked the chapter. Support the novel with power stones and gifts please.

 Chapter 327 - Yrelleas Emotions

    Azaroth''s involvement within the Sinyalian Kingdom wasn''t guessed or suspected by anyone yet.


    Not even Inquisitor Fox thought that Azaroth survived in this world. In his opinion, the creation of this Noble House''s Alliance was quite natural.


    Now that Edwin had been killed, Shun had decided to not involve himself in the politics of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Azaroth instructed Bianca, and she carried out his orders perfectly. She asked her personal maid to carry out a couple of those orders.


    Now that Azaroth knew how dangerous Inquisitor Fox was, he included this guy''s presence in his ns.


    However, Azaroth knew that this Inquisitor Fox wasn''t the only obstacle in his path. There was still that Fate Energy safeguarding the Royal Family. Andstly, Tronte''s true identity and motives still eluded him..


    Azaroth knew that it would be annoying to deal with this guy. He was sure that this man had hidden his true cultivation base. His informationwork was wider than his imagination, so Azaroth had to take every step very carefully.


    He couldn''t allow Tronte to figure out his ns. If Tronte figured out his ns, he could warn Inquisitor Fox and King Valliadis.


    Azaroth was soon done giving Bianca orders. He sat on his bed, entering a deep concentration to cultivate.


    Although his energy wouldn''t grow past this bottleneck like this, it wasn''t without its advantages.


    The regr meditation was ingrained within his schedule, and his Ardor remained pure.


    If he stopped this meditation, his Ardor would begin to be mixed with impurities. Which would simply lower the power of his Ardor.


    This decrease in power wouldn''t be that noticeable, but Azaroth wanted to keep himself in a tip-top condition.


    After 2 hours, someone knocked on Azaroth''s door.


    Azaroth spoke out, "You can enter, Yrellea."


    Yrellea entered his room with a solemn look on her face. She wore a grey colored robe that covered her entire body.


    After entering, she kowtowed to Azaroth and spoke up, "I have finalized the location where I want to set up the Misty Flower Pavilion. It is just at the right distance from the residential area and the market. Moreover, it''s on route to the capital. The tourists from the capital are bound to pay a visit to this Misty Flower Pavilion."


    Azaroth nodded his head in affirmation. This was indeed a good location.


    "However, that location is under the Dragon Tiger Pce''s territory," Azaroth stated solemnly.


    "¡­Yes, master," Yrellea spoke while looking down. She knew that there was some conflict between Azaroth and the Dragon Tiger Pce. Or maybe her master was trying to initiate one.


    Azaroth whispered to himself, "Good. This expands my options."


    He then suddenly looked into her eyes and spoke, "Go meet with the higher-ups of the Dragon Tiger Pce. Ask them for that location in return for some share of profits. You are going to go meet them as the Mistress of the Misty Flower Pavilion."


    "Will they agree?" Yrellea inquired a little curiously.


    Azaroth snorted in response as he responded, "They would be fools to reject this offer. Thatnd is basically useless to them right now. They have no ns to develop thatnd yet. However, they would receive an offer to set up a Pavilion that has shown great results within shire City."


    "They would be able to earn extra ie without working at all. Moreover, thend itself will still remain under their control. They will just rent it out for you," Azaroth spoke.


    "¡­Okay, master," Yrellea responded. She had to get ready to meet with the Dragon Tiger Pce''s higher-ups.


    Azaroth raised his eyes as he noticed that Yrellea remained standing ahead of him. She wasn''t leaving the room yet.


    "Master, I missed you a lot while we were apart," She whispered while removing her robe.


    Underneath her robe, Yrellea waspletely naked.


    Azaroth remained calm even as he gazed at Yrellea''s seductive body. He already knew that she was wearing nothing underneath her robe.


    He could see the lustful look in her eyes.


    Azaroth spoke a little slowly, "I didn''t miss you all that much. However, I don''t mind having a little fun every now and then¡­"


    He stood up once he finished that statement while pulling Yrellea towards himself.


    Yrellea licked her lips in anticipation.


    The door of the room magically closed and was locked. A few secondster, moans could be heard within the room.


    These moans would be transformed into pleasure and anguish screams. There was also the sound of smacking. This sound was crisp, and a loud moan could be heard following this pping sound.


    Fortunately, the room waspletely soundproof or else the entire sect would be hearing Yrellea''s screams.


    Yrellea was fucked so hard that she found it difficult to walk out of Azaroth''s room. She had to wait for some time before her demonic bloodline kicked in and began to heal her.


    Azaroth was still not satisfied, though.


    ''Let''s go all the way.''


    A couple of momentster, Laura entered Azaroth''s room. She was quite happy that Azaroth was calling out for her.


    She was slightly excited and hoped something would happen between them.


    She opened the door and saw Yrellea and Azaroth naked on the bed.


    Yrellea lookedpletely wasted, and it seemed as though she had been run over by a beast horde.


    Azaroth stood up before walking towards Laura, "You are finally here."


    "¡­Big Sister Yrellea is in a rtionship with you, master?" Laura asked with a stunned look.


    "It''s the same one I have with you," Azaroth spoke with a calm expression.


    Laura''s clothes were soon burnt by the Purple mes as she now stoodpletely naked in front of Azaroth.


    "Yrellea alone can''t satisfy me any more, so it seems that I need the two of you together from now on," Azaroth spoke while his dick rubbed against Laura''s pussy and his hands fondled herrge breasts.


    "I have exined quite a bit. Now, serve me," Azaroth spoke with amanding tone.


    Even though Laura was a Royal Princess of the Elves, she feltpelled to obey him. She moaned out as Azaroth fondled herrge breasts.


    Her right hand moved towards Azaroth''s dick and began to stroke it slowly.


    Laura felt an electric sensation throughout her body as Azaroth abruptly squeezed her nipple. She even groaned out in pleasure.


    Laura''s mind was trying to register the entire situation. She had always thought that she was the only one who had a physical rtionship with Azaroth.


    Seeing Yrellea lying on the bed with Azaroth''s cum sprayed on her body shattered all her delusions.


    Her mindset soon began to change. She felt that she needed to be more active and make sure Azaroth was happy while having sex with her.


    She didn''t dare to think that Azaroth was hers alone. She remembered that Azaroth had told her that he was going to use her. She had agreed and then entered into this physical rtionship with him.


    Right now, all she wanted to do was make sure that if Azaroth wanted to have sex, she would be the first person in his mind.


    Thus, it was a very rocking night for Laura as she did it with Azaroth in all sorts of positions.


    In the end, sheid on the bed with Azaroth''s semen sprayed all over her body, just like Yrellea. She appeared to be mentally wasted as well.


    Azaroth also utilized his Ardor to sanitize their bodies before resting on the bed. Hey between Laura and Yrellea, drawing them closer to himself.


    ~~


    I hope you love the chapter. Please support the novel.

 Chapter 328 - Noah Vs His Subordinates

    Noah''s subordinates gathered in an empty field of the Origin Sect Branch. There were nearly 400 of his subordinates here.


    A whileter, Noah stood in front of them as he spoke out, "A huge series of battles will begin from tomorrow. I need you guys to be prepared for these battles."


    Noah suddenly pulled out his sword while speaking, "Come. Let me see how ready you are."


    "W-What?!" Aria and Luna were shocked to see Noah rushing towards them with a serious expression.


    He had already pulled out his sword from his sheathe and attacked them while congealing his sword with his Sword Qi.


    Noah attacked Aria first, who raised an Ice Wall to block him. However, it didn''tst for a single second as Noah shattered it with a simple sh.. He brandished his sword again and was ready to strike her.


    At this moment, Luna used strong Wind Pressure and pushed Aria out of the way. Noah shed in the empty air.


    However, even then, a sword sh was released, and it targeted the other warriors standing in that direction.


    Unfortunately for them, they didn''t have someone like Luna pushing them out of the way.


    However, it was good that Noah kept a leash on the power behind this sword sh. He didn''t want to gravely injure these warriors.


    He only used enough force in his Sword sh to terrify them. He wanted them to experience a life-threatening feeling.


    When they experience this feeling, their bodies will try to flee or fight at their full potential.


    If they hardened their hearts and fought with all of their might, they would earn a lot of battle experience, and their skills, as well as their timing, would improve dramatically.


    However, very few warriors could make the decision to fight against Noah. Nearly all his subordinates tried to flee in different directions.


    After running some distance away from Noah, they soon hit an invisible wall.


    Noah sneered in response and spoke, "You think you can escape? My master created this field, especially for this training. You can''t escape. You can only fight!"


    Noah was basically forcing them to fight. He wanted to make them forget their flight instincts. They only had to remember their fighting instincts. There was no ce for cowards in his group.


    Meanwhile, Aria and Luna stood next to each other.


    Luna spoke while gazing at Noah, "Is he seriously going to fight all of us alone?!"


    "It seems he doesn''t understand how much stronger we are after receiving his gift. We need to show him that we aren''t the same as before!" Aria spoke with a resolute look on her face.


    Noah had already begun to fight against his subordinates. He was fighting against all his subordinates. All attacks at him were countered back without any issue.


    Even though they had gathered him, Noah would still somehow find a way to parry their strike and counter them.


    Aria and Luna joined this battle as well. Lunaunched a couple of Wind sts at Noah from afar.


    There was a strong burst of wind around Noah. But this was in the opposite direction. Itpletely nullified Luna''s Wind sts.


    However, Luna wasn''t surprised and showed a clever smile on her face while thinking ''<em>This was just a distraction. The real attack is¡­''</em>


    "<strong>Frosty Creeper!</strong>" Suddenly, thin roots of pure Ice were formed near Noah''s feet as they held his feet tightly.


    When Noah tried to move his foot, he discovered that his muscles were entirely paralyzed.


    "Attack him now!" Luna shouted out. She knew that Aria''s attack had worked. Noah would remain paralyzed for a couple of seconds.


    Noah''s subordinates saw hope for their victory. A faint and unlikely hope that excited them to no end.


    They immediately charged up their Ardor andunched their respective attacks at Noah.


    Loud explosions urred where Noah stood. His subordinates were a little worried when they saw their attacks colliding with Noah and exploding so violently.


    Noah might have died after being hit with so many attacks.


    However, the response they received was a green light being released within that smoke cloud.


    This greenish light was released in the form of Sword Qi as Noahunched his Fleeting Cresent sh, but this time, it was in the form of a circle with his body as its center.


    This circle was widening quickly as Noah used this attack. In this manner, he was targeting all his subordinates at the same time.


    Aria and Luna tried to block this attack, but their efforts were in vain.


    "That was a pitiful attempt to defeat me," Noah''s cold voice resounded in the entire area as he stepped out of the smoke cloud.


    ~~


    In the meantime, Tiana was returning to her Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. She had recruited 10 new disciples for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    She hadn''t informed them of the entire truth about the sect. All she had told them was that they would see when they reached the sect.


    She traveled to each of their hometowns and convinced their families to change their living location.


    All of their families possessednd and lived in fine condition. It was very difficult for Tiana to convince them to change their cities.


    However, Tiana finally convinced them and helped them settle inside the city near the Arctic Summit.


    The weather was quite cold in that city, but Tianapensated them by giving them a lot of Spiritual Coins.


    When they reached the sect, the women apanying Tiana were startled to check out therge Ice Pce.


    Helena appeared outside to greet Tiana and her fellow disciples.


    "Greetings, Sect Mistress," She spoke with a respectful expression.


    The women apanying Tiana were even more shocked to hear that statement. A bittersweet smile appeared on Tiana''s face as she decided to reveal the truth to them.


    "I will be frank with you. The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect is newly found. I am the Sect Mistress of this sect. However, the true master of this sect is an expert of Emperor Rank. He has given me the task to establish this sect and expand it as much as possible," Tiana spoke seriously.


    "<strong>An Emperor ranked expert?!</strong>" These women were startled to hear those words.


    "That''s correct. He is the one who created this Ice Pce you see before your eyes. The Mist through which we traveled. And the countless arrays ced here to boost our growth!" Tiana proudly spoke.


    All these women belonged to a martial background. They knew that not even the Red Crown Sect or the various Associations of the Glerian Kingdom had any Emperor Ranked Expert.


    If they trained in a sect whose master was an Emperor Ranked Expert, they would have a good chance to reach the 6 Star Rank. Or at least reach the 5 Star Rank.


    They felt quite lucky to get the chance to be a part of this sect. As for the part that this was a newly found sect. They didn''t care all that much about it.


    They belonged to some newly found sects, so joining another newly established sect wasn''t a huge issue to them.


    They sensed dense Spiritual Energy in their surroundings. They understood that this was the work of some mysterious array and their respect for this mysterious master of Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect rose even further.


    ~~


    A/N: Tiana has appeared after a long time. Hope you like her scene. Please vote for the novel.

 Chapter 329 - Origin Sect Master

    Around this moment, Patrick reached the Origin Sect. The guards allowed him inside without much issue. He asked them whether the Sect Master was here or not.


    The guards responded that they didn''t know exactly, but the Sect Master should be within the Main Pce.


    Patrick quickly headed towards this Main Pce as he wanted to meet with the Sect Master. The information he possessed had to reach the Sect Master''s ears quickly.


    He had no idea that the guards were spreading the word about his return. It soon reached Hugo Corlett and Cara''s ears.


    They were slightly surprised to hear about Patrick''s sudden return.


    However, Hugo Corlett wasn''t worried.. Even if Patrick had brought a helper or he revealed the truth, he couldn''t achieve anything.


    Hugo Corlett''s prestige was so high in the Origin Sect that even the Sect Master would hesitate to take action against him. He didn''t stay idle while Patrick was gone. After grabbing hold of his woman and destroying Patrick mentally, Hugo Corlett focused on his own future.


    He added many achievements to his name as he led many sessful expeditions. If he remained on this path, he should be able to take over his father''s role as Grand Elder with ease.


    Thus, someone like Patrick, who had remained in a low-ranked branch of the Origin Sect, couldn''t shake his position with false usations.


    Even if Patrick told the truth, Hugo Corlett could simply twist the truth to fit his agenda.


    Meanwhile, when Cara heard that Patrick had returned, she had a sneer on her face. She wasn''t nning to meet this man who had betrayed her after being transferred to Veninza City.


    Before Patrick reached the Main Pce, he met a group of warriors. He recognized a couple of faces from this group.


    These warriors belonged to Hugo Corlett''s group.


    "How dare you return, you trash?!" One of these warriors inquired with a sneer.


    Patrick clearly didn''t have a good reputation within the Origin Sect right now. This was Hugo Corlett''s work.


    He wanted Patrick to feel incredibly embarrassed every time he returned to the Main Branch. This would force Patrick to return to Veninza City.


    However, what Hugo Corlett failed to expect was Patrick''s advancement to the 5 Star Rank. Patrick was overflowing with confidence right now.


    "You should get out of my way. I need to meet with Sect Master urgently," He spoke with a cold tone.


    Another warrior ahead of Patrick coldly snorted, "Sect Master isn''t free to meet you right now."


    Patrick spoke with a sneer, "Yeah, like you would know that."


    "The fact doesn''t change that you can''t meet with Sect Master. To meet him, you would need to get past us," Another warrior stepped forward and showed a strong fighting intent.


    The entire group was surprised when they saw Patrick smiling in relief, "That''s all?"


    Before they could understand what Patrick meant, a strong force struck their bodies and tossed them away.


    Patrick stepped forward with a wide smile on his face. He had always wanted to deal with these guys like this.


    The sensation of wielding Pure Strength was exhrating. He wanted to stay behind and beat them, but he realized the situation was urgent, and he needed to notify the Sect Master as soon as possible.


    The Sect Master was currently seated in his study room, where he was checking out the monthly reports rting to the resources, weapons, and the results of the geniuses in the branches of the Origin Sect.


    There was a shortage of resources within the Origin Sect. The various branches of the Origin Sect had reduced their tribute to the Main Branch.


    They imed that there was a shortage of supplies, but the Sect Master knew that most of them were lying. He needed to dispatch some disciples to investigate the Origin Sect branches he was wary about.


    He suddenly sensed arge amount of being utilized near his Pce. This was equivalent to a 5 Star Ranked Ardor.


    The Sect Master decided to leave his study room and check out this individual who was ring up his energy like that.


    Patrick and the Sect Master met up in the corridors of the Pce.


    Patrick immediately kowtowed to the Sect Master and spoke with a respectful tone, "Greetings to the Sect Master."


    "Hmm," The Sect Master grunted in response while gazing at Patrick. He was analyzing him with his Spiritual Senses.


    He raised his brow when he sensed a stable 5 Star Ardor from Patrick''s body.


    "You were the one ring up your Ardor outside the Pce?" He asked with a frown on his face.


    "That''s correct, Sect Master. But this was because a group of warriors was trying to stop me from meeting you. I merely pushed them aside before entering the Pce," Patrick responded calmly.


    "I hope that''s indeed the case. So, what brings you in front of me today, Patrick? Surely, it''s not to unt your cultivation," The Sect Master spoke coldly.


    Patrick responded with a chuckle, "How could I even think of that, Sect Master?"


    "I''vee to inform you of something essential. The Dragon Tiger Pce and the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City are at odds," Patrick spoke with a serious voice.


    The Sect Master was startled to hear this information. He asked, "What happened?"


    "I received this information from my subordinate just a day ago," Patrick said, echoing what Azaroth had said.


    "He mentioned that the Dragon Tiger Pce was sending warriors to destroy the Origin Sect Branch," Patrick spoke seriously.


    The Sect Master remained silent for a short period.


    "The Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors entered the Origin Sect Branch''s territory without consent. They were warned, but they continued to roam in our territory, and then your subordinate gave the order to attack them. This is what happened, right?" The Sect Master asked with a calm tone.


    "That''s correct," Patrick nodded his head.


    "He also has the proof as he had recorded it using a Visual Recording Jade," Patrick added.


    "Interesting," The Sect Master spoke with a sneer. He knew that this conflict urred due to Patrick''s subordinate.


    There was a better way to deal with this problem. However, he acted in such a way that the Dragon Tiger Pce waspelled to retaliate.


    "Who is this subordinate of yours?" The Sect Master wanted to know the name of this disciple.


    "It''s a local disciple who joined the Origin Sect Branch not long ago. His name is Nudar," Patrick responded.


    "I want aplete report about this man in my office by tomorrow morning!" The Sect Master spoke with amanding aura.


    The aura he emitted was so powerful that it easily overwhelmed Patrick''s.


    Patrick knew that there was a wide difference between him and the Sect Master.


    The Origin Sect''s sect master was at the peak of the 5 Star Rank. However, he was still only 50 years old.


    Given his current level of cultivation and talent, he would only require a couple of years before advancing to the 6 Star Rank.


    That would put him on par with the Red Crown Sect''s Master.


    "I will present you his report as soon as possible, Sect Master," Patrick responded.


    The Sect Master nodded his head as he recalled his Aura and spoke, "Very well. I will discuss with the elders what we should do regarding this issue. Be present in the Great Hall an hourter."


    "Yes, Sect Master," Patrick spoke a little excitedly.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. Sorry for publishing a single chapter guys. I have caught dengue and my health is worsening day by day. I can only continue to publish a single chapter every day. Hope you will continue to read it.

 Chapter 330 - The Great Hall

    The Origin Sect''s elders had assembled in the Great Hall. No elder could reject since they had been summoned by the Sect Master.


    From the Grand Elder to Hugo Corlett, every elder had gathered in this vast hall. Hugo Corlett had already learned of Patrick''s meeting with the Sect Master, which was to discuss something rted to it.


    He was a little worried as he thought that Patrick hadined to the sect master. And the Sect Master was going to provide him justice.


    "No. He doesn''t have any proof against me," He whispered with a confident expression.


    On the right and left sides, there were seats. There''s also a single throne on a higher tform..


    That Throne was for the Sect Master while the elders sat on the seats ced on both sides.


    This hall was constructed in a simr interior to that of the Royal Court.


    The Sect Master of the Origin Sect wanted to experience the same feeling like a King within the Origin Sect. Thus, this Grand Hall was designed like this.


    The customs in this Grand Hall were simr to the customs in the Royal Court.


    Every individual who stepped into this Grand Hall would pay their respects to the Sect Master with a simple kowtow.


    That person was only permitted to sit in his seat once the Sect Master gave him permission.


    When the elders noticed Patrick seated on the far end of the Sect Master''s left-hand side, they were taken aback.


    Only the elders were allowed to take their seats in this Hall.


    "How dare you sit here?!" An elder roared at Patrick. This man was quite an old-looking fellow with an ancestral aura around him.


    He was a supporter of Hugo Corlett, and he was well aware that Patrick was his rival. As a result, he wasn''t kind to Patrick and intended to cause him trouble.


    Patrick spoke with a calm gaze, "Sect Master allowed me to sit here."


    As if to support that statement, the sect master''s voice resounded in the Grand Hall, "That''s indeed right."


    The elder who wanted to look for trouble against Patrick immediately fell silent. He didn''t expect the Sect Master toe to Patrick''s side so soon.


    He looked in Hugo Corlett''s direction and shook his head lightly. Hugo Corlett understood the meaning behind that signal.


    The elder was basically notifying that he had done all he could. He won''t be getting involved in this scene for a while.


    Hugo Corlett had expected this after seeing the sect master involving himself anding to Patrick''s defense.


    The Sect Master waited for the elders to take their seats before speaking with his loud and clear voice, "I have summoned you all for two important reasons. The first is that we have a new elder of the Origin Sect. His name is Patrick Kewin."


    Patrick Kewin stood up, and all the elders within the Grand Hall swept their eyes at him at least once.


    Most of them were uninvolved in the rivalry between Hugo Corlett and Patrick. They looked at Patrick and recalled that this was a genius of their sect from a decade ago.


    "During these years, he had stayed and managed the Origin Sect Branch within Veninza City. But now he has returned and will stay here as the Outer-Sect Elder," The Sect Master finished speaking.


    An elder suddenly spoke up, "I do not wish to doubt the Sect Master''s judgement but not just anyone can be the Origin Sect''s Elder, especially not of the Main Branch."


    His words didn''t annoy the Sect Master. He was quite familiar with this elder and knew that this man had an honest and frank personality.


    "He possesses a solid 5 Star Cultivation. It shows that he possesses a strong foundation and hasn''t used some kind of supplements to break through. His Ardor is quite pure and dense enough. Is that enough to convince you, or do I ask him to demonstrate?" The Sect Master spoke.


    His query was directed at all of the other elders. He wanted to know whether they had any concerns about his decision.


    Naturally, no elder dared to speak against his decision. Even if they were slightly unsure, they knew that it would be best if they kept their mouth shut at this moment.


    Only the Grand Elder possessed the age and prestige to speak anything against the Sect Master. But he stayed silent at this moment.


    As there were no further responses from these elders, the Sect Masterunched the second bomb.


    "The Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City has fallen out with the Dragon Tiger Pce. The Dragon Tiger Pce invaded our territory, and despite being warned, they refused to leave. Our warriors attacked them to force them to leave our territory."


    "And now, the Dragon Tiger Pce intends to retaliate by destroying our Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City," The Sect Master finished speaking.


    All of the elders'' facial expressions shifted at the same time. They had not anticipated shing with the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce was a major source of raw alchemical resources. A conflict with them meant that the Origin Sect would no longer be able to concoct their own pellets.


    The Origin Sect would need to pay a high price if they tried to obtain those resources in a roundabout way.


    "Patrick Kewin, I believe the Sect Master just mentioned that you were the leader of the Origin Sect''s Branch in Veninza City. I am wondering how you could have allowed this conflict to develop to such an extent?" These words were spoken by a middle-aged elder with a mocking tone.


    Patrick remained silent at those words. He actually had no answer since this conflict arose because of Azaroth.


    The Sect Master''s voice suddenly resounded in the Grand Hall, "Silence!"


    The elders were shocked to hear this voice. They turned towards him and then heard him speak, "I don''t need some internal fighting among us. For now, our enemy is the Dragon Tiger Pce. Remain focused on that. Give me ideas on how we should deal with this situation."


    "Yes, Sect Master," The elder who had previously questioned Patrick murmured in a low tone.


    At this moment, Hugo Corlett suddenly spoke up, "We should immediately try to contact the Dragon Tiger Pce and try to cate them. If this situation can be resolved through some gifts, then that''s for the best."


    The Sect Master nodded his head at the suggestion. This was indeed a reasonable suggestion.


    "A most logical decision. However, I have something else in my mind," The sect master spoke with a calm tone.


    Hugo Corlett sat on his seat while gazing in the sect master''s direction, curious to hear what he wanted to say.


    "I want to use this dispute against the Dragon Tiger Pce," said the Sect Master, a cunning smirk on his face.


    "How will we do that?" An elder asked. His question was very natural. In fact, the other elders were thinking the same thing.


    The Sect Master spoke resolutely, "You don''t need to know the details. Just stay prepared to send a warning note to the Dragon Tiger Pce. If they try to destroy the Origin Sect Branch within Veninza City, the Origin Sect will use all its resources to destroy them."


    All the elders were quite surprised as they heard this statement. They didn''t expect that the Sect Master would go to such lengths to save the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    "The King can''t punish us since the Dragon Tiger Pce is the one in the wrong. We are just protecting ourselves," The Sect Master added at the end.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you like the chapter.

 Chapter 331 - Recalling Zena

    In Veninza City, Azaroth had readied various traps and all his warriors for a battle against the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce''s higher-ups were quite angry that the Origin Sect Branch had attacked the warriors while knowing that they belonged to the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    This was an utter disregard for the Dragon Tiger Pce''s prestige.


    The Higher-Ups were wondering what they should do. Attack the Origin Sect Branch or try to talk to them.


    This association was a democratic one. A president was elected among these higher-ups. He possessed great political powers, and his decisions were considered final.


    However, when the topic was war, the president''s power was just a bit greater than the other higher-ups of this association.


    .


    All the other higher-ups and elders had just voted their next course of action. They had decided to demolish the Origin Sect Branch.


    It might seem slightly rash and rushed decision, but this event had struck the Dragon Tiger Pce''s prestige.


    This was the first time they had been assaulted in this manner. As a result, they had to exact their vengeance.


    "The Origin Sect is demonstrating its might by using us. They may be seeking to grow in this city, I suppose. As a result, they didn''t think twice about going up against our warriors. We must subdue them and teach them their proper positions! We shall remain the masters of Veninza City, no matter how arrogant they are."


    "That''s right, President!" One of the board members spoke up in agreement.


    "How do we deal with them then? Should we send our Core Groups?" Another board member asked with a curious gaze.


    "¡­We should send the other groups first. Sending the Core Groups from the start will show that we are giving too much attention to this lowly branch."


    "Dealing with this kind of lowly branch should seem like child''s y," The President spoke up.


    "You are absolutely right, President. We can send our Beast Taming Groups," Another board member gave his suggestions.


    The members of the Beast Taming Groups were Beast Tamers. They possessed special abilities that allowed them to tame different kinds of beasts.


    These beasts would be controlled through the Spiritual Energy of these Beast Tamers. The stronger the Spiritual Energy of the Beast Tamer, the stronger the beast he could tame.


    There were also individuals who preferred to tame weak monsters but gathered arge number of them, like taming a whole pack of wolves or a herd of deer and so on.


    These were not very powerful creatures, but theirbined might would be mind-boggling when assembled in great numbers.


    A huge number of these warriors had been gathered into a group. This was the Beast Taming Group.


    The Beast Tamers only had a single group, which could be considered thergest groupmunity within the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Just dozens of warriors from this group could destroy an entire city. If the entire group was sent, they could take on the branch of a top sect.


    If more groups were added to this Beast Taming Group, the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City was doomed.


    The Main Branch of the Origin Sect had to send their reinforcements. But the Main Branch was quite far away, so by the time they reach Veninza City, the Origin Sect Branch would be no more.


    In the evening, Azaroth received the report that hundreds of warriors were heading towards the Origin Sect Branch.


    This information was quickly updated that thousands of individuals were heading towards the Origin Sect Branch.


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised since he had sensed this number already. He knew that many beasts were apanying these warriors.


    He let out a loud whistle. It resounded in the entire area. For a few seconds, silence dominated the surroundings before a sharp screech was heard.


    Azaroth raised his head to look at therge Crimson Lightning Phoenix heading towards him.


    This was Zena, who had now reached the 4 Star Rank in thesest couple of months. She had always been near this area as she conquered the beasts around here.


    Zena was being followed by all of the birds with a 4 Star Rank or lower. Whenpared to Zena''s aura, they seemed to have a subservient aura. This was due to their submission to Zena.


    Zena possessed the Bloodline of the Holy Phoenix. Its lineage could still subdue these creatures or birds, even if it was extremely young and hardly understood how to use its might.


    There was no beast in the area with a bloodline that couldpare to or surpass Zena''s.


    Zena soon diminished its size and immediately went to snuggle her body against Azaroth''s cheeks.


    She squealed in delight as she lightly struck Azaroth''s face with her wings.


    Azaroth patted her tiny body and remained quiet for some time.


    He then spoke out, "Alright, that''s enough reunion. I have a task for you, Zena."


    Zena immediately began to fly in the air when she heard that Azaroth had a task for her.


    "Many warriors and beasts are heading for this location. Apany Noah and his group to stop them. Kill them all," Azaroth spoke calmly.


    Zena nodded her head and flew in Noah''s direction.


    Azaroth then thought ''<em>The Dragon Tiger Pce will probably be an angry ho after this event.''</em>


    This was only natural since Azaroth was going to destroy one of their elite forces. There would be no turning back from that.


    Nopensation would make the Dragon Tiger Pce forgive the Origin Sect. Well, that''s if they decide to support the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    If this guess was right, the Dragon Tiger Pce should receive the Origin Sect''s message by this evening.


    The timing of the Dragon Tiger Pce receiving that message had to perfectly match with the destruction of this elite group.


    Azaroth had noticed that there was a fragile peace between the organizations and the Sects within the Glerian Kingdom.


    Shake up even a single one of them, and all would be affected. Some would be affected more, while others would be affected less.


    This event would gather the attention of the Glerian Kingdom. During this moment, Sargan and Tiana could develop themselves without much issue.


    Also, this event would allow Noah, Laura, and Ralph to lead their subordinates in battle. Their experiences would grow as they led their subordinates. Moreover, Azaroth would also be here to assist them.


    Lastly, he would use Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion to eat the Dragon Tiger Pce from the inside.


    If his warriors fought against Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors, the losses would ur on both sides.


    Even if Azaroth''s side wins by killing all the officials and warriors from the Dragon Tiger Pce, they won''t earn anything much.


    It was better if he could bring the talented officials to his side. They could be used in managing his subordinates and many other things.


    Their skill in the administration would be useful since Azaroth didn''t want to handle everything. If he did that, he wouldn''t be able to give more time to important things.


    In a sense, Noah, Laura, and Ralph''s factions were fighting against the Dragon Tiger Pce on the surface. At the same time, Yrellea used her Misty Flower Pavilion to gather information and poach talents from the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Azaroth was nning to eat this Dragon Tiger Pce from inside out.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you like the chapter and support the novel. Thanks.

 Chapter 332 - The Battle Commences

    Zena, Noah''s group, and Laura''s group headed in the direction from where the Dragon Tiger Pce''s group was approaching.


    They caught sight of them soon enough. There were hundreds of warriors with thousands of beasts around them.


    Noah''s eyes suddenly shed with excitement as he gazed at a herd of deer. He remembered the taste of the deer''s meat from the Cranian Woods.


    He wanted Azaroth to eat that delicious meat as well.


    Luna and Aria had been told they would have to fight the warriors. However, it wasn''t until they saw the Beast Taming Group that they realized they were up against the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    This Beast Taming Group was incredibly famous. Nearly all sects wanted to poach a few warriors from this group.


    The warriors of this group knew how to tame beasts. This was a skill that had remained unique to the Dragon Tiger Pce till now.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce had worked meticulously to prevent it from being leaked. Not even mind-reading techniques could be used to get that technique.


    This Beast Taming Skill was quite beneficial. If a martial genius figured out how to spiritually control his monsters, the threat posed by him would be amplified even more.


    This was one reason the Dragon Tiger Pce continued to pay a heavy price to conceal this form. The martial geniuses were indeed much greater in number within the sects. The strength of that sect would rise greatly if even a small percentage of them began to cultivate this Beast Taming Technique.


    Luna and Aria were sure that they were up against the genuine Beast Taming Group.


    Aria stared at Noah with a startled expression. This man showed no fear or nervousness while he was up against the Dragon Tiger Pce''s one of the elite groups.


    Meanwhile, Luna seemed to be looking at Noah with respect and a tinge of shyness.


    Even though Noah was considerably younger than her, she found his back to be extremely broad.


    It felt as if he could take on all obstacles in life while retaining that calm and straightforward look.


    Luna looked in Aria''s direction while thinking ''I<em> need to perform better than her.</em>''


    Luna had been working on her attack these past few days, and it had just passed the basic stage for this attack.


    She intended to utilize this technique anytime she had the opportunity. Only when she utilizes this attack in realbat would she understand its benefits and drawbacks.


    While the Origin Sect Branch''s side observed them, the same was true about the other side.


    They were also observing Noah''s group, Laura''s group, and Zena''s.


    These warriors were surprised to see a Crimson Bird and a few more Birds heading towards them. They revealed a hostile aura which meant they were with the enemy.


    <em>''The enemy possesses Beast Taming Skill. But how? This should be a secret technique exclusive to a selected few in the Dragon Tiger Pce.''</em> Many individuals thought with a startled look.


    However, they further thought <em>''No. I can''t sense any Spiritual Fluctuations from these beasts. It''s not the Beast Taming Skill. This is some other skill. We need to find out about it. This might be useful for the Dragon Tiger Pce.''</em>


    These warriors made up their minds to torture the group sent by the Origin Sect branch to intercept them.


    Many warriors also eyed Laura and her group. Laura''s group contained many beautiful women, including her.


    While most of the warriors from the Beast Taming Group were guys.


    Laura''s beauty naturally grabbed their attention. Especially that pretty, cool, and mature charm around her.


    They felt like striking a conversation with her. It was unfortunate that they were on the opposite sides of this conflict.


    A small group of friends within this Beast Taming Group began to converse among themselves.


    One of them spoke with a wishful tone, "Bro, I have got my heart set on that blonde-haired woman. Help me get her."


    His friend responded sarcastically, "Yeah? Go look at your face in the mirror before saying that again. You will hear a voice saying you don''t deserve her. She deserves someone better."


    "Hmph. You are just jealous of me since I have a better track record in terms of rtionship," The warrior responded with a snort.


    His friend sneered in return and spoke, "I am just not desperate like you. I have my standards while any woman would be enough for someone like you."


    Those words hit that warrior in the heart.


    At this man, the third individual spoke up, "Shut it. You both don''t deserve her. She needs someone powerful who can protect her from perverts like you."


    Both warriors spoke collectively in a sarcastic tone, "Please, I don''t want to hear that from you."


    The third individual ignored their words.


    The Beast Taming Group halted after some time. They were gauging Noah''s group and checking for any traps. Walking any further would mean they were entering the Origin Sect Branch''s territory.


    The beasts let out aggressive growls from their positions.


    They were destroying the morale of the warriors who came to fight from Noah''s side. And it was clearly working.


    These warriors had already been terrified by the sheer number of them. The violent growls just served to escte tensions.


    The warrior who was wishful for Laura spoke up while staring at Noah''s group, "So, you are the unfortunate disciples who had been sent to stop us. I believe you should give up while you have the chance. We will have mercy on you and won''t harm you."


    Another warrior chimed in, "That''s correct. You should understand the difference between us. It won''t take us more than a snap to ughter you right where you stand."


    Many men were staring in Laura''s direction to know what her decision would be. They wanted her to give up.


    They didn''t want to harm her or her group members. They knew that this woman was most probably the leader of the group she was leading.


    If her group members were killed during this battle, then they would earn her ire. Who wanted to earn the ire of such a beautiful woman?


    Noah spoke out with a slightly loud voice, "Oh. So, that''s what you will do to us. I understand. I understand."


    When Noah spoke, he gathered the attention of all warriors from the enemy''s side. They were startled to see a kid here.


    They gazed at him and noticed him pulling out his sword. They recalled his words raised their eyebrows in confusion.


    Was this kid not giving up?


    Meanwhile, Luna and Aria felt an overwhelming aura that made them experience nostalgia. They were very used to this version of Noah.


    Noah jumped towards the sea of enemies without any further ado with a single sword in his hand.


    The Sword Qi was released from his body as he used his technique to tear apart his enemies'' bodies.


    "<strong>Heaven Rending sh!</strong>"


    This attack headed towards the Beast Taming Group at a rapid pace.


    Laura didn''t tarry behind as she alsounched her attack, "<strong>Hundred Wood Thicket!</strong>"


    It appeared as if hundreds of thick trees had beenunched at these warriors and beasts from a distance.


    These trees had thin but durable branches that could target the beasts near the warriors.


    Andst but not the least, Zena released Heavenly Thunder at the Beast Taming Group.


    The beasts were extremely startled as they sensed that heavenly aura. They felt like running away from this battle. If not because they were spiritually bound, they would have fled by now.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like this chapter.

 Chapter 333 - Beasts Fleeing In Terror

    The Heaven Rending sh targeted the warriors who stood right ahead of Noah. They allunched their respective attacks and managed to nullify this Sword sh heading for them.


    The sh of so many strikes with the Heaven Rending sh created a massive dust cloud. It covered up the battlefield to some extent.


    The warriors from the Dragon Tiger Pce were surprised as they stared at their beasts. They were behaving a bit abnormally as they were struggling under their Spiritual Control.


    This normally would only ur when the Beast Tamer was making them do something against their instinct. Something like attacking their cub or anything else.


    <em>''Are they scared? But why? The enemy has only 4 Star Warriors. There is not a single 5 Star Warrior in my sight, so why are these beasts acting so scared.''</em>


    Heavenly Thunder crackled within the clouds, and suddenly a huge column of pure lightning struck the Beast Taming Group''s warriors and the beasts.


    The Heavenly Thunder''s power couldn''t be underestimated. In terms of lightning, it possessed the purest and strongestws of Lightning.


    Fortunately, the column of this Lightning Energy dispersed soon enough. However, the warriors who were struck by this Heavenly Lightning fell on the ground, experiencing great pain in all their muscles.


    Meanwhile, the beasts were slightly fortunate that their physique could endure that attack.


    They were shocked when they sensed the Spiritual Energy binding them disappear. These Beasts took an about-turn and fled without any hesitation.


    The remaining warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce were trying to deal with Laura''s Hundred Wooden Thicket.


    Inparison to Noah or Zena''s attack, it didn''t give her an instant result. This Hundred Wooden Thicket had continued to trouble the enemy and prevented them from regrouping while also reducing their numbers.


    Noah had already started to ughter the warriors that came in his way. He paid no heed to the gender as he ughtered his way towards the heart of the enemy.


    There were thousands of enemies. Among them, hundreds of beasts had fled clearly.


    The rest were being ughtered by Noah''s and Laura''s groups.


    Luna and Aria were extremely shocked when they saw those beasts fleeing without any hesitation.


    They had never heard of a beast betraying its Beast Tamer within a battle.


    The two women raised their heads to gaze at Zena. Her Crimson Wings glowed before sheunched Red Lightning at the enemies.


    "<strong>Heavenly Lightning Discharge.</strong>"


    The Red Lightning proceeded to strike humans and beasts. The targets would be rendered wasted once the Red Lightning struck them, regardless of whether they were human or beast.


    Luna and Aria also attacked at this moment. Lunaunched Wind des at the enemy to kill them.


    Meanwhile, Ariaunched Ice Spears at the enemy. Each attack killed an enemy.


    Noah''s entire group engaged in this conflict. The battlefield had begun to acquire a crimson tint of blood.


    Laura''s minions fired arrows at the faraway attackers from afar. They were aiming for the warriors in the rear row.


    Noah and his group didn''t know that Azaroth was flying in the air as he gazed at the entire battle.


    The battle was intense, and the Origin Sect Branch was suppressing the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    However, the Dragon Tiger Pce had its own geniuses as well.


    Nearly 5 individuals moved at the same time. Each one had chosen their enemy among Noah, Laura, Luna, Aria, and Zena.


    These individuals had noticed that these five were the ones leading from the opposite side. If they could be suppressed, they could reverse the momentum. The enemy''s morale was bound to suffer as well.


    The man fighting against Noah was someone who greatly focused on speed. He used a technique to possess the agility of a rabbit.


    This was a breathing technique that affected him down to his bone structure and muscles. His legs were clearly stronger than his arms.


    Meanwhile, another warrior decided to target Laura. This warrior was a long-ranged striker as well. He seemed to use spears as there were individuals next to him, holding onto many spears.


    This warrior begins by throwing a spear in Laura''s direction.


    This Spear was thrown with such strength that it easily pierced the wooden wall raised by Laura.


    Laura barely dodged that Spear. She had a slight frown as she noticed that this man was picking up another Spear.


    Heunched that spear at some other warriors from Laura''s group. Laura tried to protect him by creating wooden branches that could hold the Spear and prevent it from reaching the warriors in her group.


    However, she failed as the spear easily broke her Wooden Branches and pierced the heads of her warriors, who stood in a closed formation.


    Laura was outraged at that strike. She wasn''t angry at her warriors or even at the enemy. Her attack had be too weak to stop the enemy, and she cursed this powerlessness.


    She immediately gave the order, "Split up and then shoot arrows from your positions."


    Meanwhile, Laura focused on the warrior who had killed her warriors through those Spear throws.


    She pulled out an arrow and empowered it with her Wooden Ardor and Nature Ardor before releasing it.


    Meanwhile, the opponent threw his Spear towards Laura. The arrow and the spear shed against each other that had created a loud explosion.


    Laura was shocked that her attack was actually nullified. She had used both her Wooden and Nature Ardor, and even then, she couldn''t be victorious.


    Meanwhile, her opponent was just as shocked.


    It was his strongest throw, and he had utilized his Metal Ardor while also utilizing his Bloodline Ability to increase his Spear''s power and piercing ability.


    However, it still failed to deal with that small arrow.


    While the battle was getting heated between Laura and this Spear Slinger, the same was true about the other parts of this battlefield.


    A female warrior possessing the bat''s blood within her was moving towards Zena and the group of birds behind her.


    This female warriorunched reddish-colored liquid at Zena. She wanted to strike Zena or some birds from the flock behind her to deal some damage to their enemies.


    Zena immediately countered that reddish liquid through her Heavenly Lightning.


    Andstly, Luna and Aria encountered twins who possessed Water and Lightning Ardor.


    Of these twins, the older one was male while, the younger one was female. The male possessed Water Element while the female possessed Lightning Element.


    The male used his Water Element to create a boundary around the four of them.


    He didn''t want Luna and Aria to get assistance from someone else. To break this water barrier, the individual would have to be twice the stronger than the user of this technique.


    Aria released Ice Element that began to freeze all her surroundings. Her control and strength over her element shocked her opponents.


    However, they retained their focus as the female warrior immediately headed towards Aria. She would be a better matchpared to the warrior possessing Water Element.


    The Male Warriorunched a water shower at Luna. This attack would strike the opponent at high pressure and would affect all his internal organs.


    The warrior might seem fine from the outside, but all his internal organs would be slightly shaken.


    Moreover, the man had a trick up his sleeve as he used this attack.


    Luna wasn''t going to entertain this attack, though. She dashed to the side with a strong wind burst underneath her feet and dodged this Water Shower.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like this chapter.


    Sorry, i chose the wrong time for publishing

 Chapter 334 - Giving Up

    Luna dodged the attack heading towards her. She whispered, "<strong>me Wings.</strong>"


    She conjured wings of orange on her back and rushed towards her opponent. These mes were conjured by the Red Phoenix Dress she was wearing.


    When she was near her opponent, she pointed both her arms at him and whispered, "<strong>Wind sts!</strong>"


    Strong shockwaves of Wind Energy wereunched at her opponent. The mes from the Red Phoenix Dress also red up at that moment andbined with those Wind sts.


    These wind sts had been converted into Explosive sts.


    The man immediately created a shield of water ahead of his body. The explosion urred once those Wind sts touched the water.


    The explosion held so much energy that most of the water turned into vapors, while Luna''s opponent suffered a bit from that attack.


    However, Luna hadn''t given up. She continued to charge towards her opponent and punched his guts before giving him a strong uppercut on her chin.


    Her opponent''s head was struck with such force that it was thrown on the backside of his body.


    Luna''s opponent knew that he had to stop her now before she could build up any more momentum. Otherwise, his death was imminent.


    He released water from his arms and immediately revolved them around him. In turn, a dome of water formed around his body.


    Luna was surprised as this water was targeting the mes released from her Red Phoenix Dress. Once the mes vanished, Luna couldn''t continue to fly in the air.


    While she was falling, Luna red at her opponent and noticed that he was recovering from her attacks.


    Moreover, he was also building up another attack that he wouldunch once Luna fell on the ground.


    Luna wasn''t about to let him do as he pleased. She created a wind burst underneath her feet.


    Through this, she could levitate in the air for some moments.


    She thenunched herself in her opponent''s direction while whispering, "<strong>Air Cannon!</strong>"


    This Air Cannon struck her opponent''s body, and it broke his concentration immediately.


    The water sphere he was creating around his body immediately fell apart before it could form perfectly.


    Luna didn''t let go of this opportunity and unleashed a barrage of punches at him.


    She punched his chest 20 times with all her strength. Those punches cracked his ribs and made him experience unreal pain.


    Luna then took a deep breath in as she covered her leg with pure Wind Ardor.


    The Red Phoenix Dress activated at this moment, and mes also lit up along with Wind Ardor.


    She kicked her opponent so strongly that his bones broke, and his internal organs tore apart.


    If this was not enough, a loud explosion also urred upon contact. His body began to burn soon enough.


    The Man had lost all awareness of how to deal with the mes that had engulfed his body. Thus, the mes kept burning.


    In the meantime, Aria had been fighting against her opponent separately.


    Her opponent possessed Lightning Element and seemed to possess knowledge about using it to boost her speed.


    She immediately tried to have a closebat battle with Aria.


    Aria wasn''t great in closebat. And if she were to fight this battle against a fast opponent, she would be defeated in a couple of minutes.


    Aria continued to use Ice Techniques that would strike her opponent if she got too close. This was her method to defend herself.


    Finally, she utilized the Ice Floor technique, through which she created a thin crust of ice over the ground.


    Her opponent began to slip as she stepped onto this Ice. She was clearly not used to walking on this Ice.


    Before she could think of some countermeasure for this Ice Floor, Ariaunched some Icicles and Ice Shards at her.


    Her opponent couldn''t move from her spot to dodge the attack, so she remained there whileunching her Lightning Streams topletely destroy these Icicles and Ice Shards heading for her.


    The Lightning Streams managed topletely destroy Aria''s attacks. However, Aria''s opponent soon realized that this was merely a distraction


    Her opponent found out that her feet were frozen andpletely fixed to the Icy Floor. She would need to spend more than a couple of minutes to free her feet.


    Just when she had begun to destroy that Ice, Aria began to gather arge quantity of her Ardor for her best technique.


    This was her strongest technique, <strong>Chilling Ice Destruction!</strong>


    All her Ardor was gathered at a single point between her hands. After it had been concentrated enough, a strong beam of pure Ice Energy was released from her hands.


    This was arge and wide beam that wasrger than an individual.


    When Aria''s opponent witnessed that beam, she mentally cursed herself for falling for Aria''s trap.


    Now, she couldn''t build up enough power to block or deflect this attack.


    The attack soon struck her body, and itpletely froze her. Her muscles, bones, and even her mind were all frozen by this attack.


    The water barrier that surrounded the four of them soon fell apart. Only Aria and Luna emerged from the barrier while the other two were now dead.


    The nearby warriors were surprised to see these two warriors die. These two warriors were one of their leaders.


    They hadn''t even fought for half an hour before dying to their opponents. This did surprise the warriors belonging to the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Just how powerful was this Origin Sect Branch, and how much had they underestimated it?


    Perhaps they would only know the answer to this question after this entire battle ends.


    At this moment, they heard a loud cheering sound from the front. All the warriors from Noah''s group and the Dragon Tiger Pce alike began to stare in that direction.


    In that location, Noah and his opponent were fighting. Noah''s opponent was the Dragon Tiger Pce''s most powerfulmander. He was the primarymander of the Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors.


    Soon, the Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors realized that these were the enemies'' cheers.


    Then, they saw the head of their primarymander on the ground while Noah had gone off on a ughter spree again.


    The morale of the Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors immediately plummeted. Whatever hope or wish they had held vanished altogether.


    If even their strongest warrior couldn''t survive against Noah, then how could they?


    Many warriors raised their arms in the air and shouted, "We give up!"


    Noah suddenly turned in their direction and noticed that the number of surrendered warriors was only increasing.


    "¡­Go to that side and wait for this battle to end." Noah immediately ordered them.


    He then looked at his warriors, "Go and keep an eye over them. I will handle your share of warriors!"


    Loud apuse erupted as a few warriors formed squads and chose to go watch over the surrendering warriors.


    Meanwhile, Noah had seemingly be a ughtering demon as he shed every single enemy in his way.


    With a single sh, he would slice off his opponent''s head.


    Even though he had been fighting for so long, he was still not out of breath. It appeared as though he could fight with such fervor for another couple of hours.


    The opponents were now extremely scared when they saw Noah. The warriors would immediately destroy their formations and escape in opposite directions.


    They had no wish to fight against this little monster.


    Noah allowed them to escape as he switched his targets.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like it.

 Chapter 335 - Seventh Retainer

    While Noah, Luna, and Aria were concentrating on annihting the Dragon Tiger Pce''s fighters, Laura and Zena were still engaged inbat with their respective adversaries, who were the enemymanders.


    Laura had closed the distance by moving up ahead to fight against the enemymander. This man was quite dangerous, and not even her Wood Element could suppress him.


    Laura had decided to deal with this guy first before attacking the other warriors.


    However, her opponent remained at his spot. Four other warriors stood around him, forming a sort of rectangle with theirmander at the center.


    Unlike the othermanders who were fighting alone, this man was fighting with his subordinates.


    Laura snorted coldly as she attacked these warriors with her Wood Thicket attack. Two branches rose from the ground as they attacked the two warriors right ahead of Laura.


    She was having them sweep to the side while fighting against theirmander.


    However, the two warriors pulled out their swords and Axe before slicing off Laura''s Wooden Thicket attack.


    The two branches were immediately sliced apart, and they fell to the ground.


    Laura raised her brow and used another technique. This was Wood Rock Thorns.


    The earth split apart as dozens of Wooden Thorns shot out of the ground, stabbing the two warriors ahead of Laura.


    The two warriors were initially startled before they moved from their spot.


    Laura raised her brow as they wereing closer instead of moving to the sides.


    It was only then she focused on the enemymander who was holding a spear in his hand.


    He clenched his hand tightly and threw that Spear with all his might. The dozens of Wooden Thorns that had gathered to attack those two warriors were immediately destroyed with that single throw.


    Laura was taken aback by that Spear Throw, but she had a wooden branch pull her away from that attack.


    Laura now knew that this enemymander was most skilled at these throws and not close-ranged fighting. For this reason, he had gathered four warriors of appropriate skill around him.


    She thought <em>''He can only attack in a straight line. If my attack has a wide range, he won''t be able to counter easily.''</em>


    "<strong>Heavenly Wooden Cage!</strong>"


    Around that warrior, countless wooden stakes grew out, forming a huge prison 200 meters wide. All these five warriors were trapped inside this prison.


    "<strong>Hundred Wooden Thicket!</strong>" Laura coldly uttered as she clenched her fists.


    Hundreds of branches were shot out from those Wooden Stakes as they targeted the warriors trapped inside.


    These branches were attacking them from so many sides that the opponents couldn''t parry them all.


    However, the four warriors around the enemymander immediately moved as they began to slice off as many wooden thickets as possible.


    Their speed was quite impressive as Laura noticed that they were slicing the wooden branches quite quickly.


    However, a few of the wooden branches stabbed their bodies soon enough. Laura smirked at that sight and knew it was just a matter of time before her opponents fell.


    Suddenly, she noticed something strange.


    None of her wooden branches had been sessful in stabbing the opposing leader. When a wooden branch would stab the enemy leader, one of his subordinates would either chop the branch off or take the attack on his body.


    She then noticed the enemy leader picking up another Spear from the ground as he got into a very familiar posture.


    When Laura saw that posture, she pulled out an arrow from her quiver. There was a determined look on her face as she stared at the enemy leader.


    "<strong>Dragon Throw!</strong>" This time, the enemy leader had used his strongest technique along with both his energies.


    The Gold Ardor and the Metal Ardor were fiercely glowing over this particr Spear.


    Meanwhile, Laura took a deep breath as she thought <em>''Let the power of nature flow through me.''</em>


    She absorbed Nature''s Energy from her surroundings, and a greenish hue covered her arrow.


    A momentter, both of them released their respective attacks.


    The Enemy Leader''s Dragon Throw was such a strong skill that the spear seemed to have disappeared, and only the ck-colored metallic energy could be seen.


    The shape of this energy appeared to be simr to a Dragon that wasing to swallow you whole.


    In turn, Laura''s arrow seemed to give off a calming aura. It looked rather fragilepared to the enemy''s attack.


    The two attacks shed soon enough. When they did, a loud explosion urred in mid-air.


    This was so loud that it caught the attention of all the warriors fighting nearby.


    It remained an equal battle for a couple of seconds before the enemy leader''s Spear suddenly got stronger and pushed back Laura''s arrow.


    Laura raised her hands and pointed them in her arrow''s direction. She began to release strong Nature Ardor that was absorbed by her arrow.


    Her arrow began to get stronger, and now it was pushing back that Spear.


    While this battle between the Spear and Arrow raged on, Laura noticed that her opponent had picked up another spear.


    He didn''t waste any time before throwing the Spear towards Laura.


    Laura immediately used her Bloodline Skill to fuse with the ground underneath her and allow that attack to phase through her.


    Her opponent was utterly surprised when he saw his spear passing through Laura''s body without injuring her.


    Soon, Laura increased her input of Nature Energy within her Arrow. Her arrow shattered that spear in its way.


    The arrow stabbed his right arm before the enemy leader could pick up another spear andunch it.


    His other subordinates were busy chopping off those Wooden thickets. They were also injured, so they no longer possessed the physique to jump in and take the attack on their bodies.


    Meanwhile, the enemy leader was too shocked by what he witnessed. He was utterly sure of his victory a few seconds ago. However, the enemy''s attack had reached him now.


    He endured the pain while picking up his spear with that very same arm.


    He noticed that Laura hadn''t pulled out her arrow yet. If he was fast enough, he could kill her before she got the chance.


    Thus, he went into a familiar posture tounch this spear at Laura. This time, he was focusing more on speed than on power.


    Laura noticed what he was doing and snorted, "Hmph. Not while I have anything to say about it."


    "<strong>Bloom now!</strong>" Suddenly, multiple branches of wood were created from that Wooden Arrow that stabbed the enemymander.


    It retrained his body before Laura spoke up, "<strong>Wooden Spikes!</strong>"


    Those branches suddenly createdrge spikes that appeared simr to wooden des. Many wooden des pierced the enemy''s body from different angles.


    A wooden de even pierced his heart. His body began to turn cold as he realized his death was imminent.


    His body was trembling in fear. However, he didn''t let go of the spear from his hand.


    Instead, his hold over that spear tightened as he began to move his arm.


    Laura was startled to see him move. She immediately created more Wooden Spikes to prevent his arm from moving any more.


    The enemymander coughed up some blood and knew this was the end. He closed his eyes for his impending death.


    However, it never came. Instead, his body was slowly getting warmer.


    When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was surrounded by Golden mes.


    Moreover, an individualpletely unknown to him stood ahead of him. This person was Azaroth, and he had a smile on his face.


    "What an impressive willpower you possess. It would be a pity to allow someone with your potential to die so soon," Azaroth spoke with a wide smile.


    These were thest words that he heard before he fell unconscious. His body was exhausted, and he had pushed himself beyond the limits to battle against Laura, so falling unconscious was only natural.


    Azaroth turned towards Laura and spoke, "Take care of this guy. He will be my seventh retainer."


    Laura absent-mindedly nodded her head. She didn''t know Azaroth was watching over her battle and was internally happy about it.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you guys like it.

 Chapter 336 - Zenas Battle

    Laura''s opponent was one of themanders who led the Dragon Tiger Pce''s disciples. This man was William Harvey.


    William possessed the twin variant elements. The Metal and Gold Elements. This was the primary reason he could grab Azaroth''s attention.


    However, even though he possessed rare variant elements, his body was rather weak.


    This wasn''t always the case, though. William was blessed with divine strength during his birth. However, due to an ident in his early life, his physique was weakened to the extent that he found it difficult to walk.


    After some recovery, he began to apany his father to his training.


    His father was a javelin thrower in the Glerian Kingdom''s army. Thus, he would throw javelins during his training.


    William was extremely happy to watch his father train. He loved how the Javelin would tear the air as it flew forwards.


    After his father died, he decided to pick up Spears and followed in his father''s footsteps.


    It was far for him to throw a spear with his weak physique. Even picking up a spear and maintaining the stance was extremely challenging for him.


    However, his hard work began to show results. Slowly, his muscles became stronger as he began to pick up those spears and started throwing them.


    His aim improved over time. He continued this routine every day, and slowly his time to get into his stance decreased. Moreover, his throws were getting stronger and faster.


    There was a catch, though. William couldn''t utilize his strength unless he went into the stance to toss a spear.


    Thus, his physique remained his weak point, and he was much weaker than his peers.


    He joined the Dragon Tiger Pce through an indirect method. Some warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce saw him while he was hunting in the forest by using his Spear Throwing Skill.


    They were pretty impressed by his Spear Throwing Skill. However, when they found out that William had experienced an ident during his youth and couldn''t utilize that strength unless he was in that posture, they couldn''t help but be disappointed.


    One group of the Dragon Tiger Pce still decided to give him a chance. They recruited him without any trial, and William took various herbs and other pellets to strengthen his physique.


    He also learned to utilize his Gold and Metal Ardor. Even though his physique issue persisted, if he could strengthen his physique a bit more, he could begin to train normally with others.


    However, William had no idea that he would face utter defeat at Laura''s hands in this battle. He would have died today if not for Azaroth''s intervention.


    Meanwhile, Laura dealt with the other warriors near Azaroth and William.


    She soon approached Azaroth and asked him, "Any other orders, master?"


    "Don''t let any warrior escape. Capture the surrendered ones and kill those who resist. There can''t be any third kind of people on this battlefield," Azaroth spoke while focusing on William.


    Laura immediately went away to follow his order.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth began to think while gazing at William''s body <em>''His presence says that he possesses Great Strength Divine Physique. So, why is his physique so weak?''</em>


    Azaroth analyzed him deeply when he suddenly understood. He thought ''<em>I see. So, he has been struck with the Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite?''</em>


    <em>''If I free him from this Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite and allows him to recover his strength, he might be even stronger. In terms of pure strength of his attacks, he would surpass Laura.''</em>


    It wasn''t too strange since Laura''s true talent was not in terms of pure strength but her Ardor Control and possessing an enormous amount of Ardor. She could oust her opponents who were at the same rank as her. Naturally, Azaroth could be considered an exception because he possessed Triquetra Ardor.


    However, Azaroth wasn''t going to cure William now. He had to make William realize that he was doing him a favor and would owe it to Azaroth for the rest of his life.


    If not for Azaroth, William could never recover from this ailment.


    Around this moment, Azaroth turned his gaze towards the sky, where he saw two shes of red-colored Ardor shing against each other.


    One belonged to Zena while the other belonged to her opponent, the only remainingmander of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Once she falls, all warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce would lose their remaining morale and surrender.


    Zena hadunched Heavenly Thunder, with which she managed to scare the beasts away. The beasts that did remain behind were being dealt with by birds from Zena''s flock.


    Zena was fighting a woman who was using Blood to fight against her.


    Thus, from a distance, Azaroth only witnessed two shes of red color shing against each other.


    "<strong>Lightning Rush!</strong>" Zena was surrounded by pure Red Lightning as she dashed towards her opponent.


    Meanwhile, her opponent targeted the iing Zena with lots of blood.


    She didn''t need to conjure her blood using her Ardor. Instead, she could manipte the blood of these dead warriors around her and use it to battle against Zena.


    Just controlling this blood didn''t take a lot of her Ardor. She could fight such a battle for a long time.


    Zena''s Lightning Rush attack was intercepted by this attack from so many sides. She had to dodge them and then look for another opportunity to attack this woman.


    Zena was getting tired of this woman. She then decided to deal with her decisively. Zena suddenly began to fly high in the air.


    The woman noticed that Zena was flying high and knew that this bird would probablyunch one of her strongest attacks.


    She thought it would be best to use this moment to charge up for her strongest attack, "<strong>Countless Blood des!</strong>"


    The blood around the woman was solidified by her Ardor. She continued to increase the number of these des under her control.


    Her n was to strike Zena with all of them. Even Zena couldn''t dodge these many blood des.


    Meanwhile, Zena was building up Heavenly Lightning around her body. She then let out a loud screech, and her entire body began to glow.


    The Heavenly Lightning around her body was shot towards the clouds.


    The clouds above Zena immediately turned Dark. The Red Lightning continued to crackle in those clouds for a couple of seconds before it was shot back at Zena.


    Zena endured the pure power in the attack while absorbing the Heavenly Lightning. She then released that Heavenly Lightning towards Zena.


    "<strong>Heavenly Lightning Pir!</strong>"


    This attack immediately created a dense red-colored lightning column that only targeted Zena''s opponent.


    Zena''s opponent knew that her body couldn''t move quick enough to dodge this attack.


    She instinctively called out for all the Blood near her and created a Blood Shield.


    This Blood Shield couldn''t resist that Heavenly Lightning Pir for even a second before it was pierced.


    Zena''s opponent was struck with that Heavenly Lightning Pir, and she turned to dust soon enough.


    This urred so quickly that if people blinked their eyes, they would have missed the procedure of that woman turning into dust.


    This Heavenly Lightning Pir was considerably more powerful than thest one since Zena wasn''t targeting a big number of soldiers this time. She just had a single target this time. As a result, her Heavenly Lightning Pir could demonstrate its real might.


    This marked the conclusion of this battle with Dragon Tiger Pce.


    The remainder of the disciples quickly submitted. Laura apprehended them, while Zena or Noah killed all of the escapees.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like this chaper.

 Chapter 337 - The Dragon Tiger Palaces Shock

    Azaroth gathered all the surrendered warriors and took them to the Origin Sect Branch. He was going to force these warriors to join his faction.


    Their willpower was weak, but this issue could be resolved through special means.


    He nned to have them meet Ralph. If Ralph could convince a few of them to switch their allegiances, then well and good. Otherwise, Azaroth would have to take drastic measures. He would have to involve their dear innocent families in this as well.


    While this battle was urring, the Dragon Tiger Pce received a message from the Origin Sect''s Main Branch.


    This message was from the Sect Master of the Origin Sect. He seemed to have written about how the Origin Sect would stand by their branch in Veninza City.


    If the Dragon Tiger Pce acted against their branch in Veninza City, the Origin Sect would be bitter enemies with them.


    Now, this kind of message was somewhat expected by the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    However, the point was that the Dragon Tiger Pce had already sent their forces to extinguish that branch.


    Right now, their warriors were probably on their way back to the Dragon Tiger Pce while singing victory songs.


    They waited an hour. Two hours. And these two hours converted to three hours, but their warriors never returned.


    A few board members were getting anxious. Their personal disciples had left for this battle, and they weren''t returning or contacting them. They knew something strange was going on.


    "Did the Main Branch send any experts to this branch?" When this question entered their heads, the Dragon Tiger Pce''s higher-ups'' minds became jumbled.


    "That must have been a trap then. The Experts from the Main Branch were waiting for our warriors to arrive, and they used their superior cultivation to deal with them all!" Another warrior spoke up.


    This statement did nothing but add to the chaos.


    "¡­Maybe we should have sent some elders with them. At least they could have escaped and informed us what had exactly urred. Now, we are left with random thoughts," Another guy calmly spoke.


    It seemed that he was going against that warrior from before.


    "Random thoughts? Then exin how this Origin Sect Branch suddenly gets the courage to attack the warriors working under Dragon Tiger Pce?!" The individual immediately spoke up with an irritated tone.


    No one could reply to his words. They were all suspicious of the Origin Sect''s Main Branch.


    "I tell you that this Origin Sect Branch has the back of the Main Branch. I don''t know how or why, but the Origin Sect''s Main Branch was looking for a way to deal with us," That individual continued to speak.


    "A trap, huh? The Origin Sect concealed very deeply. They know that we can''t go and ask the king to resolve this issue. If this matter reaches the King, then we would be considered wrong. Thus, we have to resolve this issue privately," The president spoke up.


    The President knew that in this matter, the Dragon Tiger Pce had made the first offensive move. And even now, they had sent so many of their warriors to destroy the Origin Sect Branch here in Veninza City.


    Even if they were dead, the King wasn''t going to punish the Origin Sect Branch for this. They had been attacked. What were they supposed to do if not defend themselves?


    It was the Dragon Tiger Pce''s fault that they didn''t consult the King earlier. Even if they received some light punishment, their warriors would be alive, and they would receive somepensation from the Origin Sect.


    But the boat had sailed now. No idea in which direction.


    "We need to investigate the Origin Sect Branch here. If they have captured our warriors, then we need to free them. Otherwise, our other warriors would be incredibly terrified of making a move against the Origin Sect Branch," A board member suggested.


    "You are right. But how? Should we send a group of our strongest elders?" Another member suggested.


    Judging by his tone, he didn''t want to take any chances.


    "What if they also don''t return?" A member asked with a slightly anxious look.


    Another memberughed out and asked, "Will they be able to handle our Dragon Squad and Tiger Squad?"


    "Those two?!" A few members in this Hall were startled to hear those two squads.


    The Dragon and Tiger Squad were formed of the strongest warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce. And by that, it meant the strong 5 Star Warriors of the upper generation.


    Each Squad numbered 50-60 members, and they were all experienced 5 Star Warriors. They were the true backing of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    The President remained silent for some moments. He felt that this conflict with the Origin Sect had escted too suddenly.


    And he felt that if he sent these two squads, he would be ying into the enemy''s hands.


    He couldn''t stop because he felt that another more frightening plot was waiting for him if he did.


    Thus, the only option he had was to keep moving forward.


    Meanwhile, the Origin Sect''s Main Branch received this information from their spies.


    The Beast Taming Group sent by the Dragon Tiger Pce to the Origin Sect Branch hadn''t returned.


    It was as if they had vanished.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce felt that this was done by the experts from the Origin Sect''s Main Branch.


    When the sect master and the elders heard these rumors, they were bbergasted. They were being med for something they didn''t even do.


    The team they were nning to send to the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City had yet to be finalized. And the Dragon Tiger Pce had already begun thinking that the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City received support from their main branch.


    However, the Sect Master or the Elder of the Origin Sect''s Main Branch didn''t me the Dragon Tiger Pce for thinking in this direction.


    One of their elite groups, the Beast Taming Group, had most likely been ughtered like chicken. The only exnation for them would be that the Origin Sect''s Main Branch sent their experts.


    This assertion had no proof, so they couldn''te to the Origin Sect''s Main Branch and demand justice.


    The Origin Sect''s Main Branch was going to deny any involvement with this issue. And this was the truth.


    However, the Dragon Tiger Pce wasn''t going to understand this.


    The thing that surprised the Origin Sect''s Sect Master more was that the warriors at the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City had somehow managed to deal with the infamous Beast Taming Group of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    How did they aplish it without receiving any support from the Origin Sect''s Main Branch?


    To get the answer to this question, the Origin Sect''s Sect Master summoned Patrick.


    During this time, Patrick had been performing some trials that gauged hisbat power. Sect Master was nning to assign him as an Outer Sect Elder. However, a few elders objected that Patrick might have acquired the 5 Star Cultivation through the use of pellets or other forbidden techniques.


    They meant that he was a paper tiger. Although his cultivation had reached the 5 Star Rank, he didn''t possess the power to be considered an Elder.


    Thus, the Sect Master thought it would be best if Patrick participated in the trials. He could shut up all the opposing voices through this method.


    The Sect Master was paying special attention to this matter, so Hugo Corlett or his aplices couldn''t control the results of these trials.

 Chapter 338 - Azaroths Guess

    The warriors belonging to the Dragon Tiger Pce had been gathered in the main za of the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    All the disciples of this Origin Sect Branch arrived to check out what was going on. They were surprised to see so many warriors tied up.


    Azaroth decided tomence the show, "Wee, wee. Do you see these warriors tied here? These are the warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce. They belong to some group called the Beast Taming Group."


    "Just a couple of hours ago, these warriors were charging towards this Origin Sect Branch to destroy us. But unfortunately, they misjudged our true strength and have now be our captives, and their cultivation has been sealed." Azaroth finished speaking.


    They waited for some moments until Ralph''s group arrived.


    Ralph and his group members were shocked to see these warriors belonging to the Beast Taming Group of the Dragon Tiger Pce here. Moreover, these warriors were on their knees right now.


    When Ralph was in the Dragon Tiger Pce, he knew how arrogant the warriors of the Beast Taming Group were.


    They possessed a special skill that not everyone could learn. Moreover, they could easily deal with a talented warrior without risking their life through this special skill.


    They considered themselves elite warriors within the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    To see them kneeling right now was an eye-opener for Ralph''s subordinates. In contrast, Ralph wasn''t so surprised.


    He knew that Azaroth''s strength and ability were far beyond their thinking.


    "I am sure you recognize some of them, Ralph. It will be your job to convince them to join us," Azaroth spoke while walking away.


    Ralph and his group members stared at these warriors of the Beast Taming Group and began a long and deep conversation.


    "Y-You know this man, Ralph?" A few warriors who recognized Ralph asked this question.


    "He is my master. It was on his order that I joined the Dragon Tiger Pce," Ralph responded calmly.


    "Let''s start from the very beginning, shall we?" He spoke while he sat on a nearby stone.


    His subordinates did the same because they were interested in how the situation had escted to this point.


    Azaroth, Laura''s group, and Noah''s group had left the area by now.


    Azaroth ordered them, "Get some rest. There might be more attacks tomorrow."


    Laura raised her brow and asked Azaroth, "Will the Dragon Tiger Pce really dare to send any more of their groups? They sent their elite group and failed, after all."


    Azaroth spoke, "That''s the difference between an individual and arge association. They cannot choose to give up without gaining some advantages."


    Seeing the confused look on Laura''s face, Azaroth began to exin, "The leader of that association will be considered weak-willed. People won''t look for true reasons why he took that decision. They will instead curse him and say he wasn''t decisive enough. Thus, to save his seat, the President is going to send another squad even if he knows it''s a death trap awaiting him."


    Noah''s expressions were rather simple to read. He didn''t care about internal politics. He looked ready to fight.


    "Also, I believe that the Dragon Tiger Pce hasn''t used their true trump cards. If not, the President and his board members would have been rushing at their fastest pace. They might be sending a squad of 5 Star Warriors next," Azaroth added.


    "A squad of 5 Star Warriors?!" Laura eximed a little loudly.


    Noah also frowned at that statement. He clenched his fist as he knew his limits. Even as strong as he was, he couldn''t fight or win against a 5 Star Warrior.


    "That''s correct. But you don''t need to worry about them. I will be dealing with them," Azaroth spoke confidently.


    He noticed Noah''s emotions and gently patted his head, "You performed excellently today. Your strike was swift and powerful."


    Noah flushed slightly as all stray ideas fled his mind, and he began to appreciate this sensation as Azaroth stroked his head. He muttered happily, "Aye!"


    "My new retainer will be under your charge, Noah," Azaroth added, "After a few days, begin training him with the best of your ability."


    "Yes, Master!" Noah was delighted to receive this task.


    Laura was slightly curious as she asked Azaroth, "Why did you choose him to be your retainer, master?"


    Azaroth remained quiet while ignoring her question.


    Laura also didn''t push for an answer. Since Azaroth didn''t want to tell her, she couldn''t really force him.


    William was resting in a quiet location as his body was utterly exhausted by that battle. He had pushed his body beyond the limit to fight against Laura.


    Also, in the next couple of days, Azaroth had to deal with that parasite within his body. Since it was linked to his life, dealing with it would normally be rather tricky.


    However, Azaroth''s Golden mes could easily get the job done. These were Holy mes that could heal physical injuries and deal with any curses, disease, or parasites infecting the body.


    Azaroth was curious about this Celestial Blood within his body. He had unlocked Lightning Element, the healing ability which somewhat depended on his cultivation rank, absolute beauty, and those Angelic Wings.


    None of the races of the Celestials from his previous life possessed all these abilities. In fact, only the High-Tier Celestials possessed the Lightning Element, Absolute Beauty, and Angelic Wings.


    This meant that Jonas''s wife and Edwin''s mother possessed a thin trace of a High-Tier Celestial.


    Surprisingly, she had led an ordinary life in the Sinyalian Kingdom as Jonas''s wife before dying to an assassin while blocking an attack meant for Jonas.


    Anyway, Azaroth shook himself of these thoughts. He decided to focus on the more important matters that required his attention.


    <em>''The Main Branch of the Origin Sect should have realized that something is up with its branch in Veninza City. They are going to switch their warriors who would be acting as reinforcements. Now, 5 Star Warriors must have been dispatched from the Origin Sect''s Main Branch.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''The Sect Master must be nning to keep an eye on Patrick. He is going to bring Patrick really close. To the heart of the Origin Sect. This can be considered as an opportunity for Patrick. If he performs well, I can use him to control the main branch and the other branches of the Origin Sect. That would be the ideal situation.''</em>


    Azaroth knew that it would take some time for Patrick to gain such prestige within Origin Sect. And even after spending that much time, there was a good chance Patrick would miss the opportunity.


    Azaroth didn''t mind this too much as well. He just wanted one of his subordinates within the Hall of the Origin Sect.


    He wanted to know the general discussion that urred in that Grand Hall and take his next steps while keeping them in mind.


    A night''s discussion was all Ralph needed to convince those warriors to join Azaroth''s faction.


    He informed them that Azaroth was a rather reasonable fellow. He would give them amazing rewards, pellets, and even weapons that would suit them.


    He also revealed to them that his group cultivated quickly because of Azaroth. It was Azaroth''s pellets and cultivation techniques that allowed them to advance so rapidly.


    Ralph joined the Dragon Tiger Pce to build up a group. The rest was all provided to him by Azaroth.


    Those statements shocked these warriors quite a bit. At the end of the day, they were martial artists. They wanted to be stronger.


    Moreover, they didn''t have some deep sense of loyalty to the Dragon Tiger Pce. Thus, they decided to join Azaroth''s faction.


    ~~


    A/N: Sorry for thete update guys, I have caught dengue. I actually caught this disease 3 days ago but I had set up timer and published it days ago. My health is getting worse day by day.. I will publish a single chapter every day until I recover. I hope you all understand

 Chapter 339 - King Tryfons Plan

    In the next couple of days, the Dragon Tiger Pce remained silent. They were gathering their Dragon Squad and Tiger Squad. Many members of these two squads had scattered as they lived in different parts of the Glerian Kingdom.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce had issued a tinum Command and ordered them to return. Upon receiving this tinum Command, the members of the Dragon Squad and Tiger Squad were on their way to Veninza City.


    Azaroth didn''t exactly know why the Dragon Tiger Pce hadn''t continued their attack. Maybe they were waiting for something, or they had decided to act a little intelligently.


    Whatever the case, he remained ready for them.


    Azaroth was in his room as Yrellea massaged his feet. She had entered his room and offered this service.


    Azaroth knew that she had been working hard in setting up the Misty Flower Pavilion during thest couple of days. It wasn''t a bad idea to let her experience some benefits.


    So, it wasn''t like he''d be losing anything.


    He asked her, "How have those formalities been going? How long would you need to set up a Pavilion here?"


    Yrellea was happily massaging his feet when she heard his question. She responded while remaining focused on kneading his feet gently, "I met with a real estate agent who gave me a mansion in the northern part of Veninza City. It''s right opposite to our current location."


    "He was a shady real estate agent and has prepared documents to make it seem as if I held that property for 10 years or so. Also, I already hold the documents for my property in shire City."


    "I n to use the same background story I used thest time before. If anyone tries to verify it by using their contacts in shire City, Sargan would be able to use his contacts and confirm it," Yrellea informed as she squeezed his legs.


    Azaroth nodded his head, "That''s good. You have the basic structure of your identity prepared then. Have you investigated that Real Estate Agent, though?"


    Yrellea was startled to hear that question. She paused and asked him, "W-Was that necessary, master?"


    Azaroth didn''t mince his words, "That''s correct. Not investigating him was foolishness on your part. You should know whether this guy had any previous dealings with the Dragon Tiger Pce. If he does have some connections within the Dragon Tiger Pce, this basic structure you have created will be a joke. The Dragon Tiger Pce will find out the truth soon enough."


    "¡­Do I silence him?" Yrellea asked Azaroth.


    Azaroth remained silent for a short period. He then replied, "No. If you kill someone like him, it will grab attention. Especially his connections in the Dragon Tiger Pce. It would be better to find his weakness and grab hold of it. People like him love their own life, money, lover, wife, child, or parents."


    "If his weakness is any of the ones I mentioned, he can easily be controlled. His connections will be ours, and he can be a useful pawn," Azaroth devilishly smirked.


    "I see. I will do as you order, master," Yrellea spoke with a devoted look on her face.


    "Hmm," Azaroth soon closed his eyes and was lost in thought.


    <em>''The Dragon Tiger Pce has just suffered a huge loss. They must be thinking of making a profit from somewhere else. Yrellea''s offer will seem like a perfect opportunity for them.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''The next batch of herbs is probably on its way. It''s time I terminate this contract with the King. I have given him enough resources and gained a lot of herbs,</em>'' Azaroth further thought.


    In the meantime, the King was discussing this matter with his Prime Minister.


    ording to thetest reports, the King realized that 30% of raw resources would be prepared within a week.


    The rest would take a bit more time, but their reproduction would be a lot faster than normal. Moreover, they had created another mine specifically for these resources that Azaroth had provided him.


    They would be able to produce this and mine it out as well.


    The King ordered his Prime Minister, "Keep this information concealed from all sects. Don''t let them find out that we have the resources. I want us to keep a low profile."


    "But how will we use these resources if we keep a low profile?" The Prime Minister asked with a confused expression.


    The King responded, "It will only be for a short period. Just make sure to conceal all information about these resources."


    "I have noticed that ever since I exhausted nearly all resources of the Glerian Kingdom, these sects have be unusually active. They think that the Glerian Kingdom is poor and needs to rely on them, so I will ignore these acts. I want them to keep on thinking along this direction and be even more big-headed."


    "What is His Majesty nning?" The Prime Minister asked curiously.


    "I need to strengthen my control over them. But if I want to use force, I need a good reason to act against all of them. Thus, I want them tomit a blunder first. They won''t do anything if they remain cautious. So, they must be arrogant and believe that the Glerian Kingdom is weak right now."


    The Prime Minister spoke respectfully, "This humble servant shall follow His Majesty''s ns."


    The King wasn''t worried that the Prime Minister would betray him. If he was smart, he wouldn''t attempt such a thing. And the Prime Minister was indeed smart enough to understand what was best for him.


    The Prime Minister went away while the King also stood up and walked to his harem pce. He was going to rx over there and have some fun with his wives and concubines.


    ~~


    Bianca''s cousin was known as Piero Lewis. He was an advisor to his brother, who was leading the Lewis Family.


    He belonged to the same generation as Bianca and was only 7 months older than her. Because of their small age difference, theypleted their studies together.


    His cousin was the school belle, and just like any other hormonal teenager at that moment, he had a crush on her.


    However, he was far more impulsive and foolish than any other teenager at the time.


    He proposed to Bianca and told her that he loved her greatly. Their rtionship as cousins didn''t bother him, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.


    Bianca had already fallen for Spencer at that moment. She rejected him and informed him of the truth.


    When Piero knew that Bianca had fallen in love with amoner, he tried to subtly deal with Spencer.


    He sent contract assassins or used his influence to send Spencer on dangerous missions. Unfortunately for him, Spencer would return every time. Those trials made him stronger, and before long, the Lewis Family caught wind of Bianca''s rtionship with Spencer.


    By that time, Spencer had disyed his talent and showed that he was worthy to date Bianca. And after Spencer reached the 6 Star Rank, he was forever out of reach for Piero.


    Even though he was extremely unwilling, he had to give up on Bianca for eternity.


    At least, this was what he was thinking. However, after such a long time, Bianca had suddenly begun to talk to him.


    She would talk about business with him, but he was extremely gratified to hear her voice and talk to her.


    He would answer anything she wanted to hear. He knew that despite their somewhat awkward rtionship, she wouldn''t betray the Lewis Family.


    He had no idea that this was actually urring right now. Bianca was actively betraying the Lewis Family.


    Moreover, Piero was so excited that his heart could leap out of his chest in thest couple of days.


    Bianca had asked him toe to the capital. She wanted to meet him! He was extremely excited to know this and had immediately departed for the Capital City on his trusted mount.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like the chapter.

 Chapter 340 - The Last Batch

    For the next couple of days, Yrellea investigated that Real Estate Agent. Yrellea had to personally tail her since there was a shortage of people who could conceal their Ardor perfectly and follow someone.


    Azaroth could aplish this task, but he was busy with other things. Such tasks were best left for Yrellea to handle.


    Azaroth had gone to gather thisst batch of herbs from the King. When he checked out these herbs, he was slightly surprised as he found Dragon Fruit among them.


    The Dragon Fruit was a valuable resource. Whether it was for an individual warrior or an alchemist.


    If the Dragon Fruit was added to the pellet-making process, the resulting pellets would be one tier higher than the Alchemist''s expertise.


    This one-tier wasn''t to be underestimated.


    After all, it might not seem much for the 3 Star Pellets or 4 Star Pellets. But when it reached the 5 Star Pellets, this one tier would make the difference between breaking through to the next realm.


    There was also the matter of impurities remaining in the warriors'' bodies. These impurities wouldn''t affect that warrior in the short term.


    But when the warrior was advancing to the next realm, these impurities would be the reason for his failure.


    His body and Ardor won''t be pure. And it would take him a long time to purge this filth from his body.


    There were some impurities that would even act as a hidden poison and harm the foundation of the cultivator.


    As a result, the Dragon Fruit may be regarded as a valuable herb. The King had given this to Azaroth in order for him to feel thankful and believe that the King was generous with his subordinates.


    In fact, he wanted his subordinates to know that he was extremely generous when it came to rewarding them. This one deed would considerably enhance his reputation. At the very least, his subordinates would work even harder to earn such incentives.


    And for all this, the King had merely given away a single Dragon Fruit. He had dozens of those in his Herbal Garden. Azaroth could only use it a single time. That''s what he believed.


    The man had no idea that Azaroth''s purpose for asking for these herbs wasn''t to use them immediately but to start growing them in the privatend he owned. Azaroth treated the entire Origin Sect Branch''snd as his own.


    Eventually, he was going to have this branch split up from the main sect. The Sect would officially be under him at that time.


    Until then, it was best to take advantage of this location.


    He was growing these herbs using the Wood Abilities he possessed now. It allowed him to get used to controlling the Wood Element and also faintly sense Nature Energy.


    This was the same Nature Energy that Laura utilized in her attacks.


    However, Azaroth realized that Laura was only infusing a tiny bit of Nature''s Energy within her attacks. Herbat power would sharply rise if he learned to infuse more of her Nature''s Energy within her attacks.


    But he wasn''t in any hurry about informing Laura. In fact, informing her would be a bad decision. He had to demonstrate this to her and make her realize it on her own.


    Once she seeds, it would boost her confidence and ability. Azaroth could give a few pointers at that time.


    For all this to ur, Azaroth first had to gain control over Nature''s Energy as well.


    He felt that if he could gain control over this energy, hisbat power would also sharply rise.


    During this moment, the King received Azaroth''s message that this was thest transaction between them.


    The King frowned slightly as he thought ''<em>Did he find out that I was satisfied with these resources for him? How? The Prime Minister betrayed me? No. The senators kept an eye on him. Then did he find it through some other way?''</em>


    King Tryfon was rather cautious regarding his subordinates. He kept an eye on almost all his subordinates who knew more than they should, including the Prime Minister.


    In reality, Azaroth had calcted it through some vague guesses. He knew howrge the Glerian Kingdom was and what its annual ie and expenditure could be. He had also read a bit of the Glerian Kingdom''s history and knew that it liked to continue a war-like situation until the Glerian Kingdom was left with just 10% of its resources.


    After that, he just had to estimate when the King would feel confident that his resources could pile up on their own without further assistance.


    The number heputed was the same as the amount that satisfied the King.


    Azaroth then began to focus on the situation in the Sinyalian Kingdom. While he had basically be a farmer and cultivator, some interesting events urred in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    ~~


    Bianca had invited her elder cousin Piero to the capital city of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Upon receiving this invitation, Piero hade rushing to Mesenana City. Aftering to Mesenana City, he met up with his ''dear'' brother-inw first, Spencer Russel.


    Spencer was delighted to see Piero. It had been quite some time since the two had met. Piero would have some political discussions with Spencer, and his analysis and guesses were something that always amazed Spencer.


    Spencer naturally had no idea that the hardships he experienced during his youth were mostly Piero''s work. If he knew, he wouldn''t be greeting him with a smile while inviting him inside his house.


    Bianca also arrived in the Hall. Contrary to her normal appearance when she was in front of guests, she wore rather tight-fitting and short clothing.


    That clothing surprised Spencer a bit, but he didn''t mind it much. His wife was free to wear whatever she wanted. He wasn''t going to nitpick her about such small things.


    Maybe Bianca was just feeling like having a date with him today. Piero''s arrival must have shocked her as well.


    He was quite wrong about it since it was Bianca who invited Piero. She was perfectly aware that he would be here today and had purposely worn this clothing to entice the greed and lust within Piero''s mind.


    If these emotions took over his mind, he wouldn''t think clearly about the tasks she would assign him.


    If required, she could also go a step deeper and trap himpletely. She had already prepared everything.


    Piero''s eyes widened when he saw his cousin in this clothing. It had been a couple of years since hest saw her.


    Moreover, she was wearing a rather conservative dress and a veil. Thus, he wasn''t able to get a good look at her, and she had be even prettier at this time.


    But here, Bianca stood in those tight-fitting clothes that ced great emphasis on her curvy and sexy body. Piero immediately felt his rod stand up, but he clenched his fists and suppressed that desire.


    He didn''t want to make Spencer suspicious of him.


    Spencer didn''t notice this tiny detail. He continued to talk about some random topics before switching to politics.


    Bianca suddenly stood up as the two began to talk about politics. She spoke up, "I will get some tea for you two."


    "Cousin, I remember you used to love Oolong tea. Is your taste still the same, or do you prefer some other tea?" She asked with a smile.


    Piero was excited to know that Bianca remembered his favorite tea. But slowly reigned that excitement as he felt that Bianca was probably just being polite to him. The two were cousins who hadn''t seen each other for thest few years.


    His eyes followed Bianca''s voluptuous figure as she walked towards the kitchen. Her ass was making perfect up and down motion, which stirred his lust greatly. He wanted to grab those flesh mounds and squeeze them all day and night.


    Spencer was reading the newspaper at this moment, so he didn''t notice Piero''s abnormal expression. He had no idea that his wife was seductively walking right behind him.


    Suddenly, something surprising urred that utterly shocked Piero.


    Bianca turned around and looked into Piero''s eyes.. She ced her right hand on her rosy lips and sent a flying kiss towards him.

 Chapter 341 - Honey Trap

    Piero''s mind had already begun to have some wild thoughts. This flying kiss from Bianca exclusively directed at him wasn''t helping.


    Bianca spent quite some time in the kitchen. She was brewing tea for the two.


    Piero gazed at Spencer and tried to act normally. He continued to talk about some random topics and politics to divert his mind.


    It was easier said than done. He kept on reying that scene in his mind.


    It was one of his wicked fantasies. Thus, after some seconds, he concluded that it was merely his delusion.


    After all, Bianca would never do such a thing. Especially behind her husband''s back like that.


    Soon, Bianca returned to the living room while holding the tray. There were two cups of oolong tea on that tray.


    She ced that tray on the table and gave a smile to her husband.


    Piero was extremely envious that Bianca disyed such a smile to her husband. He was now sure that the earlier scene was his hallucination.


    Bianca picked up a cup and handed it to Spencer.


    Spencer grabbed hold of that cup and began drinking tea. Bianca sat next to him as she stared at Piero, "So, what have you two been talking about?"


    "Nothing much. Piero just began to tell me about the Noble Family Alliance. Since the Lewis Family became the nominal head of this Noble Family Alliance, his word load had doubled or even tripled," Spencer responded.


    Piero had a humble expression as he stared at Bianca. He noticed a teasing smile on her face, "Heh."


    "Does Elder Brother Brian listen to your suggestions?" Bianca asked.


    Piero immediately responded with an excited voice, "Brian doesn''t do anything before consulting me now. Even though he seems the nominal head of this Alliance, I can be considered the true head. The one who manages everything."


    He spoke with a proud tone since this was true. He was the one who managed the connections and data of the Noble Houses.


    "Amazing," Bianca praised him. Internally, she was thinking ''He can be really useful to my master.''


    Thus, Bianca became more determined to grab hold of this man. He was infatuated with her, and she had her methods of honey trapping him.


    She knew that her cousin might be aware of these kinds of methods. But she also knew that he would still bite that bait.


    This was how foolish people were when it came to their infatuation or love.


    And Bianca was going to takeplete advantage of this foolishness.


    After a few minutes, Spencer began to feel drowsy. He was a 6 Star Warrior, and he could deal with most things with his Ardor, but this was a drug that would suddenly exhaust the warrior.


    If Spencer red up his Ardor, he could easily deal with this exhaustion. However, he didn''t know that this exhaustion wasn''t natural.


    Moreover, if he red up his Ardor right now, the entire house would be destroyed.


    "Dear, you look tired. Your face is really pale," Bianca spoke while touching her husband''s face and looking straight into his eyes.


    She noticed that her drug had worked. Her husband wasn''t even using Ardor to deal with the effects of this drug.


    This was the base scenario. Once he falls asleep, not even the elephants'' trampling would wake him up.


    Piero was extremely shocked to see Spencer getting exhausted so suddenly. He began to think of something.


    In the meantime, Spencer soonid on the sofa, his head on Bianca''s legs.


    Bianca let out a relieved breath, "The drug has finally worked."


    "W-What is going on, Bianca?" asked a confused Piero.


    Bianca gently ced Spencer''s head on the sofa before standing up and walking towards Piero.


    "What do you think is going on, my dear cousin?" She spoke with such a seductive voice that Piero felt as if he was dreaming.


    Soon, the two stood right ahead of each other.


    "I wanted to have a private chat with you, dear cousin. Let''s continue this talk in my room," Bianca spoke while holding Piero''s hand and pulling him towards her room.


    Piero had left his bodypletely loose. He allowed Bianca to pull him to her room while wondering what was going on with Bianca.


    He could feel Bianca''s soft hand pulling him. A hallucination couldn''t be so detailed and give such a realistic sensation. Did that mean what he witnessed earlier wasn''t his hallucination? It had truly urred.


    The two were soon in Bianca''s room. This was the room in which she spent her nights with Spencer.


    Just the thought of fucking Bianca in this room excited Piero to no end. However, he didn''t dare to mention anything regarding this.


    Aftering to her room, Bianca suddenly hugged Piero, "¡­I missed you so much, Piero."


    Piero noticed that she was no longer referring to him as a cousin but as an individual. His arms trembled, but he still raised them and ced them around Bianca''s body.


    It was so great to hold her curvy and soft body that Piero felt like he was on the Seventh Heaven.


    "What happened?" He softly asked. He was truly curious.


    "I am not happy, Piero. Not happy to be with Spencer," Bianca whispered with her fake tears leaking out of her eyes.


    Piero was shocked to hear that statement. He was internally happy, but he still sounded startled, "But you have been together with him for so many years. You even have a daughter who has stepped into adulthood. Why are you dissatisfied with Spencer now?"


    His jealous tone was obvious as he gave that statement.


    "¡­These days, he continues to take on long missions and stays away from us. We have argued multiple times over this topic that I want him to be with us a bit more. Sophie hasn''t spent any time with him and is barely attached to him. She wouldn''t even shed any tears for him if he suddenly died," Bianca muttered.


    "Eh?!" Piero was shocked that there were arguments rted to this topic.


    If he had a wife as pretty as Bianca, he would spend most of his time with her. She would be his top priority!


    "The arguments and our fights have gone on for long enough. I am only together with him because I don''t want Sophie to be affected due to our divorce," Bianca spoke.


    Piero understood her point of view. Sophie was still a child in her eyes.


    "¡­I decided to call you here because I missed you. I remembered you said you would love me for eternity. Can you say those words again while looking into my eyes?" Bianca asked.


    Piero seriously replied, "I have only loved you and will continue to love you for eternity."


    Bianca was satisfied as he found no signs of deceit in those words.


    "At least you seem truthful. Does that mean you will have an affair with me if I consent to this? You don''t want me to divorce Spencer?" Bianca asked.


    Piero responded after some seconds, "I will. I don''t care about this divorce as long as I hold a ce in your heart. Just as you said earlier, divorce would affect your daughter mentally. I don''t wish for that to ur."


    Bianca then added, "I am not a good woman, though. I might ask you to do some very wicked tasks for our love," She spoke.


    Piero began to chuckle, "I have already done many wicked things. And I will happily do them if it''s for you."


    "You can''t ask me the reason," Bianca spoke.


    "Never," Piero responded with a confident tone.


    And thus, he had willingly stepped into this honey trap.


    ~~


    I hope you all like the chapter.

 Chapter 342 - The Dragon Squads Leader

    While Piero had been caught in a honey trap, the Dragon Squad and Tiger Squad had gathered in the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Only the leader of the Dragon Squad was missing. He was a six-star expert and could be considered one of the strongest fellows in the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    However, he left the Dragon Tiger Pce several years ago, and no one knew his current location.


    This man also knew the Beast Taming Skill and had tamed a Red Horned Rhino. This Rhino possessed a strong bloodline and a variant element known as Lava.


    The leader of the Dragon Squad had a fierce battle against the Purple Lightning Flood Dragon. The result of this battle was a draw.


    It had to be known that a Flood Dragon possessed a strand of True Dragon''s Bloodline. For the leader of the Dragon Squad to have fought it to a draw proved his strength.


    At 6 Star Rank, humans could be considered inferior to the beasts in pure power. Thews they could control were iplete. Most 6 Star Beasts could suppress the domainunched by a 6 Star Warrior.


    As a result, the fact that he could battle a Flood Dragon to a draw was a major thing.


    This Purple Lightning was also a variant of lightning, and in terms of pure destructive energy, it was stronger than Demonic Lightning or Humanely Lightning.


    However, it was after this battle, the leader of the Dragon Squad had disappeared.


    People believed that he was trying to keep a low profile. The only reason he fought against this Flood Dragon with all his power was that he wanted to protect his Squad from the wrath of the Flood Dragon.


    Just a year ago, the Dragon Squad had gone into the deepest parts of a Forbidden Forest to hunt for some beasts.


    They had brought arge group since they were nning toplete many missions at the same time.


    Not every day could these warriors get the chance to enter the central area of the Forbidden Forest. After all, to enter the Central Area of the Forbidden Forest, it was rmended to have a 6 Star Warrior along.


    And the only 6 Star Warrior in the Dragon Tiger Pce who still took missions was this leader of the Dragon Squad.


    It was rare for a mission to catch his eye. But if one did and it was in a dangerous location, he would bring arge squad with him to the location.


    He would naturally guarantee their lives and take them through a safe route.


    If they encountered some powerful beast, he was the one to deal with it.


    Through this, these warriors couldplete their missions and pile up contributions. They would give him one-third of those contribution points to express their gratitude.


    During one such expedition, a flood dragon had suddenly rushed out of his cave and attacked the Dragon Squad as soon as he caught sight of them.


    The leader of the Dragon Squad was startled. He knew that this Flood Dragon was an intelligent beast, yet it was suddenly attacking humans.


    Normally, these 6 Star Beasts wouldn''t attack wandering humans who hadn''t provoked them. They would at least let out a loud growl if they didn''t like these humans intruding in their territory.


    However, the Flood Dragon hadn''t let out any warning and attacked them.


    The Leader of the Dragon Squad had fought with his full power against this enraged Flood Dragon and settled the issue without being severely injured.


    It showed that hisbat ability was slightly above this Flood Dragon. If not for the fact that the Flood Dragon had fled from the scene to save its life, it would have died in the Dragon Squad''s leader''s hands.


    The Dragon Squad and the Tiger Squad could be considered legendary within the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    All of their members were elite 5 Star Warriors. They all possessed great knowledge about the beasts and their weak points. Most of them were also skilled in tracking beasts.


    And now, thetest task of these two squads was to squash the Origin Sect Branch to death.


    ording to the Dragon Tiger Pce''s Higher Ups and that letter they recently received, the Origin Sect''s Main Branch actively supported this branch.


    They were intent on actively going against the Dragon Tiger Pce. The Origin Sect Branch had most likely sent their elders to attack their Beast Taming Group. Otherwise, the Origin Sect Branch would have been demolished by now.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce was going to respond to fire with fire. The Origin Sect had used its elders to fight against their warriors, then they were also going to use theirplete strength to demolish this Origin Sect branch.


    They had no idea that Azaroth had sensed the presence of these warriors already. He was long since prepared for a huge battle.


    In reality, he was greatly looking forward to this battle as he wanted to kill people.


    He was greatly frustrated because of Inquisitor Fox. That man had trapped his clone, leaving no choice for his clone but to kill himself.


    This was a kind of humiliation to him. And it also showed just how careless Azaroth was regarding Inquisitor Fox.


    He had ced great importance on that Fate Energy and began to underestimate Inquisitor Fox.


    In fact, he had somewhat forgotten about Inquisitor Fox. And this man had been the one who sessfully trapped his clone.


    Not just this, but he had also dealt with almost all the contacts Edwin had created in the Sinyalian Kingdom. And Edwin had no idea until thest moment.


    Azaroth understood that this man''s intelligence wasn''t below his own. The difference between them was that he prioritized dealing with Azaroth while Azaroth was looking at the whole chessboard of these two kingdoms.


    Now, the situation was the reverse. He was in the shadow, and Inquisitor Fox had no idea about his actions.


    Inquisitor Fox couldn''t easily guess that Edwin was merely Azaroth''s clone. And the situation that was going to develop in the Sinyalian Kingdom through Azaroth''s hypnotic control over Bianca and Josephine would be beyond his imagination.


    Azaroth had long since wanted to deal with this frustrating feeling. He had tried everything to deal with it.


    He had rough sex with Yrellea and Laura. He shoved his dick in their pussies like a madman. He came so many times that the two could bathe with his semen.


    But this frustrating feeling still remained. Azaroth had also tried to calm his thoughts by meditation.


    That method failed. Because once he woke up and began to think about his schemes, he would remember how his clone had been caught in one and died.


    The death of his clone shouldn''t have affected him this much. Azaroth was aware of this fact.


    The reason it affected him was that he remained absolutely clueless about this huge scheme.


    It showed just how greatly his senses had dulled and how much he had rxed. He was unconsciously thinking of other people as stupidpared to him. This was a big blunder that may result in his main body''s death as well.


    To deal with this frustration, Azaroth had also trained with great fervor. However, this method didn''t work as well.


    Thest remaining method, which he was sure would work, was killing. He wanted to hear those terrified screams.


    It made Azaroth recall the Purgatory and he smiled. During that ughter, this world might indeed be simr to Purgatory.


    There was another reason for his great intent to fight. That reason was his Intent Spirits.


    Ever since he had forcefully awoken them, he hadn''t used them in battle.. He wanted to see just how strong he would be after using these Intent Spirits with his Triquetra Ardor.

 Chapter 343 - Fireworks

    The Dragon Squad and the Tiger Squad were charging towards the Origin Sect Branch. They flew towards the Origin Sect Branch while maintaining their formation.


    Soon, they saw a man levitating in the air right ahead of them.


    He disyed strong battle intent, and when he stared at these warriors from the Dragon Tiger Pce, he showed an excited grin.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors didn''t think much about it. If this warrior interfered with them, then they would make him pay for that.


    Otherwise, there was no harm in allowing him to escape alive. These warriors didn''t know that the man ahead of them was Azaroth. He looked delighted to see these warriors heading towards him.


    <em>''They have no sense of danger.''</em>


    After some seconds, a ray of light suddenly shot out behind them. This ray of light quickly expanded to form a wide wall.


    This Wide Wall was formed of pure Ardor, and it was empowered by special Ardor Crystals that Azaroth possessed.


    Azaroth snapped his finger, and the wide wall expanded to form a cuboid structure around him and the Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors.


    From the outside, it would be called a prison.


    Azaroth would agree with that statement. This was indeed a prison for these Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors.


    However, it was a prison in which all who were trapped inside would die under his hands.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors had barely noticed that colorless barrier that had covered their surroundings.


    They would have to pass Azaroth''s body to even realize the presence of this barrier.


    Purple mes lit up on Azaroth''s palm. He continued to make those mes denser while staring at his adversaries.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors were startled to see Azaroth''s hand lit up with Purple mes. They guessed that he wanted to fight.


    However, they removed that thought from their mind. No sane person would try to attack a great of such arge size.


    There were more than 210 warriors at the 5 Star Rank,bining the Dragon Squad and the Tiger Squad.


    Anyone who witnesses such a lineup would think about escaping rather than remaining behind to fight.


    Naturally, the only exception was that the individual was crazy and didn''t care about his own life.


    An extremely dense sphere of pure Hell mes wasunched at these warriors.


    These warriors belonging to the Dragon Squad and Tiger Squad had a richbat experience. They possessed sharp sixth senses and knew that this was an extremely strong attack.


    If this Sphere struck them, they would die.


    The warriors leading the respective Dragon Squad and Tiger Squad stopped. The warriors following them halted as well.


    The Dragon Squad was currently led by their Vice Leader. Meanwhile, the original leader of the Tiger Squad remained well and fine.


    The Vice Leader of the Dragon Squad was inferior to the Tiger Squad''s Leader in terms of hierarchy. Thus, he gazed at him and signaled him with his brows.


    Their question was incredibly simple. Whether he should take the lead or the Tiger Squad''s Leader was going to do so.


    The Tiger Squad''s Leader waved his hand to the front. He was saying that he could take charge.


    A grateful smile appeared on the vice leader''s face. He wanted to disy his awe-inspiring strength to his subordinates.


    Meanwhile, the Tiger Squad''s leader internally sneered. He could sense the strong aura from those Purple Hell mes.


    He wanted to test the waters and urately gauge this technique. Thus, he let this junior take the lead.


    The Tiger Squad had been suppressed by the Dragon Squad. This had be an unchanging truth within the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    People even spected that if the Tiger Squad was dissolved, the Dragon Tiger Pce''s strength would be unaffected owing to the Dragon Squad''s might.


    Each leader of the Tiger Squad had worked hard endlessly, but it was for nothing. However, their fate changed after the Dragon Squad''s leader fought against the Flood Dragon and disappeared.


    It was said he was gravely injured even though it didn''t seem like it.


    However, that theory was quickly put to rest since it would be more logical toe to the Dragon Tiger Pce and recover using their resources.


    There were other theories that he had caught some illness. Or he was spiritually hurt. Or he had some other crucial mission that he could only aplish alone.


    Lastly, there was also a rumor that he had bit the dust during his travels. He was an extremely mysterious individual, and even the Dragon Tiger Pce didn''t know much about his past.


    But after he had disappeared, the Dragon Squad had begun to get weaker. It was the Tiger Squad''s time to rise.


    The leader of the Tiger Squad was quite delighted that the Tiger Squad got this chance during his generation.


    Anyway, the Vice Leader of the Dragon Squad took a deep breath as heunched, "<strong>Water Pulse!</strong>"


    A strong pressured pulse of water wasunched at the Sphere of pure Hell mes.


    The water element suppressed the me element. All the Dragon Squad members knew that this attack would easily deal with that Hell mes Sphere.


    The Water Pulse soon struck against the Hell mes Sphere.


    Unfortunately, the expected thing didn''t ur. Instead, these mes were so hot that they immediately turned the water to vapors while moving towards these warriors at the same pace.


    It didn''t seem as if it had been affected by this Water Pulse at all.


    When the Tiger Squad''s leader witnessed that, he was utterly shocked. He looked down on the Dragon Squad''s Vice Leader because he was young in terms of scheming and experience, but his power couldn''t be underestimated.


    However, what he witnessed forced him to reassess Azaroth.


    Azaroth had a thin smile on his face as he saw the shocked look on the warriors ahead of him.


    "Time for some fireworks." Azaroth then suddenly clenched his fist while whispering, "<strong>Split!</strong>"


    The Hell me Sphere immediately split up into tens of tiny spheres.


    After splitting up, these tiny spheres were a lot faster. The entire frontline of the Dragon Squad attacked these Hell me Sphere to halt their momentum.


    Just like their current leader''s attack, it failed.


    <strong>Boom! Boom! Boom!</strong>


    Those tiny Hell me Spheres began to explode as they approached the Dragon Squad''s members.


    The Tiger Squad remained undamaged as they had stayed out of the way. Meanwhile, the frontline of the Dragon Squad warriors had just endured those tens of tiny Hell me Spheres.


    They had an uglyplexion as they red at Azaroth. They barely survived bybining their energies and creating a barrier ahead of them.


    However, the barrier couldn''t block the explosionpletely. Some parts of it broke, and they were injured.


    Azaroth then suddenly flew forwards as a Saber appeared in his hand.


    There was also a light shing over his Saber. Upon closer look, a small creature could be seen seated on his Saber.


    This was none other than his Intent Spirit of the Saber.


    It had an emotionless look on its face as it supplied Saber Qi to Azaroth. This was one of the benefits of having conjured an Intent Spirit.


    The warrior would no longer have to split his attention to gather and utilize his Qi. Azaroth could focus on utilizing that Qi in the best possible method while his Intent Spirit would be wholly focused on gathering the Saber Qi.


    This division of tasks made fights a lot more efficient for a warrior.


    ~~


    A/N: Please support me on my ko-fi ount: https://ko-fi/evildragon04

 Chapter 344 - Vincents Offer

    Blood rained on the ground as Azaroth brandished his Saber. With each swing, a warrior would fall on the ground.


    Azaroth wasn''t even utilizing his elements in his battle. It was merely his Saber Intent and Ardor.


    Naturally, his Saber Intent was very strong and dense. Even though he hadn''t reached the peak realm he knew of, he could still fight equally against a 6 Star Expert.


    This was rather impressive.


    He wasn''t using the full power of his Saber Intent. If he used that, these warriors would be ughtered within the blink of an eye.


    He was fighting this battle against these warriors to deal with the frustration in his body. He wanted to kill them one by one to slowly enjoy their ughter and terror.


    Azaroth was actually only fighting against the Dragon Squad''s Warriors. They were losing their numbers very quickly.


    The Tiger Squad''s Leader was utterly shocked as he kept his eyes on Azaroth. He hadn''t given his order to attack Azaroth.


    A few Dragon Squad''s warriors immediately shouted at him, "What are you all waiting for?! Attack him!"


    This was one of the few captains of the Dragon Squad. He was extremely anxious since most of the warriors under him had already died.


    They had now realized that this warrior they were fighting was most likely an exceptional talent. His talent might even be greater than their own leader.


    They couldn''t stop him and had to use more numbers to suppress him.


    The Tiger Squad''s leader remained unmoved. He was prideful but not stupid.


    The power Azaroth had disyed convinced him that if they fought against him, they would all die.


    It wasn''t a battle but a ughter. He looked around and noticed that they had been trapped within an invisible barrier.


    He now understood that this man was likely from the Origin Sect Branch and was waiting for them here.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce''s Higher-Ups had misunderstood the situation and thought that the Origin Sect''s Main Branch had sent their experts here.


    The reality seemed to be a little different. Since the beginning of this battle, Azaroth hadn''t used a single technique of the Origin Sect.


    This showed that he wasn''t the Origin Sect''s disciple. But now, the question remained why Azaroth would battle against so many warriors.


    Wasn''t he intimidated by the fact that he was up against the elite forces of the Dragon Tiger Pce?


    Or did he hold some grudge against the Dragon Tiger Pce? If that was the case, why didn''t he remember anything about such a scenario?


    With a sneer on his face, the Tiger Squad''s Leader responded to that Dragon Squad''s Captain, "Didn''t you used to look down on our Tiger Squad? Show us how strong you are now."


    "¡­" That captain had a nk look on his face as he spoke up, "Is this the time to think about those kinds of pointless things?! I expected some maturity from you, Sir Vincent. But I was clearly hoping for too much. You are the same as your predecessors."


    Vincent was the name of the Tiger Squad''s leader. He snorted in response and spoke, "Whatever."


    Suddenly, his eyes widened as he stared in that Dragon Squad''s Captain''s direction. The Dragon Squad''s captain frowned as he saw that shocked look on Vincent''s face and then turned around.


    His scalp turned cold as he saw Azaroth flying towards him. His saber waspletely soaked with blood.


    He immediately turned towards Vincent, "Sir Vincent, can''t we deal with those matterster?! Don''t you want to survive?! Only if webine our power do we stand a chance against him!"


    "Hmph!" Vincent snorted at those words and instead flew towards Azaroth.


    "Greetings, I am Vincent, the leader of the Tiger Squad of the Dragon Tiger Pce. What is your name?" Vincent asked with a friendly tone.


    Azaroth was amused at that question and tone. He decided to pause in mid-air while staring at this man, "You have weird priorities. You are asking your killer''s name rather than ordering your subordinates to prepare their formation and attack me."


    Before Vincent could exin his thoughts, Azaroth added, "I can guess what you are thinking. You want to know my name and my background. Are you nning to pledge your loyalty to me? Well, that would be one method to save your life."


    Vincent was surprised since he was indeed thinking along those lines.


    However, he wasn''t going to ept that in front of his subordinates. He had to maintain his prestige and spoke with a prideful tone, "Save my life? Aren''t you thinking too much? You are indeed strong. But if that''s the extent of your strength, I am afraid you can''t leave this ce alive."


    Azaroth nodded at those words, "You are right. I might have lost if I only had this much strength."


    "But that''s the thing, I am stronger," He spoke with a grin on his face as he charged towards Vincent.


    He had talked more than enough, and it was time to fight.


    Vincent was talking with Azaroth while gathering his Ardor, "Lightning Tiger Fist!" He threw out a punch so quickly that most warriors didn''t even catch his movements.


    Azaroth sensed that attack and saw an aura of Lightning Tiger''s Aura behind that attack. This man possessed the Lightning Tiger''s Bloodline.


    It was pretty impure and appeared to have been forcibly merged with his body. As a result, his strike may have appeared great to his peers, but Azaroth could see many weaknesses in this attack.


    He brandished his Saber and easily sliced apart that hand that was going to punch him.


    Vincent was when his arm was suddenly sliced by Azaroth. His body couldn''t resist this man''s attack at all.


    He had witnessed Azaroth fighting against many warriors, but he retained the hope that he could still injure him a bit.


    However, he had severely underestimated the difference of power between them.


    Three more warriors suddenly targeted Azaroth''s body. Azaroth sneered in his heart as he raised his saber and sliced off Vincent''s head in the next attack.


    Even though he wasn''t using theplete strength of his Spear Qi, he could still dominate every single warrior on this battlefield here.


    No bloodline, no power, or technique, worked against Azaroth. For these warriors, Azaroth seemed like an invincible warrior.


    Now, they experienced terrifying fear when they looked at him. They all fled in different directions.


    Azaroth smirked as he saw these warriors fleeing in different directions. After flying for some moments, these warriors crashed into the barrier Azaroth had set up.


    Azaroth flew and killed every single one of them, enjoying their terrified screams. The frustration he had to build up all this time was finally let loose.


    Thus, the Dragon Squad and the Tiger Squad had been ughtered to theirst man. Except for that mysterious leader of the Dragon Squad, all other warriors of these two squads had been ughtered.


    Within a week, the Dragon Tiger Pce had lost their elite squads and their Beast Taming Group. This news shocked the entire Glerian Kingdom. It reached the King and his ministers.


    They were absolutely bbergasted at this news.


    Meanwhile, the President and the other higher-ups of the Dragon Tiger Pce had now realized that something else was going on.


    This Origin Sect Branch was unexpectedly much harder to deal with than they thought. It was much stronger than their imagination!


    ~~


    I hope you all like this chapter

 Chapter 345 - The Silver Hawks Report

    When the King received news that the Dragon Tiger Pce had suffered such a huge loss, he was absolutely startled.


    He remembered that the Demon was most probably in Veninza City. This might be his doing.


    But then he shook his head in denial. From his deals with that demon, he knew that this guy was extremely smart.


    He wouldn''t attempt something so foolish that would force the King to act against him.


    Leaving such a trail would allow the king to track him and kill him. The King might even acquire all the resources he possessed.


    This would be a way too rash step for that cunning monster.


    Moreover, there were also reports that the Dragon Tiger Pce suffered this disastrous loss due to their conflict with the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    However, it was too shocking that this Origin Sect Branch could make the Dragon Tiger Pce suffer such disastrous losses.


    They had hidden themselves too deeply. Their foundations were absolutely shocking.


    The King immediately ordered his loyal subordinates, "Investigate the other branches of the Origin Sect. I want to know whether they have been concealing their true strength. And by how much?"


    He had to get thetest estimate of these sects for his own schemes that would involve all these sects'' strength. And to create a great scheme, he had to get the most urate information.


    Unfortunately, the King hadn''t guessed that Azaroth and the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City were in league.


    If he had sessfully guessed that, he would have ced more importance on the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    It would have halted Azaroth''s brazen expansion of the Origin Sect Branch. At the least, he couldn''t make any big moves through the Origin Sect Branch.


    He would have to create another faction and make it famous from the very beginning.


    The fact that the King wouldn''t suspect him had already been calcted by Azaroth. That''s why he dared to make such big moves in Veninza City.


    Azaroth hadn''t revealed any trace of demonic presence within the Origin Sect Branch. Thus, the King wouldn''t suspect that the two were in league.


    The Origin Sect wouldn''t strike a deal with a demon. This was something the King knew very well.


    They wouldn''t dare to attempt that. There had been examples of those who tried and were purged down to their roots.


    Even their children were massacred without any sympathy orpassion for their age and innocence.


    The entire family had to shoulder the sinsmitted by the head of the family.


    The King was sure that the elders in the Origin Sect Branch would never attempt anything like that. And if there was some demonic influence within the Origin Sect Branch, it would have reached him somehow.


    However, the fire that burns without releasing smoke is the most dangerous.


    This was exactly what was going in Origin Sect Branch. There were so many demons in this Origin Sect Branch that the King might stand up in shock.


    However, this was merely a small part of the influence held by the Demon King ck Hurricane, who was currently the fourth prince of the Glerian Kingdom.


    While he was considering how to deal with this issue, he suddenly saw his Voice Transmission Array Stone.


    Not many individuals held the King''s contact through his personal Voice Transmission Stone. The King immediately picked it up, "¡­"


    "Your Majesty, it''s me, the 3rd Commander of the Silver Hawks," The voice from the other side spoke.


    The King recognized that voice and responded, "Yes. What is it?"


    "Your Majesty, you mentioned the task of finding someone charismatic and strong who could form a strong religious influence within Lamhilhan Theocracy. I believe I have found an individual who fits these norms," He spoke with a serious tone.


    The King was immediately interested in this individual and asked curiously, "Give me a brief profile of this individual."


    "His family background is nothing impressive. In fact, he was considered trash untilst year."


    "Last year, he encountered a fortuitous event, and he unlocked his true talent. He reached the 3 Star Rank within 6 months. And now, nearly one whole year is about to pass since he encountered that fortuitous event, and he is on the verge of breaking through to the 4 Star Rank," The Third Commander of the Silver Hawks informed the king with a neutral tone.


    The King was surprised to hear those words. To have reached the 4 Star Rank within a single year showed that this individual had encountered a rather great fortuitous event.


    "What are his abilities, his fighting style, and his elements?" The King asked the next question a bit curiously and seriously.


    "He appears semi-skilled in Alchemy, Enchantment, and Barrier-Creating Arrays. His fighting style focuses more on Spiritual Arts. He uses these Spiritual Arts to shake the rhythm of his opponents andunches a killer attack at that moment. His spiritual energy is so strong that even if the opponent keeps watch for that Spiritual Attack, he would still seed."


    The Third Commander of the Silver Hawks paused for a second to catch his breath before he continued, "Lastly, he seems to possess twin elements. The Ice Element and the me Element. Moreover, these two elements are unexpectedly strong and don''t restrict themselves."


    The King was quite surprised to hear the profile of this youth.


    "What sort of fortuitous encounter was this? Did he get some ancient inheritance?" The King wondered out loud.


    The Third Commander of the Silver Hawks responded neutrally, "That might be likely. I heard he was trapped in a cave by a specific gang in his hometown for one month. Once he returned, he ughtered that gang, and his prestige within that town increased."


    "Currently, this youth is traveling to the Night Mountain Sect and ns to take the trial to be epted as the Outer Sect Disciple of that sect," The Third Commander of the Silver Hawks further informed the King.


    "Give me a brief report on his personality," The King ordered coldly.


    The report regarding this fellow soon began from the Third Commander''s mouth, "He appears to be a kind and na?ve individual who cares a lot about his family andrades. I doubt he understands any deep schemes. He takes things at face value. There are rumors that the Governor''s Daughter is quite interested in him even though he doesn''t have a very handsome appearance."


    The King was quite impressed by this information.


    However, there was onest doubt that remained in his mind, "He is indeed a talented individual. But why do you believe he will be perfect for that mission?"


    On the other side, he received a response in a neutral tone, "This man is stupidly na?ve, but he can convince someone to join his team. He has created his own gang, and there are nearly 200 individuals. Four of them are stronger than him, yet they follow him with great devotion. Thus, I believe he would be perfect for this task."


    "Interesting," The King spoke with a smile on his face.


    "Very well, I will wait for any response from the othermanders of the Silver Hawk. After that, I will make my decision," The King said with a neutral tone.


    "As youmand, Your Majesty."


    He wasn''t nning to choose someone with haste. If someone even better was avable, he would choose that individual.


    "What is the name of this individual, though?" The King suddenly inquired.


    "Dn Ross."


    ~~


    I hope you all love the chapter

 Chapter 346 - William Wakes Up

    Azaroth returned to their residence after ughtering all the warriors of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    It had been half a day since he had been gone.


    As he went to the living room, he saw Laura waiting for him. She handed him a cup of tea with a smile on her face.


    "Here is your favorite tea, master," Laura spoke.


    Azaroth sipped his tea while taking a seat on the sofa, and hemented, "It was a delightful battle."


    Laura sat ahead of him, gazed at him, and noticed bloodstains on his clothes and skin. She found him so good-looking at this time.


    She hadn''t realized when she began to have such wicked thoughts. But now that they had begun, Laura had no way of controlling them.


    She was slightly fearful of returning to the Elf Kingdom. She knew that her race would think she had beenpletely corrupted in the human world. They would think she didn''t deserve to be their princess.


    In reality, Laura was thinking too deeply about it. When she returns to her race, she will be apanied by Azaroth.


    He was going to handle everything else.


    But for that, Azaroth had to be sufficiently strong. Strong enough that the Elf Queen would be forced to listen to his words.


    His current strength was clearly insufficient. He needed to advance to at the least the Demon Emperor Rank before trying to negotiate with the Elf Queen.


    It wasn''t that he could fight against Elf Queen after reaching the Demon Emperor Rank. He wasn''t arrogant enough to believe he could defeat the Elf Queen with that power.


    However, he could escape from Elf Queen after advancing to the Demon Emperor Rank. This was the skill he required.


    The two talked about a bit as Laura informed him that Yrellea was gone. Azaroth knew about it since she had left on his orders. But Laura had no knowledge of that. And he intended to keep it that way. She didn''t need to know about this.


    Laura also gave him brief info about the archers. Their aim was fine, and she taught them how to infuse their elemental powers into their arrows.


    They had to keep their elemental powers under control or distribute them throughout the entire arrow for maximum damage.


    The ones who found it most difficult to learn this skill were those possessing me Element.


    Just like their element, their personalities were also a bit fiery. They weren''t very good at this stuff which required a steady heart and patience.


    However, if they managed to aplish it, their arrows would possess the strongest destructive power.


    Because of this incentive, they continued to work hard. Azaroth nodded, agreeing that it was time to enhance their abilities.


    Laura kept talking to Azaroth while staring at his entire physique. She was overjoyed that Yrellea wasn''t around at the time.


    Even though she didn''t say anything about Azaroth and Yrellea''s rtionship, she was very troubled by it. She was a little greedy since she wanted Azaroth to herself.


    Because Yrellea was not present, she could have Azaroth all to herself.


    Laura''s aspirations were apparent to Azaroth, but he remained silent. It was in his best interests if she felt this way. This woman was well aware of her ce in Azaroth''s heart and thoughts.


    She was well conscious that uttering those words or attempting to demonstrate her possessiveness over him would sour their rtionship.


    She couldn''t take that chance. As a result, no matter how upset she was by Azaroth''s adulterous affairs, she would never confront him about it.


    Azaroth could see her emotions and would manipte her emotions to serve his interests.


    While the two were talking, a maid suddenly entered his room. She bowed to Azaroth and then in Laura''s direction.


    "Lord Azaroth, the boy you brought, has woken up." She spoke.


    Azaroth knew she was talking about William. This maid was assigned to his room. She left the living room after receiving a signal from Azaroth.


    Azaroth went to William''s room soon enough. The guy was probably quite confused after waking up in an unknown location.


    In the meantime, William had woken up on a bed with a white sheet. He was wearing rather unfamiliar clothing. It was arge and loose sky-blue robe with a dark blue drawstring.


    He was puzzled when he noticed he wasid on a Queen-Sized Bed in arge room. The room was sorge that Williampared it to an Elder''s room in the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    William tried to get up, but his physique felt rather weak, and he fell to the floor.


    The door of the room opened, and William saw a rather handsome yet unfamiliar man entering the room.


    He then saw a blonde-haired woman apanying him. His eyes immediately widened as he saw that woman.


    He remembered battling against her. She had nullified his attacks and even defeated him in the end.


    He looked down and immediately ced his hand over his heart. He remembered this woman stabbing his heart with a wooden de.


    <em>''How did I survive?!''</em>


    Azaroth noticed the puzzled look on William''s face and answered the question he was thinking, "I saved you."


    Before William could ask his next question, Azaroth continued, "You are currently in the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City."


    "Ohkay¡­" A look of understanding slowly appeared on William''s face.


    However, that look of understanding immediately vanished when William remembered that he had been dispatched to battle against the Origin Sect Branch.


    He had been captured by the enemy! As he came to this conclusion, he looked around to try and escape this ce.


    Azaroth and Laura noticed his actions. Laura spoke monotonously, "You can''t escape from here. Moreover, you haven''t even recovered your strength since your battle against me."


    "How about you calm down and listen to what I have to say," Azaroth spoke with aposed look.


    William stared at him and slowly nodded. He was a lot hesitant to trust Azaroth, but he had no other choice.


    "Take a seat," Azaroth spoke, and he pointed at that bed. William''s legs were trembling and showed just how weak he was right now.


    However, he had a determined expression as he still stood up and went to sit on his bed.


    Azaroth remained at his position and showed no signs of trying to help him. He asked him with a calm tone, "What is thest thing you remember?"


    "¡­This woman stabbing my heart with that Wooden de. I tried to attack her with onest strike before my body lost all strength. Then I saw a soothing Golden Energy before my world turned dark," William responded truthfully.


    "You remember my Golden mes? That makes things easier then," Azaroth spoke with a smile.


    Golden mes lit up on Azaroth''s palm as he told William, "I saved you using these mes. These mes possess healing abilities. And I healed your heart through these mes."


    William sensed that familiar angelic aura from these Golden mes. He could never forget these gentle mes that he had sensed when he was on the verge of death.


    He sincerely spoke, "Thank you for healing me."


    Even though the one who stabbed his heart was standing right next to Azaroth, he was quite sincere while thanking Azaroth.


    He didn''t ask irritating questions like why he was saved and so on. He was smart enough to know that there was no free lunch in this world.


    "There is no need for your gratitude. You should know that you are going to be in my service for quite a long time. Thus, it''s nice to meet you, boy," Azaroth spoke with a devilish grin on his face.


    William felt that all his questions had been answered. He then spoke up after thinking for a bit, "I am ready to do anything to repay this life-saving favor."


    ~~


    I hope you all liked the chapter.

 Chapter 347 - Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite

    Azaroth saw William''s sincere gaze and gently spoke, "It''s not your life I am asking. That''s worthless to me."


    "Anyway, let''s leave that talk about some other time. There is another important issue we need to focus on," Azaroth spoke.


    William didn''t exactly understand Azaroth''s words, but he remained silent. If this man wanted to tell him, he would. If Azaroth didn''t want to mention it, he wouldn''t, no matter how much William asked.


    Azaroth stared at William''s calm expression and silently nodded. His personality was quite good.


    "The weakness of your physique. You have been fed the Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite. It has sucked all your vitality, leaving you with a tiny amount. I am surprised you have lived for so long," Azaroth spoke.


    William raised his brows as he heard that sentence. He asked, "What is this Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite?"


    "It''s a kind of parasite that lives near the heart. It has formed a connection with your heart and sucks away all your energy. The energy required by your muscles never reaches them. Hence, your physique slowly became weaker," Azaroth exined.


    "Do you remember when this began? Just who could have fed you this parasite?" Azaroth asked with a curious expression.


    An ugly look appeared on his face as William responded, "¡­It began nine years ago. After the death of my parents, I stayed with my friend''s family. It was around that time I picked up and began to practice my father''s Spear Throwing Technique. A couple of monthster, I started feeling weak."


    "I see," Azaroth responded calmly.


    <em>''How could a random family get hold of this Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite? It was probably someone else,</em>'' thought Azaroth.


    Azaroth and Laura noticed how William seemed rather dispirited. However, he slowly inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled.


    "¡­This won''t be an issue. I will be fit in the next few days. So, please tell me of what you want me to do," William spoke with a smile.


    This was a smile filled with pain and sincerity. It would make anyone who saw it feel sympathetic about him.


    Azaroth''s heart was stone-cold, so he felt nothing. He had seen far too many pitiful people to be affected by this sort of thing.


    Laura, on the other hand, was impacted. She believed she was staring at his struggles when she saw that painful grin on William''s face.


    She whispered to Azaroth''s ears, "M-master, we should help him. I don''t want him to suffer anymore."


    Azaroth ignored her words as he stared at William, "This condition is very tricky to solve. During these nine years, this Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite has bound itself to your Spirit."


    William remained calm as he had expected this response. He was ready to live with this parasite for the rest of his life.


    "Purging it would mean that I need to burn your soul at the same time. The injuries to the soul are the most painful. It''s unlike any other kind of pain you have experienced. However, if you manage to survive, you will gain a physique unlike any other. This physique will be molded with my mes. Moreover, you will gain quite some resistance from the Holy Ardor and the me Ardor," Azaroth exined.


    William''s eyes widened slightly as he heard this sentence.


    "I will need to pay a heavy price to cure you. In return, I need you to obey my orders for eternity. Before you think rashly, my orders could be anything," Azaroth spoke coldly.


    With that, Azaroth left the room along with Laura. William was left in the room alone, and he got lost in thought.


    He then heard some soundsing from outside.


    He climbed on the other side of the bed to look outside the window. He then witnessed many warriors belonging to Beast Taming Group training outside!


    He instantly understood what this meant. They had surrendered to the Origin Sect Branch.


    William was slightly happy since there were a few subordinates who had formed a strong bond with him.


    He didn''t want to see their corpses. And if he had epted Azaroth''s offer, he felt like he would be walking over their corpses without a hint ofpassion in his heart.


    For that reason, he hadn''t responded to Azaroth''s offer even if he could get rid of this painful physique for eternity.


    But now, the situation was different. His subordinates were most likely safe since he had ordered them to surrender if he lost.


    He continued to look at the warriors outside and saw many faces from his private group. Only a few warriors from his group were missing, and he guessed that they either tried to escape or died earlier.


    This was expected in a battle of that scale.


    In the evening, a maid came to inform Azaroth that William had epted his offer.


    Azaroth smirked as he had epted that response. He still remained at his position. He was setting up an array to purge that Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite.


    In reality, simply purging this parasite would be extremely easy for Azaroth. He merely had to utilize his Holy mes to do their job.


    However, Azaroth had another n. He wanted this parasite to return every single bit of vitality it had stolen from William.


    That was the only way for William to reach his peak. He possessed Divine Strength along with the twin variant elements like Gold and Metal.


    He possessed a great potential to be strong. Moreover, Azaroth had a cultivation technique that was specifically built for him. The Fiend God''s Body Technique.


    The next day, Azaroth brought William to this array.


    This array was behind the building that held the demons. Meaning it was rather away from the main building of the Origin Sect Branch.


    He didn''t want anyone else to see what was going to ur here. Not even his other retainers.


    "¡­Let''s begin, shall we?" He spoke with a smirk.


    William didn''t exactly feel good when he saw that smirk, but he did as he was ordered and remained stood in the center of that array.


    Azaroth left the array and spoke out, "Now, you will experience the worst pain in your lifetime. Clench your teeth, bite your tongue, or scream out in pain. Just make sure to not fall unconscious due to the pain. If so, I will give up on you."


    Before William could answer him, Azaroth activated the array.


    A greenish-colored fog was released in that array. When William inhaled that fog, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.


    It felt as if someone was biting his heart strongly and quickly. It was such a sharp pain that he felt like ripping his heart out!


    Azaroth noticed William''s painful expression and analyzed him carefully. He knew just how much pain William was under.


    Yet, he didn''t scream. He was enduring that pain.


    <em>''Good. Time to raise the tempo then,</em>'' Azaroth spoke as the array released more of that green-colored fog.


    William''s body was beginning to shrivel as the Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite was sucking his vitality at an unreal pace.


    This was something that had never happened before!


    William was a little scared that he would die, but still, he kept his mouth shut. He had no other choice than to trust the man ahead of him.


    If he broke his trust, there would be no ce left for him. Thus, he endured!


    ~~


    I hope you all like this chapter.

 Chapter 348 - Reconstruction

    Azaroth constructed this array around William''s body to boost the Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite. He wanted it to activate the potential within it.


    Once the Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite''s potential was activated, its sucking power was significantly boosted.


    Along with that boost, this parasite was also fooled into thinking that William was overflowing with vitality.


    The parasite would instinctively only suck the amount of vitality that would weaken William but not kill him.


    Right now, it felt that no matter how much vitality it sucked, it wouldn''t affect William.


    However, this couldn''t be any more misleading. William could feel an unreal pain in his heart as even his Spirit was being affected.


    This Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite''s true potential was terrifying. It was even tearing apart William''s spirit.


    Azaroth had two motives to activate this Vitality Sucking Life Binding Parasite. One was to excavate all the potential of this parasite that it had gained through Wiim.


    The other was to make William experience such an unreal amount of pain and test his willpower.


    This Spiritual Pain was extremely terrifying. It would take someone with Azaroth or Noah''s willpower to endure this Spiritual Pain.


    However, William was showing great results to Azaroth. He had clenched his fists and also kept his mouth shut.


    There was not a single painful scream out of his mouth. He kept it all to himself.


    Azaroth genuinely smiled as he saw this scene. To have not screamed out even after experiencing such pain was impressive.


    The physical pain and the mental pressure of getting older would affect even individuals with strong willpower.


    Azaroth had endured ten times of this pain when his body bathed in the Hell mes within the Purgatory. And that was just one of the easiest tests to acquire these Hell mes. There was even greater pain in the next tests.


    However, his cultivation base was at the Demon God Rank at that time. He had amassed tremendous experience and had seen everything in the world.


    Meanwhile, William was merely at the 4 Star Rank, and he was enduring such terrifying pressure. It was indeed praiseworthy.


    "¡­Now, it''s time to take it to the next step."


    The greenish mist immediately began to change color. The mist turned into sky-blue color.


    As soon as the parasite was struck with this sky-blue color, it fell into a deep sleep. However, the difference between before and after this was that now the parasite remained in its peak state.


    It would remain in that state for some time until it actively decided to stop.


    William was relieved as he slowly felt the sensation of pain disappearing. Just as his mind was beginning to rx, Azaroth moved to the next phase.


    If the previous process was destruction, then this process was reconstruction.


    The array gave off red lights as it lit up William''s body. William had no idea what was going on as the vitality from the Parasite returned to his body.


    The vitality rushed at such a pace that his shriveled appearance returned to his original appearance in a couple of minutes. Soon, it surpassed his original appearance and physique.


    His physique was getting stronger. The muscles that had been deprived of pure energy were now overflowing with vitality.


    This surplus of vitality was reinforcing William''s muscles. He was getting stronger, and his divine physique was truly activating.


    His Gold Element and the Metal Element began to revolve in his mental consciousness. These two elements were also releasing their energy as they strengthened his body even further.


    This entire reconstruction of his physique took nearly 3 hours toplete.


    Azaroth knew that the process of reconstruction was even more painful than before. This time, William did let out a painful groan.


    But this wasn''t some loud scream but a soft groan. As if this pain wasn''t something he expected after that relief.


    Soon, he even got used to that pain and stopped groaning. Azaroth nodded in satisfaction. He was right in saving this guy and turning him into his retainer.


    William opened his eyes soon. His silver eyes stared at Azaroth for a few seconds. He then suddenly bowed down to Azaroth by smashing his head against the ground.


    "I thank you for treating my body!" He yelled loudly.


    Even though he had gotten used to that physique, he had always wished to have a normal physique again.


    As a kid, he would be jealous of other warriors who would have the standard physique. Since, even without any effort, they would be as strong or stronger than him.


    However, he felt as if the heavens had listened to his wish.


    William added, "I had always thought that I would forever serve the individual who could cure me."


    Azaroth noticed that William was extremely sincere and then nodded, "Very well."


    Azaroth then spoke, "I have activated your Divine Physique of Strength. In fact, I actually haven''t purged that parasite from your body."


    William raised his brows in question and asked, "Ehh? Why?"


    "It doesn''t need to be purged. The parasite is so weak that it can no longer suck your vitality. You can kill it with a single thought and a strand of Ardor. However, this parasite does have its uses."


    "You can use it to devour a greater amount of Spiritual Energy and Ardor from the surroundings. It won''t just be useful for cultivation, but also for the battles."


    "You can recover a great deal of Ardor using this Parasite. It would take less time for you to charge your attacks. Thus, the frequency of your attacks would increase. And you should be aware that if two individuals are of simr strength, then the one attacking with greater frequency has more chances of winning," Azaroth exined.


    William nodded in affirmation, "That''s correct." He trusted Azaroth''s judgment on this.


    This man wouldn''t get anything by harming him.


    In reality, Azaroth had also left behind his Spiritual Seed within that parasite. He could use that parasite to destroy William''s heart with a single thought.


    Azaroth had a conservative nature and was ready to instantly ughter any warrior under his control who could betray him.


    Rarely did he receive this chance because his subordinates weren''t foolish in trying to betray him. They knew how dangerous Azaroth was and feared him more than anything.


    They were absolutely terrified of him and knew it would be best if they didn''t give him a reason to kill them.


    This callous guy would kill them without a second thought.


    Azaroth then called out for Noah.


    Noah arrived at the scene. He immediately kowtowed as he greeted Azaroth and then gazed at William.


    Azaroth then ordered Noah, "Fight him. I need to check his skill level."


    "As youmand, master," Noah spoke devotedly.


    The entire area flooded with Noah''s battle intent.


    When William saw Noah, he remembered that this was the same kid who was the first to charge against the Dragon Tiger Pce''s warriors.


    He was an absolutely fearless guy who possessed great skill in Sword Techniques!


    Noah had actually ughtered the strongest warrior from the Beast Taming Group! It was said that the man''s fists were his weapons.


    But in front of Noah''s sword, they failed. His body was split into multiple pieces. It would be incredibly hard to gather them now.


    William slowly got into his own battle stance. Azaroth threw a spear in his direction and spoke, "Fight with this."


    This spear was an enchanted spear, personally created by Azaroth. He knew that William was strong, but Noah was on another level.


    Without an enchanted weapon, William wouldn''t be able to hold his own against Noah.

 Chapter 349 - Noah Vs William

    "<strong>Dragon Throw!</strong>" William began the battle byunching his strongest attack at Noah.


    Noah had a serious look as he saw that attack heading for him. The force and speed within that attack were quite great.


    <em>''It''s attacking pattern is linear, though.''</em> Noah thought as he jumped out of the way and dodged this attack.


    Noah rushed towards William to attack him with his sword technique.


    However, William remained rooted at his spot. In fact, he adjusted his posture and was now in the same position as when he threw his spear.


    Noah was slightly confused as he saw him go into that posture again. There was no spear in William''s hand any longer. So, what was he going to attack him with?


    Noah soon realized the answer to this question.


    The Spear that William had thrown earlier suddenly shook as it shot towards William''s hand.


    It flew at such speed that even with Noah''s powerful and sharp battle instinct, he barely dodged it.


    When William held that spear, he gave a challenging look to Noah beforeunching his spear at him.


    Noah unconsciously smirked as he realized that this guy was actually quite strong. He remembered Azaroth had mentioned that this guy would serve under him.


    Noah felt that he had topletely convince William of his defeat. That he was weaker!


    He finally pulled his sword while gathering the Sword Qi near the tip of the de. Just when the spear was about to strike Noah''s body, Noah struck that tip of the spear''s de with his Sword de''s tip.


    For a few seconds, the two remained stationary. Then suddenly, the Spear wasunched back at William.


    William was shocked to see this ur. Even when he was injured, not a single individual had managed to perfectly toss back his spear like that.


    William grabbed hold of his returning spear and was extremely shocked that his strength couldn''t stop this spear''s momentum.


    He felt that the spear was dragging him back.


    After dragging him back by a couple of meters, William stopped. As he looked at his right hand, he noticed it was trembling in fear.


    He didn''t have time to get lost in useless thoughts as Noah had closed the distance between them.


    William knew that Noah was extremely skilled in closebat. Trying to win him in closebat would be a foolish thing to do.


    "<strong>Wild Spin!</strong>" He began to spin his spear quickly with a single hand and moved towards Noah.


    He wanted to push Noah back by a couple of steps and suddenlyunch his spear from close range.


    Noah snorted at this attack. He whispered, "This kind of unpolished attack won''t work against a strong warrior."


    He suddenly thrust his sword at William. And surprisingly, the sword didn''t collide with the spear, and it had already reached William''s throat.


    "I could see how your spear was spinning. A powerful warrior has trained eyes who can easily follow this speed. You must always have a n or a continuation of that attack in mind, or else it won''t work," Noah spoke as he pulled back his sword and sheathed it.


    William nodded his head in understanding. The two then looked to see in Azaroth''s direction.


    Azaroth moved towards and spoke to William, "From now on, you will work under Noah until he believes you are ready. He will assist you in controlling your divine strength and your elements."


    William nodded in affirmation. He looked in Noah''s direction and spoke with a polite and sincere tone, "I will be under your care, Master Noah."


    Noah''s expression softened a bit as he heard those words and ordered him, "Let''s go and introduce you to yourrades."


    Once the two were gone, Azaroth was lost in deep thought.


    <em>''The news of the ughter of the Dragon Squad and the Tiger Squad of the Dragon Tiger Pce must have spread all over the Glerian Kingdom. The various factions must have realized that this Origin Sect Branch is quite strange. They must be thinking of sending their men to investigate this Origin Sect Branch.''</em>


    Azaroth didn''t ce these factions in his eyes except for one. That was the King''s faction.


    If the King was interested in knowing the secret behind the Origin Sect Branch, it would be challenging for Azaroth to continue to conceal his presence.


    Meanwhile, he knew that the King hadn''t linked him to Noah. If the king found out that Noah was the subordinate of the demon that was trading resources with him, he would most likely order Noah to capture Azaroth.


    And if he couldn''t capture Azaroth, then Noah had to kill him.


    Naturally, with Noah''s loyalty, it was impossible for him to perform this action. However, if Noah didn''t obey the king''s order, the King would take away his authority as the General of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Azaroth also didn''t want Noah to lose this authority.


    <em>''Looks like it''s time to meet my old acquaintance.''</em> Azaroth thought with a sinister smirk.


    In the meantime, the Sinyalian Kingdom was experiencing some panic.


    The eighth prince of the Sinyalian Kingdom had been attacked. Fortunately, his guards arrived in time, and the assassin couldn''t kill him.


    But he had fallen unconscious due to his injuries. The one who organized this attack was none other than Piero.


    Piero was the chief advisor of his brother, who managed the entire Lewis Family while also leading the Noble Houses Alliance.


    Even though his brother was the nominal leader, Piero was the one who knew sensitive information about these Noble Houses.


    He even knew their secret contacts that had been nted in the Royal Pce. When contacting them, he made sure to prevent them from figuring out his true identity.


    They wouldn''t find any abnormalities in his way of talking or anything else. His disguise was also perfect.


    These individuals acted on his order and attacked the eighth prince. This was an extremely perilous mission. Thus, the reward was just as bountiful.


    Piero didn''t know why Bianca wanted him to attack the eighth prince, but he figured she would mention it eventually.


    He had promised her that he would help her regardless of what she wanted. He soon returned to the house and informed her about this news.


    She suddenly pulled him into her bedroom and kissed him fiercely.


    Piero felt intoxicated by that kiss. His pants felt incredibly tight, and he wanted to tear them apart and let him lose all his lust on Bianca.


    This woman was wearing tight clothing just to re up his lust.


    However, just as he was about toy his hands on Bianca, a very sweet fragrance entered his nose.


    Piero''s eyes immediately dropped as he inhaled that sweet fragrance. Bianca slowly pushed him away from her body.


    She then finally contacted Azaroth<em> ''Master, your task isplete. I made Piero have someone attack the eighth prince. If the King investigates the assassin, he will realize that this assassin is rted to the Noble House Alliance.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Azaroth listened to her and was satisfied <em>''Good. What of Sophie? How is her array studies going on?''</em>


    <em>''She mentioned that if she possesses enough resources, she can urately construct mid-tier 6 Star Arrays.''</em> Bianca replied immediately.


    Azaroth raised his brow as he was quite surprised by this talent.


    <em>''It might indeed be worthwhile to keep her connected to me,</em>'' Azaroth thought.


    <em>''But that woman waspletely in love with my identity as Edwin. Convincing her that I am Edwin would be difficult. If she finds out I am a demon, then the situation would be moreplicated.''</em>


    <em>~~</em>


    I hope you all like the chapter.

 Chapter 350 - Sargans Information

    While Azaroth was training these new subordinates and whipping them in shape, the Origin Sect organized meetings and discussed this issue with their elders.


    How could one of their branches underneath them have grown so powerful without their knowledge?


    Thus, the one who belonged to this branch was summoned by the Sect Master in his office. This was Patrick. He should know the inner details about this matter.


    As Patrick entered his office, the sect master offered him a seat. Patrick epted that seat as he stared at the sect master in confusion.


    He asked, "Do you want some tea or coffee?"


    "No, sir," Patrick spoke with a respectful look.


    "Alright. Then you can start from the very beginning regarding the change of the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City," The Sect Master spoke with a cold tone.


    Patrick had been expecting this meeting for thest couple of days ago. He had even imagined being confronted with this question.


    Trying to get out of this by acting like an idiot who knows nothing wouldn''t work. Only once he chewed into a clue would the sect master let him leave.


    "In reality, I have no idea about how the Origin Sect Branch is going up against the Dragon Tiger Pce. Even though I was the leader of that branch, I never did handle it personally. My subordinate was more of a leader than I ever was," Patrick spoke.


    These words surprised the sect master. Before he could ask anything, Patrick continued with his story, "He was a disciple belonging to Veninza City. His strength and ability with saber were quite impressive. He never lost to a warrior in the same rank as himself."


    "He was promoted to higher-ranks in the Origin Sect Branch. However, once he was promoted to official ranks, he began to exert his true influence in the sect. He formed his personal force that wouldn''t lose out against anyone. There were all kinds of warriors in that team."


    "Array Master, Alchemists, Weapon Enchanters, Warriors, and Archers. I believe he took action and destroyed the forces sent by the Dragon Tiger Pce."


    "¡­I see," The Sect Master seemed to understand just how the Origin Sect Branch had repelled the assaults from the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Patrick was internally satisfied that the sect master bought his story. If not, he might have suffered quite some pain. He was asked to return.


    "Also, don''t make things difficult for Hugo Corlett. I know what happened between you two. But the time has passed. Do not destroy the unity of the sect for such a small reason," The sect master warned Patrick.


    He knew what Patrick had been doing during thest couple of days. He was meeting with other elders who were somewhat antagonistic towards Hugo Corlett and his father.


    The Sect Master felt that he had to stop Patrick before he could raise this matter any further.


    Patrick clenched his fists as he heard the sect master. This man knew what had urred, but he hadn''t stopped Hugo Corlett.


    He allowed Hugo Corlett to do as he pleased since he thought Patrick had already exhausted his potential. If he had some hope in Patrick''s potential, he would have warned Hugo Corlett just like this.


    There was no choice left for him, so he replied, "Alright, Sect Master."


    The Sect Master was satisfied and focused on his work while Patrick left his office.


    Patrick informed of this meeting and talked to Azaroth. Azaroth was somewhat satisfied with this information.


    In the meantime, the King was concocting a n to send Dn Ross to the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    ording to the information he possessed on this guy, this Dn Ross''s parents were rather unimpressive warriors who lost their lives at the hands of some beasts.


    There were some rumors that they had been betrayed by theirrades, but the King didn''t care about their deaths either way.


    ording to what he knew, Dn Ross belonged to a small n that managed the entire vige. His cousins and peers looked down on him and bullied him on every asion. However, he had turned the tables after awakening some rare talent or inheritance.


    He seemed talented in many different fields. Moreover, ording to the information of his subordinates, he also possessed a rare charisma.


    The king wanted to keep this man under his control. It might sound difficult since Dn Ross''s ambition wasn''t limited to that small vige or a town.


    He wanted to make a name for himself in the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    The King, though, didn''t feel threatened by Dn. This was because he had many weaknesses. He was a stupid fellow who didn''t think deeply about a situation. He would only look at the situation on the surface and make his judgment about it.


    He was also a lustful man who couldn''t control himself after seeing a beautiful woman. He could easily be controlled using exceptional beauty.


    He had a personal maid who was an exceptional beauty. The king was aware of her entire family and could take them hostage, at any moment.


    The King was going to have this maid meet with Dn and control him through her.


    Dn Ross had no idea that he had already been highlighted to the King''s eyes. His every action was monitored by tens of individuals absolutely loyal to the King.


    Dn''s abilities were more or less apparent to the King, and he felt confident in his ability to control her.


    The King wasn''t the only one who had realized his abilities and was keeping an eye on him. There was another individual who was doing the same.


    Moreover, this individual had realized that someone high ranking in the kingdom was also keeping an eye on this guy.


    This second individual who was keeping an eye on Dn was Sargan. He was looking for talents and had heard a rumor about his great medical techniques.


    Then he heard that this man was also talented in Alchemy and Array Techniques. This caught his interest, and he decided to keep his tabs on this man.


    If Dn possessed even rarer techniques, Sargan was nning to inform Azaroth about him.


    Now that the King''s subordinates were keeping an eye on Dn, it was quite dangerous for any of Sargan''s informants to be close to him and gather information.


    They informed this situation to their master, Sargan.


    Sargan felt that it was now time to inform Azaroth about this. The very next day, he informed the entire thing to Azaroth.


    When Azaroth heard about Dn Ross, he was absolutely startled. His abilities, power, and his path in life were absolutely ridiculous.


    Azaroth thought <em>''Is he one of those protagonists from the novel that I read during my time on Earth? ording to what Sargan has informed me, he is one of those guys who gets a cheat or are chosen by fate.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''This sort of thing never urred during my previous life. Was I ignorant at that time? Or did it start urring after this fate energy thing?''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Whatever the case, this guy can be my test subject for this mysterious fate energy. And he has shown no signs of any Royal Bloodline. Which means, he is one of those rare specimens who possess the Fate Energy while not possessing the Royal Bloodline.''</em>


    A smirk appeared on Azaroth''s face as he ordered Sargan, "You have my consent to approach this man and further investigate him."


    "Be sure to give me daily updates. And make sure to tell me everything. This will be extremely dangerous, even for you. Your identity might be revealed."


    "Alright, Master."


    ~~


    I hope you all liked the chapter. Sorry for a single chapter these days. I was a little busy coz of my rtives and all. It''s pretty much wedding season in India. Hope you all understand. Tell me if you have any suggestions though.. I make sure to read allments and reviews and try my best to improve.

 Chapter 351 - Yrelleas Offer To The Dragon Tiger Palace

    While Azaroth was seated in his room, hemanded Bianca and Josephine to act in such a manner that the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom would be hostile to its Noble Families.


    This n was working wonderfully. Bianca had now sent her cousin back.


    Piero believed that he had already spent some spicy nights with Bianca and was on cloud nine. He had no idea that what he experienced was merely his dreams and imagination. An illusion to some extent. It never actually urred in real life.


    The illusion and those dreams were so realistic that even if someone told him the truth, he wouldn''t believe it.


    He remembered Bianca''s flirtatious actions. There was no way this whole thing was a lie. Also, even if he did find out theplete truth and epted it, he would not be able to do anything about it.


    He was the one who did attack a Royal Descendant. Even if it was on the wishes of someone else, he had still acted on it. Thus, he wouldn''t be spared from the Royal Sentence.


    Anyway, ever since this conflict with the Noble Houses, the King ordered Spencer to protect the Royal Family.


    Spencer''s vacation was cut short as he now had to manage the security of all the Royal Family members.


    The situation in the Sinyalian Kingdom was quite tense. Azaroth was quite satisfied with that.


    In the meantime, Yrellea had now knocked onto the Dragon Tiger Pce''s doors and requested an entrance. She wasn''t alone. She was apanied by tens of her fellow disciples, who were extremely beautiful as well.


    When the guards saw Yrellea appearing outside the Dragon Tiger Pce''s entrance, they were somewhat captivated by her beauty. It was to such an extent that they forgot to breathe or move.


    Yrellea then softly spoke, "I wish to meet with the President of the Dragon Tiger Pce. Can I please enter?"


    The guards werepletely mesmerized by her seductive figure and her beautiful appearance that they slowly opened the entrance gate.


    Only after they opened the entrance gate did they realize that they hadmitted a blunder. They should have asked their superiors before opening the gate.


    Now, it would be their own responsibility to open the gate and allow Yrellea and her team inside.


    Fortunately for these guards, Yrellea and her team didn''t arrive in the Dragon Tiger Pce with ill feelings. They were here to discuss business.


    Yrellea soon met up with the higher-ups of the Dragon Tiger Pce. Even the president agreed to meet her.


    This wasn''t just because they were captivated by her beauty. In reality, these were all old fellows who were quite experienced in the ways of the world.


    They knew how to control their inner desires. When to have fun and when to restrain these inner desires.


    "Greetings, this is a small gift I have brought for the Dragon Tiger Pce," Yrellea spoke while she joined her hands while staring in the President''s direction.


    The women beneath her immediately removed the cloth over the exquisite tes they were carrying.


    When the cloth was removed, multiple spirit coins, gold, some more materials were visible to the Dragon Tiger Pce''s board of members.


    Instantly, their eyes were filled with greed.


    "Why are you gifting such exquisite things to us?" The president spoke out at this moment.


    Yrellea smirked and responded back, "This is my first meeting with the Dragon Tiger Pce. Naturally, I had to bring some good gifts. Are you satisfied with my gifts, everyone?" She looked around and asked everyone.


    "There is more from where that came from," She spoke with a confident look on her face.


    "Have you heard of the Misty Flower Pavilion? I started it in shire City, and as you know, it picked up poprity quite quickly. It''s one of the greatest entertainment houses in shire City. And it has only been 3 months since its inception within that city. I am the leader of that Pavilion," Yrellea gave aplete introduction of herself and the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    "What brought you here?" The President then asked as he straightened himself where he sat. The president''s gaze was fixated upon Yrellea and those women behind her. There was an ufortable feeling near his crotch area, but he hid it quite well.


    Yrellea felt a wave of ufortableness, but she also hid it well and responded to the question, "I was thinking whether the Dragon Tiger Pce would be open to forming a business alliance with me."


    "In reality, I found a piece ofnd that would be perfect for setting up the Misty Flower Pavilion, but it''s under your control, sir. If you were kind enough to allow me to set up my Misty Flower Pavilion over it, I would be willing to hand you a share of its profits." Yrellea responded.


    At this moment, one of the board members asked out, "How much would be those profits?"


    Yrellea spoke with a confident tone, "Large enough that within this single year, this hall could be covered in the gold you earn from it."


    The higher-ups of the Dragon Tiger Pce were instantly interested, "¡­Very well. Whatnd do you need?"


    "The one near the route to the capital," Yrellea spoke.


    The higher-ups of the Dragon Tiger Pce were relieved since they had no uing project for that piece ofnd. Since this woman could use it to gather great wealth, they were willing to let her try her luck.


    "We will inform you about thister. Tell us how we should contact you?" One of the board members asked while his eyes roamed all over Yrellea''s body.


    It didn''t seem as if he wanted to talk business. He seemed to be interested in talking about something else entirely.


    Yrellea handed them her address and spoke, "Please contact me at this address. Whether it would be by a messenger or letter, I don''t mind. I hope to receive a reply within this week."


    The President of the Dragon Tiger Pce nodded.


    Yrellea began to leave with her team. She was quite excited since she knew that these Dragon Tiger Pce members had been caught in the.


    Their greed was practically shinning when they heard her give an estimate about the great profit they would earn from this deal.


    They looked skeptical as well, though. They were most likely first going to verify her identity by sending someone to shire City.


    She was confident that Sargan could handle everything over there.


    After that, they are sure to investigate her residence and try to figure out how long she had been living here.


    Yrellea had already settled her neighborhood and the shops and men from where the Dragon Tiger Pce gathered its information.


    If they tried to investigate Yrellea from any of these sources, they would mention that she had been a local resident for thest 10 years. Only 6 months ago, she left for shire City and then returned after setting up her great business there.


    Once they heard this information from their trusted informants, they were bound to trust Yrellea more.


    At the very least, they would be sure that Yrellea wouldn''t be able to run away after taking over hernd. They could always find her at her mansion.


    An individual wouldn''t easily give up a mansion or residence in which he had been living for a long time. But that was going to be the surprise for the Dragon Tiger Pce. Yrellea didn''t live there for a very long time. In fact, she was just acting.


    Azaroth was targeting the Dragon Tiger Pce because he wanted to get their resources and all their wealth. It wouldn''t be possible to grab hold of all their secret wealth if he attacked their headquarters.


    He had to make them believe that he was one of them before they would reveal their secret treasury.

 Chapter 352 - Azaroths Order To Black Hurricane

    Azaroth was flying towards Crario. In reality, he was just flying towards Crario. His destination was a bit ahead of the capital.


    He was nning to meet none other than ck Hurricane, who was currently the 4th Prince of this Kingdom.


    After Azaroth''s first meeting with this man, Azaroth naturally kept his tabs on him. The subordinate nearest to ck Hurricane had been spiritually marked by Azaroth.


    Since the ck Hurricane managed to detect his Spiritual Markst time, this time, it was imnted even deeper within an individual''s spirit.


    A Celestial''s skill would be required to even detect this kind of Spiritual Mark and remove it.


    Normally, it would take Azaroth a couple of days of flying to reach this destination. However, today, he was in a hurry.


    Thus, Azaroth utilized his Lightning Ability to increase his pace far beyond the ordinary. Hebined that Lightning Ability with his Wind Rush ability that further boosting his speed using Wind Energy.


    Azaroth could boost his speed by releasing mes from his feet, but he decided against it. At his current speed, he could reach his destination in a couple of hours.


    There was no need to be overly conspicuous.


    Ever since his meeting with Azaroth, ck Hurricane had constructedrge sensing arrays around him to alert him to a specific Aura Signature.


    Within this sensing arrays, ck Hurricane had stored Azaroth''s Aura Signature. He wanted to know when Azaroth hade close to him.


    Thest time, Azaroth had approached him and assaulted him without his knowledge.


    This time, the sensing array sensed him for a split second before Azaroth''s presence disappeared.


    ck Hurricane was startled to sense Azaroth''s presence in his territory, even for a split second. And he was even more terrified when Azaroth''s presence disappeared.


    <em>''Is that man nning to attack me today? Should I utilize my ultimate defense? Will it prove useful against that man''s attacks?''</em>


    "Lost in thoughts, my friend?" He heard an amused voice asking him from his side.


    When ck Hurricane''s consciousness returned, he saw that all his men around him had fallen to the ground. They were all grabbing their faces while Azaroth sat on his chair with a smirk on his face.


    "W-W-What brings you here, Sir Azaroth?" ck Hurricane nervously asked.


    Azaroth responded, "For no reason at all. What? Are you troubled?"


    "Troubled? No. How can your presence trouble me?" ck Hurricane lightlyughed as he responded.


    However, Azaroth''s expression turned serious, "I see. So, you think of me as a lower existence and believe I can''t trouble you? I see¡­ I see¡­"


    ck Hurricane''s expression instantly changed. He was absolutely terrified by those words and responded to Azaroth, "No, no! This wasn''t what I meant. I was just trying to make you feelfortable."


    Azaroth snorted in response, "Do I need you to make me feelfortable?" He picked up an apple nearby and began to eat it.


    "Anyway, my purpose for this visit was just to check up on how you are doing. It seems you have recovered from the damage I inflicted upon you," Azaroth spoke while looking around.


    It was an impressive castle with great topography. There were at least 200 men stationed in this castle. All were at the peak of soldiers or warriors.


    This castle was built of some very durable rocks that even if Azaroth shot out Hell me Bomb at this castle, it would probably survive.


    "¡­I have been ordered by the King to show some results or else he would take away all my authority and wealth and distribute it to someone else. My representative even failed to get a good ranking in the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament," ck Hurricane spoke with a frustrated tone.


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised to hear these words. It was Noah who had destroyed the path of ck Hurricane''s subordinate.


    "Anyway, my true reason for this visit is to have you do something for me," Azaroth''s tone became serious.


    "¡­Eh? What do you want me to do, Sir Azaroth?" ck Hurricane asked with a devoted tone.


    "Use your faction and attack the main branch of the Origin Sect. I leave the method of attack up to you. But your attack should be fierce enough that the Origin Sect feels as if it''s about to be destroyed," Azaroth spoke.


    ck Hurricane was startled as he spoke, "O-Origin Sect? But they are an ancient sect that has been standing for nearly 500 years old."


    Azaroth already knew this information and asked him with a menacing look in his eyes, "Will you do it or not?"


    "¡­I will try my best," The ck Hurricane promised while looking into Azaroth''s eyes.


    "Good. That''s what I wanted to hear. I will await the good news then. Try your best, or I might pay you a visit again," Azaroth instantly turned cheerful as he began to fly.


    The reason he arrived here was to tell ck Hurricane that he was within Azaroth''s reach. Azaroth coulde and deal with him whenever he wanted.


    Meanwhile, the ck Hurricane immediately contacted his true body through his soul. He was exining what had urred to his true body.


    Azaroth wanted ck Hurricane to attack the Origin Sect because he wanted to see both their hidden cards. Since the ck Hurricane was going to conceal his princely identity, his hands were tied.


    Azaroth estimated that ck Hurricane would use his demon underlings to drive the Origin Sect to the edge.


    Once the presence of demons is revealed, the Kingdom is going to suddenly be active.


    The King would grab all authority until all the demons were found and purged.


    However, that would also be a perfect opportunity for the king to fulfill his personal ambitions like destroying some arrogant sects that don''t listen to him now and bringing the warriors and disciples under the direct Royal Family''s control.


    While the Royal Family dealt with the different sects, Azaroth nned to deal with the other smaller sects and increase his own influence.


    War gives rise to new powers. Azaroth aimed to grow his faction until it wasrge enough that the king couldn''t easily destroy it.


    He was going to have Noah and Laura leave Veninza Town soon enough. Laura would deal with the bandits all over this kingdom and build a virtuous prestige for herself.


    Meanwhile, Noah was going to charge towards the battlefields where he would deepen his killing intent and be even stronger. His subordinates were also going to grow underneath his lead.


    <em>''It''s time to visit Tiana. She needs to take advantage of this opportunity to expand her sect. The King''s gaze would be fixated upon the alreadyrge sects. Like her Sacred Ice Aurora Valley sect, the small sect could take advantage of this chaos and rise.''</em> Azaroth thought seriously.


    ''<em>Yrellea should have met up with the Dragon Tiger Pce by now. Has she convinced them or not, though? Once she does, we can slowly focus on the Dragon Tiger Pce and eat it from the inside.''</em> Azaroth further thought.


    <em>''My path ahead is pretty good. There is no shortage of strong warriors or economic strength. I just have to be smart and quick about it.''</em> Azaroth thought as he flew ahead.


    In the meantime, without Azaroth''s knowledge, the Night Mountain Sect and the ck Lake Sect had waged war upon each other.


    The reasoning was rather simple. The Night Mountain Sect had captured three of the ck Lake Sect''s great geniuses and nned to absorb their talent and distribute it to their own disciples.


    This act angered the ck Lake Sect greatly. And the one leading the forces against the Night Mountain Sect was none other than Christina''s mother.


    ~~


    I hope you like the chapter.. The second chapter gonna be up soon.

 Chapter 353 - Tianas Request

    The King didn''t intervene in the battle between the Night Mountain Sect and the ck Lake Sect.


    The Night Mountain Sect imed that these disciples had invaded their territory. Thus, the sect was now punishing these disciples for this crime.


    Meanwhile, the ck Lake Sect imed that the warriors of the Night Mountain Sect were lying. They had secretly entered the ck Lake Sect and kidnapped their genius disciples.


    The reputation of the ck Lake Sect was much better than the Night Mountain Sect in the martial world. Many people felt inclined to agree on the ck Lake Sect''s side.


    The Night Mountain Sect was considered to utilize evil techniques. In reality, the Night Mountain Sect''s techniques had been created after observing the demonic techniques.


    They were essentially demonic techniques that could be activated using Humanely Ardor. Just like this technique of absorbing the talent of these ck Lake Sect''s disciples and distributing it among their own disciples. This was considered a rather evil technique.


    When Azaroth heard about this conflict, he clicked his tongue in annoyance that he couldn''t join it at this moment.


    Noah and Laura had to split up for more important tasks. These would be their foundations, so he couldn''t ask them to skip it and head straight for this conflict.


    <em>''Sigh. The timing was a bit wobbly. But my future path should be okay,</em>'' Azaroth thought.


    He summoned Noah and Laura to his office and gave them their next instructions.


    Azaroth spoke with a serious look, "Noah, you are going to depart for the battlefield of this Glerian Kingdom. You are going to battle their enemies except for the Sinyalian Kingdom. Perform wonderfully and build a great prestige among the people near the border town. In fact, even the soldiers of the other brigades should greatly trust you."


    "Yes, master!" Noah spoke confidently even though he had no idea how to aplish this task.


    He was, however, used to being assigned duties he had no understanding about. He was now aware of how to obtain information for that particr task.


    Then Azaroth turned towards Laura, who stood there with a nervous expression on her face.


    "As for you, Laura. You need to head out and hunt the bandit camps all over the Glerian Kingdom. This task isn''t easier than Noah''s task. Don''t mistake yourself into thinking in that direction."


    "You will need to deal with the tricks of these bandits. You will need to first locate their base and then form a n to deal with them. Fortunately, you possess Wood Ardor and the power to sense. It would likely take some time for you to get used to this job, but you should be proficient in it. Oh right, make sure that saving the survivors is your priority. If you just destroy a bandit camp with no eyewitness to spread the news about it, then your task would essentially be useless." Azaroth seriously spoke.


    Noah and Laura understood that they had to save the hostages at all costs.


    Soon, Azaroth turned towards Noah again, "Once you feel that you have trained William enough, send him back. I have another task for him."


    Noah nodded devotedly, "I am going to make him so strong that he won''t lose to anyone!"


    Azaroth had a sweat drop behind his head as he imagined Noah training William. He somewhat pitied the guy as Noah''s training wasn''t something anyone could take.


    Suddenly, Azaroth felt someone contacting his spirit. Someone was using his Mystical Spiritual Connecting Ring to contact him.


    "What is it?" He spoke with a neutral tone. He had now found out that it was Tiana who was trying to contact him.


    "Master, I need your assistance," Tiana spoke with a rather pleading tone.


    "Speak," Azaroth asked while wondering what kind of assistance did Tiana need. Was an enemy attacking her sect? That felt unlikely.


    If it was an enemy, Tiana should have dealt with him using the arrays Azaroth left behind. Then what could it be?


    Azaroth didn''t need to spend such deep thought over it. Tiana revealed the reason quite quickly as she spoke, "You must be aware of the battle between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect. Actually, I have a good friend named Christina, who is the young inheritress of the ck Lake Sect. She has requested for my support in her sect''s battle against the Night Mountain Sect."


    "I see. Why should we join in this fight?" Azaroth asked her with a neutral tone. It didn''t seem as if he was interested in joining this conflict.


    Tiana had expected this response from Azaroth, but she still tried to convince him by speaking, "Master, if we join this battle, my disciples can gainbat experience and also have a good chance of looting some treasures of the Night Mountain Sect."


    Azaroth smirked in response and then spoke, "Your reasoning could use some work. But very well. I am up for it."


    Tiana was utterly delighted to hear this phrase from Azaroth.


    "Let''s meet 2 dayster. We will depart for this battle then." Azaroth spoke as he cut off the connection with Tiana.


    Tiana immediately summoned all her subordinates and informed them that they were joining this battle between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect from the ck Lake Sect''s side.


    She had a single subordinate who was still not proficient in using battle techniques. Thus, Tiana believed it would be best to ask her to remain behind and control the formations here.


    That disciple was quite relieved to receive this task. She wasn''t confident in fighting against her peers yet.


    Thus, Tiana and her ten disciples were going to join this battle between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect.


    Tiana picked up her Voice Transmission Stone and sent a message to Christina, "My master has agreed. We areing to back you up."


    "Really?! I am so happy that you are on my side, Tiana. My mother was actually a little worried since three of our elders have been poisoned by that immoral master of the Night Mountain Sect." Christina spoke.


    "Poisoned, huh?" Tiana whispered. She believed that Azaroth could deal with any poison but only if he wanted to.


    She couldn''t promise anything on his behalf.


    Christina noticed that Tiana wasn''t responding back and continued speaking, "Ask your master to stay cautious of the poison. It''s very difficult to deal with it."


    "Alright. I will inform my master about this. Anything else that you can tell me about this battle. How is it going?" Tiana asked.


    "We were more or less winning the battle when that poisonous outburst urred. I was fighting on another battlefield, so I was saved. But three of our elders and many of our disciples are down for the count. That battlefield is all but lost."


    "There are numerous battlefields. We are winning some and losing some, so the battle is nearly equal right now. With the addition of your sect, it should hopefully tip the scales in our favor," Christina spoke.


    Tiana was slightly nervous as she heard Christina''s words. It was just that Christina seemed to be expecting arge backup when in reality, the backup wouldprise of just 12 individuals.


    However, these 12 individuals would include Azaroth, who alone had the capability to change the results of the battlefield.


    This wasn''t something that the ck Lake Sect would know, though. And she didn''t know how she should exin that. If she praised Azaroth too much, they would think she was just boasting.


    Thus, Tiana remained silent and decided to let things go as they were. When the situation arrives, Azaroth would be there to handle it.


    ~~


    A/N: Been many days since I wrote the second chapter in a day. Hopefully, I can continue this pace.


    I hope you all continue to like the story.

 Chapter 354 - Nightmare Order

    Shun Gordon had been living a typical life ever since the death of Edwin Rhodes. He felt that he had aplished his task and achieved the result expected of him.


    However, thest couple of weeks, he had been having some sleepless nights. He was troubled by some questions that prevented him from having a good sleep.


    These questions included. If Edwin Rhodes, the Demon God, was dead, where was that Elf Princess and Beast Emperor''s Egg?


    Why had these two things still not surfaced yet?


    The King had definitely searched the entire area that Edwin ruled. If he had still not found it in that area, then it had to be somewhere else.


    But where would Edwin keep these two things? The Walsh Dukedom''s territory had already been thoroughly checked.


    After checking so many locations, only a single possibility remained. He took it outside the kingdom.


    <em>''I kept such a strict watch over his movements. When did he take them outside the nation? Or did he assign them to his subordinate?''</em>


    When he came to this conclusion, Shun couldn''t help but be disappointed since there was no way he could know of the answer.


    In the Kingdom, he had heard how the conflict between the Royal Family and the Noble Family Alliance was growing.


    For some reason, the Noble Families had banded together, and some radical families had even attacked a Royal Prince.


    The Royal Prince managed to survive the assassination attempt, but the message to the Royal Family was delivered perfectly.


    It meant that the Noble Families were willing to fight it out against the Royal Family.


    Shun wasn''t worried about this kind of battle. He knew that the king was experienced and proficient in dealing with these kinds of battles.


    He would make perfect decisions to maintain the kingdom''s stability. However, he did feel that someone might try to take advantage of this chaos.


    And precisely, this urred as the Silent Death Organization suddenly activated as they slit the heads of multiple Noble Family heads.


    This happened too quickly, and the Noble Family leaders were takenpletely off guard.


    They had expected a reaction from the king, but not something as drastic as this. When this news was spread, people instantly pointed their fingers in the king''s direction. Only he had the motivation and the capability to target so many Noble Families.


    However, a single look at the report was enough to tell Shun that this wasn''t something the King did. If he was going tomit a mass assassination, he wouldn''t have them do it on the same day.


    Since all these assassinations urred on the same day, the news erupted, and the situation worsened.


    <em>''Either someone nned these assassinations, or the Noble Families, or wealthy merchants realized that it was time to take their revenge without being suspected.''</em> These were Shun''s opinions about it.


    The King was slightly troubled by this event. He hadn''t nned to assassinate these Noble Family Heads as he wanted to make further use of them. Thus, their assassination caught him off-guard.


    The Noble House Alliance was also very humiliated. The securities of multiple Noble Houses had been breached on the very same day. And the heads of the respective Noble Houses had been assassinated.


    The first thing King did was distribute their responsibilities to other Noble Families. The other Noble Families were dissatisfied to receive these extra tasks.


    Thus, the King also had to promise them some extra benefits to keep them pacified.


    Once he had distributed those tasks so that his kingdom''s administration wouldn''t be affected, he decided it was time to figure out the clients of this Silent Death Organization.


    The King organized a meeting with the Silent Death Organizations'' various managers within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    "Who tipped you for those assassinations?" The King asked with an authoritative tone.


    The men ahead of him quietly picked up their respective cups of tea and began drinking, "We have no idea what Your Majesty means. The news spreading around the Kingdom is unrted to us. That''s what we imed earlier, and that''s what we will im now."


    "¡­Do you think those words can fool me?!" The King spoke with a colder tone. His tone promised a lot of pain.


    "Fooling you is not our intention or objective. You are also one of our many clients, Your Majesty. If we truly possessed the information, we would have shared you at a reasonable price that you could surely afford. However, this time, we did not act. This is a fact. It would be better if you quickly ept this fact," The one who appeared to be their head spoke out.


    The King remained silent for quite some time. He knew that the managers of the Silent Death Organization weren''t stupid.


    They knew the powers and the wealth the King possessed. Since they were intent on keeping their silence, it meant they likely had nothing to do with this event. They had no idea about the real culprit.


    "Just who in this kingdom possess enough capital to ughter the heads of seven Noble Houses on the very same day. I am afraid only your namees up, Silent Death Organization." The King spoke with a serious look.


    The head of the Silent Death Organization thought for some time before he responded to the King''s words, "There is another thates to my mind. The Nightmare Order."


    "¡­What sort of organization is this? Howe I have never heard of it?" The King asked with a curious and serious gaze.


    "Any more information would cost you, Your Majesty. You must understand that this is our bread and butter," the head of the Silent Death Organization replied with a smirk.


    The King snorted in response, and a pouch full of Spiritual Coins appeared in his hand, and he threw them in his direction.


    When the head of the Silent Death Organization grabbed that pouch. He shook it a little beforementing, "35000 Spirit Coins. It seems that Your Majesty is on edge. Well, I will try not to disappoint you."


    A solemn look appeared on his face as he began speaking, "During thest couple of years, many assassins had been leaving the services of the Silent Death Organization. Despite our strict actions of killing the traitors, we had more and more assassins who left our services."


    "When we investigated, we found out that there was another secretive organization that was offering them the same missions with greater rewards. We found out that the clients or the normal citizens didn''t even know the name of this organization."


    "This organization distributed missions by stealing our mission contracts. Not just ours, but also any other private organization trying to settle up in the Sinyalian Kingdom. This organization seems to connect within them, steals their mission contracts, and assigns them to its subordinates. They then offer nearly the entire reward to their subordinate to ensure they are well paid, which further ensures their loyalty."


    "In return, this organization keeps a seal over them that prevents them from talking about the organization. The members are normally free, but if an urgent task arrives, they are ordered to prioritize it beforepleting the other missions!" There was a solemn and grave look in the Silent Death Organization''s leader''s eyes.


    "Since this organization was actually stealing the mission contracts belonging to us, we have a fight against them. But only when we fought did we realize just how outmatched we were," he spoke while clenching his fists.


    The King was surprised as he asked, "They were that strong, or did they have too many members?"


    The Silent Death Organization''s head responded with a shake of his head, "Neither. In reality, they aren''t that strong, nor do they have that many members. It''s just that they are so secretive that we don''t know who the enemy is. Due to their seals, they can''t talk about the organization in day-to-day life, and their status and Nightmare Order''s members remain concealed. Even if you find one, you won''t find others through him since each member operates individually. They form teams only temporarily."


    The Silent Death Organization''s head spoke seriously, "Your Majesty, I believe that these assassinations of the Noble Family Heads were done by this organization."

 Chapter 355 - An Assassin’s Assassination

    King Valliadis was absolutely startled to hear these details regarding this mysterious organization, Nightmare Order.


    The organization he had never even heard of had actually spread so far wide within his Kingdom.


    "Why would they suddenly ughter these Noble Family Heads? Do they have something against the Royal Family? Or do they just want to see the world in chaos?" He asked with a frown.


    "I don''t believe they have anything against the Royal Family. Because if that was the case, then the members of the Royal Family would have been the targets of those assassins. My guess is that they merely want to turn the situation in the kingdom even more chaotic. They knew that killing the leaders of these Noble Families would just infuriate the Noble Family Alliance and make them dead set against the Royal Family," The senior manager of the Silent Death Organization spoke.


    Another manager of the Silent Death Organization spoke up, "There is another possibility. This n was probably created by someone else and executed by the Nightmare Order. Thus, to find the person behind this entire scenario, we have to find the core members of the Nightmare Order."


    A bitter smile appeared on the King''s face as he spoke, "And trying to find these core members in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom was like searching for a needle in a haystack."


    "Very well. That was valuable information. I had no idea this sort of organization had been set up in my kingdom. It seems I need to think of a countermeasure for this organization. Their policies are different than normal." The King spoke.


    "Thank you for appearing here today," The King spoke at the end. These words basically stated that they were free to go.


    The managers of the Silent Death Organization stood up after finishing their tea and began to move out of the Pce.


    They were moving together and split up after a short period.


    The manager who had acted as their leader had a cold smile on his face. He had aplished his objective of fooling the king.


    In reality, it was truly the Silent Death Organization that had aplished this mission. They had assassinated the Noble Family Heads and tried to me the king.


    On the other hand, the Silent Death Organization was well aware that they would ultimately be faced by the king. Nobody could spare them from execution if they offered a flimsy exnation at the time and the king caught them.


    Thus, they had begun their preparations long back.


    In reality, the main branch of the Silent Death Organization had been quite angered when they heard that the Elf Princess they had captured had escaped. They were even more infuriated when the branch manager was captured by the Noble Housemanding that area.


    He was actually tortured before being handed over to the King.


    The Silent Death Organization had already tried to exchange the life of their expert with many treasures, but the king remained unmoved. Even though there was no point in keeping this man chained any longer, the king didn''t seem to have any intention to let go of him.


    The Silent Death Organization''s hatred for the monarch has grown as a result of this.


    They had made up their minds to destroy this kingdom. The King had trampled over their dignity, and they were nning to return that favor.


    The main branch had begun to set up another organization by the name Nightmare Order. The things that this senior branch manager mentioned to the king were the truth except for some points.


    Like the battle between the Silent Death Organization and the Nightmare Order, it had never urred, but he made it sound as if it did.


    He had perfectly mixed his lies within the truth when he talked to the king. Even if the King tried to analyze all their conversation, he would never figure out what was the truth.


    As he was moving towards the main city to get a horse from the stable, he sensed someone pursuing him.


    A contemptuous smile appeared on his face. He was an assassin whose name had long since spread in the world. And to think that someone wanted to sneak attack him. There could really be nothing more hrious than this.


    He turned around to meet that foolish warrior head-on. However, his eyes widened in shock when he saw the face of his adversary.


    It was none other than David Valliadis!


    "W-What are you doing here, Crown Prince? Did you need anything from me? Perhaps assign a target to me?" The manager of the Silent Death Organization remained calm and even tried to gather information from David Valliadis.


    David paused for a second and spoke, "No. What I want from you is your life."


    He pulled out a sword that was shining with orange color at this moment and dashed towards this manager of the Silent Death Organization.


    The manager of the Silent Death Organization was absolutely shocked to see David''s attack. He immediately jumped back and dodged David''s attack.


    David didn''t stop, though. He continued to head towards his enemy and attack him with powerful me shes.


    The Silent Death Organization''s manager barely dodged those attacks when he suddenly felt that David''s speed rose with each passing second.


    <em>''Oh no! Is this his attack to elerate his body and agility? If this goes on, his attacks will start hitting me eventually.''</em>


    He pulled out a small dagger from the thigh pocket of his pants and suddenly shed towards David.


    David kicked that arm that had the small dagger. His kick was so strong that the Silent Death Organization''s manager felt his entire body shake when that kick struck him.


    However, a cold smile appeared on his face as he spoke, "You are still too young, Crown Prince."


    David''s eyes widened slightly when he noticed his body couldn''t move. He now realized that when he kicked this arm, his enemy hadunched a weak electric current that would paralyze him for a short period.


    The Silent Death Organization''s manager pulled out another knife as he stabbed David''s gut.


    A purple color began to spread near that wound, and he kicked David away.


    "I can''t afford to kill you, Your Highness. The King won''t let me live in peace otherwise. However, this poison will slowly break your muscles and make you experience unreal pain until you receive medical attention. At the least, you won''t be able to pursue me while inflicted with this poison." He spoke as he stood up and began to leave.


    Just as he had turned his body, he was struck by a quick fireball, strong enough to burn his skin. The man quickly used his Lightning Ardor to destroy those mes while turning to look at David, who had been struck with that poison.


    His eyes widened with shock when he saw David standing there with me releasing from his entire body. He could see that his poison was still working, but David was unwilling to give up.


    "You think you can get away after creating this chaos in my kingdom?" David spoke those words that brought a chill down the spine of this Silent Death Organization''s manager.


    He unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva as he prepared to battle against David.


    Meanwhile, David whispered the name of his technique, "<strong>Fire Drive!</strong>"


    He then dashed towards his opponent. His movements were clearly too fast for his adversary to notice.


    However, the rich experience he possessed allowed him to raise his arm to block David''s punch.


    But only when he blocked that punch did he realize that it was a mistake to take it head-on. He should have jumped on the other side.


    Once David was in the close range, he immediately initiated abo of punches and then suddenlyst kicked him in the air.


    As this Silent Death Organization''s manager was in the air. He finally felt that he had time to gather his energy. The electric energy was concentrated near the tip of his knife.


    However, when Silent Death Organization''s manager looked down, he nearly lost all hopes of winning this fight.


    He saw David standing there, holding a sword as he suddenly shed towards him.


    "<strong>Phoenix Rush!</strong>"


    A massive phoenix created of pure mes rushed towards this manager of the Silent Death Organization as it dealt with his puny attack of lightning ardor and burned him alive!

 Chapter 356 - The Royal Family Takes Action

    After David Valliadis was done ying the Silent Death Organization''s head manager, he began to return towards his pce.


    <em>''Fortunately, Father wasn''t fooled by this man''s talks. Most of what he spoke about that Nightmare Order was utter rubbish.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    David Valliadis had alreadye into contact with this organization. He already had his men keeping an eye on the core members of this organization.


    However, they hadn''t moved during the assassination attempt on the Noble Family Heads.


    It was actually the Silent Death Organization who moved at that moment. The King wasn''t convinced and wanted to get an exnation from the managers of the Silent Death Organization at those particr cities.


    But after that conversation, the King realized that they just wanted to fool him even further. Thus, he sent the order to ughter them.


    David was nearby and heard the entire situation. He decided to deal with one of the managers of the Silent Death Organization.


    No one doubted his strength and left one of the managers of the Silent Death Organization to him. And he showed that there was no need to doubt him.


    The Royal Family soon released a public statement that they had nothing to do with the recently urred assassinations. In fact, they had found the culprits and executed them.


    This announcement startled the Noble Family Alliance. Some were actually happy and appeased at these actions of the Royal Family.


    They had actually also suspected that someone had taken their personal vengeance while ming the Royal Family for the deed. They got the feeling that they had been fooled by someone.


    This annoyed them to quite some extent. The Royal Family had their own moles within the Noble Family Alliance and knew exactly which Noble Families had been appeased by their actions.


    They selected a couple of these Noble Families and secretly struck a deal with them. This basically brought them closer to the Royal Family.


    At the least, the Royal Family was sure that they wouldn''t suggest anything against them in the uing Noble Family Alliance Meeting.


    About the others, the Royal Family couldn''t be sure of yet.


    Meanwhile, Bianca and Josephine were absolutely startled by the King''s actions. They never imagined that the king would act so swiftly.


    They were a little unsure whether he knew about their involvement or not. He was the sovereign, after all.


    A couple of days passed, but it didn''t seem like the king was taking any action against them. They were sure that if the king knew of their involvements, he would try to test them or take some action against them.


    But nothing of that sort urred, so they were safe for now.


    However, the king''s decisiveness told them that it would be difficult to conduct such a n. He was sure to be more alert to these kinds of attacks now.


    The two women informed Azaroth of this change.


    Azaroth heard about this and told them to stay on hold. They didn''t need to do anything for now.


    The situation in the Sinyalian Kingdom was tense, exactly the way he wanted it.


    He then sent an order to Josephine, "Investigate Tronte''s background for me."


    Josephine naturally responded to his order with an affirmation. She was hypnotized to act as she was ordered. Declination was not something she was capable of.


    Meanwhile, he asked Bianca to prepare some things. The people in the capital seemed to have lived afortable life.


    Nearly all basic facilities and other things were avable in the city, and they didn''t need to do anythingborious.


    He was going to have Bianca spread a vicious disease in the capital. The me was naturally going to fall on the Noble Family Alliance.


    Edwin had enough contacts within each Noble Family that he knew what brought fame to a respective Noble Families.


    For instance, if a Noble Family was famous due to growing particr herbs, he knew exactly what herbs those were.


    This kind of thing was actually quite easy to find out. You just had to have some contacts among the civilians of that territory. The civilians had heard of enough rumors and information about the lord ruling them.


    He was nning to use these herbs to create a reign of terror among the civilians. However, this wouldn''t be activated now.


    These would act as seeds of chaos for the future. They would activate exactly when Azaroth wanted.


    "Do you have some contacts within the Alchemy Association?" He asked Bianca.


    "I think I can manage," Bianca responded quite quickly.


    "Cool. Then ask them to concoct you exactly as the recipe states. You will receive the recipe in a couple of minutes," Azaroth informed Bianca with a cold tone.


    Bianca knew that she had to summon an alchemist here and ask him to concoct this poisonous liquid in some empty space. That wouldn''t be hard since every family tried to keep their alchemy recipe a secret.


    They would normally have the alchemist concoct the thing in a mysterious ce.


    The more difficult task would be to shut the mouth of that Alchemist. This meant that Bianca had to choose an alchemist with many attachments to his familial bonds or had other weaknesses.


    If she chose an alchemist that valued his moral integrity over his life or the lives of his family, then she would be screwed.


    Fortunately, there were a lot of alchemists who possessed a lot of attachments. So, she would be covered in that regard.


    The Alchemist had to continue concocting that poisonous liquid for her. Keeping that entire process and product hidden from the public eye would be the hard part.


    However, Bianca soon found a solution for that.


    She was going to have that Alchemist kidnapped. In return for his freedom, he would have to remain in a secretive ce for the next 3 years and had to concoct poison for her.


    Naturally, he couldn''t ask her what she was going to use it for. And after his three years are up, he would be freed, and they would have nothing to do with each other.


    Bianca had a target in her mind soon enough. It was a middle-aged Alchemist who was rising through the ranks quite quickly.


    His name was Liam Parker. Bianca knew that this man was a 4 Star Warrior and held the capability to create 5 Tier Pills. There were rumors that he also had concocted poison, so Bianca felt he was up to the task.


    This man had two kids and a beautiful wife. If she used his family, she was sure she could get him to do whatever she wanted.


    In the meantime, Azaroth had already reached Tiana''s location.


    Tiana was waiting for Azaroth along with her entire team of 9 women, including Helena.


    Helena needed to gainbat experience as well. She had been practicing the ice techniques all alone while Tiana was gone.


    Currently, two sisters were left behind at the Scared Ice Aurora Valley Sect. After much consideration, Tiana felt it would be best to leave the sect to them.


    Two Frozen Spirit Foxes had also remained behind to protect the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect while the rest moved together with Tiana and her team.


    Naturally, Tiana''s personal pet wasing along with her. When Azaroth reached the location, the women were startled to see such a handsome man.


    They never imagined that their true leader was so gorgeous and so young.

 Chapter 357 - Mountain Of Corpses

    These women were so shocked to see Azaroth was because they had been expecting that their true leader was some old man.


    Tiana had mentioned that their leader was someone at the Emperor Rank. Normally, experts of the King rank would be above the age of 50. So, they had been expecting Azaroth to be a hundred-year-old monster.


    However, now that they looked at Azaroth, they found his face extremely attractive and young. In fact, some of them even felt that Azaroth was probably younger than them.


    "Heh. So, you are our leader?" One of the women stepped forward as she gauged Azaroth rather intently.


    Azaroth raised his brow at her behavior, but he remained silent. He knew there were all kinds of strange individuals in the world, so this woman''s actions didn''t actually shock him much.


    The woman soon realized that she had been rudely staring at Azaroth. She backed away and spoke with a respectful tone in her voice, "I am Rosalie Pearce. I met sect master Tiana in the Eclipse Battlefield Tournament. After we joined her sect, she mentioned that our true leader was an Emperor Ranked Expert."


    Azaroth nkly stared at her while he listened to Rosalie. He thought ''I see¡­ She is gauging me.''


    Azaroth was slightly amused as he realized this. He allowed Rosalie to continue speaking up her nonsense for a little longer.


    Meanwhile, Rosalie asked Azaroth, "You don''t mind if I ask you a question, right?"


    Azaroth shook his head negatively. He never stopped his subordinates from asking questions.


    Rosalie seemed relieved to hear his affirmation and asked him, "Is it true that you are our true leader? If that''s the case, why don''t I sense your power? I detect a strong presence from you, but not to the point where I believe you are an Emperor Ranked Expert."


    Azaroth smirked at those questions and spoke, "Firstly, allow me to rify your doubts. I am your True Leader, and my name is Azaroth. You can call me leader, sect master, or Lord Azaroth. That would be your choice."


    "Now, as for that Emperor Ranked Expert thing. I was an Emperor Ranked Expert, but I have dropped to the Lord Rank due to someplicated injuries. Which I believe you know as 5 Star Rank." Azaroth spoke.


    The women around were startled. Some were even slightly disappointed. They wanted to experience the power of a true Emperor Ranked Expert, but it seemed that they couldn''t.


    Rosalie continued to stare at Azaroth with that doubtful glint in her eyes, "And how would you prove it?"


    "I knew that some of you would have such a doubt. Allow me to resolve it in one go. If you can remain standing after withstanding the pressure released from me, you can think what I spoke is a lie. I will even reward you with great treasures and wealth. How about it?" He asked.


    Rosalie''s eyes instantly sparkled at those words, "What treasures and wealth are you talking about? What are the restrictions on us while trying to resist that pressure?"


    Azaroth smirked, and his purple rings began to glow for some moments before some treasures appeared on the ground right ahead of him.


    10 treasures appeared. All of these treasures were suitable for warriors possessing Yin Physiques.


    When Rosalie saw all these treasures, her pupils immediately widened. She never expected Azaroth to possess so many treasures.


    Moreover, these treasures possessed such a rich Icy Aura that she was sure herbat power would be significantly boosted.


    "I have ced all kinds of weapons like sword, saber, whip, discs, Axe, Great Sword, and so on, that would significantly boost a warrior''sbat power possessing Icy Element. I will present this opportunity to all of you." Azaroth dered to all the women standing ahead of him.


    While they remained motionless due to their shock, Azaroth further added, "If you win against me, you can grab any of them. If you have any other request for a weapon, I will create a custom set for you."


    "As for my wealth. It''s so great that you can''t even imagine it. It would berge enough to keep your next seven generations glutted." The confidence Azaroth disyed was already enough to win these women over.


    Most of them were convinced that since Azaroth was putting such valuable things on the bet, he must have the real capability.


    "I don''t need you to hold back at all. Use any secret skill or treasure. I won''t mind it." Azaroth spoke with a confident tone.


    Rosalie''s eyes glowed upon hearing those words, and she spoke, "Those are your words. You can''t take them back now."


    Azaroth casually smiled and spoke, "I don''t intend to."


    Rosalie then immediately began tough, "Hehe¡­ That''s good." Herughter seemed to indicate that she had a good chance of winning this bet.


    Azaroth remained confident as he knew just why Rosalie felt that she had a chance of winning.


    She was wearing a set of bangles with the ability to repel Spiritual Energy. Rosalie felt confident in her ability to win this wager because these bangles should be able to repel Spiritual Energy from even a powerful Demon Lord or Beast Lord.


    She didn''t seem to believe that Azaroth was an Emperor ranked expert before. He seemed too young. And his age just filled her with doubts.


    She concluded that he must have a great background who supplied him with these treasures and resources. However, he was definitely lying about the fact that he was previously a 7 Star Expert.


    A few momentster, Azaroth asked them, "Are you ready?"


    Rosalie and herrades immediately braced themselves. Rosalie also secretly activated her set of bangles and prepared to take on Azaroth''s presence.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth merely closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. When he opened them again, all the women ahead of them experienced a terrifying sensation.


    They suddenly felt that all the individuals from their surroundings had disappeared. In fact, they felt as if they had woken up in a reddish filtered world.


    Everything around them was reddish, and when they looked ahead, they saw corpses. These were not just dozens or hundreds of corpses. These were mountains of corpses!


    Moreover, the corpses weren''t just limited to humans. Theyprised demons, celestials, humans, elves, dwarves, sea monsters, monsters, and even pure spirits.


    These women experienced a terrifying killing intent that struck their subconscious mind so strongly that they fell unconscious.


    Not a single woman could retain her consciousness after seeing that scenery.


    Outside that illusion, Azaroth had a smirk on his face as he noticed that all these women had fallen unconscious. He looked at Tiana, who stood on the side, and ordered her, "Take these weapons and also the Spirit Coins. They will be useful for youter."


    Tiana was startled as she heard Azaroth''smand and epted his generosity, "Thank you, master."


    "You can choose the one which suits you the most and distribute the rest to your subordinate. However, give them away as rewards, not as gifts. You understand what I mean, right?" Azaroth asked her at the end.


    Tiana nodded her head to indicate that she understood. Azaroth didn''t want her to gift these weapons to her subordinates for no reason.


    There had to be a particr reason or asion for her to reward her subordinates with this treasure. That means the subordinate must have worked hard for this.


    "In reality, these weapons won''t suffice as weapons for the sect. I will hand you more treasures that would greatly increase your personal power and your treasury." Azaroth added.


    "I will be very grateful, master," Tiana spoke with a pleased expression.


    "Alright, it''s time we leave," Azaroth spoke as he moved his hand a bit and he began to fly in the air.


    The same was true for Tiana and the unconscious women. They were flying in the air while following Azaroth''s lead.


    Azaroth couldn''t use his full speed this time, so he flew towards the ck Lake Sect and Night Mountain Sect''s Battlefield at an average pace.

 Chapter 358 - Turning Disaster Into Opportunity

    While Azaroth was on his way to the battlefield between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect, he narrated the recipe for the poison to Bianca.


    Bianca quickly wrote down all the instructions and made notes.


    She decided that it was time to act against Liam Parker and kidnap him. The n to kidnap Liam Parker was rather simple.


    She nned to have her personal maid kidnap this man from his house. Liam''s house had quite a bit of security, but Bianca was confident that her subordinate could take care of them all and kidnap Liam without revealing her true identity.


    This was actually the most important part of this mission. If she revealed her true identity, and it was leaked somehow, then Bianca would begin to be suspected as well.


    Azaroth would lose another piece within the Sinyalian Kingdom. With just Josephine, it would be quite difficult to manipte the events within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Bianca was situated at the center of this Kingdom. Moreover, her identity was such that no one would even dare to suspect her.


    She had an extremely clean background, and anyone suspecting her would be pointing fingers at the captain of the Royal Guards as well. This was something no one dared to do at this point.


    The King had entrusted the lives of his Royal Family members to Spencer. There was no team other than the Royal Guards that was protecting the king and his family.


    From this, it was clear just how much the king trusted Spencer.


    On that very same night, Liam Parker disappeared from his house. His house seemed to have been turned upside down as parts of it were burned while some parts of it were sliced off. The door to his room especially had been sliced off into two.


    Thew enforcement officials arrived the next day as they stared at the entire scene.


    Whoever abducted Liam and his family left behind no signs for these investigators to pursue. It felt as if they had vanished into thin air.


    In reality, these individuals had been taken to an empty cabin that was a little far away from Mesenana City.


    Bianca couldn''t take this man too far away, or it would be difficult for her maid to exin her absence.


    She did all this task in the night and returned by the daytime with no one being the wiser.


    Bianca had asked her topletely bind them so they couldn''t move from their spots. With no food or water intake, the entire family was bound to be extremely tired at night.


    At that time, Bianca nned to meet with this alchemist and put up her offer.


    In the meantime, something greatly shocking urred in the Glerian Kingdom.


    The Origin Sect''s reputation had been greatly rising in the Glerian kingdom since they had recently humbled the Dragon Tiger Pce by ughtering many of their geniuses.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce had tried to make the Origin Sect pay for it multiple times, but they had failed each time. In fact, they hadn''t just lost against the Origin Sect. They had lost to a lowly branch of the Origin Sect.


    It was such a lowly branch that the main branch actually never really paid it any attention. Yet, the Dragon Tiger Pce failed to deal with it.


    Naturally, all the citizens and members of the other associations were startled to hear this news.


    However, today something even more shocking has urred.


    The same Origin Sect that had humbled the Dragon Tiger Pce had recently been attacked by demons!


    Moreover, this wasn''t a single demon or dozens of demons. There were hordes of demons charging at the Origin Sect. Not just its main branch, but multiple branches of the Origin Sect had been targeted by these hordes of demons.


    All the Origin Sect''s branches had been caught off-guard by this attack.


    The demons weren''t actually strong as no demon lord joined this attack. However, the numbers were definitely the issue. Each branch had been hit with hundreds of thousands of demons.


    Meanwhile, each branch of the Origin Sect only had at the maximum of thousands of disciples.


    Even if elders possessed great strength and they could ughter multiple demons, they had a limit.


    They were bound to be exhausted at some point. And the demons could ughter them at that point.


    For that reason, the Origin Sect immediately activated their defensive barriers and began to buy many pellets as they prepared to go on war against these demons.


    The main branch of the Origin Sect was clearly doing fine. They had many 5 Star Warriors, and they also possessed superior killing formations around the sect.


    The same wasn''t true for the branches of the sect. Only the prosperous branches of the Origin Sect had been engraved with a killing array.


    Only these prosperous branches of the Origin Sect possessed the capability to easily deal with therge numbers of these demons.


    They were the ones responsible for distributing pellets, array masters, and array resources to the other branches.


    The sect master of the Origin Sect wanted to use this disaster and turn this into an opportunity and upgrade the defenses of all the branches of the Origin Sect.


    The expenditure would be huge, but the sect master was extremely decisive. He knew that if he didn''t do this, all these branches would be destroyed by these demons.


    And since they were going to invest quite a bit, it would be better to invest big and turn it into a long-term project.


    Even Azaroth didn''t expect that the Sect Master of the Origin Sect would use this disaster as an opportunity and upgrade the defenses of all the branches of the Origin Sect.


    He just wanted to damage the Origin Sect a bit and push them to the edge before holding a meeting with them.


    However, the Sect Master was an extremely decisive person. He wasn''t just going to let the Origin Sect experience a great loss like this. While the entire Glerian Kingdom was shocked at this sudden attack by the demons, he had instantly thought of a solution that would eventually benefit the Origin Sect.


    Naturally, this didn''t mean that Azaroth''s n had failed. The fact remained that the Origin Sect would expend many resources to deal with the demons or for their future development.


    Azaroth''s n was to provide them with those resources at a reasonable price, obviously.


    It was a pure coincidence that while he was thinking of attacking the Origin Sect, the ck Lake Sect had suddenly dered war against the Night Mountain Sect.


    He knew that the presence of demons was also going to affect these two sects. They were sure to try and cut their war short so that they could prepare their respective branches against the threat from these demons.


    Azaroth knew he had to reach the battlefield quickly and prevent this from urring.


    The women had finally woken up from their unconscious state. They werepletely silent as they realized that what they had seen and experienced was all a dream or an illusion.


    They realized that they were struck by Azaroth''s presence. However, it was so strong that they had actually fallen unconscious and begun to hallucinate.


    The one who was most shocked among them was none other than Rosalie. She stared at her beautiful Spirit Bangles that could block any Spiritual Energy. However, these Spiritual Bangles were now cracked in the middle.


    Clearly, they were struck with a strong influx of Spiritual Energy and cracked as they couldn''t block that kind of energy.


    She had a fearful look as she looked at Azaroth''s body. The corpses she had witnessed hadpletely changed her mind about Azaroth. He wasn''t some young guy whom she could tease.. Instead, he was a monster who had seen everything the world had to offer.

 Chapter 359 - Boosting Confidence

    While they were on their way to the battlefield, Azaroth''s group took many breaks. Azaroth wanted them to stay at the peak of their mental and physical health. Thus, these breaks were important.


    They would set up a small camp during those breaks, and Azaroth would ask one of them to gather food and water. Naturally, he had sensed that there was food and water nearby avable, and that''s where he stopped.


    It didn''t take much time for these women to gather water and food. After that, another warrior among the group would cook food for everyone and distribute it to others.


    Once they had finished their meal, Azaroth would even ask them to take a small nap. It would recharge them for the rest of the day.


    The nap would recharge them with energy, and then it would be time for some light training and exercise. It would deal with any stiffness that their bodies possessed after hours of flying.


    Azaroth was different. He could easily change his posture while flying, and his body remained in an optimal state, but the same wasn''t true about these women who were flying through Azaroth''s power.


    During breaks, some women asked for Azaroth''s assistance. This urred most when it was time for light training and exercise.


    The one to most frequently request for Azaroth''s assistance was Helena. Unlike the other women, she didn''t have a cultivation background. Her background was that of a civilian, and everything she had learned in a couple of months felt very new to her.


    She was constantly in need of a guide who would tell her that she was doing fine. She would sometimes also suffer from someck of confidence as she saw her fellowrades controlling the Ice Energy that she never thought was possible.


    Azaroth noticed thisck of confidence and began to talk to her more and inform her that this wasn''t anything strange.


    "Lack of power and control isn''t anything strange. I understand that you have never trained as a warrior before. But you see, it''s not like there is no future for you here. Look at Tiana. She is quite simr to you, actually. It has just been a couple of months more than you since she entered this world of cultivation." Azaroth revealed this information with a smile on his face.


    The women around Azaroth immediately turned to look at Azaroth with a shocked expression. They then looked in Tiana''s direction and asked her, "I-Is leader speaking the truth, Sect master?!"


    Tiana nodded her head nkly, "Yeah."


    She didn''t understand why Azaroth would reveal this information. She thought she had to hide this information from her subordinates. Or else, they might think she had no experience and all.


    She was right to worry about these issues. However, she failed to anticipate their shock. They never expected that their sect master was someone who had reached 4 Star Rank Cultivation in a couple of months.


    This sort of speed would very well shake the foundations of a normal sect. In fact, they had never heard of this sort of speed in the top sects.


    Even in the top sects, they required multiple years to turn a normal civilian into a seasoned warrior at the 4 Star Rank.


    Moreover, these women couldn''t look down on Tiana. They had witnessed Tiana''s battle against the Sixth Prince of the Glerian Kingdom.


    It was a battle thatpletely impressed them. That battle was the reason they felt that it wouldn''t be bad to join Tiana''s sect.


    She had fought the sixth prince to a standstill, and that also without using that mysterious energy.


    It was the first time they witnessed a civilian battling so well against a Royal Prince.


    Meanwhile, Helena experienced another kind of shock as she looked at Tiana. She never expected her sect mistress to be the same as her. Someone who had recently entered this cultivation world.


    "She appears so strong. She must possess a great talent for cultivation. I am not sure I am cut out for something like this," Helena spoke with a humbled expression.


    Azaroth then spoke, "The talent you speak of is nothing but the will to work hard and be better."


    "I have seen individuals with their trigger point. Unless that point is triggered, their talent isn''t activated. But the day it does, they dazzle the world with their talent. It''s not that you aren''t talented, but your trigger point hasn''t been activated," Azaroth then gently patted her head.


    As Azaroth stroked Helena''s head, it seemed to possess mysterious powers thatpletely calmed down all her worries and turned her mind empty. It felt as though she had entered a meditative state.


    This allowed her to focus greatly.


    "Do remember that I am here, for all of you." He then addressed all the women seated around him.


    He was talking about everyone, including Tiana.


    Tiana had a slight blush as she stared at Azaroth''s face. She found it incredibly attractive at this moment and wanted to lean onto his body.


    She was a little tired of leading her subordinates. She felt that Azaroth''s presence had greatly lightened her burden.


    However, she stopped herself in the middle of leaning onto Azaroth. She didn''t want to show any sort of weakness ahead of her subordinates.


    As they say, respect was earned, not given. If she lost her respect in front of them, it would be difficult to regain it.


    Azaroth seemed to have noticed that internal battle going on in Tiana''s head.


    He drew Tiana closer to him with his right arm and made her lean onto him.


    What he was doing was demonstrating to all these women that he was approachable, and they could lean onto him for any kind of assistance.


    Meanwhile, Tiana was blushing madly as her face turnedpletely red. Her heart was beating crazily, and she looked at her fellow subordinates to see their reactions.


    She thought they might be looking down on her, but surprisingly, none of them had that kind of expression on their faces.


    Instead, there were admiring nces directed at Azaroth. They even had a trace of envious and jealous expressions on their cheeks.


    It was clear that they wanted to rece Tiana and lean onto Azaroth. However, they were too shy and a little scared to do the same.


    Azaroth noticed the expressions of these women and was extremely satisfied. He then addressed to all the women seated around him, "You all are going to be the future pirs of this sect. No words could express just how grateful I am to have your support."


    Those words somewhat touched the hearts of these women. They felt very nice when Azaroth called them the future pirs of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. Moreover, he seemed genuinely grateful to have their support.


    They knew that this man had experienced many things. Those mountains of corpses spoke volumes of his journey until now.


    When such a man praised you, you would naturally be filled with giddy feelings.


    Azaroth wasn''t done, though. He continued, "I created this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect because it was a wish from a very special friend of mine. She was one I could proudly call my wife. It had always been her desire to build a sect for Ice Cultivators who found it increasingly difficult to cultivate the Ice cultivation techniques that have spread all over the world."


    "You must have experienced it already, right?" Azaroth asked this question suddenly.


    The women around him nodded quickly. The cultivation techniques they had been practicing in the other sects weren''t actually Ice Technique. It wasn''tpatible with their Ice Element. Those techniques were morepatible with Water Techniques or Mist Techniques. But they had no other choice.


    Every time they cultivated it, they would experience severe pain, and their physiques would be riddled with impurities. They would need to expend a great deal of their fortune just to buy the spirit medicines or pellets to purge those impurities.


    However, the Ice Cultivation Techniques they had received after joining the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had none of these issues.. Thus, they were also endlessly grateful to Azaroth for giving them these techniques that werepletelypatible with their element.

 Chapter 360 - Life Stories

    These women were focusing on Azaroth''s wordspletely. Even Tiana was focusing on this story. She had never heard this from Azaroth before and was extremely curious about his past.


    She was quite shocked to hear that he had a wife before. And she possessed such Noble thoughts.


    Azaroth noticed that he had grabbed everyone''s attention and continued his story, "You see, my wife had also experienced great pain as she cultivated techniques suited for other elements. There were Ice Sects avable during that time, but she could never join one."


    "We traveled too everywhere before we finally found a senior willing to impart her Ice Cultivation technique to her. Once she received that technique, she wished that her brethren, those who couldn''t join the Ice Sects and were forced to cultivate those painful techniques belonging to other elements, would also possess this technique."


    "After some time, she expressed her wish to create an Ice Sect and spread Ice Cultivation Techniques for all the disciples. To do her part and resolve this issue by a bit," Azaroth spoke, his voice clearly a little emotional as he talked about her.


    His voice suddenly turned deadly calm as he continued, "¡­Before long, we suffered a disaster, and the Celestials began to pursue her. She saved me at the cost of her life. At that time, I took my vow of revenge. This is exactly why I created this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect."


    When Azaroth spoke those words, the women around him were extremely startled. They weren''t just shocked; they were also amazed at the story they had just heard.


    They had seen those corpses underneath Azaroth''s illusion. They felt that they had witnessed his path when they saw those corpses, but now, they felt as if they saw his heart.


    They now understood that this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect wasn''t created just because it was his wife''s wish but because he also wanted to create a faction to take his vengeance against the Celestials.


    "My enemy right now is too strong. Even knowing his identity will be troublesome for you. What I want is your continued support. Help me build this sect into something great. Something that would be remembered for the generations toe!" Azaroth''s voice seemed to contain a maic charisma that made all these women hear him with great excitement.


    At this moment, Helena suddenly spoke out, "Leader, I believe I can speak for everyone when I say that you can count on us! We will definitely help you achieve your ambition!"


    Helena was the one who initiated this. She had spoken the words that were in the other women''s minds. These women werepletely convinced by the story and felt like assisting Azaroth on this path.


    At the least, they promised themselves to handle the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect to the best of their ability.


    Tiana was no different. She was also caught up in the moment and felt extremely motivated to help Azaroth on his path.


    Azaroth slowly stroked Helena''s head, and he spoke gently, "As I said before, my enemy is too strong. You all just need to slowly build up the sect. If you have any rmendations, you can inform Tiana about them. If she feels they are feasible, those ideas will be applied immediately."


    Helena felt extremely pleased as her head was stroked by Azaroth. She even held that selfish desire of snuggling up against Azaroth''s body.


    The other women were quite jealous of the attention that Helena was receiving. Some were cursing why they hadn''t spoken up first.


    If they had spoken up at that moment, maybe Azaroth would have stroked their head as well. But unfortunately, the moment had passed, and Helena appeared to be the winner.


    "I am truly thankful for your desire to support me further. In return, I vow to deal with any issue you face. Even if it''s a personal issue, you all will always have the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s support! That, I swear!" These were thest words Azaroth needed to speak before winning the support of all these women.


    They were now extremely touched and motivated to do something for the sect.


    Azaroth was quite pleased with their expressions. He knew that the story he had narrated would yield some great results.


    Naturally, the story he had narrated didn''t belong to Azaroth himself. It belonged to a warrior who died at Azaroth''s hands and had his soul read.


    Azaroth made some minor changes to suit himself before narrating this story to these women.


    He knew that women were somewhat sentimental and stubborn creatures. He was triggering their emotions and guiding them in the direction he wanted.


    Because of their stubborn nature, they wouldn''t give up quickly. They would work significantly as long as they continued to admire Azaroth.


    And Azaroth wasn''t nning to give them any reason to stop admiring him. He had sessfully manipted them all into giving their best to cultivate for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Moreover, Helena was the one whose will of hard work had seemingly been triggered. At least, that''s what Azaroth sensed from her aura right now.


    If Helena could actually maintain it, she might be a strong and durable pir for the sect.


    The same was also true about Tiana and the other women. Their will had also been triggered but to a lesser extent aspared to Helena.


    This wasn''t due to ack of emotional attachment to Azaroth''s narrative. They were equally attached to that story, but they had experienced some kind of trigger earlier in their life.


    They already possessed that drive to work hard and cultivate. It was Helena whose will had been triggered for the first time.


    Azaroth mentioned a couple of things and made themugh a little. He wanted to make the situation a bit lighthearted.


    The women then began to share their own life with others. Since Azaroth had just shared such a crucial moment in his life, they felt inclined to share their life story as well.


    They had some rather familiar life stories. Azaroth wasn''t surprised to hear any of them.


    Most of these women seemed to have gained some unwanted attention due to their physical appearance. Just based on their physical appearance, they had been recruited into the sect.


    They mentioned it was some sect disciple pulling the strings to have them join the sect. Because of theck of ice cultivation techniques, they were forced to cultivate the fundamental techniques closest to the Ice Element.


    Those basic techniques were naturally water cultivation techniques. However, as their strength grew, they began to experience great pain during their cultivation.


    Their mentors who knew about the core issue just mentioned that it was normal for the Ice Elemental Cultivators to experience this pain. There was nothing they could do.


    However, because of their Yin Physiques, even though the technique was unsuitable for their bodies, their progress in cultivation had been rather quick.


    They had already learned to endure the pain. Moreover, their mentor would inform them that after they reach the 6 Star Rank, they would never experience this pain.


    Azaroth snorted when he heard that sentence.


    "What a cheap lie. With those techniques, unless you made some modifications to suit your physique, you would have never reached the 6 Star Rank. Reaching the King stage itself means that you have to be extremelypatible with your element and gain some insight into those elements." Azaroth spoke.


    These women were instantly startled. Their faces soon morphed into a look of disgust.


    "I knew there was something fishy about them! They were just making use of me! They promised me great benefits and had meplete some tasks for them. And when it came to getting those benefits, they would make some sort of excuse and push it even further." Rosalie spoke with an angry tone.


    "Something simr happened to me as well."


    "Same with me."


    The other women immediately chirped in. Only now did they realize that they were living inside a scam and had gotten out of it due to Tiana and Azaroth''s sect.


    If not for this sect, they wouldn''t have realized that they were being scammed like this.


    "¡­Master, can those individuals who possess elements other than ice to join this sect?" One of the women gently asked.


    ~~


    I hope you all liked the chapter. Sorry for a single chapter these days. I was a little busy coz of my rtives and all. It''s pretty much wedding season in India. Hope you all understand. Tell me if you have any suggestions though.. I make sure to read allments and reviews and try my best to improve.

 Chapter 361 - Discussion

    Azaroth could guess why she was asking this question. He had a response prepared, though, "They can''t join the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect."


    This response made her lower her head in distress. Azaroth added at this moment, "However, there would be no issue if you wish to form your private group. They can be part of that private group and live in the residences assigned to them."


    "I will create more residence for personal groups of each one of you. They won''t be allowed inside the main pce, though. These residences will be created near the outer edge of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory. Also, it would be best if you don''t bring a man into the fold. It would make things awkward for you only," Azaroth spoke.


    The woman who asked the question nodded with excitement, "I understand. I actually had a couple of sisters back in my old sect who were forced to cultivate in that wretched ce. I want them to join me and cultivate In peace without having to deal with those idiots who don''t know when to give up."


    "I have some sisters who would wish to cultivate in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect as well!" Another woman added. She looked quite emotional as she could now have herrades and fellow sisters join her in this amazing ce.


    Azaroth noticed their expressions and then spoke, "I will then create a Spiritual Gathering Array near those residences as well. Although the Spiritual Density wouldn''t be as great as near the core of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, the difference wouldn''t be much. Perhaps I would also need to create some me Arrays to make the temperature warmer for them to live without an issue. Unlike you, they don''t cultivate Ice Elemental Energy. They would need to expend quite some energy to endure the cold in that region."


    The women immediately recalled that there was still this issue. However, they were quite excited that Azaroth already knew a way to deal with this issue.


    They felt extremely grateful to him as they knew he was doing this all because of their request.


    Among them, a particr woman was especially embarrassed since she knew that this was all because she had asked him that question. If she didn''t, Azaroth''s burden wouldn''t increase so suddenly like that.


    Although they weren''t very knowledgeable about arrays, they knew that it required many resources, effort, and time. To have Azaroth devote so much time to their selfish desire to have their martial sisters andrades cultivate alongside them was certainly asking too much.


    He was their leader. And while they had stayed at the sect, Tiana had told them that he was iparably busy.


    He was the one responsible for gathering resources and techniques for the sect. The pressure on him could only be imagined.


    These women, on the other hand, couldn''t help but be ecstatic when they learned that Azaroth had not declined their request. He hadn''t even considered such a possibility.


    He had said unequivocally what he intended to do to make things easy for theirrades.


    They were endlessly grateful to him.


    In the initial stage of this journey, they were terrified of him. That''s why they respected him; because they believed he was an expert.


    However, now after interacting with him, they all acknowledged their admiration for him in their hearts. It wasn''t quite to the point ofplete faith, but it wasn''t far off.


    In reality, they had been looking too positively at Azaroth.


    Azaroth agreed to allow them to bring theirrades to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect because it had always been in his ns. His n wasn''t to keep the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect as a ce for Ice Cultivators. That was merely the beginning since Tiana only possessed Ice Element, and it would make it easier for her to guide her subordinates.


    He had always been considering creating more residences in the outer area of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory. However, that was only when Tiana''s ability as a leader grew.


    But he never expected one of these women to raise a question here. While answering her question, Azaroth felt that it would be best to take that leap as soon as possible.


    He could assist Tiana in the beginning until she was used to controlling them all. He just had to make sure that Tiana possessed the greatest strength.


    Azaroth also knew that these women would look at him in a favorable light, so he didn''t hesitate to mention those things. As he had expected, these women were looking at him with a gentle and admiring look in their eyes.


    Perhaps they were thinking how great of a man he was. Azaroth couldn''t help but internally smirk at these simple-minded women. It was truly too simple to manipte them.


    After the story ended, they all took a small nap while Azaroth meditated in silence.


    They were immediately on the move once they recovered from their mental exhaustion.


    While on their way, these women were much more interactive than before. Now, they no longer feared Azaroth. They were extremely fond of him and were talking among themselves.


    "Leader is extremely nice to us. We need to return this favor."


    "Yes. We need to focus extremely hard to make the sect rise quickly. I have a couple of ideas. What about you, Iris?"


    The woman immediately turned to look at the woman named Iris. In reality, excluding Tiana, Iris could be considered the strongest within the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. Thus, her opinion was quite valuable.


    "I don''t have any ideas about how I can help in making the sect rise. However, I will make sure to be strong enough to aplish any mission assigned to me."


    "If not for this sect and the cultivation technique that Sect Mistress imparted to me, I would still be suffering from a rare disease that would have imed my life when I turned 17. I will use this very life to return the favor."


    Iris appeared extremely determined as she spoke those words.


    At this moment, another woman spoke out, "There is nothing strange about giving your life for the sect. We are all ready to do the same, right sisters?"


    The one who spoke those words was Helena. She looked iparably determined and devoted to Azaroth as well.


    "The best method to make the sect rise quickly is to destroy a top-grade sect. Or make a move against the Royal Family."


    The other women immediately shook their heads as they heard those suggestions.


    "It would be impossible to apply those suggestions. You should have realized that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect has just begun, and we are its first members. We don''t possess the power to destroy a Top-Grade Sect, and we can''t increase the burden on the leader by attempting something like this." It was Helena who immediately countered those suggestions.


    Next, Iris spoke, "Making the Royal Family our enemy would be the most foolish thing to do. I belonged to the Red Crown Sect, so I know that the power they possess is something outside of your imagination. During the tournament, the Sixth Prince we saw hadn''t even used the Royal Bloodline, yet he had been able to fight against Sect Mistress that well. Moreover, the other Royal Princes are even stronger. They all possess their own factions with talented geniuses. And then there is the King''s faction."


    Iris''s words immediately silenced all the women around her. They unconsciously looked at Azaroth and began topare him to this Royal Family whose great prestige had already spread worldwide.


    They didn''t know who would be stronger. Their leader who was a self-proimed former Emperor Ranked Expert or the Royal Family?


    In their hearts, they believed that the Royal Family was stronger. So, they believed that it would unnecessarily increase Azaroth''s troubles if they turned the Royal Family into their enemy.


    "Then what should we do? Don''t tell me there is no way for our Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect to rise quickly? Will we need to patiently wait for hundreds of years to fulfill our leader''s wish?!"


    Rosalie asked this question. Her voice turned all other women silent. They were all wondering the solution to that question and came up empty.


    At that moment, one of them timidly spoke up, "I-I have a solution."

 Chapter 362 - Solution

    All the women instantly towards the voice that spoke that she had a solution.


    This woman''s name was Zofia Barnes. She was a somewhat timid woman amongst everyone here. However, she had mustered her courage and spoke what she had in mind because she also wanted to assist Azaroth.


    She had clearly been affected by Azaroth''s words.


    "What is the solution?" The women immediately asked her with a curious look in their eyes.


    They weren''t trying to terrify her, but when they all gazed at her like this, Zofia was shocked and scared. However, Zofia also knew that she couldn''t remain silent right now.


    If she remained silent right now, they wouldn''t be able to assist Azaroth. She was quite confident in her method and believed that it had a good chance of working.


    "We can''t destroy a sect or fight against the Royal Family to increase our reputation. However, if we defeat the top geniuses of these prestigious sects, we will achieve a simr result."


    Her words instantly shocked the women near her.


    Zofia continued speaking, though, as she had just begun, "If we defeat the top geniuses of these prestigious sects, we can do so multiple times on different asions. That would bring a great result for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect."


    The women around her understood what she meant.


    "You are right. If we defeat those disciples again on different asions, the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s name will be highlighted multiple times. If we can make the name of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect resound in the entire Glerian Kingdon for a couple of days every month or so, wouldn''t it be extremely famous?" Another woman spoke in support of that idea.


    "That''s right. That''s right. That would be even better than destroying a sect to increase our reputation since we would be able to do it again. Basically, we will be using the prestige built by that sect and walk all over it!" The other women were all quite excited to hear these words.


    At this moment, Iris spoke up and poured a bucket of cold water over them, "But can you defeat the peak geniuses of these prestigious sects? Since I was a part of the Red Crown Sect so I will talk about it. Even after cultivating these new techniques, I don''t believe I can defeat the top geniuses of the Red Crown Sect. You should know that many of them didn''t even participate within the Eclipse Battlefield Tournament and had instead participated in the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament since they were more interested in the rewards offered by the Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament."


    "These experts were strong enough to even defeat the Sixth Prince in battle. Tell me, which one among you can defeat an expert on the caliber of the sixth prince? Forget the sixth prince, but can you defeat an expert like Christina?" Iris''s words immediately shocked all the women nearby.


    They now realized that they were thinking too optimistically! Even with all their talent and ability, they didn''t believe they could defeat those peak experts.


    Moreover, Tiana had lost to the sixth prince in front of their eyes. They were unclear about the mysterious energy she used to battle against Christina, but it was clearly external energy.


    The battle against the sixth prince had proven that she couldn''t defeat him with her personal power.


    Without that mysterious power, Tiana would have lost to Christina as well. If so, didn''t that mean they had no chance?!


    How could they be so cocky as to believe they could beat them?!


    Moreover, they were even thinking of defeating them multiple times.


    These women were quite embarrassed as they realized this issue. Their faces turned red like that of a tomato.


    They felt powerless as they realized they had no clue how to aid Azaroth. It felt as if all their ideas had multiple issues.


    "I appreciate your desire to assist me." Azaroth''s voice suddenly resounded in their heads.


    The women looked in Azaroth''s direction and noticed that he was still focused on flying forwards. He didn''t even turn his head to speak to them.


    At that moment, Azaroth''s voice resounded in their heads again, "I am transmitting my words directly to your spirits. So, you don''t need to look at me and see whether I am actually speaking or not."


    These women were shocked to hear these words. They didn''t know that there was a way tomunicate directly through someone''s spirit!


    "Also, Zofia, your method is quite good. I have been thinking of something simr to that method," Azaroth suddenly spoke to Zofia.


    Zofia was quite a timid woman as she was still quite young. While herrades were all above 17, she was the only one who was still 15 years old.


    Thus, she was rather hesitant to speak out her thoughts. However, this praise from Azaroth had greatly boosted her confidence.


    She was overjoyed that she had spoken her mind earlier. It was because of this that Azaroth had praised her right now.


    Azaroth then spoke up, "As for the issue that Iris pointed out. You don''t need to be worried about it. Where do you think we are going?"


    The women were startled by his sudden question. One of them answered him by saying, "Isn''t it to support the ck Lake Sect in their battle against the Night Mountain Sect?"


    Azaroth snorted in response and spoke, "You are thinking too simply about it. If that was the case, why would I bring you? Don''t mind my words, but your strength would hardly make a difference in a battle at that scale. It would have been better to have you cultivate back at the Arctic Summit."


    Azaroth was quite candid as he spoke those words. His words didn''t depress them. They knew that this was the truth and epted it.


    They were more curious why Azaroth had brought them if they couldn''t make a difference in this battle?


    "The reason I brought you is that I will personally guide you and train you. Once this training is over, you won''t question your power ever again!" Azaroth spoke with a confident tone.


    At this time, Tiana spoke in support of Azaroth''s words, "You can definitely trust in our master''s words! Do you know the one who is acimed as the greatest talent of the Glerian Kingdom? The youngest sword cultivator of the Glerian Kingdom is actually our master''s disciple, Noah! He began cultivating around the same time as me, but you can see what heights he has reached."


    "What?! Sword Master Noah is Leader''s disciple?!" Iris and other women couldn''t help but shout out in shock.


    There was probably not a single cultivator in the Glerian Kingdom who hadn''t heard of Noah''s name right now.


    The Heavenly Dragon Battleground''s Tournament had made him extremely famous. No matter which sect it was, they were filled with a desire to grab hold of him. They wanted this great talent to join their sect and make their sect reach even greater heights.


    However, this great talent had already be a general under the Royal Family. They knew that approaching him now would be akin to disregarding the Royal Family. Thus, they never did try to approach Noah.


    However, all these sects had already mentioned his name to their disciples. They had told them to run as soon as they caught sight of him. He was extremely dangerous!


    The danger he signified was even greater than that of a Royal Prince!


    Thus, these women were extremely shocked to know that this great talent was actually Azaroth''s disciple.


    Azaroth spoke at this moment, "That''s correct. Since Noah could reach that height in just a few months, you can also experience a transformation. This training method will awaken your potential even more quickly."


    That confident tone somewhat relieved these women.. They felt that since Azaroth was so confident, it would be best to leave everything in his hands.

 Chapter 363 - An Angels Presence

    While they were on their way, Azaroth didn''t just talk to these women. He was also dealing with another matter.


    This was actually rted to the order he had given to Sargan. Azaroth had ordered Sargan to investigate Dn Ross.


    Sargan had personally gone to Dn''s town intending to nt informers who would report to him on Dn''s every move.


    While Azaroth was flying towards the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect''s battlefield, Sargan had contacted him urgently with the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    "Master, I have failed to nt any informers or spies within this guy''s group." Azaroth received this message immediately.


    On the surface, Azaroth''s facial expression didn''t change, but he was truly startled by this information.


    He asked Sargan a momentter, "What is the issue? Did you find no person in that town who would watch Dn and report you about his movements? That''s impossible!"


    He instantly heard Sargan''s response, "That''s not the case, master. I actually found many people willing to do this task. However, even after two days passed, none of them contacted me. I returned to the town and found out that all the people who had agreed to my offer had all been ughtered by Dn!"


    "It seemed as if he had found out that they were spies. I don''t understand how he could have known that." Sargan''s voice told Azaroth just how shocked he was.


    Sargan had recruited nearly 20 individuals who would keep an eye on Dn''s movements. They were all ordinary people who had some rtions with Dn''s force.


    It was normally impossible to suspect any of them. However, within a day, Dn had found these spies and even decisively executed them.


    "What about your hypnosis technique? Did you try it on someone?" Azaroth asked after a long pause.


    Sargan replied instantly, "I already tried it. It seemed that Dn sensed the hypnosis and easily dispersed it. Fortunately, I had kept my face hidden, or this man would have known my appearance and would be hunting for me right now."


    Azaroth was somewhat startled to hear Sargan''s words. However, it further solidified his guess that this Dn wasn''t normal.


    There were many methods Azaroth knew to find spies. However, several of those methods would require a long time. It was clear that Dn didn''t use that method.


    The fact that Dn could find the hypnotized spy and disperse the hypnosis wasn''t anything too unbelievable for Azaroth. It meant either he possessed a sharp Spiritual Energy or had the assistance of a Spiritual Being.


    If it was the assistance of a Spiritual Creature, that would exin a lot of things. Unfortunately, Azaroth couldn''t go there and verify his guesses.


    "Have you tried approaching him?" Azaroth asked.


    Sargan thought for some seconds before he responded, "¡­I didn''t dare to approach him because he gives me a very threatening feeling. It is as if he would attack me as soon as he sees me."


    "That''s also true. If he possesses the assistance of a Spiritual Being and that person recognizes your true identity as a demon, Dn will instantly attack you," Azaroth spoke.


    "What should I do, master?" Sargan asked him for advice.


    In reality, even Azaroth was a little stumped over what Sargan could do. He felt that the reason this man could find all their spies wasn''t just because of his abilities but also the mysterious power of fate.


    The mysterious power of fate was preventing Azaroth from gathering information and manipting this man.


    As of now, Azaroth knew the only way to suppress fate was through pure power. He had never expected fate to interfere even during schemes.


    Even he was puzzled how he should deal with this mysterious power of fate in this situation. And if he was puzzled, there was no way for Sargan to seed.


    However, Azaroth also didn''t want to give up like this. He told Sargan, "Stay there and look for more information. Don''t try to imnt informers there, but instead actively look for information and change your location regrly. If there is an urgent situation, contact me. I will handle it."


    Sargan''s eyes immediately brightened as he received this order. He had been a little dispirited that he had failed master.


    But now, he realized that Azaroth had somewhat expected this to ur. Thus, he had received this order.


    He was quite confident in his ability to flee. During this time, Sargan had observed Dn from afar and knew that although this fellow was quite strong, Dn''s speed was still lower than this own.


    Moreover, if Dn used his Nether Devil God Mantra, he would immediately be able to re up hisbat ability.


    It was just that he was somewhat fearful of using his Demonic Ardor within this kingdom. He knew that if the human experts realized that there was a demon here, they would try their best to capture him or straight away kill him.


    There was a chance that even Azaroth couldn''t save him at that moment. So, Sargan wanted to prevent this situation from urring.


    On that very same day, Sargan returned to Yabert Town. Dn could currently be considered the Yabert town''s lord. He didn''t have the official title, but he possessed the power and prestige.


    It was even higher than the true town lord of the Yabert Town. That man didn''t dare to go against Dn.


    Sargan heard from the local citizens that originally, this town lord had bullied Dn quite a bit.


    In fact, Dn''s own family didn''t favor him all that much. They actually considered him as trash. His mother had been forced to live in the outskirts of the family vi.


    She was also bullied by the other women in the family. Although Dn''s family couldn''t be considered a prestigious n that possessed a great reputation within the Glerian Kingdom, but in this small region, they still held some power and inheritance.


    The battle for inheritance was especially fierce in that family.


    One day, Dn was thrown in some sort of cave nearby. Sargan felt it was best to investigate that cave. Maybe he could find some clue regarding Dn''s power.


    Even though Dn was merely at the peak of the 3 Star Rank, he gave Sargan a lot of pressure.


    This wasn''t a pressure that Dn generated through his aura. Dn''s aura couldn''tpare to that of Sargan''s aura.


    Sargan felt a kind of deathly pressure from Dn. He felt that as long as Dn attacked him, he would definitely die.


    This kind of pressure was something he had only sensed from Azaroth.


    However, Azaroth''s cultivation was far above him, so it was only natural for him to sense this kind of feeling from Azaroth. It confused him why he sensed this feeling from Dn.


    Sargan entered the cave and found that it was empty. There was no clue regarding Dn''s outburst of talent.


    Sargan then suddenly activated the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring. He felt that even if he couldn''t find anything by observing this ce, Azaroth would be different. He would definitely find some hidden secret.


    Soon, Azaroth''s Spiritual Figure took shape in that cave. The cave was now glowing with the blue light created that was radiated from Azaroth''s spiritual figure.


    Sargan immediately spoke, "Master, this is the cave Dn entered and returned as a changed man!"


    Azaroth''s Spiritual Figure looked around and suddenly began tough, "Haha¡­ So, that''s what''s going on."


    "Eh? Did you find something, master? Please share it with me as well!" Sargan immediately requested Azaroth with a curious look.


    "It''s only natural that you didn''t find anything strange. There are traces of Celestial Ardor filling up this cave. This location was an inheritance spot for an Angel. Moreover, it was a high-ranking angel who can bepared to a Demon Emperor in terms of strength." Azaroth spoke with a smile on his face.


    "Ehh?!" Sargan was instantly shocked to hear those words.

 Chapter 364 - Reaching A Terrifying Conclusion

    Azaroth''s Spiritual Figure smirked upon seeing Sargan''s shocked expression. He seemed to have realized quite a few things from knowing this fact.


    "Next time you observe him, check whether he has some kind of ring or bracelet. If my guess is right, that high-ranking angel is guiding Dn and nning to use him to create a new body for herself and open a portal to Celestial World to return."


    "A High-Ranking Angel is guiding that guy?!" Sargan was once again shocked to hear this fact.


    He now understood why he had that sensation of death. So, it wasn''t because of Dn''s strength, but his Demon Emperor''s Blood had sensed the presence of that Angel.


    It was unconsciously telling him to stay away from that Celestial, or he wouldn''t know how he died.


    "That''s correct. This kind of situation does happen. When an Angel dies, their Soul is imprinted onto the Heavenly Treasure they are carrying. If the power of faith of the religion that this Angel belongs to is strong. The Angel would revive after some years."


    "This Angel has revived, but her Spiritual Energy was clearly too weak for her to send out a signal for herrades. And her own power is clearly quite weak for her to open a portal to return to the Heavens."


    "Thus, this angel can only take the support of the human here." Azaroth calmly exined the situation to Sargan.


    He, on the other hand, was also thinking something profoundly <em>''As for that mysterious ability of fate, perhaps I was thinking too deeply about it. Maybe it was the Angel who caught all the spies. If she had the ability to examine the spirit of all beings, she could indeed figure out the spies.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''However, there is also a great chance that she doesn''t possess this skill. If so, then this youth does possess the fate ability. Moreover, it activated after he met with the Angel.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''If so, he would be walking his own path, not the path designed by the High-Ranking Angel. Moreover, his path will be filled by thorns and opportunities.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Azaroth then asked Sargan, "How has this youth''s life beentely? I don''t want to know about his achievements or his history. I want the most recent information about him. Did he encounter some kind of trouble, or does he have some sort of ambition?"


    Sargan didn''t understand why Azaroth asked this question, and he had to think profoundly about it before answering him, "If I remember correctly, the most recent thing that urred was that a gang from a nearby town provoked Dn and his group. The leader of that gang was a 4 Star Warrior."


    "That gang even managed to turn multiple viges under Dn against them. It seemed as if Dn and his gang were going to be destroyed by this foreign gang."


    "However, when this gang went topletely uproot Dn''s gang, a woman possessing a strong background appeared. I believe she is an inner disciple of the Cloud Shore Sect. This woman had some rtionship with Dn. They appeared to be good friends."


    "This woman stopped that gang from purging Dn''s gang. Instead, she converted the battle of death between the gangs to a battle of death between the gang leaders. From a group battle, it was turned into a one-on-one battle."


    "Dn merely possessed 3 Star Rank Cultivation, and his opponent was a powerful 4 Star Rank Cultivator, yet Dn won. He even swallowed that gang and made his group even bigger."


    When Azaroth heard this entire story, he felt likeughing loudly.


    It seemed that just as he had initially suspected, Dn was blessed by fate. Moreover, it was such a rich blessing that Azaroth wondered whether this guy was fate''s child or not.


    He knew that there was nothing strange about Dn winning against a 4 Star Warrior. He had a High-Ranking Angel guiding him. If Dn couldn''t even do this, that angel would truly be too useless.


    However, what confirmed his guess was that a woman had somehow appeared at thest possible second to save Dn and his gang fromplete extermination. Moreover, she had somehow converted that battle into a battle between gang leaders.


    Not only that, but Dn had won and benefited greatly from it. It felt as if the entire scheme of turning the other viges against Dn was a joke.


    In the end, it had only made Dn''s smoother and made things convenient for him. As long as someone wasn''t an idiot, they could guess that something was going on in the background once they heard this entire story.


    Some mysterious power was acting to make Dn''s life easier.


    Azaroth then seriously spoke to Sargan, "That''s enough." He was quite satisfied with this information.


    "Now, I have another task for you. From now on, you are to stay here and observe this guy. Don''t miss a single day. Contact me only if something major urs. I doubt you understand what I mean by major. Let me give you an example. Like, he finds a treasure, and the people from other viges join up to steal it."


    "He receives information about some treasure and then leaves the town. There is no question that he has gone to steal that treasure. He meets some sort of injured beauty. Or it can also be beauty in distress. Make sure to contact me at that time. I will give you my next instructions ordingly." Azaroth spoke.


    "As youmand, master," Sargan spoke a little nervously.


    "¡­What''s the matter? You look worried," Azaroth asked as he stared at Sargan''s face.


    Azaroth knew that Sargan was worried because he had observed Sargan''s emotions through his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    Sargan remained silent for a couple of seconds as he hesitated whether he should tell Azaroth or not.


    But then he realized that it would be wiser to inform Azaroth about it.


    "Master, I am a little scared of dealing with this guy. I feel the threat of death as I stay in this ce. It''s as if I can die at any moment," Sargan spoke truthfully.


    Azaroth''s Spiritual Figure seemed to smile at those words.


    "Just an Angel has terrified you so much? But I understand the reason behind your fear. You have never encountered an Angel or a Celestial. You don''t know of their abilities and just how strong they are. You don''t actually fear the Angel. You fear the unknown abilities it possesses," Azaroth exined calmly.


    Sargan nodded in affirmation.


    "You are also worried that if you are discovered, then that angel would take action and purge you along with your soul, right?" Azaroth asked.


    Once again, Sargan nodded his head.


    Azaroth''s Spiritual Figure then shook his head with a smile on his face, "In reality, you are worried for nothing. If that boy has that Angel guiding him, don''t you have me?!"


    Azaroth suddenly raised his voice, and it brought Sargan back to reality from his stupor! The feeling of death that he had been experiencing these past few days vanished instantly!


    "Do not forget whose subordinate you are! Even if there were hundreds of those angels, you don''t need to fear them since I am here!" Azaroth''s voice resounded in Sargan''s mind and seemed to echo endlessly.


    His voice seemed to possess great arrogance and power. Sargan even felt embarrassed as he realized that he truly was worried for nothing! How could he have forgotten Azaroth''s true identity!


    Azaroth was someone who even possessed the skills of the most mysterious Demon God in history! As his subordinate, how could he have been terrified by a mere High-Ranking Angel?!


    "¡­Thank you, master. I understand now that I had allowed fear to take over my mind. Now that I think about it, if that High-Ranking Angel can''t even contact her fellowrades, then her power has definitely fallen greatly. She definitely can''t use much of her power. Moreover, the only way that an angel can release her power is through a physical body. And Dn''s body can''t handle power greater than a 4 Star Rank."


    "Even if that Angel possesses great skills, I also don''tck skills. If nothing else, I can use Petrification and Mirage ability to fool him! Moreover, I also have your support." Sargan pped his forehead and added, "Damnit. Just what had happened to me? Why did I be that cowardly when the situation has been entirely in my favor?!"


    Azaroth''s Spiritual Figure had a solemn expression as he listened to Sargan''sst line. That question to himself. It seemed as if something clicked in his mind.


    <em>''It is rather abnormal for Sargan to show that kind of cowardly behavior. He is normally quite arrogant, and even to me, he submitted after witnessing my power. How could he be so terrified when he hadn''t even seen that guy''s power with his own eyes? Rumors can''t terrify him that much.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Suddenly, Azaroth came to a horrifying conclusion ''<em>That Fate Ability can also affect the emotions and intelligence of the individuals around Dn to make things more convenient for him! If Sargan had been half-hearted while gathering information regarding Dn, it would truly have been the best possible scenario for Dn.''</em>


    Soon, the corner of Azaroth''s lips rose, and he possessed a deadly smile as he thought ''<em>What a terrifying ability.. Now, I truly feel like ying you to death, Dn Ross.''</em>

 Chapter 365 - Reaching The Camp

    Once the conversation with Sargan ended, Azaroth''s Spiritual Figure sent all that information to the main body.


    Azaroth''s body suddenly stopped as he received that information. It wasn''t that the information was veryrge that he needed some time to digest it. But the information was too shocking.


    The Mysterious Ability of Fate had somewhat toppled Azaroth''s understanding. Moreover, this was all his guess. But he believed that his guess was most likely true. Or else, there was just no way to exin the situation.


    Tiana and her subordinates were startled to see Azaroth stop so suddenly. Moreover, he wasn''t even speaking anything. It seemed as if he was concentrating in mid-air.


    "Master, why did we stop? Are we close to our destination?" It was Rosalie who asked this question.


    Another woman spoke out, "But I don''t see any experts fighting nearby."


    At that moment, Azaroth responded coolly, "We aren''t at the location. I stopped because I saw something familiar."


    Before any of the women could further question him, he spoke, "Anyway, let''s go."


    ''The fact that a High-Ranking Angel has appeared in this Kingdom means some kind of battle urred a couple of years ago that even included the Celestial Race.'' Azaroth thought with a serious face.


    From the aura he had sensed in that cave, he was sure that this Angel had been killed recently. At maximum, it had been a decade since her death and a couple of years since her revival.


    This wasn''t particrly a long period for the Celestials, but it was long for humans.


    Moreover, what surprised him was that even though this angel had revived through the faith energy, she hadn''t recovered her energy anymore after her revival.


    Had she been abandoned? But if so, there would have been traces of the fallen angel energy.


    This matter was somewhatplicated, and it was confusing Azaroth. It would be the quickest if he could meet that Angel face-to-face and ask her some questions.


    With his identity as Nudar, perhaps she might directly answer his questions.


    However, it would be troublesome to meet that angel face-to-face in a short period. He would need to first train these subordinates on the battlefield.


    This matter was also greatly important. And it was a higher priority for Azarothpared to his schemes regarding this Kingdom.


    He wouldn''t mind if his schemes were fruitless as long as his subordinates continued to grow stronger.


    They were going to be his foundation in the future. How could he give something else a higher priority than his own foundation?


    After a day, Azaroth and his group reached the ck Lake Sect''s side.


    They noticed that the Night Mountain Sect''s main building was on a hill. Meanwhile, the ck Lake Sect had formed a camp at the base of the hill.


    To reach the Night Mountain Sect, they would need to cross a huge forest that possessed countless monsters.


    The Night Mountain Sect had been set up at a location that could act as a natural fortress. There was a terrifying moat on the other three sides of this hill.


    Moreover, the moat was incredibly mysterious. No expert could fly over it. As soon as they tried, they would be sucked inside the moat.


    There was only a single side through while the outsiders could enter the Night Mountain Sect. That was through the gigantic forest that was home to countless species of beasts.


    Trying to cross this forest was clearly going through the homes of these beasts. A few tribes of the beasts had even received some benefits from the Night Mountain Sect and directly attacked any outsiders trying to cross that forest.


    Due to this reason, the ck Lake Sect had suffered countless losses while trying to reach the Night Mountain Sect.


    When Azaroth arrived at the ck Lake Sect''s camp, many people of the ck Lake Sect gazed at them in confusion.


    They wondered just who this group was. They thought that this was some secret group that the sect mistress had hidden from the world.


    A few disciples recognized Tiana. Even though Tiana and her subordinates were wearing a veil, just how could these disciples fail to recognize her aura? She was extremely good friends with the future inheritor of the ck Lake Sect, Christina.


    Moreover, her battle against Christina and her battle against the Sixth Prince had been witnessed by all the disciples present there.


    "Big Sister Tiana!" They immediately called out to Tiana with a respectful look in their eyes. They were extremely happy to see her here.


    They knew that she hade to assist them.


    Once the other disciples heard Tiana''s name, they turned towards her. They hadn''t been present at the Eclipse Battlefield''s Tournament, but they had heard of Tiana''s name. They were curious just who this woman was who was considered good friends with their future sect inheritor.


    Tiana also turned towards those individuals and had a smile underneath her veil. She was pleased to see that they appeared to be doing well.


    "Hello, it''s nice to see all of you again," Tiana spoke.


    Azaroth didn''t interrupt this reunion. He allowed Tiana and this group of disciples to talk and catch up.


    Soon, Tiana turned towards Azaroth and spoke, "This is my leader. His name is Azaroth."


    Those ck Lake Sect''s disciples were clearly surprised to hear that Azaroth wasn''t Tiana''s martial brother but her leader. He just appeared too young to be the leader of a sect.


    However, they didn''t dare to be the slightest bit negligent as they respectfully spoke, "Greetings, Sir Azaroth."


    "Greetings to you all as well. Tiana told me about how she had a lot of friends among the ck Lake Sect. I have wanted to meet you ever since I heard about you," Azaroth spoke with a small smile.


    In reality, this was a lie. He was merely being polite and formal.


    These disciples thought that Azaroth was being sincere and were quite delighted.


    "Can I trouble you to lead me to your Sect Mistress? I wanted to meet her," Azaroth spoke with a rather polite tone.


    Azaroth felt that there was no need to put up airs here. Since a group was willing to assist him, it was better to be nice to them and have them lead him to his destination. It would bring less trouble to him.


    Just as Azaroth expected, these people excitedly nodded their heads and spoke, "That''s not an issue. Please follow us."


    "Also, sister Tiana, big sister Christina is also in the meeting hall. You can reunite with her over there," A guy spoke with a kind tone.


    Tiana nodded her head and responded gratefully, "Thank you."


    Before long, Azaroth and his entire group reached the main hall. This main hall was actually formed of the wooden element. This was a feeling he received because he possessed the wood element as well.


    Azaroth and his group entered that building which was dubbed as the meeting hall. He saw multiple individuals sitting on seats situated on both sides.


    At the center of this building, he saw two seats ced at a higher pedestal than the other seats. There was a distinction among these two seats as one seat was ced on an even higher tform.


    Out of the two seats, the one sitting on the lower pedestal was someone very well known to Tiana.


    It was none other than Christina. Moreover, the one sitting on the highest pedestal within this meeting hall was none other than Christina''s mother and the sect mistress of this ck Lake Sect.


    It was Erica Blythe!

 Chapter 366 - The Great Kun Spirit

    Christina was extremely delighted to see Tiana here. She was even more excited to see that Tiana had brought a group here.


    It meant she was here to assist her sect against the Night Mountain Sect.


    This kind of support from Tiana truly touched her. She knew Tiana had probably gone all out to assist her.


    She also wanted to introduce Tiana to her mother and father, so she was quite excited to see her here.


    Soon, she swept her vision over the group with Tiana.


    When she saw Azaroth, she couldn''t help but focus on him greatly. She remembered his face vividly.


    She recalled that he was the same individual who had appeared in her mindscape during her battle against Tiana.


    In fact, this individual possessed a simr aura that was generated from that mysterious energy Tiana was using.


    Azaroth swept his gaze at all the individuals in the hall. He saw Christina and smirked. When Christina saw that smirk, she immediately turned her gaze away.


    She didn''t know why but she felt scared of him. It was an instinctive feeling of fear.


    Meanwhile, her mother was also observing these unknown individuals. She barely recognized Tiana since she had seen some clips of her battle against Christina.


    All the battles at the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament were recorded and sent to the sects requesting the clips.


    Naturally, they had to pay a huge price for these clips, but for the top sects, that price was nothing.


    They would check these clips to check up for any worthy talent. Moreover, since it was the battle that her daughter lost, Erica wanted to check just how her opponent had defeated her.


    She was extremely clear about her daughter''s strength. If it was a Royal Prince who defeated Christina, she would be quite surprised, but she could be able to ept the result.


    However, the one who defeated Christina wasn''t from the Royal Family and didn''t belong to a prestigious sect.


    Unlike her daughter, she wasn''t na?ve enough to believe that Tiana belonged to some ancient sect.


    However, even Erica was puzzled when she saw that mysterious energy assisting Tiana. It had allowed her to fight against Christina when the Three-Legged Golden Crow had taken over her body.


    That was an unreal amount of power within an individual.


    She reluctantly epted that there could be individuals possessing this sort of power within them. However, when she saw the clip of Tiana''s battle against the sixth prince. She realized that this wasn''t Tiana''s own power.


    That mysterious energy was external energy that would appear on special asions. It seemed that the battle against Christina was indeed that special asion.


    However, Erica failed to understand how.


    Azaroth swept his gaze at all the individuals in this meeting hall.


    He noticed that most of the people seated on these chairs were men. Out of the 30 individuals seated on chairs, only 8 were women, and the rest were men.


    He also noticed another fact. It was that most of the individuals seated here were old in age. Their age was such that it showed when someone looked at them.


    Wrinkles had appeared on their face, and some physical changes that made their aura weaker had also started urring.


    What surprised Azaroth was that these men were staring at him with gazes filled with hostility.


    Their hostility was so obvious that he didn''t even need to use his Mystic Eyes of Perception to confirm it.


    He looked at the women and noticed that they were blushing while looking at him. Azaroth instantly understood what was going on.


    These men were actually jealous of his appearance. They had noticed the reactions of their fellow femalerades. They had realized that their femalerades were quite fond of Azaroth''s appearance.


    However, since they couldn''t do anything about it. They had decided to disy their anger by radiating an aura filled with hostility.


    "Who are you? Who allowed you to enter this meeting hall?!" One of the elders asked with a conceited tone.


    The female disciple guarding the meeting hall immediately lowered her head. She had allowed them to walk inside because she saw Tiana and recognized her.


    She knew that they belonged to another sect and had most likelye to assist them.


    "I am Azaroth, and I am the leader of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. The ones behind me are my disciples. We havee to support the ck Lake Sect in this battle against the Night Mountain Sect," Azaroth spoke with a calm appearance.


    Upon hearing those words, Christina was internally jumping with excitement. Christina wanted to get up from her seat and immediately go talk to Tiana. She had lots of things to talk about with Tiana.


    Meanwhile, Erica remained calm as she had already guessed their intention foring here. Her eyes were focused on Azaroth.


    She was a 6 Star Expert, yet she found out that she couldn''t see through Azaroth''s strength or spirit.


    This was an extremely rare scenario. This would normally only ur if the target practiced a unique cultivation technique or possessed a unique identity. Erica''s guess was that it was the former case.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was closely monitoring Erica. He noticed that some irregrities appeared in her eyes. He used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to check up on her emotions.


    Soon, he noticed there was a pink color over her body.


    <em>''I see. Romantic favor it is. It seems that even she is affected by my appearance.''</em> Azaroth thought.


    Suddenly, he noticed something else. It was her mindscape. He saw another presence within it.


    <em>''The Great Kun?! She actually has a contract with the spirit beast Kun?!''</em> Azaroth was truly shocked as he saw this.


    <em>''What is going on? The daughter has Three-Legged Golden Crow as her contracted Spiritual Beast, and the mother has the Great Kun?! Did they get some sort of ancient summoning technique or bloodline? They actually possess contracts with two divine beasts belonging to different species!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Just what happened after my death that even the Great Kun and the Three-Legged Golden Crow were forced in their Spiritual Form. And further, they have swallowed their pride and signed contracts with humans.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''I can understand the Great Kun. Even though it possesses great water elemental strength, it isn''t that prideful. However, the Golden Crow is considered one of the proudest creatures as it possesses the sun''s mes. Just what is going on?''</em>


    "What are you staring at?!" A man suddenly shouted at Azaroth as he noticed him staring at Erica.


    Erica had already noticed Azaroth''s gaze. But she had also seen that he wasn''t staring at her because he was fascinated with her beauty. In fact, Azaroth seemed to be serious, gauging her spirit.


    However, she was surprised because before she saw Azaroth''s serious expression, she hadn''t even realized that he was gauging her spirit.


    It showed that Azaroth''s control over spirit was perfect. At the least, it was much better than her control.


    Azaroth turned towards the man who had just shouted at him. This man was actually Erica''s husband and Christina''s father.


    He was seated in the seats closest to Christina and Erica. However, those seats belonged to elders. Clearly, his wife and daughter held a greater status than him in the ck Lake Sect. One was a Sect Mistress, while the other was the future sect inheritor.


    Moreover, their family connection hadn''t disturbed the hierarchy within the ck Lake Sect at all.

 Chapter 367 - Spiritual Pressure

    Azaroth was only slightly surprised to see this man targeting him. This man must also be seething due to the jealousy he felt as he stared at Azaroth.


    "It''s been quite some time since I saw a powerful 6 Star Expert. I was merely caught by surprise by some unexpected things. You don''t need to worry too much," Azaroth responded to this man''s earlier question.


    This man was Erica''s husband and also Christina''s father. Although his official status was merely an elder, his words still carried great weight in the ck Lake Sect.


    They knew that although their sect mistress was somewhat cold towards her husband, she would still listen to him.


    Azaroth''s words caused all the individuals in the hall to look at him with a sneer on their faces. Naturally, these individuals didn''t include the women following him and Christina.


    Christina was filled with respect for Azaroth since she believed Tiana''s words that Azaroth was a former 7 Star Rank Expert.


    Even now, she wanted to go forward and ask him for some advice regarding her cultivation. Christina had asked her mother the same questions, but her mother would never reply to her.


    She wanted her mother to get some pointers as well. Christina knew her mother longed to break through to the Seven Star Rank.


    The spirit she possessed could only disy its true power at the 7 Star Rank. Currently, her mother couldn''t use the Great Kun''s strongest abilities as those techniques would be too taxing for her body.


    The same was the case for Christina as well. The Golden Crow within her had once mentioned in its arrogance that the techniques Christina had used were not its true abilities.


    It couldn''t use its true abilities because Christina''s body and spirit couldn''t tolerate the repercussions of those techniques.


    However, when Christina asked the Golden Crow whether it could defeat Azaroth''s spirit that had entered her mindscape that day, the arrogant Golden Crow strangely turned silent.


    Even though the Golden Crow was quite young, it had still inherited its ancestor''s instincts. And those instincts told him to fear that individual.


    He had a feeling that even if he could use all his true abilities, he could still not harm this individual. It would still be defeated! Moreover, it had a feeling that this individual had killed not a few members of its race.


    At this moment, even Erica was staring at Azaroth with some surprise in her eyes. From Azaroth''s words and tone, it was as if he was used to meeting with 6 Star Experts. Moreover, he seemed clear about the difference between them.


    What shocked Erica, even more, was that Azaroth''s subordinates remained calm as they heard those words.


    They knew this information. In fact, they were confident it was the truth.


    Erica thought at that moment <em>''Either they have been brainwashed, or this guy is speaking the truth. I need to probe more.''</em>


    While Erica thought that she needed to probe more, her husband had already taken a step forward.


    "I have seen arrogant people, but I have never seen someone as arrogant as you. Even a mere 5 Star Warrior dares to say that he is gauging a great 6 Star Expert," The man spoke with a sneer on his face.


    Azaroth casually responded, "It''s not my fault that you are a frog at the bottom of a well."


    At those words, the women following Azaroth suddenly started chuckling. Erica''s husband was instantly embarrassed as he heard those words. Azaroth was basically telling him that he hadn''t seen the world.


    Christina frowned a bit as she heard Azaroth embarrass her father. However, she didn''t dare to speak up at this moment.


    Another elder stood up and asked Azaroth, "You mentioned you havee to assist us. Where are the rest of your forces? I can''t sense any more warriors."


    It seemed as though this elder wanted to divert everyone''s mind.


    "These are all the warriors I brought," Azaroth responded calmly. He knew what this elder was doing but allowed him to do it anyway.


    At that moment, Erica''s husband stood up and pointed his finger at Azaroth, "Hah! Did you reallye here to help us, or juste here as a formality?! The group you brought isn''t even enough to count as reinforcements for the battlefield, and you call this help!"


    "You are a mere 5 Star Warrior while your subordinates all have the aura of a 4 Star Warrior. Although impressive for a small sect such as yours, the ck Lake Sect does not need your assistance," Another elder spoke. He seemed to be quite aged and experienced.


    He added, without letting Azaroth speak, "You should leave and conserve the strength of your sect. If these disciples of your sect die, it would badly affect your sect."


    This elder seemed magnanimous as he asked Azaroth to return. But in reality, he was looking down on Azaroth and his group. He was telling them that their presence wouldn''t affect the battlefield.


    Azaroth took a deep breath as he gazed at that aged elder and spoke, "I know you are all looking down on me and my subordinates. Our cultivation base might be the reason. I have a 5 Star Cultivation. However, all the elders in this meeting hall also have a 5 Star Cultivation. Then, you also have a 6 Star Expert as your Sect Mistress. Is that why you believe you have the right to look down on me?"


    Before any elder or Erica could say anything, Azarothughed and spoke, "Interesting, isn''t it, Tiana?"


    Tiana also smirked as she heard Azaroth and nodded her head. She was suppressing herughter.


    She had been informed by Laura and Yrellea that Azaroth had destroyed the Dragon and Tiger Squads of the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    "Have you gone crazy?" Erica''s husband roared as he heard those words, "Guards. Take him away! This guy is an eyesore."


    At this moment, all the women behind Azaroth frowned. They didn''t think that this guy would try to throw them out.


    One of them wanted to speak up for Azaroth, but Azaroth had fiercely ordered them to remain quiet in the meeting hall and let him do the talking. They couldn''t go against his order.


    The elders who had been ordered to guard outside immediately entered the meeting hall and tried to grab hold of Azaroth and his group. They nned to obey the order they had received.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth spoke out at this moment, "The Dragon Tiger Pce paid the price for their ignorance with the massacre of their elite groups. I wonder if the ck Lake Sect ns to walk on a simr path?"


    That voice waspletely different from earlier. Unlike the casual and easygoing voice, this time, the voice was cold. It even gave a sensation of death to some weak-willed individuals.


    The guards who wereing to grab hold of Azaroth and throw him out immediately paused in their tracks.


    They were the ones who stood closest to Azaroth and experienced a potent spiritual attack.


    Meanwhile, Erica stood up in shock as she knew that Azaroth was spiritually attacking everyone in the meeting hall.


    "Stop!" She roared as she forcefully brought everyone to their senses.


    Azaroth had an amused smile on his face as he stared at Erica. He spoke, "It seems that you have a great rtionship with that fish. It lent such a huge portion of its energy to you so that you could disperse my Spiritual Pressure."


    A Pure Spiritual Attack was somewhat different from a normal attack. Even someone like 6 Star Warrior couldn''t easily disperse the attack on that individual''s spirit.


    It wasn''t that Erica was spiritually weaker than Azaroth. Azaroth possessed an ocean of Spiritual Energy that was iparably pure. However, it wasn''t dense enough. He knew that it was due to his low cultivation base.


    However, Erica couldn''t control her Spirit well enough to protect herrades. A slight carelessness and she could greatly injure their spirits. Thus, she had asked for the Great Kun''s support to suppress the root cause. That was Azaroth himself. As long as Azaroth''s spiritual energy couldn''t be radiated from his body, his spiritual attacks won''t reach herrades'' bodies.


    Moreover, Azaroth''s words hadpletely startled Erica. She instantly released her aura and asked him with an authoritative tone, "What are you talking about?!"

 Chapter 368 - The Forbidden Summoning Technique

    <strong></strong>


    The fact that Erica possessed a spirit was known to everyone. They also knew that it possessed a water element.


    However, no one had actually known the true identity of the Beast Bloodline she possessed. The same was the case regarding Christina.


    Erica had tried to keep the information secret from the world. Even her husband didn''t know that his wife had a life contract with the Great Kun, and his daughter had signed a life bond with the Golden Crow.


    In her youth, Erica had explored some forbidden ruins. And from those ruins, she gained a forbidden summoning technique.


    This summoning technique was said to summon the beast spirit most suitable to the user. Erica wasn''t clear from where these beasts were summoned.


    The Great Kun within her had never mentioned anything regarding it. Erica had asked the question multiple times, but the fish would remain silent.


    The Great Kun was actually afraid that the heavenlyws would listen to their conversation and punish Erica if she came to know of some forbidden secrets.


    It had still told Erica that summoning him was a stroke of luck. In reality, the technique she had utilized was quite dangerous and couldn''t be spread around. There was a reason it was considered forbidden.


    Normally, any of the beasts that Erica summoned would have to be supported by her Spiritual Energy. Erica was quite young at that moment. Her Spiritual Energy was quite weak. How could she support a beast constantly?


    However, she was extremely fortunate that she summoned a Great Kun. Unlike the other beasts, the Great Kun possessed the ability to independently absorb the Spiritual Energy from the surroundings and support its existence.


    Due to that reason, Erica had managed to survive.


    It had also told Erica just how strong this technique was. Only then did Erica realize that if she rashly told anyone about this technique, people might try to force this technique out of her.


    She wasn''t strong enough to resist the might of the warriors in the area. Thus, she had hidden this technique even from her husband.


    However, when Christina was born, she was born with a rare case of me outburst.


    Christina had been born with a pure me spirit root. Normally, this would be considered a good thing. Her talent with me element was going to be extremely great.


    It would be pretty much unprecedented within the Glerian Kingdom. There were also rumors that by the time Christina advanced to the 6 Star Rank, she would be able to form her me Domain.


    However, Christina wasn''t just born with a normal pure me spirit root. It was a variant pure me spirit root.


    The variant me greatly increased the power of her mes. But this wasn''t necessarily a good thing for Christina.


    After a few years, as the variant me grew stronger, Christina''s body could no longer keep up with its growth.


    There had been a couple of outbursts that burned Christina''s body internally. Fortunately, Erica possessed the Great Kun that also held many healing abilities.


    It had flooded Christina''s body andpletely healed her of any injuries, whether internal or external.


    However, if this went on, Christina would someday die to these outbursts before the Great Kun could heal her.


    This was an extremely dangerous situation.


    At that time, the Great Kun suggested that Erica teach that forbidden summoning technique to Christina and summon a spirit.


    Erica was naturally started to hear that suggestion. She was scared that her daughter might not survive if she summoned a beast that required great Spiritual Nourishment.


    The Great Kun then suggested to her that this shouldn''t be an issue for Christina. She was in danger because the Variant me Spirit Root was much stronger, and its growth was even faster than her.


    Christina''s great affinity with mes practically guaranteed that she would summon a Beast Spirit rted to the mes.


    The Great Kun was willing to talk to that spirit and ask it to control the extra me energy within Christina''s body. If it absorbed these extra mes, the Beast Spirit would grow stronger, purer, and it could also keep his existence sustained.


    Naturally, in return, the Spirit would have to protect its master. Because Christina''s death would disperse the beast''s spirit as well.


    However, never in his dreams did the Great Kun imagine that Christina would summon the Three-Legged Golden Crow.


    Even though the Golden Crow Spirit was quite young, it possessed great arrogance due to its ancient and formidable lineage.


    Fortunately, the Great Kun didn''t need to talk to the Golden Crow Spirit. As soon as it was summoned, it seemed to have realized the situation.


    The Golden Crow ate all the extra me energy that was generated within Christina''s Variant me Root.


    Coming into contact with the Golden Crow actually stimted the potential within Christina''s body. The Variant me Root''s growth was greatly elerated, but it no longer harmed Christina''s body since the Golden Crow absorbed all that extra me energy.


    Christina had greatly benefited from this as well. Her mes had gotten denser, and the Variant me Root could produce mes much faster.


    The Golden Crow had given her another set of abilities and the unique mes of the Golden Crow.


    Christina had grown up as these mes of the Golden Crow merged with her Variant me Root.


    The merging was urring extremely slowly, but Christina was inheriting the Golden Crow''s racial abilities.


    Fortunately for Christina, the Golden Crow lineage''s abilities were purely rted to their Golden mes and not their physique.


    If their abilities were rted to their physique, no matter how talented Christina was, she would never have been able to use those abilities to their true potential.


    Christina was incredibly blessed to have summoned this Golden Crow.


    Erica was told of the origin of this Golden Crow, and itpletely shocked her. She now realized that this technique she possessed wasn''t just a forbidden technique but also a legendary technique.


    It had summoned such Ancient Beast Spirits whose bloodlines had already been long lost in the world.


    If anyone realized that she possessed this technique, those people would band together and attack her. Even the Royal Family would hardly be able to resist the temptation of this technique. The entire ck Lake Sect might suffer extermination.


    Thus, Erica had always kept the form of her Beast Spirit hidden. She had told Christina to keep her spirit''s identity concealed as well.


    Christina obeyed her mother''s order without truly realizing just how grave the situation was.


    And today, Azaroth hade and directly called her Great Kun a fish. Moreover, he seemed to know that the Great Kun had lent her Spiritual Energy.


    This hadpletely terrified Erica. She had released her pressure and nned to intimidate him into figuring out how he knew her secret.


    However, what shocked her, even more, was that Azaroth didn''t seem to be affected by her pressure. He casually turned his head to gaze at his subordinates as if he was checking up on their states.


    Erica noticed that none of Azaroth''s subordinates were actually affected by her pressure. She saw that Azaroth seemed to be shielding them all from her aura.


    It was the first time she witnessed a 5 Star Warrior waspletely unaffected by her aura. At that moment, the Great Kun''s Spirit spoke <em>''This man''s aura is quite strange. Even I can''t see through him.. It would be best if you stop and not infuriate him any further.''</em>

 Chapter 369 - Confirming Suspicions

    The Great Kun belonged to an ancient beast n. Unlike the Golden Crow that had been summoned by Christina, this Great Kun could be considered an adult within the world of the beasts.


    He was aware of a lot more secrets aspared to that Golden Crow.


    When Erica''s aura collided with Azaroth''s aura, the Great Kun instantly recognized the threat Azaroth posed to them. The danger he posed to Erica was farrger than he had anticipated.


    He had further realized that the Spiritual Pressure Azaroth had created wasn''t some sort of trick but actually his pure power. He wasn''t a paper tiger, but a true dragon!


    Thus, the Great Kun instantly informed Erica that she shouldn''t try to infuriate him any further. He truly wasn''t sure of their chances of victory against Azaroth.


    "If I state it here, it will decide your battle against the Night Mountain Sect. Are you sure?" Azaroth finally responded to Erica''s question with a question of his own.


    He had noticed that she had retracted her aura and was trying her best to calm down.


    His question instantly provoked Erica, and she stared at him with a furious look on her face. It had been a long time since someone had actually threatened her like that.


    Fortunately, Erica''s husband roared out, "How arrogant! I will beat you until your mother can''t recognize your face! Did you think you are amazing just because you caught us off-guard with that spiritual attack?!"


    This caught the attention of all the elders, and they no longer focused on Azaroth''s words. They all shouted at him because they felt that Azaroth''s attack had been too despicable!


    He had actually sneak attacked them in the meeting hall, in front of the Sect Mistress. Moreover, he had even disrespected the Sect Mistress by not answering her question.


    In their minds, this was more than enough to warrant death! However, some elders didn''t want to directly kill Azaroth.


    They wanted to ruin his face and cripple his cultivation. They wanted him to live in that condition for some time. Only then would they feel satisfied.


    Azaroth couldn''t be bothered to respond to the words by that man. His eyes were focused on Erica as he had a triumphant smirk on his face.


    When Erica saw that smirk, she was instantly angry. She was convinced that this man knew something regarding the Great Kun.


    Moreover, it wasn''t a suspicion. He was sure of it and had already threatened her of the consequences.


    If she still couldn''t understand what she had to do, she wouldn''t be Erica.


    "Silence!" Her voice thundered in the meeting hall immediately.


    Erica''s voice immediately turned all the elders silent, including her husband. They all looked at her with some curious looks as they wondered why she was going against them.


    They were trying to protect the dignity of the ck Lake Sect. If they didn''t do this, these outsiders would have ruined the dignity of the great ck Lake Sect.


    Erica ignored the facial expressions of her elders and focused on Azaroth, "¡­You shouldn''t have sneak attacked them all! Even though youe from afar to assist us in this great battle against the Night Mountain Sect, this is an unforgivable offense."


    "All of you leave. I need to forgive this offender for that sneak attack," Erica ordered all the individuals in the meeting hall.


    Azaroth''s smirk vanished from his face as he showed a serious and grave expression. When Erica''s husband and the other elders saw that look on Azaroth''s face, they were quite satisfied.


    Erica''s husband knew just how brutal his wife was. It wasn''t the first time she was personally punishing someone.


    There were a few elders who even sent pitiful nces towards Azaroth.


    Azaroth''s subordinates couldn''t contain themselves any longer and were about to speak up when suddenly, Azaroth opened his mouth and voiced out, "Very well. I was indeed in the wrong."


    He turned towards Tiana and ordered her, "Take them outside."


    Tiana was quite worried about Azaroth and wanted to say something, but the cold and serious expression on his face prevented her from saying anything.


    Even Christina left the meeting hall. She originally wanted to tell her mother to take it easy on Azaroth but decided against it.


    However, the expression on her mother''s face seemed as if she was ready to kill anyone who annoyed her right now. Christina naturally didn''t dare to give any sort of advice to her mother.


    She could only look at Azaroth and sigh.


    Once all individuals had left, Azaroth stared at Erica and spoke with an amused tone, "So, you will punish me? Should I start screaming?"


    Erica heard that mocking tone and clenched her fists while staring in Azaroth''s direction. All that initial favorability she had because of his appearance was gone.


    "What do you know?!" She asked with a bone-chilling voice.


    Azaroth''s expression turned serious as he spoke solemnly, "It seems that no other ears are listening right now. Just to confirm your terror, I will reveal it then. The Great Kun. That Beast Spirit you possess, it''s that of the Great Kun. Do I need to say anything else to confirm your suspicions?"


    Erica''s eyes widened slightly. She had expected him to truly know her secret, but for him to say it with such a confident and serious tone just shook her greatly.


    She had tried her best to keep it a secret. Yet, it had somehow leaked. She didn''t know how, but it had happened.


    "How did you know?!" She asked with a slightly calmer tone.


    She now realized that Azaroth''s threat was truly real.


    "My sources shouldn''t be important. What''s important is how you can keep me silent, isn''t that right?" Azaroth asked as a small smile appeared on his face. It was a roguish smile that dered he had no intention of telling Erica about his secrets.


    Erica also didn''t want to y this kind of game for very long. She got straight to the topic, "What do you want?"


    "Finally, we are on the same page. You don''t need to worry too much. Other than the two of us, no one else knows of this secret," This was the first thing Azaroth revealed to Erica.


    Erica was naturally relieved to hear this fact. She thought that whoever told Azaroth about this had already been killed by him. She had no idea that Azaroth possessed a rare pair of eyes that could easily recognize her spirit.


    Suddenly, a solution appeared in her mind, and she slowly rxed.


    At this moment, Azaroth added, "Are you thinking of killing me? Well, try your best. If the beast inside you is wise enough, he must have warned you to not fight me. If not, then you can try and kill me. The results will surprise you, though."


    This confident tone startled Erica, and she wondered whether he had listened to her conversation with the Great Kun.


    However, she rejected that thought. This was basically impossible. The Great Kun had conveyed its words through its Spiritual Fluctuations directly to her Soul.


    Azaroth couldn''t hear any of that. He must have prepared this warning to intimidate her.


    Erica was actually right about this. Azaroth truly hadn''t heard her conversation with the Great Kun. He had merely given her a warning again to ensure she wouldn''t make any stupid moves.


    "As I asked earlier, what do you want?" Erica asked with an even calmer tone.


    "My demands will be simple enough. In fact, you will be more than delighted to ept them.. After all, my motive toe here was to assist the ck Lake Sect in this battle against the Night Mountain Sect," Azaroth spoke.

 Chapter 370 - Ericas Explanation

    A few momentster, Azaroth finished stating his demands. When Erica heard those demands, she was startled.


    She had been expecting Azaroth to use that threat and have some excessive demands. If that urred, she was willing to bet her life and kill him.


    Azaroth also knew that even if he could normally handle a 6 Star Expert, if Erica really wanted to kill him while betting her own life, then he might truly be killed.


    However, she was caught in a dilemma. The demands Azaroth presented were nothing to Erica. But she didn''t want Azaroth to know that.


    If he knew that, he might feel that he wasn''t takingplete advantage of her and increasing his demands.


    However, Erica also knew that if she hesitated too much, this guy might take advantage of this information and harm the ck Lake Sect. It wouldn''t be a good idea to make him furious.


    Thus, she acted extremely hesitant and unwilling before slowly agreeing to Azaroth''s demands.


    Azaroth saw through that act and felt like chuckling. It felt like a joker was performing his act in front of him.


    Soon, Azaroth turned to get out of this meeting hall. He had aplished what he hade here to do.


    "Wait¡­ You can''t go out like this," Erica stopped Azaroth as she stood up from her seat.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s eyes turned colder as he red at Erica, "You will attack me?"


    Erica was truly nning to attack Azaroth and injure him. However, when she saw Azaroth ring at her like that, she immediately paused in her tracks.


    She had a feeling that if she dared to step forward, it would be a massive blunder on her part.


    Erica remained silent for some moments before she spoke, "¡­No. But you need to suppress your spirit."


    Azarothpleted her sentence with a devious smile, "If not, it would affect your prestige among your subordinates. You want your subordinates to think that you have punished me by injuring my spirit. Those poords have no idea their sect mistress is forging a deal with me."


    Erica gritted her teeth as she knew that Azaroth had realized her trick. She was pretty much speechless as she didn''t know what she should say.


    "Very well. I will allow you to maintain your prestige among your subordinates. However, you owe me another favor, Miss Erica," Azaroth suddenly finished speaking as he began to walk out of this tent that had acted as the meeting hall.


    His spirit was truly suppressed to one-tenth of its power. This would allow the elders outside to judge that even though Azaroth hadn''t screamed aloud, he had been gravely injured.


    At the least, he wouldn''t act as arrogantly as before and attack them.


    Meanwhile, Erica fell on her chair. She was mentally exhausted.


    Someone seldom managed to intimidate her in such a sense. Furthermore, she couldn''t take the initiative as she faced Azaroth.


    <em>''I can''t just remain dispirited like this. He knows my secrets, so I need to figure out his secrets as well. Or else, he will continue to threaten me like this. But how can I figure out his secret?''</em>


    She let out a sigh as this task was going to be truly challenging. Around this time, many elders returned to this tent.


    Most of them had wide grins on their faces. They were all 5 Star Warriors and had managed to sense that Azaroth''s Spiritual Energy had weakened considerably.


    They were happy that their Sect Mistress had upheld justice for them. They had even arrogantly nced at Azaroth as if to say that even if he was stronger than them, then so what?! They were still his boss in this area.


    However, a single individual hadn''t returned to this meeting hall. It was the ck Lake Sect''s Inheritor, Christina.


    "Why hasn''t Christina returned yet?" Erica asked with an annoyed frown on her face. She thought that her daughter had gone to y at such a serious moment.


    That girl truly didn''t know that there was a time and ce for everything.


    At that moment, her husband spoke with an irritated tone, "That girl has gone to meet someone from that guy''s group. From what I found out, the two had forged a strong friendship during Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament."


    Erica raised her brows as she heard that statement. She did remember Christina mentioning Tiana. She had also seen the clips of Tiana''s battle against Christina, so she could be considered slightly familiar with her.


    "Do you want me to bring her back? I did order Christina to stop spending time with that group, but she ignored my words," Erica''s husband added. He had even gotten up as if he was ready to charge out and bring Christina back by using force.


    Erica suddenly raised her palm and ordered, "There is no need for that. Let her spend some time with her friend. She hardly has any friends in the sect, and I don''t want her to feel sad to be forcefully parted from her good friend."


    Her husband was startled to hear that statement. He was slightly unwilling, but he saw the logic in her words as well and sat down again.


    "I doubt that man would try anything against her. He should have realized that he won''t have a good ending if he did," Erica spoke those words with a tone that promised a lot of pain.


    This was the truth. Erica hadn''t directly attacked Azaroth earlier because when he attacked everyone with his Spiritual Energy, he hadn''t targeted Christina.


    If he had indeed targeted Christina, Erica would have immediately attacked him without thinking about the consequences. Even the Great Kun couldn''t have stopped her at that moment.


    Since Azaroth wouldn''t target her daughter, she knew there was no harm in letting Christina spend some time with Tiana.


    Moreover, she also wanted Christina to figure out some secrets regarding that group by using her friendship with Tiana. Only then would she be free of Azaroth''s threats.


    However, Erica also knew that she couldn''t tell Christina that she had such thoughts. If Christina knew about this, she would immediately oppose her mother.


    Her moral integrity would prevent her from spying on her friend like that. She would rather stay out of this event than betray her friend like that.


    Thus, Erica knew she had to be greatly careful to not alert Christina regarding her n.


    "What should we do regarding this group, Sect Mistress?" One of the elders suddenly asked.


    They were all displeased by Azaroth''s conduct. Some wanted to chase away Azaroth and his group. Some wanted to ughter them. While some only wanted Azaroth to go away as they felt that these women behind them were beauties.


    They couldn''t see the faces of these beauties because of the veil, but they still felt that these women were beauties. They couldn''t give a reason for these thoughts. Perhaps it was because of that sacred aura they radiated.


    These men had analyzed their bodies. In any case, if their face was average, their bodies, especially their curves, were more than enough to cover that fact.


    Erica didn''t allow these elders to indulge in their fantasies for too long. She quickly spoke, "¡­I have already thought about it."


    "I n to give this group a part of the battlefield where they will operate independently. We won''t send any reinforcements to them or try to monitor them. My condition is that no enemy muste from that side, or else the deal would be off. Naturally, since they will be monitoring independently, everything they loot is their reward. They won''t give us any tributes," Erica spoke with a calm voice.


    Her words somewhat annoyed many elders. They felt that they were being too generous to this group.


    Erica noticed this animosity and knew that these elders would be unconvinced if things were left as they were.


    Suddenly, one of the elders spoke out, "What a wise decision it is, Sect Mistress." He had a devoted look on his face and a bright smile.


    One of the elders who was annoyed by the decision asked him angrily, "What do you mean?"


    That elder calmly exined his thoughts, "Sect Mistress has already upheld justice for us by gravely injuring that man''s spirit. Since justice had been delivered, there could be no further animosity from Sect Mistress''s side. She has now generously given them a part of the battlefield to operate independently."


    "This doesn''t just disy Sect Mistress''s magnanimity, but also her trust in their strength. Furthermore, she is using them to create an example so that more allies would join us in this conflict against the Night Mountain Sect."


    Even Erica was startled to hear all these reasons. She had clearly not thought all that much. In reality, she had been threatened to ept the terms. It wasn''t something she could decide.


    However, this elder had spoken all this nonsense and actually made it sound as if this was a great decision by Erica with profound reasoning behind it.


    Erica felt like rewarding him with ten thousand Spirit Coins and drops of Red Maple Sap. This would greatly strengthen the vitality of this elder and allow him to live for many more years.


    He could then use this nonsense to assist Christina as she bes the Sect Mistress of the ck Lake Sect.

 Chapter 371 - Christinas Growth

    While Azaroth was talking to Erica, his group was waiting for him outside the tent.


    They heard some elders from the ck Lake Sect talk about how Erica was going to punish Azaroth.


    Even though they possessed great confidence in Azaroth, they were all still quite concerned about him.


    At that moment, someone from the ck Lake Sect came to visit them. These women were instantly on their guard.


    They recognized her immediately. It was Christina, the inheritor of the ck Lake Sect. They knew of her strong friendship with Tiana.


    However, they felt that Christina''s loyalty to her sect would most likely surpass her friendship with Tiana. They had to be prepared in case she wanted to harm them.


    Tiana had a bright smile on her face as she saw Christina, "Hey!"


    "Heya!" Christina returned the greeting with an excited look.


    Tiana knew Christina''s character. She knew that this girl''s character waspletely straightforward. She wasn''t suited for plotting or a conspiracy.


    If she was trying, she would easily reveal herself. Thus, she wasn''t worried when Christina approached her.


    "How have you been doing?" Tiana asked Christina with a smile.


    Christina rolled her eyes and spoke, "I was really bored. My mother was really angry that I couldn''t even reach the semi-finals and punished me by asking me to focus on my cultivation in solitude. Once I am stronger than her, I will definitely take my revenge!"


    Christina had spoken thatst line with such a determined tone that Tiana didn''t doubt her.


    Suddenly, a frown appeared on her face as she added, "Also, my only friend Aria has left the sect and has been assigned to your junior brother Noah. I was so angry that he took away my only friend that I wanted to go and beat up that kid and free my friend."


    A sweat dropped appeared behind Tiana''s head as she heard Christina. She spoke to Christina, "That won''t be a good idea, Christina."


    "Hmph. I have gotten stronger. It''s still not clear who would win when we fight," Christina spoke confidently.


    Tiana was startled. Sure enough, she sensed a stronger aura from Christina.


    It was the Golden Crow''s aura. It proved that the merging of Golden Crow''s mes with Christina''s Variant Pure me Root had elerated greatly.


    The power of these Golden Crow''s mesy in their destructive ability. Now, Christina''s destructive power and grown greatly.


    Furthermore, she had even unlocked the ability of the Golden Crow.


    Even the Golden Crow Spirit within her was quite surprised that Christina''s battle against Tiana had stimted Christina''s Variant me Root so greatly that it had begun to fuse with his me quickly.


    Once the fusion crossed a specific threshold, Christina unlocked the ability of the Golden Crow. It wasn''t something that had been given to her by the Golden Crow Spirit but was actually like an innate legacy that she inherited.


    This would allow the Golden Spirit inside her to disy more of her true power.


    Christina felt that at her current level, she could easily defeat Tiana. She was actually somewhat right.


    After her battle against Christina and Philip, Tiana''sbat ability had risen, but unlike Christina, it hadn''t undergone a transformation.


    Thus, Christina could be considered much superior to her inbat strength.


    This fact didn''t dispirit Tiana. She had neverpared herself to someone else. She just wanted to grow stronger at her own pace.


    If she really started topare herself to someone. Then she would have already been extremely depressed since she knew Noah, Yrellea, Laura, Sargan, and Ralph. All of them were innately talented and much better than her inbat ability.


    However, Tiana had never felt jealousy or depression even though she was inferior to them. She had just focused on helping them and getting stronger somehow.


    This was also the reason Azaroth chose Tiana to lead a sect and not someone else. Tiana possessed a calmness and maturity far superior to his other retainers.


    "Yeah. You had indeed gotten stronger. But I will still bet on Noah," Tiana spoke with a smile.


    "You don''t believe me," Christina angrily pouted in return. She was trying to disy her anger, but she only became even cuter.


    Even the women behind Tiana chuckled upon seeing her antics.


    They had realized that Christina didn''t pose a threat to them. She was far too pure and straightforward to apply any scheme to them.


    After half an hour or so, Azaroth finally came out of the tent. There was a dispirited look in his eyes, and his facialplexion was pale.


    Clearly, he wasn''t at the peak of his health.


    Tiana and her subordinates immediately rushed towards Azaroth anxiously. Even Christina joined them and approached Azaroth.


    She was somewhat worried about him as she also believed that her mother had punished Azaroth.


    Meanwhile, all the elders outside had rushed inside the tent.


    Christina''s father had also ordered her toe, but she ignored his words and continued to stare at Azaroth with a concerned yet curious expression.


    "Let''s go to the area assigned to us," Azaroth spoke rather slowly.


    The women didn''t focus on those words. They approached him and spoke, "Please take my support, leader."


    Suddenly, Azaroth''s paleplexion returned to normal. His spirit that appeared to have been injured, immediately returned to its original condition.


    The women around him and even Christina were immediately startled to witness this transformation.


    "It seems I don''t need to act any longer," Azaroth spoke calmly. At this moment, all the elders had already entered that meeting hall.


    "¡­Eh?! You were acting, master?!" Zofia asked with a stupefied expression. She wasn''t the only one. Herrades shared that shock as well.


    "That''s correct. It is part of my deal with Sect Mistress of the ck Lake Sect," Azaroth casually replied.


    Christina, at that moment, suddenly asked curiously, "A deal with my mother? What is it?"


    At that moment, the women around focused on Christina. They had forgotten that they had a ck Lake Sect member with them.


    "Leader, would it be alright for you to have revealed everything in front of her?" Rosalie suddenly asked Azaroth.


    Azaroth shrugged and responded to her, "I already saw her earlier. Her mother was going to reveal the truth to her anyway, so there is no point in acting ahead of her."


    "Come. Let''s go to the spot assigned to us," Azaroth spoke with a calm tone.


    Christina followed the group as she wanted to check out which spot had been assigned to them.


    When she reached the destination, she was extremely shocked. She asked Azaroth with a startled expression, "Does my mother want to kill you all?!"


    Her surprise was only natural. This was, in reality, arge clearing within the forest.


    This clearing was near the inner part of the forest and also the battlefield where the ck Lake Sect disciples fought against the Night Mountain Sect disciples.


    This spot also generated the most casualties on the battlefield. The reason was simple. The disciples of the ck Lake Sect would be forced to fight against their enemy and also the beasts who resided in this territory.


    For some reason, these beasts won''t target the Night Mountain Sect disciples. They would only attack the ck Lake Sect''s disciples. Thus, it resulted in many casualties of the ck Lake Sect''s disciples.


    Christina couldn''t believe that her mother had assigned this spot to Azaroth and his group. Moreover, she could never imagine that it was a spot that was asked by Azaroth.


    "It was good that we brought you here. Can you ask those ck Lake Sect''s disciples to return? This entire spot has been assigned to us. And we can operate here independently. It would be of great help if they evacuate as soon as possible," Azaroth spoke to Christina with a calm tone.


    Christina looked in Tiana''s direction with a concerned gaze. She saw Tiana nodding her head seriously.


    Christina went to Tiana''s side and handed her a badge, "If you need my help, make sure to activate it. I wille running with reinforcements!" She promised resolutely.


    Tiana''s gaze softened, and she was honestly touched by those words. She nodded her head and spoke, "Make sure to send information if you face any trouble. I-I will try my best to help out."


    Christina nodded her head, but she confidently spoke, "Don''t worry, I am strong!"

 Chapter 372 - A Damsel In Distress

    Christina led the disciples of the ck Lake Sect away from that spot of the battleground.


    Once they were gone, Azaroth turned towards Tiana and her subordinates. There was a solemn look on his face, "Alright, set up a tent. I will go and take a round of this ce."


    Azaroth wanted to better understand this location. Even though he could sense the beasts, he still needed to take a look at the terrain and the beasts around this area.


    All the women were slightly scared as they watched Azaroth leave. They knew that they were quite close to that forest where many deadly beasts resided.


    And in this situation, Azaroth was actually leaving them. Tiana was the only one who retained her calmness in this situation.


    She ordered these women and made them follow Azaroth''s order efficiently. Under Tiana''s strict supervision, these women worked quickly and set up arge camp for everyone to live. Azaroth''s tent was thergest, while all other tents were of equal size.


    Around this moment, Azaroth was talking to Sargan.


    Sargan informed him that something strange had urred in the past couple of days.


    A rather wealthy carriage was passing near the Yabert Town when it suddenly encountered a bandit group.


    Coincidently, when the bandit group struck this carriage, these men had aimed to grab hold of all the belongings of the individual inside the carriage.


    They knew that the individual inside must be quite wealthy because of the two exquisite white horses pulling the carriage and the elegant architecture.


    These bandits had already gauged the strength of the guards that followed this carriage. The strongest individual among them was a 4 Star Warrior.


    These bandits were quite delighted. This gang had three 4 Star Warriors. One was the leader, and the two were vice-leaders.


    These three were actually sworn brothers who took an oath to sharefort and distress. Their base was quite far from this information, but they received an anonymous tip that a wealthy individual would pass this area today.


    After that, they verified this information by sending their scouts ahead. These scouts inspected the path for any wealthy carriage.


    Soon, they found it and immediately returned to inform their leader. Naturally, these scouts possessed a technique to inspect the cultivation base of all the guards.


    The bandit group immediately decided to relocate and make this carriage their prime target.


    These bandits had no idea that a gorgeous woman was seated inside this carriage.


    This woman was Camille Gedman. She possessed a unique identity and was here on a mission.


    Her unique identity was that of one of the personal maids of the King of the Glerian Kingdom.


    The bandits were also unaware that it was this woman herself who had informed them about the carriage. She wanted them to attack the carriage around this location.


    The guards fought valiantly, but no victor could be decided quickly.


    However, their battle created lots of noise that alerted the nearby vige. Many individuals appeared to check up on what was going on. Naturally, some of these individuals included Dn''s men.


    Meanwhile, the bandits ignored the sound as they fought these guards. One of these bandits walked in the carriage''s direction as he nned to have the wealthy individual be dragged out of his carriage.


    However, that man was instantly shocked to see a gorgeous woman inside the carriage.


    Before he could say anything, Camille attacked him on his chest. Her palm attack was quite strong, and it sent the bandit flying.


    The bandit crashed into a few rocks before his back started bleeding.


    Meanwhile, the other bandits were instantly alerted as they heard that sound and focused on that carriage.


    Soon, an extremely fairdy exited the carriage on her own ord. She had Brown, curly hair that slightly covered a furrowed, warm face. Her Hollow ck eyes set elegantly within her sockets as they looked at her surroundings. Her oval-shaped face was extremely stunning and made these bandits hold their breath without them realizing it.


    She had a lean body that just made a man want to hold her in his arms. If something wascking, it was her chest''s size. It was a bit small. But still, her curvy ass made up for that fact easily.


    The bandits remained captivated by her beauty for a couple of seconds more before they returned to reality. Their eyes were filled with pure lust as they stared at this beauty.


    From afar, this scene appeared as if amb had walked into their of some bloodthirsty wolves.


    Camille possessed 3 Star Rank Cultivation. She knew she would lose if she fought against these bandits.


    Her guards instantly asked her to flee. They were going to hold back these bandits for her.


    Camille had no desire to be defiled by these men. Also, she had toplete her mission, so she decisively ran in the direction of Dn''s hideout.


    Fortunately, the Silver Hawks had sent a map to the King, and she knew just which direction she had to run.


    One Vice Leader was stationed behind to fight against the Guard Captain, while the other two who possessed cultivation that greatly surpassed Camille''s followed her.


    They easily caught up with her and attacked her. They couldn''t allow her to try and escape again.


    Camille had blocked that attack, but she was still sent flying. She crashed into a tree and felt that she must have broken a bone due to that crash.


    It was incredibly challenging for her to even get up at this moment.


    When she opened her eyes, she witnessed those banditsing closer with wretched grins on their faces.


    At that moment, Camille felt true fear. Even though she had nned this situation, she never imagined it would reach this point so quickly. She thought her guards could have held on until Dn and his reinforcements arrived.


    But from the looks of it, Dn would be toote. She would definitely be defiled before that man could get here.


    Camille was wriggling as she tried to get up and escape. However, her try failed as she fell back on the ground.


    The bandit gang''s leader was the one who had stepped near Camille, and his hands reached out for her blouse. The wretched grin on his face widened, and he looked incredibly wicked right now.


    Camille could only close her eyes and pray for rescue.


    She was startled to suddenly hear a loud scream. When she opened her eyes, she saw the broad back of someone.


    This person was a guy. He slowly turned his face towards her so that Camille could have a good look at him.


    He had gray, oily hair awkwardly hanging over a bony, heart-shaped face. Beady hazel eyes gazed at her with worry clearly visible in them. In terms of appearance, this guy could only be considered slightly above average.


    However, at this moment, Camille felt as if he was the prince who could save her from this cmity!


    She temporarily didn''t care about her n. She just wanted to retain her purity. She could entrap that man with another method.


    The man protecting her asked her if she was all right. Before Camille could respond, the bandits attacked this man.


    There was a golden hue around this man as he fought against those bandits. He killed them after dozens of minutes.


    After he killed these bandits, he approached the beauty and revealed his name to her.


    Camille instantly realized that he was the very man she was targeting. She was quite delighted that her n worked. She did feel some regret since he was her savior who had saved her from a perilous situation, but she quickly hardened her heart and mind. She had her own reasons why she couldn''t give up on her mission!


    A few secondster, she fainted.

 Chapter 373 - Abyss Blood Flower

    After Camille had fainted, Dn picked her up. He nned to carry her to his hideout and apply first aid to her wounds.


    Suddenly, he turned his head to look in the front. He heard the rustling of the leaves before his surroundings turned silent.


    <em>''It seems he has escaped.''</em> Dn heard a voice inside his head.


    He nodded before Dn found the guards who hade along with Camille.


    The guards were delighted to see that Camille was still alive. All of them started heading to his hideout. It was very close to their current location. As Dn carried Camille, he couldn''t help but closely stare at her body.


    Since he was carrying her, he had already experienced just how soft her skin was. But now that he had a good look at her face, he noticed that she was extremely gorgeous.


    She was definitely one of the most beautiful women he had seen in his life. A glint of strong desire appeared in his eyes. However, it disappeared just as quickly, and a solemn look appeared in his eyes.


    It seemed as though he was concealing this desire from someone. If Azaroth had known this fact, he would have immediately concluded that Dn was hiding it from the Angel.


    Without a doubt, the Angel was certainly a stunning beauty. It would be surprising if Dn didn''t have any ideas for forcing him to move on that angel. It''s also possible that he initially assisted her in order to gain the favor of this supreme beauty.


    However, Sargan had already escaped. Thus, Azaroth couldn''t have known this fact.


    Earlier, Sargan had sensed someone probing his spirit, and he immediately chose to flee. He had witnessed the entire event as he was quite curious about that bandit gang and the carriage.


    Sargan soon finished speaking and waited for Azaroth''s response.


    "¡­Find out more about that beauty," Azaroth spoke.


    <em>''From what the situation seems like, this woman could be a possible future lover of Dn. She could be a point of breakthrough for Sargan.''</em>


    Sargan asked with a confused tone, "But how can I find out about this beauty? All my informers are found out easily and killed."


    Azaroth expected this question and responded immediately, "Approach the guards of that woman. They are bound to know about her. Kill them once you figure out her identity."


    "As youmand, Master. I will target the Guard Captain. He is bound to know more than those cannon fodder," Sargan spoke.


    "Don''t be hasty about it. Look for an opportunity and then target him. They must have returned to Dn''s hideout. Going to that ce would be akin to suicide for you. Wait for him toe out. He is bound to go to the town to get a drink or something," Azaroth advised him.


    "Don''t worry, master. This task will be performed perfectly!" Sargan promised with a confident tone.


    "Very well," Azaroth spoke before he cut off his Spiritual Connection with his ring.


    He continued to roam in the surroundings and saw a crevice in the ground. A thin crack appeared on the ground, but Azaroth could sense a lot of open space under it.


    Moreover, he sensed the presence of a single beast inside it. This beast was actually at the peak 5 Star Rank.


    In this area where the Spiritual Energy was so thin, this beast could be considered quite strong. And such strong beasts were usually the guardians of a strong herb.


    If this beast was the guardian of a Spiritual Herb, this could possibly be a rare herb. It had actively concealed itself from Azaroth''s spiritual senses. After gaining Nature''s Blessings, this might be the first herb that he failed to sense.


    Azaroth strongly struck the crevice and created an opening for him to explore this ce.


    His eyes widened slightly as he saw arge creature lying inside this crevice. Its body was that of a lizard, scales of a python, and four pir-like limbs.


    It was actually a Crazed Storm Lizard.


    As soon as Azaroth broke the crevice and created an opening, this Crazed Storm Lizard''s eyes instantly shot open.


    Those slitted eyes nced at Azaroth before it realized that he was an intruder. The fact that he possessed a human''s aura angered it greatly.


    "How dare you enter this Lord''s ce?!" The Crazed Storm Lizard roared out. It possessed a great arrogance as a dense killing intent was released in the area.


    Azaroth was struck with that dense killing intent, and he coldly smiled.


    "A lizard truly has low intelligence. You have no idea of how close to death you truly are," Azaroth spoke with a scornful tone.


    He then ignored that Crazed Storm Lizard and looked around as if he was searching for something.


    The Crazed Storm Lizard''s eyes turned red with anger as it saw Azaroth ignoring it.


    The beast immediately released a strong wind pressure on the ground and jumped towards Azaroth.


    That wind pressure it had released earlier allowed the Crazed Storm Lizard to leap onto Azaroth even though he was flying so high in the air.


    "See, you are now even rushing to your death," Azaroth''s cold voice resounded in that dark ce.


    The Lizard felt terror from the bottom of its soul. Just as it was thinking of dodging, Azaroth moved from his spot.


    His speed was too quick. The Lizard barely caught sight of his movements. Fortunately, it had polished its instincts to such an extent that its tail moved instantly and tried to block Azaroth''s attack.


    However, Azaroth grabbed that tail with his right hand. He then began to rotate that Lizard''s body and casually threw him to the side.


    The Crazed Storm Lizard crashed into the wall on the side. Although the crash was terrifying, the scales on its body prevented it from getting gravely injured.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s eyes were focused on a nt. It was a blood-red flower with few yellow-colored stamens.


    Azaroth was extremely delighted to see this flower. It was something he urgently needed as it was the main ingredient for a specific pill in his mind.


    This was Abyss Blood Flower! Moreover, it had actually gained spirituality in this area!


    This was shocking news. The Abyss Blood Flower required an enormous amount of blood to grow. Additionally, its surroundings had to be filled with dense Ardor.


    However, Azaroth sensed that the Ardor in the air was quite thin. This amount of Ardor couldn''t have evolved this Abyss Blood Flower.


    He was truly puzzled about this fact. However, he decided to think about thister and approached this Abyss Blood Flower.


    Even as he was so close, he didn''t hastily pluck this flower. If he was impulsive, he might even kill this flower before he could use it.


    Azaroth dripped his blood over this Abyss Blood Flower. In this drop of blood, he had concentrated his Wooden Attribute.


    As soon as that drop of blood touched the Abyss Blood Flower, it trembled slightly before it began to mature quickly.


    The flowerhead was actually budding at speed visible to naked eyes. Azaroth was extremely satisfied that his experiment was a sess.


    Since this Abyss Blood Flower used blood and Ardor to grow, he felt that using his Blood that was filled with Wooden Attribute would greatly elerate its growth.


    After all, Azaroth''s blood contained a trace of the Demon God''s Bloodline. It would be strange if the Abyss Blood Flower didn''t mature. In fact, it could mutate and be even stronger.


    Azaroth''s true aim in maturing this Abyss Blood Flower was to collect its seeds.


    A couple of minutester, he managed to grab hold of many seeds of this Abyss Blood Flower. Only then did Azaroth pluck this flower while his hand was congealed with the pure Ardor.


    He even created a special array that would allow it to absorb the surrounding Ardor quickly, even when it was inside his Spatial Ring.


    He then ced this herb in his Spatial Ring before looking around and checking out the whole ce.. Now that light had entered this dark location, Azaroth noticed a faint bluish shine.

 Chapter 374 - Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade

    That faint bluish-colored gleam drew Azaroth''s attention. He''d figured out what was producing the gleam, and it made his heart race with excitement.


    When he arrived at the ce, he spotted a faint blue colored jewel protruding from the ground.


    His guess turned into confirmation as he bent down and pulled out that jewel from the ground.


    "<strong>Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade!</strong> There is truly an <strong>Emperor Tier Mineral</strong> here!"


    Now that Azaroth had yanked this jewel out, he noticed that it seemed a bit dull. It had exhausted all the Spiritual Energy within it.


    Azaroth noticed there were more jewels below this one. And they were dull as well.


    He was a bit disappointed since it would have been better if these jades still possessed Spiritual Energy.


    But he didn''t stay distressed for too long. He still decided to gather all these jades since he had methods to allow them to recover their energy!


    Azaroth possessed some resources that specialized in this thing. These were the resources that he had traded with the King of the Glerian Kingdom for the rare herbs.


    It took quite some time for Azaroth to gather all these Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade. He was delighted to find out that after a depth of 500 meters, all the Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jades were filled with Spirit Energy.


    Moreover, they seemed even more in quantity! Azaroth immediately turned these jades into his priority and ced them in his Purple Rings.


    If Azaroth had weighed them, he would have found out that he now had 70 tons of Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade.


    Out of these, 30 tons of Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade had already exhausted its Spiritual Energy.


    However, the rest were filled with pure Spirit Energy.


    Azaroth knew that the Abyss Blood Flower couldn''t have absorbed this much Spiritual Energy. It must have been someone else who nted this Abyss Blood Flower here and also used the Spiritual Energy within the Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade.


    Azaroth had a few theories why that individual hadn''t been able to take all this Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade.


    The first one is that he couldn''t carry all this as he didn''t possess Spatial Equipment capable of storing this quantity of minerals.


    The second one was that he didn''t have a location to store these minerals. If others found out that he possessed a treasure like this, he would be hunted.


    But still, that man had managed to utilize 30 tons of this Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade. If it was a single person who knew the truth, then Azaroth could already guess that individual''s identity.


    However, there was also a high chance that some expert had exhausted quite a bit of the Spiritual Energy of this Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade earlier, and an individual had coincidently found it and used a bit of this Jade.


    Anyway, Azaroth didn''t spend too much of his time on these thoughts. He had gathered all the jades, and it was time to return.


    During all this time, Azaroth had kept his senses focused on the camp that was set up by Tiana and her subordinates.


    The enemy was approaching that area, and they numbered in hundreds.


    Dozens of beasts had already attacked the camp, but they were all ughtered by Tiana and her subordinates.


    The beasts that had attacked the camp were merely cannon fodder. These were beasts with extremely low intelligence. They went crazy upon seeing humans and immediatelyunched their attack.


    When Tiana and her subordinates revealed their true aura, these beasts understood that their enemies were quite strong.


    Their bodies trembled in fear, but it was toote to retreat. They could only face the Icy attacksunched by these women.


    Even though they had ughtered these beasts, Tiana and her subordinates knew that they couldn''t rx yet.


    They were still on the battleground, and their enemies were quite close. They could suffer the moment they rx.


    They were relieved to see Azaroth return at this time.


    Upon returning, Azaroth looked around and seemed to notice the beast corpses on the ground.


    "It seems you have already prepared the ingredients for our dinner. That''s good," Azarothmented with a smile.


    Zofia approached Azaroth with a worried expression. She mustered her courage and spoke, "M-Master, when we were fighting, I heard some sound from that direction."


    "That''s only natural. Many warriors of the Night Mountain Sect are hiding there. They were probably observing your battle against the beasts and nned to attack you once the sun sets." Azaroth casually responded.


    His words instantly caught the attention of all his subordinates. They all stared at him with a startled expression.


    Azaroth responded with a question, "What?"


    Meanwhile, a few women showed nervous looks as they spoke out, "We should n how we are going to get out of this situation. We aren''t prepared to take them on right now."


    "Master, do you know how many enemies we have? If we know their numbers and the direction they will approach, we can prepare some countermeasures against them," Another woman stated.


    Azaroth smirked at that question and responded quickly, "Hundreds of them are ready to jump in and fight you. If they see you preparing traps for them, do you think they will still fall for them?"


    "¡­What?! Hundreds of enemies?!" Rosalie shouted in shock.


    "That''s correct. But don''t worry so much. Most of them are 3 Star Warriors, and they won''t attack us any time soon. Themander seems to be of a cautious kind. He doesn''t dare to lead his men to attack us unless he finds out why the ck Lake Sect recalled their disciples and stationed us here. We are barely dozens of warriors, recing nearly a hundred warriors."


    "The enemymander thinks there must be some trick involved. So, chill out. This will be good training for your nerves and ability to handle pressure," Azaroth added with a smile.


    Azaroth then stared at Tiana and gave her a signal. Tiana immediately gathered her subordinates and assigned them particr positions, and ordered them to patrol that area.


    In reality, this patrol was useless. However, Azaroth wanted the enemy to think that they were behaving normally. Nothing had changed after Azaroth''s return.


    The two women who were assigned to the direction from which the enemy would approach were fidgeting a bit due to anxiety. If the enemy attacked, they would be the first casualties of the battle.


    Tiana had specifically chosen these two women since they were the ones with the weakest nerves. To make them reach the same level as theirrades, their training naturally had to be tougher than others.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth went into his tent and rxed. He pulled out some seeds of the Abyss Blood Flower and nted them in many flowerpots. There was a total of 20 seeds that were all nted into different flowerpots


    Azaroth dripped his blood over each one of these flowerpots. This time, he hadn''t used his Blood Essence.


    If he lost over 20 drops of Blood Essence so suddenly, even he would feel the difference. He couldn''t be hasty about it, or he would lose more than what he would gain.


    Even though it wasn''t Azaroth''s Blood Essence, the seeds still grew quite quickly. His blood still contained the power of Wooden Energy. The green stem rose from the soil as leaves grew over it.


    Only after the leaves grew did the growth halt. Azaroth knew he couldn''t drop his blood over them so quickly.


    This herb hadn''t even managed to digest the power in that drop of blood from before. If it received another drop, it wouldn''t lead to good results as the nt might even burst.. If it was mature, Azaroth could have taken the risk, but this herb was too young.allnovelfull

 Chapter 375 - The Assault

    In the nighttime, Azaroth gathered all the women in front of his shelter.


    "It''s time for you tounch an attack. I will teach you an Eye Technique that would allow you to see during the night," Azaroth spoke with a serious tone.


    "Learn this. This technique''s name is <strong>Wild Cat''s Eye</strong>." Azaroth spoke the name of this technique.


    It was something he personally created by observing and experimenting on a few tigers and cats.


    He knew that their eyes could even see perfectly in the dark. There had to be some trick about it.


    He had pulled their eyes and observed how the flow of energy worked. In reality, these beasts also held some Bloodline Abilities. From the surface, it appeared that the night vision of these beasts activated due to their Bloodline.


    However, Azaroth didn''t give up and recorded how the Bloodline worked inside their eyes. It only then did he create this<strong> Wild Cat''s Eye</strong>.


    It wasn''t a very strong ability. But it allowed a warrior to possess a perfect night vision. Moreover, he could even see at a further distance than normal.


    It wasn''t very challenging for these women to learn this technique. They just had to be careful when they controlled their Ardor.


    If they were careless, the veins in their eyes might burst, and they would go blind. All these women, including Tiana, had a blue hue near the pupils of their eyes.


    "You have reached the initial stage of this technique. Once you master this technique, this Blue Glow of your eyes will disappear, and no one can figure out that you are using this technique. After you master this technique, it would even assist your perception greatly. So, work hard at it," Azaroth spoke.


    "Currently, the enemies are stationed at specific positions within a small area. I will assign you some particr locations, and your task would be to annihte all enemies in that area. Before you begin topare your numbers with that of enemies, remember that they are all extremely tired after observing you for an entire day. Moreover, they have no knowledge about this sneak attack. Only a few of them would be awake, and if you can handle them silently, you would seed in your mission."


    Azaroth calmly advised these women.


    He stared at Tiana and ordered her, "You will handle the frontlines of the enemy. There are nearly 30 enemies in that area."


    Tiana was slightly startled to hear that she would be up against so many enemies.


    Rosalie had a doubt and immediately asked Azaroth, "¡­Master, what if we alert the enemy? Are we supposed to retreat?"


    At that moment, they all heard a cold reply from Azaroth, "No. You are to return only after ughtering all your enemies."


    "You need to put your life on the line toplete this mission. I won''t tolerate anyone who fails this mission!" Azaroth spoke rather coldly. All these women gulped down a mouthful of saliva.


    "Let''s begin," Azaroth spoke as he created a holographic map using his Spiritual Energy.


    He then informed them of his n and assigned them to specific locations on that holographic map.


    "Any questions?" He asked them with a calm tone as he put away that holographic map.


    No woman responded at that moment. They were all extremely worried about their capability toplete this task.


    "Since this will be your first mission, I will rent you some weapons. Inform me what kind of weapon you prefer," Azaroth spoke with a calm tone. He had many weapons in his Purple Ring.


    His motive was to figure out just their true abilities. He knew that no one could aplish this task secretly.


    They would at the most kill half the enemies in secret and would have to face the other half in a head-on battle.


    All the women were startled to hear these words, but they reacted quickly and informed him of their desired weapon.


    Some preferred swords, sabers, ribbons, and one of them even requested a Great Sword. Azaroth provided them with the weapons they required.


    The weapons he provided were all Ice Elemental in nature, and they were at the Lord Rank. He had stronger Ice Elemental Weapons with him, but he didn''t want to assist them too much.


    A King Ranked Weapon would make it too easy for them to win against these weapons. In fact, theirbat power had sharply risen after getting these Lord Rank Weapons.


    Tiana chose a sword while Helena chose a saber. Helena had trained using a saber a little. She wasn''t very good at it, but she felt that the Saber suited her the best among these weapons.


    "Alright, disperse!" Azaroth ordered these women. The women dispersed and were moving towards their assigned positions.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth let out a sigh after these women left.


    He began to fly in the sky. Moreover, he was flying quite high so that he could see the entire terrain.


    As he flew higher, he noticed a faint suppression acting onto him. The Demon Blood within him was stimted as it immediately dealt with that suppression.


    <em>''A Demon''s presence somewhere nearby? Moreover, a Demon Emperor Ranked thing?''</em> Azaroth''s expression changed slightly.


    <em>''It seems to being from that moat. It seems to be a natural chasm rather than a man-made moat.''</em> Azaroth thought.


    Soon, he focused on the ground and noticed that his subordinates had reached their assigned locations.


    The enemy scouts had no idea that these women had suddenly surrounded them. Unlike Azaroth''s subordinates, they couldn''t see clearly in the night.


    And since these women could see their enemy, they were especially careful to not be caught by the enemy.


    Moreover, the positions Azaroth assigned them were essentially the blind spots of the enemy. They would never expect an attack from that direction.


    Well, excluding Tiana, that is. She had tounch a frontal attack!


    Around the same moment, all these women whispered their techniques to attack the enemy!


    <strong>"Icy Spear Rain!"</strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong>"Chilling Ice Destruction!"</strong>


    Tianaunched the Icy Spear Rain at her enemies. This was because she had to cover a veryrge area that was filled with her enemies, who were unaware of this attack.


    Before the enemies couldment that they were under attack, they saw thousands of Icy Spears raining down on them.


    The enemy warriors acted on their instincts and immediately jumped away to save their life. Some managed to save their lives, while others had their bodies pierced by those Icy Spears.


    The ones who survived immediately yelled with all their might, "<strong>ENEMY ATTACK!</strong>"


    He had shouted this to awaken hisrades from their sleep. He wanted them to be prepared for any further enemy attacks.


    Meanwhile, on the other side, Tiana''s subordinatesunched Chilling Ice Destruction. Dense Icy Wind was released from their hands as they targeted the enemies up ahead.


    Anything that came into contact with this Icy Wind froze at speed visible to the naked eye. Whether it was a tree, human body, beasts, all of them froze under the effect of this Chilling Ice Destruction.


    This was an extremely ruthless attack because when the muscles of these warriors turned rigid. As they tried to struggle inside while frozen inside that ice, they had no idea that their muscles were tearing apart.


    The Ice had turned their sensespletely numb. They couldn''t have known about this.


    However, the enemy warriors were now more or less awake. The <strong>Chilling Ice Destruction</strong> didn''t cause as much damage as Tiana''s subordinates were expecting. The primary reason was that the enemy had already run away before that Icy Wind could affect them.


    They were now waiting for this <strong>Chilling Ice Destruction</strong> attack to end. After that, they would ruthlessly counter!

 Chapter 376 - Blizzard Seals The Sky

    The Chilling Ice Destruction and the Icy Spear Rain ughtered nearly 60 warriors out of the 210 warriors stationed in the area. The rest were somewhat injured, but they survived.


    And now, these injured warriors turned towards the enemy closest to their position and charged at them.


    "<strong>Blizzard Seals The Sky!</strong>"


    Tiana used this attack to suddenly create a blizzard around her. It easily covered her presence, and her enemies were truly started as they didn''t know how to find her.


    Even the cries of the warriors as they were attacked by Tiana were masked by this blizzard. Using this technique, she could easily target any warrior she wanted, and the other warriors would have no idea about her location. They couldn''t attack her! It meant that the situation remained the same.


    Unfortunately, her subordinates weren''t so witty.


    They were extremely startled and anxious when they saw so many enemies spring up to fight against them.


    They immediately pulled out the respective weapon they chose earlier and used their best technique to kill the warriors that came their way.


    Since Azaroth was handing them these weapons, these women guessed he also wanted to witness their head-on battle.


    This was kind of true, but Azaroth would have preferred if they had fought like Tiana. However, he knew he was being too hopeful of them.


    Their nervousness and their shock must have prevented them from calmly thinking about this situation.


    Each one soon began to fight against these warriors. It was a fierce battle as the enemy''s first attack struck most of these women and injured them. Fortunately, the injury wasn''t too serious.


    The women who were struck by that attack were seemingly awoken and realized just how grave the situation was.


    These women got struck because they had thought that Azaroth woulde to protect them. For some reason, they believed that when they were about to be killed, Azaroth woulde and help them.


    However, their expectations were ruthlessly shattered. They realized that the only way they would be returning today was to fight here and put their lives on the line.


    The closebat skills of most of these women were naturally less than satisfactory for Azaroth. They missed too many openings.


    Each one of these women was fighting against at the least 6 warriors in a head-on battle. And more warriors were joining their battle.


    When these women saw more warriors join their battle, their blood turned cold. They sensed a huge threat to their life.


    During this moment, all these women began to crazily use all their Ardor and quickly recover using the <strong>Frozen Snow Scripture</strong>.


    As these women expended so much of their Ardor and recovered it using the Frozen Snow Scripture, they didn''t realize, but their Seven Star Yin Physique had begun to truly awaken.


    Under this threat of death, these women had no time to inspect their energy. If so, they would have noticed that it was bing purer with each passing second. Her attacks were getting denser.


    These two things boosted her assault''s power by nearly three to five times.


    Naturally, her enemies were attacking her as well. However, those women would quickly utilize a defensive ability to save their lives.


    They were fortunate that most of their enemies were 3 Star Warriors whose attacks they could easily block. If they were 4 Star Warriors, these women knew they would have been killed by now.


    Only most of their enemy was 3 Star Warriors. There were 4 Star Warriors mixed in them. And these women didn''t have the time to check which one the 4 Star Warrior within the group wasing to attack them.


    Now, their reinforcements were alsoing.


    At this moment, Azaroth''s voice suddenly resounded in their minds, and he ordered them to use their strongest techniques no matter who the enemy was.


    They were following his order and using the strongest techniques they knew. Fortunately, they received some assistance in this darkness since they possessed the Wild Cat''s Eye, while their opponent didn''t.


    Azaroth knew that the Seven Star Yin Physique was activating under the effect of adrenaline. He wanted them to takeplete advantage of this opportunity.


    Slowly, their aura and power were building up. Previously, they would have exchanged three attacks with the opponent before killing him, but now, they only needed one.


    However, none of these women realized this as they were more focused on keeping themselves alive and killing their enemies.


    The weapons Azaroth handed were also truly amazing. Any attackunched using these attacks would seemingly pass through any defensive technique used by the enemy.


    Azaroth kept watching over the entire battlefield as he analyzed the abilities of these women. He also sent mental messages to women who were about to be killed.


    He wasn''t nning to personally intervene, but he could still advise them from afar. Only if they survived could they have a chance to grow.


    ''Next time he takes arge swing, thrust at his stomach,'' Azaroth advised Zofia, who was struggling against her opponent.


    Her opponent was arge man wielding an Axe. He was moving towards Zofia with a grin on his face.


    It was a wicked and bloodthirsty grin that made Zofia fear him instinctively. However, at this moment, she heard Azaroth''s voice in her mind.


    She was jolted awake from that fear. She was extremely delighted to hear Azaroth''s voice and that advice. This meant he was actually watching her battle right now. He didn''t want her to die!


    Some romantic feelings did bud in her heart before they stopped. Zofia stared at her opponent intensely as she believed she couldn''t show a pathetic disy to Azaroth.


    Naturally, Zofia wasn''t the only one who was advised by Azaroth. 3 more women required his advice.


    However, after applying Azaroth''s advice, these women understood the logic behind his words. Two of these women felt as if their brain was moving at an extremely quick pace. They turned to look at their next opponents. Instinctively, just from their run, these women felt that their opponents were too vulnerable. There were too many openings!


    Naturally, in their battle against those opponents, these women targeted those openings specifically. The results amazed them.


    They effortlessly killed those enemies. And these opponents were 4 Star Warriors, not 3 Star Warriors.


    It was the first time in their life that they had experienced this feeling.


    When they looked at the other warriors, they instinctively saw many openings. These two women were immediately excited and went to fight against these warriors.


    It brought them great joy to know that they had sessfully analyzed an opponent''s opening. They were betting their life upon this instinctive feeling. If it was wrong, they would have died.


    The battle ended after a few hours since it had begun.


    None of Azaroth''s subordinates lost their lives because each time they were about to die, Azaroth would give them a bit of advice that would somehow kill their opponents and save their life.


    The bodies of these women, including Tiana, were riddled with injuries. The opponents had ripped quite a bit of their garments. Their snow-white skin and their clothing were drenched with blood.


    These women had no notion if the blood on their bodies belonged to them or to their adversaries.


    They just felt extremely tired after fighting for so long.. In fact, their visions were turning darker, and they saw a faint visage of Azaroth before they lost their consciousness.

 Chapter 377 - Zena Arrives

    Azaroth had brought these women back to their camp. They were all resting in their respective tents. Their bodies were still riddled with injuries as Azaroth hadn''t healed them.


    Naturally, Azaroth had a good reason for not healing them. Firstly, he wanted to increase their willpower, and enduring some pain was a good way to strengthen someone''s willpower.


    Secondly, the blood that was leaking out of their body was filled with impurities. If he healed them now and prevented this blood from leaking out, it would mix with the pure blood that would be filled with energy.


    If these impurities mixed with that blood, the blood would lose quite a bit of its spirituality and power. Azaroth wanted to have them enjoy the fruits of theirbor.


    He stared at two women who had entered into a semi-enlightened state. It was surprising to see two women out of ten entering into a semi-enlightened state.


    Azaroth understood that these two had an immense potential within them. These two women were none other than Helena and Iris.


    Once he was sure that no one was facing life-threatening danger, he went in the middle of the camp and whistled loudly.


    Just as he had expected, he saw a lightning star heading towards him. A slight smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he called out, "Good to see that you have arrived, Zena."


    Zena hade in her little bird''s form using her shapeshifting ability. She immediately crashed into his chest as if wanting to embrace him.


    Azaroth gently patted her head and asked her, "Are those Frozen Spirit Foxes doing well?"


    Zena immediately let out some squeaks to reply back to her. ording to what Azaroth understood, the Frozen Spirit Foxes had already taken over the territory of a Blue Palmed Frog.


    It seemed as though this Blue Palmed Frog was a 4 Star Expert. Zena was initially nning to assist them, but they managed to deal with that Frog by themselves.


    Azaroth wasn''t surprised at all. Even though these Frozen Spirit Foxes were three-star beasts, they possessed Ice Attribute. One that wouldpletely overwhelm the water attribute of the Blue Palmed Frog.


    Moreover, among these two foxes was a Frozen Spirit Fox Empress that possessed Emperor Mark on her forehead. If she used that mark, it should have greatly suppressed the ability of that Frog.


    Azaroth nodded his head in satisfaction and spoke, "Good. Order them that it''s time to relocate. They should set up a camp near our current position."


    When Zena heard those words, she squealed in delight and began to circle around Azaroth excitedly.


    It meant she could also stay near Azaroth from now on. Zena liked ying with the Frozen Spirit Foxes, but as she grew, she wanted to be more with Azaroth.


    Azaroth let out a sigh as he thought <em>''News of this ughter will soon reach the Night Mountain Sect. If they have a great rtionship with the beasts in the area, the beasts will attack us tonight. It would be beneficial for Zena and the Foxes to get some exercise.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''The ck Lake Sect will soon realize that the strength of this group isn''t what it seems. They are going to begin investigating us as well. Not that it matters.</em>'' Azaroth had a cold smile on his face.


    After nearly 3 hours, Zena returned with the Frozen Spirit Foxes closely following her. The territory of these two foxes was just a bit farther away from the ck Lake Sect''s territory, so it didn''t take them long to reach Azaroth''s camp.


    These Frozen Spirit Foxes were still very young, and when they appeared, they rushed to their owners.


    One was owned by Tiana, while the other belonged to Helena. These foxes were shocked to see their masters so injured.


    The symbol on their forehead began to glow with a reddish glow. These two werepletely infuriated. Suddenly, the two heard Zena''s loud screech.


    The shine of their symbol immediately began to fade as they came out of the tents of their master. They still had a greatly displeased look on their faces.


    These foxes soon stood ahead of Azaroth. They naturally recalled this man. But not because he ughtered their entire tribe, but because he was the first person they saw after their evolution.


    During their evolution, Azaroth had wiped out their memories. He knew things would be troublesome if these foxes recalled that he had massacred their tribe.


    "Are you worried about the injuries you saw on your master''s bodies?" Azaroth''s question was met with a nod.


    Azaroth spoke with a calm expression, "It''s not as serious as it seems. They aren''t in any mortal danger. After a few days of rest, they will recover."


    These foxes looked at each other before nodding their heads to signify that they understood.


    "Alright, since that''s out of the way, let''s talk about something else. I have an important task for you. From now on, the two of you and Zena are also going to live with us in this camp."


    "Your task would be to deal with any beast that approaches our camp. I hardly care whether you subdue them or kill them. I don''t need any attacks from them," Azaroth spoke with amanding tone.


    Zena suddenly appeared in front of the two foxes, and serious squeaked. She seemed to be saying to leave everything to her.


    There was a little bit of fear in the eyes of those foxes as they saw Zena. Clearly, they had been greatly bullied by this little bird.


    Zena was like a strict instructor who would get the job done from these two foxes.


    Azaroth stretched his arms a little as he returned to his tent and sat in a lotus position before beginning his meditation.


    He knew that he couldn''t advance to the 6 Star Rank by absorbing the surrounding energy anymore. He still kept this habit.


    It was something like a routine for him at this moment. It allowed him to empty his mind of any troubles and calm him down. This was also one of the only methods to advance mentally.


    Azaroth was now waiting for some time to pass. He had to get the report from Sargan as well. Whether he could kidnap that guard captain of that woman or not. He wasn''t worried about Sargan''s well-being. If Sargan was in trouble, he would have immediately used the Mystical Spiritual Connecting Ring to request help from him.


    Since Sargan hadn''t yet contacted him, it meant he was still looking for an opportunity.


    Simr was the case with Bianca. She had already kidnapped that Alchemist Liam Parker and also informed him of her offer.


    The Alchemist had no choice but to agree, or his family would suffer. He received the recipe for the poison.


    The poison was quiteplex for him, and he required some time to deduce itpletely. After a few hours, he finished deducing it and requested the herbs and resources required to concoct it.


    However, Bianca still hadn''t managed to gather all the resources for this poison. For some reason, three of the main ingredients werepletely out of stock in Mesenana City.


    She had informed Azaroth and asked him whether she should use her name to order some ingredients from another city.


    Azaroth stopped her from taking that action. The ingredients she was ordering were widely known to be used in poisonous medicines.


    If she ordered them, she would be shouting that she wanted to concoct poison!


    Azaroth sent a message to Josephine and asked her to sneak some ingredients into a carriage and send it to Mesenana City.


    Even the carriage driver had no idea that precious ingredients were mixed into the materials of his carriage.


    Bianca was going to have her maid get those ingredients from that carriage, and no one would know.


    Hence, Bianca was waiting for this carriage to arrive.

 Chapter 378 - Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation

    Tiana and her subordinates woke up after 5 hours. By the time they woke up, their wounds had stopped bleeding.


    Their blood clotted and prevented any more blood from rushing out of their body. However, they still experienced immense pain from those injuries.


    Even as they tried to move their head, they suddenly sensed sharp pain from different parts of their body.


    After staying down for another half an hour, they forced their body to get up while enduring the pain. Some of them even groaned due to the pain.


    During the battle, they had been on a severe adrenaline rush. Thus, they weren''t affected by the pain that greatly.


    But now, their body was at rest. It hadpletely rxed, and their minds constantly informed them of the sharp pain due to their injuries.


    When they left their camp, they saw it was nighttime. They lowered their head and noticed a fire was lit ahead of them.


    It was a huge fire that illuminated the entire camp. They noticed Azaroth seated there while holding a huge stick that had pierced the huge body of a boar. From the looks of it, Azaroth was roasting this hog.


    He could do this effortlessly using his Hell mes, but he had returned to the basic method just for the heck of it. Eating in this manner had its own vor.


    When the women saw Azaroth peacefully eating meat, their stomachs grumbled in response. It was an instinctive response that indicated just how hungry their bodies were.


    In reality, warriors like them didn''t need to depend on food that greatly. As long as they possessed Ardor, their bodies would function perfectly.


    However, in the previous few hours, the bodies of thesedies had been entirely concentrated on recuperating from their injuries.


    Their Ardor was entirely exhausted, and their body urgently required nutrients for further recovery. This ounted for their present state of hunger.


    Azaroth signaled them to sit beside him. He asked, "Eat this. The meat of his boar is quite valuable for your recuperation."


    Those remarks brought joy to thesedies'' hearts. They were delighted to see how concerned he was about their health. He had already prepared this meat so that they could eat it and recover quickly.


    In actuality, this wasn''t much of a deal. These women admired Azaroth so much and had such a positive opinion of him that even the smallest act he performed seemed monumental to them.


    Azaroth was aware of this fact and used it in his favorpletely.


    At this moment, one of the women suddenly bowed lightly and spoke, "Thank you for those instructions, Leader. I wouldn''t have survived if not for your advice at that critical moment."


    Another woman spoke with a respectful and devoted look on her face, "Yes, leader. I also wanted to thank you."


    It was at that moment all of them realized that Azaroth had assisted them all. He was actually advising each one only at critical moments where they would have lost their lives.


    "I like the look in your eyes. It shows that the battle had a deep impact on your mind. You all stared at death in the face and returned. That fear and excitement you experienced at that point must have been greater than anything you faced in your life earlier. This was my primary motive. I wanted you to gain this feeling of death."


    "However, let me burst your bubble right now. What you experienced at that point will be nothingpared to what you face in the future. You can consider yourself trained only when you can stare at death in the face and still keep your heart calm," Azaroth finished speaking.


    His remarks were like a bucket of ice-cold water pouring down on these women. They were all ecstatic at the prospect of surviving that terrible ordeal. But now, when they heard that they would be facing many more situations like this, they couldn''t help but grow slightly anxious.


    Azaroth noticed their nervousness and added, "But still, I am pleased to see that no one among you died. That battle earlier overexerted your bodies which excavated the potential deeply hidden within you."


    "As you recover from your injuries, you will notice that your senses are much sharper than earlier. Your Ardor will be much purer and denser than before. What you need to do is get used to your newfound strength and Ardor. It will be a pity if you die because you failed to control your own strength." Azaroth spoke with a serious look.


    "Yes, Leader!" They all spoke respectfully.


    Azaroth then turned towards Tiana and spoke out, "Come with me for a walk."


    Tiana nodded her head while the other women sat around that campfire and began to eat the roasted meat. There was enough meat to quench everyone''s hunger.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was talking to Tiana.


    "In the battle earlier, unlike your subordinates, your battles weren''t that intense. Hence, there is still lots of hidden potential within you. Do you know why?" Azaroth asked Tiana.


    Tiana remained silent as she thought about the reason, but she had no idea why.


    "Unlike your subordinates, you didn''t face your death. There were many reasons for this. No opponent could pose a threat to you. Unlike your subordinates, you used a trick to deal with your foes one by one, who fought against an entire group alone. So, there were more instances where they were in life-threatening danger. Do you understand what I am saying?" Azaroth asked.


    Tiana nodded after a few seconds. She did understand what he wanted from her.


    "Don''t think of this ce as a battlefield. This is a training ground where I am going to convert you all into true experts. It won''t work if you fall behind your own subordinates." Azaroth spoke seriously.


    "You are right, master. I should have realized this earlier, but I was just too focused on ughtering them all for some reason. Next time, I will face my enemies head-on," Tiana admitted with a bitter smile on her face.


    Azaroth shook his head negatively, "Don''t take my word and follow it too fervently. Learn to adapt ording to your situation. If there are too many strong enemies, then don''t be focused on fighting against them head-on. Fight however you want in that situation. I meant to say that you don''t need to be so cautious every time you see something dangerous. If this continues, it will affect your decision-making as well. You will take slow decisions, and that would greatly affect the sect''s growth."


    "I understand, master. I will work on this." Tiana responded with a resolute expression.


    She knew this was an issue of her character. She had to resolve it quickly.


    "Alright, now let''s talk about why I asked you for this walk," Azaroth spoke with a serious expression.


    Tiana was slightly puzzled to hear that statement. Wasn''t this what he wanted to tell her? Was there still something else remaining?


    Azaroth acted as if he didn''t notice her confusion and spoke, "It''s time to teach you the ultimate skill that would allow you to use your physique to itsplete potential within a battle."


    That wording instantly surprised Tiana. She had received great benefits from the physique she possessed.


    She never thought that she was only using a part of its potential.


    Azaroth had a smile on his face as he added, "Did you think that the power of your physique was only this? If you unlock the true potential of your physique, you can easily contend against that friend of yours even after she uses that spirit inside her."


    Azaroth then added, "You need a specific technique to use your physique to its full potential. This is known as the <strong>Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation!</strong>"

 Chapter 379 - Reckless Primeval Ice Emperor

    Tiana was instantly excited upon hearing that technique''s name.


    Azaroth had a satisfied look as he saw that excitement as she heard the technique''s name. This was an Ancient Technique created by an Ice Emperor who had revolutionized the use of Ice Techniques.


    He was a true genius in terms of creating techniques. Some of his techniques were so great that even a Demon God like him was interested in them. Azaroth utilized Ice Element, but he admitted that he wasn''t as good at creating Ice Techniques as this man.


    Unfortunately, his ingenuity also became the very reason for the Ice Emperor''s death.


    He unknowingly created an absolutely forbidden technique that broke the veryws of Heaven and Earth.


    The Heavenly Tribtion it summoned was even stronger than the Heavenly Tribtion that appeared during the ascension to the Demon God Rank.


    Even though the Ice Emperor was immensely powerful and possessed a wide range of techniques, he was still helpless against that Heavenly Tribtion.


    It mercilessly struck him down and turned him into ashes. It seemed as though the heavens couldn''t tolerate his presence in the world any longer.


    However, the Heavenly Tribtion failed to erase the mark that the Ice Emperor had left on the records of history.


    Many individuals who heard about the Ice Emperor''s death were now immensely curious about him. They tried to gather every bit of information about the Ice Emperor to find out about his death.


    After investigating for a few months, a specific group that had followed the teachings of the Ice Emperor finally managed to connect all pieces of the puzzle.


    The Ice Emperor had been working on a forbidden technique before his death. This technique possessed the ability to freeze even thews of Heaven and Earth. Thews resonated for some time when this technique was initially used before it would overwhelm those veryws and draw power from them.


    The technique that the Ice Emperor was working on was known as <strong>Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation!</strong>


    This Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation technique was still only an initial level of that forbidden technique. Thus, Azaroth wasn''t scared of summoning the Heavenly Tribtion by using this technique.


    Moreover, Azaroth felt that the heavenlyws had changed over the years. They felt brittle when hepared them to Heavenly Laws during his previous life as a Demon God.


    It was a pity he couldn''t investigate this issue unless he reached the Demon King rank. Only at that rank could he begin to observe and interact with the Heavenly Laws.


    Azaroth had now begun to teach this Sacred Ice Sovereign Technique to Tiana. Tiana had no idea about the background and history of this technique.


    She was actually learning a legendary technique without having any idea about it. Countless experts would wish to kill her for this great opportunity.


    Tiana felt the cold enter her meridians and veins and visibly winced in pain, but she heard Azaroth''s cold voice resounding in her mind, "This pain is nothing. Endure it."


    Tiana clenched her teeth as she tried to endure that pain. However, the ice in her meridians was expanding at a quick pace.


    Even though she wanted to stay silent, a few groans due to pain were still released from her mouth.


    "Continue this for another hour." Azaroth''s cold voice resounded in her mind.


    Those words made Tiana fall into deep despair. The pain was so great that she felt her life shing in her mind.


    As her life reyed in her mind, she recalled many moments she had forgotten. As this urred, she felt that she was seeing her life from an entirely different perspective.


    It was greatly helpful for herprehension and strengthening her willpower.


    As a result, Tiana ceased screaming, even though the pain intensified with each passing second.


    Azaroth was satisfied to see this. He wanted to initiate this phenomenon, which was one of the primary reasons he made her cultivate this technique.


    Tiana''s body had already undergone a transformation through the Seven Star Yin Pellet. The impurities in her body had already been removed.


    However, her current transformation was widening her meridians and making them sturdier. She won''t need time to gather energy andunch her attack. She couldunch a strong attack instantly.


    Azaroth believed that herbat prowess would be at least twice as great as before.


    Moreover, her energy would possess a trace of Absolute Zero Ice. This trace of Absolute Zero Ice couldn''t be underestimated.


    It wasn''t like the <strong>Absolute Zero Ice</strong> that Azaroth''s minions used during Tiana''s training in Kloras Town. They were merely using that technique. They didn''t actually possess the Absolute Zero Ice.


    But the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique possessed the true essence of the Absolute Zero Ice.


    This technique had greatly increased the Ice Emperor''s Prestige.


    During the Great Era, there were three Ice Emperors who rose to prominence. Among them, this man was the number one Ice Expert who was recognized not just by his peers or public but also by superior existences like Gods or Rank 8 Experts.


    His title was <strong>Reckless Primeval Ice Emperor!</strong> The term <strong>Reckless</strong> was added after his death due to the Heavenly Tribtion.


    Otherwise, he was known as <strong>Primeval Ice Emperor</strong>. This was because his techniques or Ice Element that he possessed seemed to possess a trace of Primordial Ice. This was the true Primordial Ice that was the origin of this Ice Element.


    The Primordial Ice contained the purest and strongestws of Ice. Moreover, the Primeval Ice Emperor had gained insight into them and created a technique.


    He was constantly upgrading that technique and had unknowingly created something so forbidden that heaven couldn''t tolerate its existence. Hence, the Primeval Ice Emperor was immediately struck by that Heavenly Strike.


    The Ice Element Azaroth possessed already possessed this trace of Absolute Zero Ice.


    In his previous life, he had also cultivated this Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique. And the information and progress of this technique were present within his drop of Demon God''s Blood that he had already fused with.


    A few hourster, Tiana opened her eyes. Other than a Noble Aura emanating out of her body, a trace of maturity was also present in her eyes.


    Azaroth knew that she had significant gains through this technique.


    "Spend the next few days on controlling your aura. It''s leaking a lot," Azarothmented with a straight face.


    Tiana nodded her head. She now felt as if her mind was extremely clear. All kinds of worries had vanished.


    She had many new ideas in her mind. Overall, she felt refreshed.


    She suddenly tried to do just as Azaroth had said and controlled her aura so that it wouldn''t leak out.


    Azaroth noticed this and nodded in satisfaction, "It seems that you can already control this aura. Good. Now, make sure it stays that way. You need to keep it at that level, and you need to do this unconsciously."


    Tiana nodded in eptance.


    "Alright, now let''s talk about the main topic. Since you are already somewhat proficient in controlling your aura, you can spend the next few days getting familiar with the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique. Check out how powerful it is and try to keep it inplete control. Then, you have to teach this technique to your subordinates.." Azaroth finally informed Tiana of her true task.

 Chapter 380 - The Battle Of The Beasts

    It was nearly midnight time, and Azaroth heard multiple howls from different directions. His subordinates were meditating as they focused on recovering from their injuries.


    They were jolted awake by those terrifying howls. They stood up and rushed out of their tents, respectively.


    When they were outside their tents, they saw Azaroth standing ahead of them with moonlight illuminating his figure. There was a scheming smile on his face that suggested that everything was going ording to the n.


    "Do we need to fight, master?" Iris suddenly asked Azaroth. She was voicing the questions in the hearts of all herrades.


    Azaroth turned towards her and spoke slowly, "Return to your tents and focus on recovering. Your strength will be required tomorrow."


    Nearly all of Azaroth''s subordinates took a deep breath in relief. They also didn''t want to rush to their deaths.


    They were so injured that they could barely utilize Ardor to empower their bodies. It would have been useless for them to go and fight against the beasts.


    However, even then, they left the final decision to Azaroth. If he had ordered them to charge at the beasts, they would have done so no matter how reluctant they were.


    Among them, the only one who was in peak condition was Tiana. This was because she hadn''t been injured in that battle earlier.


    She looked slightly reluctant as she was also ordered to return to her tent.


    She thought that Azaroth was personally making a move and further thought that this was because she was too weak to assist him right now.


    Azaroth noticed her emotions but decided to say nothing. It would be better for her to stay frustrated like that. Furthermore, the issue was quite different, and he was too sluggish to fully exin it.


    The Frozen Spirit Foxes and Zena moved at this moment.


    The foxes were following Zena as they charged towards their opponent. Those kits were startled when they saw threerge spiders heading towards them.


    Those kits heard some rustling sound and looked around. They were greatly shocked to see five Blue Poison Tongue Frog, three Iron Scaled Alligators, a Wild Crimson Goat, and dozens of Giant Flesh-Eating Rats.


    If that wasn''t all, they also heard some screeches and raised their heads in response. There was a flock of birds led by a Gigantic Purple Vulture.


    The flock of birds following that Vulture mostly belonged to the same species. But there were birds that belonged to other species as well, like the Scarlet Beak Kingfisher.


    While these foxes were startled to see so many different species of beasts heading towards them, Zena released a cold snort.


    She seemed to hold a contemptuous look as she red at all these beasts. They were all a rank stronger than her. But was she scared? Not a chance!


    Azaroth would rarely summon her to do a task for him. And Zena always tried her best to not disappoint him and even earn his praise.


    This time would be no different for her.


    While she flew forwards, her body began to glow with a faint Golden Light surrounding her body. Normally, Zena used her Heavenly Lightning to deal with her opponents.


    However, the Heavenly Lightning Zena possessed wasn''t her strongest kind of lightning. It was certainly much stronger than the lightning element possessed by a standard individual, but Zena possessed two different kinds of Lightning.


    One was the Crimson Lightning of the Heavens, while the other was the Golden Lightning of the Beasts.


    Moreover, in terms of pure destructive ability, her Golden Lightning was far superior. She hadn''t yet used this lightning in a battle since her control over it was quite weak.


    But her control had grown since then. She was now extremely confident in utilizing this lightning.


    Suddenly, her speed increased as if the air resistance hadpletely vanished, and the concept didn''t exist for Zena.


    Even the beasts on the ground and the birds in the air lost sight of Zena.


    These beasts only saw three beasts that had headed out from the camp. Even though they had seen just how huge their group was, these beasts continued to charge forward.


    For some reason, the beasts were intensely agitated as they realized that these beasts had submitted to a human.


    The beasts had very low intelligence. Even after they reach the 5 Star Rank, only the Fox Species could be considered to have terrific intelligence among the myriad species of the Beast Race.


    Since these beasts had low intelligence, they never stopped for a moment to think about the situation as a whole.


    They saw that two Foxes were betraying the Beast Race as they obeyed a human''s order toe and fight them.


    Thispletely enraged them since it struck their pride as a beast. Well, that was only true for the 4 Star Beasts. The rest just followed their leader.


    The beasts changed their target to the two fox kits they saw.


    The Fox, possessing the strong cultivation and bloodline, stepped increased her speed and ran ahead of hisrade to meet the opponent head-on first.


    There wasn''t some profound thinking behind it. As 3 Star Beasts, they weren''t capable of such aplicated process yet.


    It was apletely instinctive reaction of trying to save herrades. The Emperor Symbol on that kit''s face began to glow brightly.


    A monkey suddenly jumped towards the two fox kits. It was waiting for them to arrive and immediately pounced on them as he saw them enter his territory.


    The monkey nned to use this moment tounch a strong attack on the two foxes and kill them. The monkey sensed his blood telling him to attack these foxes and eat them.


    He instinctively had a desire to eat the meat of Frozen Spirit Foxes and drink their blood. His blood was boiling with excitement as it waspletely activated and on the verge of an evolution.


    Naturally, these monkeys weren''t the only ones who had an instinctive desire to ughter these foxes and drink their blood. The other beasts had simr urges and were rushing towards these foxes at their quickest pace.


    However, the monkeys would reach their objective sooner than them.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign stopped suddenly as she red at these monkeys. She released her Emperor Symbol at itsplete strength.


    The ice suddenly appeared around these three Monkeys'' bodies. Their movements turned slightly rigid due to the cold ice restricting their movements.


    At this moment, another beast seemed to appear on this battlefield. It was a two-horned Ox.


    The horns on its head glowed slightly, and the icy aura around those monkeys'' bodies was suppressed to a specific extent.


    These monkeys found out that the Ice was no longer restricting their bodies, so they rushed towards those two Foxes at a quick pace.


    The two kits were startled to see these monkeys charging at them. The weaker one couldn''t gather an attack strong enough to affect away these monkeys. While the stronger one had just utilized an attack and was still under the cooldown effect as he absorbed the impact of that technique.


    Using the Emperor Symbol forcefully like that naturally had its own side effects.


    However, they never expected a thin string of pure Golden Light to strike these monkeys.


    When the two kits looked around, they saw all the beasts in their vision had been struck with this technique.


    When they looked up to see the source of this technique, they saw Zena flying with an extremely huge lightning aura surrounding her body.


    This was Zena''s <strong>Lightning Network</strong> technique!

 Chapter 381 - Zenas Plan

    Zena''s Lightning Network technique didn''t just affect the monkeys that were charging at those kits. It had also affected the other beasts in the area.


    In reality, a spherical barrier formed in the entire area. Nearly all the beasts that hade to attack them were trapped in that spherical barrier.


    This spherical barrier had been formed using Zena''s Beast Lightning. All the beasts who were lucky enough to stay out of this barrier did not attempt to breach it.


    The beasts possessed low intelligence, but their instincts were extremely sharp. These instincts had been honed by betting their life in every battle.


    Many beasts were reliant on their instincts. They would typically avoid ces where their senses told them there was danger.


    Zena didn''t target them since she had her hands full while dealing with the beasts inside her Barrier.


    She continued tounch the thin lightning strings at the enemy beasts. The Lightning Strings seemed to havepletely paralyzed the movements of the beasts.


    Only a few of the birds flying in the air weren''t struck with the Lightning Strings. These birds were also quite terrified of those Lightning Strings and that Lightning Network, but they managed to suppress their fears since they had managed to avoid those Lightning Strings.


    A tint of hope appeared in their mind as they took advantage of this opportunity tounch an attack at Zena.


    Several wind disks wereunched at Zena. Zena saw those attacks and easily dodged them by flying to the side.


    However, a specific flock of birds with scarlet feathers appeared in that direction. They immediately opened their beaks andunched several me feathers at Zena.


    More wind disks appeared andbined with those me feathers, making those attacks much deadlier.


    If Zena was struck by these me feathers, even she would be injured.


    However, the condition was that these me feathers could strike her. Zena didn''t n to dodge or fly to the side this time.


    She had a resolute look in her eyes as she stared at that red-feathered flock of birds ahead of her.


    Multiple Golden Lightning strings wereunched by Zena, and they immediately moved towards that flock of birds.


    The leader of that flock seemed to be terrified as it spotted those Lightning Strings. It immediately flew out of the way, and the other members of its flock were struck by those Lightning Strings.


    Those birds immediately fell on the ground after they were struck by those Lightning Strings. Zena looked even more incensed as she saw this scene.


    She could easily deduce that therge bird that had just escaped her Lightning Strings was most probably the leader of this flock.


    For him to have run away and left his followers in danger was an extremely despicable act.


    She immediately followed this bird and nned to make him experience real pain.


    The bird realized that Zena was rushing towards him and immediatelyunched a few fireballs that exploded after striking Zena''s body.


    The sh of the explosion blinded the eyes of all beasts and birds. Many birds and beasts were looking up, hoping to see Zena hurt.


    Unfortunately, they were disappointed when they saw the Golden Lightning around Zena''s body glowing brighter than before.


    Zena was currently using a technique known as Wild Rush. It was actually the technique of some ground beasts that would surround themselves with their aura and rush towards their targets at their full speed.


    This technique was considered perfect for horses, oxen, andrge wolves who possess great speed and a strong bodies.


    A strong body is considered a requirement to use the Wild Rush. It won''t just increase the power of that technique but also allow them to endure that technique''s terrifying strain and bacsh.


    In the blink of an eye, Zena''s body reached that bird''s body and struck his body. Once that bird came in contact with Zena''s Golden Lightning, it began disintegrating.


    This was how densely condensed that Golden Lightning was. A few instancester, Zena had created a hole in the center of that bird''s body and passed it.


    The hole was so great that the bird could no longer recover using its natural regenerative abilities. Most of its vital organs had already been incinerated by the Golden Lightning, and its life soon ended.


    Zena then let out a loud and sharp screech that intimidated all the beasts in the area. Even the young fox kits were startled to hear that screech. Their blood made them instinctively fear Zena.


    However, Zena suddenly turned towards these young fox kits and let out some loud sounds. The young fox kits easily understood what she wanted to convey.


    Zena was telling them to hurry up and kill all the paralyzed beasts. She couldn''t hold onto them for much longer.


    The fox kits immediately returned to reality as they walked near the paralyzed bodies of the beasts and began to kill them.


    Zena''s eyes had a satisfied look as she saw these two kits killing these paralyzed beasts. Zena''s Golden Lightning was remarkably powerful. No beast managed to sessfully defend itself from those strings formed of Golden Lightning.


    In reality, Zena could use this Golden Lightning Network to kill all these beasts who had been paralyzed. However, she let these young fox kits take the kill.


    She naturally had a good reason for these actions. It was because Azaroth had ordered her to train and guide these young fox kits and turn them into experts.


    Zena had already conquered multiple kinds of beasts. She knew the mentality of beasts well enough.


    She also knew the quickest way to increase the strength of a young beast was to make it fight against a beast of nearly equal strength.


    If the beast wins, it will be filled with great confidence. This confidence would be greatly helpful in its future battles.


    However, Zena also knew that it would be hopeless if she let them have all these kills without making them put any real effort into it.


    Thus, she purposely weakened her Golden Lightning String''s power over some beasts that were a little farther away from the two little kits.


    Zena was giving these two kits some time to prepare for the attack from this beast.


    The fox kit with Emperor Mark immediately turned in that direction. Its sharp instincts sensed danger from that direction.


    However, the danger she sensed wasn''t something she couldn''t handle. In fact, her blood was pumping crazily as an Icy Aura was released from her body.


    The other fox kit that was with her had a simr reaction. But her Icy Aura was quite weak inparison to herrade.


    The fox kit with the Emperor Ranked Bloodline immediately moved towards the beast charging towards her was a Blood Alligator.


    This Blood Alligator''s body was glowing with orange light as it charged towards the fox kits. It had a crazed look in its eyes as it red at the fox kits.


    The Blood Alligator had already realized the difference between it and Zena. It knew that it wouldn''t survive this battle against Zena. Thus, he wanted to at least kill these fox kits and make it easier for hisrades in their battle against Zena.


    Coincidently, the Lightning String''s power weakened, and the Blood Alligator immediately used its ability to turn its scales as hard as steel. It was extremely confident that even Zena''s Lightning String couldn''t pierce its scales easily now.


    Meanwhile, the Fox kit possessing the Emperor Ranked Bloodline that was initially rushing towards the Blood Alligator suddenly changed its direction after reaching near the Blood Alligator''s body.


    In fact, it jumped towards the left and conjured ice on its tail that extended its reach. It thenunched that extended tail and attacked the Blood Alligator with it.


    Before the Blood Alligator could even blink its eyes, its hard body was pierced by that Icy Tail.

 Chapter 382 - The Blood Armor

    The Blood Alligator''s body had already been pierced by the Icy tails of the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign. However, the cut was quite shallow. It wouldn''t affect the movements of the Blood Alligator.


    Simultaneously, the blood that leaked out immediately formed a clot and prevented any more blood from leaking out of that wound.


    He immediately shot a ray of light in that direction. This ray of light was filled with Earth Ardor and would have conjured Earth on the Frozen Spirit Fox''s body and prevented it from moving.


    However, the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign was quite quick. It had already moved from that spot and attacked that Blood Alligator from another direction with the same method.


    This continued for a couple of seconds as the Blood Alligator continued to bolster his defense and find an opportunity to strike this fox.


    Unfortunately, it hadn''t seeded yet. And the way the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign attacked it, it had no chance to bounce back orunch a counterattack.


    Suddenly, as the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign was about tounch her final attack and finish off this Blood Alligator, she was struck by a sudden attack on her back.


    It appeared to be a pure white-colored web string that struck her tail. Before she could react, the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign was thrown in another direction, away from the Blood Alligator


    The one whounched this web string was the Sixteen-Legged Spider as it red at the two foxes.


    Just like the Blood Alligator, it had also realized the difference between it and Zena. Thus, it wanted to kill these two foxes while it could.


    Zena had weakened her Lightning Strings so that more beasts could break out of the paralysis. She had witnessed the battle between the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign and that Blood Alligator.


    She realized that this lizard wasn''t enough to trouble these foxes. She needed to make the situation more dangerous.


    In the end, the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign was thrown far away.


    However, just as her body was about to crash into the ground, she conjured Ice around her body and slowed her fall, and slid on the ground so that she wouldn''t receive any injuries.


    As she was quite young, if her body suffered great physical damage, she wouldn''t be able to fight against these beasts.


    She possessed a Bloodline that could be considered an Emperor Ranked Bloodline. Along with this bloodline came a pride that made her want to win and subdue these beasts.


    At that moment, the other Frozen Spirit Fox had alreadyunched multiple Ice Beams at the Blood Alligator.


    Most of the joints and scales of the Blood Alligator were frozen due to that cold ice. It could no longer move. Thus, even though it was still alive, it couldn''t join the fight yet.


    It had to deal with this Ice that had frozen its body first.


    However, the Blood Alligator was very reluctant to deal with this Ice around his joints and on his scales. It instinctively realized that its joints and scales would immediately suffer great damage if it broke off this ice.


    Its joints would most likely be permanently damaged while its scales would fall off. And the time to recover its scales would be very long.


    With bloodshot eyes, the Blood Alligator red at the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen that had frozen it. If looks could kill, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen would have died dozens of times by now.


    However, the Blood Alligator had also made up its mind to swallow these two foxes.


    It was also ncing at that Spider cautiously as if it was afraid that this Spider would steal its food.


    The Blood Alligator received an instinctive feeling that it would immediately advance to the next rank if it swallowed these two foxes. Or, at the least, its bloodline would bepletely nourished.


    Typically, a beast with a strong lineage will suppress a beast with a lesser bloodline. However, if the beast with the strong lineage was truly weak, while the beast with the lesser bloodline was actually powerful, the scenario would be drastically different.


    The beast with the strong lineage would be nourishment for the beasts with the weaker bloodline. In fact, this would allow the beasts with weaker bloodlines to advance immediately.


    At the least, their bloodlines would advance or undergo a mutation. This was what they hoped for.


    The Blood Alligator was getting crazy as it thought that the Sixteen-Legged Spider might be trying to steal its food. It had to work hard and quickly to make sure this wouldn''t ur.


    The blood clots that had formed immediately cracked as the blood overflowed out of the wounds of the Blood Alligator.


    The blood slid down the parts that had been frozen.


    This Blood contained the purest form of the Earth Ardor. And the Blood Alligators could control it perfectly.


    Thus, when its blood came in contact with that Ice, the Earth Ardor within it instantly started a fierce battle against that Icy Element.


    As that fierce battle between the Earth Element and the Icy Element urred, the parts that hadpletely frozen due to the Ice were now beginning to break.


    Blood immediately covered that spot and formed a massive clot that would prevent any more blood from leaking out.


    The blood clot that had formed was somewhat different from earlier. It looked sturdier and gave off a potent aura of Earth Ardor.


    This was the special ability of the Blood Alligator. They could cover their body with their own blood and boost it greatly. Their physical power was off the charts since each attack from them would be imbued with a potent quantity of Earth Ardor.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen had witnessed this entire process ur. She wasn''t sitting idle at this moment.


    She had gathered a strong amount of Ice Energy in her twin tails. Her twin tails were glowing brightly, and when she felt that she had gathered enough energy, she released it in the Blood Alligator''s direction.


    The Blood Alligator stood rooted to its spot as that Ice Beam headed towards it. It wasn''t that it didn''t want to move, but it couldn''t.


    It couldn''t move or disturb its body while its Blood transformed into its Armor since it would disrupt the process.


    If the process was disrupted, its blood would essentially be wasted, and it would need to initiate this process from the very beginning.


    Thus, the Blood Alligator decided to meet that Icy Beam head-on.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was initially delighted to know that she had struck her target. However, that happiness turned into despair quickly enough as she realized that her target wasn''t freezing up!


    Only then did she notice that the Blood Alligator''s face was entirely red with blood. This meant it concentrated its Blood Armor ability on its face and used it to meet that Ice Beam head-on.


    A fierce battle seemed to ur between the Earth Ardor and the Icy Ardor. The Earth Ardor was clearly winning since the Blood Alligator''s Body was no longer freezing.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Queen realized that she was wasting her Ardor with this attack. It wasn''t strong enough to affect the Blood Alligator''s Body.


    While the Blood Alligator was fighting against her Ice Beam, he quickly covered his entire body with that Blood Armor.


    She was well aware that if she continued to battle in this manner, the Blood Alligator would soon be ready with its Blood Armor, and she would no longer be able to benefit from its invulnerability.


    She was thinking of closing the distance and physical battle against this Blood Alligator.


    Although her physical strength was much worse than this Blood Alligator, her speed and agility were much greater.


    Even her speed of reactions was much superior to this Blood Alligator.. Thus, the Frozen Spirit Fox Queen was quite confident in having this physical battle against the Blood Alligator.

 Chapter 383 - The Sixteen-Legged Spiders Death

    In the meantime, the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign had her eyes locked onto that Sixteen-Legged Spider.


    The Sixteen-Legged Spider immediatelyunched multiple threads of that sticky web at the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign.


    Unlike before, the fox coldly snorted, and her tails released multiple rays of Ice Ardor. The web threads were immediately frozen when they came in contact with those rays of Ice Ardor.


    The Giant Spider immediately tore its connection with those web threads. It knew that if it continued to maintain its connection, that ray of Ice Ardor might reach it and freeze it.


    That would be absolutely terrifying.


    The Giant Spider had already jumped from its spot andnded on the branch of a tree. It then stared in Zena''s direction as if it was checking whether Zena was going to attack it or not.


    Its worry was instinctive as the distance between it and Zena had decreased. Most beasts would have furiouslyunched an attack at the spider to close the gap between them.


    However, it sighed in relief when it saw Zena clearly ignoring this. She was probably focused on the other beasts.


    The Lightning Strings released by Zena were getting weaker with each passing second. As time passed, more beasts would break free of these restraints.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign thought that Zena couldn''t endure much longer, so she had to quickly finish this battle.


    The Spider swinging from one tree to another. Its speed was extremely quick as the spider would have already moved by the time the fox stared in that direction.


    While swinging from one tree to another, the spider set up a giant web around Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign.


    It wanted to restrain the movements of the fox. The web strings that the spider was using were much stronger than before.


    They contained the power of metal. Not only were they sticky, but also very durable. The spider was confident that even if this fox used her ice to deal with this web string, she would be helpless.


    The fox also knew that if this continued, she would be trapped in this web. However, she also knew that she couldn''t strike the spider-like this.


    She didn''t even know where this spider was, so targeting it was greatly challenging.


    However, it wasn''t that the fox was entirely helpless in this situation.


    She did have a technique that would turn the tables in her favor. She was just wondering whether using that technique was worth it or not.


    This hesitation was costly as the fox suddenly felt a web string strike her body. The tension in that web string increased as she was pulled by that spider.


    The fox was dragged to the spider''s location. And even then, the spider shook the web string slightly, and the fox crashed into the nearbyrge tree.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign had used Ardor to defend her vital organs and bones. And she seeded in that attempt.


    However, the spider didn''t have any intention of letting its target get away at this point. Thus, it shook the string again, and this time, the fox crashed into the ground so strongly that there was a sharp crackling sound resounding in the area.


    The spider pulled the web string again as he nned to repeat this attack. However, the spider found out that the web string wouldn''t budge.


    The Sixteen-Legged Spider then noticed that the Fox had frozen its legs with the ground. To pull the fox right now, the Spider would either have to cut off her legs or uproot the ground with her.


    All Sixteen legs of the spider immediately grabbed hold of the web string that was stuck to the fox''s body.


    The spider pulled it with all his might, and the ground around the fox began to crackle. Clearly, the strength of this spider couldn''t be underestimated.


    Now, the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign knew that even if she used her Bloodline Mark to suppress him, it wouldn''t affect this spider that greatly.


    The fox gritted her teeth at that moment and no longer hesitated.


    She released a dense Icy Aura that began to freeze everything around her. The ground, the web strings, and the trees around her.


    When the spider saw that his web strings were slowly freezing under the effect of that Icy Aura, he immediately countered it with his Earth and Metal Ardor.


    The Icy Aura was incredibly strong. Even thebined might of the Earth and Metal Ardor could hardly resist it.


    The web string connected to her chest shattered due to the effect of ice. Once this Icy Aura shattered, the fox immediately turned towards the Spider and leaped in that direction.


    It seemed driven to make the spider pay for those attacks earlier.


    The spider knew that it wouldn''t be a good idea to have a closebat battle against this fox. It could congeal ice around its tails and swiftly attack it.


    Even though the spider had Sixteen Legs, it wasn''t confident in blocking that attack. This was one reason why it had maintained its distance from the fox.


    When the Fox saw this Spider jump in the left direction, she had a devious look on her face


    Before the spider could even touch the ground, a gigantic Ice Spear shot out of the ground, stabbing this Spider in its chest.


    The spider immediately understood that this fox was prepared in case the spider decided to run.


    <strong>"Triple Tail Ice sh!"</strong>


    The Fox moved her tails and released three sharp diagonal shes that possessed a dense amount of Icy Aura.


    Not just the Icy Aura, it also possessed the power of the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign''s Bloodline Aura as well. Thus, this attack might seem basic, but it was extremely strong.


    When the Sixteen-Legged Spider''s back was struck by these three shes, it was immediately split into three parts. The shes continued to move forward. They soon struck a tree and froze it.


    Just as the Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign was about to breathe in relief, she felt the ground around her rumble strongly.


    When she turned around, she saw a greyish Rhino charging at her with a furious look in its eyes. Due to anger, its eyes werepletely red.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign''s Bloodline Symbol had greatly restrained the ability of that Spider. However, it didn''t seem to work on this Rhino.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign realized that this must be because the Rhino was extremely angry right now.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign was quite tired since releasing that much Icy Aura and then using her Bloodline Ability ced an enormous strain on her body.


    She still forced her legs to move so that she could dodge this Rhino''s Charge.


    The Rhino''s feet dug deep into the ground as it charged forward. This was the effort it ced during its charge. Even the Icy Ground it came in contact with was crushed when the Rhino charged over it.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign had already stopped infusing the Icy Ground with her Ardor. Thus, it was quite weakpared to when it was first used by Fox.


    Soon, the Rhino''s giant body passed the Fox Sovereign. The Fox Sovereign felt the powerful aura of this Rhino brush past her body.


    If not for the Icy Ardor around the Fox Sovereign, she would have been injured after being struck with that aura.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox Sovereign decided to attack that Rhino with her triple tails attack. Pure Ice was congealed on the tips of the tails that would pierce the Rhino''s body.


    However, before their tails could strike the Rhino''s body, me erupted from the Rhino''s body!


    This eruption led to a giant explosion that threw the fox far away from the Rhino''s body.. The fox was somewhat injured as her Icy Aura couldn''t defend against that strong volcanic explosion.

 Chapter 384 - Sealing The Great Kun Spirit

    In the next couple of hours, the two Frozen Spirit Foxes continued to battle against a myriad number of beasts.


    Zena was releasing the beasts one by one so that these foxes could get used to the pace. Once she felt that these foxes were dominating their enemies too greatly, she would release another beast that would attack the fox nearest to their position.


    These battles continued for the entire night. Tiana and her subordinates had no idea that while they were peacefully sleeping and recovering from their injuries, these two foxes had battled against nearly dozens of beasts.


    All their opponents were much stronger than them. If not for the Bloodline Suppression, they would have died to the first enemy they faced.


    Once the two foxes had reached their limit, Zena killed the remaining beasts by exploding that Lightning String. Once she had dealt with the beasts in the area, she immediately flew to Azaroth and informed him of the entire scenario.


    Azaroth was sleeping at this moment. He woke up as he sensed Zena approaching him.


    After hearing how Zena had trained foxes, Azaroth felt like facepalming himself right now.


    <em>''Zena has observed Noah too much. She is even mimicking that training method and using it on these kits,''</em> Azaroth thought with a tired sigh.


    Noah''s training on his subordinates worked perfectly because these warriors were already adults, and they were mature enough to realize what was good or bad for them.


    However, these foxes were too young. They didn''t have much idea about their limits and were stuck to the ground.


    These foxes had overexerted their muscles during their battle against the other beasts. By the time they reached their limit, they had already overexerted their muscles 3 times.


    Even after reaching their limit, the will to survive would force them to stand again and battle against their opponent.


    Noah''s training had always been focused on activating this will of survival. Only when the warriors were closest to death would they advance greatly in terms of ability and mentally.


    The two foxes had also greatly reinforced their willpower through this entire battle scenario. However, their muscles had been torn now, and they experienced unreal pain even when they tried to stand up.


    In fact, their nerves were greatly damaged, and their bodies were hardly in their control.


    Azaroth went to the location and was surprised to check out their body''s state. It was much worse than he initially imagined.


    Azaroth enveloped the two in his Heavenly mes and began to heal them. These Heavenly mes were healing their bodies while also activating their self-recovery ability.


    Once the muscles are healed through that self-recovery ability, they will be much stronger. At the least, their limits to tolerating the strain on their bodies would increase.


    Thus, Azaroth only healed their wounds that were visible to the naked eye. The Self-Recovery Ability of these foxes had been activated, and he wanted their nerves and other internal injuries to recover naturally.


    Azaroth turned towards the beast corpses and waved his hand. All the beast corpses in the area floated towards him and were soon ced in a Spatial Ring.


    After gathering these beast corpses, he began to gather some herbs in the area.


    As he was gathering some herbs, Azaroth suddenly sensed someone and ced thest stalk of the herb in his Spatial Ring before speaking out with a smile, "It''s not good to spy on someone, Miss Erica. Especially not for someone like you, who is the Sect Mistress of a Top Sect like the ck Lake Sect."


    Erica soon appeared in front of Azaroth. She was flying in the air with an emotionless look in her eyes.


    She gracefullynded on the ground right ahead of Azaroth. With a cold snort, she spoke out, "I heard the news that you dealt with the initial attack from the Night Mountain Sect. Congrattions."


    There was a hint of contempt in those words.


    Azaroth didn''t mind at all and instead smiled with disdain, "You are very wee. But I don''t suppose you were delighted to see that, Erica. You were here since you knew how the Night Mountain Sect would counterattack."


    "You were expecting me to be caught off guard by the beast attack during the night. You were nning to save me at a critical moment in return for concealing the information regarding your spirit," Azaroth spoke with a confident tone.


    "However, you chose to not intervene when you saw how Zena and those two Frozen Spirit Foxes had dealt with the beasts. You have realized this entire situation was directly under my control."


    Erica was dumbstruck at those words. Her silence also suggested her agreement.


    Azaroth noticed that astonished look on her face and spoke, "You didn''t want me to know that you were keeping an eye on me. I mustmend you for having maintained your cool for so long."


    "¡­Why did you call out to me then? If you had already seen through everything, it would have been better for you to act as if I wasn''t here," Erica asked while looking straight into Azaroth''s eyes.


    She was trying to figure out how Azaroth''s mindset worked.


    Azaroth responded casually, "The answer is simple enough. You are not a threat to me. In fact, you cannot pose a threat to me even if you want to."


    Before Erica could question him, Azaroth spoke out, "It seems you need a demonstration."


    Without waiting for Erica''s response, Azaroth raised his arm and released a strong Spiritual Pressure.


    Unlike when Azaroth had released his Spiritual Pressure during the meeting, the Spiritual Pressure released from him was nearly six times stronger.


    Since it was six times stronger, it even greatly affected Erica.


    Erica unconsciously released her own Spiritual Pressure and contacted the Great Kun within her body ''<em>Help me out a little.''</em>


    However, what she found greatly surprising was that the Great Kun didn''t respond for a couple of seconds.


    ''<em>What happened, Marin? Why are you not responding? Are you okay?''</em> She asked him multiple questions, but the Great Kun named Marin didn''t respond.


    Azaroth noticed that Erica seemed to have lost her focus. He guessed that she was probably trying to contact her Spirit.


    "Are you trying to contact your Spirit? You see, I have used my Spiritual Pressure to seal it in your mindscape. Even if it wants to, its power can''t leak out of your mindscape," Azaroth spoke up at this moment.


    "What?!" Erica was extremely shocked to hear this statement.


    She knew just how strong Marin was. Ever since she had summoned it, she had never been able to see through its existence. She wasn''t sure whether it was a Beast Emperor Rank of existence or a Beast Demi-God.


    A Demi-God was a rank that was the peak of the Emperor Rank. However, these Emperors had touched the essence of the God Rank, and they held a strong possibility of advancing into the God Rank.


    However, Marin couldn''t see through Azaroth''s strength. But still, Marin had mentioned that there was no need to fear him that much. He could use his power through Erica''s body and boost her strongly enough that she could easily defeat Azaroth.


    There was also the gigantic rift between a 5 Star Warrior and a 6 Star Warrior.


    Moreover, Azaroth''s attack had been a pure Spiritual Attack. Since Marin was essentially a spirit, it possessed great control over the Spiritual Energy and was highly resistant to Spiritual Attacks.


    Thus, Erica was quite confident in dealing with Azaroth at this moment and maintaining her superior advantage.


    However, she didn''t realize when the situation slipped from her hands. In fact, she felt as though she never held firm control over this situation.


    It was the man deviously smiling ahead of her who did.

 Chapter 385 - Stealing The Fate Energy

    "You relied on the Great Kun''s power too greatly. You thought that the Great Kun would be superior to me in terms of controlling Spiritual Energy."


    "Now that the Great Kun had been sealed inside your mindscape where it can''t assist you no matter what he tries, yourbat power must be affected greatly," Azaroth spoke with a smirk.


    "¡­Do you actually think you can win against a 6 Star Warrior?" Erica spoke with a cold tone.


    Fierce intent of water element was released from her body. Clearly, she wasn''t like some random 6 Star Warrior. She had already gained insight into the water element and possessed the ability to control itsws.


    Azaroth had a smirk on his face as he spoke, "It''s not as difficult as you believe."


    Erica was instantly enraged to hear those words. She was about to attack him, but Azaroth spoke up at this moment, "However, my motive in calling you out wasn''t to fight you. Our fight won''t benefit either side."


    "Hmph. Weren''t you confident in dealing with me?" Erica taunted Azaroth immediately, but she began to recall her aura.


    Azaroth shrugged in response, "If the two of us fight, themotion would soon reach the Night Mountain Sect. That won''t be good for either of us."


    "I brought my subordinates so that they could gain somebat experience here. If the Night Mountain Sect orders all its disciples to charge in this direction, I would need to flee with my subordinates. That would defeat my purpose ofing here."


    He then spoke even more seriously, "Also, the disciples ck Lake Sect will be caught off-guard by this sudden attack. Due to our battle, you will suffer some injuries. And it will affect your ability to protect your sect."


    Erica frowned at those words. She felt that since this man was speaking these words so confidently, he must indeed possess some trump card to injure her.


    If he could injure her, that would indeed affect her ability to battle against the Night Mountain Sect.


    The Night Mountain Sect far surpassed the ck Lake Sect in terms of the number of elder figures.


    However, because of Erica''s power, they had remained holed up in their sect and were looking for an opportunity to attack the ck Lake Sect''s camp.


    If Erica was injured, these elder figures of the Night Mountain Sect would essentially be free to attack the disciples of the ck Lake Sect.


    If that urred, it would cause permanent damage to the ck Lake Sect.


    This was one reason why Erica hadn''t participated in the battle just yet. She wanted the other side to take the initiative and counterattack them and deal with them all in one swoop.


    However, this tactic only dyed the inevitable as the final battle didn''t seem to be approaching any time soon.


    The Night Mountain Sect didn''t seem to care about the deaths of its disciples. Not a single elder figure was rushing out to take revenge for the deaths of his disciples.


    Azaroth then spoke, "My conditions included that no one would keep an eye on me. But you seem to have ignored my words. Or did you think I couldn''t sense you if you suppressed your aura and cultivation base?"


    "I will punish you by sealing your Spirit Beast permanently," Azaroth spoke with a decisive look on his face.


    Erica was absolutely shocked to hear that statement, "What did you say?! Permanently sealing Marin?!"


    "That is correct. The seal I have used absorbs the Spiritual Energy from nature, and its raw power is so great that even if you focus all your energy on a single point, you can''t pierce it. Even if you summon another Spirit using that summoning technique, it won''t be able to deal with this seal."


    "If you do want to undo this seal, you would need someone whose Spiritual Control and Array Control is greater than mine. Well, good luck finding someone like that," Azaroth spoke with a confident look.


    Erica now felt just how grave the situation was. It meant she would need to look for an Emperor Ranked Expert to undo this seal.


    Moreover, she would need to inform this Emperor Ranked Expert about the Forbidden Summoning Technique she possessed! It would be disastrous if that Emperor Ranked Expert was greedy about this Summoning Technique. All her hard work and persistence would be for nothing.


    Erica gritted her teeth and asked him, "What is your demand?!"


    She knew Azaroth wouldn''t have spoken all this if he didn''t have a demand.


    "Heh. Are you sure you can fulfill my demand? You aren''t bad yourself," Azaroth stared at her as if he was going to eat her whole.


    Erica waspletely dumbstruck for a few seconds before she started getting angrier. Azaroth''s words hadpletely infuriated her.


    "Think about it. If I don''t undo that spiritual seal, you can''t use the power of your Spirit. And you know that you need this Spirit''s power if you want to win against the Night Mountain Sect. So, what will it be? Your dignity or your sect''s survival?" Azaroth asked with a devious grin.


    Erica trembled due to rage because she knew the answer to these questions. She knew that there would be terrible consequences if she didn''t follow what he said.


    While gritting her teeth angrily, Erica spat out, "Fine! Make sure it is over quickly!"


    Azaroth smirked as he heard that sentence, "Good. Now, kneel in front of me!"


    Erica was somewhat confused as she heard that order. She was expecting some other wretched order. But she thought that maybe he had some special hobbies.


    "What now?!" She asked while slowly bending her knees in front of Azaroth.


    Around this moment, Azaroth closed his eyes and began to murmur something very quickly.


    Suddenly, Holy Ardor was released from Azaroth''s body and surrounded Erica''s body. It began to revolve around her body.


    This Holy Ardor''s pace of revolution was directly linked to what Azaroth spoke in a low voice.


    Azaroth''s speaking speed increased with each passing second, and the same was true for the Holy Ardor around Erica''s body.


    Erica didn''t recognize the Holy Ardor since she had rarely contacted the priests and pope. Religion was greatly suppressed within the Glerian Kingdom.


    This was all due to the king''s policy of keeping strict control over his people and not allowing some sort of religion to gain their followers.


    For this reason, the religious organizations never managed to expand beyond a particr point.


    Thus, even for someone who had reached Erica''s stature, they hadn''te into contact with Holy Ardor.


    Erica merely thought that this Holy Ardor was a variant kind of element that only Azaroth possessed. She also thought that this was Azaroth''s trump card.


    However, what she didn''t realize was that she was quickly losing a lot of faith energy.


    Azaroth was currently extracting faith energy from Erica and also forming a permanent connection between them.


    Any faith energy Erica received would be transferred to Azaroth. Erica''s prestige was truly very great as many individuals admired her and believed in her.


    Erica had received a steady amount of faith energy from all the disciples of the ck Lake Sect.


    Naturally, it was nothingpared to a religious organization that had its extremists. However, this was still very useful to Azaroth.


    Azaroth had created this technique after his clone was killed in the Sinyalian Kingdom. He had already tested it on some people, and it had worked perfectly.


    This was why he dared to test it on Erica. He knew that this woman would never realize what had urred to her.


    Faith energy was typically useless for humans.. It would just boost their luck.

 Chapter 386 - Removing The Seal

    The entire process of absorbing all of Erica''s faith energy took a couple of hours. During this time, Erica continued to kneel ahead of Azaroth.


    Initially, she was extremely furious as this was the first time she was kneeling ahead of someone.


    However, as time passed, she began to calm down and think deeply about what Azaroth was doing.


    She sensed no change to her body or her spirit. It meant he was doing something that affected her but also didn''t affect her.


    After Azaroth absorbed all her faith energy and also created a connection between them so that any faith energy she received would immediately be transferred to him, he spoke, "You can stand now."


    Erica was extremely shocked as she felt that her body was no longer in her control. Before she realized it, she had stood up.


    "You should have realized what urred, right?" Azaroth asked her with a smirk.


    "¡­How did you force me to obey your order?!" Erica asked with a startled look on her face.


    She felt as if someone else was controlling her body when she was standing up. She couldn''t oppose him no matter how hard she tried.


    She knew it could only be Azaroth. Maybe this was what he was doing without her realization.


    Other than anger, she was extremely terrified now.


    "Do not attempt to betray me in the future. As for the answer to your question? Sorry, trade secret," Azaroth spoke. His order was deeply embedded into Erica''s consciousness.


    She couldn''t disobey this order even if she wanted to. It was only natural because she had been subdued using the faith energy.


    It forced her to think of Azaroth''s words as an Imperial Edict. When Azaroth had seen this woman and found out that she actually cultivated that forbidden summoning technique, he had foreseen this.


    However, there were some limits to these orders. He couldn''t order Erica something that would make her go against her integrity.


    An individual would only follow a particr faith until it doesn''t force him against his morality. Erica''s personal prestige could be ignored, but not her sense of responsibility.


    Azaroth couldn''t order her to do something against the ck Lake Sect. He also couldn''t order her to do something against her daughter.


    Fortunately, Azaroth wasn''t greatly affected by these limits. He could get the faith energy through this woman and use her to assist the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    "Return now. And don''t keep an eye on us any longer," Azaroth gave his next order to Erica.


    Erica gritted her teeth, but she nodded her head in affirmation. She was helpless as she didn''t know why she couldn''t disobey his order.


    Just how was Azaroth making her obey his orders. If she knew the procedure, she could prepare a countermeasure for it.


    Azaroth then snapped his finger, "Oh right. Let me remove the seal as well."


    Soon, the Spiritual Seal that had isted and suppressed the Great Kun was dispelled.


    Erica was internally satisfied as she heard the Great Kun''s voice.


    The Great Kun informed her how it had been sealed within her mindscape. It mentioned all the details about the barrier that had appeared within her mindscape.


    Erica let out a sigh as she realized that the Great Kun''s words confirmed that Azaroth spoke the truth.


    She soon walked away while Azaroth continued to gather the corpses and the herbs nearby.


    Azaroth returned and began to concoct medicinal pellets. These pellets were actually drugs that would allow his subordinates to ignore the pain and continue to fight in their peak state.


    Naturally, their side effects were quite strong. A special pain killer was concocted to endure those side effects.


    However, Azaroth wasn''t nning to give them those painkillers. He was going to have them endure the side effects.


    In the minor case, the side effects would strain their muscles and meridians. While in the major case, their muscles and meridians would tear and burst apart.


    If it was a minor case, Azaroth would have them endure the side effects without his assistance. While if it was the major case, he would use his Golden mes to heal the physical damage and let them endure the remaining consequences of the side effects.


    After nearly 4 hours, all his subordinates woke up. The food had already been prepared for them.


    The ingredients for the food were naturally those beasts'' corpses that Azaroth had gathered in the early morning.


    All his subordinates ate the food and discovered that their healing had greatly elerated. Azaroth then provided them with the pellets that would allow them to ignore their pain and battle against their opponents in their peak states.


    Azaroth told them to eat it just before they were going off to fight their opponents. There was a high chance they could have this day as a rest day.


    This was all because they had ughtered many disciples of the Night Mountain Sect in this area. And in the night, Zena and the two foxes had dealt with the beasts that had been sent to attack them by the Night Mountain Sect.


    The Night Mountain Sect was going to take some time to investigate Azaroth and his side. There was a chance that some elders would leave the sect to check out the situation.


    For this reason, Azaroth was going to suppress his cultivation to a 4 Star Rank. He didn''t want to scare away the approaching elder from the Night Mountain Sect.


    Tiana had begun teaching these women the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique.


    These women had ingested the Seven Star Yin Pellet and possessed the Seven Star Yin Physique.


    They unleashed an unreal might as they released the Ice Sovereign Manifestation. This was an extremely strong technique that activated their physique.


    When they activated this technique, they would unconsciously absorb the Ice into their bodies.


    They were extremely shocked to find out that the Ice they absorbed was converted into pure energy, which would assist them in recovering from their injuries.


    Azaroth continued to observe their training and guided them when it looked as if they required it. He was actually waiting for someone to make a move.


    The elders of the ck Lake Sect were also quite shocked to find that many of the disciples of the Night Mountain Sect had been annihted so quickly.


    It had barely been a day, yet Azaroth and his team had already gotten used to the location and evenunched a sessful assault at the enemy.


    Even the experienced elders of the ck Lake Sect who had been stationed at a single point for quite long couldn''t boast ofunching a sessful assault on their first try.


    They were extremely embarrassed as they recalled how they had looked down on Azaroth earlier.


    Christina was delighted to hear that Tiana and her subordinates had performed wonderfully. She realized that she was worried for nothing. Perhaps they could really handle that position.


    Other than Azaroth''s team, it was Christina''s team that had performed wonderfully the previous day.


    Three enemymanders had been captured by Christina''s team. The ck Lake Sect''s elders were now extracting some information from these enemymanders.


    However, it was all for naught since these enemymanders didn''t know of any secret information.. It seemed as if they had been abandoned by the Night Mountain Sect.

 Chapter 387 - Abduction And Murder

    The day went by rather peacefully. Azaroth had expected that the Night Mountain Sect would think more before attacking them again.


    Their two attacks had failed. The first attack was their disciples, who had been ambushed by Azaroth''s disciples.


    The second attack was when they had the beasts attack Azaroth.


    Azaroth wondered who the decision-making beast was who had managed to order so many beasts to attack them.


    Well, it didn''t matter to him that much. It was the Night Mountain Sect who had to provide an exnation regarding the deaths of so many beasts.


    The beasts were going to be furious when they realized that the Night Mountain Sect had intentionally not given them theplete information.


    Azaroth was sure that when the Night Mountain Sect''s elder went to inform these beasts to attack Azaroth''s camp, they had hidden the massacre of their own disciples.


    They were actually trying to act smartly. They believed they had figured out the approximate strength of Azaroth''s team.


    Moreover, the beasts wouldunch a surprise attack that would be swift and deadly. The sheer number of beasts would overwhelm Azaroth''s team no matter how strong they were.


    In this way, the price they had to pay to the creatures was far lower than the amount they would have had to pay if they had told them the truth.


    However, this intelligent decision backfired on the Night Mountain Sect.


    They had greatly misjudged the strength of Azaroth''s team. And all the beasts that hade to attack had been butchered like livestock. Azaroth and his team were eating their meat with a satisfied expression on his face.


    In the night, Sargan contacted Azaroth.


    Azaroth wasn''t actually expecting Sargan to contact him so soon. He thought Sargan would need another few days of time to find the opportunity to kidnap that guard captain.


    A few days of time would be required to look for an opportunity since he couldn''t let Dn Ross know of his presence.


    "Boss, something strange urred," spoke Sargan as soon as he connected with Azaroth.


    Azaroth raised his brows in curiosity, "Really? What happened?"


    "Yesterday, I looked for an opportunity to abduct the Guard Captain and found one today. I abducted him and used a spiritual technique to make him reveal everything he knew," Sargan responded immediately.


    This wasn''t strange that the guard revealed everything under the effect of that Spiritual Technique. However, Azaroth didn''t intervene and allowed Sargan to continue.


    "What he revealed was extremely shocking. This carriage hade from the Royal Pce in Crario City. They had been ordered by the King to pass by this area!"


    Azaroth''s eyes slightly widened in surprise at that statement. He asked Sargan, "And why did the King send them through this route? What was their destination?"


    "That''s the strange thing. ording to this guard captain, they didn''t have any particr destination. They didn''t have any precious things in the carriage. The woman in the carriage didn''t hold any special edict that she had to deliver to someone. It seemed as though their only task was to pass this area."


    "The woman inside the carriage was very particr about the timing. She would intentionally ask them to go slowly and take appropriate rest on the way."


    Azaroth then slowly understood the situation. This woman was targeting Dn Ross.


    The King had heard about Dn Ross and sent a spy while forging her background.


    Azaroth asked Sargan, "What happened to that guard captain?"


    Sargan immediately replied, "I killed him." It was only natural to kill that guard captain since he had grabbed all the useful information from him.


    The guard captain had seen the location where he was trapped, and it would be risky to allow him to return.


    Azaroth responded calmly, "I see."


    "¡­Throw the body near that Dn Ross''s camp with a beast''s w marks that have torn his body. Make them think it was some random beast that killed the Guard Captain," Azaroth spoke.


    Sargan nodded his head and spoke, "There is indeed a beast living near this area. I will use him to create w marks on this guard captain''s body."


    "Hmm," Azaroth grunted in agreement.


    In reality, this was an experiment by Azaroth to test Dn Ross''s fate ability.


    If Dn Ross''s fate ability is very strong, he would find the Guard Captain''s body and even figure out that he was killed by a human and not by a beast. It didn''t matter whether it was the Angel who would inform him or his own deduction.


    However, if he didn''te to this conclusion, this meant that the woman''s presence was affecting Dn Ross''s fate ability. No, it would be more urate to say that the King''s Fate Ability was shing with Dn Ross''s Fate Ability.


    Azaroth had always been very curious about what would ur if two individuals with strong fate abilities shed against each other.


    He had already experimented on the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom, but that turned out to be a failure.


    Azaroth didn''t know whether it was because of his wed n or his ability was too weak to win against fate. The end result remained that he lost against fate.


    He now had another chance to experiment on it. This time, Azaroth was going to be even more cautious and find out whether his hypothesis was correct or not.


    "Sargan, observe that woman and figure out her contacts. If the King has sent this woman here, he must have a good reason to do so. More importantly, the King must also have his spies mixed in these people. Find those spies and make them your informers as well," Azaroth ordered Sargan.


    Azaroth wondered what the King was trying to do with Dn Ross. Did he also realize just how strange this man was and n to deal with him?


    Azaroth shook his head as he believed that if the King truly thought like that, he would have sent a team led by a Prince to deal with Dn Ross.


    However, nothing of that sort urred. This meant the King would use this woman to extract some benefits from Dn Ross.


    <em>''There is another possibility for which I need to stay prepared. If Dn Ross is truly a freak-like protagonist, this woman will fall in love with him. She might even betray the King. That would be an interesting scenario.''</em> Azaroth thought with a cold smile.


    Sargan''s task was to first figure out why this woman hade here.


    Azaroth and Sargan finally broke off their connection as it was time for Sargan to get to work.


    Around this moment, Yrellea had struck an amazing deal with the Dragon Tiger Pce, and another branch of the Misty Flower Pavilion had been set up in a very great spot in Veninza City.


    A few travelers had already heard rumors of the Misty Flower Pavilion since it was quite famous in shire City.


    The highlights of this Misty Flower Pavilion were the vigorous and electrifying massages, fantastic ambiance, outstanding musicians, and stunning dancers. Combining them with the fragrant scent that was emitted utilizing eachdy''s particr cultivation technique resulted in their present status.


    In a sense, the money was overflowing within the Misty Flower Pavilion. Part of this ie was imparted to the Dragon Tiger Pce, as this was their deal.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce was naturally quite delighted to receive such a huge sum as a passive ie.


    They didn''t need to expend a single warrior, yet they received such a great amount of ie. The only thing they gave was a piece ofnd to Yrellea.


    The higher-ups of the Dragon Tiger Pce remained satisfied for some time before the greed inside them grew.


    This greed grew because they knew that they only received 10% of the ie earned by the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Now that they knew just how great that value was, they wanted the entire ie earned by the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Thus, they made their move.

 Chapter 388 - Dragon Tiger Palaces Plan

    The Dragon Tiger Pce had begun to approach Yrellea''s subordinates. Their intention was to dismiss Yrellea so that the Misty Flower Pavilion would remain unaffected.


    It meant they had to cate Yrellea''s subordinates first.


    Yrellea had kept tight control over the situation. She knew exactly which subordinates wereing in contact with the Dragon Tiger Pce''s higher-ups.


    This was also the primary reason she had to stay in this ce from now on. If she moved away, the Dragon Tiger Pce would sessfully poach a few of her subordinates.


    Although they won''t figure out all the secrets of the Misty Flower Pavilion, it would still significantly affect the Misty Flower Pavilion''s profit.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce could then use their martial strength topletely get rid of the Misty Flower Pavilion and start it from scratch.


    There were many other strategies they could use to earn greater profit. Thus, they needed to poach some of Yrellea''s subordinates.


    And Yrellea''s task was to find those individuals who had been poached by the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Out of the 50 or so subordinates she had under her, nearly 7 had sessfully been poached by the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    It was only natural. The Dragon Tiger Pce had used the soft and hard kind of tactics.


    They initially just made them greedy using their money, cultivation resources, the guidance of experienced seniors, and a high position in the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    If they agreed, they could also be the main officials who would control the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    It meant they would earn even higher ie and gain some fame as well. Instead of Yrellea, their names would start gaining some prestige.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce continued to show them great dreams so that they would betray the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    This eventually urred. They sent the Misty Flower Pavilion''s information to the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    All the internal details of the Misty Flower Pavilion had been informed to the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    And this whole thing was urring under Yrellea''s watchful eye. She had already found out all the traitors were using tricks like feeding wrong information to her subordinates and watching the Dragon Tiger Pce''s higher-ups'' reactions through her spies in the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    Since the Dragon Tiger Pce had poached some of her subordinates, Yrellea had done the same.


    She had an idea to deal with the traitors while even increasing the Misty Flower Pavilion''s prestige.


    The seven individuals who had betrayed her had already been marked and informed to all the other people within the Misty Flower Pavilion. The core members, at least.


    Yrellea had slowly begun to create a twoyered structure within the Misty Flower Pavilion. The firstyer would be when she informs her idea to everyone.


    And the secondyer would be when the spies were filtered out of these subordinates, and they would hear her true n.


    Moreover, the presence of these spies would allow Yrellea to control what information she should give to the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    If the Dragon Tiger Pce believes that the situation is under their control, they won''t take drastic actions.


    Naturally, this situation would only ur for a few months. After that, the Dragon Tiger Pce would begin to take some drastic actions.


    However, Yrellea was confident in settling up proper countermeasures to ensure that the Dragon Tiger Pce couldn''t do anything to the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Azaroth had informed Yrellea that she could call out for Laura and Noah''s groups for any assistance she required.


    She had the money and resources due to the massive ie she earned through the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    On the surface, the world would believe that Yrellea had hired these two groups to protect the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    While Noah stayed in Veninza City, the Ministers, the Princes, and the Sects couldn''t find him. They all wanted to contact him to figure out where he got those recovery pellets.


    They were extremely valuable as almost no alchemist could concoct them in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Through Noah, they could find a talented alchemist. Noah''s value didn''t just stop at this, though. His own talent in the sword was extremely great.


    Most importantly, the status he held was far too valuable. He held the title of a General. Even though he was restricted to only 5000 men under him, it was still significant. All these soldiers were just under a single individual. The king won''t interfere with him or try to restrict his freedom.


    Naturally, these were merely sweet promises. The King wasn''t going to allow open reign to such an individual for very long.


    But still, Noah could enjoy these benefits for quite some time.


    This was also why Azaroth asked him to go around and get used tomanding his men. Noah was bound to meet up with more people as he traveled around.


    As he met more people, his thoughts were going to mature. This maturity would be visible during his fight.


    Even though he possessed the Enlightened Sword Heart, there was a kind of immaturity about it. It was this reason that even if Azaroth and Noah were at the same rank, Azaroth could always suppress Noah using his vast battle experience.


    Noah might take perfect actions that his mind could think, but Azaroth was proficient in breaking these kinds of individuals.


    Moreover, Noah had to learn more about the world as a whole. He still knew too little.


    Only Azaroth knew where exactly Noah and his group were. Noah''s group hadunched a surprise assault at the Sinyalian Kingdom''s border area.


    This was the area that was under the Rhodes Family.


    The King of the Glerian Kingdom knew about this attack and had sent reinforcements to assist Noah.


    This was because he greatly valued Noah''s talent and nned to have this kid perform some great tasks for him in the future.


    He knew that it would be foolishness to let a talent die like this. It wasn''t new for them to suddenly attack the Sinyalian Kingdom''s camp.


    The soldiers would often be driven by emotions and attack without any order from their superiors.


    The King was actually happy to know that Noah hadunched this surprise attack at the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Through this, he figured out that Noah had some sort of grudge against the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He knew that the sects or the other associations didn''t n to wage war against the Sinyalian Kingdom just yet.


    The war allowed the Royal Family to take all control of the resources in the kingdom. It would greatly inhibit any ns of development for the sects.


    In addition, the entire Glerian Kingdom was terrified of something else. And that something was the attack of the demons.


    The demons'' attack on all branches of the Origin Sect had utterly terrified them. The fact that these demons could suddenly target all branches of the Origin Sect meant they were somewhere nearby.


    They just required a single order to attack the entire Origin Sect.


    It was Origin Sect now, but who would they target next? This question terrified them and prevented them from sleeping peacefully.


    ~~


    A/N: Please vote for this novel and boost the ranking.

 Chapter 389 - The Origin Sects Situation

    The Origin Sect was under a lot of pressure. Nearly all their elders, disciples, and even the mercenaries hired by them had been ordered to repeatedly battle against the demons.


    Their numbers were dwindling with each passing day. However, these demons were ughtering all the weak fellows in the Origin Sect.


    The ones who could be considered paper tigers.


    Some real experts and talents lost their lives, but the Origin Sect wasn''t affected too greatly by their deaths.


    The numbers had been greatly reduced, but only the true experts remained behind. Each of these experts had gained their right to live by ughtering hundreds of demons.


    Thus, not a single one of them could be underestimated. Under the pressure of death, they had even awakened their bloodline abilities and their hidden potential.


    This hidden potential was somewhat abstract. The individuals who unlocked it experienced a change in mentality as they felt somewhat more mature than before.


    The other sects were also preparing their defenses. Some low-ranked sects had even ordered all the resources within their branches.


    They intended to sacrifice their other branches to protect their main branch from devastation.


    Even though sacrificing their own branches to the demon''s assault appeared very cruel to them. The low-ranked sects were actually forced to take this action.


    If the resources remained scattered like that, neither the main branch nor the other branches would survive.


    In this situation, this was truly the best course of action.


    However, the elders or the disciples in those branches didn''t understand this reasoning. They knew they had been abandoned by the main branch.


    It would be their luck if the demons didn''t attack their sect. If the demons did attack their sect, they would be finished.


    The other top sects didn''t face this kind of issue.


    Two of those top sects were already on the battlefield and battling each other. The ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect.


    Both were getting anxious with each passing day, especially the ck Lake Sect.


    Unlike the Night Mountain Sect, the ck Lake Sect''s disciples, elders, and even their leader were away from their region. If the demons attacked their main sect building at this moment, it would be absolutely disastrous.


    However, the ck Lake Sect also couldn''t leave after creating such a hugemotion. Their prestige would be greatly affected if they didn''t deal great damage to the Night Mountain Sect before returning.


    The ck Lake Sect wanted to leave this battlefield, but only when they had shown their absolute supremacy here.


    And this task was proving quite challenging due to the alliance of the beasts and the Night Mountain Sect.


    The Red Crown Sect wasn''t hugely affected. In fact, it wasn''t even making any waves. It appeared as though the Red Crown Sect waspletely confident in dealing with any attacks from the demons.


    This was actually the only sect that had gained the Royal Family''s support during its inception. In return, the Royal Family had gained significant control over this sect.


    When setting up the Red Crown Sect''s main branch or other smaller branches, the Royal Family had hired some reputed array masters.


    They prepared a bunch of arrays around the Red Crown Sect''s every branch during that time. Among those arrays included the Great Demonic Suppression Array.


    These arrays were powered by some Celestial materials. Even the array masters didn''t know what exactly the energy inside those stones was.


    Since they didn''t know its exact use, they just used it wherever it could be used or appeared appropriate.


    This seemed the most appropriate way to use these stones, so those array masters didn''t hesitate in utilizing them.


    There was a region in the Glerian Kingdom where many of these stones could be mined out. Thus, there was always a stable supply for these stones whenever the Red Crown Sect required it.


    All those cities that had a mine of this ore, there was always a Red Crown Sect''s branch in that town.


    The Red Crown Sect wouldunch missions so that the disciples would be rewarded if they assisted in keeping watch over the area.


    This was one of the most rewarding missions of the Red Crown Sect. Thus, many disciples would pick this mission at least once.


    Even though there were no movements by the higher-ups, the disciples were still quite terrified. They were all ordered to stay at their positions and practice their techniques.


    They might need to utilize it at any moment.


    The training worked in diverting the attention of a few individuals for a couple of days before they realized the seriousness of the situation.


    And they realized the seriousness of the situation by hearing rumors of how the Origin Sect was dealing with the demons.


    Two branches of the Origin Sect had already beenpletely demolished. The demons had broken all the arrays, and their resources had been looted. All the disciples had been ughtered. The demons didn''t even let off their bodies after killing them.


    The demons ate their flesh and drank their blood. It seemed akin to food and water to them.


    Moreover, there were rumors about some very strong demons who fought hundreds of warriors alone and won.


    The demons possessed an extremely hard body and a savage outlook. Their savagery was even greater than that of beasts.


    Azaroth also heard about the rumors of these demons. He merely smirked upon hearing these rumors.


    ''That ck Hurricane actually has rather strong subordinates. They possess the King''s seed within them. I wonder if there is someone with an Emperor''s seed in them.''


    The King''s seed was somewhat that was used to link the Ardor of a demon with that of a Demon king.


    The target must naturally be weaker than a Demon King. Using this seed in them, the demon could borrow the power from a Demon King. The energy they could borrow depends on their body''s limit.


    If the body''s limit was great, the energy they could borrow would be extremelyrge. Or else, the energy they could borrow would be abysmal.


    The same was the case with the Emperor''s Mark. However, the energy that was granted by the Emperor''s Mark was much greater than that of the energy granted by the King''s Mark. It wasn''t the difference in quantity but quality.


    Naturally, using the King''s Mark and the Emperor''s Mark had their own drawbacks. The primary drawback would be the loss of their life force.


    And the secondary drawback was that the Demon King or the Demon Emperor who had nted that seed inside his subordinates, he could absorb their Demonic Ardor at any moment. If the Demonic Ardor of their subordinates was exhausted, the Demon King or the Demon Emperor would suck the life force out of them.


    The Demon King or the Demon Emperor would absorb their subordinates'' Ardor only when they were fighting against individuals even stronger than them.


    Normally, a Demon King or a Demon Emperor would allow his subordinates to utilize a part of his power. His subordinates would perform better, which would only benefit him.


    When Azaroth thought deeply about it, he felt it was unlikely that there was a demon with an Emperor''s Mark on him.


    After all, ck Hurricane was merely a Demon King. And when he met ck Hurricane, it didn''t seem like he was working under someone.


    If he wasn''t working under a Demon Emperor, then why would he have a Demon Emperor''s subordinate working under him?

 Chapter 390 - Tianas Group Attack

    It was the third day since their battle against the Night Mountain Sect''s disciples.


    Azaroth noticed that their surroundings were filling up again. The Night Mountain Sect''s disciples were much more prepared this time.


    He guessed that the ones who had escapedst time must have informed theirrades about their assault.


    Well, this was fine, in Azaroth''s opinion. He nned to have these women remain on the defensive this time.


    He had nned to guide them once during their offense and once during their defense. It was to show them the path.


    They possessed the willpower and talent to walk down that path. Any more assistance would be harmful to their path ahead.


    Nearly all these women had learned to use the initial form of the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation! Thus, theirbat ability had greatly risen.


    Azaroth knew that even though these women had gotten stronger, their opponents could overwhelm them using theirrge numbers.


    Actually, not just their numbers, but the aura he sensed from them suggested that they were rather strong.


    They weren''t like those disciples from before who had been easily caught off-guard. Moreover, they were so weak that these women could block all their attacks using a single technique.


    This time, it won''t work. These women would need to use one of the best techniques to block a single attack from an individual. If two warriors attacked them at the same time, their defense would be pierced.


    Even if these women used their Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation technique, theirbat prowess would be boosted significantly, but their aura expenditure would be extremely great.


    They couldn''t use that technique for prolongedbat.


    For this very reason, Azaroth nned for them to remain on the defensive this time.


    They were going to stay together under Tiana''s lead. Tiana was going tomand them while receiving some hints from Azaroth.


    These women would learn to support each other during the battle and cover each other''s weak points.


    Individually, theirbat power would suffer quite a bit, but their strength would be greatly elevated collectively.


    This time, the Night Mountain Sect''s team leader was a rather proactive individual. He was careful but not overly cautious.


    He checked the area around Azaroth''s camp and concluded that there were no hidden traps or warriors.


    This meant that the warriors they saw were the ones they had to fight. It would take at least an hour for the reinforcements to arrive if they wanted to. If he sensed any reinforcements, he would immediately give an order to retreat.


    If the ck Lake Sect was directing many of its forces to this point, then its other points would get weaker.


    The Night Mountain Sect would have a good chance of breaking through those points. Thus, the Night Mountain Sect''s team leader believed that the overall situation would be in Night Mountain Sect''s favor.


    He believed that attacking Azaroth''s team was the perfect decision.


    In fact, he somewhat looked down on the leader who was previously leading his team around this area.


    That gentleman had been overly careful. If he had ambushed Azaroth''s camp, he could have caught them off guard and swept through them in one swoop.


    However, this man was also thankful to that previous leader. Because if not for his blunder, he wouldn''t be promoted so quickly.


    At the least, he won''t be asked to lead such arge team. If he showed great results here, this team might be permanent.


    He would hold a great prestige at that moment. He would receive many resources because of hisrge group.


    He nned to invest the majority of those resources in himself.


    Suddenly, his subordinate shook him out of his dreand as he asked his leader, "When do weunch an attack, leader?"


    The ''leader'' word was spoken with a sarcastic tone. It was only natural because this man was previously a team leader as well.


    However, the inner sect elder had suddenlybined all the teams and assigned them to this man.


    No one understood why this man was chosen to represent them. They all believed that their ability was not in any way inferior to him.


    Some thought that this man had some secret connections to the Inner Sect Elders. Or he paid a specific price to get this chance.


    Even though they didn''t respect him that much, they knew they had to obey him at this moment.


    The Night Mountain Sect was very specific about Hierarchy. It was for this reason that everyone wanted to form arge team.


    Suddenly, Azaroth flew into the sky at a quick pace. He was so fast that the opponents didn''t even notice his presence.


    If they had seen him flying, they would have been terrified.


    The Night Mountain Sect knew that no individual could fly over this mountain. Not even the sect master of the Night Mountain Sect.


    This was because of a special power that was released from that moat around the Night Mountain Sect''s perimeter.


    Azaroth had already sensed demonic presence from this moat. He didn''t go over there because the presence he sensed was much stronger than him.


    If he revealed his presence and his bloodline to that individual, it would be difficult for him to survive.


    There was a good chance that the demon would go crazy and try to ingest Azaroth at any cost.


    If it was a Demon King, Azaroth would have some chances of victory. He was extremely familiar with Demonic Techniques and a demon''s way of fighting.


    Thus, even a Demon King would fall under Azaroth''s hands.


    However, the situation would be extremely different if a Demon Emperor were there. No matter what techniques Azaroth possessed, his Ardor was significantly weaker than a Demon Emperor.


    Moreover, after cultivating a Demon Emperor''s level, a demon would begin to mature slightly. They would create their own path ahead.


    It would depend on the demon whether his path would lead him to be an expert amongst the Demon Emperors or a weakling.


    However, even a weakling within the Demon Emperors was an untouchable existence for a Demon King or below that rank.


    This was because other than bloodlines or techniques, there was a standard power that all Demon Emperors would receive after achieving this rank.


    And this power wouldpletely overwhelm Azaroth and his Bloodline because of the wide difference between them.


    Anyway, the battle between the Night Mountain Sect''s team and the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had begun.


    Large thick walls of Ice suddenly appeared in the entire camp. All their tents then released a thick smoke that covered the entire area.


    The Night Mountain Sect''s disciples had already moved forward, and they didn''t n to back away just due to some smokescreen.


    To clear the region of the smoke, one of the Night Mountain Sect''s disciples deployed a wind ability. The white smoke was dispersed from the region before it reverted to its previous state.


    "But how?" That man questioned himself with a confused look.


    He had no idea that Tiana and her subordinates were using the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique to congeal this white smoke.


    This technique was used to crystalize the water molecules in the air and convert them to fog.


    These women all utilized the Wild Cat''s Eye to ensure their vision wasn''t affected due to this smokescreen.


    If even they couldn''t see, then the purpose of this smokescreen would be defeated.

 Chapter 391 - Smokescreen Battle

    In this smokescreen, Tiana ordered her subordinates to move towards specific positions.


    Each position would allow them to keep an eye on a particr direction. They had tounch their techniques in the respective directions.


    Many warriors would be targeted by their techniques. The primary reason was that the opponent had no idea they were being targeted.


    In this thick fog, only Tiana and her subordinates could see clearly. They calmly targeted their opponents andunched their techniques.


    This was their first technique, so they had plenty of time to charge their attack. Naturally, they all synced their timing so that all their opponents would be caught off-guard.


    However, no matter how much time they took to charge their attack, they couldn''t kill all their opponents.


    Most of their powerful warriors remained unharmed by this attack. They immediately began to charge up their attacks while these women were in a state of cooldown.


    Since they had justunched a strong attack, their meridians were still returning to their normal state before they could gather Ardor and prepare another attack.


    All these warriors shot their attacks from the direction they had seen those attacks from their opponents emerged.


    Multiple rocks, fireballs, and even lightning attacks were thrown towards the women.


    However, before these attacks could strike these women, strong Ice Walls suddenly rose ahead of them and blocked them.


    The one who conjured these Ice Walls was none other than Tiana.


    In her normal state, she would have never been able to create so many Ice Walls and blocked so many strong attacks simultaneously.


    Each side of her Ice Wall was struck by at least 4 attacks. Yet, it showed no signs of breaking.


    This signified that it could take on at least 3 more attacks before reaching its limit. This indicated that this Ice Wall contained an impressive amount of Ardor.


    In Tiana''s normal state, she could have never managed to conjure an Ice Wall so powerful which had such an intense Ardor flowing in it.


    However, she was currently in her strongest state. She utilized the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique to maximize her power and make her attacks stronger.


    Due to using the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique, her attacks contained a hint ofws of Absolute Ice.


    This was why it was extremely robust and powerful. Just pure Ardor would have never bolstered it to this level.


    Azaroth observed everything that urred on the ground and nodded with a satisfied look on his face.


    <em>''Tiana thought of a good n. She ns to save her subordinates'' stamina at the expenditure of her own.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''If her subordinates use the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique, they might kill more of their opponents, but they would be utterly helpless once their stamina is exhausted.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''However, using this tactic, these women can first reduce the number of their opponents by fighting andunching techniques in their normal state.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''The fog in their surroundings doesn''t just blind the enemy. It also allows them to recover and gather their energy quickly. Thus, the strain on their body in their normal state won''t be too great. They can easily endure it.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Nearly all these women had endured great pain in thest few days. The body pain they experienced now wasn''t even worth mentioning.''</em>


    ''<em>While they areunching their attacks, Tiana can take some breaths of relief. She can also use that time to ingest those pellets that would allow her to ignore the pain and keep fighting.''</em>


    Tiana was ingesting a particr drug that had many side effects. Her body''s immunity would weaken, and she would experience unreal pain after a few hours.


    She would experience the sensation of her bones breaking into tiny fragments. This would actually ur, and Azaroth nned to stay with her at that moment.


    He would give her another pellet that would greatly boost her healing speed.


    Although Azaroth preferred to let her heal naturally, Tiana didn''t have that sort of time.


    She had to recover quickly to fight against the next group. This wasn''t thest group sent by the Night Mountain Sect.


    Next time, the elders would arrive. That would make their fights much more challenging.


    After nearly 20 or so minutes, Tiana was extremely exhausted. She felt as if the world around her was spinning. Before long, she copsed on the ground.


    However, just as she copsed on the ground, she spoke out to her subordinates, "Fight with your real strength. Use the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique."


    Tiana''s subordinates were extremely busy. They werepletely concentrating on their opponents.


    They knew that apse in their concentration would mean their death. And a w would ur in their formation. More deaths would ur once this w urs, and the entire formation would copse.


    The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect would face disastrous losses. They couldn''t afford even a single death at this point. Thus, each one had a great responsibility on their head.


    Upon receiving Tiana''s order, her subordinates immediately terminated any of the techniques they nned tounch.


    Even the opponents hade to understand the timings of their attacks. They would raise defenses around them before attacking Tiana''s subordinates. In this manner, they had managed to preserve their numbers.


    They had no idea that these women would now be on the all-out offensive. These women had all utilized the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique andunched towards their opponents.


    Their opponents didn''t expect that the enemy would charge at them. They were essentially blind in this fog. And thus, no one could react in time.


    Since they couldn''t react in time, many died before they realized anything wrong.


    Soon, the leader of the Night Mountain Sect sensed something wrong. He shouted out to his subordinates, "They are charging forwards. Stay on your toes and use your Armor to block their first attack and thenunch a counterattack!"


    This was a great strategy that the leader came up with in a hurry. However, this disclosed his location, and he was forced to flee as many Ice Shards were thrown at him.


    The Night Mountain Sect''s team''s leader thought the strategy was quite good in theory, but practically, it didn''t work.


    This was because he had no idea how strong these women were after utilizing the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique.


    No matter how seriously these warriors fought these women, they would die on the first or the second attack.


    Around this moment, Tiana had ingested a pellet that allowed her to stand up and fight against these opponents. She dashed towards the opponents'' leader''s position, who was rushing to assist his subordinates.


    Before the opponents'' leader could assist hisrades, Tiana caught up to him. Without any warning, she created a gigantic Ice Sword in her hand and thrust it towards him.


    The opponents'' leader threw out a strong punch that collided with that Ice Sword. The Ice Sword shattered after a couple of seconds while the opponents'' leader had a small cut on his hand.


    This cut didn''t hurt much, but it told that man that this woman was quite powerful. He couldn''t take her lightly.


    Meanwhile, Tiana was slightly surprised that he had managed to shatter her Ice Sword with a single punch.


    She hadn''t sensed the presence of any elements. This meant that his raw strength was bolstered with his normal Ardor.


    It was certainly rare to meet someone with such great strength.


    She began to recite an ancient mantra in low whispers. The fog was drawn to Tiana and built a giant, gorgeous face over her body. This face was made of pure cloudy substance, and it looked just like Tiana.


    When the individuals around her saw it, they felt as if a fairy had stepped onto the ground, and they needed to kowtow and pay their respects to her.

 Chapter 392 - Ice Swords

    Tiana was utilizing the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique at its best. Well, this was still just the initial stage of the technique, but it was quite impressive that Tiana was capable of conjuring her manifestation.


    The Sovereign Manifestation she had conjured was her own self that possessed the unreal power of the Ice Laws.


    At this point, the Ice Laws were affecting Tiana''s body as she felt her muscles and bones getting colder.


    However, she ignored this feeling and moved forward.


    Gigantic Ice Swords were conjured in the air near her own manifestation, and she shot them towards the opponent''s leader.


    She was quite sure of his identity because she had noticed that he was the onemanding their opponents.


    Even if he wasn''t the leader, his presence was quite important for their opponents. His death was going to greatly affect them.


    Tiana''s guess was perfectly correct. Her opponent could sense Tiana''s strength as well. He jumped out of the way to dodge Tiana''s attacks.


    The Ice Swords changed their directions and followed him. He was shocked to see Tiana''s fine control over these Ice Swords.


    Meanwhile, Tiana didn''t stay stationary. She pulled out her own Sword that was handed to her by Azaroth and charged towards another opponent that stood close to her.


    Her opponent was nning to sneak attack one of Tiana''s subordinates. But he had no idea he would be sneak attacked by Tiana.


    Tiana took quick nces at the opponent''s leader and controlled the Ice Swords. The speed of the Ice Swords was increasing greatly, and soon they would pierce the opponent''s leader.


    This was something the man who was running knew quite well.


    Wind Ardor was released from his body as he tried to deflect these two Ice Swords a little. It didn''t work at all.


    He gritted his teeth and knew that he had to take some decisive actions to save his life. He changed his direction sharply. Tiana wasn''t fooled by that sharp cut and easily turned the Ice Swords and made them follow him.


    However, fooling Tiana wasn''t his true objective.


    "Attack these swords!" The opponent''s leader shouted out his order.


    Ahead of him were powerful warriors who had noticed those Ice Swords. They immediately threw their weapons at these Ice Swords, and those weapons exploded uponing in contact with those Ice Swords.


    The explosion was sorge that if the leader hadn''t enveloped himself in a special defensive technique, he would have been caught in that explosion and gravely injured.


    But thankfully, he was still safe.


    Soon, the dust cloud that had risen due to the explosion began to settle down. When the man stared in that direction, he was startled to see those Ice Swordspletely unharmed.


    They rushed towards him quickly, and he summoned wind underneath his feet to immediately slide away and dodge that attack.


    Once again, the Ice Swords stopped in mid-air for a second before they turned towards him. These Ice Swords no longer wasted any time and charged towards him.


    This time, the leader was seemingly ready for these Ice Swords. He was guiding these Ice Sword to the location of his other subordinates.


    These subordinates had also noticed these Ice Swords andunched their respective attacks when they saw these Ice Swordsing so near to them.


    The Ice Swords were now slowly getting affected by these attacks. A few portions of it fell on the ground, and even Tiana wondered whether she should reinforce them with her Ardor or create more of them.


    Tiana then decided to create more of these Ice Swords. However, she assigned these Ice Swords to target different warriors of the enemy forces.


    When the enemies noticed so manyrge Ice Swords heading towards them, they immediately stopped fighting and ran in the opposite direction.


    Since the enemy was trying to escape, Tiana''s subordinates didn''t face much difficulty killing them.


    The enemy had their back turned towards them. It was only natural that they would die aftermitting such a blunder.


    Tiana began to feel dizzy again as she understood that she was overexerting her Spirit. But she also knew that she had no other choice.


    This attack hadpletely broken the enemy''s formation or any n they held. The longer she could hold on, the greater her side would benefit.


    Azaroth had noticed that Tiana was pretty much on her limit. At the least, her soul was injured. He knew that she couldn''t fight for the entire month because of this injury to her soul.


    However, Azaroth also knew that Tiana couldn''t be stopped. This would be one of the most resourceful moments for Tiana, where she was going to see her limits and experience them for the first time.


    Azaroth was a little delighted that Tiana had managed to think of a method to deal with all these opponents with their own strength. He had initially expected to y a small role in dealing with the remaining warriors.


    After a short while, the Night Mountain Sect''s disciples began to flee in different directions. Due to the fog, they had no idea they weren''t returning to their sect but towards the ck Lake Sect''s camp.


    Since they had all split up, they couldn''t even form a group and fight together to look for a chance to flee.


    Azaroth didn''t pursue them since he knew that they were just rushing to their deaths.


    After a few moments, the fog faded around that area. Azaroth saw many corpses on the ground.


    All of them were the Night Mountain Sect''s disciples. Other than these corpses, even more, bodiesy on the ground.


    These bodies belonged to Tiana and her subordinates.


    They were quite tired, and when they saw their enemies were fleeing, their mind could no longer take the strain, and they fell unconscious.


    Azaroth flew down and picked each one of them. He then ced them in their respective tents.


    He was quite impressed by the willpower and strength disyed by his subordinates. He knew it was a good decision to speak some lies about his past. They had much greater motivation than his anticipation.


    After an hour or so, Christina received news that some enemies had appeared from the direction that Azaroth''s camp was located.


    She immediately thought of the worst and headed towards Azaroth''s camp.


    When she reached the camp''s location, she was startled to see so many corpses. She didn''t recognize a single corpse among them and sighed in relief.


    None of them belonged to the women in Azaroth''s group. Soon, Azaroth came out to meet her.


    Christina immediately turned towards him and asked him with a worried expression, "Where is Tiana? Is she fine?"


    "Calm down. They are fine. They just overexerted themselves while fighting and are resting right now," Azaroth spoke with a calm look.


    Christina felt relieved upon hearing that exnation. However, a sudden question appeared in her mind, and she wasted no time in voicing it out, "Then howe the Night Mountain Sect''s disciples passed this point?"


    "Those men were fleeing, and Tiana and her subordinates had no strength to pursue them. Since these men were fleeing in the main camp''s direction, I didn''t stop them. I knew some other group could easily stop them," Azaroth shrugged in response.


    "Hmm," Christina grunted in agreement. She asked, "Can I see Tiana?"


    "Sure. Her tent is that one," Azaroth pointed towards Tiana''s tent.


    ~~


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 Chapter 393 - Christinas Worry

    Christina went to check up on Tiana in her tent. She saw Tiana lying down on a feather bed.


    She walked forwards and touched Tiana''s forehead before speaking to the spirit inside her. <em>''What is wrong with her? Is she gravely injured?''</em>


    When Christina had found out that enemies had been sighteding from the direction Tiana''s camp was located, she immediately contacted the Golden Crow Spirit within her. She asked it to be on standby and tell her about the situation and how she could resolve it.


    Even though the Golden Crow Spirit was quite young, it was still rather knowledgeable. At least more knowledgeable than Christina.


    The Golden Crow Spirit was quite prideful. It would normally ignore any requests that Christina had.


    However, this time the Golden Crow Spirit felt forced to assist Christina. It knew Christina that if she refused to help her, this woman would go all out against her.


    Christina received a significant boost in her mindscape, so the Golden Crow''s Spirit would normally be suppressed by her.


    Naturally, this had adverse side effects. In her mindscape, Christina used the power of her soul. If she used it to suppress the Golden Crow, she would fall unconscious and require nearly 3 weeks to wake up.


    Typically, Christina would never resort to this method. But this time, it was different. This time, Tiana''s life was concerned.


    The Golden Crow Spirit had witnessed their friendship first-hand. Christina was going to go crazy if something dangerous happened to Tiana.


    Thus, the Golden Crow Spirit seriously checked up Tiana''s spirit.


    The Golden Crow Spirit was startled when she noticed cracks appearing in several portions of Tiana''s spirit. Moreover, those cracks were filled with densews of Ice.


    Even her own mes trembled when it came in contact with those densews of Ice.


    <em>''This Ice actually contains a trace of Absolute Ice?! I would need to use my core energy tobust thesews. That would be quite harmful to me. But what do I inform this brat? If I tell her the truth, she will force me to use my core energy to heal this woman.''</em>


    The Golden Crow Spirit decided to change her words slightly and informed Christina <em>''This woman had overexerted her Spirit and is feeling the aftereffects. I can''t really help her recover quickly. However, there is some residual medicinal energy within her body. Her body is using that medicinal energy to quickly recover.''</em>


    Christina frowned slightly. She asked the Golden Crow Spirit ''<em>Then what is this Icy Aura I am sensing?''</em>


    The Golden Crow Spirit was startled to hear that statement. She never expected that Christina could also sense the presence of those Ice Laws. The Golden Crow Spirit was so surprised that she remained speechless for a couple of seconds.


    Suddenly, a sneer appeared on Christina''s face as she added, "Speechless, huh? So, you were indeed concealing something from me. You stupid bird! Are you really testing my patience?!"


    Christina''s words clearly stated that she was lying earlier and was testing the Golden Crow Spirit.


    She knew that this Spirit held enough intelligence, so it would asionally try to lie to her. But there was a way to figure out whether the Golden Crow Spirit was lying to her or not.


    Christina would ask a counter-question. If the Golden Crow Spirit was telling the truth, it would reply instantly.


    If it genuinely didn''t know, it wouldment, "I don''t know about it yet."


    Meanwhile, if it did know and was trying to conceal it from Christina, it would remain speechless. This indicated that it was lying.


    The Golden Crow Spirit was aware of Christina''s trick. But it would always forget about it at the most important moment and get caught in it.


    Christina spoke with a cold tone, "I don''t need to hear your excuses. Do whatever you can and heal Tiana. If you don''t, even I have no idea what I will do to you."


    The Golden Crow Spirit was startled to hear Christina speak in such amanding tone. Christina would never really use that tone on her.


    The pride within the Golden Crow Spirit was triggered. She wanted to respond with her full fury "I won''t help you. Do whatever you want!"


    However, the Golden Crow Spirit stopped herself from shouting out those statements. She knew that ring up at this moment would only make the situation worse for her.


    It would be best to swallow her anger and do as Christina wanted her to. Although it would be troublesome to use her core energy, she could still recover slowly.


    But if Christina went crazy, she might need to exhaust her entire core energy to keep her at bay.


    Suddenly, Christina''s body was lit up with Golden mes. It was the Golden Crow Spirit controlling her body right now.


    Christina stretched her open hand towards Tiana and nned to touch her.


    At this moment, she heard a cold andmanding voice resounding in their mind, "Do not touch her."


    The two of them immediately recognized that voice. It belonged to Azaroth.


    The Golden Crow Spirit''s mes were forcefully dispelled as a dense and oppressive aura struck her body.


    The Golden Crow Spirit immediately returned the body to Christina.


    Meanwhile, Christina was quite confused when she sensed Azaroth''s oppressivemand and aura.


    She left the tent and had a proper meeting with him. She asked Azaroth with a frown, "The Spirit inside me informed me that Tiana has some Ice Energy within her Spirit. She will continue to feel unbearable pain if this goes on, and her spirit will get weaker. I was just helping her remove that Ice Energy. It wouldn''t have harmed Tiana in the slightest."


    Azaroth responded while staring at Christina''s face, "I know precisely what you were doing. However, you will not have my agreement for that."


    Christina instantly got furious at those words, and she immediately yelled at Azaroth, "Why?! Do you want Tiana to continue to suffer like that?! I have the power to heal her, so why shouldn''t I do it?!"


    The words she spoke were the first ones that appeared in her mind.


    Azaroth continued to stare at her with a calm expression as if he wasn''t affected at all, "Do not judge this world using thatmon sense you built up while being a frog in a well. You know nothing about what is truly going on. Not you nor that Spirit inside you."


    "However, if you still insist on dealing with the Ice Laws in Tiana''s Spirit, then you need to deal with me," Azaroth spoke as he unleashed his battle intent that pushed Christina away.


    Christina was shocked to sense that much aura. She found it extremely challenging to even move ahead, let alone attack Azaroth.


    Azaroth spoke, "I am not killing you solely because Tiana calls you a friend. You stand on a thin line of life and death. I would advise you to not make any stupid moves. Because next time, I won''t be so kind."


    "Now, scram!" Azaroth shouted, and a wind pressure suddenly struck Christina. The wind pressure was so strong that Christina was thrown out of their camp.


    Fortunately, Christina stood in the direction of the ck Lake Sect''s camp and was thrown in that direction.


    She would have been sent to the enemy''s side if it was the opposite.


    Once Christina was gone, Azaroth closed his eyes and concentrated on meditating. He was focusing on that chasm around this hill.


    Even if he couldn''t personally explore it, he could still use his spiritual sense to check just what kind of creatures were inside.


    Azaroth was a little surprised that even though his Spiritual Sense had covered thousands of miles in-depth, he had still not found a single creature.


    He felt that he was missing something, but he couldn''t ce his finger on it.

 Chapter 394 - The Rebellious Influence

    After some time, Azaroth gave up on trying to figure out the mystery of that chasm. He got up and went to check up on all his subordinates.


    Tiana''s condition could be considered the worst among them. However, Azaroth sensed a mysterious phenomenon urring in her soul. Slowly, the Ice Laws were fusing with her soul.


    The process was bound to be extremely painful. But he had a feeling that her Soul was going to mutate into a pure Ice Soul. This would be a great boon for Tiana.


    This was the reason he hadn''t dealt with those Ice Laws within her Soul.


    Also, if the situation turned life-threatening for Tiana, Azaroth had his methods to purge those Icews from her soul.


    This was also why he was so furious at Christina. She was about to undo the result for which Tiana had endured such great pain. Even Azaroth was eagerly anticipating the result of this issue.


    Tiana''s subordinates weren''t so greatly injured. This was a good thing.


    They just had to be careful to not overuse the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique. Since they didn''t overuse it, the situation remained typical for them.


    However, it was a fact that the entire team was wasted for this one week.


    <em>''There''s no point in having them fight another battle. The final battle between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect draws near. They can''t miss it.''</em>


    <em>''I also need to keep an eye on the ck Lake Sect''s officials. They aren''t nning to return or sign a peace agreement. If so, I need to prevent that situation from urring.''</em>


    Azaroth called out for Zena and the two fox kits. They had more or less recovered from that battle in the night a few days earlier.


    "Remain on guard here. Call out for me if you face any issue," Azaroth ordered them before he turned around and walked away.


    Zena turned into amander and stationed the two fox kits in different directions. They would be in charge of those two directions.


    Meanwhile, Zena began to fly high in the sky in a circr manner. She was basically patrolling this area. Anyone unknown who tried to enter this area without permission would be killed.


    It was unknown just how many beasts Zena and those two fox kits ughtered.


    In reality, it wasn''t the fault of those beasts. Their territory was too close to Azaroth''s camp, but they had created a specific boundary for themselves. They won''t pass that boundary.


    However, Zena had no idea about this sort of fictional boundary they had created for themselves.


    Zena saw them as a threat and decided to eliminate them. She released multiple thunderbolts. And these were Golden Lightning Thunderbolts. Thus, the beasts had no chance to retaliate against Zena.


    In the meantime, Azaroth had returned to the ck Lake Sect''s main camp. Azaroth remained in the trees and continued to gaze at the disciples, elders, and their sect mistress from afar.


    His eyes and senses were focused on each individual present in this camp.


    When he felt that something suspicious was happening, he would immediately move towards that location. A suspicious deal would normally ur outside the tents and not inside.


    This was because if a specific individual was seening out of a specific tent or the disciples around found out just who was in that tent, then rumors would begin to fly and so on.


    Those individuals'' political rivals would figure out that this man was doing something suspicious and keep an eye on him or deal with him.


    Naturally, there were also cases when secret deals would take ce in a tent. However, this meant that they had a method to get out without arising suspicion.


    The current scenario was simr to thetter situation. An elder had a few disciples who had gone on a mission to ambush the Night Mountain Sect''s team.


    However, they hadn''t returned. Thus, he would talk about this issue with another reputed elder whose disciple was leading this ambush.


    There was nothing strange for him to go and release his frustration on that elder. However, the situation was much different than they imagined.


    This was a mere excuse to meet that man in an open and abroad manner.


    These men were actually nning a rebellion within the ck Lake Sect. They felt that Erica was ruining the ck Lake Sect.


    She didn''t have a political mindset that was required to run a sect. She was far too idealistic and cared about her personal prestige. She was afraid of the hard decisions that a leader should take.


    Thus, they had decided to remove Erica from her position. However, they required great support from their fellow elders for this to ur.


    These two were the founding members of this ideology. Slowly, this thinking began to grow within the sect.


    A fierce discussion would ur on it since many individuals in the sect greatly respected Erica. They respected her because of some personal reasons. Like, Erica had assisted them personally, or she had taken care of their family when they urgently required it, and so on.


    In the end, if there was someone who didn''t agree with their ideology, these two elders would find a way to turn him silent.


    However, many people also agreed with this ideology. They respected Erica for her strength, but they felt her leadership qualities were greatlycking.


    Once these two elders felt that their influence was strong enough, they approached Erica''s husband and tried to corrupt him.


    They organized arge banquet for the elders in the ck Lake Sect. Only the male elders were invited.


    During that banquet, they did a lot of things. They yed a couple of games, some small bets, and a few spars. The food was exquisite, and the musicians and dancers kept everyone entertained.


    These two elders who had created this rebellion movement remained sober while the other elders were all drunk, including Erica''s husband.


    The man was so drunk that he had no idea what was left or what was right. He couldn''t even count in that state.


    These men first used some special liquid to make him sober. They couldn''t talk to him or corrupt him if he remained drunk like that.


    Erica''s husband vomited a few times before his head cleared up gradually. He was quite grateful that these two elders had escorted him to his tent.


    Slowly, the three began to talk. And during their talk, the two elders began to provoke Erica''s husband against Erica.


    Naturally, their strategy was extremely sound and realistic.


    One individual would say something nderous about Erica, and the other individual would counter him and speak of Erica''s upright qualities. However, the individual speaking of Erica''s good points would add some bad points about her at the end.


    Initially, Erica''s husband waspletely inclined towards the man speaking of Erica''s good points. However, as he continued listening to their argument and felt how logical it was, he had inclined to the side that Erica''s leadership wasn''t perfect for the ck Lake Sect.


    And then, he asked them this question in his mind, "Then who would be perfect to lead the ck Lake Sect?"


    To which, the two elders smiled internally and spoke extremely solemnly, "You would be perfect, sir. We believe there is no one more worthy of that position than you."


    Erica''s husband was startled to hear this statement. But the two quickly praised him to the high heavens and stroked his ego and pride that Erica''s husband was smiling ear to ear.


    He couldn''t even frown, even if he wanted to.. This was how delighted he felt at this moment.

 Chapter 395 - Corruption

    Erica''s husband was easily corrupted after he was shown a vision of where he would rule the ck Lake Sect. His words would hold greater value than his wife.


    This had always been a source of dishonor for Erica''s husband. Even though he was the man of the house, he was weaker than his wife. His words held less weight than that of his wife.


    In fact, he couldn''t even decide anything in the house. People woulde to strike a conversation with him so that he could help them speak some good words about them to his wife.


    This had always angered him internally. And today, he felt greatlyforted as he saw this vision.


    The two elders who were initiating the rebellion had a devilish smile as they continued to fill his ears with their words.


    Erica''s husband waspletely engrossed as he listened to them. He made up his mind to support them however he could.


    Thus, this rebellious movement started gaining some pace and power. This faction was growing strong rather quickly due to the support from Erica''s husband.


    He was aware of many secret cultivation techniques, resources, and some other secrets.


    Even these two elders who began this rebellious movement were startled to hear many secrets. They never imagined that corrupting Erica''s husband would bring so many gifts.


    Now, they had already seeded in creating arge rebellious faction within the ck Lake Sect.


    It was sorge that even if Erica found out about it, she couldn''t stop it at this point.


    However, the situation remained stagnant. Erica couldn''t find all the individuals involved in this rebellion, and she couldn''t just initiate a mass ughter for no reason.


    Meanwhile, the rebellious movement also lost pace as they realized that they didn''t have the power to force Erica to ept their decision.


    Erica was a 6 Star Warrior. She could easily kill them all if they dared to go against her. Thus, they required a way to do with her strength.


    Some radicals even felt that her death was necessary for the ck Lake Sect''s future development.


    Her death would greatly affect the ck Lake Sect, but they were confident in rising to their previous state just as quickly.


    Each one had arge number of connections, and a few of them were even in contact with the Royal Princes.


    Thus, they were confident that the ck Lake Sect could rise just as quickly under their leadership. However, the first step remained, and that was to deal with Erica.


    Naturally, some individuals felt that killing Erica wasn''t necessary. They wanted to hold a proper discussion with Erica and make her ept their reasoning. They felt that Erica''s life would only be greatly useful for the ck Lake Sect.


    However, they had to create a situation where Erica would be forced to listen to them.


    For that reason, this rebellious faction contacted the Night Mountain Sect.


    The ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect already had many grudges between them. And now, the elders of the ck Lake Sect had presented a great n with which the Night Mountain Sect would have a method of dealing with Erica.


    The Night Mountain Sect has always been on the losing end of their past confrontations because of Erica''s power. They were already looking for an opportunity to deal with Erica.


    And now, the Night Mountain Sect were suddenly presented with this offer. They immediately made up their mind to grasp this opportunity.


    They began to concoct a n to initiate this battle between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect.


    In this battle, the Night Mountain Sect had one objective. To capture Erica''s daughter, Christina. If they capture Christina, they could force Erica to listen to them.


    The rebellious elders in the ck Lake Sect also wanted this to happen for the same reason.


    However, the Night Mountain Sect wasn''t nning topletely honor their deal with these elders. They had their own ns when they grasped this opportunity.


    On the surface, they stated how they would let these elders decide what they should do with Erica in return for arge sum and some secret techniques.


    The rebellious elders of the ck Lake Sect were satisfied with this price. In return, they would have Erica under their control.


    However, the Night Mountain Sect was nning to kill Erica and as many individuals of the ck Lake Sect as possible.


    There was a team of warriors who required the blood of the humans to cultivate their Ardor. Their cultivation realm had stagnated because they couldn''t begin a massacre just everywhere. If the Royal Family found out about those massacres, the Night Mountain Sect would face the fury of the Monarch!


    Thus, this group of warriors wouldn''t just show themselves unless the Night Mountain Sect wanted to massacre arge group.


    In reality, this team of Night Mountain Sect had another secret that forced them to stay underground.


    Thus, the Night Mountain Sect hadn''t released them in this battle against the ck Lake Sect.


    At this moment, Azaroth was walking around the ck Lake Sec while using his stealth technique.


    He was quite serious right now and was sure that even Erica couldn''t sense his presence. Azaroth could sense her presence, and she hadn''t disyed any suspicious movements after he entered her range.


    Thus, he was sure she couldn''t sense his presence. Azaroth was observing the various elders of this ck Lake Sect.


    Three of them were having a private meeting in a particr tent. Azaroth stood on a tree branch, waiting for the meeting to conclude.


    Once two of the elders left that tent, Azaroth immediately moved and stealthily entered the tent from the back.


    When the elder turned to that side, he was shocked to see Azaroth. He recognized Azaroth immediately as he had seen Azaroth during the meeting.


    Azaroth didn''t give him a chance to scream as he took two steps forwards and covered his mouth.


    "<strong>Soul Reading Technique!</strong>"


    Azaroth immediately used that technique as the elder''s body suddenly went limp in his arms.


    The man fell unconscious as Azaroth saw all the memories of this man from his perspective.


    Azaroth immediately saw nearly 70 years'' worth of memories in a few seconds. However, he quickly extracted useful information and found out many things.


    He discovered this rebellion and had a wretched smile on his handsome face.


    <em>''As I expected, the ck Lake Sect has many traitors. These individuals have a ratherrge ambition. But they are quite stupid.''</em>


    <em>''Why would the Night Mountain Sect let them live after they deal with Erica? It''s Erica''s presence that''s preventing the Night Mountain Sect fromunching an all-out ughter on the ck Lake Sect.''</em>


    <em>''Erica''s husband is also a stupid man. He believes he is the leader of this rebellious movement when in reality, everything is controlled by the two elders on his side.''</em>


    <em>''To make Erica fall into their trap, the Night Mountain Sect needs to have Christina in their grasps. However, they hadn''t yet made their move towards her. It seems they want to conceal their intention that their true target in this battle is Christina. A wise decision on their part.''</em>


    <em>''However, the patience of the Night Mountain Sect must be ending. They should make their move soon.''</em>


    A smirk appeared on Azaroth''s face as he thought <em>''This has gotten a lot more interesting.''</em>

 Chapter 396 - Trap

    Azaroth knew it would be a bad idea to kill this elder as it would alert the entire ck Lake Sect that there was an assassin in the vicinity.


    Azaroth left the location after erasing parts of memories from this man''s head. This man had no idea that something had happened after hisrades left.


    He would think that he was quite tired and fell asleep on his bed.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth had gone to find Christina. It would be easy to bring Christina to the camp using Tiana''s name.


    If he had Christina at his camp, the situation would be under his control. Whether it was the timing or the result. He would choose the one most favorable to himself.


    Having Christina at his camp meant that his camp might be the primary target for the Night Mountain Sect. Tiana''s group waspletely wasted, and they could no longer fight for this one week.


    Although they couldn''t fight, these women were meditating and digesting their experiences from these recent battles.


    The only time they would halt their meditation was during their food break. Their body required nutrients for healing.


    Fortunately, the beasts that Zena and herrades had ughtered possessed all these required nutrients.


    Once they were roasted and the poison in their bodies was purged, they would be edible.


    Since these women couldn''t fight, Azaroth knew he had to deal with all those attacks by himself.


    He would have to reveal his power to the enemies and even to the entire Kingdom.


    His identity as Azaroth would be revealed to the Royal Family. The Royal Family would find out that an individual at the 5 Star Warrior was the leader of this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    When Azaroth thought deeply about this, he didn''t find anything wrong with it.


    Many factions had their own trump cards. He could be considered a trump card of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    If the Royal Family did send someone to investigate the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, Tiana could give out a reason that she had hired someone to protect them.


    That would surely satisfy the Royal Family. Well, at least on the surface. They could continue to investigate secretly, but Tiana could control that information to some extent.


    Thus, Azaroth had no qualms about revealing his true strength. He just had to keep in mind to only reveal his Ice Element.


    Azaroth was sure that the Royal Family was aware of his identity that was controlling the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    The King had struck a deal with a demon and traded many resources with him.


    The Royal Family was also aware of a demon pulling the strings in the kingdom. However, they hadn''t connected that all these individuals were actually personas of a single man.


    It was unrealistic for them to reach this conclusion unless they saw him personally. After all, it was extremely rare for an individual to possess two elements. Let alone so many different kinds of powers.


    Azaroth possessed these many powers due to his ability, experience, knowledge, and some bits of luck.


    Thus, Azaroth was confident he could keep his true identity a secret if he remained careful.


    He soon found Christina''s team. Christina was on a mission to assist another team that was needed reinforcements urgently.


    When she arrived at the location, multiple elder-ranked figures jumped out and startled Christina''s entire team.


    "Hahaha! You finally fell in our trap!" The elder from the Night Mountain Sect''s sideughed loudly as he dered this.


    "You all will pay for this! The elders of the ck Lake Sect should have sensed your presence and will be on their way soon enough!" Christina shouted at them.


    An elder of the Night Mountain Sect asked with a sneer, "Do you think we weren''t prepared for that possibility?"


    The disciples whom Christina hade to assist immediatelyunched attacks on their backs.


    Christina and her team hadn''t expected these disciples to betray them at this moment. However, the Golden Crow''s Spirit within Christina reacted very quickly.


    A faint manifestation of the Golden Crow was created behind Christina that protected her from those attacks.


    Those attacks didn''t actually hit her body, but herrades weren''t so lucky. Nearly all of them were caught off-guard by those attacks.


    They were all on the ground, some of them hurt and a couple of them dead.


    Christina''s eyes widened with shock as she witnessed that scene.


    "That''s right! It''s people of your own sect that have sold you! Why did you think your team was sent as reinforcement to this location where we had set up our trap to capture you? Gwahahahaha¡­" Another man loudlyughed as he revealed another piece of information to Christina.


    Christina was startled to hear those words. The Night Mountain Sect''s elders saw the opportunity and moved towards Christina.


    Three of them rushed towards Christina and nned to capture her. They were all at the 5 Star Rank. Even if Christina was much stronger, she couldn''t win against them.


    At that moment, the bright Golden me Wings appeared on Christina''s back, and she flew away.


    Christina''s body has been taken over once more by the Golden Crow within her. The Golden Crow was not about to let her get caught that simply.


    However, even though, the Golden Crow tried its best and used all bits of its power that it could use, it could only resist for a short period.


    After that, the elders began to utilize more of their power and finally suppressed Christina.


    At this point, the Golden Crow was helpless! It had even sent a signal to the Great Kun within Erica''s body.


    Erica had received this signal and was on her way to Christina''s location at her top speed. She was extremely shocked that her daughter fell into such a trap.


    She was anxious and worried. Thus, she paid no heed to the expenditure of her Ardor.


    Other than this anxiousness, Erica was also quite furious. She nned to make the Night Mountain Sect pay for targeting her daughter like this.


    She could have tolerated it if her daughter had been gravely injured by another disciple of the Night Mountain Sect.


    It meant Christina was just weaker. However, for so many elders to gang up on her was a despicable move!


    The Night Mountain Sect''s elders sensed Erica''s presence. One of them spoke out, "Let''s return quickly."


    The Night Mountain Sect had already prepared for this situation. They had to retreat back to their sect, and some other experts of the Night Mountain Sect would deal with Erica.


    Even Erica, with all of her might, would be helpless if Christina was brought to the Night Mountain Sect!


    Just as they were about to leave, they heard an amused sound, "Leaving so soon?"


    "Who are you?" An elder turned in that direction and asked with a frown. He saw a handsome youth flying towards them with a smirk on his face.


    Azaroth opened his palm in response, and a quick sharp Ice Sword was released from that palm. The Ice Sword pierced the head of the elder who held Christina tightly.


    Christina fell to the ground as she was released from that elder''s grasps.. The other elders of the Night Mountain Sect were startled. The sword was so fast that they didn''t even catch its movement!

 Chapter 397 - Azaroth Appears

    Azaroth''s presence and his first attack had startled all these elders. From Azaroth''s facial appearance, they could easily guess his age.


    Such strength at his age was quite shocking. His first attack had just killed one of them, after all.


    The elders and the disciples of the Night Mountain Sect and the ck Lake Sect who had turned traitors were also quite shocked.


    They weren''t told to expect the presence of someone like Azaroth.


    One of the disciples recognized Azaroth and spoke out, "You¡­Aren''t you the leader of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect?! Wasn''t your sect assigned to a different position? Why are you here?!"


    Another one added, "For you to have abandoned your position and appear here, are you begging to be punished by the sect mistress?!"


    That question made Azaroth smile in response, and he turned towards that man, "You have a lot of courage to talk about the sect mistress when you have clearly betrayed her."


    Azaroth genuinely appeared impressed at the audacity and shamelessness of this man. His words were enough to turn the entire group speechless.


    He then focused on Christina and therge group of elders from the Night Mountain Sect. Azaroth then spoke to them, "You have two choices. Either we can fight, and that conclusion of our fight would determine Christina''s fate."


    "You should have gauged my power by now. I won''t go down easily, and if you all still want to fight me, I won''t go down alone," Azaroth spoke confidently.


    "While we fight, Christina''s mother would draw closer. That would mean the death of every single one of you," Azaroth spoke.


    Those words truly made those elders hesitate. Internally, they were quite worried about this possibility!


    Azaroth naturally didn''t miss their reactions and continued calmly, "You all received a mission to capture Christina if she fell into your trap. You all can still save your skin by responding that Christina knew about your trap and prepared some treasures to escape."


    "You just need to make sure that your superiors only know of the story that you tell them. I am sure you understand what I mean," Azaroth spoke with a devilish smirk.


    Those words made the Night Mountain Sect''s elders turn towards each other. They were checking out the reactions of their fellowrades and then decided.


    Around this moment, Azaroth focused his gaze on Christina. A thin sphere of pure Absolute Ice formed around Christina.


    By the time the elders around her understood what was going on, the Ice Sphere had already formed around Christina.


    These guys could no longer touch Christina. One of the Night Mountain Sect''s elders tried, and he had his entire arm frozen.


    The other elders then looked towards Azaroth, and two of them felt it was a good opportunity to attack Azaroth.


    Their decision to attack Azaroth was actually quite sound. However, that would be true if there was a random warrior instead of Azaroth.


    A random warrior would require a lot of concentration and extremely high Ardor reserves. This was because Christina was quite far away from Azaroth.


    And for Azaroth to create such a protective sphere around Christina, he must be concentrating greatly and utilizing a lot of Ardor. He was basically some sort of a caster.


    Moreover, these warriors knew that the best method to deal with a caster was to engage in closebat battle with them. Thus, they immediately tried to close the distance between them.


    However, this was where they lost their right to live. Azaroth didn''t even pull out a weapon for them.


    Azaroth released a cold Icy Aura and froze the two elders while they were on the way to attack him.


    The other elders of the Night Mountain Sect now realized that there was no point fighting against Azaroth.


    They had just seen their tworades, who were almost equal to them in strength, freeze to death upon exposure to Azaroth''s aura.


    Only those with me Ardor had some chances of dealing with Azaroth or fighting an equal battle. Only a single one of these elders possessed me Ardor.


    However, this man was sweating as he continued to stare at Azaroth. This man was aware of his limits amidst the high praises about him in the Royal Court.


    He knew that Azaroth could toy around with him. In fact, his mes couldn''t change the situation in the slightest.


    "¡­Very well. We agree to your request. We are willing to return and let this girl go because we suddenly pity this girl for her cruel fate," The elder spoke with a prideful tone.


    Azaroth knew that this man was just trying to show that he was in control of the negotiations and diplomacy.


    These small details didn''t bother Azaroth that much.


    Christina flew towards Azaroth before the two changed their directions and began to fly in that direction.


    If they continued to fly in that direction, they would soon meet with Erica. And this was exactly what urred.


    Meanwhile, the Night Mountain Sect''s elders concocted their own story that they would narrate to their superiors.


    The deaths of these three elders would be med on Erica. They reported to their base that Christina possessed a life-saving treasure that she used to summon Erica.


    When Erica appeared, all these elders began to flee as fast as possible. Some elders weren''t so lucky and were captured by her. They wereter tortured and killed by her.


    If Erica was asked, she would naturally deny. But she couldn''t prove her innocence regarding this matter.


    She had already left her tent. This meant she was on the way to saving her daughter.


    The small lie in this entire event was that Erica didn''te on time, and her daughter was actually saved by a mysterious individual named Azaroth.


    These elders couldn''t report about Azaroth''s presence because that would reveal their cowardice.


    All the other elders in the courtroom would humiliate them when they find this out. As a result, this knowledge would never be exposed.


    However, all these elders had also decided to focus on the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. They knew they had to be very serious in dealing with this man and his sect, or they would suffer tremendous losses.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth and Christina met up with Erica.


    Azaroth removed that Icy Sphere around Christina. Erica immediatelytched onto her daughter and hugged her tightly.


    Christina returned that hug as she held her mother tightly. Her arms were trembling as she began to weep at this moment.


    Christina had been trying to stayposed in front of Azaroth. But now that she was in her mother''s arms, her emotions could no longer stay stable.


    She began to speak while sobbing, "¡­T-They a-all died. M-mother. T-Traitors. T-They killed them all."


    Erica began to pat her daughter''s head. She stared at Azaroth, who stood a little farther away with aposed look on his face.


    He soon walked away without even talking to Erica. Erica had her hands full as she handled her daughter.


    However, Erica made a mental note to talk to Azaroth regarding the situation. She didn''t understand why he was here and why he assisted Christina.


    Was it because Christina was Tiana''s friend, or did he have a deeper motive in mind?

 Chapter 398 - Life Threatening Situation

    Erica sat with Christina for about two hours, listening to her and calming her down. After Christina calmed down, Erica put her down to sleep in her tent.


    Erica soon left the area and flew towards Azaroth''s camp. She wished to express her gratitude to him for saving Christina.


    No matter what motive he had in mind, the fact remained that he saved Christina.


    Erica was quite aware of what Christina would have to endure if the Night Mountain Sect got their hands on her.


    She would be tortured daily and maybe even do some despicable things to her.


    After nearly 15 or so minutes, she reached Azaroth''s camp. Azaroth sensed her presence and had alreadye out of his tent.


    "Greetings, what brings the Sect Mistress here?" He asked with an amused tone. He knew perfectly well why she was here, but he wanted her to speak it from her own mouth.


    "¡­I havee to thank you for saving my daughter," Erica spoke at that moment, "If not for you, the Night Mountain Sect would have tortured her to break my willpower."


    "The ck Lake Sect would have most likely lost this battle against the Night Mountain Sect. Thus, I sincerely thank you," Erica spoke as she bowed slightly.


    Azaroth smiled slightly while remaining silent. He knew what she was trying to do. She was genuine while thanking him. However, Erica was thanking him in such a manner that he wouldn''t request anything excessive for this favor.


    She wanted him to feel slightly embarrassed. When an individual wants something from a person who genuinely respects him, he would feel reluctant to ask for something excessive and ruin that respect that the other person held for him.


    However, Azaroth was far above this sort of awkwardness. He spoke out with a clear tone, "You owe me an enormous favor. After all, I was the one who rescued your daughter. And I''ve heard that nothing is more precious to a mother than a child. This must be true even for a sect mistress like you."


    Erica gazed at him with a serious expression and then nodded. This was a fact, after all.


    "To return that favor, I want your ck Lake Sect to assist my Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect whenever we require it." This was a rather fine condition in Erica''s eyes. It was akin to forming an alliance with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Although the ck Lake Sect won''t gain anything from this deal, Erica was willing to form this alliance. This was the least she could do to return the favor she owed Azaroth.


    However, Azaroth wasn''t done yet.


    "There is one condition to that statement. You can''t say no to aiding the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect as long as you remain the sect mistress."


    When Erica heard those words, her eyes widened. She understood what this condition meant.


    With the previous condition, the ck Lake Sect would be in an alliance with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. However, if she agreed to this condition, the ck Lake Sect would more or less be a subordinate to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    At the least, as long as she remained the sect mistress, she could never go refuse Azaroth''s order. This was akin to selling herself and her whole sect.


    "¡­Aren''t you being a little too excessive with that demand?" Erica asked with a cold tone.


    Azaroth didn''t appear to be affected by those words, "The favor you owe me is just that huge. I am not someone who is willing to suffer a loss."


    "Heh. Really? And if I don''t ept this condition?" Erica asked while coldly snorting. She wasn''t going to sell her sect away to this man. Personally, kneeling to Azaroth was one thing, but betraying her entire sect was another matter!


    Azaroth spoke with a calm tone, "I understand." He took a small pause and added with a cold smile on his face, "You should return to your daughter''s side then. You will understand everything."


    Erica didn''t understand what he meant. However, Azaroth had already turned around and left the area.


    After a couple of seconds, Erica realized what Azaroth was talking about. She took an about-turn and rushed towards her daughter''s side.


    At this time, Christina''s Variant me Root had erupted with an unreal me Ardor.


    The warriors of the ck Lake Sect utilized their best Water Ardor techniques, but the mes continued to burn.


    Christina''s body was burning from the inside. Moreover, the me was burning rather slowly.


    Around 5 or so minutester, Erica arrived, and she gasped in shock as she saw what had urred to her daughter.


    "Christina?!" She shouted with her voice full of concern and anxiety.


    She then recalled Azaroth''s words and his cold smile. She now realized that this must have been his motive to save Christina.


    He had somehow managed to trigger Christina''s Variant me Root without Erica realizing it. Not just Erica, but the Golden Crow and the Great Kun were also caught off-guard.


    This meant he had expected Erica''s response and prepared this time bomb for this situation.


    At this moment, Erica created a colossal water sphere and struck Christina with that attack.


    Christina''s body submerged within that water sphere and the me ardor around her became weaker.


    Erica frowned as she sensed that she couldn''t permanently suppress the me Ardor that was released from Christina''s Variant me Root.


    Erica raised her output and tried to forcefully suppress Christina''s Variant me Root.


    At that moment, the Great Kun Spirit within her spoke ''You can''t suppress her Variant me Root using my Water Element. It seemed as though something is actively triggering her me Root.''


    <em>''If you don''t purge that thing which is triggering her me Root, your daughter would continue to release energy till she dies.''</em>


    "How do I deal with it?" Erica immediately asked the Great Kun Spirit. Her voice disyed her urgency.


    The Great Kun Spirit responded a momentter ''<em>You would need a Heavenly Herb that is on the same rank as that of the thing triggering the me Root. However, you should give up on that method.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Erica''s eyes widened when she heard the Great Kun Spirit asking her to give up. She asked with her voice filled with anxiousness, "Why?! Do you want me to give up on my daughter?!"


    <em>''That''s not the case. It''s just that whatever is triggering her me Root is an existence even greater than mine. And this means you would need a Seven Star Heavenly Herb that can suppress me Element! Moreover, you would need to gather this herb in less than a day. Since that''s how long your daughter canst. However, you should realize the difficulty of this mission. Moreover, even after you get a Heavenly Herb that can suppress me Element, I cannot guarantee that it would work.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Tears began to well up in Erica''s eyes as she heard the Great Kun Spirit''s exnation.


    The Great Kun Spirit continued speaking <em>''Another method would be to ask an Array Expert to create an Array that would suppress her me Root. However, this would be a temporary method, and Christina would need to reinforce that array periodically.''</em>


    The more Erica listened to the Great Kun Spirit''s words, the more she realized how awful the situation was.


    <em>''You don''t need to be so disheartened. You do have a way to save your daughter. And I suppose I don''t need to mention it to you.''</em>


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you have liked the chapter.. Please vote for the novel.

 Chapter 399 - Blood Contract

    The method that the Great Kun Spirit talked about was already known to Erica. However, Erica didn''t want to resort to that method.


    She needed to sell the ck Lake Sect to that malevolent man to save her daughter. She couldn''t even begin to imagine what ns he had for the ck Lake Sect. However, she believed none of them would be good.


    But Erica also wanted to save her daughter. Christina meant the world to her.


    On one side was the legacy of a historic sect and her subordinates who trusted and respected her sincerely, while on the other side was her daughter.


    If she sold her sect, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life. She would never be able to look into the eyes of her loyal subordinates.


    Erica would be distraught if she let her daughter die because she couldn''t bear the guilt.


    Within her, the Great Kun Spirit spoke <em>''Why are you so reluctant to ept that offer? Did you not realize what that man meant to say?''</em>


    "What are you talking about?"


    <em>''He said that you can''t refuse his order while you remain the sect mistress. But he didn''t say anything about the situation when you step down as the sect mistress. It means that the next sect master of the ck Lake Sect would be free of those restrains. You can save your daughter by submitting to him. That''s a good deal, in my opinion. It would be sad if this little ball of sunshine dies because of your confusion and misunderstanding.''</em>


    Erica let out a sigh and spoke, "Marin, you think too simply. However, this isn''t your fault. It''s because you aren''t a human and don''t know of the hidden schemes that we humans have in our minds."


    "That man specifically mentioned that the ck Lake Sect can''t refuse his order while I remain as Sect Mistress. This was meant to convince me to ept his offer. However, if you think deeply, it indicates that he intends to have the ck Lake Sect involved in some shady activities. That sinister man will definitely hold the proof of those nefarious activities and then ckmail the next Master of the ck Lake Sect. In this way, the ck Lake Sect can never be free of his control!"


    <em>''I see. The evil schemes of you humans are indeed unfathomable for a Beast like me. As you said, my thoughts are quite simple. I don''t think about the so-called future. I just know that I will protect my kin no matter the cost. And I believe that is the choice you should choose.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    "What about all my subordinates who have given their lives for me?! They fought to their deaths because of my order. They did it because they believed they were giving up their lives for me. It would be for the greater good of the ck Lake Sect."


    "However, I am betraying their expectations. Their hope and their sacrifice. You have no idea what this feels like!" Erica nearly shouted at the end.


    The Great Kun Spirit remained silent for a short while before it responded with a sad tone ''<em>That is true. I have no idea how it feels about betraying someone like that and experience guilt for it. But¡­ I do know what it feels like to lose a child.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Trust me. You don''t ever want to experience that feeling,''</em> The Great Kun Spirit spoke with its voice full of sorrow and solemnity.


    Erica turned towards her daughter and saw her condition was worsening. She clenched her fists and flew towards Azaroth''s camp. The water sphere in which Christina was submerged followed her.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was waiting for Erica to arrive.


    In reality, he hadn''t nned to force Erica to submit the ck Lake Sect to him so soon. However, when he realized the cooperation between the elders of the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect, he realized that if he waited any more, the ck Lake Sect would suffer great damage and would hardly be of any use.


    He had to take control if he wanted to extract some more benefits from this ck Lake Sect.


    However, he couldn''t use his typical techniques to force Erica to submit to him. Thus, he used her daughter to make her agree to submit to him.


    Erica gritted her teeth as she stood in front of Azaroth. She spoke to him, "Please do not kill my daughter!"


    Azaroth smirked at those words, and a paper appeared in his hand. He handed over that paper to Erica.


    "Drip your blood on this contract, and I will agree to your request," Azaroth spoke.


    Erica stared at the contract in her hand and carefully read it. She understood that this was soul control. She couldn''t use any cheap tricks to be free of these contract bindings.


    She then dripped her blood over the contract. The contract began to glow mysteriously and transformed into a chain.


    This chain tightened around Erica''s threat and turned into a cor. A contractual cor. Moreover, the other end of the chain was in Azaroth''s hand.


    This was the representation of the contract. Erica was the submissive party, and Azaroth was the master. Azaroth controlled this woman''s actions who was more or less his ve.


    Azaroth had a thin smile as he stared at Erica. He turned his head towards Christina''s direction and snapped his finger.


    Light purple-colored energy was released from Christina''s body and soon fused with Azaroth''s body.


    Christina''s Variant me Root soon began to calm down. The situation was slowly getting in the Golden Crow''s Control.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth turned towards Erica, "I have fulfilled the agreement from my side."


    The chain around Erica''s head glowed for a faint second before it disappeared. It had turned invisible, and only someone possessing special eye abilities could see this chain.


    Azaroth spoke to Erica, "It''s time to purge the pests in the ck Lake Sect. Return and keep an eye on the elders in the list I will give you. Also, assign your husband to a dangerous spot and have him killed. The rebellious movement against you will lose pace after his death. They will need some time to raise a new face for their rebellious movement."


    Erica was quite confused and asked Azaroth, "Rebellious movement? What?"


    Azaroth wasn''t in the mood to give an exnation, "Return."


    Erica was about to ask another question, but she felt a sharp pain in her soul. She understood that this was due to that Soul Contract.


    She gritted her teeth and turned her body around. ording to the soul contract, the pain vanished as Erica was following the order given to her.


    Meanwhile, Christina was unconscious, and Azaroth created a wooden tent for her and had her rest there.


    Because of the mes releasing from her body, the clothes she was wearing had been burned. No one noticed this because the mes she was emanating were too bright for them to notice. Erica noticed it, but she didn''t focus too much on it.


    And now, Azaroth felt his blood boiling slightly at the sight of this gorgeous naked beauty. Azaroth controlled his Demon Blood and urges and suppressed them while covering Christina''s body with arge cloak.


    He returned to his tent to meditate.


    The Night Mountain Sect would soon find out that their n had failed. Many of their elders had seen and heard of Azaroth''s name during that time.


    Azaroth allowed them to return so that they could spread the word about him. Now, the Night Mountain Sect would be focused on him.. This was precisely what he wanted.

 Chapter 400 - Sabertooth Tigers Tooth

    The Night Mountain Sect was organizing a meeting. They had suffered disastrous losses in the past week.


    This meeting was supposed to conclude the analysis done by the Night Mountain Sect. A single name had grabbed the attention of all the Night Mountain Sect''s cultivators.


    Wherever they suffered a major loss, they heard that name. It was Azaroth!


    They had heard about Azaroth before. However, they never paid Azaroth much attention when they heard about him from their spies in the ck Lake Sect. These spies were actually the elders of the ck Lake Sect who were selling crucial information to the Night Mountain Sect.


    This meeting had been organized so that the higher-ups could decide what exactly they should do.


    Once all the elders and the sect master had arrived, the meetingmenced.


    "Let''se straight to the topic. I believe everyone here is familiar with the individual named Azaroth," spoke the speaker of this meeting.


    All the individuals seated around therge round table nodded their heads.


    The speaker added with a calm tone, "The Sect has suffered disastrous losses due to this man. It is time we hit back and deal with him. If not, the situation would continue."


    Another elder spoke up at this moment, "That''s correct. However, we must not look down on this individual. Our group faced him earlier, and we witnessed his strength firsthand. It was extraordinary. Especially the speed at which heunched his attacks. He didn''t even create a hand-seal or take time to gather his Ardor. His first attack had killed one of us with great ease."


    This was one of those elders who captured Christina. He was truly terrified of Azaroth at that moment and felt quite relieved that they hadn''t been forced to battle that monster.


    Many other elders agreed with this elder. At that moment, the sect master of the Night Mountain Sect spoke up, "How do we deal with this man? We can''t change our defensive formations or reassign our disciples to that area. Otherwise, we might suffer disastrous losses from the sides where our defensive line has been thinned."


    Many elders came in support of Sect Master at that moment and spoke, "The Sect Master is right."


    One of them spoke up, "How about we convince the beasts to attack them again."


    At that moment, the sect master spoke with a frown, "We need to be careful while dealing with those beasts. We are walking on a thin line. They are quite dissatisfied with the losses they suffered thest time we had them attack this man''s team."


    "If they suffer any more disastrous losses because of our misinformation, the beasts will turn against us. This would be the worst-case scenario for us."


    "With the assistance of the regional beasts, the ck Lake Sect would know of the exact location of the Night Mountain Sect, along with all our secret routes. The Sect Mistress of the ck Lake Sect is a little stronger than me. If we don''t make her fall into our trap, we can''t defeat her."


    "The Sect Master is correct. However, what if we hand over the <strong>Large Canine Tooth</strong> of the <strong>Sabertooth Tiger</strong>. The current lord of the beasts on this mountain is a feline, and this Tooth would be greatly useful to this Beast." This man spoke out.


    The Sect Master frowned at that suggestion. The Night Mountain Sect did hold a Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth. Moreover, this tooth belonged to a very rare breed, even among the Sabertooth Tigers.


    Historians and archeologists estimated that this Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth came from a 7 Star Beast who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.


    For this reason, the Sect Master was quite reluctant to give away this Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth to the Beast Lord.


    If the Beast Lord of this territory acquired this Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth, its bloodline would evolve, and its potential would be tremendously boosted.


    After this battle against the ck Lake Sect, this Beast Lord would be their fiercest enemy.


    The Sect Master was quite reluctant to hand over such a strong weapon to his future enemy.


    Even if he couldn''t utilize that Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth, he was satisfied to keep it out of the beasts'' reach.


    "No. It will be increasingly difficult to deal with the beasts if we give away that tooth now. There is also a chance that in their arrogance, they would turn against us," The Sect Master spoke with a calm tone.


    "There is another method we can use to deal with this Azaroth," A thin smile appeared on the Sect Master''s face.


    All the elders turned towards him with a surprised look on their faces. One of them curiously asked, "What is it?"


    The Sect Master spoke with a smile, "Let''s have the elders in the ck Lake Sect take action against Azaroth. Whether they can deal with this man or not is beyond the point. Both situations would be favorable to us."


    A few intellectuals understood what the sect master meant by that statement.


    "That''s right. It will be a thorn out of our path if they deal with that man. However, if they can''t and are injured or killed by Azaroth, it would greatly anger the sect mistress of the ck Lake Sect. The elders just need to make sure that their statements matched, and they could sessfully put the me on Azaroth and state that he made the first move."


    "If many elders point their fingers at Azaroth, Erica is bound to take action against this man. In this way, it would be the ck Lake Sect itself that would be dealing with a thorn in our side," The elder finished speaking.


    The Sect Master spoke up, "That''s not all. Since we know that the Sect Mistress of the ck Lake Sect would appear around that camp, we can set up a trap for her. She is sure to trigger that trap."


    "That''s a great idea, Sect Master!" The elders praised their sect master one more time. This praise was genuine as they truly liked this idea.


    The entire Night Mountain Sect was getting ready to execute this n. Unfortunately, their n had failed before it could even begin.


    This was because they couldn''t contact their sources in the ck Lake Sect. They had no idea that Azaroth had taken control of the ck Lake Sect.


    All the informers of the Night Mountain Sect were being purged silently. And it was Erica who was personally dealing with them.


    Erica''s husband had been assigned to a location that was extremely likely to be attacked by beasts.


    She naturally allocated arge number of guards and followers and three additional traitorous elders to ensure that no one would predict her n.


    If they did return, she was going to kill them personally while they were on their way back to the camp and then throw their bodies into the wilderness.


    In the nighttime, the Night Mountain Sect realized that something was wrong. They could not contact any of their informers among the ck Lake Sect''s elders.


    They organized another meeting and decided to use another n. This n gave up the Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth that they possessed to the Cyan Leopard.


    This Cyan Leopard was the Beast Lord in the nearby area. It wasn''t the only Beast Lord but the Beast Lord who was on the verge of breaking through to the Beast King Rank.


    All the Beast Lords in the forest were either killed or subdued by this Cyan Leopard. Its agility and speed were extraordinary, and it possessed a rather strong Ardor. Most importantly, it possessed the instincts and intelligence to use these abilities to theirplete potential.


    For this reason, even the Beast Lord of the Rhino Race, who was much stronger than the Leopard Rape in terms of strength, had been subdued by the Cyan Leopard.


    Thest time the Night Mountain Sect had informed the Cyan Leopard about Azaroth, the Cyan Leopard had sent some lowly Beasts to kill Azaroth.


    Since it wasn''t the members of its own n, the Cyan Leopard wasn''t actually very furious at the Night Mountain Sect. Otherwise, they would have torn their agreement already and attacked the Night Mountain Sect.


    An envoy from the Night Mountain Sect soon entered the territory of the Leopard Race. The leopards all stared at that envoy and seemed ready to pounce at him.


    However, their Beast Lord had ordered them to remain on standby.


    "What is it that the Night Mountain Sect wants from us? Do you have another target?" The Cyan Leopard asked with a cold sneer.

 Chapter 401 - Accepting The Deal

    "It''s not exactly a new target. We already asked you to target this individual and paid a heavy price earlier. However, the beasts you sent weren''t up to the mark for this task," the envoy spoke with a calm tone.


    Even though he talked to the Cyan Leopard, the Beast Lord of the Leopard Race, he remained calm.


    The Cyan Leopard was lying on the branch of a tree. Its slitted pupil eyes widened slightly as it focused on the envoy standing on the ground.


    The other leopards didn''t exactly understand what this envoy had spoken, but they felt that it was a statement that disturbed their Beast Lord.


    All of them suddenly growled at the envoy and showed hostile looks on their faces. If not for the Cyan Leopard''s order to be on standby, they would have already pounced on him.


    The envoy wasn''t scared or terrified of these leopards. It wasn''t the first time he hade here as a diplomat. He was more or less used to this scene.


    The Cyan Leopard suddenly opened its mouth and spoke, "You mean that point where I sent nearly hundreds of beasts, but they were all massacred!"


    "Human, you should not mistake my silence as my weakness! There is a huge difference between the price you paid and our price! It''s a lot that I am not pursuing you regarding that matter."


    "As you say, Beast Lord. However, the fact remains that the warriors in that location remain unharmed. They are bing a thorn to the Night Mountain Sect. However, our sect has other more important matters to deal with, so we are leaving them to you and your Leopard Race." The envoy spoke respectfully. He wasn''t going to aggravate the Cyan Leopard any further.


    "That would depend on the price you pay. Is it great enough to motivate us to make a move personally or not?" The Cyan Leopard asked quite coldly.


    Anyone could see that the Cyan Leopard was reluctant to personally make a move. The Cyan Leopard didn''t want its Leopard Race to suffer any damage or injuries.


    That was the reason it used the other races. However, although the Cyan Leopard couldmand the other races, itsmands had their limit.


    The Cyan Leopard couldn''tmand the other beast lords to go and fight some humans. If these beast lords wanted to, they would go. Otherwise, they would send their subordinates and wait behind in their territory.


    If the Leopard Race became weaker or their numbers dropped, the Bear Race or the Steel Blood Alligator Race might march against the Leopard Race.


    Thus, the Cyan Leopard was not ready to take this risk.


    After all, their opponent was the ck Lake Sect. Even though the beasts greatly looked down on the humans for their weak physique and spirit, they still had to admit that humans were very proficient in using that tiny bit of strength.


    Humans also possessed many tricks and secret techniques that could help them deal with other races, such as those Alchemy Pellets, Array Formations, or secret techniques that used their life force, and so on.


    The envoy smiled at the question and spoke out, "Naturally, we can afford that price."


    The turquoise ring on the envoy''s finger shed with a bright greenish light before a small tooth appeared in his hand.


    From the shape and size of this tooth, it was clearly the tooth of a Red me Wolf. However, it possessed an ancient aura that directly acted on all the Leopards in this area.


    As time spread, the aura also affected the beasts in the nearby regions, and their attention turned towards the Leopard Race''s Territory.


    They could sense that this aura belonged to a Beast that possessed an Ancient Bloodline. Moreover, the rank of this Ancient Bloodline wasn''t low!


    The Cyan Leopard immediately jumped on the ground as it stared at the envoy with a hostile look in its eyes. It was nning to pounce at this envoy and steal the tooth in his hand.


    The Night Mountain Sect''s envoy sensed that hostile intention from the Cyan Leopard and spoke with a calm expression, "This aura you sense belongs to the Sabertooth Tiger from the ancient era. However, the tooth in my hand belongs to a Red me Wolf. We affixed a bit of the Sabertooth Tiger''s aura to the Red me Wolf''s Tooth to make you believe us. We are going to offer you a tooth of the Sabertooth Tiger if you deal with our target."


    "However, if you attack me now, you can forget about ever receiving the tooth of the Sabertooth Tiger," finished the envoy with a smile on his face.


    An arrogant smile disyed his confidence as he faced the entire Leopard Race.


    Soon, the other beasts appeared in that location and stared at the human envoy with curious expressions.


    The Cyan Leopard spoke out, "Very well. We ept your deal. However, if you go back on your words, the Beast Race will trample on the Night Mountain Sect!"


    All the beasts let out loud roars of agreement. Even though the envoy knew they wouldn''t attack him, he was still quite terrified at this moment.


    There were so many beasts around him that he couldn''t even count them all.


    However, he mustered his courage to disy a calm attitude and spoke, "The target''s name is Azaroth. He belongs to the camp situated on the west side of this location. His camp is the first one that you would encounter. Make sure to kill him and all hisrades."


    "Very well. We have a deal," The Cyan Leopard spoke with a confident tone.


    In reality, the Cyan Leopard was too excited after hearing about the Tooth of the Sabertooth Tiger. For this reason, it didn''t even think too much and agreed to the deal. The Cyan Leopard was worried that the Night Mountain Sect would realize how precious this Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth is and change their mind.


    The Cyan Leopard knew that if it acquired that tooth of the Sabertooth Tiger, it could use the aura of that Sabertooth Tiger to advance to the 6 Star Rank.


    Unlike the humans, the beasts didn''t need to gain insight into the world''sws to advance to the 6 Star Rank.


    The Beasts possessed an instinctive knowledge of thews within their bloodline. Thus, their task was to make their Ardor stronger and purify their bloodline.


    The Cyan Leopard couldn''t advance to the next rank because of its impure bloodline. However, the Sabertooth Tiger''s aura would stimte the blood within the Cyan Leopard''s Body and transform it.


    The process would be considered slow ording to human standards. However, it was an extremely quick method to advance to the next rank to the beast. They had to spend a lot of time in a single rank unless they possessed a strong bloodline.


    The Cyan Leopard was sure that after acquiring that Tooth of the Sabertooth Tiger, it would require just one year to elevate to the 6 Star Rank Beast and be a Beast King!


    However, this wasn''t all. If the Cyan Leopard managed to convince the spirit within the Tooth of the Sabertooth Tiger, it could rece one of its canines with that tooth!


    Cyan Leopard would then acquire a strong bloodline ability of the Sabertooth Tiger. This tooth would raise its biting ability to another level. The Cyan Leopard was sure that even the tough shell of the Dark Tortoise Race would be unable to resist against that tooth''s offensive ability.


    The envoy soon left the area while the Cyan Leopard gathered all the beasts in the area.


    All the Beast Lords from the different races went to a secluded location and held a long discussion.


    After the long discussion, they concluded that the Cyan Leopard would hold onto the Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth.


    Naturally, this wasn''t because they were terrified of angering the Cyan Leopard. All of them wanted this tooth. But these beasts knew that they couldn''t utilize that tooth since they didn''t belong to the feline family.


    The Leopard Race was the strongest Beast Race within this forest. And it was the Beast Race that belonged to the feline family.


    The Cyan Leopard promised these Beast Lords that he would share the Ancient Sabertooth Tiger''s Aura to stimte their bloodlines.


    These beasts would also have a chance of bing the Beast Kings. Thirty Beast Kings would suddenly appear among them within a single year.


    At that moment, the Night Mountain Sect and the Origin Sectbined couldn''t deal with these Beasts.


    The Red Crown Sect would need to get involved and deal with these beasts, or else these beasts wouldy waste to many towns and cities of the Glerian Kingdom.

 Chapter 402 - Last-moment Escape

    Azaroth was having an important conversation with Sargan while the Beasts were nning tounch arge-scale attack at his camp.


    It had been quite some time since Sargan talked to him. It was probably some urgent information or an urgent situation where Sargan required his assistance.


    Azaroth asked with a frown, "Did something ur that you need my help?"


    Sargan responded immediately, "No, master. I have contacted you today to inform you of something very important. You would never expect that something like this was urring!"


    Azaroth''s frown became deeper as he heard those words and asked Sargan, "What is it?"


    Sargan then began speaking, "The name of this woman in the carriage is Camille. She was the personal maid of the King of the Glerian Kingdom."


    Azaroth''s eyes widened at that statement, "What did you say?! A personal maid of the King?!"


    There was a qualitative difference between a maid and a personal maid. A maid was any random female servant in a manor, while the personal maid meant that she stayed close to her master at all times.


    <em>''If this woman named Camille is a personal maid of the King, then she must have been showered with his aura and even the fate energy. There is no way she could be affected by Dn Ross''s Fate Energy. However, this is only true if my prior hypothesis about the King''s Fate Energy turning Dn Ross'' Fate Energy worthless is correct.''</em>


    "I ampletely sure that this woman is a personal maid of the King," Sargan confidently spoke confidently.


    Azaroth asked curiously, "How do you know for sure?"


    "I forced it out of her!" Sargan spoke with a cheerful tone.


    Azaroth''s eyes narrowed at that moment, and he asked him with some surprise visible on his face, "You could force it out of her?"


    "Umm¡­ That''s correct. I just had to break a couple of her bones. Fortunately, I had many of those Supreme Recovery Pellets or traces of those injuries would be left behind," Sargan spoke with a relieved voice.


    Azaroth didn''t doubt Sargan, but he found it rather unbelievable.


    Azaroth didn''t doubt Sargan''s capability to capture Camille. In fact, he was expecting Sargan to seed in this task quite easily.


    There would be many moments when Camille was alone, and Sargan could take advantage of that moment to abduct her.


    What shocked him was that Sargan had managed to force the information out of Camille. Moreover, he had even used the Supreme Recovery Pellets so that no traces of injuries would remain behind.


    He couldn''t understand howe Dn Ross hadn''te to save Camille yet. Even if the fate energy around him wouldn''t work on Camille to make her fall in love with him, his protagonist identity should have still brought him to this ce.


    "Is that woman still your captive?" Azaroth asked.


    Sargan raised his brow in confusion and didn''t understand the significance of this question. He responded, "That''s right. I n to return her to her residence before the sunrise."


    Azaroth spoke seriously, "Stay on your guard. You can be attacked by that Dn Ross at any moment."


    Sargan casually replied, "Don''t worry, master. I checked for all possibilities. Dn Ross has gone to meet with one of his harem members in another vige, and there is no way he would return halfway now."


    Azaroth frowned at that tone. He felt that something was wrong and asked Sargan, "You have gotten rather careless. Let me guess, you didn''t even set up those Aura Detection stones around your location?"


    "¡­You don''t need to be so worried, master. I will be fine. This woman hasn''t seen my face, and she will return to her residence before its daytime," Sargan spoke with a convincing tone.


    Azaroth''s frown got deeper as he heard those words and thought ''He has been affected by the Fate Energy again.''


    "Leave that location!" Azaroth ordered Sargan with amanding tone.


    Sargan was shocked to suddenly hear thatmanding tone. He asked with a confused tone, "Should I take this woman with me or not?"


    "Forget about this woman and leave as soon as possible!" Azaroth ordered Sargan with amanding tone.


    Sargan had no choice but to obey Azaroth''s words. He was staying in a small cabin within the woods near Yabert Town.


    However, it was quite far away from Dn Ross''s hideout. It would take quite some time for Dn Ross to find this location.


    Sargan left the cabin and was about to run deeper into the woods when he suddenly heard a sound. It was a rather faint sound of the footsteps from the opposite direction.


    He instinctively turned around to see just who was producing this sound. A beast was rather umon in these areas, so he had no idea who was approaching that cabin.


    Sargan''s eyes went wide as saucers as he saw none other than Dn Ross''s figure. Sargan immediately increased his pace as he ran deeper into the forest.


    He was sure that Dn Ross wouldn''t pursue him. He would prioritize Camille''s condition and check whether she was injured or not. Only after that would he pursue Sargan.


    Till then, Sargan could easily cover arge distance and be out of Dn Ross''s reach.


    After creating a good distance between him and Dn Ross, Sargan contacted Azaroth again.


    He inquired Azaroth very curiously, "How did you know that this man wasing?"


    "¡­Pure deduction. But I will exin itter. However, what was that carelessness?!" Azaroth nearly shouted at Sargan.


    Sargan lowered his head as he heard Azaroth''s voice. He knew he fully deserved to be scolded for pulling that stunt like that.


    "Your n was good. But why did you not prepare for the worst-case scenario? Was it because things have been going your way thest few days? I will not tolerate this sort of lethargy from you, Sargan! Be prepared for the consequences next time. Your task is the most sensitive among all my retainers. There can be no errors or blunders like this one here."


    "Yes, master," Sargan spoke with a respectful tone.


    Azaroth calmed down after that statement. He let out a sigh and spoke, "¡­All right, let''s get back to the topic. So, what is the King''s personal maid doing here? I doubt the King has a shortage of men, so what''s the real reason?"


    Sargan also calmed down after a couple of seconds and exined, "That''s right, master. All this mess really confused me that I forgot to tell you the real reason why I contacted you."


    This time, Azaroth didn''t interrupt him and let Sargan continue speaking, "The King wants to use his personal maid and control Dn Ross. It seemed that the Pontiff of the Lamhilhan Theocracy was dead. The entire theocracy is trying its best to keep this information concealed, so we didn''t find out about this fact until today."


    "The King wants to control the Lamhilhan Theocracy through an individual. And he has chosen Dn Ross. He ns to control Dn Ross through this woman Camille. Her entire family has already been detained. So, Camille can''t make any move against the King as it will result in her family''s ughter. She is a filial child, which was thest thing she wanted to happen to her family. Thus, she sincerely obeys the King''s orders."


    Azaroth was absolutely bbergasted when he heard that the Pontiff of Lamhilhan Theocracy had been killed. He whispered, "I see¡­So, that''s why that group was trying to gain the support of the Sinylian Kingdom''s aristocrats stationed near the border of the Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    "The King is actually trying to honey trap this man. So, what is her true identity? I doubt he sent some maid with an ordinary identity," Azaroth asked that question quite casually.


    Azaroth couldn''t see it, but Sargan was quite surprised.. He didn''t expect Azaroth to guess this as well.

 Chapter 403 - Unique Identity

    Since Sargan was surprised, he took a short pause before responding to Azaroth''s question.


    "You are right, master. This woman has quite a unique identity. You might not believe it, but this woman belongs to a family that was forced to flee from Lamhilhan Theocracy because the previous Supreme Pontiff waspletely against them."


    "It has been nearly 17 years since they escaped from Lamhilhan Theocracy. This woman''s family had quite a bit of prestige there. If not for the death of her elder brother, who was the direct inheritor of her family, her father would have be the Supreme Pontiff of the Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    "Her family entered the Glerian Kingdom to escape the clutches of the Lamhilhan Theocracy. The Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom received information about these trespassers, and they soon found out their true identity."


    Azaroth understood the rest of the story.


    This reputed family of the Lamhilhan Theocracy was ced under direct custody of the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom.


    The King was sheltering them in hopes of using them in the future. And the time hade now.


    The young heiress of the family had grown up into a beautiful woman. He had also found a candidate who could go over to the Lamhilhan Theocracy and assist him from there.


    ording to the King, this honey trap was guaranteed to seed. Dn Ross was a very horny individual who couldn''t say no to beautiful women. Thus, Camille shouldn''t have any issues manipting him.


    However, he had never expected the intervention of some other party at this time. Sargan''s involvement in this matter was bound to make it moreplicated.


    In reality, today, Sargan''s actions have made it easier for Camille to manipte Dn Ross.


    Dn Ross was quite shocked and furious that someone had managed to abduct Camille from his camp. He was about to give his subordinates a piece of his mind.


    All of them were useless! They weren''t patrolling seriously and allowed Camille to be captured like that. What prestige would he have in front of her?! How could he face her now?!


    These were the worries in his mind.


    However, Camille was actually quite calm as she noticed that Sargan had escaped, and it was Dn in front of her.


    Camille soon understood the situation. She guessed that Sargan knew he wasn''t Dn''s match, so he escaped as soon as Dn entered his territory.


    However, this incident had given her a perfect opportunity. She wasn''t nning to waste it.


    Tears began to flow out of Camille''s eyes. She was genuinely sad because an unknown man had abducted her and found out all her secrets.


    Dn Ross was startled to see this woman crying. He had been quite attracted to this beauty due to her appearance, temperament, and knowledge.


    It had been a short time since he met Camille, but they had opened up quite nicely. She was a little shy about some crude matters that Dn and his subordinates talked about. But overall, it was quite fun to be around her.


    Dn Ross was a rather sentimental individual. He liked this woman and couldn''t see her cry like that. He went forward and hugged her. His arm caressed her back slowly as he spoke, "Don''t worry, it''s all right now. That guy didn''t do anything bad to you, right?"


    Upon hearing that question, Camille began to sob even more loudly. After a few seconds, she spoke, "I don''t know who he was. But I think he was sent by my family''s rivals."


    "Family''s rivals? Who are they?! Even if it''s an aristocrat family or a sect, I will make them pay the price for targeting you!" Dn Ross swore loudly.


    This oath made Camille raise her head and look at Dn Ross deeply. Even though he was so weak, it appeared that he was ready to move mountains and rivers for her. She was quite touched as she noticed this, and she felt as though butterflies began to flutter in her stomach.


    Camille soon shook herself from that trance and murmured, "¡­My family''s rivals aren''t from the Glerian Kingdom. They belong to the Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    "Ehh?" Dn Ross showed a confused expression. He had absolutely no idea what Camille was talking about.


    Camille soon began to exin the entire situation. In the end, Dn understood that the situation was a lot moreplicated than he had expected.


    "From our contacts in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, my family found out that the current Pontiff is dead. And the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s government had split up into many factions who are fighting against each other to ce their representative of the Supreme Pontiff position."


    "My family still has quite some prestige in Lamhilhan Theocracy. It has only been 17 years since we left the Lamhilhan Theocracy. We can still send our representative to stand for the Supreme Pontiff position. If our representative manages to grab hold of the Supreme Pontiff position, no one will dare to make a move against us. In fact, we can use all resources of the Lamhilhan Theocracy at our own discretion." Camille exined the entire situation to Dn Ross.


    It wasn''t as simple as it sounded. Neither the King nor Camille believed their representative could grab hold of the Supreme Pontiff position. It was natural because the other factions in the Lamhilhan Theocracy weren''t stupid.


    They weren''t going to allow Camille''s family representative to grab hold of the Supreme Pontiff position.


    Each one had betrayed or taken some unspeakable actions against Camille''s family. If Camille''s family''s representative bes the Supreme Pontiff, they will face disastrous losses.


    Meanwhile, Dn Ross''s eyes shone with excitement as he heard this information. He had no idea that the situation in the Lamhilhan Theocracy was so chaotic.


    He required a great number of resources for his cultivation and for the angel with him. Things would be a lot more convenient for him if he had the entire Lamhilhan Theocracy''s resources in his grasps.


    The High-Ranking Angel sent him a mental message, "You should go to this Lamhilhan Theocracy. If the situation hasn''t changed, then it''s one of my best friends who manages that area. I can recover my power easily and assist you in bing the Supreme Pontiff of this Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    "Even the grand elders cannot ignore amand from a high-ranking angel who manages that area," continued that angel.


    Dn Ross was instantly excited to hear those words. It sounded too good to be true. This meant he didn''t have to work hard and could easily be able to aplish his objective.


    "Don''t get so excited. For that, you need to grow stronger. No one would listen to a 3 Star Rank Expert. At the least, be a 5 Star Warrior till then." The angel immediately chided Dn Ross as she noticed his emotions.


    Dn Ross calmed down slightly after the angel admonished him. He asked Camille, "When will the Supreme Pontiff be chosen?"


    "It will depend on the will of the people and heaven. However, it should take around 3 months before all the requirements are fulfilled," Camille responded truthfully.


    "3 months, huh?" Dn Ross murmured underneath his breath. He calcted how he could reach the 5 Star Rank within 3 months.


    However, he came up with nothing.


    The angel within him wasn''t so worried. She had a method of raising his cultivation, but she wasn''t going to reveal it to him right now.


    It was through the baptism of the Holy Church.

 Chapter 404 - The King And Azaroths Plans

    The high-ranking Angel with Dn Ross was truly quite unlucky. She was severely injured, and there was norge cathedral within the Glerian Kingdom.


    The Royal Family never allowed arge cathedral to exist. It could be used to gather arge quantity of faith energy for the Celestials. However, since the humans in the nearby area were demolishing it repeatedly, the Celestials gave up on this kingdom.


    Their respected influences had already been stretched as they were. If they tried to include the Glerian Kingdom, they would miss another rich territory with arge poption.


    When the angel heard that Dn had a chance to travel to the Lamhilhan Theocracy, she was greatly excited. If she reached the Lamhilhan Theocracy and then had Dn Ross enter the Cathedral, she could contact her fellow angels and use the Holy Ardor to heal herself.


    Dn had no reason to refuse since the angel agreed with this idea. He spoke to Camille, "I will help you restore your family''s honor within the Lamhilhan Theocracy. No one will be able to abduct you and escape like this."


    "Mm-hmm," Camille responded with a bright smile, "Let''s return now. I feel weird while staying in this ce. Feels like I am still kidnapped."


    "Yeah, sure," Dn Ross suddenly picked her up and carried her to his camp in his arms. It was quite a romantic moment for the two as the two stared into each other''s eyes.


    This scene was witnessed by Sargan, who stood quite some distance away from them. He had noticed that Dn Ross wasn''t trying to pursue him and had returned to check up on the two.


    He asked Azaroth with an amazed tone, "How did you know that Dn wasing, master?"


    Azaroth responded casually, "It''s elementary, Sargan. You must always be prepared for the worst possibilities. And believe me, there are possibilities worse than these."


    Sargan didn''t exactly understand what Azaroth meant, but he responded respectfully, "¡­Alright, boss."


    He further asked Azaroth, "But what should I do now?"


    Azaroth spoke up almost immediately, "They are going to move to the Lamhilhan Theocracy. That means you have a chance to do something major."


    "Hmm? What will it be, master?" Sargan asked, wondering what Azaroth was talking about.


    "While Dn and his entire group are here, figure out his connections. When he has departed for the Lamhilhan Theocracy, we will kidnap them and use them to strike a deal with him," Azaroth spoke with a smile.


    Sargan raised his brow at that n and asked, "Wouldn''t it be better for us to kill him?"


    Azaroth shook his head and spoke, "The King is heavily monitoring this man named Dn. If we try to kill him, the King will eventually find out about us. I don''t want him to be aware of your presence and our connection."


    "Most importantly, Dn will be a big figure in the Lamhilhan Theocracy. That''s pretty much guaranteed because of the angel apanying him. It will save us a whole lot of effort and time. All we need to do is gain some methods to manipte this man," Azaroth finished speaking.


    He took a deep breath and began speaking, "Dn is bound to have a few mistresses in the Glerian Kingdom. You must capture them all while he is gone. Leave the rest to me."


    Sargan still had a doubt in his mind, "What if that man decides to give up on them all? After acquiring that great power and prestige in Lamhilhan Theocracy, he is bound to have even more lovers. Would he even care about his women here in the Glerian Kingdom?"


    "¡­He will, Sargan. He definitely will," Azaroth spoke with a confident tone.


    This Dn Ross possessed the luck and fate of a protagonist in a story. Thus, he was bound to be greatly sentimental. He would never be able to see the death of his woman. No matter how much that woman hated him.


    Moreover, even if what Sargan spoke turned out to be true. Azaroth had another method to make him listen to his orders.


    The one who was most closely connected to Dn Ross was none other than that Angel. Azaroth was quite confident in his ability to control that angel if he ever met her.


    His Celestial Blood would guarantee that. The Celestials were extremely strict and particr about their hierarchy, unlike the humans. A Celestial had to follow the orders received from a Higher-Ranking Celestial.


    Thus, Azaroth could easily order the angel apanying Dn. The order could range to anything.


    Dn would be unable to do a single thing to help the angel. Azaroth would give him a choice. Whether he would order the angel to do something dangerous and life-threatening, or Dn should follow his orders.


    Dn would never be able to disobey him when the life of the angel apanying him for so long was concerned.


    Azaroth''s n and the King''s n were quite simr. But their approaches werepletely different.


    The King wanted to control Dn through love. Camille would eventually make love with him, and Dn would seriously listen to anything she spoke.


    Even after bing a huge personality in Lamhilhan Theocracy, he would always listen to her. This was what the King hoped for.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth wanted to control Dn through fear. All his other women would be in his hands, and Dn could only follow his orders, or else they would face death or a fate worse than death.


    Sargan didn''t ask any further questions and walked towards Dn''s camp. He was nning to investigate him a bit more closely.


    Azaroth was still monitoring the area. He suddenly spoke, "Stop. That''s as far as you can go. That Angel''s Spiritual Sense is spreading ahead of you. Just take a deep breath andpress your energy as greatly as possible. Make her think that you are merely a small beast that she should ignore."


    Sargan nodded and began to suppress his Ardor as much as possible. However, Azaroth wasn''t satisfied with the pace. He knew that Sargan would be found out soon enough if this continued.


    "Let me give you a hand. Remember this feeling from now on," Azaroth spoke as his energy suddenly entered Sargan''s body.


    He suppressed Sargan''s Ardor from all sides and ced it in his feet.


    Sargan was quite surprised as he felt his Ardor gettingpressed. He didn''t feel any oppressive power from Azaroth''s Ardor. It had gently suppressed his Ardor.


    He firmly remembered that feeling as he understood that he didn''t have to blindly concentrate like that to suppress his Ardor.


    The Angel''s Spiritual Sense soon passed over Sargan''s body, and just as Azaroth had expected, she didn''t suspect him.


    After all, this was a forest. There were bound to be many kinds of harmless beasts. She couldn''t deeply investigate every small beast that she sensed, right?


    Azaroth then spoke out, "Call out for me when you require my assistance. However, try to maintain your distance for now. Camille and Dn are going to n how they should enter the Lamhilhan Theocracy for the next few days. So, your task would be to capture a team of Dn''s subordinates and find out about his other lovers."


    "Make sure to remember that the team you abduct is one of the strongest teams under Dn.. Otherwise, you won''t gain any useful information," Azaroth advised before cutting off the connection.

 Chapter 405 - Arctic Blizzard

    While Azaroth was conversing with Sargan, he sensed a presence moving towards his camp in the woods.


    A thin presence appeared on his face as he sensed many Beasts among them. He guessed that the Night Mountain Sect had sessfully convinced the Beasts to attack his camp. They would probably receive great benefits if they attacked his camp.


    Meanwhile, the beasts were judging the strength of Azaroth''s camp based on the battles before. They actually had no idea that they were making a big mistake.


    Azaroth soon flew in the air as he turned in the direction from where the beasts were charging at him.


    It was the Leopard Race of the Beasts that was leading everyone. Since they were going to receive the maximum benefit from this deal, they had to be the first to charge at Azaroth''s camp.


    The other beast races were following the lead of the Leopard Race.


    Azaroth smiled upon seeing so many beasts charge at him. Many Beast Races were following the Leopard Race''s lead. Not all of them were here to fight.


    Some were here to just check out how the battle goes. They nned to join in if the battle waspletely one-sided in the beasts'' favor. They didn''t want their own race to experience any losses.


    "<strong>Arctic Blizzard.</strong>"


    Winds began to move around the beasts and Azaroth very strongly. The winds were so strong that some beasts were levitating for a few seconds. They had to apply strong pressure to remain on the ground.


    Only the extremely heavy beasts remained unaffected by the pressure generated by these winds.


    It would appear as a gigantic tornado from a distance, and the beasts were in the center of that tornado.


    All the Beast Lords of their respective Beast Races understood that this was not a natural phenomenon. Such a thick blizzard had never appeared on their mountain. This was a technique of a human.


    The Cyan Leopard let out a loud roar! The loud roar temporarily cleared the area around them, and its race continued to move forward.


    The other beasts let out loud roars as well. And manage to aplish those small feats. At this moment, hail and snowfall began inside the tornado.


    The snowfall and hail were getting stronger with each passing second. The beasts ignored this snowfall and the hail. Most of these beasts that hade to the battle were hot-blooded beasts.


    The fall in temperature wouldn''t affect their capability to battle or run. The only thing that was remotely disturbing them was the wind.


    Azaroth then suddenly appeared ahead of the Leopard Race.


    The Leopard Race abruptly halted as they saw an individual flying in the air. The entire Leopard Race and the other Beast Races behind them were shocked.


    They had never seen a human fly over this mountain. Only the beasts possessing wings could fly over this mountain.


    The beasts didn''t know the precise reason why flying was banned for those without wings, but the beast lords guessed that it had something to do with demons.


    Seeing Azaroth flying in the air like that, they felt that this human was actively going against thisw of no flight over this mountain. He was bound to attract that demon''s attention and was somewhat scared when they considered this possibility.


    "If you continue to charge forward, you will reach my camp. Are you nning to attack my camp, or is there any other reason you havee with such a huge force?" Azaroth asked with a smile.


    At this moment, a double horned buffalo spoke out with a tone full of resentment, "You ughtered members of our race. We havee to seek an exnation of that ughter!"


    Azaroth knew that this beast talked of the ughter perpetrated by Zena and the Frozen Spirit Foxes.


    "That''s simple. You all didn''t need toe together to seek an exnation. This will be a costly exnation to all of you," Azaroth warned them with a smile.


    His threat caused many beasts to have an uglyplexion. They wanted nothing more than to charge at this human and strike him with their strongest techniques.


    They wanted to see Azaroth wail like a little kid and then stomp over him!


    Azaroth noticed their emotions and snorted coldly, "Those beasts earlier came to attack my camp, so naturally, they all died. Since they were prepared to kill me and my subordinates, they had to be prepared to be killed by us as well? Isn''t that fair?"


    His words made the beasts growl at him, showing their full hostility. However, the beasts still didn''t charge at Azaroth.


    They were leaving the task of initiating the battle with the Leopard Race''s Lord.


    Meanwhile, the Cyan Leopard was sensing something dangerous from Azaroth. His sixth sense was unusually strong, and it would normally tell him which enemies werepletely out of his reach.


    And Cyan Leopard had this feeling as it red at Azaroth.


    However, the Cyan Leopard also knew it couldn''t back off now that it hade here. He could sense that the human flying in the air was special and possessed the strength of a 5 Star Warrior.


    At this moment, Azaroth stared at these beasts and asked them coldly, "Are you here for the same reason as those beasts earlier? If so, we can skip the pleasantries and start our battle."


    A strong killing intent was released from Azaroth''s body. Even the beasts who had ughtered countless beings couldn''t help but back away when they sensed it.


    They understood that this man flying ahead of him had killed countless beasts. And many of them probably belonged to their species.


    The instincts of these beasts were absolutely correct. Azaroth had killed many beasts, but they didn''t belong to the species of these beasts.


    They experienced that dread when facing Azaroth because he had killed their ancestral beasts.


    "ming Long Necked Cranes, attack now!" The Cyan Leopard shouted out.


    The birds were greatly affected in this blizzard, and their strength was significantly reduced. Azaroth continued to levitate at that spot and nced at those ming Long-Necked Cranes.


    All of them flew towards him in an arrow-shaped formation. Their bodies were glowing with me Ardor.


    The me Ardor they radiated was strong enough to affect the snowfall and melt the ice.


    Azaroth remained at his spot as he waited for these ming Long-Necked Cranes to pass him.


    When they were about to reach him, Azaroth released a burst of Ice Ardor from his body.


    The me Ardor around these Cranes extinguished, and these birds fell on the ground. Their frozen bodies cracked as they struck the ground.


    The beasts were quite startled to witness this.


    Azaroth stared at the Cyan Leopard and spoke, "If you want to kill me, having your subordinates attack me won''t work. You need to attack me personally."


    However, the Cyan Leopard was quite intelligent for a beast. He knew that a one-on-one battle against this human meant his death.


    They would have a better chance if everyone attacked him simultaneously.


    "Nonsense! Everyone, charge! Let''s tear him apart and show this human the strength of beasts!" The Cyan Leopard shouted out.


    Many beast lords were loyal to the Cyan Leopard and had charged at Azaroth in the very next moment.


    The ones that remained behind were those who were unconvinced by the Cyan Leopard''s leadership.. They didn''t want to fight for the Cyan Leopard.

 Chapter 406 - Soul Reading Technique

    Azaroth stared at the massive number of beasts charging at him. Since he was flying, only a few beasts could strike him physically.


    The restunched their attacks at him from the ground. They approached him to decrease the distance between Azaroth and them so that their attacks could reach Azaroth.


    The Cyan Leopard had alsounched some wind sts at Azaroth. Those wind sts were actually the exclusive techniques that belonged to this Cyan Leopard.


    These Wind sts wereunched by the Cyan Leopard through its mouth. As these wind sts flew forward, they would take the nearby wind along, and the attack would grow stronger.


    Azaroth suddenly disappeared from his spot. He wasn''t stupid enough to take on the attack of so many beasts.


    All these attacks were weak, but as they say, there is strength in numbers. Even he would be injured if he took all these attacks head on.


    The beasts who were charging at him were somewhat startled. To them, it felt as though Azaroth had disappeared from his spot.


    Only dozens of beasts could follow Azaroth''s movement. Only the Crimson Furred Chimpanzee and the Cyan Leopard reacted quickly out of these beasts.


    The Chimpanzee and the Leopard immediately moved from their spots and climbed the trees nearest to their positions quickly.


    They kept their eyes fixated on Azaroth and noticed how he was moving towards the beasts on the ground.


    Azaroth threw a ball of pure ice energy towards the beasts gathering beneath him.


    That ball of pure ice continued to levitate within that gathering of the beasts before it suddenly burst apart.


    It released unreal Ice Energy that targeted all the beast races around it. It also released sharp Ice Shards that struck many beasts in the area.


    Even the beasts that boasted of their defense couldn''t help but cry out in pain as those cold Ice Shards struck their bodies.


    The Chimpanzee and the Cyan Leopard were quickly moving towards the tree nearest to Azaroth''s spot so that they could pounce on him and throw him to the ground.


    The two were confident that they would win if Azaroth was on the ground. Their numbers would ensure that.


    The Red Furred Chimpanzee was using the Earth Ardor to strengthen its physique. However, there was also a trace of metal Ardor within its bloodline.


    The Bloodline of the Red Furred Chimpanzee allowed him to innately fuse these two elements andunch an extremely strong physical attack.


    Meanwhile, the Cyan Leopard released Wind Ardor and created a strong barrier around it. The Wind Ardor moved around the Cyan Leopard''s body rapidly.


    If someone approached the Cyan Leopard now, they would be struck by the countless wind currents around the Cyan Leopard''s body.


    This was a technique created by the Cyan Leopard.


    Azaroth sensed these two beasts approaching him with these attacks. He raised his right arm and caught the Red Furred Chimpanzee''s attack.


    The Red Furred Chimpanzee''s physical attack that resulted from fusing two different elements was quite strong, but Azaroth''s physical strength was also exceptional. Azaroth was much stronger, so he could easily block that attack!


    He moved that Red Furred Chimpanzee and struck the Cyan Leopard approaching him.


    The Red Furred Chimpanzee was struck by those countless wind currents, but it had to endure the attack since its body continued to move and struck the Cyan Leopard.


    The Cyan Leopard and the Red Furred Chimpanzee were thrown in different directions. The two crashed against trees and couldn''t help but growl when staring at Azaroth.


    The Blizzard got denser as the two beasts were startled when they noticed that they could no longer see Azaroth.


    Not just these two beasts, but the other beast races were also bbergasted when they realized that their target had disappeared.


    Azaroth thought ''Time to end this fa?ade. I have tested these beasts enough. There is no beast worthy of my attention.''


    The Blizzard was soon mixed with the Absolute Ice. As soon as that urred, all the beasts caught in this blizzard felt cold ice freezing their bodies from inside out.


    After half an hour, all the beasts were frozen. Their blood cirction had stopped, and they were all about to die.


    The only beasts that survived right now were the Beast Lords. And even they were at taking their final breaths. They could survive till now because their bloodlines and Ardor were overexerting themselves to save these beasts.


    But it was all for naught since the Ice around them wasn''t going to vanish.


    Azaroth soon walked towards each of these beast lords and used the Soul Reading Technique.


    The first beast whose soul he read was that Red Furred Chimpanzee. He was disappointed that this Chimpanzee wasn''t the lord of these beast races.


    However, from this Chimpanzee, he found out that the Cyan Leopard was the lord of these beast races.


    He went over to the Cyan Leopard''s spot and read its memory. He naturally saw the deal between the Cyan Leopard and the Night Mountain Sect''s envoy.


    That conversation indicated that the Night Mountain Sect possessed the Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth. The aura they presented unquestionably belonged to the Sabertooth Tiger from the ancient era.


    <em>''It would be useful to Ralph. Maybe I can even use this Sabertooth Tiger''s tooth to stimte and evolve his bloodline. Well, well,ing here was a good decision.''</em>


    Azaroth had a smile on his face as he turned around and dispersed the blizzard. No one outside of the blizzard could have known what went on inside.


    Azaroth returned to the camp and ordered Zena along with the two Frozen Spirit Foxes, "Gather all the bodies of these beasts when the ice melts."


    He then focused on the two Frozen Spirit Foxes and further spoke, "Make sure to absorb thews of Ice while you are there. It would be greatly helpful to you."


    The Frozen Spirit Foxes came forward and rubbed their heads against Azaroth''s legs. They were very excited to hear this order.


    Azaroth was in utter ecstasy during this moment, and he found it hard to control his emotions. The number of beasts he had ughtered wasn''t few in number.


    Moreover, their strength was also quite good. His cultivation technique had automatically gathered the souls of the beasts he killed.


    These souls converted into the pure Demonic Ardor he required to cultivate the Heavenly Demon Breathing Technique.


    Azaroth could feel that he was touching the barrier between the 5 Star Warrior and the 6 Star Warrior. However, he was still missing something to pass that barrier.


    He focused a bit and questioned Bianca ''<em>How is it going?</em>''


    Bianca responded a secondter ''<em>Master, I have begun to poison the drinkable water of the people and the food they ingest as well. A weekter, this poison will begin to show its effects.</em>''


    Azaroth was satisfied with her response and spoke ''<em>That''s good. I will have Josephine ready the countermeasure. Your task would be to ensure that it doesn''t face any difficulties within Mesenana City.</em>''


    ''<em>As youmand, my lord</em>,'' Bianca responded with a submissive attitude.


    Josephine was Jonas Rhodes''s beloved wife. She possessed a great influence within the Rhodes Family, and no one had even begun to suspect her.


    She could easily go out of her way and hire some mercenaries or a small organization that would spread some rumors favorable to her.

 Chapter 407 - Camilles Report

    The Night Mountain Sect monitored the battle between Azaroth and the beasts from their stronghold. They used an Artifact that allowed them to gaze at a great distance.


    Even with this artifact, they didn''t exactly know how the battle between Azaroth and the beasts went on. This was due to the presence of that blizzard around them.


    It blocked their sight and prevented them from figuring out what happened during the battle. When the Blizzard dispersed, they saw frozen bodies of the beasts at that spot.


    The entire Night Mountain Sect was bbergasted when they heard this information. A single 5 Star Warrior went up against all the strong Beast Races residing on this mountain and won?!


    This was too shocking to be true! But the facts were up on the table. They had to believe it no matter how appalling it may seem.


    Azaroth knew that the Night Mountain Sect was watching his battle. That was the reason he created that blizzard. To hide his abilities from the Night Mountain Sect.


    These individuals were now going to make some theories of how he had achieved this feat. They would either undermine his abilities or bolster his abilities in their theories.


    A few hourster, King Tryfon received the news about this battle between Azaroth and the beasts.


    King Tryfon was shocked for a few seconds before he regained his calmness. He guessed that this man had a trump card that targeted an entire area.


    However, he did n to keep an eye on Azaroth from now on.


    He ordered his spies to find more information regarding this man named Azaroth. His abilities included exceptional Ice Control and flying ability even in the Night Mountain''s region.


    This information was so shocking that the King''s pupils remained widened for nearly three whole minutes.


    He had naturally visited that mountain. The suppression over one''s body was so great that flying was impossible.


    Yet the King heard of a 5 Star Warrior flying in that territory. It was bound to shock him.


    The King''s spies in the ck Lake Sect soon contacted him and informed him, "This man''s name is Azaroth. His past is unknown. At least, we have no records of him until now. We believe it''s because he was in seclusion until now. And he never made a big move in the Glerian Kingdom until now."


    "This man is the leader of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. This is a rtively new sect that participated in the Eclipse Battleground''s Tournament."


    The King nodded his head as he had indeed heard of this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. He had heard that his sixth son would have lost against a member of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    If his sixth son indeed lost against a member of this sect, it would have generated history.


    However, it was outside of his expectations that the leader of this sect was such a strong individual.


    He felt that this individual''s abilities weren''t any weaker than the abilities belonging to the Royal Family. It would be wise to approach him.


    The King then dismissed this spy and contacted Camille. He asked her, "What happened to your weekly report? Why did you not contact me yesterday like you were supposed to?"


    Camille responded with a respectful tone from the other side, "¡­I beg His Majesty to forgive me. But I could not contact you yesterday. I was in no state to contact you, Your Majesty."


    Before the King could ask her, Camille added, "Someone had abducted me and continued to question me regarding my true identity and purpose ofing here."


    The King''s eyes widened at that statement, "What was your response?"


    "I endured the torture for some time before informing him that I hade here to meet Dn Ross. I heard a lot about him and wished to meet him."


    "This excuse convinced your kidnapper?" The King sneered and asked this question.


    "No. But I was only stalling. Actually, Dn Ross had ced a mark over my body. He can sense my presence no matter how far away he is. I was stalling for Dn toe and save me from this kidnapper," Camille spoke.


    "What happened? Was that kidnapper captured? What is his identity?" The King released three questions immediately.


    "No. He seemed to have realized that Dn Ross wasing and timely escaped," Camille responded with a confused tone. Even she didn''t understand how this man could have known that Dn Ross wasing.


    Camille had personally experienced that if Dn didn''t want you to, sensing him was next to impossible.


    It was as if he possessed a treasure that would conceal his presence from the world itself. Her guess wasn''t far off the truth.


    Dn did have a treasure in the form of an Angel who could assist him in concealing his presence.


    He wasn''t yet proficient enough to disguise his existence only via his own efforts to such a high degree.


    "Is that so? And what of the task assigned to you? Did the target bite the bait?" The King asked with a monotonous tone.


    Camille spoke, "I used this opportunity to concoct a whole string of lies and informed him of the task. From what I could see, he is very much interested in going to the Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    She then added, "He is going to meet his family and some friends before leaving for the Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    "Good. I will begin the preparations for you to travel to the Lamhilhan Theocracy. The path I have selected is rtively safe," The King spoke with a smile on his face.


    "Thank you, Your Majesty," Camille spoke with a courteous tone.


    The connection between the two was cut-off. The King ordered his subordinates to rx the borders between the Glerian Kingdom and the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    The borders between the Glerian Kingdom and Lamhilhan Theocracy had rxed, which meant that the Glerian Kingdom soldiers would no longer halt any individuals trying to leave for the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Naturally, they won''t stop any individuals entering the Glerian Kingdom from the Lamhilhan Theocracy either. However, the informers around the borders would be active to keep an eye on these individuals entering from the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Now, entering the Lamhilhan Theocracy from the Glerian Kingdom meant the individual had to connect to the holy church. Or he should have great wealth.


    Either would convince the soldiers of the Lamhilhan Theocracy to let them enter their territory.


    The King knew he was taking a risk by letting some suspicious individuals from the Lamhilhan Theocracy arrive in the Glerian Kingdom. But it was a risk he was willing to take because of the potential benefits.


    If this n was sessful, he would have nted an individual in amanding position of the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    The King waspletely unaware that he had anotherpetitor right now. Ever since Azaroth heard of this information, he nned to get involved in it.


    He had considered various scenarios until now. Whether it was sending one of his retainers, controlling Dn Ross, ckmailing him, or creating a clone to enter the Lamhilhan Theocracy personally.


    Among these options, the one he found the best was entering the Lamhilhan Theocracy personally.


    He could make Dn Ross into his whetstone to create a controversy with him and increase his prestige quickly. The controversy was the best method of boosting one''s image.


    And now, he had finally decided what option he should choose.


    ~~


    A/N: I hope you all like the chapter.. Please vote for the novel if you do.

 Chapter 408 - Leaving The Meeting

    Around this moment, the situation within the chasm around Night Mountain Hill changed. Rather dense demonic energy emanated from that chasm, and it scared the nearby ck Lake Sect''s disciples patrolling that area.


    When they saw that Demonic Ardor, they nned to use the talisman to alert their main camp. However, the demonic energy suddenly rushed towards them and caught their bodies.


    The four disciples were immobilized as that Demonic Ardor enveloped them.


    In the distance, Azaroth sensed this Demonic Ardor. He was startled because, judging by the density of this Demonic Ardor, he was sure it belonged to a Demonic Emperor.


    His guess was correct then. The demon residing within that chasm was at the Demon Emperor Rank.


    However, this energy appeared rather weak for it to belong to a Demon Emperor. Azaroth guessed that the Demon Emperor must be injured right now, and that''s why it didn''t dare to get out.


    Azaroth also believed that there were seals that would alert the Royal Family if the Demon Emperor ever got out.


    Perhaps that was why the Demon Emperor wasn''t leaving that chasm with his own body. Instead, he possessed the bodies of four different disciples.


    ''<em>The amount of power he could use within their bodies should be limited to a 5 Star Rank. His ability to utilize thews would make him a troublesome opponent</em>,'' Azaroth thought.


    Naturally, Azaroth wasn''t talking about himself. It would be an easy battle for him because this Demon Emperor''s understanding and knowledge of thews couldn''t surpass Azaroth''s. He was talking about this Demon Emperor fighting against warriors other than himself.


    Those individuals would find it difficult or even impossible to defeat him. A Demon Emperor couldn''t be underestimated.


    Moreover, there was no rity of how much power his main body could provide those possessed bodies. It could be greater than Azaroth''s expectation.


    However, these weren''t Azaroth''s primary worries. He was more curious about how this Demon Emperor got injured and how he nned to recover.


    As he sensed this Demon Emperor''s energy, he didn''t feel the deathly energy mixed within it. This meant this Demon Emperor didn''t cultivate the path of the dead.


    "I can''t allow this Demon Emperor to reach my camp. Our battle would destroy the entire terrain and even kill my subordinates," Azaroth whispered with a resolute look in his eyes.


    He was confident in fighting and even killing these individuals whom a Demon Emperor was possessing.


    However, it would result in the destruction of his surroundings. This was quite natural since Azaroth had to fight against them with his own strength while these four individuals would be assisted with the energy from an alive Demon Emperor.


    Thus, after sensing the presence of the Demon Emperor''s Ardor, he moved from his spot and approached Erica.


    At this moment, she was the perfect individual who could easily take care of those warriors whose bodies had been possessed by the Demonic Emperor.


    Azaroth wasn''t nning on revealing his presence to the Demonic Emperor. He first wanted to observe and discover what kind of powers this demonic emperor possessed.


    Once he had analyzed how the Demonic Emperor fought, he could figure out how this Demonic Emperor nned to recover from his injuries.


    Azaroth did have some guesses over what the Demon Emperor must be nning. But he didn''t think about it too much and just flew towards Erica.


    Erica was in a meeting with her fellow elders. She had also heard of Azaroth''s battle against the beasts.


    The hugemotion, the blizzard, naturally couldn''t be concealed from them in that area. Some of the scouts had witnessed that blizzard and that tornado and informed Erica and her council of elders of what they saw.


    Needless to say, Erica and her elders were utterly bbergasted to hear this information. They had never expected that Azaroth was strong enough to deal with all the beast races in a single battle.


    Now that nearly all the beast races had been frozen by Azaroth, the Night Mountain Sect''s defenses had gotten weaker.


    These Beast Races posed a great threat to the ck Lake Sect. They were one of the reasons that the ck Lake Sect didn''t dare to directly approach and attack the Night Mountain Sect.


    Now, they had no such worries. The elders of the ck Lake Sect still had no idea that Erica''s husband had died.


    They were blissfully unaware of this fact since there was no survivor from that position. They still believed that Erica''s husband must be patrolling that area.


    In reality, there was no longer any need to patrol that area. From that point, the ck Lake Sect''s camp faced the threat of being attacked by the beasts. But now, nearly all the beasts had been killed by Azaroth so no one would attack them from that side.


    Erica had obeyed Azaroth''s orders and dealt with all the rebellious elders. The rebellious movement that had gained wind had been ruthlessly crushed by her.


    When Erica was dealing with these rebellious elders, only then did she realize just how grave the situation was for her.


    They were the ones who hadid the trap to capture her daughter. It was their fault that the Night Mountain Sect got their hands on Christina.


    Her fury knew no bounds as she killed them all by drowning them in Bubbly Water Spheres. Naturally, they didn''t just drown and die due to theck of air.


    Erica wasn''t going to let them off so easily. Shemanded the Water Ardor to invade their bodies and wreak mayhem.


    Those elders felt each of their nerves snapping due to the pressure and quantity of water within their bodies. They knew they were dying but couldn''t even scream out due to the water all around them.


    Since Azaroth had allowed her to punish those responsible for trying to harm her daughter, Erica was a little less resistant to Azaroth''s orders.


    She now felt that Azaroth was merely cold to her because he wanted to make her submit to him. He wasn''t nning to harm her.


    In reality, Erica was correct, but she was thinking too simply. Azaroth wasn''t harming her because he felt that her strength would be useful.


    He wanted a 6 Star Warrior who would follow hismands. And what a twist of fate it is that he already required her assistance.


    Azaroth appeared outside of the tent where the meeting was taking ce. He informed the disciple stationed outside that he wanted to see Erica.


    The disciple slowly entered the tent where the meeting was going on and spoke out, "Sect mistress, a man named Azaroth wishes to meet you."


    Erica was a little startled as she heard those words. An elder frowned and chided the disciple, "Don''t you see a meeting is going on right now?! Go and tell that man to wait for some time."


    Suddenly, Erica stood up and looked at the elders around her. She spoke with a calm smile, "It must be something urgent. I will talk to him and return quickly."


    The elders were startled that Erica was actually willing to leave the meeting to meet Azaroth. It meant she prioritized him more than the meeting.


    It wasn''t actually that strange. The meeting wasn''t that important to Erica since it was conducted to discuss Azaroth''s abilities and how they should deal with him in the future.


    Moreover, after purging those elders belonging to the rebellious factions, the remaining elders were those that werepletely loyal to Erica.. So, Erica had no misgivings about leaving the meeting since these elders werepletely loyal.

 Chapter 409 - Sex Demon

    Azaroth stood outside the tent where the meeting was taking ce right now. He didn''t enter the tent simply because he didn''t want to meet those elders.


    After a few minutes, Erica left the tent. She calmly stared at Azaroth and asked him, "What do you want with me?"


    Azaroth remained silent for a few seconds. Erica realized he wanted to talk privately and red at the disciples near them.


    The disciples understood that the sect mistress wanted them to scram! They immediately ran in different directions and left them alone.


    Azaroth then told Erica, "Let''s talk while walking." After saying that, he turned his head in the opposite direction and began walking.


    Erica quickly followed him and matched his pace. She remained silent since she knew Azaroth would talk once he felt like it.


    The silence, however, was seemingly eating her alive. She was incredibly curious about why Azaroth summoned her alone.


    He didn''t have something evil in mind, right? Erica was quite a bit scared as this thought entered her mind.


    She decreased her pace and began tog behind Azaroth. Azaroth noticed this but didn''t call her out. In his opinion, when this woman reached the location, she would realize why Azaroth had called her out.


    He knew that she wouldn''t believe him if he told her that a Demon Emperor from the chasm currently possessed 4 disciples of the ck Lake Sect.


    In fact, Erica would find it troubling to believe that there was a Demon Emperor sealed within the chasm.


    He had to show her that such a phenomenon was urring at this moment. And if not stopped, they would have four individuals possessing the power of the Demon Emperor.


    And if individuals possessing powers of the Demon Emperor were mixed within the other individuals, it would result in utter chaos.


    The Demon Emperor''s primary objective would be to free himself from whatever kept him trapped in the abyss or heal himself if he was hurt.


    And he was in control of these people, working diligently to achieve his aim. He would have to severely destabilize the Glerian Kingdom''s condition to fulfill his aim.


    The items the Demon Emperor needed to cure or unseal himself were not going to be ordinary.


    Azaroth had some guesses about the things that this Demon Emperor required. It would be a rare herb to heal him or an artifact that could break his seal. Azaroth possessed many rare herbs. All of them were acquired through traveling around the area and his deal with King Tryfon.


    Azaroth couldn''t have the Demon Emperoring out of the seal when he didn''t possess the power or ability to deal with him.


    ''At the very least, he shouldn''t be allowed to look for those things personally,'' Azaroth thought.


    He had a strategy for dealing with the Demon Emperor, and he was about to carry out the first phase of that strategy.


    "What is this energy?" Erica voiced out this question as a serious look appeared on her face. The spot where the Demon Emperor was taking over the consciousness of four ck Lake Sect followers was precisely where Azaroth was leading her. Erica had begun to sense the Demonic Energy filling in the air.


    The Demon Emperor was quite skilled in controlling his Demonic Energy. The process of taking over someone''s body would result in excessive Demonic Energy being used.


    This was why the Demons wouldn''t try to possess a human. The excessive Demonic Energy released would alert the nearby humans and prevent them from possessing a human.


    However, this Demon Emperor had created a barrier around them to prevent any human from sensing this demonic energy. Erica only began to sense Demonic Energy after Azaroth guided her beyond this barrier.


    The demonic energy was so dense that Erica felt her body tremble for a few seconds. She realized that this Demonic Energy probably belonged to a higher being. Someone even stronger than her. She concluded that it must be a demon at the Emperor''s rank.


    She then briefly stared at Azaroth and asked him with a look of disbelief, "Are you nning to have me fight against a Demon Emperor?! You should know that I am not strong enough to win or even survive against a Demon Emperor! You should have told me that it was a Demon Emperor. I would have ordered my disciples to leave this area as quickly as possible."


    Erica continued to speak, and Azaroth felt that she was going crazy. He let out a sigh and spoke with a strong voice, "Calm down!"


    These words were spoken while Azaroth released a dense aura. Azaroth knew this calmness was only temporary, so he continued to speak, "You are not going to battle against a Demon Emperor. If it was a healthy demon emperor, you would have been dead. A Demon Emperor had been sealed within the chasm. It is currently taking over the bodies of your disciples stationed near that chasm."


    "We are going over to prevent that from urring. If that Demon Emperor sessfully takes over the body of those disciples, the result would be catastrophic!"


    Azaroth''s words now rified the situation to Erica. She finally began to think about the situation rationally.


    The Great Kun within her was relieved as well. It was also caught off guard after sensing the presence of the Demon Emperor. It was so surprising that it left him speechless.


    Azaroth and Erica followed the Demonic Energy and reached its source soon enough. They saw four disciples levitating in air with a dark energy surrounding their bodies in that location.


    This dark energy was the demonic energy of that Demon Emperor. Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to stare at that Demonic Energy.


    There was a pinkish-colored power mixed with the Demonic Energy. And this allowed Azaroth to finally understand the abilities of this Demon Emperor.


    This Demon Emperor''s ability was rted to stealing the Yin Energy of the women. And a Demon would usually steal the Yin Energy of a woman through sexual activities.


    In a sense, this was a sex demon who had raped multiple women and had reached this rank. It was rare for this kind of demon to survive in Purgatory for very long. This was because they were merely paper tigers.


    Theirbat ability was considered very weak. However, Azaroth felt that the one before him wasn''t an ordinary sex demon. It knew how to create a barrier and had even managed to send its energy out of the chasm.


    However, Azaroth was now sure of what this demon was nning after sessfully possessing these disciples.


    It was going to force them to rape as many women as possible in order to reim his vitality.


    At this moment, Erica suddenlyunched Crescent Sea sh towards the source of the Demonic Energy. This Crescent Sea sh was filled with energy belonging to Erica and the Great Kun. This attack was just slightly above the ground and cut apart the source of the demonic energy.


    The disciples of the ck Lake Sect suddenly fell on the ground after the Demonic Energy surrounding them dispersed.


    Erica was relieved to see that her disciples were fine. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the Demonic Energy got out of the chasm, and this time, it was targeting her and not her disciples!


    Azaroth''s eyes widened slightly. Since this demon was targeting Erica, it wasn''t just a simple sex demon.. He realized it was most probably a Sex Demon that cultivated the Yin Devouring Demonic Technique.

 Chapter 410 - Yin Devouring Demonic Technique

    The Yin Devouring Demonic Technique was rather rare even in Purgatory. It possessed two parts.


    A Demon could acquire Yin Energy through its first part by raping a human woman. This wasn''t a rare ability. Many demons could do this even without this technique.


    There was a second part to this technique. And suppose a demon possessed the second part of this technique. In that case, he could absorb a Yin Energy even from a live individual or from a technique and utilize it to recover his injuries or bolster his Ardor. In other words, an attack filled with Yin Energy would be useless against those possessing aplete manual of the Yin Devouring Demonic Technique. He would instead be healed by that attack!


    Azaroth had searched for this Yin Devouring Demonic Technique and even found both parts after he reached the Demonic Emperor Rank.


    However, only then did he realize that this Yin Devouring Demonic Technique was more or less useless for him.


    Azaroth was trying to break through to the Demon God Rank at that time. To do that, he required a technique that could convert his body into a Devil God''s Physique. However, this Yin Devouring Demonic Technique only worked till the Demon Emperor Rank.


    This Yin Devouring Demonic Technique would be essentially useless for a Demon God. A Demon God couldn''t use this technique to absorb the attack from a fellow Demon God.


    However, this technique was extremely valuable for a Demon Emperor and those below this rank. They could utilize this technique to recover and bolster their energy. Using this Yin Energy, any kind of recovery was only possible if the demon held the second part of this technique.


    If he tried to recover merely using the first part, he could face a cultivation deviation that would ruin all his recent efforts in cultivation. The injuries he would face would be devastating enough to take his life.


    Thus, the second part of this Yin Devouring Demonic Technique was much more valuable than the first part!


    When Azaroth saw that Demonic Ardor heading for Erica, he immediately spoke, "Create a Water Sphere around yourself using that Great Kun''s ability."


    Erica was confused to hear his order. She didn''t immediately obey him and thought it would be better to try and dodge this attack. This sort of disobedience was considered eptable by the Blood Contract she signed, so she didn''t feel any pain.


    She jumped to her right while keeping her eyes on that Demonic Energy. Azaroth nearly facepalmed when he saw her jump in that direction.


    Another limb of pure Demonic Energy was approaching Erica from that direction, and it easily caught her body.


    Erica''s eyes widened as this limb of Demonic Energy grabbed and suddenly clenched her gut.


    A strange sense of powerlessness washed over her. In reality, these limbs of Demonic Energy were absorbing the Yin Energy she possessed. These Demonic Energy limbs were also trying to destroy her mind and take over her body.


    At that moment, the Great Kun within Erica''s body acted. It took control of Erica''s body and released a dense Water Elemental Sphere around Erica''s body.


    The Demonic Energy limbs dispersed after they came into contact with that dense water sphere. Erica coughed out a couple of times and stared at those Demonic Energy limbs with some terror evident in her eyes.


    "That''s why I told you to create a Water Sphere around you," Azaroth spoke while letting out a sigh as he stared at Erica. It seemed like he was looking at a rebellious child who wouldn''t listen to his senior.


    Azaroth then focused on those limbs of the Demonic Energy. He spoke with a serious voice, "Shoot them with your Crescent shes. That''s the only way to deal with them."


    This time Erica didn''t dare to use her own brain and try something stupid. She did as she was ordered and shot multiple Crescent Sea shes at these limbs of the Demonic Energy.


    The Demonic Energy was instantly dispersed uponing in contact with those Crescent Sea shes. Azaroth stared at those four ck Lake Sect''s disciples and used his Ardor to lift their bodies and ce them out of the reach of these limbs of the Demonic Ardor.


    Once he was done, he told Erica to get away from that region. Even more, Demonic Ardor was being released from the chasm.


    If this went on, Erica would get tired. He required her assistance to do something else as well.


    Erica willingly obeyed Azaroth''s order as she backed away from that spot. She soon stood next to Azaroth and noticed that the Demonic Energy could no longer reach her.


    Azaroth spoke, "That''s the limit for this Demonic Energy. It can''t touch us as long as we maintain a three-hundred-meter distance from it."


    Erica was relieved to hear that statement and the Water Sphere around her vanished. Azaroth then told Erica, "Lend me your energy. I n to create a barrier to prevent this Demonic Energy from leaking out of this chasm."


    "You can do that?!" Erica was shocked to hear that statement. She was naturally willing to lend her energy if this was Azaroth''s motive.


    Azaroth nodded before turning his gaze at the demonic energy ahead of him. He now understood the identity of this Demon Emperor and had already thought of a n to deal with him.


    He first needed to prevent this Demon Emperor from acting up shortly. Also, this barrier would prevent anyone else from interacting with this Demon Emperor without Azaroth''s knowledge.


    Erica''s energy soon filled Azaroth''s body. It wasn''t very difficult for him to control Erica''s energy. His own Triquetra Ardor was incredibly dense, and Erica''s Ardor was only a bit denser than it.


    Furthermore, Azaroth''s Spirit still possessed enough expertise with King Ranked Ardor to perform wlessly. Although there was a significant gap in energy between a Demon King and a 6 Star Warrior, Azaroth could easily improvise that much on his own.


    Erica and even the Great Kun within her were startled to see how effortlessly Azaroth was using her Ardor. He didn''t make a single mistake from the beginning of the process.


    Moreover, a gigantic array was being created right ahead of their very eyes. The Great Kun recognized this array and spoke out, "It''s the Eternal Moonlit Radiance Barrier!"


    It was a self-empowering barrier that would recharge itself with the moonlight during the nighttime. It required a recharge once a month. This requirement was extremely easy to fulfill. As a result, it was regarded as an eternal barrier.


    This array was considered extremelyplicated and had been lost over time. Thest time it was seen was during the Ancient Era.


    The Great Kun Race had continued to pass down knowledge of that Ancient Era through its bloodline. Thus, the Great Kun could easily recognize this Barrier at a nce.


    Erica had no idea what this Eternal Moonlit Radiance Barrier was, but she believed it was quite extraordinary from the name.


    She saw Azarothy out this Barrier ahead of her eyes. The Demonic Energy was forcefully locked within that chasm. The barrier was strong enough to block that Demonic Energy.


    Even if the Demon Emperor tried his best, he could forget about getting out of that chasm any time soon.


    "Remain here and empower this barrier until midnight," Azaroth ordered Erica while he turned around and nned to return. This was another reason he had brought Erica here.


    Even Azaroth could deal with those limbs of the Demonic Energy. However, he couldn''t create this Eternal Moonlit Radiance Barrier with his own energy, nor could he empower it until nighttime.


    It was necessary to empower this barrier till midnight because it would truly begin to work after it had absorbed the power of moonlight.


    Erica''s mouth was left agape as she heard that order. Before she couldin, Azaroth had left the area.


    Erica didn''t dare leave the area in fear of that Demonic Energy being released from that chasm.


    She felt it would be best to do as Azaroth ordered. Meanwhile, the elders in the meeting were waiting for their Sect Mistress.


    They wondered just what she was discussing with Azaroth that took so long. They began whispering among themselves as they felt that something suspicious was going on between Azaroth and Erica.. Maybe it was a secret deal between the two.

 Chapter 411 - Illicit Rumors

    The ck Lake Sect were getting rather suspicious of Azaroth''s rtionship with Erica. They felt that it was an unusually close one.


    To them, it seemed as though Erica was unusually excited and motivated to obey Azaroth. There could be a hint of romantic intent hidden that followed Azaroth. All of them agreed that Azaroth was an extremely handsome individual.


    He was so damn gorgeous that a woman would try to think about gaining his favor when she saw him first. The more the elders considered this option, the more certain they became of it.


    Azaroth was actually aware that these kinds of thoughts were circting within these elders'' heads. However, he didn''t warn Erica or try to stop these rumors. They worked to his own benefit.


    Erica would always have a good reason to obey Azaroth''smands. Her reputation would, of course, be tarnished to some extent. After all, she had a husband and a daughter. These actions had the potential to sever her rtionship with her husband and devastate her happy family.


    Azaroth naturally didn''t care about something as useless as Erica''s reputation. As long as she obeyed his order, everything was fine to him.


    Meanwhile, Erica still hadn''t realized that this sort of rumor had begun to spread within her close group of elders. The rumors reached the point that even some core disciples and the inner disciples had begun to talk about Azaroth and Erica''s rtionship.


    A few elders were disgusted that Erica was betraying her husband like that. They wanted to inform her husband about this and went to his spot where he was supposed to be patrolling.


    Meanwhile, Erica thought about the Demon Emperor''s Ardor that she witnessed and fought against.


    She had never expected that a Demon Emperor was residing within those chasms. No texts detailed this Demon Emperor in the ck Lake Sect''s passed knowledge.


    The Night Mountain Sect knew about it. In reality, their sect was created to keep a tight leash on the Demonic Emperor. The Night Mountain Sect was initially the Royal Family''spdog and would wage its tails to whichever side the Royal Familymanded.


    However, after some time, the Night Mountain Sect freed themselves from the direct control of the Royal Family. Now, they held some autonomy and made their own decisions.


    Naturally, their primary task of keeping a tight leash on the Demon Emperor was lost during this transition. Also, they found a method to empower the Demonic Emperor.


    The Night Mountain Sect would throw down an orb full of mes and then wait for it to be devoured by the Demonic Ardor. Demonic Ardor would begin to be released from that chasm a few dayster.


    The one who threw down this me Orb belonged to the ck Lake Sect. This man was one of the spies of the Night Mountain Sect.


    He possessed considerable wealth and could throw a me Orb like that without affecting his financial conditions. He wasn''t told exactly what would ur if he did this. However, this man had reached his own conclusions.


    He thought that after throwing this me Orb in that chasm that''s been rumored to release Demonic Ardor, some demons would be released from that chasm, and the ck Lake Sect would be pincer attacked by the Night Mountain Sect and those demons.


    The appearance of demons seemed like a logical conclusion to him because the demons attacked the Origin Sect''s Branches. He had absolutely no idea that this would awaken a Demon Emperor from his slumber and have him unleash his devastating Demonic Energy on the disciples of the ck Lake Sect.


    The battle wouldn''t be as simple as fighting against the demons and the Night Mountain Sect. The disciples of the ck Lake Sect would have been forced to battle among themselves. They would have no idea about their allies or enemies. And in this confused state, they won''t realize just who killed them.


    Azaroth had noticed Erica''s solemn expression as he left her near the chasm and returned to the camp. He was sure that she was thinking of running away after finding out about the Demon Emperor within that chasm.


    Even though Azaroth had created a barrier to prevent any more incidents regarding the Demon Emperor from urring, she had no idea for how long that barrier would be sustained.


    The more she lingered near the chasm, the more she pondered, and her terror grew. This was actually very dangerous. If a demon sensed that a human was terrified, they would be excited, and their fighting prowess would actually be boosted.


    If not for the barrier preventing any Demon Ardor from escaping, Erica would have been battling against an even greater quantity of Demonic Ardor. And this battle wouldn''t exactly be short.


    The Demon Emperor knew he could regain his energy after absorbing the Yin Energy belonging to this woman. He wasn''t going to let her off easily. He might even imnt one of his Demonic Seeds within her that would slowly grow inside her body and suddenly activate after reaching a particr point.


    The Demon Emperor would absorb all the energy that Erica had gathered until that point. Thus, allowing him to recover and at the least get out of this chasm.


    The only thing puzzling Azaroth was just what kind of injury did this Demon Emperor have or if he was sealed, just what kind of seal it was.


    Azaroth knew he had to check out the seal personally to find that out. However, the Demon Emperor''s power would be extremely great within that chasm, and Azaroth didn''t n to risk his life for something so small.


    At this moment, he received a voice message from Sargan, "Dn Ross has finished meeting up with everyone. He and that woman named Camille are departing for the Lamhilhan Theocracy. From their route, it seems that they n to go through the Olisville Town."


    Azaroth''s eyes slowly widened for a few seconds. He then spoke, "Very well. Your task is done. Focus on gathering information about the other important individuals in the Glerian Kingdom. Start by targeting the ministers in the Royal Court. I want to hear about their dark deeds by the end of this month."


    Sargan was extremely shocked to hear this order. He didn''t think that this mission would end after this report. He was quite excited that he had aplished this nerve-wracking mission. Nearly all his time was spent overthinking about various possibilities where he could lose his life.


    He was also losing contact with a few of his informers. He had to meet them and provide them an even greater incentive to keep them active.


    Or, at worst, he would hire another person to be his informer. There was no shortage of wealth due to his deal with Ruben Kari. Ever since Ruben Kari acquired a few artifacts from the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons, his entire fate had been overturned. He also treated his subordinates very well.


    He was always ready to deal with the official formalities on behalf of Sargan. This was because he knew in this conscience that all this wealth, prestige, and status belonged due to Sargan''s assistance.


    He could never reject a task from Sargan, or else he would feel extremely guilty for a very long time.


    ording to his mentality, he knew that he couldn''t be a good leader. But still, he wanted to try it. He was ready to take the hard decisions but not betray the trust of someone he considered his own. Sargan was one such person.


    In reality, Sargan also deeply valued his bond with him. Even though Sargan was a demon, his heart wasn''t made up of stone. He felt some emotions of friendship and brotherhood when he talked and spent his time with Ruben Kari.


    This was all because Ruben was extremely genuine when he talked to Sargan. He seemed like an open book to Sargan.. And Sargan believed that he would ever need to betray him.

 Chapter 412 - Deep Thoughts And Guesses

    Around this moment, Azaroth was seated on arge rock, and there was a solemn expression on his face as he was seemingly lost in deep thought.


    Ever since he had received Sargan''s report, he had been sitting here and thinking deeply about something. The solemn and grave expression on his face indicated that this matter was extremely serious.


    In reality, Azaroth felt like he had involved himself in another battle against fate. He realized this after Sargan informed him that Dn Ross and Camille were going to the <strong>Olisville Town</strong>.


    This battlefield could be considered in the middle of the path to the <strong>Olisville Town</strong> from the <strong>Yabert Town</strong>. This meant that Dn Ross was bound to pass by this spot or somewhere nearby.


    Azaroth guessed that the presence of the Demon Emperor was linked to Dn Ross to some extent. This was not some blind guess that he was making. He had proofs to prove his theory.


    The first proof was the High-Ranking Angel, who apanied Dn Ross. It was very probable that she had been wounded and lost her body during her confrontation with the Demonic Emperor! Otherwise, it didn''t make sense for this High-Ranking Angel to be separated from herrades and be trapped in a cave for so long.


    Moreover, the timing of the Demon Emperor to release his Demonic Ardor and try to possess the disciples of the ck Lake Sect was awfully convenient.


    Azaroth then began to think about what would have urred without his intervention. ording to him, the scenario would go like this: -


    Dn Ross would encounter Camille, who was ying the damsel in distress, to seek his attention. After forming an initial contact with Dn and making him smitten with her beauty, she would reveal the information regarding the Lamhilhan Theocracy when she believed the timing was perfect.


    Sargan had killed the guard captain, which must have made the situation more chaotic, preventing Camille from using her original strategy to mention that information regarding Lamhilhan Theocracy to Dn Ross.


    However, after Sargan kidnapped her and Dn saved her, she found an opportunity to inform Dn about this news. Fate''s n was back on track.


    During this time, the Demon Emperor had begun to release his Demonic Ardor and possess the minds of various disciples.


    The Demon Emperor was probably going to y it safe and mix with the ck Lake Sect. Naturally, he would set high targets through whom he could easily recover.


    Erica, Christina, and all the women of the ck Lake Sect would be his target. In fact, if the Demon Emperor was greedy and intelligent enough, he would even include the Night Mountain Sect in his ns. Using the bodies of these disciples he possessed, he would lead the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect''s entire force in his trap, where he would kill all the male warriors and absorb the vitality of the females.


    Naturally, his method of absorbing the vitality would be to rape all these females. This method was simpler and much faster rather than absorbing their Yin Energy from a distance.


    Since the Demon Emperor possessed the second part of the Yin Devouring Demonic Technique, he was sure that the absorption would be quick and allow him to recover his energy at the top speed.


    Rather coincidently, Dn Ross and Camille would pass this location. Either Dn or the Angel with him would sense something strange from this battlefield.


    No matter the reason, they were bound toe and check out the situation. The Demon Emperor was naturally not going to spare another woman who wasing to empower him. He would also target Camille and prepare a special trap for her.


    Dn Ross and Camille were going to meet the Demon Emperor and battle him. The Demon Emperor would probably win and sessfully capture Camille while Dn would run away, or the Angel would take him away.


    Dn Ross would most likelye into contact with those resources Azaroth found much earlier. The <strong>Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade</strong> and the <strong>Abyss Blood Flower</strong>.


    Azaroth didn''t know how Dn Ross would utilize these two things. Still, it could be through his cultivation technique, or he possessed a special weapon that could evolve using this Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade. Or Dn Ross would strengthen his own spirit using the energy within the Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade. Or he would use the Abyss Blood Flower on himself and leave the Brilliant Spirit Nourishing Jade for the Angel and allow her to stockpile her strength.


    There were just too many possibilities of how it would y out.


    Azaroth was sure that Dn Ross would then head out, filled with strong energy and great resolve to save Camille and all the other entrapped by this Demon Emperor.


    By hook or crook, he would eventually save everyone! All the survivors were bound to be extremely grateful to him.


    Azaroth even felt that the feelings between Dn Ross and Camille would deepen at that point. There was a chance that Christina would begin to pursue him as well.


    As the savior of both groups, Dn Ross would put an end to the strife between them bypelling them to make certain concessions. The two factions would have to let go of their hatred by making those agreements. This peace between the two sects wouldn''t be permanent, but the Glerian Kingdom didn''t care about this fact.


    All they would hear was that a young youth appeared and ughtered a terrifying demon emperor and resolved the conflict between two great sects.


    This would cement Dn Ross''s prestige to an extremely high level.


    When Azaroth finished thinking about this entire scenario and how it was most likely to n out without his interference, he had a bitter smile on his face.


    <em>''My actions here are most probably free of fate''s control. This must be the King''s Fate Energy acting up. It''s using me to battle against Dn Ross''s fate. If things went Dn''s way, then the King would lose Camille, and most probably, his n to control the Lamhilhan Theocracy would bepromised by Camille. My presence here prevented the feelings from deepening between Dn and Camille.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Azaroth was unhappy because he realized that he had been affected by this fate energy. Not Dn''s fate but by the King''s fate.


    He did not like being controlled, whether it was by an individual or by someone''s fate. This was his primary motive to pursue strength with such great fervor.


    For a few seconds, he felt as though all that effort had been turned useless. He had even reincarnated into a new body, created apletely new energy that should have been the strongest and give him the greatest chance to break through the final barrier between the Demon God and the Demon Venerable and go even beyond a Demon Venerable.


    Azaroth mumbled with a weak voice, "I can''t give up at this point. Even if there is no existing path, so what? I will continue to live in my pursuit of this non-existent path. That was what I decided back then."


    A strong determination and resolve could be seen within his ruby-colored eyes. He whispered, "I won''t lose heart and stop just because of an immovable wall or an invincible enemy before me! As long as I have a chance to persist, I will continue to make an effort!"


    He spoke with an evil smile while gazing at the horizon, "Also, it''s still too soon to think that the King''s Fate is controlling me.. We haven''t reached the climax yet."

 Chapter 413 - The Night Mountain Sects Preparations

    Dn Ross and Camille were on their way to Lamhilhan Theocracy. King Tryfon''s preparations to send the two to the Lamhilhan Theocracy had already begun.


    By the moment they reach their destination, the preparations would be finalized. Camille knew about this fact and persuaded Dn Ross to move quickly.


    Dn Ross felt that Camille''s words made sense. The earlier he reached the Lamhilhan Theocracy and settled with all sorts of formalities and issues, the earlier he could begin working.


    Moreover, it would take quite some time for him to get used to another Kingdom with a totally different culture. For him to achieve his motive, he would need to understand their thought process, their philosophies, and just what they expected from their leaders.


    He would then need to shape his prestige that the people would find what they were looking for within him.


    The Angel with him continued to assure him that this wouldn''t be a difficult task. She would instruct him along the way, and all he had to do was as she said.


    The Angel had been to the Lamhilhan Theocracy and had a general idea of how the situation worked in there. However, it was also a fact that she underestimated the politics of the humans within that Kingdom.


    Her information and thought process were both outdated. However, she was knowledgeable and could share that knowledge with Dn Ross. The two could brainstorm together and think of some amazing ideas.


    Dn Ross did have some doubts regarding his Angel''s words, but he decided to go to the Lamhilhan Theocracy in the end.


    It would be better to be at the location than to sit here on their ass and gather more information.


    It wasn''t like anyone would try to kill them right after they entered the Lamhilhan Theocracy. Even though Camille''s face was well known within the Lamhilhan Theocracy, her enemies would still require some time to find her precise location.


    That much time was all that Dn Ross required to adapt to the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    As of now, Dn had taken a favor from two of his good friends. They were actually the Wind Pythons.


    These were two pythons who had been saved by Dn Ross when they were quite young. Initially, they were merely serpents and hadn''t even unlocked their element.


    However, they coincidentally met Dn, who saved them from the sharp fangs of a terrifying Panda. Dn Ross provided them with some pellets for beasts that could purify their bloodline.


    Soon enough, they evolved into pythons. These two pythons had a very close rtionship with Dn. They would never deny his request.


    For that reason, the two pythons were now taking them to the Glerian Kingdom and Lamhilhan Theocracy''s borders.


    They weren''t flying very high in the air. But it was enough to pass many of the towns and cities from above without troubling anyone. Most sensors in towns or cities would ignore these individuals when they noticed that they had maintained sufficient distance while flying over their territory.


    A few days passed. During this time, the situation in the Night Mountain Sect was extremely somber. They were all preparing talismans, and the Night Mountain Sect was finally pulling out its rare artifacts or weapons and giving them to their best disciples or elders. The ones who received these artifacts or weapons didn''t get them just because of their identity.


    They got them ording to their ability. Only a genius who was capable enough to control that weapon and utilize it to its total efficiency received it. Not a random disciple who had gained a bit of prestige due to some controversy.


    The Night Mountain Sect was utterly serious about this final battle against the ck Lake Sect. They had tried their best to deal with the ck Lake Sect using their schemes. And they had failed badly.


    Many elders now felt that they should have ordered those beasts to attack the other points of the ck Lake Sect. They suffered greatly because they had no idea about Azaroth''s true strength.


    Now, the beasts were dead, and they could no longer have anyone else to go and battle against the ck Lake Sect.


    The Night Mountain Sect had been considering forming an alliance with the Origin Sect, but unfortunately for them, the Origin Sect had been attacked by the Demons. Their situation was even graver than the Night Mountain Sect. Thus, the Night Mountain Sect wouldn''t receive any assistance from them.


    The Red Crown Sect had already sent its messenger, who clearly stated that they wouldn''t get between their conflict. They didn''t care whose fault it was. They would stay out of this situation.


    Unless they could convince the King and have him order the Red Crown Sect to be involved, the Red Crown Sect would remain out of this battle.


    Requesting or trying to convince the King to order the Red Crown Sect to be involved in this battle would be suicide. The King had a much better rtionship with the ck Lake Sect''s Leader than the Night Mountain Sect.


    Some citizens spected that the King was a little interested in the Sect Mistress of the ck Lake Sect. But since she was married and already had a child, he was restraining himself. These were mere rumors that were spread in a few towns and so on.


    Anyway, the Night Mountain Sect''s entire leadership or the board wasn''t stupid enough to believe that the King would take their side. Thus, the Night Mountain Sect had decided that it was time for the final resort.


    To reveal their Blood Warriors without any restrains. They nned to make the ck Lake Sect pay for all the Night Mountain Sect''s damages.


    The Night Mountain Sect knew that the ck Lake Sect must have found their spies because the information from all their informers had stopped too suddenly.


    This meant something big had urred.


    The Night Mountain Sect had even tried to present a peace offer in these few days while giving away many resources and weapons. They were even ready to give away their core technique.


    However, the ck Lake Sect refused to ept anything. It seemed as though the ck Lake Sect''s Master had made up her mind to bury each one of them underneath the ground.


    The Night Mountain Sect was ready for the battle against the ck Lake Sect. But for some reason, the ck Lake Sect wouldn''tunch the final attack against the Night Mountain Sect''s main territory.


    The leaders and even the disciples were confused. They didn''t understand why the ck Lake Sect was not attacking them anymore. Was the ck Lake Sect nning to catch them off-guard?


    The longer the ck Lake Sect took, the more time the Night Mountain Sect would have to prepare their defensive formations. However, the Night Mountain Sect''s cultivators were rxing and letting go of their strain at this moment. In other words, they werezing around.


    Only the topmand of the Night Mountain Sect remained alert, while the disciples and other elders had already begun to rx without worrying about the sect or the battle too greatly.


    In reality, it wasn''t that the ck Lake Sect didn''t want tounch the final attack at the Night Mountain Sect, but it wasn''t Erica who hadn''t yet given her affirmation tounch the attack.


    And Erica hadn''t given her affirmation because Azaroth had asked her to keep the attack on hold. Only give the order after his signal. Azaroth was also waiting for someone.


    And today, Zena spiritually sent a message to Azaroth, "I found them, Master. They are very near to the battlefield. At their current speed, it would take them half a day to one day to reach the battlefield."


    "It''s about time," Azaroth spoke with a smile.. He then added, "Good job, Zena."

 Chapter 414 - Surrounding The Night Mountain Sect

    The ck Lake Sect suddenly surrounded the Night Mountain Sect''s Pce. All these cultivators of the ck Lake Sect were incredibly nervous since they were going to have a final battle against the Night Mountain Sect soon enough.


    All the disciples who had been spread around at various points of this battlefield had been recalled and stationed to their respective positions around the Night Mountain Sect''s Pce.


    The perimeter was extremelyrge. Thus, the ck Lake Sect stationed their forces in a half-moon shape around the Night Mountain Sect''s Pce. They had naturally chosen the location that seemed the easiest to break through.


    Meanwhile, in the other half, they had assigned some scouts and a special team of archers who would attack any enemies who were running in that direction.


    While Erica was assigning spots to all elders and disciples, many warriors noticed that her husband hadn''t returned yet.


    Even Christina had asked Erica regarding her father. But she received no clear answer from Christina. After all, how could Erica tell her daughter the truth?


    Even if it was Azaroth who gave her the order, it was Erica who carried it out. She was scared of the pain and had done as he asked. There was also the matter that her husband was leading a rebellious movement against her.


    If she had known earlier, she would definitely seek an exnation from him. Her husband would be forced to speak the truth right ahead of her.


    But unfortunately, her husband was already dead. Erica was so disappointed and angry with him that she didn''t even return to collect his body.


    It had continued to remain at that spot, dposing slowly. The corpse was probably spreading a pungent smell in the area.


    The disciples and the elders had already noticed that Erica''s husband was missing. And they also knew that this woman spent a lot of time with Azaroth. She would never go against his summons.


    It seemed as though something drastic would happen if she didn''t go and meet him. This was true, but the general popce of the ck Lake Sect didn''t know about the exact situation.


    In their minds, they had an unbeatable and unshakable image of Erica. They would never believe that Erica had signed a Blood Contract with Azaroth, forcing her to obey hismands.


    Instead, they believed that Erica was smitten in love. She wanted to increase her interactions with Azaroth. Her husband probably found out and confronted her about this, and Erica dealt with him swiftly.


    After dealing with her husband, she had begun to brazenly pursue Azaroth. There were some guesses regarding how far she had taken her rtionship with Azaroth.


    Some guessed it was the second base, and some thought it was the third base. And a few disciples even believed that their rtionship had already reached the home base.


    Erica had little to no idea that such rumors were spreading in the ck Lake Sect. She was more worried about other matters. Such as just what kind of defensive arrays was the Night Mountain Sect utilizing. The weapons they possessed and the secret team they had always kept under wraps.


    Were they going to reveal them all today? This question made Erica rather anxious, and she could not think calmly.


    At this point, Azaroth arrived. He was alone as he arrived. Zena and the two Frozen Spirit Foxes had been ordered to remain behind to protect the camp.


    He didn''t want someone tounch a surprise attack at the camp while he was away.


    When Azaroth arrived, nearly all the ck Lake Sect disciples or elders at that spot cocked their heads in his direction. It was as if a celebrity had arrived and grabbed the attention of all the individuals around him.


    A few women belonging to the ck Lake Sect squealed in delight as they saw a thin smile on Azaroth''s face. His attractive features drew them in, as did the charming vibe he exuded.


    Azaroth ignored these women and walked up to Erica''s side. He ordered her, "Have your forces on the wings advance first."


    Azaroth has this order to Erica ahead of all disciples of the ck Lake Sect. Erica nodded her head and turned towards a disciple and ordered him, "Launch a red re and have the forces on our wings advance!"


    Meanwhile, the disciples and elders stationed in the center stared at Azaroth and Erica with a dumbfounded gaze. Erica had already not even questioned Azaroth''s order or considered it for a second.


    She was showing such a submissive attitude that it shocked the cultivators of the ck Lake Sect. It didn''t matter whether they were disciples or the elders.


    Azaroth looked around and finally noticed the shocked looks of everyone. He was confused for a short period before noticing that their gaze wasn''t on him but on Erica.


    He realized what was going on. If this went on, their respect for Erica would decrease. These individuals thought that Erica dealt with her husband because she found a new lover. This was such an immoral thing to do.


    How would they respect Erica after this thing became rooted in their heads? The faith energy he was receiving from Erica would be greatly reduced. He didn''t want that to ur.


    Thus, he turned around his body and focused on therge walls of the Night Mountain Sect.


    Meanwhile, the wings of the ck Lake Sect''s forces had already begun to advance. They were targeting the walls, the warriors stationed over them, and rushing forwards withdders in their hands.


    There were also catapults loaded with powerful elemental rocks. These elemental rocks were created bybining an ordinary rock with a small stone of powerful elements.


    The catapults threw those Elemental Rock and generated chaos for the Night Mountain Sect''s side.


    The Night Mountain Sect also applied their barrier. The entire Night Mountain Sect was enclosed within the barrier.


    At that moment, the forces of the ck Lake Sect witnessed a blue signal in the sky. This meant they had to y a little defensively and conserve their strength.


    However, the intensity of their attacks should be great enough to force the enemy to continue to utilize this barrier.


    Meanwhile, the ck Lake Sect cultivators located ahead of the Night Mountain Sect''s pce''s front gate remained at their position. They weren''t going tounch an attack now.


    They didn''t need to attack the ck Lake Sect. The barrier would block most of their attacks. As long as the Night Mountain Sect possessed resources, the ck Lake Sect''s warriors couldn''t break this barrier.


    So, it was better to conserve their strength at this point. The barrier that the Night Mountain Sect had set up was a low-ss barrier since they couldn''tunch attacks while they were inside the barrier.


    They were conserving their strength while exhausting the resources of the enemies. Naturally, keeping this barrier up was also extremely expensive for them, but they were ready to endure this strain on their wealth. They were readying a trump card that would turn the tables quickly.


    Meanwhile, a piece of news spread within the Night Mountain Sect. This news was that Azaroth had appeared on the battlefield.


    For a second, the entire Night Mountain Sect trembled as they heard that he had arrived on this battlefield.


    They had already heard the news of his battle against the Beasts.. Even the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect shuddered slightly as he considered the thought of battling Azaroth.

 Chapter 415 - Dylan Rosss Ambitious Idea

    Azaroth''s current n was to slow down this final battle as much as he could. He wanted to involve Dn Ross in this final battle.


    For that, he had to show that this was the first phase of the battle. He had some scope of making a big difference while entering this final battle.


    For an outsider, the current situation of this battlefield seemed as though the Night Mountain Sect was on itsst legs, and the ck Lake Sect was relentlessly attacking the Night Mountain Sect.


    Dn Ross was bound to go to the Night Mountain Sect in this situation. As someone who had the fate of a standard na?ve protagonist, he was going to prefer defending someone to attacking someone even though he had no idea that the one he was defendingmitted more evil deeds than the one he was attacking.


    If Dn Ross tried to ignore this battle, Azaroth would forcefully involve him by making him fall to the ground. But fortunately for Azaroth, that situation didn''t ur.


    This was because Camille apanied Dn Ross. She spoke seriously, "That is the Night Mountain Hill. Let''s change our route and go around this mountain. A battle between the Night Mountain Sect and the ck Lake Sect is going on here."


    The ck Lake Sect hadunched an attack at the Night Mountain Sect. And by the looks of those camps, it''s still ongoing right now.


    "I see," Dn Ross responded in return as he focused on that mountain. He spoke after a few seconds, "Let''s go and take a look."


    Hemanded the two Wind Pythons who flew over the mountain and allowed Dn Ross to gaze at the entire scenery.


    The ck Lake Sect''s scouts sensed the presence of some beasts flying above them. The Wind Pythons could fly over the Night Mountain Hill without being affected by the Demon Emperor''s aura because they possessed small wings. And they weren''t using Ardor to fly in the air.


    It was their innate ability to soar in the skies. The Demon Emperor''s power would unconsciously filter out the beasts that possessed this innate ability.


    Azaroth also sensed the presence of these two Wind Pythons. He gazed at them with some interest evident in his eyes. He raised his brows and whispered to himself, "These are two mutated beasts who have awakened the thin bloodline of the Aero Flood Dragons."


    Azaroth didn''t find it strange that Dn Ross knew these two Wind Pythons. It would be strange if he didn''t know some beasts with a strong or a mutated bloodline.


    Dn Ross frowned as he witnessed the Night Mountain Sect being attacked by the ck Lake Sect like this. The Night Mountain Sect appeared to be cornered by the ck Lake Sect.


    They were surviving till now by utilizing this barrier. Dn Ross thought that once the barrier was down, the Night Mountain Sect''s disciples and other elders would be ughtered by the ck Lake Sect.


    It was only natural for him to think so because Camille informed him that the ck Lake Sect''s leader was a 6 Star Warrior.


    Just as Azaroth expected, Dn Ross tried to enter the Night Mountain Sect from above. The Night Mountain Sect noticed someone trying to enter their barrier.


    They were unsure whether they should allow these unknown individuals to enter their sect or not. There was a good chance these two were ck Lake Sect''s agents.


    "I am here to help you, so open up the barrier!" Dn Ross spoke out and expected the Night Mountain Sect to follow his words.


    Surprisingly, the barrier opened up from above and allowed Dn Ross and Camille to enter the Sect.


    The barrier opened up because of the order from the Sect Master. He was utterly confident about the Night Mountain Sect''s strength.


    Even if Dn Ross was here with some suspicious motives, he was confident in his ability to handle them.


    After entering the barrier, Dn Ross and Camille met some elders. Camille was quite scared as she entered this barrier.


    She knew that Dn Ross was going to meet the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect. The issue was that the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect could recognize Camille.


    Thus, to prevent the Sect Master from seeing her face, she was wearing a thin veil. Dn Ross didn''t find her actions very strange since he thought Camille didn''t want to be leered by other men.


    Her beauty would naturally make many men turn their heads in her direction. And most of them were bound to nce at her with evil intentions in their minds. In fact, Dn Ross wasn''t any better. However, he also believed that a talented man like him did deserve her.


    After some time, the two met with a few elders. Camille remained quiet while Dn Ross asked the elders about this conflict between the Night Mountain Sect and the ck Lake Sect.


    The elders had realized that Dn Ross genuinely had no idea regarding the source of this conflict. Thus, he could manipte the facts at his own discretion and pit him against the ck Lake Sect.


    They assigned a location to Dn Ross and Camille to rest while they arranged a meeting with the Sect Master. The Sect Master was a little surprised that two individuals were coincidently passing this area and decided to help the Night Mountain Sect.


    He was also surprised that his elders were saying that this couple genuinely had no idea about the source of this conflict. Just why were they so sure that this couple was speaking the truth?


    "Don''t trust them too much. At least not until he has spilled the blood of the ck Lake Sect. Also, make sure to not mention our secrets. He is an outsider," The Sect Master stated with a somber tone. The Angel apanying Dn Ross was resting at this moment. So, she couldn''t tell him that these elders were lying to him.


    The Angel wanted to conserve her Spiritual Energy. Thus, she limited her conversation and senses to urgent situations or some serious discussions.


    Her mind unconsciously filtered out this situation as something casual. Dn Ross was a bad judge of character. He would take most words at face value. He willingly believed the entire story narrated to be him by these elders. To him, this was the reality.


    Camille walked around and talked to some disciples of the Night Mountain Sect. Even though she was wearing a veil, her beauty was hard to conceal. Just the faint glimpses would allow a man to understand that she was a great beauty.


    They would try to answer all her questions in an attempt for her to have a great impression of them. With her intelligence and the information about this Night Mountain Sect she possessed, she realized that the Night Mountain Sect was stockpiling right now. They were going to explode soon enough.


    And it would be the ck Lake Sect that would suffer.


    However, these disciples held some doubts regarding their victory even after making so many preparations. This was due to the presence of a man named Azaroth.


    He was the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s leader. And he had justpleted an incredible deed that had stunned these two mighty sects. Azaroth had ughtered hundreds of 4 Star and 5 Star Beasts!


    His presence would make a great difference. He was the one who could still turn the tables on the Night Mountain Sect.. Thus, the disciples and even the elders of the Night Mountain Sect feared him quite a bit.

 Chapter 416 - The Angels Plan

    Azaroth didn''t step in to break the barrier because he wanted to give some time to Dn Ross and Camille so that they could understand their current situation from the Night Mountain Sect''s perspective.


    Six hours had passed since Dn Ross entered the Night Mountain Sect. And Dn was wondering how he could assist the Night Mountain Sect in this battle against the ck Lake Sect.


    He didn''t know, but he wanted to resolve this conflict between these two great sects before moving towards the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    He felt it was best to awaken his Angel. She could help him make a difference in this battle between the two sects.


    When the Angel awakened and found out about the entire situation, she was quite dissatisfied. She thought that Dn''s greatest priority should be to go to the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Once they reach the Cathedral in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, she can contact herrade and finally recover her holy energy. Dn would undergo holy baptism that would allow him to use Holy Ardor to some extent.


    Dn could never utilize his Holy Ardor as good as a Celestial, but it would be much better than those priests, bishops, or popes set up by the Celestials on Frascoia Continent. However, it was still better than nothing.


    Against a demon, Dn would be much stronger. Moreover, the Angel could then pass her secret techniques to him.


    The Angel looked down on all humans in the world, but she had formed a close bond with Dn. She didn''t want him to die any time soon, even after she was gone.


    Thus, she was going to teach him some of her secret techniques and give him an Artifact through which he could summon her whenever he wanted.


    She would be punished heavily if the other Celestials ever found out what she was nning. Thus, she was nning to keep it a secret from her fellowrades.


    However, Dn''s na?ve attitude had disappointed the Angel. When the Angel asked why Dn had stopped over here, Dn responded that he couldn''t just leave these people to die here.


    He wanted to resolve the conflict between the two sects. No matter how unrealistic it might seem.


    If Azaroth had known what Dn was thinking about, he would haveughed so loudly until his stomach began hurting.


    Dn would have achieved his goal only if the situation remained before Azaroth''s interference. However, sadly for him, Azaroth''s interference had destroyed the easy path that fate had set out for him. Dn would now have to struggle greatly to aplish his goal.


    Azaroth still didn''t look down on fate. There was a chance that this situation was still under fate''s control.


    Anyway, the Angel within Dn let out a sigh as she heard Dn''s desire to assist everyone here. She began thinking of some method through which she could assist Dn in achieving his aim.


    However, most of those methods required Dn to have great strength. But he was merely a 3 Star Warrior. He could fight and win against a 4 Star Warrior. But his true cultivation was at the 3 Star Rank.


    "This Night Mountain Sect will pit you against the ck Lake Sect. To prove that you aren''t an agent of the ck Lake Sect, you will need to kill a few disciples of that sect," The Angel spoke.


    Dn nodded his head and spoke, "I understand that. I nned to do that anyway. This ck Lake Sect had grown quite arrogant in thest couple of years."


    "The Night Mountain Sect had been flourishing beautifully and had discovered a new mine with rich minerals when the ck Lake Sect invaded the Night Mountain Sect and demanded that they give up this new mine."


    This was the story that the elders of the Night Mountain Sect concocted and told Dn. Dn naturally believed this story since it was quite realistic for a sect to act like this.


    Since Dn was speaking the truth right now, the Angel believed his words. She then asked him, "What is this ce?"


    "This is the Night Mountain Hill," Dn spoke with a confident expression.


    The Angel raised her brow as she had heard of this name before. After a couple of seconds, she recalled where she had heard the name. It was the location where the Demon Emperor was buried.


    She had battled him before she was gravely injured and had been forced to stay in her spiritual form here in the Glerian Kingdom.


    She had an idea in her mind. She nned to have the Demon Emperor release a lot of his Demonic Ardor here.


    This would aplish two of her motives. The Demonic Ardor could alert a Celestial near this spot, and he could send an Angel to deal with this Demon Emperor. If that Angel had a good rtionship with the Holy Church, she would definitely help her.


    Secondly, it would help Dn achieve his aim. There was only a single way for these two sects to give up on their pride and resolve this conflict between them. That was for them to encounter a great opponent.


    The Demon Emperor''s prestige and the potential damage he could do were bound to unite them.


    To have the Demon Emperor release more of his Demonic Ardor, the Angel would merely need to loosen the Holy Seal around him.


    This was extremely easy for a High-Ranking Angel like her. All she had to do was enter the range to manipte that seal. Dn would need to leave the Night Mountain Sect for that to ur.


    However, Dn had just entered the Night Mountain Sect. The Night Mountain Sect won''t allow him to leave so soon. He would be allowed to leave when the Night Mountain Sect willingly opened the gate tounch a counterattack on the ck Lake Sect.


    The Angel knew that no one could fly over the Night Mountain Hill. However, she could use her Holy Ardor to resist that Demonic Ardor and have Dn fly.


    The Angel nned to do this after Dn had proven his identity by killing a few disciples of the ck Lake Sect. Once the Demonic Ardor is unleashed, the Night Mountain Sect won''t recall that Dn had escaped.


    When Dn returns to the Night Mountain Sect and deals with the Demonic Ardor, the Night Mountain Sect would hold him in higher regard.


    Azaroth could guess his Angel''s n. He was sure that the Angel knew a Demon Emperor was sealed around here. It would be impossible for her to not take advantage of this fact.


    The Angel would be thinking the best for Dn. These two sects were bound to possess many rare resources and ores. If Dn could utilize them, he would instantly break through and reach the 4 Star Rank.


    Strength was the most important thing in the world. The Angel was clearer than Dn regarding this fact.


    And if Dn reached the 4 Star Rank, the Angel could release even greater energy through him. It would help him in the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    In that ce, the greater the Holy Ardor could an individual release, the greater his prestige. Thus, His Angel''s n was perfect for Dn''s growth.


    However, what she had miscalcted was Azaroth''s presence. His presence was literally an anomaly in Dn Ross''s fate.


    Dn Ross could have had a smooth sailing while resolving the conflict between these two sects. But now, he had to do most of the tasks personally.


    Azaroth didn''t just n to deal with Dn Ross, but he was going to meet his Angel and Camille.

 Chapter 417 - Flying Away

    The Night Mountain Sect''s barrier was on itsst legs. The barrier had to be dropped for some time so that the disciples could swap the energy stones. Thus, the Night Mountain Sect nned to send out its disciples and some elders to block the ck Lake Sect from destroying their walls.


    Nearly all disciples who were going to charge out of the sect were ready at their respective gates. The gates to the east and west side opened up. All disciples and eldersunched their respective attacks at the ck Lake Sect''s members.


    The barrier surrounding the entire Night Mountain Sect suddenly vanished, allowing the attacks to collide with each other in mid-air. Numerous small explosions urred and blinded all warriors on this battlefield.


    Dn Ross and Camille had also charged out of the gates along with the Night Mountain Sect''s disciples and elders.


    Dn Ross stopped holding back his aura and unleashed it in full force. It was so strong that it could even restrain a 4 Star Warrior''s Aura. It had to be known that Dn was merely a 3 Star Warrior. It was quite an impressive feat for a 3 Star Warrior to suppress the aura of a warrior with a superior rank to his own.


    When Azaroth sensed that aura, he couldn''t help but gaze in that direction. Dn''s aura was easy to sense because only his aura possessed the traits of Ice and me Ardor.


    Azaroth didn''t approach Dn immediately. He wanted to check out hisbat talent.


    Fortunately, Azaroth didn''t need to wait for long. Dn was a closebat fighter and had immediately charged at therge group of warriors of the ck Lake Sect.


    He held a sword in each hand and charged towards his enemies. The sword in his right hand was glowing with crimson color, while the sword in his left hand was glowing with a sapphire color.


    He swiped both his arms and shed the enemies in front of him. His speed was so quick that the enemies before him couldn''t react in time as his swords sliced their bodies.


    Those who instinctively utilized Earth Ardor to bolster their body''s defenses then realized that it was useless to try and block those attacks. The me Ardor and the Ice Ardor in those swords were dense enough to break past their defenses easily.


    Meanwhile, Camille remained behind as she was a long-ranged fighter. She wasn''t like Dn, who could suppress a 4 Star Warrior with his aura. Camille was a standard 3 Star Warrior.


    If she charged forward like Dn, she would be injured or, even worse, captured by the enemy. She wasn''t willing to put her life at risk like that.


    She released some attacks of pure Ardor. She wasn''t yet too proficient in controlling Water Ardor. Unlike her cousins, herbat skills were quite weak.


    After a few hours, Dn Ross seemingly grew a pair of wings on his back out of nowhere and began to fly. These pair of wings seemed to possess an unreal power that made the warriors around him want to kneel down and pay their respects to Dn.


    Nearly all warriors were shocked to see Dn flying like that. And the warriors of the Night Mountain Sect, including Camille, were even more shocked to see Dn Ross flying away from the battlefield!


    Camille had no idea that Dn possessed those wings and could even fly. She wondered just how much he was hiding from her.


    Around this moment, the energy stones for the barrier were finally swapped. The Night Mountain Sect''s elders gave a signal to retreat. All the disciples and elders tried to push their opponents away and return to their keep.


    Before Camille could say anything, she was captured by some disciples and brought back to the Night Mountain Sect. They nned to interrogate her and make her spit why the two hade here.


    Dn had never thought about what would happen to Camille after he was gone. He was far too absorbed in his own little world to think about the consequences of his action.


    Moreover, it was the Angel who was more excited than him. She wanted to release a faint bit of the Demonic Ardor of the Demon Emperor sealed near this location.


    Azaroth had already disappeared from his spot as he followed Dn. He didn''t need to fly to follow Dn.


    He was running on the ground, following Dn closely. He wanted to see what Dn was going to do and catch him red-handed.


    After a few minutes, Dn reached the spot. The moat was so deep that gazing into it revealed nothing but darkness.


    "What are we doing here?" Dn asked the Angel within him. He was still not told anything much about why he was here. The Angel just told him that she was taking him to a ce where he could increase his strength.


    Meanwhile, the Angel furrowed her brows as she found out that no bits of Demonic Energy were leaking out of this chasm. The Demon Emperor shouldn''t be so weak that he couldn''t even release his energy out of this moat. That would be beyond disappointing.


    She controlled the wings on Dn''s back and tried to enter the chasm. The Holy Seal was strong enough to restrain the Demon Emperor.


    However, as she entered the Abyss, the Angel sensed faint spiritual energy around her. Moreover, there was a lot of Demonic Energy around her now.


    "What''s going on? Howe so much Demonic Energy has been gathered around here? We haven''t even gone that deep yet. And why couldn''t I sense this Demonic Ardor when Dn stood on the cliff?"


    Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that there was a barrier that prevented the Demonic Energy from leaking out of this Abyss.


    Dn''s body began to glow with Holy Ardor. The Demonic Ardor was immediately purged as it approached his body. And he asked, "What is going on?"


    "We need to leave immediately!" The Angel spoke with a sense of urgency in her tone.


    "What happened, though?" Dn asked as he floated above. He wanted to know just what had worried the Angel so greatly.


    "Someone had set up a barrier to restrain the Demonic Energy. When we passed that barrier earlier, it sent a signal to that warrior that someone had breached his barrier. He must be on his way to his barrier," spoke the Angel with a worried tone.


    Since she couldn''t even sense or recognize this barrier, it meant that the owner of this barrier possessed a deep and great knowledge regarding the arrays.


    When Dn got out of the Abyss, he saw a handsome man standing on the cliff. There was a gentle smile on his face as he gazed at Dn.


    The Angel was terrified when she gazed at Azaroth. She could sense an incredibly Holy presence from his body. Moreover, Azaroth was releasing an intense intimidating aura that terrified Dn.


    "So, you are the one who breached my barrier and tried to approach that Demon?" Azaroth spoke with a cold tone. This time, the Angel with Dn was terrified as she heard Azaroth''s words.


    She felt as though Azaroth was talking directly to her.. Those ruby eyes were ring her in the face, enquiring about her felony.

 Chapter 418 - Interrogating The Angel

    Dn had no idea that the Angel within him was utterly terrified. He tried to maintain a calm fa?ade and spoke to Azaroth, "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"


    "Who am I? The better question would be, what are you doing here? And why were you approaching the demon sealed within this location?" Azaroth asked him while ring at him.


    Azaroth raised his arm and pointed at Dn. Dn found out that his body was being sucked towards Azaroth. Dn immediately asked the Angel to assist him. However, he had no idea that the Angel was frozen with terror as she sensed Azaroth''s Holy Ardor.


    She understood that Azaroth was a Holy Son. He possessed the Bloodline of a God! Even though she was a High-Ranking Angel, she couldn''t fight against Azaroth. She would have to battle her own instincts tounch a single attack at Azaroth.


    In reality, Azaroth didn''t possess the bloodline of a God. He had taken over Edwin''s body, who possessed a faint bloodline of a Celestial. Edwin inherited this bloodline from his mother, who possessed a thin High-Ranking Angel''s Bloodline.


    It was Azaroth who had elevated the strength of his Celestial Bloodline after he created this new body with a drop of his Demon God''s Blood. In response to his Demon God''s Bloodline, Azaroth''s Celestial Bloodline underwent a strange transformation that had allowed it to be God''s Bloodline.


    Soon, Dn''s body was in Azaroth''s grasps. More precisely, his throat was in Azaroth''s hands. Azaroth spoke with a cold tone, "Are you going to get out yourself, or do I need to clear you out?"


    Those words cleared thest doubt that the Angel had. She knew that if she took any more time to get out, Azaroth would kill Dn. The Angel didn''t want Dn to die like that and showed her presence to Azaroth.


    Azaroth turned his gaze at the Angel. Just as he had heard, the Angel was extremely beautiful. Her long grey-colored locks and deep green eyes gave anyone who saw her a worshiping feeling.


    However, at this moment, this Angel had an uglyplexion as she stared at Azaroth. Azaroth was holding her beloved man''s throat and staring at her with a scheming smile on his face.


    Now that Dn Ross was so close to death, the Angel realized that she had truly fallen for him. She was conflicted over what she should do. Even if she tried her best, she couldn''t go against her instincts and knowledge. Even now, she had followed Azaroth''smand and shown her presence to Azaroth.


    Upon seeing her, Azaroth spoke with a disdainful tone, "Merely a High-Ranking Angel, huh?"


    The Angel was visibly shaken upon hearing that disdainful tone. She responded by speaking, "Angel Margeria is at your service, Holy Son."


    "Which branch and religion do you belong to?" Azaroth asked in response.


    "I belong to the Holy Church from a branch in the Pinhian Republic," Angel Margeria spoke immediately.


    Azaroth raised his brows upon hearing Margeria. He asked a little curiously, "The Pinhian Republic is so far away from the Kingdom of Gler. It lies south of the Lamhilhan Theocracy. So, why did you cross such a long distance ande to the Kingdom of Gler?"


    "I struck a deal with the King of this Kingdom and arrived here to deal with the Demon Emperor terrorizing the citizens of this Kingdom. However, after I dealt a crucial blow to the Demon Emperor and sealed him, the King went back on his words and refused to hand over the Sacred Illuminating Bright Jade he possessed."


    "He had prepared a trap for me and struck me with a solid attack. That attack gravely injured my body, and I knew that the King would kill me at all costs. Thus, I sacrificed my body and entered into my Life Ring to flee from that area. After some time, I reached my limit. I knew that if this went on, I could never return to my territory."


    "Thus, I entered a cave and hibernated there. After a couple of years, this man awakened me from my sleep," Margeria spoke while pointing at Dn Ross.


    Azaroth nodded in response. Margeria''s words made sense as they matched with what he knew of her. At this moment, Dn spoke out, "You haven''t answered my question. Who are you? And how do you know Margeria?"


    Dn wasn''t used to someone ignoring like that. Ever since he met Margeria and his fate changed, he had lived his life arrogantly. He was quite confident about his power and haughty about his potential. He knew that he could be strong enough to be Margeria''s equal or even surpass her if given enough time!


    Thus, when he noticed how Margeria talked so respectfully to Azaroth, his heart burned with resentment. He was a bit furious when he noticed how Azaroth had seemingly begun to ignore him as he questioned Margeria. His rage and pride, along with his fear of losing Margeria to Azaroth, prompted him to open his mouth and ask these questions.


    Azaroth was a little amused upon hearing those questions. He gripped Dn''s throat so strongly that even air couldn''t pass through.


    Margeria witnessed how Azaroth was choking Dn, and even though she wanted to help Dn, her body wouldn''t budge.


    In the end, she remained at her spot while staring at Dn''s struggles to free himself from Azaroth''s choke. He repeatedly punched and kicked Azaroth''s chest and his guts. But it didn''t seem to affect Azaroth''s body.


    Soon, his struggle began to weaken, and his body stopped moving. The Angel though the worst had happened and began to sob. She had spent a lot of time with Dn. She had seen his life closely and be quite attached to him. And now that she witnessed his death, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces.


    Azaroth spoke out, "Don''t waste your tears. He is only unconscious. He will wake up after some time. Now, let''s talk about something serious."


    Margeria was relieved to hear those words. She was curious about what Azaroth wanted to talk with her.


    "I don''t know what you came here to do or why you nned to unseal a Demon Emperor. But your actions have angered me greatly. You were nning to endanger countless lives for something personal. I can purge your spirit right now. And know this, if I purge your spirit, it won''t enter the cycle of reincarnation. You will bepletely destroyed by this universe. Not even your God or the Primordial God could revive you," Azaroth spoke with a serious tone.


    Margeria didn''t doubt those words. She knew that if her spirit was purged right now, it would truly vanish from this world.


    "¡­I understand, Holy Son," Margeria spoke as she awaited the attack that would end her existence in the truest sense. She closed her eyes as another tear leaked out of her eyes, wishing that she could have a talk with Dn onest time.


    "¡­You are fortunate that I am not nning to kill you yet. I can ignore this offense. However, you need to do something for me," Azaroth spoke. He was finally going to state his order.


    He didn''t state earlier because he wanted her to understand that her life was in great danger.


    "I know what you n to do. When you reach the Cathedral in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, has Dn construct a teleportation array over there." Azaroth ordered Margeria.


    "When I initially sensed your presence, I was just nning to order you like this. However, your viinous personality doesn''t allow me to trust you. Come with me, I will brand you with my Spiritual Imprint so that you can''t disobey my order," Azaroth spoke with a sneer on his face.


    Margeria didn''t know why but she felt something off from that statement.. However, she was too ashamed to counter Azaroth''s statement and approached him.

 Chapter 419 - Corruption

    Azaroth made this Angel follow him to his camp where all his subordinates belonging to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect were resting. They were all recovering from the injuries that had urred when they overexerted themselves during theirst battle. Their physical wounds had healed, and now it was time to heal their spirits.


    Zena and the two Frozen Spirit Foxes saw Azaroth and were instantly excited. They also witnessed a body floating in the air, following Azaroth. This was Dn Ross''s body, and Margeria was currently residing within her ring.


    "You did a good job holding down the fort," Azaroth spoke as he stroked Zena''s face. Zena could be seen blushing while trying to hide her face from Azaroth.


    Azaroth then turned towards the two Frozen Spirit Foxes. He bent down and stroked their backs as well, "You both did a fine job as well. Now, return to your masters and protect them."


    The two Frozen Spirit Foxes returned to their master''s tents. One returned to Tiana''s tent while the other returned to Helena''s tent. After the two foxes were gone, Azaroth ordered Zena, "Go and find the treasures from the territories of the beasts who attacked us. They should have stashed their treasures somewhere within their territories."


    Zena then responded with a cheerful chirp and was on its way to search for those treasures. It was rather sensitive to treasures and could sense if one was nearby. Thus, it could be concluded that Azaroth had assigned her a very easy task.


    Once these beasts were gone, the entire area was filled with silence. The herbs Azaroth possessed were those he had found nearby. The rest were nted in the Origin Sect Branch in Veninza City.


    Fortunately, Azaroth only required these herbs for what he wanted to do. He was creating a Body Spirit Materializing Pellet. He wanted Margeria to eat this pellet and remain materialized for a few days.


    Heavenly mes lit up over both his hands as he began to concoct the pellets. When Margeria witnessed Azaroth concocting a pellet, she was a little surprised to see that he was concocting a pellet without using a furnace.


    Some very rare alchemists could concoct a pellet without a furnace. It required a very intricate control over the Ardor and the mes. Moreover, the individual needed to be extremely intelligent to deal with any sort of unexpected issues.


    There were cases when the pellet''s concoction the pellet would release a sleeping gas. Or some other kind of gas that would affect the Alchemist. The Alchemist must either be prepared to deal with these kinds of consequences, or he must be smart enough to instantly figure out how to deal with these issues.


    Thus, Margeria was truly startled to see this kind of concoction. She was something of an alchemist herself. At least she knew the basics and could concoct a pellet when she urgently required it.


    The pellet she concocted would be low-ranked. But it would do for what she had in mind. However, as she witnessed the entire concoction of Azaroth''s pellet, she felt that it wasn''t going to be a low-ranked or a mid-ranked pellet.


    It was going to be a high-ranked or peak-grade pellet. A peak-grade pellet was extremely challenging to find even in the Heavens. And if one did find it, buying it was another matter altogether.


    The prices of the peak grades 7 Star Pellets were so great that Margeria couldn''t buy a single one of them with the wealth she possessed. Her contribution to the race also wasn''t high enough that she could demand a peak-grade pellet from them.


    Actually, this mission where she had to ughter a Demon Emperor was one such mission where her contribution to the race would have increased greatly. She could have bought three peak grade 7 Star Pellets with the contribution points she would earn from this mission.


    She had no idea that the King''s words couldn''t be trusted. She had managed to seal the Demon Emperor for the next hundred years at least. But the King took advantage of her injuries and attacked her at that very moment.


    This caused Margeria to sacrifice her body and escape within her Artifact. This Artifact could sustain her spiritual fluctuations and also conceal her aura. This was why, despite using all of his contacts to look for her, the King was unable to locate her.


    An hour or soter, Azaroth sessfully concocted the Body Spirit Materializing Pellet. Moreover, this was the peak grade version of this pellet.


    Margeria was sure that she wouldn''t need to be worried about her Spiritual Fluctuations for this one week. In fact, her spirit had nearly transformed into a body. She could once again feel her senses.


    Her sense of touch especially. She walked around, feeling the cold ground underneath her feet. Margeria couldn''t help but be slightly emotional. She knew it was just for a short time, yet she was ovee by delight.


    She failed to notice the wretched smile on Azaroth''s face as he approached her. In fact, even if Margeria saw his smile, she wouldn''t have found anything strange. This was how innocent and na?ve she was.


    "Now, let''s go inside," Azaroth grabbed Margeria''s hands and took her to his cabin. He had a tent earlier, but now he had constructed a cabin using Wooden Ardor. This cabin waspletely soundproof and fireproof.


    Margeria had no idea why Azaroth brought her here. He asked Margeria, "Why do you think I provided you with that body?"


    Margeria cocked her head to the side as she heard this question. She was confused and didn''t understand what Azaroth meant by this question. Thus, she answered with a neutral tone, "I don''t know. I thought you had a task for me."


    "That''s right. I indeed have a task for you," Azaroth spoke as the wretched smile on his face widened slightly. He spoke while gazing into her eyes, "Strip, now."


    The Angel appeared to be skeptical of what she had heard. She stuttered and asked Azaroth, "W-What?!"


    "That''s right. You heard it correctly. Now, strip. Or do I help you?" Azaroth spoke while hungrily gazing at her body.


    It seemed that if Margeria didn''t strip quickly, he would tear down all her clothing. Margeria possessed a perfect hourss body. Her hips and bust were nearly equal in size, and both were quiterge. She had a narrow waist and a t stomach. There were two beautiful wings on her back.


    Margeria saw the look on Azaroth''s face and realized that he would really tear all her clothes if she didn''t obey his order quickly.


    While she was stripping, Azaroth spoke up with that same wretched smile, "You are the one benefiting from this, you stupid Angel. You are getting a chance to spend the night with a Holy Son like me who possesses a pure Bloodline of a God Rank Expert of Celestials."


    Azaroth''s words failed to provide her withfort. In reality, the Angel was sad because she wanted to retain her purity for Dn Ross. She loved him and wanted to give him everything.


    When Azaroth saw that distressed look on Margeria''s face, he couldn''t help but lick his lips with excitement. This was what he loved the most.


    To see a Celestial distressed like that provided him the greatest bliss. Moreover, it had been quite some time since hest enjoyed an Angel. So, he wasn''t going to hold back against Margeria.


    He was going to make Margeria experience unreal pain and pleasure simultaneously.. The emotional pain and the physical bliss.

 Chapter 420 - Training Margeria

    Azaroth soon began the sexual activities with Margeria. These went on for the day that remained and then the entire night. Initially, Margeria resisted when Azaroth would begin to fuck her in the pussy or her ass. Naturally, Azaroth heard none of it.


    For the whole night, Azaroth bullied her to the extent that Margeria became used to the situation. She understood that there was nothing she could do other than endure this. After she got used to the situation, she began to enjoy the bliss she felt. She was first hesitant to express her delight due to her shyness and having a partner.


    Margeria thought she would be betraying him if she showed that she was feeling happy after being fucked by an unknown individual, even if he was a Holy Son. However, her mind slowly began to think of logical reasons for her to express her desires and feelings.


    Margeria recalled that Dn Ross was unconscious right now. He would have no idea of what had urred between Azaroth as long as they both keep their mouth shut about it.


    Thus, during midnight time, after Azaroth finished releasing his semen within Margeria''s pussy, in contrast to Margeria''s pleas. Margeria pleaded Azaroth, "Would you please hide everything from him? Please don''t mention to him what has happened between us."


    Azaroth grinned and shrugged off the suggestion. Instead, he spanked Margeria''s ass. Margeria groaned, her face flushed with pleasure and anguish. Margeria''s buttocks had turned bright crimson from Azaroth''s smack.


    After spanking her once, Azaroth wasn''t going to stop. He continually smacked her till he got tired of it. Azaroth grew hot as Margeria''s moans made the scene even more seductive.


    "Are you in any position to state any demands or request anything from me?" Azaroth asked her as he brought his face close to her ear. He further continued, "What if I don''t agree to your request? What will you do then? You will stop moaning? You won''t allow me to fuck you?"


    A strong, terrifying vibe pervaded the entire ce. Margeria was extremely frightened that her heart clenched and was beating crazily. She spoke while stuttering, "N-No, I-I d-didn''t mean it like that."


    Azaroth grabbed her face and asked her coldly, "Is that so? What did you mean then? Exin!"


    All pressure was on Margeria as she spoke out, "¡­I-It''s just t-that, I would be r-relieved and could be more o-open about my feelings and desires. I promise that it will be extremely delightful for you, Holy Son. I-I will do anything you want me to do."


    Azaroth sneered in response and released her face, "That''s not a very huge offer. You were going to do anything I want to do regardless of your wishes." He smacked her ass one more time and added, "Your wishes mean nothing to me. However, I am willing to give you a single chance. You have that one chance to convince me. If you make it worth my time, I would be willing to listen to your request. Otherwise, I will do whatever I want."


    "Now, begin with a blowjob, then a titty job, cowgirl position¡­" Azaroth went on to give his orders to Margeria.


    Margeria spent the entire night attempting to persuade Azaroth to grant her request from midnight to early dawn. She had no idea that her own mentality was transforming during that time. She was less resistant to Azaroth''s orders and whatever he did with her. He used her buttocks, tits, mouth, and pussy, as he pleased.


    Now, when Azaroth gave her an order, her first instinct was to follow that order rather than deny him. This was a drastic change in her mentality. Azaroth had sex with Margeria due to this reason.


    Moreover, the most important reason was that her bond with Dn Ross would weaken now. There was a good chance that Margeria would be free of Dn''s Fate''s Bindings. Azaroth hadn''t heard of a protagonist having a love affair with a woman who had lost her purity. This was only the case when her husband had died. For at least while Azaroth was alive, there was little chance of Margeria betraying him.


    This meant she could be greatly useful to Azaroth. She would be a great spy and informer while being near Dn''s side. However, Azaroth wasn''t going to take any chances. Instead of branding her with a Spiritual Imprint, he was going to create a clone and have him travel with them.


    However, Azaroth didn''t want Margeria to face any difficulty exining the clone''s presence to Dn Ross. Even if he was utterly stupid, this man was bound to get suspicious after hearing some weak excuses.


    Thus, either Azaroth would have to create some irond excuse, or he had to think of another way for the clone to go with them.


    He found another method. The clone would follow Dn Ross while imnting him with a Spiritual Mark.


    This would allow the clone to follow Dn Ross closely. Moreover, he would also create a spiritual connection between Margeria and the clone. Margeria could then send a signal to the clone if something critical was urring.


    For that, Azaroth had to trust Margeria that she would contact him if something critical was going on. Naturally, Azaroth wasn''t going to be convinced with some promises or blood contracts.


    Even in the Blood Contracts, there was a great margin for error. He also didn''t want to waste a hypnotic spell on her. That would destroy this chess piece. If Margeria ever returned to heaven, an Angel at her rank or higher would easily detect that hypnotic spell on her spirit. Azaroth had a bigger n in mind on what he should do with Margeria. Thus, he couldn''t use these cheap tricks on her.


    Thus, Azaroth was training Margeria so that he could freely use her in the future. And sex was just one method through which he could conquer her mind and body. Azaroth didn''t care much about what was contained in her heart. Whether she thought nicely or badly about him didn''t matter much to him.


    What mattered was whether or not he achieved his goal. And Azaroth thought that whether Margeria saw him favorably or negatively, he would achieve his goal. Thus, he continued to train her so that he could use this pawn further ahead in the future.


    Naturally, Azaroth couldn''t keep Dn Ross unconscious for too long. That would be suspicious in itself as well.


    The next part of his n was to awaken Dn Ross and send him back to the Night Mountain Sect.


    Before that, he discussed a basic outline of his n with Margeria. And give her orders for the next day. These would be detailed orders that she had to follow for the rest of the day until they met tomorrow.


    Due to his identity as the Holy Son, Margeria would need to follow his orders to every detail. This detail order thing wouldn''t work for a long-time frame since there were many real-life situations that Margeria could face and Azaroth had missed while giving those detailed orders to Margeria.


    It would be rare for Margeria to face those kinds of situations in the span of a single day. These ns would naturally contain how Margeria had to deal with Dn and so on.


    Margeria would basically act the same as before. She would make some excuse about her Body Materializing. It was only temporary anyway, so Dn had to believe whatever excuse she made.


    During that time, she was going to stay the daytime with Dn and nighttime with Azaroth.. The training was going to continue for a long time.

 Chapter 421 - Dylans Thoughts And Guesses

    Camille''s life wasn''t easy when Dn flew away in the direction of the moat where the Demon Emperor was trapped. The Night Mountain Sect had finished refueling their energy, and the barrier was up again.


    Some disciples of the Night Mountain Sect captured Camille when Dn flew away from the battlefield. They didn''t want her to escape with him as well. After the Night Mountain Sect disciples were ordered to retreat, these disciples took Camille with them and returned to the sect.


    Within the sect, they began to question Camille through various methods. Some struck her physically, while some interrogators yed mind games with her to make her reveal something.


    Camille had stayed by the King''s side for quite a long time. She was aware of all these tactics and internally sneered at these interrogators. She was very tight-lipped about herself and Dn.


    These individuals were just threatening her. They didn''t n to kill her. It wasn''t like that feeling she experienced when she met Sargan. That man had truly terrorized her. It wasn''t that he did something different from them. He just had a truly dominating and intimidating aura that made her disclose information to him.


    Camille was disappointed that Dn Ross had flown away without bringing her with him. She was entirely ignorant of the Wings on his back. He never revealed anything about it. She was disappointed since she discovered Dn didn''t trust her nearly as much as she had assumed.


    Meanwhile, Dn had awoken. He discovered that he was in the middle of nowhere. He was surrounded by grass, trees, and a few shrubs. He felt a splitting headache as he opened his eyes.


    He had no recollection of what had happened before he passed out. His mind slowly started to work, and a few images of that scenario appeared in his mind. He looked around and noticed Margeria, who was currently resting with some injuries all over her body.


    What shocked him was that Margeria actually possessed a body right now, "Master! What happened?" He asked with an anxious and worried voice.


    After he shook Margeria a couple of times, she woke up with a drowsy look on her face. She softly spoke, "I-I am just a little bit tired. Let me rest for an hour or two." As she spoke that, Margeria closed her eyes again.


    Dn was naturally not going to wake her up again. He began to wonder what was going on and walked around in the area. As he took a walk, he began to theorize what had urred.


    He recalled that he fell asleep after his throat was clutched by that mysterious, handsome man. After thinking about that man''s gorgeous appearance, he couldn''t help but experience some envy.


    Anyway, Dn suppressed those feelings of jealousy and thought reasonably. He then created a scenario in his mind. This scenario was most likely to be a reality, ording to him.


    After he fell unconscious, he believed that Margeria used a Forbidden Technique to injure Azaroth and bring him away. And she encountered a bit of good luck on the way and ate some sort of herb that allowed her to materialize her body.


    For an ordinary individual, it would be hard to imagine and believe this kind of scenario. Because most of this scenario was based on having good luck and coincidence. Moreover, instead of using facts to theorize the scenario, he was merely using his imagination.


    Dn Ross had no idea just what Margeria had experienced while he was unconscious. In fact, before Dn Ross woke up, Azaroth and Margeria were fucking in the wilderness like animals.


    Margeria had been fucked so many times that she no longer resisted Azaroth''s advances. In fact, she would gain the desire to remove these clothes and feel Azaroth''s dick inside her.


    However, the story in Dn Ross''s mind was something else. He was touched by Margeria''s actions and how she had used a Forbidden Technique to save his life. He could never forget this favor. He nned to treat her the best in the future.


    After an hour, Margeria woke up. She saw Dn Ross''s face and didn''t actually know how she should face him. She was embarrassed and shy because of what she and Azaroth did yesterday.


    However, Dn Ross only thought of that shyness in a romantic sense. He thought she was someone who was quite shy about revealing what she truly desired. He had no idea that the story was something else.


    "¡­We need to leave for the Lamhilhan Theocracy as soon as possible. But we can''t do so without taking Camille with us. It''s her family who will support us in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, and only she knows how we can cross the borders between these kingdoms without arising suspicion," Margeria spoke seriously.


    Dn Ross''s eyes widened as it was now that he recalled Camille. He spoke with a worried tone, "Oh no! We left her back at the Night Mountain Sect''s side! She must think that I abandoned her or something!"


    "That''s correct," Margeria spoke. This was indeed the truth. She then added, "I interrogated a ck Lake Sect''s disciple and found out that the barrier is up once again. And Camille was captured by those disciples of the Night Mountain Sect. They are probably interrogating her about the both of you. Before she says anything about the Lamhilhan Theocracy, we need to free her and move."


    "You are right," Dn Ross nodded his head. He then took a short pause before he spoke again, "They would need to put down the barrier to swap those energy stones again. We can go and save Camille at that time."


    Dn asked Margeria, "When will that situation ur?"


    Margeria responded after thinking for some time, "It will be tomorrow night. We need to begin our preparations so that we are ready when the Night Mountain Sect''s barrier is down."


    Around this moment, Azaroth was creating his clone by using a drop of his Blood Essence. In this drop of his Blood Essence, he had focused only on the Celestial Bloodline that he possessed.


    Naturally, the face and physique of this clone were about to be different from Azaroth''s true face and body. Because of the Absolute Beauty skill that Azaroth possessed in his Celestial Bloodline, the body and face of his clone were going to be absolutely mesmerizing.


    Azarothid an array around himself since he didn''t want the heavens or anyone else to sense the spiritual fluctuations of his energy or this phenomenon. The array he was using was known as Shrouding The Heavens Array!


    It was said that not even the heavens would find out what a person was doing within this array. This was a mere legend, and Azaroth had no idea whether it was true or not. This kind of array was generally useless during the Heavenly Tribtions, though.


    Azaroth created this Celestial Clone so that things would be convenient for him in the Lamhilhan Theocracy. No one could ever doubt his identity as a Holy Son. Also, even if he went through the scrutiny of some great expert, they would never find anything weird about him, his bloodline, or his energy.


    The entire process was quite long and tiring. Naturally, this was a demonic technique he used to create a clone. For that, he required many bodies.


    So, he gathered the bodies of the beasts he had initially ughtered and even the corpses of the disciples of both the sects. Thus, he finally managed to create his new clone after spending his entire night on this task.


    Now, he was feeling some weakness because of losing a good concentration of Celestial Blood from his body. Moreover, his spirit had undergone some injury as well.


    Azaroth could recover his Blood Essence with due time. Or through a rare herb. Andstly, by getting an alive Celestial. Whether it was an Angel or a High-Angel. It didn''t matter.. He had his methods to use them to recover his Blood Essence without affecting its quality.

 Chapter 422 - The Blood Warriors

    The disciples of the ck Lake Sect had been quite worried. These disciples were the ones who were stationed to attack the barrier that the Night Mountain Sect had set up. ording to the formation, they were the wings who were to attack the Night Mountain Sect.


    Basically, they had to lure the Night Mountain Sect''s cultivators. Once these cultivators woulde out, the other warriors of the ck Lake Sect would reveal themselves and attack them.


    This would be a surprise attack that wouldpletely catch them off-guard. Naturally, even though this attack hade out of Erica''s mouth, it was actually an order from Azaroth.


    By doing this, he was giving the Night Mountain Sect a chance to gather their forces. In reality, the simplest method to end this entire battle would be to have all forces of the ck Lake Sect advance when the Night Mountain Sect''s barrier was down.


    However, Azaroth didn''t want this situation to ur. He wished that the Night Mountain Sect had enough time to prepare their trump card and were ready to utilize it to its full potential.


    Azaroth already knew how to utilize the ck Lake Sect''s firepower. Thus, he wasn''t worried about how he had to counter that trump card from the Night Mountain Sect. His aim in allowing the Night Mountain Sect to prepare their trump card was to increase the death rate of the ck Lake Sect''s warriors.


    Azaroth knew that even if a lot of ck Lake Sect''s disciples died, the situation wouldn''t be extremely bad as long as Erica survived. Her power and status as a 6 Star Expert allowed the ck Lake Sect to possess such great prestige.


    Finally, it would allow him more time to degrade Margeria into a servile ve who would obey his everymand. The clone that Azaroth created required some time to fuse the body with a small portion of his spirit.


    He left Margeria alone with Dn Ross as the two continued to make some ns over how they should rescue Camille. Dn Ross concocted some pellets by using the herbs he possessed in his Life Ring.


    Once he had exhausted his spirit, he fell asleep. In reality, this sleep could be considered a state of unconsciousness. When the sunset and the darkness enveloped the entire area, it was Margeria who was awake and guarding Dn Ross.


    Even though she had acquired her body by using the Body Spirit Materializing Pellet, her cultivation had been capped at the 3 Star Rank. Thus, she was a little worried that she might encounter a strong beast here.


    After a few seconds, she suddenly felt mighty hands covering her mouth and a cold voicemanding her, "Don''t shout." She recognized that voice easily. She knew it was none other than Azaroth.


    Unconsciously, Margeria''s body calmed down. She was relieved it was just Azaroth. He wouldn''t harm her life. Soon, the hand covering her mouth was removed, and she turned around to look at Azaroth.


    However, she was surprised to see two men standing before her. Both held an extremely handsome appearance. No, their appearance did have a stark difference between them.


    The clone that Azaroth had created appeared to have a face that gave off a vibrant, pure, and noble aura. This clone held long Blonde Colored hair and blue eyes with red-colored pupils in them. His disposition was akin to a God who was above this mortal world and treated them all with indifference.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was someone with a perfect appearance. Whether it was his short Azure Hair, those deep ruby eyes, and that oval-shaped face, and those rosy lips. His skin appeared so smooth, as if it was fresh cream.


    There was a fiery and devilish charm around him that would make a woman''s heartbeat crazily after looking at him. Azaroth spoke up at this point, "This man''s name is Nudar. However, in reality, he is also me. Do you understand what I mean?"


    For a second, Margeria was startled and asked, "What?" She gazed at Nudar with an analytical look on her face. After some seconds, she realized that there was a lot of resemnce between the aura that Nudar and Azaroth emanated.


    "Nudar is your clone, Holy Son?" Margeria asked Azaroth with a respectful tone.


    Azaroth nodded and responded to her, "That''s correct." He turned around and left the area after speaking those words.


    Margeria then looked at Nudar and sensed the same overpowering aura of the Celestial Bloodline that she sensed from Azaroth. She saw Nudar stretching his hands forward and grabbing Margeria''s breasts.


    He was fondling her breasts while she was still dressed. Unconsciously, Margeria lightly moaned, and then she recalled that Dn Ross was asleep nearby. She tightly covered her mouth to prevent herself from moaning out loudly.


    Nudar noticed this and grinned with a devilish grin on his face. This grin appeared more evil than noble to Margeria at this moment.


    Nudar soon grabbed Margeria''s top by the cor and was preparing to remove it. At this moment, Margeria found an opportunity to catch her breath and speak, "P-Please. Not here. I-I don''t want to show him my disgraceful state."


    Nudar gently smiled at those words. That gentle smile made Margeria''s heartbeat wildly. She thought he would ept her request. However, her heart shattered to pieces as "But I think this is the perfect location for me to enjoy you."


    In reality, Nudar needed to have sex with Margeria. Or else, she would resist his advances. Margeria should have the same image of Nudar as she had of Azaroth in her mind.


    Moreover, to quickly break any sort of resistance, embarrassment, she had in her mind, Azaroth knew he had to break herpletely. And this was one such method where she would feel great embarrassment for a long period. This would soon be a normal urrence for her.


    The next day, when Dn Ross woke up, he saw Margeria''s tired look. There were dark circles on her face. Dn Ross felt touched. He believed that Margeria sacrificed her sleep for him.


    He had no idea that the story was something else. Nudar was already on his way to the Lamhilhan Theocracy. He was moving towards Olisville Town and checking just what kind of setup had been prepared to send Dn Ross and Camille to the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Naturally, he was going to wait for these two. But he was also nning to create a small influence that would allow him to monitor the King''s informers or secret agents.


    Meanwhile, the Night Mountain Sect''s barrier was down once again. Thus, the battle between the Night Mountain Sect and the ck Lake Sect had already initiated.


    When Dn Ross reached the location, he was surprised to see the utter chaos. This was because the central group of the ck Lake Sect that had yet to participate in the battle had also initiated an attack from their side.


    In response, the Night Mountain Sect had also pulled out their big guns. They released 300 Blood Warriors from the main gate. The main gate then closed, and all these Blood Warriors charged at the ck Lake Sect''s disciples, each holding twin swords. They even seemed to possess simr techniques.


    Dn could sense that he couldn''t win against a single one of these Blood Warriors. They were too strong and quick for him to handle. Margeria spoke out at this moment, "I can provide support to you. I will increase your endurance for 10 or so minutes. Within this time limit, you have to reach Camille and bring her out. Do you understand?"


    "Yes," Dn Ross spoke. But he added quickly enough, "Don''t use that technique now. Let the gate open up again. I will charge inside as quickly as possible."


    "Alright," Margeria spoke as she waited for this opportunity.

 Chapter 423 - Trap For Erica

    Azaroth and Erica still didn''t move from their spots as the ck Lake Sect''s disciples fought against the Night Mountain Sect''s elite force, the Blood Warriors. The ck Lake Sect''s disciples werepletely suppressed as they fought against these Blood Warriors.


    The elite group of the Night Mountain Sect was too overwhelming for the ck Lake Sect''s disciples. Only Christina could pose a threat to these Blood Warriors, the rest were all suppressed to the point that they were killed before they could evenunch a technique.


    The fearfulness of these Blood Warriors wasn''t their strength. It was their swiftness and their techniques. Their strange techniques included controlling the blood of the opponents to a certain extent.


    This immobilized the disciples of the ck Lake Sect. Naturally, to do that, they had to strike their target and establish a link with him. However, this was rtively an easy task. And once their opponents were immobilized, ughtering them was simple for them.


    Erica clenched her fists tightly as she witnessed the deaths of the disciples belonging to the ck Lake Sect. She wanted to involve herself in this battle and prevent any further deaths. She was sure that if she stepped in at this moment, she could ughter all these Blood Warriors and save a lot of disciples belonging to her sect.


    However, Azaroth refused her plea to interfere in this battle at this moment. One reason was that he wanted to increase the casualties of the ck Lake Sect. And the second important reason was to not show his hand to the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect.


    If Erica makes a move before the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect, it would be appropriate to say that she would fall into his trap. Azaroth was sure of this guess because the Night Mountain Sect would not release these Blood Warriors for any other reason.


    The target of the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect was clearly to entrap Erica. And since the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect was so confident about trapping Erica and dealing with her, it meant he had a trump card in his hand.


    Erica was a full-fledged 6 Star Warrior. There was no cheap method to deal with her. He couldn''t deal with her by targeting her weak point or something. They had to suppress her using strength.


    And Azaroth believed that the Sect Master had a limited possibilities to deal with Erica. The first was to hire a 6 Star Warrior and have him deal with her privately. Naturally, it could be a surprise attack or that warrior could be much stronger than Erica, despite both of them being 6 Star Warriors.


    However, if that was the case, the Sect Master would have already sent out that warrior to keep Erica contained. He could have no way of knowing that Erica was actually following someone else''s order.


    Thus, this meant he was waiting for something. In fact, Azaroth believed that the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect was probably nning to lead Erica to some location and then activate an ancient array.


    Only a primeval array left behind by the ancestral experts of the Night Mountain Sect could possess the power to suppress Ericapletely.


    Lastly, there was also a small possibility that the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect was considering fleeing. If he fled at this moment, then he would at the least save his own life.


    However, Azaroth believed that the second possibility was the most probable. Thus, he wasn''t going to have Erica fall into it.


    Meanwhile, Dn Ross had found Camille through Margeria''s help. Even though Margeria''s cultivation base was stuck at 3 Star Rank, her Spiritual Perception remained as strong and sharp as ever.


    As she scanned the area, she found Camille instantly and led Dn Ross to her. Dn naturally came across many warriors of the Night Mountain Sect.


    He was tired of dealing with one after another. But he wasn''t willing to give up at this moment. He wanted to rescue Camille from this location. He had now realized that involving himself in this battle between the two sects was his worst possible decision.


    Camille was suffering because of his selfish decision. The least he could do was save her.


    And at this moment, Camille was left unconscious within the interrogation room of the Night Mountain Sect. When she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Dn. And the next was Margeria.


    She was extremely emotional when she finally saw Dn. She punched him as strongly as she could and then spoke with a slightly angry tone, "Why did you leave me alone and fly away?!"


    Camille was truly infuriated when Dn flew away from the battlefield. She had believed that he betrayed her, and he was saving his own life by getting away from this conflict.


    Dn winced in response and shuttered out, "I-I never thought that they would capture you and begin to interrogate you."


    Camille sneered and spoke, "They already doubted us because of our entry, and you actually flew away right in front of them, giving them even more reason to be suspicious of us! I can''t believe just how stupid and na?ve you are!"


    Dn grumbled upon hearing those words, "Whatever. Aren''t I here for you now? I braved great danger toe and rescue you right now. Come, grab hold of me tightly. I will bring you away quickly."


    Camille knew she had no other choice. She snorted in response and grabbed onto him, "¡­Make sure you get me away from this ce as quickly as possible!"


    Dn''s heart began to race wildly as he felt Camille''s body touch his own. He was extremely excited to have such close contact with her body.


    Margeria noticed that look on Dn''s face and suddenly felt rather itchy between her legs. Her pussy was bing wet, and two faces appeared within her mind. These faces belonged to Azaroth and Nudar.


    She wanted their dick within her pussy. This desire had been imnted within her due to that repeated sex with her. She had been broken in a manner that turned her into a perfect sex tool.


    Naturally, Azaroth had used a secret technique to corrupt Margeria. It was to the extent that once Margeria recovered her body, she would realize that she was no longer a pure angel. Instead, she was now a fallen angel.


    A fallen angel was one who had given in to their desires. In Margeria''s case, she had given in to her lust. The only method with which she could turn into a pure Angel was to gain the forgiveness of her God.


    How could Margeria''s God forgive her for this offense? There was a chance that her God would take her life for this offense. Thus, there was no other path for Margeria than to follow Azaroth''s order.


    Once her status as a Fallen Angel spreads around, Margeria would be persecuted by the Angels. She could still utilize the Light Energy, but its density and lethality would greatly decrease.


    This was because she would no longer possess the Divine Blessings of her God. The one who was the true master of her religion. The power of the Celestials was greatly dependent on this blessing. If not for this blessing, an Angel would lose 7 out of 10 fights against a demon. And after possessing this blessing, the tables would be overturned.


    Margeria spoke to Dn and Camille, "Follow me. We need to get out of this location quickly."


    The wings of Dn''s back were active immediately. Margeria''s back had those wings as well and she led Dn outside the Night Mountain Sect.


    Camille was shocked to see that there was such a beautiful woman beside Dn. She thought that Margeria was herpetitor and grew rather serious.


    Meanwhile, Margeria was thinkingpletely about Azaroth.. She wanted to meet him or his clone as soon as possible.

 Chapter 424 - Fleeing

    While this battle was urring, the core members of the Night Mountain Sect organized a secret meeting. Most of the elders were leading the inner sect disciples and outer sect disciples against the ck Lake Sect''s forces.


    "What is the Sect Master nning now?" The Great Elder of the Night Mountain Sect asked rather curiously.


    The Sect Master stated these words with a solemn expression, "If this goes on, the Blood Warriors can defeat the ck Lake Sect in the central region. However, before that, we would lose the battle urring on the wings."


    He possessed a sharp intuition and could see that this scenario was approaching the destruction of the Night Mountain Sect.


    "If the walls break apart and the ck Lake Sect''s warriors enter our sect, then this battle is as good as lost. We would be forced to surrender. We can''t defeat Erica without the support of the Ancestral Array," The Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect spoke with a rather solemn tone.


    The Grand Elder nodded and spoke up, "That''s correct. So, what should we do now? If this goes on, we will have no choice but to join the battle to prevent the ck Lake Sect from destroying our walls."


    At those words, the Sect Master smirked. He spoke, "We actually have two options avable to us. The first would be to remain here and bolster the walls on the wings. We just need to wait a little longer and the ck Lake Sect''s Mistress would be forced to make her move."


    "The second option and the easier option would be to flee," said the Sect Master with a smile on his face.


    The Great Elder and the other core members of the Night Mountain Sect were startled to hear this option. But they calmed down quickly enough.


    "The Night Mountain Sect would be destroyed if we flee right now. Without our presence, the ck Lake Sect will swallow our sect," The Great Elder spoke with a somber tone.


    The Sect Master spoke, "That is true. But now that we have revealed the Blood Warriors, the Royal Family will soon act against us as well. Even if we win against the ck Lake Sect, we won''t live for long. Thus, we need to take all treasures and flee quickly!"


    The other core members of the Night Mountain Sect were convinced by these words. The Great Elder spoke out, "Very well. But how do we get out? We are surrounded by the ck Lake Sect''s forces. And we can''t fly away."


    The Sect Master''s smirk widened as he heard that statement and quickly responded by saying, "I was prepared for this possibility. There is actually a secret tunnel connected to my room that would lead us out of the sect. We will be far away from this spot and can easily run away from there."


    "Splendid! I was right to have voted you as the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect. If it was Henry in your ce, he would have never prepared for this possibility and would have ordered us to battle to ourst breaths," the Great Elder spoke while letting out a sigh.


    The Sect Master sneered at that name and spoke, "A na?ve brat like him would have truly led us to our deaths. All right, let''s leave now. We need to gather the treasures from the treasury room and store them in our storage rings."


    After the Sect Master spoke those words, they all headed towards the Treasury Room. They used all the Spatial Rings they possessed and stored as many treasures as possible. Naturally, in the treasure room, some resources weren''t very useful to them. They left behind those resources since they had limited space and time.


    The five of them gathered in the Sect Master''s room as they all returned from different treasury chambers. The Sect Master raised his right hand and two of his fingers pointed to the ceiling while the rest of his hand remained clenched.


    He whispered with a strong tone, "Reveal!" As he spoke that word, a strong shockwave urred within the room. However, all the warriors in this room were strong enough to easily withstand this shockwave and remain at their spots.


    The Sect Master then walked to the wall in front of him and removed the painting. The Great Elder and the other core members of the Night Mountain Sect were startled to see a huge hole behind that painting.


    This hole wasrge enough to fit a human and allowed him to travel in it. This tunnel was dug up by a few personal servants of the Sect Master. For the outside world, he had killed them after they offended him. However, they were actually digging this tunnel right under their noses.


    Once they finished this tunnel, the Sect Master killed them and buried their bodies near the other end of this tunnel. It had been nearly 10 years since this tunnel had been dug. The Sect Master never imagined that he would actually use this tunnel due to initiating a battle against the ck Lake Sect.


    By logic, the ck Lake Sect shouldn''t have targeted the Night Mountain Sect so fervently. All his spies and informers in the ck Lake Sect had been ughtered and it felt as though the Sect Mistress was purposely aggravating the situation.


    All his letters for peace would be ignored by the Sect Mistress of the ck Lake Sect. She wanted topletely uproot the Night Mountain Sect from this world. Perhaps this urred because they targeted her daughter.


    In the Sect Master''s opinion, that n was absolutely perfect. How could he have known that a warrior named Azaroth would save Christina at that moment? It must have been a coincidence.


    The Sect Master and his core group of elders ran while the Night Mountain Sect suffered more damage. Azaroth was also surprised that the Sect Master of this Night Mountain Sect chose this option. He could sense five warriors travelling underneath the ground.


    This meant that the Sect Master and his close allies had chosen to flee. It was unexpected but Azaroth was ready for this possibility as well.


    He immediately ordered Erica, "Go and raise hell!" He didn''t even stay behind to know what went on after he gave that order. Instead, Azaroth turned around and ran towards the direction that the Sect Master and his allies were going.


    After an hour, the Sect Master and his group of allies finally got out of the tunnel. They took a breath of fresh air while staring at their green surroundings.


    "We can''t remain here for long. Let''s run!" The Sect Master suggested immediately as he saw that hisrades were rxing after getting out of the tunnel. Suddenly, they saw a handsome man in front of them who was walking towards them. There was a thin smile on his face like he had a scheme in his mind.


    The Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect had never seen Azaroth, but he had heard the description of his appearance from his fellow elders. He instantly recognized that this was Azaroth, and a somber look appeared on his face.


    The Great Elder and their otherrades were the same. They instantly linked him to Azaroth and grew serious. One of them asked Azaroth, "What are you doing here?"


    Azaroth smirked in response and spoke, "I can''t just allow you to flee so easily. I want the treasures in your hand. If you hand over all these treasures, I won''t kill you."


    The Sect Master and his group ofrades were shocked that this guy was actually threatening to kill them for their treasures. They were a little intimidated by that confidence and order.


    The Sect Master remained alert, though. He spread his spiritual sense around himself and noticed that there was no other warrior near them. A smile appeared on his face as he understood the situation.


    "You weren''t sure that we would be here, so you came alone. Am I right? And now, you are trying to intimidate us with that confidence. But unfortunately for you, I possess a treasure with which I can sense the presence of warriors in a one-mile radius around me," The Sect Master spoke as he raised his arm and showed off a bracelet.


    When Azaroth heard that statement, he clicked his tongue. The Sect Master thought that Azaroth agreed with his words and grew even more confident over his spection.


    He had no idea that Azaroth was clicking his tongue due to annoyance at meeting a smartass guy. His guess waspletely off the mark. There was no one around them because Azaroth didn''t bring anyone.


    He intended to plunder them all by himself. After reading the Cyan Leopard''s memories, he knew that the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect possessed the Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth. It was going to be greatly useful for Ralph.


    Around this moment, Ralph was managing the warriors who had followed him from the Dragon Tiger Pce. He led them to the forest near the Veninza City andpleted the missions posted on the bulletin board in the center of the town.


    Most of these missions were put up by the Alchemists or the Array Masters in the town. They required rare materials, herbs, or even some parts of the beasts. Ralph was quite proficient in all these missions.


    His group was developing nicely, and all the members of his group were now proficient in ughtering beasts.

 Chapter 425 - Charging Inside

    Azaroth was facing the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect and his group of closerades. He responded to the Sect Master''s words, "I never said I brought an army with me. Why would I need an army to deal with you when I have personally arrived?"


    The question he asked was rhetorical. Azaroth wasn''t expecting an answer from the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect. However, the Sect Master of the Night Mountain Sect didn''t know that. He answered Azaroth, "You are overconfident if that''s what you truly believe this."


    Azaroth smirked at those words and spoke, "We''ll see about that." After saying those words, he moved from his spot, leaving a dust cloud at his position.


    A battle had begun at this location. Meanwhile, Erica had already begun to disy her battle prowess at the 6 Star Rank. The three hundred Blood Warriors had been ughtered by now. The sight of Erica ughtering so many warriors were deeply rooted within the minds of the disciples and elders.


    It was now that they realized her true strength. The elders breathed in relief that Erica was on their side. No one among them wanted her as an enemy.


    Meanwhile, Erica felt pure satisfaction after she ughtered so many warriors. The frustration in her heart was finally exhibited in the form of actions. She was happy as she noticed her disciples and elders staring at her with that respectful gaze.


    However, a mncholic look did appear on her face as she recalled that many of her elders and her own husband had betrayed her. Her husband actually wanted to rece her and be the Sect Master of the ck Lake Sect.


    This was merely one of his desires. She had no idea just how many more were concealed within his heart. When Erica noticed her daughter, her face turned solemn as she wondered how she should break the news to her daughter.


    Erica decided to worry about this matterter. For now, she had to celebrate the destruction of the Night Mountain Sect. When she had departed from the ck Lake Sect, she never imagined that she would destroy the entire Night Mountain Sect.


    It wasn''t that the conflict escted, and she desired to demolish the entire sect. She believed that this sect was destroyed because of Azaroth''s influence. She was slowly realizing that it was due to his orders that the ck Lake Sect had demolished this sect.


    An even greater worry for her was how she should exin this scenario to the King. The King won''t just look past this incident as if nothing had happened. He was going to demand an exnation and Erica couldn''t mess up in that matter.


    However, Erica had a trump card to solve that matter. That trump card was to engage her daughter with the Fourth Prince. Erica knew that the Fourth Prince was interested in her daughter, and he could easily convince his father to ignore this incident.


    In a sense, the ck Lake Sect and the Royal Family would be rtives. Other than some warnings, the King won''t do anything serious to them. However, Erica also didn''t want to sacrifice her daughter like that.


    The Fourth Prince wasn''t a bad guy or anything. If anything, there was nothing but good rumors about him in the Glerian Kingdom. But Erica knew that the Royal Family might have been forcefully maintaining these good rumors about him.


    But still, Erica had never heard of the Fourth Prince to be involved in some sort of scandal. Even the group he had formed during his study within the Red Crown Sect was quite a sophisticated group that stayed away from trouble.


    This was the trump card Erica possessed to deal with the King. She shouted out to the ck Lake Sect''s disciples, "Charge inside and loot all the valuables!"


    All the disciples who heard her charged into the Night Mountain Sect. They all were headed towards the treasury as they wanted to loot all the valuables inside this sect. Erica was startled that she hadn''t seen the sect master of this Night Mountain Sect yet, but she guessed that he must have escaped earlier.


    She also realized that Azaroth must have headed towards them. An hourter, Azaroth arrived with a huge smile on his face. He had gained a lot of valuables, including the Sabertooth Tiger''s Ancestral Tooth.


    He had realized that this trip to the Night Mountain Sect was greatly fruitful. He was now nning to return to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. He would stay there until Tiana and her subordinates had recovered.


    Meanwhile, Nudar was following Dn''s party rather closely. Among the three, only Margeria could sense his presence. However, she kept her mouth shut as she had willingly turned into his sex ve.


    Each night, Margeria would approach Nudar and remove all her clothes before having a long sexy night with him. Naturally, she would use a technique to ensure that Dn and Camille remained asleep for the next 9-10 hours.


    Dn had noticed that Margeria was maintaining a strange sense of distance between them. Beforeing to this Night Mountain Hill, he had noticed that she was giving him signals. However, not only did Margeria stop giving him those signals, but she began to act coldly with him.


    In fact, she had even begun to ignore his words. She was mostly in a daze these days. He was losing the worshipful sensation he got when he saw her. If he had known the reality, he would have realized that this was only natural.


    However, Dn remained clueless about the reality. He just thought that it was a phase. And it would pass soon enough. He had no idea that Margeria was now putting a green hat on him every day.


    Nudar had been created with the pure Celestial Bloodline. Thus, after sex with him, Margeria''splexion became better. She could maintain her body for a longer period. At this moment, there was another individual who was the most worried.


    This person was Camille. For Camille, Margeria''s presence was extremely shocking. She knew that Dn had a harem. However, there was no one in that harem whose beauty exceeded hers.


    But the same couldn''t be said about Margeria. Her beauty was on apletely different level. In front of Margeria, Camille could even be ignored. Thus, Camille was constantly worried that Dn''s attitude towards her would change. Or he might not value his mission that much.


    However, Camille was clearly overthinking. Dn also possessed a great ambition within his heart. Bing the Supreme Pontiff of the Lamhilhan Theocracy would only be helpful in that ambition.


    Back at Night Mountain Hill, Erica had a dissatisfied expression on her face. She realized that there was nothing greatly valuable within the Night Mountain Sect''s treasury. She had hoped for great things but had been sorely disappointed.


    Erica realized that it must have been Azaroth who looted those valuables from the Sect Master. He soon vanished after taking his subordinates with him. ording to her guesses, he must have returned to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    She couldn''t pursue this matter with Azaroth. It was better if she didn''t approach him for any reason. However, it would be a different matter if the King enquired Azaroth regarding the loot.


    As Erica thought of this, a cold smile blossomed on her beautiful face. She wasn''t going to let Azaroth live in peace just like that.


    This was also something Azaroth hadn''t expected. He believed that he had already imprinted the fear for him within Erica. She shouldn''t mess with him anymore.. Dealing with the King of the Glerian Kingdom was going to be troublesome even for him at this stage.

 Chapter 426 - Noahs Battles

    While this entire battle between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect was going on, the situation at the borders between the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom was heating up as well.


    It was none other than Noah''s team that was directly involved in heating up this entire scenario. Inparison torge armies, his group was extremely tiny in number. However, each one possessed great power to change the flow of this battlefield.


    Thus, when Noah suddenly attacked the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces, they would be forced to pull back their defense lines. Noah had attacked these forces enough times that the border army of the Sinyalian Kingdom had requested reinforcements.


    Noah knew that it would take some time for them to gather reinforcements before they reach the border area. And even if they were quick enough, Noah could always have his group retreat.


    The King had given him the privilege to advance and retreat at his own discretion. All the warriors under him were gaining valuable experience as they fought against Soldiers. It was a greatly valuable experience because unlike the cultivators from the sects, these soldiers knew how to fight collectively.


    Thebat formations were pounded into their skulls. Even if they had to battle alone, they won''t use shy techniques. Instead, they would use closebat techniques with which they can quickly kill their target.


    Their target won''t even have the time to charge up their attack. And since they weren''t fixed at a single spot, it was hard for their enemies to target them. It was none other than Luna and Aria who faced the greatest challenge when battling against these soldiers.


    It was as if everything they had been taught in their sects was useless on this battlefield. They had to learn new skills. These new skills included using their element to assist them in their movements.


    Aria would utilize the Icy Floor and slide over it and move. Meanwhile, Luna would use the Wind Ardor to hover above the ground. Her movement was a lot faster than when she used her legs to run.


    She could quickly react and move in an opposite direction. This was a luxury that only she could enjoy. Theirbat skills had risen by a lot because they had learnedpletely new methods of battling against their opponents.


    Most importantly, these new methods even reduced their Ardor expenditure. Now, Aria and Luna were trying to create a hybrid fighting style where they could fight in closebat and evenunch some terrifying attacks at the enemy.


    It was easier for Aria to consider this. All she had to do was freeze the enemy and then start charging for a huge attack. Meanwhile, Luna had to charge her attack while she was moving quickly. This sort of multitasking was exceptionally challenging.


    Most of Luna''s attacks were exploding near her body. It was fortunate that her reactions were rather quick, and she could easily use the Wind Ardor to continue hovering. Otherwise, her face would have been smashed in the ground a couple of times now.


    Just like Aria and Luna, thebat style of many warriors in Noah''s team had transformed. It would no longer be right topare them to their previous versions.


    The one who gained a lot from these battles was William. He was able to utilize his physique to itsplete potential now. He possessed a Divine Physique and the twin variant elements. The Gold Element and the Metal Element.


    Previously, William had only used these two elements when he threw spears at his opponents. However, he had now learned how to battle in closebat while using the spears.


    He fought a few bouts against Noah and had managed to suppress Noah during those battles for quite some time. Although he hadn''t won against Noah yet, he was showing great improvements every time they battled.


    The only one who personally didn''t gain all that much from the battle against these soldiers was Noah.


    There was no opponent who could withstand a couple of strikes from him. Moreover, these couple of strikes weren''t even the strongest strikes he could muster. Thus, he was sorely disappointed in the power of these soldiers.


    Thus, Noah was counting on the reinforcements of the Sinyalian Kingdom that would arrive to cull them down. Hopefully, themander leading them would be strong enough to provide a great battle to Noah.


    Noah''s group became a lot stronger after these battles against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. However, this improvement was nothing worth mentioning whenpared with the prestige they had gained.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers and other generals were shocked to witness these results. They had initially looked down on Noah and his tiny group. They felt that he could hardly affect the overall situation.


    But the situation had reached a point where the enemy was actually requesting reinforcements. Manymanders had witnessed the battle between Noah''s group and the opponent''s forces.


    Noah had actually ughtered them all while brandishing his sword. There seemed no way to counter or block the techniques he released. Fortunately, these techniques weren''t too quick and there was a possibility of dodging these techniques.


    However, a few soldiers would still be struck by this technique. Many soldiers had requested Noah that they wanted to join his team. They sensed a great sense of heroism from his group. They felt that if they joined his team, their names would also be spread everywhere.


    Noah epted a few soldiers who passed his test and rejected the rest. He knew that not everyone could endure his training. After a few days of battling against their enemies, these soldiers realized that it wasn''t as easy surviving in Noah''s group as they had imagined.


    Their prestige was increasing at the cost of the risk they undertook each day. When they gazed at Noah''s group from afar, they had been enveloped with an illusion that all his warriors were very strong, and they were easily overwhelming the enemy.


    However, it was now they realized that his warriors weren''t actually as strong as they had imagined. They just possessed an act of great courage that allowed them to risk their lives against their opponents.


    They were always ready to put their lives against their opponent and held the confidence to win. When they realized this, they were initially quite scared. They had no idea how long they could survive in this group.


    But still, they held on. Days passed and their skills began to advance as well. Once their skills began to advance, it built up their confidence. Once they were confident, there was no reason for them to leave.


    In response, the Sinyalian Kingdom was sending some strong reinforcements. These reinforcements included three talented individuals. One was Sophie, the Array Master. The Second was Alby, an Alchemist Master. The Third was Roman, the Close-Combat Master.


    Each one of them possessed a personal group. Sophie''s group was highly proficient in setting up arrays around them. Alby''s group was highly proficient in concocting arge number of pellets. And Roman''s group was highly proficient in battling against their enemies. Their bodies were robust, and they could endure the berserk effects in the pellets.


    Bianca naturally informed Azaroth that Sophie had been despatched towards the battlefield between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom. Azaroth sent a message to Noah that he couldn''t kill a single member of the group of Array Masters and Alchemists. His entire team had to remain focused on battling against Roman''s group.


    Naturally, Azaroth sent an instruction to Sophie through Bianca that she couldn''t attack Noah''s group. Sophie was surprised that her mother didn''t want her to attack the enemy. However, she understood her mother''s logic.


    Bianca exined to her daughter that if the enemy beat Roman''s group, Sophie and Alby''s groups would have little chance of surviving. If the opponent was furious with them, they will not let them go. Sophie would be in a dangerous predicament in such a case. Thus, it would be best if she remained away from the direct conflict.. Sophie promised her mother that she won''t directly be involved in this battle.

 Chapter 427 - Genius Trio

    Azaroth had a good reason to ask Bianca to pass that instruction to Sophie. At this point, Sophie had no idea that Edwin had been killed. In fact, she was blissfully unaware of Inquisitor Fox''s n to trap Edwin.


    Naturally, the news of Edwin''s death was concealed from her as well. Sophie had tried to contact Edwin multiple times, but the Voice Transmission Array Stone won''t connect. She thought there was some issue with his Voice Transmission Array Stone and forgot about it.


    She believed that this situation could easily be resolved when they meet again. Thus, she ced these worries at the back of her mind and just focused on her array studies. Azaroth was rather optimistic about her talent in arrays.


    It wasn''t very exceptionalpared to the talents he had the fortune of seeing or working together. But it also wasn''t bad that he could ignore it. Azaroth knew that he couldn''t handle everything for long.


    He required helpers. He couldn''t make pellets for all his subordinates while simultaneously preparing arrays for the myriad groups of his retainers. Moreover, he needed someone who would constantly add new things, keep things optimized and up to date. This was only possible if he had someone with him whose passion was creating arrays.


    For this to ur, Azaroth knew he had to create another clone. And this one had to have the same appearance as Edwin. In fact, Azaroth nned to create this clone simr to Nudar. This clone would possess a pure Human Bloodline.


    Azaroth couldn''t just walk up to Sophie and reveal that he was Edwin. However, there had been a risk she may refuse to obey him. Hypnotizing her would be detrimental because she would lose most of her talent in studying arrays.


    He also couldn''t break her psychologically. It would affect her performance and once again, she would be of little use to Azaroth then. Thus, Azaroth concluded that he should continue that little affair she had with Edwin. He had a n in his mind on how he should convince her.


    Right now, her group was traveling towards the battlefield between the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom. She was apanied by two more groups. The two leaders were Alby and Roman.


    They were the genius trio of the Mesenana City, who had high scores in their respective field. Their associations and even the Royal Family expected great things from them. When they heard the news that a small group of warriors was troubling their soldiers on the battlefield.


    Naturally, the soldiers had informed their superiors that the people who appeared on the battlefield were actually rather young. Moreover, the one leading them was the youngest among them. A little boy with an exceptional sword talent.


    When this information reached the King''s Court, the King was rather displeased that the Glerian Kingdom''s youth were suppressing the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Soldiers on the battlefield. It provided that this batch had a great talent.


    He was considering sending his most talented child, the crown prince to deal with Noah''s group. He wanted to send a powerful message to the King Tryfon of the Glerian Kingdom that no talent in the Glerian Kingdom could stand tall against the talents of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    At that moment, one of the King''s Advisors spoke out that instead of sending the crown prince to the battlefield, they should send the top rankers from different associations on this expedition.


    This would be a good method to test them. After all, it was very possible that the associations were cheating and singing fake praises about them. If so, they had to know about it as soon as possible.


    In fact, it would be a good idea to deal with this current generation of geniuses so that the next batch would have great opportunities. Naturally, it was a rather cold suggestion, but it was rational.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom used to operate in this manner a few decades ago. But ever since the current King Valliadis''s ascension, they had halted this method. Instead, they allowed the youths to mature normally, without the influence of the battlefield.


    Naturally, the mortality rate decreased greatly. However, the situation was turning against the Sinyalian Kingdom. Even though there were a greater number of talents, these talents had never witnessed a true war.


    Thus, their thoughts had never been to enforce their military. Instead, they were all working on their personal projects, due to which, they had some sort of conflict with the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom repeatedly.


    Meaning that instead of working for the kingdom, they were raising internal conflicts within the Sinyalian Kingdom. This was actually harming the kingdom and the results were visible now that the Kingdom was approaching war against another kingdom.


    The better alternative would have been to send them all into war when they were merely youthful brats. Basically, when they hadn''t chosen the ideology that they would follow in their life. When they could still be molded into something the king desired.


    They would have a sense of heroism and think more about the Kingdom rather than their individual benefits. While battling and risking their lives for the kingdom, it would be natural to expect a bit more ie than normal. And some perks that wouldn''t usually be avable.


    Naturally, there was a price of sending these youths to the battlefield. The Kingdom had to fund them appropriately. This was a test of their skill. At the very least, they should have nock of resources when fighting against the enemy of the Kingdom.


    It would only be bad for the Sinyalian Kingdom if they lost some real gems because these youthscked resources. Thus, it was a kind of bet. King Valliadis knew that he wouldn''t lose much with this bet.


    He would find the level of the associations and would gain insight on how he had to develop them in the next decade.


    Ever since Noah found out that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s reinforcements were on their way, he had halted any fighting and stayed in the main camp, set up by the Glerian Kingdom''s Army.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom couldn''t touch him there. At this moment, Noah ordered his subordinates to mend their injuries and work on digesting everything they had gained from these battles.


    They had to meditate and think deeply about their battles. Even if they couldn''t recall each and every detail as Noah could, they had to think as deeply as they could and try to improve.


    He wanted their mind to keep up with the changes as well. Noah naturally reported all this information to Azaroth at the end of the week. Azaroth had put him to give him weekly updates so that Azaroth was up to date on what Noah was doing.


    Azaroth was naturally quite surprised and even proud at what Noah had aplished. However, when he heard from Noah that he wanted his subordinates'' minds to improve along with their physique, he was quite satisfied with this approach.


    However, Noah soon added that he was expecting them to disy improvements within a week, Azaroth couldn''t help but facepalm while letting out a sigh.


    Noah truly didn''t understand the difference between a genius and an ordinary individual. What was normal or even easy for him was an arduous task for others. Noah couldn''t just expect them to show results so quickly.


    However, Azaroth also knew that this was a rare opportunity for Noah''s group members. He couldn''t just let them waste it.


    He spoke to Noah, "Pull out the thin branch of the Seven Colored Bodhi Tree I gave you. This can allow your subordinates to gain insights quickly. Their mind would work faster than ever."


    "The range of this thin branch of Seven Colored Bodhi Tree is half a mile around its body. The closer one is to it, the greater its effect. It''s up to you how you use it now," Azaroth finished speaking.


    "I understand, Master! I won''t disappoint you!" Noah spoke with an excited tone.. It was as if he now had a new toy to y with.

 Chapter 428 - Forming Couples And Leaving

    From the very next day, Noah''s subordinates began to gain multiple insights one after another. They gained ideas for newer techniques, a better fighting style, and even how they could deal with their personal issues.


    As they continued to fight, romantic rtionships were budding within his group. Noah had noticed that there were many couples within his group. Initially, it was fine, and Noah was nning to ignore this, but he had noticed that these couples were slowly losing their motivation to grow stronger.


    In fact, some of them wanted to settle down at a quiet location and start their families. Noah was a little resistant to these facts. Hispanions, with whom he had previously shared the training ground and the battlefield, were going to leave him.


    The reason they joined Noah''s group was to gain prestige, money, and skills. Now that they had acquired all these things, they wanted to settle down in a quiet vige and live their lives in peace.


    These couples had already informed Noah that after their current expedition, they would leave. They were very thankful for his guidance and leadership that had allowed them to reach this step.


    Noah was genuinely distressed. He also felt that if he allowed this to ur, more would follow them. His subordinates would be scattered, and this entire group would cease to exist. Naturally, he was thinking in an extremist manner.


    Fortunately, before making any big decision, he had made up his mind to contact his master and inform him about this situation. If Azaroth left the situation to him, then he would take action to prevent his subordinates from retiring.


    When Azaroth heard about this issue, he gave a simple answer to Noah, "Allow them to retire. Forcefully keeping them would be detrimental to your group. The dissatisfactions within your faction will grow like a gue."


    Noah was unhappy to hear these words. But he had made up his mind to obey whatever Azaroth spoke. Since this was Azaroth''smand, he would naturally obey those words. But Azaroth wasn''t done speaking.


    "I perceive that you have a strong bond with your subordinates. After spending so much time alongside them, it''s only natural. This separation may be excruciatingly painful, but you must be ustomed to it. Never forget that no one else should ever be the cause of your mncholy. You can be sad and even cry, but you can''t be in a state of despair for more than one night. When the dawn rises, you must leave your sorrows behind you and move toward a brighter future," Azaroth spoke solemnly.


    Azaroth knew that this was the first time Noah was experiencing these emotions. Perhaps what he saw ahead of him was only darkness and despair. He required some guidance that would allow him to pass this darkness.


    When connections break, both sides would be hurt. The couple who was retiring and Noah. However, these warriors had made up their minds. They no longer wanted to risk their lives for prestige or money.


    "Yes, master," Noah spoke with a feeble voice. It was as if all energy had been sucked out of him and he looked very mncholic.


    After a few seconds, Azaroth spoke up, "¡­Actually, instead of having them retire, I will have them do something for me. Let me talk to them."


    "Alright, master," Noah was confused to hear his words, but he nodded his head. He gathered all those warriors who were nning to retire. After they were gathered, Noah sent a signal through his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    The signal reached Azaroth''s spirit and a Holographic Figure of Azaroth''s face appeared ahead of these warriors. The face was extremelyrge, and it was created of pure blue-colored energy.


    Many of Noah''s subordinates recognized Azaroth and immediately kneeled down to pay their respects to him. They had witnessed just how much Noah respected and obeyed Azaroth. They knew it would be best to show great piety to him.


    The ones who had recently joined didn''t recognize Azaroth. All of them still kneeled as they were following their seniors'' actions. They felt that if their seniors were kneeling, there was no reason for them to remain standing. They could be punished for no reason.


    In total, there were a total of 20 couples standing here. That meant 40 warriors who wanted to retire. Azaroth stared at them with a cold gaze and spoke out, "I heard that you all want to retire."


    "¡­That''s correct, Master. We are incredibly thankful for what we have achieved. It wouldn''t have been possible without your or Sir Noah''s guidance. However, we have realized that this is not the path we want to pursue in our life. Please allow us to retire after this expedition," A warrior spoke with a calm and steady tone.


    "I see," Azaroth said coldly, his gaze fixed on the warrior. His stare lingered on the warrior, causing him to break out in cold sweat. The warrior felt as if he shouldn''t have spoken anything and that he would soon pay the price for attempting to be too clever.


    "I reject your plea for retirement. Do you think you can leave so easily after gaining all that you wanted?" Azaroth''s cold words fell on their ears like divine thunder. Before any of them could speak up, he added, "I can allow you to leave Noah''s group, but only on a single condition."


    All these couples looked at each other and then lowered their head. They felt that Azaroth''s words made sense. They were going to leave after gaining what they wanted. But they hadn''t exactly been useful to Azaroth.


    Thus, these warriors were ready to listen to this task that Azaroth was going to assign them. If it was possible, they would aplish it and repay the debt they owed Azaroth. Naturally, trying to repay their debt to Azaroth was just their wishful thinking. Azaroth was smart enough to prevent this situation from urring.


    "In other words, even if you stop fighting for Noah, you are going to work for me. I will assign a town or a city to each couple. Your task will be to monitor that town or city and report valuable information to me," Azaroth ordered them.


    "¡­" All the warriors fell into deep thought. They were calcting the risk involved in this task. All of them had endured Noah''s training and were hot-blooded warriors. They still had quite a bit of pride and confidence in their skills that they could do any task assigned to them.


    They just needed to report valuable information about the area they were living in. It would be easy enough. The onlyplication would be when Azaroth asks them to get an important document or capture someone or give another underhand task to them.


    In the end, all these couples agreed to this task. Azaroth immediately contacted Sargan and had him assign these warriors to different cities where he still hadn''t developed hiswork.


    Sargan would require a general overview of those cities and towns. It would be perfect to assign those cities or towns to these couples. They could scout those cities and towns, gain a general idea of the politics in those areas and report to Sargan.


    Sargan could then form a strategy to deal with those territories. When Azaroth informed him of his n, Sargan immediately agreed and assigned these warriors to different cities and towns that he had in mind.


    In the meantime, Noah let out a sigh as he understood that he would need to get used to this feeling. He decided that he couldn''t personally teach any more warriors.. He had to create a small team that was capable enough to train newly recruited warriors.

 Chapter 429 - Roman Alfornsen

    The reinforcements of the Sinyalian Kingdom arrived after a week. It was arge force, led by three youthfulmanders. Sophie, Alby, and Roman. Sophie and Alby were onlymanding a small force within that army.


    The main army reported and listened to Roman''s orders. Roman belonged to the War General Association and was one of their brightest talents. Moreover, he also belonged to a family of Generals, so he innately possessed the leadership and all the other talents that a General required.


    From a young age, Roman had been taught in the best school of the Glerian Kingdom. Thus, he had been drilled with eloquence and elegance from a very young age. He was a rather famous youth in the capital since he was skilled in both pen and sword.


    Even though he belonged to a General background, it wasn''t until after his graduation that he joined the War General Association. In fact, he had always tried to stay away from it. But after a particr incident, he changed his mind.


    He realized that the power of his family didn''t belong to him. He wanted power and to boost his personal reputation. And with the talents he possessed, he felt it would be best if he doesn''t go against his instincts and ept his gifts.


    He didn''t use his family background to pass the test of the War General Association. In fact, he tried to conceal his identity for as long as he could and just acted as an ordinary warrior. It was only when he defeated a high-ranking warrior in the War General Association during a spar that his fame increased overnight, and his true background was revealed.


    All of his friends were stunned to learn that this youngster belonged to the famed General Family, which had provided the Sinyalian Kingdom with powerful and prestigious generals. They were all mythical heroes whose fabled tales were still sung by bards in the taverns.


    Each citizen of the Sinyalian Kingdom would talk about them with a respectful and worshiping tone. They owed their peaceful lives to this family and innately felt that they must never be disrespected.


    There were even individuals who believed that the King could be cursed but not this family. This was the legendary Alfornsen Family. Roman Alfornsen possessed all the prestigious talents of his bloodline and even more.


    Just like his father and grandfather, he was skilled in fighting in closebat. His father used a sword to fight in closebat while his grandfather used Double ded Nunchaku to fight.


    Meanwhile, Roman was skilled in using his fists to fight. He used knuckle dusters as his weapon. And he only began to use these knuckle dusters because the bones of his hands were slowly shattering. He punched with a strong force and his own body couldn''t handle the recoil of that force.


    The situation improved after he began to use his weapon. At the least, his bones were no longer on the verge of shattering. It wasn''t that Roman wasn''t skilled with other weapons. He could also use a sword, bow, and arrow. But he preferred to use his fists rather than fight with these weapons.


    Roman had inherited the Gold Element through his bloodline. It allowed him to strengthen his body to an unimaginable degree. Ever since he had be proficient in utilizing his Gold Element, he had remained undefeated against warriors of his generation.


    Roman was quite startled when he heard that the Glerian Kingdom had amander even younger than him. Moreover, this guy was actually causing trouble near the Sinyalian Kingdom''s borders. The army on the borders was even requesting reinforcements.


    The request for reinforcement couldn''t all have been due to this youth but for other factors as well, but Roman knew that this must be a terrifying opponent. He had heard that not a single warrior on the battlefield had managed to defeat him yet.


    Well, this was only natural since all the strong warriors had been sent to take some rest by both the Kingdoms. The Glerian Kingdom was gathering its forces while also raising some talented experts.


    Meanwhile, the Sinyalian Kingdom was rxing at this moment and was merely deterring the Glerian Kingdom''s attacks. They still didn''t realize that the Glerian Kingdom would soon be ready tounch arge-scale war upon them.


    Anyway, the Sinyalian Kingdom had realized that they couldn''tg behind the Glerian Kingdom in the development of their youths. Thus, they had sent this whole force under the leadership of these three youngmanders.


    Roman, Sophie, and Alby were the Generals of this force. And Roman was the Head Commander. The soldiers would need to prioritize his words over Sophie''s or Alby''s words. However, Roman was a rather patient and smart individual. He would listen to Sophie and Alby''s suggestions and take the most logical decision.


    After arriving, Sophie had already begun toy various defensive arrays around the camp. In fact, she noticed that the previous arrays had multiple holes and the enemy must have been using these loopholes to barge inside.


    She left those loopholes as they were and instead prepared multiple traps for the enemy after they barge inside the barrier to attack them. These tricks were bound to slow the enemy and give them more time to prepare for them.


    And if theyunched a surprise attack at the enemy, they were bound to suffer great losses. Meanwhile, Alby began to have his team concoct medicines. They organized their workshop in the camp while some disciples went to the infirmary to check what kind of injuries and issues these injured soldiers were experiencing.


    The recovery and anti-poison pellets would be prioritized. They already brought a lot of different kinds of pellets that were antidotes and recovery pellets, but they realized now that they were severely underestimating the situation here.


    The demand was much higher than they imagined. Those pellets were used before they realized it and these disciples had begun to concoct new batches of these pellets. Sophie also noticed that the condition of injured warriors was a lot worse than they had thought.


    She felt that it would be very stressful for Alby to deal with this situation alone. Thus, Sophie began to think of ways to help Alby. After wracking her brain around this situation for a few hours, she had an idea.


    The n was to build an array inside which the warriors could swiftly recuperate. Thinking about such an array was the easy part. It was a whole different thing to execute this array and operate it.


    Roman noticed what Alby and Sophie''s forces were doing. He didn''t stop them and ordered them to focus on the iing attacks they could face the next morning. He felt that this was important too.


    Meanwhile, Roman was focused on gathering information about their enemies. He firmly remembered the information about his opponents and gave clear instructions to his forces. They had to follow these instructions if they encountered the respective opponents.


    All of them had been instructed to use the signal and retreat as quickly as possible after seeing Noah. Roman had decided he would personally fight Noah. For the other warriors, Roman had chosen specific warriors who would handle them.


    The rest of the forces would remain behind and bolster the camp so that the enemy can''tunch any surprise attack at this camp. This camp had been through enough attacks that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s side would suffer disastrous losses if it was allowed to attack a couple of times more.


    They had to be very cautious. He had heard of Sophie''s n to allow the Glerian Kingdom''s forces tounch one more attack so that they can trigger her traps. They can use that opportunity tounch a fierce counterattack.


    Currently, Noah''s forces were resting and recovering from their injuries and digesting their gains.. They had no idea that the reinforcements had arrived in the opponent''s encampment.

 Chapter 430 - A Miracle

    A day passed since the reinforcements arrived and they began working to deal with the urgent things. While they were working, they received a signal from their scouts stationed near the frontline.


    "The barrier has been breached! The Glerian Kingdom''s forces are charging!" This message was distributed to all forces of the Sinyalian Kingdom. Nearly all the forces charged out in the direction of the Glerian Kingdom''s forces.


    Roman and his forces moved out as well. They were actually very quick to react as Roman had already given out orders on the protocol that they must follow in case the enemy breached the defense lines.


    His forces followed that protocol since it was still fresh in their minds. Thus, their movements were rather swift and optimized. This allowed the entire force to get ready very quickly and charge towards the enemy.


    Roman and his forces were wearing elite armor that could resist multiple strikes from opponents of the same rank as well. This armor absorbed their Ardor and protected them. Its base defense was pretty good, but the main highlight of this armor was that it could protect its user from Ardor attacks.


    While Roman''s forces were moving out, Sophie and Alby''s forces were awake as well. They decided to increase their production to assist theirrades who were going to fight on the frontlines soon enough.


    At this moment, Sophie''s trap activated, and the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers were struck with a dense lightning web that passed through their legs. Since they were immobilized, it gave the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces time to gather.


    Once they had gathered, they charged at the Glerian Kingdom''s forces and threw multiple long-ranged attacks at them. The archers of the Sinyalian Kingdom were the main highlights of this battle.


    These archersunched their arrows horizontally. The arrows moved with such speed that they passed through the warrior''s bodies. A single arrow would pass through three warriors'' bodies. If their aim was good, then they could easily take the life of two warriors with a single arrow.


    Now, there were hundreds of archers with this kind of skill in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. Thus, the Glerian Kingdom''s army was facing disastrous losses with each passing second.


    The rear army of the Glerian Kingdom saw what happened to the vanguard. Themanders of the rear guard immediately gave the order to retreat to their camp. Roman and his forces allowed this rearguard to retreat.


    It wasn''t that he was inactive orzy in pursuing them. He just felt that giving the vanguard the path of retreat would bring them greater advantages. If Roman and his forces had followed the rear guard, it would mean that the path to retreat was also not safe for the vanguard.


    The vanguard would then try their best to fight back against the attacks of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. They would counter-attack to create an opportunity for a break! It wasn''t as easy as it sounded but at the least, they would be trying to survive.


    However, since Roman''s forces weren''t following the rear guard and left the path to retreat open, the Glerian Kingdom''s forces were now getting confused about whether they should stay and fight or try to retreat.


    This confusion made a great difference at this point on the battlefield. Their morale dropped to low points, and they were hardly trying to resist the attacks of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces.


    Meanwhile, Noah''s group heard of this news. They were surprised that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces had prepared such a trap for the Glerian Kingdom''s forces. Even their group would have suffered great damages if they fell for it.


    "¡­" While the members of his group were terrified when they heard about these traps and the attacks that followed, Noah was thinking of something else entirely. He recalled the mission assigned to him by Azaroth.


    He had to increase his prestige among the soldiers of the Glerian Kingdom to a high level. It had to reach a point where if he ever ordered those soldiers, their first instinct would be to obey his order rather than deny him.


    This was the ideal chance to do so. He had no choice but to face the danger and save the men, no matter how many they were. Nobody would focus on the number of soldiers he had saved. Everyone would be more focused that Noah arrived with his forces to save these soldiers while putting his life on the line.


    This would indeed be a challenge for him and his group. A smile appeared on his face as he stood up and pulled out his sword, "Get on your horses! We are leaving now! We have somerades to save!"


    Many of Noah''s subordinates were shocked to hear that statement, except a single man. This man was none other than William. He remained indifferent to the danger and was ready to fight with all his strength. The spear in his hand trembled a bit but he held it tightly and followed Noah immediately.


    Noah''s subordinates were shocked to see William following Noah just like that. William asked no questions and was ready to follow Noah despite their destination swarming with enemies. It showed just how loyal and brave he was.


    The other men wanted to show that they were loyal and brave as well. Thus, they immediately stood up while pulling their weapons from their sheaths and followed Noah. Noah didn''t even turn around to check who was following him.


    He gave off an attitude that he was ready to go alone and fight for theserades. This action instilled a sense of heroism within all his subordinates who stood up and followed him to battle against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces.


    After some time, they reached the location. And now, out of 10,000 soldiers in the Glerian Kingdom''s vanguard soldiers, only 900 or so had survived. The rest had been killed with an arrow piercing their bodies.


    These 900 soldiers had survived because they had managed to block these arrows by using their respective elements. Some utilized the Earth Element while some warriors utilized the water element to block these arrows.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces noticed what these soldiers were doing. They were merely stalling by defending like this. They had no chance of fighting back and were merely trying their best to survive a second longer.


    "You don''t even number in thousands anymore. You should either surrender or just die. There is no point in defending. The situation ispletely hopeless for you." A general of the Sinyalian Kingdom spoke out.


    "No! We won''t give up!" The soldiers of the Glerian Kingdom chorused out. They weren''t ready to put down their defenses yet. They had already gone past their limits to maintain their current defenses, but the intensity was weakening with each passing second.


    Anothermander of the Sinyalian Kingdom sneered and spoke, "What a bunch of idiots you are. We will just stop attacking you and watch as you waste your Ardor by maintaining this defense. And if you stop for even a second, you won''t have a chance to regret it. In the next moment, you will be impaled by an arrow going through your heart. Once again, we give you an option to surrender."


    "NO!" The survivors of the Glerian Kingdom''s vanguard shouted out with a determined tone. They were ready to risk their lives for the Glerian Kingdom and weren''t going to betray it for even a second.


    At that time, a Sinyalian Kingdommander locked his focus on a rtively young soldier from the Glerian Kingdom''s vanguard. This soldier had been injured by many strikes and the blood was leaking from all over his body. The soldier should have died after losing so much blood. However, he managed to survive till now.


    "Why do you continue resisting? You should know that you have no path left for survival. You should ept your fate and surrender. You can at the least save your life then," Themander spoke to the young soldier rather softly.


    At those words, the soldiers of the Glerian Kingdom began to chuckle. Roman and his forces noticed that the enemy was actuallyughing in this situation. They wondered if they had all lost their minds or something.


    "¡­It is because we have a miracle," The young soldier responded to themander. The Sinyalian Kingdom''smander was a little surprised to hear this response.


    "What miracle? Do you actually believe that someone wille and save you from this situation?! Haha! How na?ve! I also want to see just who is foolish enough toe and save you at this moment!"


    In the very next second, a huge explosion urred behind the location where the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers were trapped. There was a silver sh over the Lightning Net Array, and the entire array was sliced apart.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s trapped soldiers were now free. The youthful soldier who had just responded to themander added, "And here it is.. The miracle I was talking about. The Heretical Pdins!"

 Chapter 431 - Noah Vs Roman

    The entire Glerian Kingdom''s forces knew about the Heretical Pdins. They undertook the most risks and sessfully aplished every mission. Each member of this group was a brave warrior who didn''t fear death.


    Each soldier of the Glerian Kingdom knew that even if the odds werepletely against them, these guys would stille! After getting the news, the Heretical Pdins had never stood still. They acted immediately.


    Even the forces of the Glerian Kingdom had no idea just who was creating the n that allowed them to take such quick actions. In reality, there was no nner. They all just knew that the situation was greatly dangerous but would have no idea of the precise situation.


    This was a rather troublesome issue. It would result in unnecessary injuries and deaths if not handled correctly. Thus, the Heretical Pdins resolved this issue in a very unique manner. The first thing they would do wasunch multiple me attacks and create an explosion near the situation.


    Noah would rush out and investigate the ce after a smokescreen had been formed. He would then issuemands to a number of guys and lead them in certain ways. They would then use their minds to handle the situation, respectively.


    Initially, the Heretical Pdins found it quite difficult to work like this. But after multiple operations, they knew exactly what they had to do. At the least, they knew what they don''t have to do.


    The multiple operations had allowed them to gain vital experience and now, they were professional enough to easily keep their cool during a crucial operation. All warriors of the Heretical Pdins were working separately at this moment.


    A small team of warriors was helping the soldiers of the Glerian Kingdom and freeing them by neutralizing these traps. Meanwhile, Noah was handling the attacks of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers.


    At this moment, Roman and his forces were still on standby. They were extremely shocked that a team of warriors had actually breached the Sinyalian Kingdom''s barrier so secretly and were nning to rescue these trapped soldiers.


    Roman continued to observe the situation for a little longer before he gave out a string of consecutive orders. He wanted to prevent the Heretical Pdins from achieving their objective.


    He had already decided his target. It was Noah. He had noticed that there were no warriors around Noah. In fact, it seemed as though Noah was willing to fight alone. But Roman could see why that was the case.


    Noah was certainly quite skilled. He knew exactly when to dodge, block, and counter an attack. Using these skills and a bit of hismon sense, he was easily able to fight more than twenty soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Roman was confident that he could deal with Noah alone. In fact, the presence of another warrior around him would only reduce his focus. Naturally, the other warriors were going to surround the rest of the Heretical Pdins and make it impossible for them to get away.


    Then, they would be attacked from all sides. There were multiple youthful talents from the War General Association in Roman''s forces. They were going to choose their own targets and fight them.


    Naturally, they had noticed what kinds of elements the warriors of Heretical Pdins were using. They were going to choose their targets based on their elements. It would be a logical decision to choose targets over which they held an elemental superiority.


    After that, they were filtering on the basis of who was a good closebat fighter or mid-range fighter, or long-range fighter. This analysis was done under emergency situations. Meaning, under 10 minutes or so.


    Once it was done, all warriors moved from their spots. The soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom began moving up as well. Nearly 20 or so soldiers remained behind to deal with Noah while the others were moving up to kill this new group of warriors.


    Noah wanted to buy more time for his soldiers, so he turned around and threw released some dense sword shes that were filled with sword qi. These sword shes struck those soldiers who were moving towards the other members of the Heretical Pdins. The soldiers let out loud shouts of pain.


    And by this time, Noah sensed something strange, and he immediately jumped away. A momentter, the ground on which he was standing shattered into pieces. Noah turned around and was surprised to see a youth standing over there.


    And surprisingly, Noah could see bands of invisible energy around this youth''s body. They were simr to his Sword Qi but also different. He was sure that this energy wasn''t sword qi. Instead of the sharp feeling that the Sword Qi gave, this energy gave a feeling of pure power within them.


    It had been a long time since Noah felt his sword reverberate with excitement. He clenched his sword tightly and the corners of his mouth rose. He realized that he was looking at a worthy opponent.


    A genius who could at least make him work up a sweat. Noah stood on the ground and gazed at Roman with a very serious gaze. He took a deep breath before he disappeared from his spot.


    Out of everyone standing on this battlefield, only Roman''s eyes followed Noah''s movement and could react to it. Roman''s knuckle dusters shed against Noah''s sword and a metallic sound resounded in the area.


    This didn''t ur once, the sound of Noah''s sword shing against the knuckle dusters urred repeatedly. However, not a single warrior on this battlefield was free enough to take note of this fact. They were all busy with their tasks.


    Roman was surprised that Noah could use Sword Qi so proficiently. The Qi Roman was using was known as the Fist Qi. It gave the user overwhelming power and Roman had slowly be proficient in it.


    He had fought against multiple Qi users and had always managed to suppress them by using the pure power ability granted by the Fist Qi. Among those warriors he defeated, most of them were Swordsmen who could utilize the Sword Qi.


    After the initial contact, their weapon would either break or would be chipped. But when Roman stared at Noah''s sword, he noticed that it remained unharmed. It was just bent slightly due to Roman''s punch. When Roman stared at the Knuckle Dusters in his hands, he noticed a faint scratch over them.


    This startled Roman as he realized that Noah''s Sword Qi''s Rank was equal to his Fist Qi. The pure power he gained from the Fist Qi couldn''tpletely neutralize Noah''s Sword Qi.


    Meanwhile, Noah was a little shocked as well. He had never met someone who could match his Sword Qi. He could see why his Sword reverberated earlier. This opponent was indeed worth fighting.


    Roman took a deep breath in and thought with a relieved look ''Fortunately, I am not a one-trick pony. Or I would need to back off and think of some other n to handle this guy.''


    Noah didn''t stop for even a second and approached Roman with an excited smile on his face. He used a sword technique known as the Triple Sonic shes. Within a split second, heunched three shes at Roman.


    Roman met these triple shes with a single punch from him. It was known as the Devastating Punch! Roman had also used a bit of Gold Ardor to increase his power even more.


    Noah didn''t expect such a drastic increase in Roman''s power. He lost his bnce and was falling backward. There was a surprised look on his face.


    Meanwhile, Roman had already charged up enough power in his other hand and was ready to smash Noah with it. Roman believed that he had Noah right where he wanted and could finish him off now.


    However, Noah''s eyes shed with mischievous intent as his feet were firmly stationed on the ground and he held his sword tightly. The veins on his right hand were visible because of how firmly he was holding his sword.


    He then swung his sword when Roman entered his range. It was the Blood-Red Sun Stance!


    Roman''s eyes widened when he noticed Noah actually executing a technique in that position. He had just regained his bnce and he managed tounch an attack within a split second?! That was extraordinary!

 Chapter 432 - The Sword Domain

    Noah''s Blood-Red Sun Stance struck Roman''s knuckles. The Fist Qi and the Gold Qi once again overwhelmed Noah''s strength. Noah noticed this and began to redirect the power in another direction.


    A few secondster, Noah slid back while Roman''s fist continued to swing and struck the ground. The ground rumbled after it was struck by such a strong attack. Meanwhile, it gave Noah some time to stand on his feet and jump towards Roman.


    Noah had noticed that Roman was utilizing his Element while fighting. Thus, it would only be fair if he did the same. The Wind Currents gathered around Noah, and he concentrated them all on his sword.


    The invisible wind currentsbined with the Sword Qi, empowering it, and making the Sword Qi even sharper. Also, Noah used the strongest sword technique that he knew. It was the Heaven Rending Stance!


    When Roman saw Noah heading towards him with that dense aura and the presence of Wind Currents around his sword, even he was a little terrified. But he stood his ground and gathered all his strength in his left foot.


    Roman smashed the ground with his left foot, sending great vibrations through the Earth. Roman didn''t stop after smashing the ground once. He struck it multiple times, creating a crater around him.


    Meanwhile, Noah was beginning to feel an Earthquake. This wasn''t a normal Earthquake where the ground shook a little and everything else was all right. It was a high-magnitude Earthquake where the ground ruptured near Noah''s position and tried to throw him in a fissure.


    Noah jumped over that fissure, but he noticed that the situation hadn''t changed all that much. The fissures were urring all around him and if this went on, he couldn''t approach Roman.


    Meanwhile, after striking the ground multiple times with his left foot, Roman had disappeared from his spot. Noah tried to search for him, but suddenly, the ground underneath him slid and he was forced to pay more attention to his surroundings.


    As the ground underneath him was sliding, he looked for another tform where he could standfortably. After a few seconds, he found it and went for it. He had to jump over a couple of sliding rocks, but he was finally safe from the effects of this man-made Earthquake.


    At this moment, he heard a faint sounding from the sky. Noah turned his head in that direction and his eyes widened as he saw Roman heading for him. Roman was nning to kick Noah''s face and was perfectly positioned to do so.


    It would be bad even if Noah dodged this attack and let Roman strike the ground near him. This ground was still quite close to the fissures and if it was strongly struck, a giant crater along with fissures would form over this ground as well.


    Thus, Noah knew he had to intercept Roman somehow. Noah utilized a sword technique he was sure would put Roman to a halt. It was the <strong>Forsaken Monkey sh!</strong>


    Noah''s body was covered with a dense amount of Wind Ardor. He hadn''t concentrated his sword with this Wind Ardor because he didn''t want to make it too sharp. He had something else in his mind.


    Noah timed his attack perfectly and swung once Roman was in his range. Roman could not change his position at that particr moment. However, he was confident in winning this bout. He had concentrated his Gold Ardor and his Fist Qi within his kick. Moreover, he had also gathered great momentum through his high jump.


    There was no possible method with which Noah could stop him. He wanted to at the least immobilize Noah for a few seconds so that he could capture him. He had a couple of questions for Noah.


    Meanwhile, Noahunched the Forsaken Monkey sh at Roman with the blunt side of his sword. Roman''s momentum was reduced as Noah struck him with this attack. Roman noticed what Noah was doing, he was attacking him with strong attacks that would slowly reduce his speed and the power of his technique.


    By the time Roman''s kick touched Noah''s body, it had lost almost all its power and Noah just backed away a couple of steps to absorb the impact. A smile appeared on Noah''s face as he clenched his sword tightly and whispered, "<strong>Heaven Rending Stance!</strong>"


    This time, Noah was confident that he could hit Roman. Even if Roman tried to create another earthquake, Noah would remain unaffected. Meanwhile, Noah''s sword gave off a red light as his Sword Qi began to merge.


    This onught posed a significant threat to Roman, and he realized that no amount of effort would be enough to stop it. He wasn''t very good at defending. As a result, he was doomed to lose in this matchup, which pitted his weakest ability against his adversary''s finest.


    Thus, Roman immediately rolled on the ground and tried to dodge Noah''s technique. Noah was surprised that Roman wouldn''t take this attack head-on and would actually try to run. He took a step on the ground and then turned towards the direction in which Roman has rolled to.


    He noticed Roman, who was lifting his clenched fist in that way. His aura was not seeping from his fist in any way. It demonstrated that he had learned tobine his Gold Element and his Fist Qi, as well as masterfully manipte both.


    Noah jumped towards Roman while bringing his sword forward to slice Roman with this technique. Even after witnessing that fine control and ability to fuse two different kinds of energies, Noah remained confident in his chances.


    Roman''s Fist struck Noah''s sword and a loud metallic sound resounded in the entire area. This time, it was loud enough to disturb everyone in the area for a couple of seconds. Both Noah and Roman felt the effects of their adversary''s techniques respectively.


    Noah felt as though he had just received a solid punch on his chest. He was thrown back by a couple of steps and coughed out some blood from his mouth. Some of his organs ruptured after being struck with that attack. His Ardor defense couldn''t withstand such a strong impact.


    Meanwhile, Roman received multiple shes on his body. These sword shes went quite deep. Even though Roman had coated his vital organs with Gold Ardor, these sword shes still prated his vital organs.


    After feeling the effects of these Sword shes, he tried to raise his head and stand up. However, he fell to the ground soon after. Roman noticed that Noah was still preupied and was coughing blood.


    Roman immediately shouted out to hisrades, "Shoot him now! He is defenseless!" A few of Roman''srades heard him and immediately shot multiple long-ranged weapons at Noah.


    Multiple arrows, spears, and even elemental attacks wereunched at Noah. Meanwhile, the Heretical Pdins stared in Noah''s direction with a worried look on their faces.


    William immediatelyunched his spear. His strength was so great that his spear easily caught up with the arrows and spears and swept a few of them away. However, most of them still remained and these attacks were going to hit Noah soon.


    There was no one within Noah''s team who could help him now.


    Noah naturally sensed the iing attacks. He knew that he couldn''t even utilize the Ardor Defense in time now. However, despite being in such a precarious situation, his mind remained calm.


    His eyes moved as he looked around and felt that the world around him had slowed. He felt connected to the world.


    Noah soon whispered, "<strong>Sword Domain!</strong>" On the outside, nothing seemed to have urred even after Noah spoke these words.


    However, they saw the results soon enough as those attacks entered Noah''s range. All the arrows, spears, and even the elemental attacks were shes into tiny pieces by some invisible forces.


    Roman was utterly startled to witness this scene. He couldn''t believe that this young kid had actuallyprehended a domain!

 Chapter 433 - Retreating

    Roman was utterly dumbfounded and he fell to the ground. Not just him, but the other warriors of his forces were also bbergasted to witness Noah utilizing the Sword Domain. Noah''s control over his Sword Domain was quite bad. But without a doubt, this was a Sword Domain.


    Noah was quite young, and he already possessed a great skillset. Whether it was his Sword Qi or his Sword Domain. His potential was truly frightening. Roman had been a very proud individual who believed in his ability and potential.


    He hadn''t lost hope even after he witnessed the Crown Prince''s talent and strength. He felt that if he worked hard enough, he would be able to attain that height as well. The Crown Prince David Valliadis was a lot older than him.


    However, Roman noticed that Noah was very young aspared to himself. By the time he reached Roman''s age, he would be a supreme expert, capable of destroying entire cities or kingdoms.


    Even now, the force he led had managed to attack the camp of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army and was actually sessful in freeing the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers from their trap.


    Noah slowly stood up and spoke out while staring in Roman''s direction, "What a great duel it was. This is the end." Roman didn''t understand what he meant and saw Noah turning his head and shouting out, "Everyone. It''s time to retreat!"


    A few momentster, all warriors of the Heretical Pdins vanished from this battlefield. They were retreating back to the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment. The soldiers of the Glerian Kingdom had already escaped and more of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers were joining this battlefield.


    Any longer and the Heretical Pdins would be forced to battle against arge number of soldiers. Noah didn''t want the Heretical Pdins to suffer some needless losses. He wanted to continue his battle against Roman, but he knew that he couldn''t put his personal desires over his group.


    Noah actually didn''t know how the battle would go if it continued. He felt that there was a chance he could use if he didn''t utilize the Sword Domain. It was for this reason that he only used the Sword Domain when his life was threatened.


    He wanted to feel this pressure and use this opportunity to advance his skills. However, he had been inflicted with grave injuries. First, he would need to recover from these injuries and then focus on his gains.


    Meanwhile, Roman gathered his force and all his subordinates began to give a detailed summary of their battles. Roman was slowly forming a profile about each warrior under Noah. He realized that they were all great talents. Moreover, the abilities some of them used allowed him to guess from which sect they belonged.


    He understood that Luna belonged to the Night Mountain Sect because of the techniques she utilized. And he felt that Aria most likely belonged to the ck Lake Sect. He had some guesses about the other warriors in the Heretical Pdins and they utilized the Origin Sect''s techniques.


    Roman and many of hisrades from the War General Association had read a lot about the basic techniques used by the warriors of the Glerian Kingdom. They had read so much that they could easily differentiate the sect they belonged to.


    The soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom had even devised strategies for dealing with the disciples of each sect differently. However, Roman couldn''t understand why so many warriors of different sects would band together like this.


    <em>''Is it the King who ordered the formation of such a force? Did he find out about our strategies and wanted to deal with it?''</em> Roman didn''t understand how he should take this issue. He couldn''t even move around a lot at this moment.


    The injuries he suffered at Noah''s hands were rather grave. All Roman could do was order Alby and his team to focus on the recovery pellets. Alby and his force were already focusing on this task. However, many of the pellets they kept for themselves had been handed over to Roman.


    They all wanted Roman to heal quickly. The longer he stayed down like this, the longer they were vulnerable. In reality, the situation wasn''t so bad. Just like Roman, Noah''s Heretical Pdins were gravely injured as well. They couldn''tunch an attack in the short run.


    The next few days were peaceful for both sides. Other than some small skirmishes, nothing much urred. Meanwhile, in the encampment, Noah and his warriors had already recovered. They could be seen training or meditating in the area assigned to them.


    This was all due to the pellets Azaroth provided Noah. When Azaroth had given this mission of going to the battlefield to Noah, he had handed him hundreds of pellets that would allow them to recover quickly.


    These pellets were Supreme Recovery Pellets. In the entire Glerian Kingdom, only Azaroth could concoct these pellets. The recipe of these pellets had been lost with the passage of time.


    The Glerian Kingdom would have to purchase this form from another Kingdom. And, regardless of whether it was an alchemic pill form or an array formation, it would be offered at an exorbitant price.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s sovereign didn''t feel that the recipe of these pellets was worth that price. Instead, he had invested that sum into a team of warriors who researched and developed new pellets.


    Unfortunately for the Sovereign of the Glerian Kingdom, the results had been far from satisfying. At this moment, the situation on the borders was still heating up. Thus, the Sinyalian Kingdom would never sell the recipe of the Supreme Recovery Pellet or another useful pill recipe to the Glerian Kingdom.


    The King believed that if there was a way, he could gain something, it would be through Dn and Camille. The King was basically betting on Dn. He had seen multiple warriors like Dn in his life.


    He knew they were blessed with great fate and instead of getting in their way, it would be best if they extracted some benefits from them. Getting the recipe and some array formations of the Lamhilhan Theocracy would greatly assist the Glerian Kingdom in the uing war and in the future as well.


    The King was a little dissatisfied with the current situation in the Glerian Kingdom. He never thought that the ck Lake Sect would actually demolish the Night Mountain Sect. Although he didn''t have some fond feelings for the Night Mountain Sect, he also didn''t want to see it getting destroyed like that.


    The worst thing was that the ck Lake Sect had looted all resources and treasures of the Night Mountain Sect, but they hadn''t offered anything to the King.


    In reality, Erica hadn''t sent any offerings to the King because she didn''t find a single treasure in the treasury of the Night Mountain Sect. She was actually expecting the King''s envoy toe to her sect and question her about it.


    She would then direct that envoy to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and highlight Azaroth. Once again, the contract wouldn''t harm her because she would only be speaking the truth.


    It was the Great Kun Spirit within Erica who was telling her of the loopholes of this contract and advising her on how she should act. Due to this, Erica remained confident of her chances. She also believed that Azaroth wouldn''t punish her and would understand her situation.


    After all, if the King actually tried to investigate. He would find out about Azaroth''s presence and the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. After finding no treasures of the Night Mountain Sect in the ck Lake Sect, the king was bound to search for the other factions.


    After finding out about the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, he would naturally investigate this newly created sect. Thus, Azaroth would be trapped either way.. So, Erica was merely sparing all that trouble for the King and saving herself and her own sect from getting on the King''s bad side.

 Chapter 434 - Ericas Determination

    Erica was a woman with a rather courageous and strong personality. She wouldn''t think for a second before choosing an option that would risk her life. She was ready to give up her life if it meant that her sect and her daughter would be safe.


    Her sect and her daughter were her weaknesses that Azaroth tookplete advantage of. However, Azaroth had overlooked that these two things were her greatest strength. They were the source of her conviction.


    To protect them, she was ready to do anything. Thus, she was ready to take the risk to protect her sect and her daughter from the King. When weighing the risks, she felt that the threat she felt from the King was much greater than Azaroth.


    Thus, she began to create countermeasures in case the contract takes effect when she mentions Azaroth to the King''s envoys. She created files and also imnted some of her memories within a few objects that described just how dangerous Azaroth was.


    The next Sect Master would look at these objects and then make his decision over how he could save the sect from Azaroth. Erica was terrified of Azaroth because she had seen how he destroyed the Night Mountain Sect in cold blood. What terrified her, even more, was that Azaroth used her and her ck Lake Sect to achieve his objective and there was nothing she could do.


    Around this time, Azaroth was in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s location. Zena and the two Frozen Spirit Foxes also followed him to that location. Azarothid down all his subordinates and prepared to create a giganticke.


    Other than Tiana, all his subordinates had regained their consciousness. However, their bodies had yet to recover properly. Now that their spirits had already recovered, he had achieved his objective. It was time for their bodies to recover quickly as well.


    The Frigid Ice Demon Lake. This was the name of theke that Azaroth was creating. For an ordinary person, entering thiske would be nothing more than signing a death contract. Only these women who cultivated the Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation technique could dare to step into thiske.


    Thiske water was going to strengthen their physique and help them in their recovery. It would also be greatly beneficial to their cultivation. The tough part was to keep it empowered. This was why there weren''t many kinds ofkes like this even in the top sects of the Glerian Kingdom.


    However, Azaroth had already thought of a solution. When he was roaming around, he had found a source of Ice Vein. Deep inside the earth, there was a source of pure Ice Vein that released the elemental energy of pure Ice.


    It was very natural for this kind of Ice Vein to exist here. Thest time Azaroth was here, he had gained a general idea of its location and knew that it existed. This time, Azaroth managed to figure out its exact location.


    After he found this Ice Vein, he also connected all the formations of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect with this Ice Vein. The power released by an Ice Vein was akin to the full-powered attack of a Demon Emperor at all times.


    This Ice Vein could easily empower the high-level barriers that Azaroth was nning to leave here so that Tiana and her subordinates would remain safe. Even if they activated their barrier, it would take them hundreds of years to exhaust all energy of the Ice Vein.


    At the very least, even the Sovereign of this Kingdom would be unable to break through this barrier. To have a chance of breaking through this barrier, he''d have to summon some Gods. And Azaroth really doubted that the Glerian Kingdom had even one God-Ranked Expert, much less numerous.


    It was for this reason that a Kingdom or a Great Sect would first find a location that held a Spiritual Vein that possessed the power of Heaven and Earth. A Vein from where they could receive a constant flow of energy without doing anything.


    The Frigid Ice Demon Lake was soon created. The deeper a warrior went, the colder it was. The bottom half of thiske was merely ice. This Ice wasn''t normal. It was much heavier than water and anyone who touched this ice would be frozen.


    Naturally, the exception was that if someone gained insight into the Ice Laws, they could touch it and hope to survive. The others would definitely die. Even Azaroth couldn''t touch the Ice at the bottom. He would need to cut off his hand to prevent his entire body from being frozen.


    This was not an ideal scenario. Thus, he created another formation. No, this formation was more like a barrier that prevented anyone from approaching the Ice. If there were some fool who still wanted to approach that Ice, he was on his own then.


    Anyway, Azaroth picked up Tiana''s body and ced her in thatke. Soon, Tiana sank within theke. She sank to a certain depth since the barrier was preventing her from submerging any deeper.


    Tiana''s cultivation techniques were working automatically, and her soul and body were regaining their strength. Azaroth used this method because she had remained unconscious for too long.


    By his estimate, she should have at least regained her consciousness by now. However, she remained unconscious and even Azaroth was getting a bit doubtful whether it was a good decision to not assist her in recovering from her Spiritual Injuries.


    Was hete and she would always remain in thisa? Azaroth stopped thinking so deeply and focused on the situation at hand. He got started and began to connect all the formations with the Ice Vein.


    Meanwhile, the situation at the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom''s border was heating up once again. This time, it was the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces who were nning an attack.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces knew that the Glerian Kingdom''s forces won''t easily fall into their traps next time. They would be prepared with countermeasures. And fighting so close to their encampment would make them suffer disastrous losses.


    Thus, Roman and a few other strategists were considering fighting near the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment. Naturally, this n had its good points and bad points. The good point was that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s encampment would remain safe. However, the cons were that the reinforcements of the Glerian Kingdom''s forces woulde very quickly. If they didn''t attack with a sizeable force, they would be the ones to lose.


    Noah and his subordinates continued to train hard. Among them, there was one individual who couldn''t help but remain silent. From his expression, it was clear he was feeling rather mncholic.


    This warrior was William. He had been feeling mncholic ever since he witnessed Noah''s battle against Roman. He had noticed that Roman possessed the Gold Element. And what shocked him was that Roman had managed to fight an equal battle against Noah for so long.


    William also realized that Noah had never used any techniques against him. The battle between Noah and William would always result in Noah''s victory. If Noah ever used his sword techniques, it won''t even be a battle, but a straight ughter.


    However, that day, William had witnessed Noah utilizing multiple techniques against Roman and still Roman could fight an equal battle against Noah. This made William realize that he wascking something crucial.


    He had a feeling that he should be capable of all that as well. In fact, he should be even stronger than Roman since he possessed twin variant elements. However, that wasn''t the case.


    He had a feeling that he wouldn''tst more than 3 exchanges against Roman.


    At this moment, William also recalled Azaroth''s words. These words Azaroth had spoken to William during theirst meeting.


    "A genius can never grow under another genius. Keep these words in mind, William."


    It was now William was understanding what Azaroth meant. He realized that he couldn''t grow any more under Noah''s leadership.. He had to leave.

 Chapter 435 - Williams Decision

    William went to talk to Noah with a determined look on his face. Noah allowed him to walk inside his tent and asked him rather curiously, "What''s the matter, William? Is there something you want?"


    A bitter smile appeared on William''s face as he heard those words. He spoke out, "Indeed. I was going to inform you about something, Master Noah. I wish to leave your group and go on a journey by myself."


    Noah was peacefully drinking his tea. And when he heard this statement, the cup fell on the ground, spilling the tea everywhere. His pupils widened and he stared at William while asking him, "What happened?! Are you not happy here?! Did I do something? Why do you want to leave?"


    Noah was a little too shocked to hear that William was leaving. He recalled that those couples were leaving as well. They were going to begin their new life. Although they would be informers for Azaroth, they would still leave his group.


    But why was William leaving as well? Was he tired of fighting? Or did he also want to settle down in a peaceful location? He couldn''t understand what was happening. Why was everyone leaving him?


    "This is Master Azaroth''s wish actually. Before I left with you for this journey, Master Azaroth told me that a genius can never grow under a genius. I finally understand what he meant," William spoke.


    When Noah heard that it was something that Azaroth wanted, he began to calm down. If it was Azaroth''s wish, he couldn''tin that much. However, he was also confused as he didn''t understand what Azaroth meant by those words, "What did Boss mean?"


    "We have been traveling, fighting, and training together for the past month or so. I have noticed that the training and fighting style was initially helping me develop, but not anymore. In fact, I began able tounch multiple attacks smoothly. This was something I couldn''t attempt earlier." William spoke.


    Noah nodded as he had noticed William''s rise. William spoke ahead, "However, I have also noticed that I haven''t spent my time trying to understand the spear. I also want to gainplete control over my twin variant elements. But I haven''t even started on this training."


    "All I am training here is to begin fighting in closebat. Now that I am pretty proficient in closebat, I need to leave to work on my Spear Skills, and my control over the twin variant elements."


    "I haveplete belief in my potential that it''s much greater than the warrior you fought, Noah. I should be able to surpass him easily with the skills and elements that I possess." This was indeed a fact.


    William didn''t just possess great talent in spear techniques, but also twin variant elements. Andstly, William actually hadn''t even begun to use the Innate Divine Strength that he possessed. Azaroth had handed him a couple of cultivation techniques that he had to cultivate every day. But William didn''t have the time to cultivate these techniques yet.


    He had a feeling that he would experience a massive boost once he learned to utilize his Innate Divine Strength as well.


    Noah waspletely silent as he listened to William''s reasoning. He had a serious look on his face as he spoke, "It has only been a couple of months since you gained the ability to train as you like. You hold too great expectations for yourself. I also believe that your potential is far greater than that warrior I fought earlier. However, if you think you can quickly cover the distance between you and him, then you are wrong."


    "What you have achieved is already enough to step over the hard work of many warriors. Even in this group, other than me, who is strong enough to defeat you? Let me answer that question for you. No one at all!" Noah spoke with his voice full of emotion.


    "Whether it''s Luna or Aria, they had been training for nearly all their lives. Yet, you surpassed them within two months! Your power is growing greatly, and you are also quickly learning to control it. There will alwayse a time when the rate of growth of your power seems to have slowed down." Noah spoke seriously.


    "I will give you your personal space. You can train separately. Just remain in the group ande when I ask you to fight," Noah appeared to be requesting William to stay. William remained fixed at his position as he stared at Noah.


    "¡­What I seek is a journey, not a battle. I need to walk around and actually see the world with my eyes. I need to understand what is going on in the world and how I can assist Master Azaroth. I believe this is the reason he made me his 8th Retainer. He didn''t want a mere subordinate, he wanted to form onest group that would assist him. And I can''t do that if I remain in this group, Noah," William spoke.


    Noah suddenly turned around as he heard that statement. He knew William was right and if he tried to stop him anymore, it would affect Azaroth''s ns. Maybe this was what Azaroth had envisioned when he asked Noah to lead William to the battlefield.


    William noticed Noah''s sadness and hugged him from behind. He spoke with a gentle voice, "I know that you will feel lonely. I know you need my assistance to manage everything, brother. I know you are already feeling extremely mncholic because the warriors who had formed a couple are also leaving this group. You don''t want them to leave but since Master Azaroth has given his decision, you can''t go against it."


    A few tears were released from Noah''s eyes as he heard that statement. William''s words hit right on the mark as this was indeed the case. William slowly patted Noah''s head and spoke, "This will be a valuable experience for you. You need to learn to get used to the fact that not everyone will stay together with us until the end."


    "Each individual has a different path in their life. We are only walking together temporarily. When the timees, we must split up," William spoke while slowly caressing Noah''s head.


    "This will make you even stronger. Whether it''s emotionally or mentally. You must learn to limit your group and interactions with everyone. At the very least, don''t hold such a great emotional attachment with them. I am sure you can''t do this straight away. You are going to be very hurt before you slowly learn to remain detached." William spoke.


    "Always remember that Master Azaroth and all of us will never leave you. We will be there for you no matter the situation," William spoke as he wiped Noah''s tears.


    Noah was extremely touched to hear those words. He turned around and hugged William onest time before William departed from the Glerian Kingdom''s camp.


    William''s decision to leave was extremely saddening for Noah, but it was the best decision that William made today. William had also formed some bonds within the Heretical Pdins group, but he severed them all in his pursuit of power. He was on a journey to find out about himself and master his abilities.


    Noah soon contacted Azaroth and informed him of William''s departure. Azaroth wasn''t surprised to hear this statement. He also noticed that Noah seemed to be drowning in sorrow.


    Azaroth didn''t n tofort him at this moment. There were some other individuals who would do that.


    While Noah was feeling down, he received support from many individuals. Even though Noah tried to keep a cold look on his face, his grief was visible to all the subordinates who knew him well.


    Even Luna and Aria found out that Noah was drowning in sorrow. After talking to some of theirrades, they found the reason behind Noah''s grief. They were touched when they found the reason behind Noah''s grief.


    The other members knew about the reason behind Noah''s grief because a few of them overheard Noah''s conversation with William. They tried to keep the information among themselves, telling only their close friends.


    The ones they told couldn''t hold back and these members also told their close friends. Soon, nearly one-fourth of the members of Heretical Pdins knew about this fact. Luna and Aria were included in these members.


    After finding out about this fact, these all members held a small meeting to discuss about the situation. Just what they should do to deal with this situation. Most of them were rather straightforward men and nned to inform Noah, "We won''t leave you, master!"


    However, this n was quickly trashed. This was all because a couple of warriors gave the reasoning that if Noah realizes that they knew about his secret, he will feel embarrassed.. In fact, he could even order them to disperse.

 Chapter 436 - Luna And Arias Plan

    If he began to project a false sense of tranquility around himself, it would negate the objective of telling him of all their sentiments. It was Luna who added, "We need to be subtle with this. Firstly, we need to act normally. Don''t be excessively concerned about him. He isn''t so weak that he needs ourfort."


    Aria supported her statement by adding, "Yes, it is right. In this case, being discreet would have the most impact. After all, haven''t you heard that showing rather than telling is preferable? That''s exactly what we''re dealing with here."


    Nearly all these warriors in this meeting understood what Aria and Luna wanted to say. They did have some doubts and inquired the two, "How will we do that?" They were all rather straightforward men. No one of them had any idea about how they should do this kind of thing discreetly.


    Aria and Luna stared at each other with a faint grin on their faces. They spoke collectively, "Leave this to us." Aria added, "Just make sure that you give your all on the battlefield. Our leader''s emotional state isn''t the only thing we should focus on."


    All theirrades agreed with those words. They had heard rumors that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces were nning an attack. Even though these were mere rumors, these warriors knew that there was no smoke without fire.


    When they fought against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces during their operation to save the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers, they had noticed that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers were much stronger than usual.


    The warriors of Noah''s squad, except for Noah, William, Aria, and Luna, found these new soldiers quite troublesome to deal with. If not for their high morale and great training, Noah''s squad might have suffered great losses against them.


    In reality, the strength of these new soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces wasn''t that impressive. Noah''s squad could have easily dealt with them if such was the case. What was truly annoying was their battle formations that seemed to boost their strength collectively!


    The battle formations would not only increase their strength, but also their endurance. Furthermore, they did not appear to experience any pain whilst under the influence of the battle formation. Even if their limb was chopped off or their gut was torn, they could still fight at their peak state.


    Thus, all these warriors dispersed in different directions. While these members were leaving, Luna called out to one of them. This was a warrior who belonged to Luna''s team during the Heavenly Dragon''s Battleground Tournament.


    He still had enough respect for Luna to never refuse amand from her. Thus, Luna used him for some errands and save some time for herself. She ordered him, "Get some of the strongest whisky and vodka."


    "...As youmand, Miss," the warrior said politely. Soldiers usually had little trouble obtaining booze. This was how they stayed warm and survived even in the dead of winter. It was also customary for the troops to consume alcoholic beverages during celebrations. As a result, the army stockpile housed a wide variety of alcohols.


    However, Noah''s group was a bit different. Noah would allow them to ingest booze before a giant mission or operation. He would never allow them to drink alcohol when they were on an operation.


    In fact, if Noah found out that a warrior of his group was actually going to get some alcohol during a mission, he would have severely punished that warrior. Fortunately for this subordinate, Luna was ready to take responsibility for any consequences.


    Aria would generally chastise Luna for attempting to obtain alcohol from the Glerian Kingdom''s Army Stockpile. However, she knew that this situation was quite different. Luna wasn''t getting alcohol for herself or for her subordinates. It was for Noah.


    This booze was undoubtedly a part of the sophisticated strategy she had in mind. Aria considered this an exception. Just like Luna, she also wanted tofort Noah. And there were not a lot of methods through which they couldfort him subtly.


    Noah had never drunk alcohol before, she was certain. Even during their celebrations, he drank soft drinks instead of alcohol. As a result, Noah was unaware of the consequences of consuming alcohol.


    After some time, Luna and Aria held three bottles of Alcohol. Two were bottles of Whisky while one was a bottle of Vodka. The two brought these bottles of Alcohol in their tents.


    They intended to carry out their n the next day. They had to make some more preparations, of course. It would be difficult to get Noah to consume alcohol without him realizing it.


    The very next day, Luna and Aria took turns to inquire Noah some questions regarding their training. Naturally, these questions were genuine as they didn''t want Noah to realize that something was wrong.


    While training them, Noah naturally got a little thirsty. He asked for water from one of the warriors nearby. Now, this warrior had already been informed to mix some whisky in the water and hand it to Noah.


    After drinking that ss of water, Noah had an uglyplexion as he didn''t like the taste of the water. He frowned and asked that warrior, "What is this? Why is it so bitter?"


    The warrior who had mixed alcohol with water was sweating nervously. Noah was staring at him intensely and he couldn''t lie if Noah kept on gazing at him like that. Fortunately for this barrier, Aria came to his rescue as she spoke casually, "Our water reserves were getting low, so we borrowed some water from the Glerian Kingdom''s army. Their water is slightly different from ours since they do not purify it to the same extent that we do."


    Noah nodded his head as he heard that statement. He felt that Aria''s words made sense. He had indeed heard a report earlier that their water reserves were getting low. He stared at the ss of water in his hand and sighed out, "Looks like we will have to make do with what we have."


    Noah gulped down the remaining portion of water before ordering the warrior, "Pour some more." The warrior was sweating nervously but he quickly refilled Noah''s ss and allowed him to drink another ss full of water.


    This warrior belonged to Luna''s personal team. He greatly respected Luna and would risk his life to fulfill the order given to him. However, he knew that if Noah found out about his crime, he would be punished heavily punished. Thus, he was quite terrified at this moment.


    Noah had no idea that this water was mixed with concentrated whisky. After drinking these two sses, his head was spinning a little. However, he wasn''t going to lose consciousness in front of his subordinates and maintained a focused expression on his face.


    However, Aria, who was staring at Noah''s face, was not fooled by this look. She noted that his eyelids had dropped slightly, and he appeared less attentive than usual. She was confident that Alcohol was producing the oues she had hoped for.


    Aria signaled the warrior to scram with her eyes. After he was gone, she ced her hand on Noah''s shoulder and asked him with a concerned gaze, "Leader, are you fine? Your face looks a little reddish."


    "W-What? R-Really?" Noah reacted by taking a step back with a startled look on his face. He was truly shocked to hear Aria''s words.


    Aria took a step forward and spoke with a concerned look in her eyes, "That''s right, leader." She ced her hand over Noah''s head and whispered, "Your temperature is normal. So, it isn''t a fever."


    Noah was getting confused by Aria''s actions and words. He asked her, "What''s going on, Aria?"


    Aria responded to Noah, "I think you are tired, leader. You are working too hard these days. Please follow me to my tent. You need to get some rest."


    "¡­I can rest in my tent," Noah tried to shake off Aria while turning his head. However, Aria grabbed hold of him again.


    She stubbornly responded, "No. You would try to sneak out to get some more training. This isn''t the first time you are overworking yourself, leader. I need to keep an eye on you and verify that you are getting proper rest."


    How could Aria let Noah slip away now that he''d fallen into her trap? As a result, she had to make certain that Noah would apany her, no matter how ridiculous her exnation seemed.


    Noah was a bit drunk, and he didn''t find anything wrong with what she was saying. If he was normal, he would have sternlymanded her to leave him alone. But currently, his head was spinning, and he felt that he truly needed someone''s assistance.


    Before Noah realized it, he was being escorted to a cabin. Aria and Luna had nned for this, and Aria was escorting Noah to a cottage located a little distance from the encampment. Luna was already in the cabin, waiting for Aria and Noah.


    There was a smile on Luna''s face as she saw Noah and Aria enter the small cabin.. She was a little excited to know that Aria had seeded in her task.

 Chapter 437 - Taking The Initiative

    When Noah entered the cabin, he perceived that this cabin was rather small. It had a table, a chair, and arge bed. He noticed that Luna was in the room as well. She was seated on a chair and smiling at him. She greeted Noah by saying, "Heya."


    Noah returned her greeting with a smile, "Hey." He was feeling a little dizzy and Aria had him sit on the bed. She then turned to gaze at Luna''s face and subtly nodded. Luna understood that signal and picked up a transparent bottle that was ced on the table next to her.


    In this bottle was pure vodka. Luna poured a bit of vodka into a cup and handed it to Noah, "Leader, you don''t look well. Drink this. It''s a medicinal juice. It''s a little bitter, but what good medicine isn''t? So, please ignore the taste and consume it."


    Noah gazed at the little cup in his hands for a long time, pondering something profound. Aria and Luna were bing more and more anxious by the minute. They realized that the longer they waited, the more likely Noah would notice something was wrong.


    Before this happened, they had to force him to drink so much alcohol that he wouldn''t realize what was going on around him. Thus, Luna signaled Aria to help her as well. Aria understood the signal immediately and spoke with a rather calm tone, "Leader, you shouldn''t be scared of this medicine''s bitterness. If you don''t stay well, we will lose our next battles against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Forces. How will we answer Master Azaroth if we lose too manyrades in this battle? Thus, you need to stay in perfect condition!"


    "I am not sick," Noah spoke a little stubbornly. However, a frown did appear on his face as he realized that Aria was also right. He looked at her and spoke, "Why should I drink a bitter medicine when I am in perfect health?"


    "¡­We understand that you are in perfect health, leader. However, we are giving it to you as a precaution. If you have some issue, this medicine will resolve it. Leader, do you want to go in the battle in an unfit condition and put all our lives at risk? No, right? So, please drink this medicine," Aria finally finished speaking as she persuaded Noah to drink vodka.


    When Luna saw Noah swallow that swig of vodka, she grinned. Unlike whisky, which took a long time to exhibit its effects, vodka was powerful alcohol that had an instant impact. She grabbed the bottle and poured vodka into another cup.


    Just as Noah had finished swallowing the first shot, he was handed the second shot. This time, Noah didn''t resist it as fervently. He realized it wasn''t as bitter as he had imagined. In fact, he found out that the taste was a bit intoxicating.


    After getting him a couple of shots more, Aria and Luna noticed that Noah was getting drunk. He had a bit of control over his conscious mind and could still speak. If they had him drink any more alcohol, he would be wasted. That wasn''t their intention.


    They did all this to make him talk. Not to have him sleep peacefully. It was Luna who spoke first, "Leader, I have something to confess to you. Actually, I have been feeling rather uneasy that so many of myrades are leaving."


    Noah heard that statement and suddenlytched onto Luna. He spoke as his words slurred a bit, "I knoooow. I feeeel the saaame. I-I trained them. Gave them all my time and whatever they needed, and this is how they repay me?!"


    "Aaallllll of them are leaving me after bing a romantic couple. Tell me Luna, Aria, are we not family? So, why are they leaving this family to form another one?! Are you not happy with me here?" Noah asked numerous questions under the influence of Alcohol.


    Aria and Luna were getting a little overwhelmed as Noah proceeded to speak nonstop. Noah spoke up, "If they had an issue, they should have spoken up about it. I would have tried to find a solution to that issue! But why are they leaving?! Why?!"


    Noah screamed out thest question. Luna and Aria had no idea that this was what Noah kept buried in his heart.


    "Master is so far away, and I have no idea when I will meet him. Even William left and who knows when all of us will get together again. I really feel so lonely and weak sometimes," Noah spoke as he hugged Aria.


    Noah''s tears were steadily soaking Aria''s blouse, but she didn''t say anything to stop him. Luna began massaging Noah''s feet while Aria softly stroked his head. Noah had no idea that he was lying between two lovely women who were doing their utmost to soothe him. Their n was indeed working as Noah was showing signs of calming down.


    "Leader, not everyone is leaving you. We will forever stay by your side, right Luna?" Aria informed Noah with a soothing and sincere smile on her face.


    Meanwhile, Luna gave a bright smile and spoke, "Yep! Why would I want to quit this group when it has all of my friends and a leader who would go to any length to defend and strengthen us?! Those who left are all stupid people who don''t know what they are missing!"


    Noah suddenly cocked his head in Luna''s direction and spoke, "No! Don''t talk bad about them. T-they are just doing what they feel is right. We have no right to talk badly about them!"


    Luna was about to say something, but she received an intense re from Aria that turned her silent. It was only a couple of secondster Luna realized that if she tried to argue about this point, it would only irritate Noah. In Noah''s current condition, he could be excited very easily. And it wouldn''t be a good idea to get on Noah''s bad side.


    In reality, Aria stopped Luna from talking about this topic because she didn''t want Noah to dwell on this matter. He must learn to let go of these connections. "Yes, Leader," Luna slowly spoke.


    Noah was seemingly satisfied with her agreement and spoke, "¡­I also wanted to apologize to you two and your closerades who had to leave their sects and join my group. What I did was basically kidnap you and didn''t let you leave. You must have parted from many of your friends in your previous sects. I-I truly apologize for doing all that."


    Aria and Luna were both startled to hear that genuine apology from Noah. They didn''t expect that he was also thinking about this and were extremely touched.


    "Leader, you don''t need to worry about this. I am thankful that you chose me that day and allowed me to join your amazing group. Frankly, it''s only here did Ie to realize that I wasn''t leading my subordinates. I was just a manager who had a bunch of underlings." Luna spoke as she continued to massage Noah''s feet.


    "One of the finest things that could happen to me was you inviting me to join your group. In the Night Mountain Sect, I had a fake sense of security and pride in myself. The sect promised us great benefits, but in reality, it was using us to enhance its power. It has only been a couple of months since I left the sect and I have experienced a great boost in my power! I now realize that the sect was actually suppressing my growth. If I didn''t join your group, I might have never realized this fact," Luna finished speaking.


    It was now Aria''s turn to speak, "When I joined your group, I was indeed quite distressed that I would have to leave behind my friends. However, I realized that this group is different from others. Even though a leader''s life is most valuable, you are the one who takes on the most risks. You retreat only when all of us have retreated. You don''t give up even when the odds are stacked against you. Even though I am so much older and should have a lot of experience aspared to you, I feel like I am learning new things from you every day."


    "So, thank you, Leader, for defeating me and abducting me that day," Aria thanked Noah and slowly lowered her head and covered his lips with her own. Luna''s eyes widened as she didn''t expect Aria to take action so quickly.


    It was Noah''s first kiss, so he was taken aback by the lovely sensation. As their kiss became more passionate, his tongue contacted Aria''s tongue. Aria soon released his mouth as the two began to take deep breaths.


    At that moment, Noah and Aria heard Luna grumbling, "I wanted to be the one to kiss him first."


    Noah''s eyes widened at that statement and as he was taking deep breaths, he saw Luna''s lovely lipsing closer to his face. Soon, Luna was kissing Noah''s lips passionately.


    Aria showed no envy as she watched Noah reciprocate the kiss with enthusiasm. Luna had feelings for Noah, and she knew they were equally as intense as hers. She was already at peace with this truth and didn''t mind sharing Noah with her.


    Noah''s ability far outstripped anybody she''d ever seen, she knew. It would not be surprising if he had a huge harem in the future. However, Aria and Luna wanted to ensure that the two were in that harem and were extremely close to Noah''s heart.. Thus, they felt that fighting about this issue would only result in their loss and hade to an agreement much earlier.

 Chapter 438 - Confusion

    Noah spent the entire night passionately embracing Aria and Luna. Because he was still young, he didn''t do anything indecent. His body hadn''t matured yet, and he didn''t have the same impulses that normal men would if they were embracing these two women.


    Throughout the night, Noah kissed them several times. As he awoke from his slumber, he reflected on the previous night''s events. He was first mortified by the fact that he had done so many embarrassing things the night before. He didn''t expect to actually kiss both Luna and Aria.


    However, he quickly began to question why he was doing such humiliating things. And why was he having such a severe headache just now? He locked his gaze on the clear container that had been put close. It was utterly depleted, as Noah, Luna, and Aria had drunk everyst drop.


    Noah opened this container and smelled it. When he smelled that foul odor, he instantly linked it to Alcohol. He then recalled all the events that urred in the previous night and began to understand what had happened.


    There was a hint of fury on his face as he stared at Aria and Luna. When Aria and Luna sensed a terrifying aura near them, they instinctively opened their eyes. They soon realized it was Noah who was ring at them.


    They realized he had discovered the truth. And after discovering the truth, he was furious! Luna and Aria gulped down a mouthful of saliva as they slowly stood up while keeping their heads down.


    They didn''t dare to look into Noah''s eyes. Once they both stood up, Noah''s voice thundered down at their ears, "Why?! Why would you fool me into drinking alcohol?! Did you want me to make a fool out of myself?!"


    "Well, you got your wish now! Happy now?!" Noah asked sarcastically. He was truly angered by this stunt. Those words made Luna and Aria immediately raise their heads and look into Noah''s eyes.


    They both collectively responded, "This wasn''t our intention, leader!" They were extremely loud and clear as they spoke these words. They wanted to make their point known to Noah and make sure he wouldn''t misunderstand them.


    Noah snorted coldly as he heard their words and spoke with a sneer, "No thief would admit to being a thief. Do you think of me as aplete fool?! It was my fault to have trusted you both so greatly!"


    He drew his sword from its sheath and appeared to be ready to murder them. He didn''t want such a menace lurking about his camp. Even eating and drinkingfortably would be difficult as long as these two were around. Noah would need to be suspicious of each item he was ingesting. There was no telling what they would make him eat or drink next time.


    "Okay, if you want to murder us, go ahead. We are ready to die, leader. However, before you murder us, you must first learn the truth about what happened. I don''t want you to misread the scenario and murder us in haste." Aria spoke up while looking into Noah''s eyes.


    She wasn''t intimidated even as she saw Noah''s enraged look. She knew that if Noah wanted, he could ughter tens of warriors like her. Even if she tried to resist, the results would remain the same.


    Just as she had spoken, all she wanted to do was exin the entire situation to Noah. At this moment, Luna spoke up, "I agree with her. If my death will resolve your anger then I am willing to die by your hands, leader. However, please know why we did this."


    Noah snorted at those words, but he lowered his sword and ced it back in his sheathe. He took a seat on the chair ahead of them and spoke, "You have 10 minutes. If you can''t provide a reasonable exnation to me within these 10 minutes, consider your lives forfeit!"


    "Alright," Luna immediately spoke out. She was a little happy that Noah had listened to her request and was willing to hear their exnation. While Luna was delighted, Aria tensed a little. Unlike Luna, Aria knew that they couldn''t just bluntly speak the truth.


    Aria knew that she had to choose her words very carefully. Luna had no idea about how she should phrase her sentences. Thus, Aria knew she had to speak up quickly and take control of this entire conversation. Her eloquence would be tested at this moment.


    "¡­Master, we noticed that you were rather mncholic during the past few days. And this sadness had only increased after Sir William left our group. However, I also noticed that you were trying to maintain a neutral expression to prevent us from finding out that you were feeling rather down."


    "I have heard from an elder that if you keep your feelings bottled up inside yourself for too long, it begins to affect your daily life. You begin to grow frustrated at every little thing. If left alone for too long, this would even begin to affect your battles."


    Noah''s eyes widened at thest statement. He didn''t realize it was such a serious matter and was listening to Aria''s words rather solemnly now. Aria was happy that she had Noah''s entire attention. The words she spoke werepletely genuine.


    "I and Luna didn''t want you to experience this. Thus, we began to think of a n so that all the feelings inside of you could burst out and you can be at peace. Leader, Alcohol is one of the few things that make a human reveal their inner thoughts, their desires, and weaknesses. Thus, we tricked you into drinking Alcohol and the results were amazing!" Aria finished speaking as she gazed into Noah''s eyes.


    By the end of her little speech, Aria could see the utter confusion and curiosity within his eyes. Actually, it wasn''t just Noah who was confused or in awe at this exnation. Even Luna was caught off guard. She was clearly not thinking so deeply when she initially heard Aria''s n.


    After a brief moment of silence in the cabin, Luna spoke out, "¡­I did this because I also wanted to kiss you, leader. I like you a lot!"


    "What?!" Noah was startled to hear this confession. He turned his head in Luna''s direction and had little to no idea how he should respond to her confession. He remained speechless for nearly half a minute.


    Meanwhile, Aria red at Luna and sternly spoke, "Luna! Didn''t we agree to confess at a more appropriate time?! Aren''t you making it harder for our leader to digest all this everything?!"


    "Even you, Aria?!" Noah asked with a shocked expression. He naturally remembered thatst night, he kissed the two under the alcohol''s influence. However, he thought they were merely being kind or were just going along because he was their leader and didn''t actually hold any romantic feelings for him. But it was now that he realized just how wrong he was.


    The two had basically confessed their feelings for him just now. And to Noah''s question, Aria shyly lowered her head but responded with multiple quick nods. She also opened her mouth and spoke out, "Yes, master. I also have feelings for you."


    "¡­Give me some time to understand what has all happened here," Noah spoke as he left the cabin. In reality, he was just going outside to contact Azaroth and understand what was going on with his life.


    He believed that only his master could guide him to the correct path. He would obey Azaroth''s order, regardless of how challenging it was.


    Azaroth''s holographic figure soon appeared ahead of Noah''s body. Azaroth asked Noah, "What''s the matter?"


    Noah exined the entire matter to Azaroth in a couple of minutes. When Noah finished his exnation, Azaroth asked him, "And why are you contacting me for this issue?"


    "It''s because I have no idea how I should resolve this issue, Master. I-I don''t want to reject them, but if I ept their confessions and form a rtionship with them, I won''t be able to work hard and get the results I desire. So, what should I do, master?" Noah spoke with a rather troubled expression on his face.


    Azaroth heard Noah''s question and couldn''t stop himself from chuckling.


    ~~


    A/N: I have decided to take a small break. It''s been nearly 9 months since I began writing this novel. I never took a single break. But now, I feel that to improve myself I need to take a small break.


    In the past months, I felt that I was forcing myself to write a chapter even though I had no bright ideas in my mind regarding that situation. I want to get back into the feel of writing for fun. So, please continue to show your support for this novel if you have liked it till now. I promise that the story will only be better and better.


    If you want, you can support me on my p..atreon: bit.do/evildragon

 Chapter 439 - Guiding Noah

    Azaroth was chuckling because he hadn''t expected Noah to seek love advice from him so suddenly. And the way Noah phrased his question also made himugh. He felt that Noah was too young to be thinking about these matters.


    However, Azaroth knew that Noah eagerly awaited his response. Perhaps it was because he was too young that he had no idea how he should handle the situation without disappointing Azaroth. Thus, he decided to contact Azaroth.


    Azaroth stared at Noah seriously and began speaking, "You have already answered your own question. If you don''t want to reject them, then there is only one path left for you. To ept their confessions."


    "If you reject their confessions while going against your heart, you will give birth to a heart-devil. A dreadful heart-devil who will destroy your whole being. Noah, you must always be true to yourself. Focus on making sure that you are not deceiving yourself. Thus, as I earlier said, you only have a single path left for you."


    "However, I can tell you what awaits you on that route. If they ever betray you, you must be determined to put an end to them. Because betraying you would be the same as betraying me. And that person will immediately lose his right to life." Noah could hear Azaroth''s remarks clearly.


    Noah didn''t even flinch when he heard those remarks. He paid attention to Azaroth''sments and took them seriously. Even though he was steadily developing feelings for Luna and Aria, he would not excuse them if they betrayed him and his lord.


    Azaroth examined Noah''s demeanor and concluded that nothing was unusual. If he had even sensed Noah''s heartbeat increase or seen any other symptoms of deception, he would have responded instantly and had those twodies killed.


    However, since there was nothing unusual, Azaroth continued, "But let''s assume that they don''t betray you or even leave you. They stay together with you for the rest of your lives. Then you must remain resolute that you will never settle down and give up on your training. You will live two different kinds of lives. One where you are at home, taking some rest and rxing and the other is when you are out and doing the missions that I will assign you."


    "You will need to understand. No, actually imprint the priority of your life. Your greatest priority would be to obey my order and then think of anything else! You will be my right hand in the future. And for that, you need to be strong enough to im yourself to be the Best Swordsman in the entire World, including the Demons, Angels, Elves, and all the other races out there," Azaroth proudly stated.


    Even Noah was a little taken aback by Azaroth''s words. He had never imagined that following Azaroth meant that he had to be the Greatest Swordsman of the entire world. He hadn''t even stopped for a moment to ever dream of such a thing.


    When he stared at Azaroth''s projected form, though, he was certain that Azaroth truly believed in him. Despite the enormity and impossibility of the mission, Azaroth had faith in Noah''s ability to do it.


    Noah was instilled with great confidence by the confidence that Azaroth exuded. He was instilled with great confidence, but he was also a little overwhelmed as he stared at Azaroth''s projected form.


    He now realized that his master was looking at a much bigger picture. Something so big that he couldn''t even imagine it with his tiny head. Noah was growing curious about what Azaroth was looking at. He wanted to know just what this bigger picture was and what Azaroth was nning.


    Azaroth''s n had always been to gain invincibility against anything and everything. To do that, Azaroth knew he would have to make the entire world bleed dry. Wage wars upon wars and scheme repeatedly. He couldn''t stop even for a moment.


    He had to use all the knowledge and secrets that he possessed to get closer to his dream! Noah didn''t know how it was possible but his desire to serve Azaroth increased even more. He then realized that he had been infected with his master''s charisma.


    Previously, he had always believed that all he had to do was follow Azaroth''s orders. Azaroth was seeking something, but everything woulde to a stop someday. But now, Noah realized that Azaroth would never stop!


    Suddenly, Noah felt like he was understanding a lot of things. Like, his mind had begun to work for the first time in his life. Something just clicked and everything started to make sense to him.


    Noah thought as his eyes widened in realization ''So, that''s why Master has formed so many factions, each led by a particr retainer. If master''s target is the entire world, he will need to gain control of these associations.''


    ''Currently, Master is nning to form an intelligence organization, the Beast Hunter Association, the army, a sect, a business conglomerate, a goddess, and an unknown.'' Noah thought as he realized his role along with the role of Azaroth''s other retainers.


    He further thought and tried to form a detailed image of this structure in his mind. Azaroth had no idea that in a matter of milliseconds, Noah had figured out his role and the role of Azaroth''s other retainers. Well, except for a single one.


    Noah was sure that Sargan was going to head the Intelligence Organization. Ralph would be a prominent figure for the Beast Hunter Association with loads of subordinates under him. Noah''s task would be to be Azaroth''s right hand. That meant, he would be the sword, the iron force that would deal with all his enemies.


    Yrellea would be in charge of a big business conglomerate that would serve as his eyes and ears in themunity. Tiana would be in charge of her own sect, which she would lead to prominence. Laura''s team would be tasked with two assignments. She would be a member of the army as well as the person with the best public image.


    She would be in charge of assisting the general poption and dealing with their problems. Dealing with the military, for example. Assisting residents in dealing with a local gang. Laura''s organization will essentially be utilized as a conduit for Azaroth''s propaganda. In certain ways, she will be regarded as a Goddess by themon poption.


    Her rtionship with Azaroth and his other retainers will never be revealed to the broader poption. As a result, the general public, particrly those from less affluent backgrounds, will be encouraged to view her as a hero or goddess who will side with them and strive for themon good.


    Noah didn''t have any idea what Azaroth''s n with William was. Thus, hebeled him as an unknown in his mind. In reality, Azaroth had improvised when he decided that William would be his Seventh Retainer.


    Azaroth chose William as his retainer to be prepared in case he ever lost one of his retainers. There was only one person whom William couldn''t rece in the roles that Azaroth had in his mind. And that individual was Sargan. Sargan''s role could only be filled by Azaroth''s clone.


    Azaroth noticed some change in Noah''s expression. It was the facial expression of realization. He knew that Noah had realized something and immediately activated his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    He could use these Mystic Eyes of Perception even in his projected form because they were Spiritual Eyes. When Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to look at Noah, he was happy that the emotions he detected weren''t ones that would lead to deceit.


    Noah was merely shocked and overwhelmed. He seemed to have realized quite a bit of information and was trying his best to digest it.


    After what seemed like a long minute in silence, Noah opened his mouth and began speaking, "Master, I would never in my life disappoint you. My priority has always been you first and everything else second. And this would never change! If I am confused, I will contact you to clear that confusion. Your order, whatever it is, I will ept it!"


    He bowed at the end of that statement. Azaroth smirked as he heard those sincere words and saw that genuine bow.


    "Very well, you know what to do then," Azaroth spoke, and his illusionary form disappeared.

 Chapter 440 - Tiana Awakens

    While Noah was dealing with his personal issues, the situation in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect began to change. Tiana''s subordinates had already healed enough that they could move around.


    After recovering, all these women experienced a great change within their bodies. Their mind felt rather fresh and worked much quicker than before. Their thinking speed had been greatly enhanced.


    Their reflexes and agility have also improved significantly. If they employed the Sacred Ice Sovereign Technique right now, the power of that technique would be devastating. Azaroth anticipated that after employing the Sacred Ice Sovereign Technique, each of these women could challenge Christina to a tough battle.


    Although they would still lose, Christina wouldn''t win easily. And, in case, Christina was careless for whatever reason, she could even lose. However, this would only ur as long as the Golden Crow wasn''t actively assisting Christina.


    Currently, within the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, only Tiana possessed the potential to defeat Christina. Tiana''s Seven Star Yin Physiquebined with the Sacred Ice Sovereign Technique against Christina''s talent that wasbined with an Ancient Beast Spirit.


    It was truly a tough battle and the one who rxed first would lose this race. And Azaroth wasn''t nning on letting Tiana rx for even a minute. He would ensure that Tiana grew stronger than Christina.


    At this moment, the Icy Aura in theke wasbining with Tiana''s Spirit. Slowly, Tiana opened her eyes and looked around. She was startled to notice that her body was submerged in water.


    Tiana immediately moved her body and tried to swim back to the surface. She wanted to get out of thiske and find out what was going on. The movement in theke naturally couldn''t be concealed from Azaroth.


    When Tiana began to move, she caused some irregrities on the array, which Azaroth discovered. Azaroth was ready to see Tiana and inform her of all that had happened while she was in aa.


    Tiana became aware of her surroundings as she exited the water. Within theke, she just felt a dense amount of Icy Ardor around her body. The Icy Ardor''s density was so intense that she felt suffocated.


    The only reason she could survive that depth was because she was unconscious. But now that she was awake, her mind suddenly registered all that pressure that was umting while she was unconscious.


    Azaroth soon appeared in front of Tiana and used his Ardor to make Tiana fly in the air. He spoke to her, "That was a rather long sleep you had. I hope you are fresh because there is a lot of work for you." There was a big smile on his face as he spoke those words.


    Tiana returned the smile and responded, "I am ready to do any task that you have for me, master." She disyed great confidence as she slowly sensed that her Ardor had significantly transformed.


    Her Ardor had been greatly increased in both quantity and quality. In fact, she started to wonder what had happened while she was sleeping. Did Azaroth make her ingest one of his heavenly pills, which is why she''s changed?!


    Azaroth smirked as he noticed Tiana''s confusion. He spoke out, "Well, you need to catch up on what happened while you were asleep. Come, follow me to the Pce. Let''s have a long chat along with some warm jasmine tea."


    "Yes, master," Tiana spoke and the two began flying towards the Pce. Soon, they arrived inside the Pce and flew directly within Azaroth''s chamber. Azaroth summoned one of his nearby subordinates and ordered her to bring two cups of tea and some snacks.


    Tiana''s clothing was soaked through and through, and Azaroth promptly handed her fresh ones. Tiana took those garments and proceeded to strip off her drenched attire. Azaroth remained sitting in his seat, staring at Tiana while she dressed in front of him.


    As Azaroth nced at Tiana''s bare body, he had a serene smile on his face. The Sacred Seven Yin Body had naturally transformed her entire body. Her icy-cold aura and fairplexion gave her the appearance of an ethereal fairy.


    And Azaroth was well aware that this woman loved and respected him. It was only natural for Tiana to admire and adore him. Everything she possessed right now had been bestowed to her by Azaroth.


    Whether it was the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, the Sacred Seven Yin Body, or even the techniques and thebat experience she possessed. Tiana knew Azaroth was a demon, but she couldn''t stop herself from falling for him.


    His handsome face, his power, confidence, and his meticulous thoughts intoxicated her. She felt that all the other men in the world couldn''t measure up to Azaroth. He was someone who would do anything to get what he wanted. No matter how crazy it was.


    Tiana had already seen an example when he abducted her from the Rhodes Mansion during the daylight. She knew that this man would dare to do anything. And this thing somehow made her heart race with excitement.


    Tiana was aware that Azaroth was looking at her with fondness while she was changing her clothing. She was blushing profusely, but she was also giddy within. A ray of hope shed across her face, suggesting that Azaroth could be really interested in her.


    She had thought that there was no hope for the two of them. But the current situation suggested otherwise. Tiana felt that Azaroth was waiting for something. Perhaps the appropriate situation hadn''t arrived yet.


    A few minutester, Tiana finished changing and was now wearing her new garments. Her graceful dress flowed from top to bottom and had a scoop neckline, which gracefully revealed the ornate dress worn below it. The flowing, tightly tied fabric of her dress covered her stomach where the continuous flow was broken up by a dark rope belt worn quite low around her waist.


    Below the rope belt, the dress opened up and revealed the dress below. Her sleeves were a little short and afortable fit, their flow was broken up at the shoulder where they''re divided by wide, ornamental bands, these are the same fabric and color used to outline the bottom of the dress.


    The dress truly suited Tiana''s body and seemed to have boosted her charm. Azaroth spoke out, "You look good in this dress." This was the truth or else he wouldn''t have given thispliment. Tiana knew that he didn''t need to lie to her.


    Tiana''s pulse raced swiftly with joy as she realized Azaroth was genuinelyplimenting her. Just as Tiana was about to thank him, the door opened, and Helena entered the room. She held a respectful look on her face as she entered the chamber.


    She was holding a tray in which there were two cups of jasmine tea. Helena looked inside the room and greeted Azaroth. She received a nod in return from Azaroth and then she stared at Tiana. Helena was bbergasted to see Tiana in a brand-new dress. Moreover, it looked extremely good on her. It made her look like an exotic fairy who couldn''t be approached by mortal men.


    "Thanks for bringing the tea, Helena," Azaroth said, pulling Helena out of her stupor. He picked up a cup and took a sip of the jasmine tea. He was delighted as he felt the warm tea moving down his throat and reaching his stomach.


    Tiana took a cup from Helena and instructed her to go. Helena exited the room and closed the door behind her. When she was gone, Azaroth proceeded to give a quick summary of what had happened to Tiana.


    Tiana listened to this summary with great interest while she sipped her tea gently. Azaroth ended his summary after around half an hour. Tiana was astounded to learn that the Night Mountain Sect had perished.. She had no doubts about Azaroth, but it was still astonishing to hear a top-tier sect-like Night Mountain Sect entirely destroyed in a month-long war.

 Chapter 441 - Tour

    While Tiana was talking to Azaroth, the other members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect were contacting their former friends and family members. They began to invite theirrades or family members to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Naturally, they didn''t contact anyone unknown. These warriors were trustworthy and quite close to them. Azaroth had already given his consent to these women to invite their close friends or family members to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    He did impose a restriction. The only condition was that all of the people they invited had to be women. They would be better off not inviting a male. It was impossible to predict how a man would behave in the presence of so many gorgeous women.


    He also made this decision in order to keep them from falling in love with someone else. A human in love would do some really irrational and foolish things. He didn''t want the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect to be influenced by something as intangible as love.


    As a result, he had decided to be the focus of these women''s devotion and affection. At the very least, these women wouldn''t fall for someone at first sight. Azaroth was sure that they would never meet anyone whose appearance would even surpass his own. At the most, that individual could possess the Absolute Beauty trait, but even then, it would only equal Azaroth''s appearance and not surpass it.


    However, Azaroth knew that the women his subordinates had invited might alreadye while being in love with another individual. For that reason, Azaroth was nning to stay here until most of them had arrived.


    He would help them get settled in the branch pce that he had created a little far from the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s Main Pce. Meanwhile, Sargan and Laura had been sending any women they found who possessed a rare Yin Body.


    These women had actually approached the sect earlier, but the mist wouldn''t clear up. The local residents from a nearby city informed them that most of the members of the sect had already gone to assist the ck Lake Sect in their battle against the Night Mountain Sect.


    As a result, these women had no option but to remain in the city until Tiana and her followers arrived. Naturally, Sargan paid for their lodging and food, and he started sending them a monthly stipend that would allow them to live contentedly.


    Now that Tiana had recovered from her injuries, she ordered a member of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect to lead these women to the sect. Tiana cleared the mist at an appropriate time so that all these women could enter their sect, where they would learn new techniques and be stronger.


    These women were taken aback when they learned that there was no entrance test. Tiana came ahead of them and told them they had already passed their entrance exam. Only the Yin Physique was required to join the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. The rest depended on their will.


    Tiana then gave them a standard technique and ordered them to cultivate. This was the Chilly Ice Scorpion Lord''s Tome. This was a technique that would allow them to build their foundation and cultivate the Ice Techniques.


    They would be free of the pain in their meridians and could make use of the Ice Energy that had stockpiled in their body. These women were surprised to know that the first technique they received was actually a Lord Ranked Technique.


    A Lord Ranked Technique was quite rare for ordinary disciples even in the top sects. Only the Inner Disciples could cultivate the Lord Ranked Techniques. Now that Azaroth had already read the soul of an elder from the ck Lake Sect, he knew exactly what the top sects offered to their disciples.


    He also knew exactly what these followers anticipated from the sect. As a result, he had given Tiana a long list of instructions and urged her to ensure she followed them. As long as Tiana followed his instructions, it wouldn''t be very challenging to keep these disciples tied to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Tiana then gave these disciples a tour of the entire Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. She showed them the Weapon Chamber, the Medicinal Pavilion, Meeting Hall, Sacred Profound Hall, and the Mission Center.


    In the Weapon Chamber, disciples or elders could exchange their contribution points in return for a weapon corresponding to the price of that particr weapon. The Medicinal Pavilion was filled with rare kinds of herbs and also stored many pellets in different ss bottles.


    The Meeting Hall was where the elders met and conducted a meeting. And the Sacred Profound Hall was where the disciples could exchange their contribution points for cultivation orbat techniques. Naturally, the price differed for each cultivation orbat technique.


    Finally, there''s the Mission Center. The disciples were given missions here, and after aplishing them, they would receive their reward from the Mission Center. Tiana purposely left a few parts of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and didn''t show them to these new disciples.


    Azaroth didn''t n on meeting these disciples yet. Instead, he had organized a meeting of the elders of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. He was giving them a set of instructions as well.


    "I have gathered you all here to inform you of some key points that you must take note of while guiding these disciples. Ensure that you stay confident and decisive when you are in front of the disciples. At no point can you show any signs of weakness or confusion. I trust that not a single one of you would find any issue in dealing with these above-mentioned issues. You have survived a war between two top-grade sects and havee out on top. Be proud of yourself!"


    These elders heard Azaroth''s words clearly. These words greatly boosted their morale. Managing to survive the war between the ck Lake Sect and the Night Mountain Sect was truly a source of pride for them.


    It had to be understood that none of these people had received sufficient training or had ever encountered anything on such a grand scale in their lives. Azaroth noticed the prideful looks of each one of these women and decided it was time to move to the next topic.


    "There woulde a time when you encounter disciples who are much more charismatic than you. You might need to deal with a disciple who does nothing but create trouble for you."


    "I will now be guiding you on how you should deal with each situation respectively. For the first situation, if you ever encounter a disciple who appears to be much more charismatic than you, never dampen her spirit of leadership. Instead, use her to lead her batchmates or the other disciples of our sect against the vicious beasts around the area. You should know that the beasts in the area are slowly approaching our territory."


    "The majority of these monsters are quite weak, so having these new disciples deal with them should be no problem. Naturally, they will be apanied by an elder on their journey, and you must join the battle only if you believe it is essential. I leave the on-site decision up to you."


    "As for the second kind of disciple, the one who creates trouble for you and the other disciples, it''s rather easy. Just kill that disciple. We have no need for disciples who won''t listen to our orders. These kinds of disciples are time bombs. However, make sure to do it discreetly. No other disciple should ever suspect the sect."


    "You can use schemes, pure power, or any other method to deal with that troublesome disciple. Andstly, you must always remember that your job is not to obstruct these disciples from learning something new. Instead, your job is to ensure that their thirst for knowledge is never satisfied."


    "We understand, master," All his subordinates understood their tasks perfectly. They all had genuine and sincere looks on their faces and seemed ready to fulfill their tasks thoroughly. However, Azaroth had many doubts as he looked at them.


    He let out a sigh and thought <em>''This was the most I could do. Everything else would be up to them. It will take some time for them to gain experience and meet my expectations.''</em>


    Azaroth knew quite well that he would be asking for too much for them to be perfect from the very beginning. They could only take one step at a time. If they tried to rush up, they might mess up everything.


    He informed them of a couple of things more before letting them leave and interact with the new disciples of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. Tiana introduced each of these elders to the new disciples of the sect.


    These disciples were overjoyed at the prospect of meeting so many elders. They detected a heroic air emanating from these seniors and realized they must all be formidable characters in the cultivation world.


    Azaroth thought as he peered at them from afar ''<em>I''ll have to stay here to make sure they don''t screw anything up. I''ll hand it off to them after they''ve gained some experience.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Before I go, I need to guarantee that Tiana and her minions are thoroughly infatuated with me,''</em> he thought, a faint devious smile appearing on his face.

 Chapter 442 - Meeting The Major

    No matter how cautious Azaroth was, he knew that someone would make a mistake and allow a man to enter the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory. If he asked any of thesedies here if they would ever betray him and breach this rule, he knew they would all honestly say no.


    Azaroth, on the other hand, believed that they could eventually betray him. It all relied on the magnitude of the dilemma they were confronted with. They might be doing it to rescue a family member, a close friend, or even their own conscience by repaying a favor to someone.


    He thought <em>''There is onest situation in which a man can enter the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory. If that guy is the Son of Fate like Dn Ross. Only a man with a broken ability and luck can enter the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory without letting Tiana and her peers from finding out.''</em>


    <em>''And if a guy possessing the fate of a protagonist does appear, it won''t take long for Tiana and her subordinates to be involved with that guy in one way or another. I can''t have someone else take control of this sect like that.''</em>


    He further thought and decided what he should do next <em>''I need to take action now to prevent such a situation from urring in the future. It would be a good idea to start with Tiana and then make my move on others.''</em>


    Azaroth could sleep with all of them at the same time if he wanted to, and no one would protest. However, Azaroth realized that doing so would cause confusion, and he desired to enjoy his time with every one of them, so he opted to go sequentially.


    While Azaroth was nning to create a harem in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, his clone Nudar, Dn Ross, Margeria, and Camille, had finally reached Olisville Town. This Olisville Town was a town that was controlled by the Glerian Kingdom''s army.


    There was a governor and the town lord of this Olisville Town. But frankly, not even the street dog would show any respect for them. Only with the Army''s permission could they do anything in the town.


    Azaroth learned from Nudar''s memories that after Dn Ross arrived in town, some soldiers leered at Margeria and Camille with a perverse expression on their faces. Dn, ever the noble warrior, threatened them to cease ogling Margeria and Camille.


    When they heard someone shout at them, they were startled. In this town, it was unusual for a warrior to scold or shout at a soldier. Seven generations of that warrior''s family would be uprooted.


    These troops looked at Dn and noticed that he was dressed in some fairly fancy attire. In Olisville Town, these kinds of garments were not essible. They recognized right once that this warrior had to be an outsider. As a result, he was unaware that he hadmitted a serious offense by yelling at a soldier!


    Camille was well-versed in the history of Olisville Town, and she was well aware that the military had absolute power. She had previously advised Dn not to be rash in this ce. Dn had assured her that he would not make reckless decisions.


    However, right after entering this town, he was bickering with some soldiers. It truly annoyed her to no end. One of the soldiers stepped forward and asked Dn, "So, what? What will you do if we continue to gaze at these beauties?"


    When Dn heard those words and tone, he became outraged. "You best stop right now, or the oue will not be pretty!" he said threateningly. He emitted a deep deadly intent meant to frighten these men.


    However, his killing intent didn''t scare these soldiers. Instead, it made them feel that they were watching a clown. All of them beganughing loudly without any exception. Dn was extremely humiliated as he saw these soldiersughing at him in front of Camille and Margeria.


    He wanted these two women to have a good impression of him. However, these soldiers were truly testing his bottom line. Dn red at them with a hateful look in his eyes, but he didn''t attack them. Although he was angered, he wasn''t stupid.


    He could sense that multiple strong warriors were slowly gathering around them. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that these fighters were actuallypanions of the two obnoxious-looking troops with whom he was squabbling.


    Another soldier spoke while looking at Camille and Margeria, "What brings you two beauties here? If you need assistance, we can help you. You don''t need to apany this hideous-looking brat anymore."


    Camille smiled and responded to these soldiers, "Thank you for your kindpliments. We are actually here to meet Major regarding an important matter. Would you be kind enough to lead us to the Major''s camp?"


    When the soldiers learned that these three wished to meet Major, they were taken aback. They wondered whether these three people were the Major''s guests. If such was the case, the troops believed they had meddled with someone they shouldn''t have.


    At this moment, a Lieutenant stepped forward and asked them with a calm expression, "Do you have an appointment letter with you? Not just anyone can meet Major. He is a busy man who needs to remain focused on the movements on the borders. He doesn''t have time to meet with some brats."


    Dn didn''t like the way this Lieutenant was looking down at them. However, before he could speak, he noticed Camille signaling him to remain quiet. Even though Dn was very annoyed, he swallowed his resentment and remained quiet.


    Camille was relieved to see that Dn understood her signal and didn''t explode on the spot. She could now focus on the Lieutenant. The ring on her index finger began glowing and a letter appeared in her right hand.


    She stepped towards the Lieutenant and informed him, "This is the appointment letter to meet the Major. It contains the Royal Seal. You can verify it if you want."


    When Camille pulled out that letter that contained the Royal Seal, the Lieutenant finally lost his calm expression. He held that letter and knew that this wasn''t simply a Royal Seal. It was the Sovereign''s Seal! This stated that Camille and her group had been sent by the King!


    Camille smirked as she realized the Lieutenant''s face hadpletely lost its color. He must have grasped that this was a Sovereign Seal, not merely a Royal Seal! She was confident that they wouldn''t try to stir up any more troubles for them.


    Margeria remained quiet during the entire time. She was just relieved that they didn''t need to fight here. She could sense arge number of warriors in this town. And if Dn really picked a fight with them, she would be forced to fight alongside him. In her current form, she could only disy fighting prowess equal to a 3 Star Warrior.


    Thus, she would be nearly orpletely useless in a battle. Fortunately, Camille handled the situation and she realized there wouldn''t be any fighting. At this time, Nudar was standing some distance away, observing Dn''s group.


    He was wearing local clothing to ensure that he wouldn''t grab any unnecessary attention. Only Margeria located him and knew he was following them. However, she remained quiet and acted as though she didn''t notice anything.


    Nudar wondered with a rather curious expression ''How does Dn n to cross the border and reach the Lamhilhan Theocracy? From the looks of it, Dn has no idea. It should be Camille who knows how they will cross the border and reach the Lamhilhan Theocracy. She even possessed an appointment letter with the King''s Seal on it. Is the King nning to personally involve himself and sending them to the Lamhilhan Theocracy?


    ''What can be the King''s order? Will he order the Major to lead his forces and create a distraction so that Dn and his group can take advantage of that opportunity? They can breach the border and reach the Lamhilhan Theocracy. Or is there something else at y here?''


    In truth, the procedure was far easier than Nudar had anticipated. The Major was ordered by the King to organize a sting operation. Their mission was to take down the enemy''s base. For this sting operation, Dn and his group would be joining the squad.


    However, this mission was just for formality. The Major''s true task was to safely send Dn and his group into the Lamhilhan Theocracy. Naturally, after they are in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, Dn and his group would split up from the team and go on their separate ways.


    After entering the city nearest to the border, they would try to contact Camille''s family''s informers and gain a basic understanding of the situation in the Lamhilhan Theocracy. After understating the situation, Dn nned to reach a Cathedral so that Margeria could contact herrades and request them to help him.


    Naturally, Dn was unaware that the n had changed on Margeria''s end. She had no intention of asking herrades to assist Dn. She intended for the group to split up and for Dn to embark on a journey to aid Camille and increase his influence within the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Margeria had decided to leave the group because she wanted Nudar to be baptized at the Holy Cathedral. And Nudar knew that if he got baptized in the Cathedral, he''d save himself a lot of hassle and be on his way to achieving the 6 Star Rank!

 Chapter 443 - Yrellea And Sargans Achievements

    In the meantime, Yrellea and Ralph had stayed in Veninza Town. Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion was earning her quick and huge profits. And the Dragon Tiger Pce had already tried to poach several members of her Pavilion, but she had already dealt with them efficiently.


    The Dragon Tiger Pce had no idea that their spies and informers had already been found out. Yrellea was instead using them to make the Dragon Tiger Pce spend more ie on the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Yrellea didn''t need to do any advertising or marketing for the Misty Flower Pavilion. The Dragon Tiger Pce''s branches in various cities were doing this task for Yrellea. After some time, Yrellea knew that it was time for her to expand her influence.


    Yrellea knew that if she left, the Dragon Tiger Pce would actively poach her members of the Misty Flower Pavilion. They would try to gainplete control over her Pavilion. As Yrellea concluded this, she became even sure that she must leave the town for some time!


    She was familiar with the Dragon Tiger Pce''s methods now and was confident in dealing with them. Yrellea knew that she had to make the Dragon Tiger Pce believe that they had a good chance of controlling the Misty Flower Pavilion, or else, they could change their methods.


    It would boost their confidence if they were sessful in recruiting the Misty Flower Pavilion''s higher-ups. This confidence would leave them vulnerable, allowing Yrellea to move on to the second step of her strategy.


    Azaroth established Misty Flower Pavilion and entrusted it to Yrellea to operate as his eyes and ears in the general public. However, Yrellea wanted to take this a step further and create her informers within the various associations and sects of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Moreover, her informers wouldn''t be mixed with the outer sect disciples or inner sect disciples. They would be involved with the highest-ranking members of the sect. The core disciples or the top elders of that sect.


    Naturally, it would be a very challenging task to get any association or a sect to trust them. Thus, Yrellea had informed them all of what they should do if someonees to them with an offer of recruitment.


    "If theye to recruit you, the first thing you should do is appear hesitant and scared. If you appear hesitant, it will show that your task has a great risk involved and you would be in a position to demand a better deal for yourself."


    "I don''t actually care if you betray me for whatever reason. However, the core secrets of the Pavilion must not be spread out. I am sure you already know but let me remind you. There is a memory lock in your mind. If you ever try to reveal those core secrets or even mention them to someone, your soul will be extinguished, instantly."


    Yrellea managed to do this by using her Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings. Azaroth''s projection appeared, and he created a memory lock in their mind. Even if someone drugged them, they would never be able to reveal the information sealed within this memory lock.


    Yrellea''s subordinates swallowed a mouthful of saliva nervously. No one wanted to have that death. They swore in their minds to never mention it to anyone. Yrellea noticed the expressions of her subordinates and was satisfied with their terrified looks.


    At this moment, a woman asked Yrellea, "Miss, what about when they try to recruit us? How much should we inform them? If we identally mention more than we are supposed to, our soul will immediately shatter, and we will die."


    Yrellea nodded her head and spoke, "An excellent question. Today, I will inform you of what you should do and say when someone is trying to recruit you or threaten you for information about the Pavilion. You need to remember all this information and make sure to act appropriately because this could save your life. In fact, after this, you would even have the opportunity to be my informers within that sect or association."


    Yrellea noticed that not all her subordinates were excited at the prospect of bing informers. She thought <em>''They understand that bing informers would greatly endanger their lives. However, this is only natural.''</em>


    "I know that all of you realize that if you be double agents for me and for the sect, it would greatly endanger your life. I am a fair person. I would naturally provide you with appropriate benefits in return. You will receive a constant ie in the form of crystals, cultivation orbat techniques, or pellets."


    Yrellea grinned as she saw her subordinates'' astonished looks. She realized she had piqued their interest. It was now time for the final blow! A determined look appeared on Yrellea''s face as she spoke, "Always remember that your own strength is the only constant in this world. And I can help you grow much stronger than any sect or association! If you are smart, you will know which side to pick."


    Yrellea remained silent about something. It was feasible that they could be true informers for rival sects or associations. Yrellea decided to be merciless and would assassinate them with the aid of her other informants.


    Naturally, this knowledge would remain a well-guarded secret until one of them betrayed them and Yrellea waspelled to murder her. Yrellea departed from Veninza Town after instructing her subordinates on the many scenarios that may arise and what they needed to do or say in response.


    Meanwhile, Ralph and his team were living in the Origin Sect. His team was a mercenary group that took all sorts of contracts within Veninza Town. The contracts could range anywhere from dealing with beasts to collecting rare herbs and materials for the Veninza Town.


    Ralph had to deploy a small party with a merchant caravan on missions in which he had to defend them from any catastrophes along the road. Ralph would never go on a mission like this. He would pick one of his trustedmanders to lead the party and apany the merchant caravan.


    Typically, sending a small team of two-star warriors and a three-star warrior tomand them would be sufficient to keep anyone from having any weird ideas about the trade caravan. Most fighters would be intimidated by the sheer number and equipment of the team sent by Ralph.


    In this manner, Ralph was building a great rtionship with all the influential individuals within Veninza Town. Ralph had also expanded his group by slowly adding the Origin Sect Branch''s disciples.


    He personally led them on a number of perilous expeditions and formed strong bonds of loyalty with them. Ralph was well aware that under hardship, they would divulge their actual sentiments. They could only build strong ties with each other if they had a sense of transparency with one another.


    However, Ralph gradually understood that this approach had a limitation. And no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to break through this limit. This was because his group had grown so huge that forming deep ties with each of his subordinates was impractical.


    Ralph knew that he had to change his approach. After consulting with a few of his close friends, he gradually found a solution. He was going to have his close friends create their own groups and lead them.


    Ralph''s close friends'' groups would be branches of the primary group he managed. His close friends would take the new recruits on dangerous missions and instill loyalty in them. This would save Ralph a lot of time and work. He could use that time to survey the area and seek a new ce to settle.


    Ralph''s group had built up quite a reputation within Veninza Town. The general public called them <em>''<strong>The Scarlet Badger Gang</strong>''</em>. This was because all the members of Ralph''s gang wore scarlet badges on their chests.


    These Scarlet Badges had now be a symbol of their identity. Ralph''s badge was dark red in color while all the other members had a light red colored badge. Moreover, Ralph''s badge looked slightly different from all the other badges that his subordinates possessed.


    This badge indicated that he was the leader of the gang. Naturally, they had mixed different materials and created them using a special technique to ensure that they couldn''t be duplicated. The cksmith had already left the town and settled in arge city far away. He was living a rather prosperous life right now.


    Ralph was nning to expand the Scarlet Badger Gang to other cities. He was nning to go to the shire City since Yrellea and Sargan had built an impressive informationwork in that city.


    It would make things much easier for Ralph to set up his Scarlet Badger Gang there and deal with all sorts of formalities and issues. Ralph had already informed Sargan about this and had received Sargan''s support.


    Yrellea had also informed her subordinates who were managing the Misty Flower Pavilion in shire City to assist Ralph as much as they could.. Naturally, they had to discreetly help Ralph since Azaroth had sternly ordered them to ensure that the general public wouldn''t realize the rtionship between their respective groups and organizations.

 Chapter 444 - Noble Guardians

    In the meantime, Laura was traveling to various towns and viges. She was dealing with the bandit groups and destroying their outposts. The bandits she targeted were the most famous groups in the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    The Royal Family had set a hefty bounty on their heads and promised extravagant prizes if they were apprehended. Thus, Laura would kill all the low-ranked members in these bandit groups and capture the higher-ranking bandits.


    Laura would take them to the nearest bounty center and im the prize while handing over these prisoners to the respective authorities in the cities. These authorities would then decide just how they should deal with these bandits.


    Typically, these authorities would execute them in front of the public in order to gain widespread support. The majority of these bandits had perpetrated heinous crimes against the residents of the cities in concern. These residents would go to any length to see these criminals punished for their atrocities.


    As a result, many governors, town lords, and mayors were extremely thankful to Laura and her squad, who risked their own lives to apprehend these ouws and demolish their outposts.


    The public was naturally quite delighted to know that these criminals were being punished. The Mayors, town lords, and the governors, naturally tookplete credit. They would make a public appearance and give long speeches of how they loathed the bandits and were taking strict actions to ensure that their citizens won''t be harmed.


    The people were also quite delighted to know that their lords were dealing with these bandits. They initially thought that the lords organized an independent force to deal with these bandits.


    But slowly, they realized that this wasn''t the case. In reality, there was a group roaming around and dealing with the bandits. The rumors in the taverns began. Many people began to talk about this mysterious group that was dealing with the bandits.


    Currently, a group of drunkards were talking about this issue. One of them began, "I heard that this mysterious group dealt with the bandits near the Gimoor Town. After that, they traveled to the Stathford town and destroyed the bandits'' outpost there. They captured most of the bandits and led them to our Bellmare Town."


    "Eh? But didn''t our Town Lord say that he sent a force to destroy the outpost and capture these bandits? Does this mysterious group belong to him?" Another drunkard from the group spoke out and gulped down a mouthful of ale in his mug.


    An old man scoffed at those words and spoke, "Hmph! It''s obvious that he is lying. Ie from Ruthorham City and heard of this group long before they even entered this area and destroyed that bandit outpost. Do you know of the <strong><em>Grey Razor Band</em></strong>?"


    A middle-aged man, who was apparently the youngest one in the group answered his question, "The Grey Razor Band that has two warriors of the 4 Star Rank. I heard that they change their location every day and it''s extremely challenging for anyone to catch up to them."


    The old man nodded his head in satisfaction. He gulped down his beer and then continued, "That''s right. They are an annoying bunch whomit all sorts of atrocities. When I first heard of this mysterious group, it was when they had killed a local ouw and imed a bounty for his head."


    "Apparently, that ouw had just vited 3 women and was on the run. This mysterious group found him and turned its head to the authorities. Naturally, I didn''t pay them much attention. After all, that criminal was only a 3 Star Warrior."


    "However, a couple of dayster, I heard that of a reputed bandit group''s destruction. In the next couple of days, nearly 4 bandit groups were purged from that area. At this point, I became very curious about this mysterious group."


    "The local government did what they know best. They lied. They announced to the public that they had used their personal funds to create their force and purge the bandits who were troubling the local citizens."


    "Didn''t someone from this organizatione up and assert that the government was lying?" The middle-aged guy inquired of the old man at this point. That was an excellent question from this gentleman.


    The other members of this group were interested as well. They looked at the old man with curious gazes. The old man seemed annoyed at being interrupted and red at that middle-aged man, "Maybe the government threatened them or struck a secret deal with them! Also, who in their right mind would actively try to go against the administration! Just use your damn brain!"


    The middle-aged man was instantly embarrassed upon being chided like that. But he found logic in those words. The other members also felt that the old man''s words made sense. One of them asked the old man, "So, what happened next? How is it rted to the <strong>Grey Razor Band</strong>?"


    "I was getting to that," spoke the old man as he took another sip of his beer. He then cleared his throat and continued, "A few dayster, the Grey Razor Band took down a merchant caravan in the area and captured all the individuals of that caravan."


    "Do you know what happened? Three dayster, we received word that someone had arrived and handed over the heads of the Grey Razor Band''smanders! All of the hostages and captives abducted by the Grey Razor Band soon returned to their respective towns and cities."


    All the individuals in this group were startled to hear that statement. One of them eximed with shock, "What?! Doesn''t that mean that the mysterious group found and destroyed the Grey Razor Band within three days?!"


    The old man nodded, and he spoke, "That''s correct. I am sure of this because my brother-inw had been among the captives, and he saw the entire thing. He mentioned that all the members of this group were mostly women. And all of them held bows. The one leading them was a gorgeous blonde woman who captivated him instantly. She possessed the ability to control wood."


    The entire group was dumbfounded as the old man finished telling the tale of this mysterious group. One of them wondered out loud, "Just who could they be? And why don''t they reveal their identity?"


    The old man spoke, "Who knows what will happen. Perhaps they are being persecuted elsewhere in the Kingdom, making it impossible for them to divulge their identities here. Whatever the situation may be, they have a wonderful heart and are fighting for a noble cause. I n to support them however I can."


    "You are right, old man. But how can we help them? We don''t even know their names or how to contact them? And we don''t even know what they are seeking." One of the people in this old man''s generation inquired curiously.


    A tick mark appeared on the old man''s head, and he shout, "You idiot! They are fighting for a noble cause. Do you think they would ept any assistance from us?! No. They would reject any aid from us to prevent us from being involved in the dangerous battles!"


    The old man continued speaking with greater zeal and fervor, "What we can do is make the public aware of their selfless act! We can''t just let the higher authoritiesy false ims on their noble and heroic deeds!"


    A middle-aged man sitting next to the old man ced his hand on the old man''s shoulder and spoke authoritatively, "Calm down, old man. Don''t get so excited. We understand how passionate and delighted you are with this mysterious group, and we do share your sentiments."


    This man had organized this group meeting, so his words held great prestige. Even the old man stopped speaking after he spoke. This middle-aged man noticed that the old man had calmed down and looked at the other members of the group before speaking, "As writers, what we can do is write articles and publish them in newspapers and reveal the truth to the public."


    "But what should we call them? We don''t even know their names," One of the members of this group asked. The entire group remained silent for a couple of minutes. This was truly a troublesome matter.


    At this moment, the youngest writer among them spoke out, "¡­Since they are fighting for a noble cause and protecting citizens. How about we call them Noble Guardians?"


    When the group members first heard these words, they were all taken aback, but they liked the moniker. The old man even spoke, "What a great name! Yes, we can definitely use that!"


    At this moment, another man wondered with a hesitant and worried look on his face, "Wouldn''t the higher authorities of the towns and cities be angered if we reveal the truth to the public and start giving credit to this mysterious group? They could evene after us and force us to take back our statements."


    "Hmph! Let theme!" The old man spoke angrily. However, his words only made all the members worried. They all instinctively looked in their leader''s direction.


    The leader smiled when he noticed their gazes and spoke with a calm smile, "Leave them to me. I will talk to my friends and ensure that the authorities don''t take action against you."


    Those words finally relieved them.. This group soon began its task of revealing the truth to the public. In just a month, all the citizens of the Glerian Kingdom became aware of the ''<em><strong>Noble Guardians</strong></em>'' and their legends!

 Chapter 445 - The Stony Rock Sect Takes Action

    Laura heard of the legends about the Noble Guardians. She was extremely delighted and whispered to herself, "Master''s n worked! People really gave us a name and have begun to recognize our presence!"


    This entire thing was actually Azaroth''s n. He wanted Laura to continue to target the prestigious bandit camps and destroy them. Laura was an innate sensor, and her range was quiterge.


    Once she locks onto her target, it would be a challenging task for them to escape from her. The Grey Razor Bandmitted the error of entering Laura''s range and underestimating her.


    She easily found their hiding spot. After that, all that remained was to prepare a strategy and ambush them. The strategy was extremely simple. Laura and her entire group stood on the branches of the trees nearby.


    They all pointed their bows and targeted the camp where the Grey Razor Band was resting. It was the nighttime and nearly all the bandits were asleep in their respective tents. After confirming that everyone in her group was ready, Laura prepared to create a hugemotion.


    She created thismotion by attacking the camp''s gates with strong wooden vines. From a distance, it appeared as those brown-colored snakes were striking the gates.


    The bandits who were awake immediately shouted, "An ambush!" Instantly, all the bandits who were asleep opened their eyes.


    They were waking up. Not just the bandits were scared though, even the hostages were terrified. It was natural for them to be worried.


    Humans were frightened of the unknown. They werepletely oblivious to what was going on. In their minds, a slew of possibilities swirled.


    They believed their camp had been assaulted by a monster. If it were a beast, it would attack the captives and feast itself upon their bodies and blood.


    All of the bandits dispersed from their tents to retrieve their weapons. They were prepared to fight anyone who tried to attack them while they slept. Soon, they opened the gates of the camp and charged out in different directions.


    However, these bandits were surprised to find no enemy waiting for them there. They wondered just what was attacking their camp gates.


    And just as they were lost in their thoughts, Laura shouted out, "Release!"


    Her subordinates were already prepared and aimed at different warriors ahead of them. As soon as they heard Laura''s shout, they released their bowstring. The arrows were immediately released and before these bandits could even blink, their bodies were pierced by those arrows.


    Laura''s subordinates needed no further instructions as they loaded another arrow on their bow and released it. Quickly enough, all the bandits were dead. There was just no way for them to counter.


    They were surrounded and they had no idea about the position of their enemies. The best they could do was charge out so that the enemies couldn''t shoot them. However, unfortunately for them, Laura''s subordinates were already trained enough to urately shoot a moving target.


    So long as the target wasn''t moving too quickly. These warriors'' firing ability and range depended on their target''s speed. Fortunately for them, all these bandits were rather slow. It was easy to finish all of them.


    Laura had always wondered whether they even benefited from targeting all these bandits and their camps. She had personally witnessed the speeches of many town lords and mayors who would shamelessly im all the credit over the destruction of the bandit camps.


    This truly annoyed her because she had found proof of some of these bandit camps working together with that said mayor or the town lord. The town lord and the other influential merchants of the town or cities would provide food, money, weapons, and even techniques.


    In exchange, the robbers agreed to let their caravan pass through without trouble. Laura had also discovered contracts stamped with the seal of the town lord, the city mayor, or other notable families of the individual city or town in several of the bandit camps.


    She would contact Azaroth and every time, he told her to wait. He would say to her, "Don''t be rmed if it appears that your efforts have been in vain. Soon enough, you''ll be able to view the oue of your efforts."


    Azaroth wasn''t saying these words just to calm down Laura. This was because Sargan had already informed him that word about a group called Noble Guardians was quickly spreading in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Laura hadn''t heard about these tales because they hadn''t yet spread to the settlements around their present location. People were already making tales about Laura, referring to her as a Hero who was murdering viins and preventing further crimes against humanity.


    When the general poption found out that the authorities were taking false credit for Laura''s acts, they instantly began to condemn the authorities. This was not all. The hostages Laura and her group saved were slowly informing the authorities of how Laura and herrades looked.


    Thus, the authorities were slowly drawing a sketch of the most notable individuals of the group. They had already finished with Laura''s drawing and some other members of her group.


    Once the authorities were finished with Laura''s sketch, it was soon leaked and spread to the general popce. Even though the mayor had ordered absolute secrecy, this sketch had still been leaked.


    It didn''t take long for a slew of simr designs to emerge. Within a month, the picture had circted throughout the whole Glerian Kingdom. Laura had, in a way, be renowned overnight.


    Laura was grinning ear to ear when she first saw her own poster. She realized that she had aplished Azaroth''s task. She was now extremely famous, and people thought of her as an idol.


    Azaroth knew of this through Sargan and Yrellea. While he stayed inside the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, these two were his eyes and ears. The two would inform him of anything unusual they found or information about the other retainers.


    The information and proofs that Laura found were passed over to Sargan''s men. At this moment, Sargan had spread his informationwork to the entire Glerian Kingdom. Well, except for the infiltration of top sects and the Royal Family.


    Infiltrating the Royal Family and the upper echelons of society was a challenging feat. They were extremely meticulous in their hunt for spies and informers. Furthermore, in order for a spy or informant to obtain valuable information, he needed to be powerful.


    Thus, the informer needed to be a talented cultivator who would also be a brave man who would risk his life for Sargan. Such a man was truly very difficult to find. Till now, Sargan only had a single one and this man was infiltrating the Stony Rock Sect.


    The Stony Rock Sect wasn''t on the same level as that of the Origin Sect, or the Red Crown Sect, or the ck Lake Sect, but it was decent enough. Moreover, ording to what Sargan had heard, they were nning something sinister.


    ording to his informant, the Stony Rock Sect intended to target a few branches of the Origin Sect. The Origin Sect was currently in the middle of a significant catastrophe. The origin sect and all of its branches had been attacked by demons in a massive assault.


    The Main Branch of the Origin Sect had sessfully provided timely aid to most of its branches. However, a few branches were unwillingly left out. It was impossible to save them due to ack of resources and manpower.


    The Sect Master had requested aid from the Red Crown Sect and the Royal Family, but no response came from either of them. The Sect Master of the Origin Sect couldn''t help but chuckle with disappointment andterment ''This was to be expected. The King would never risk the lives of his personal soldiers for us.''


    Thus, the few branches had been left out were on their own. Among them, some were on theirst legs, while others had already been demolished. The Stony Rock Sect nned to target these origin sect branches that had been left behind on their own.


    Sargan''s spy informed him that the Stony Rock Sect actually possessed Celestial Relics. And this sect nned to use these Celestial Relics to kill the demons and take over the branches that had been unwillingly abandoned by the Origin Sect.


    They knew that the Origin Sect wouldn''t be in any position to demand them to leave their branches. Firstly, the Origin Sect would be recuperating from this recent ambush by the demons.


    Secondly, the King was bound to reward the Stony Rock Sect for the extermination of the demons. What better way to congratte them than to give them these branches they saved?


    The higher authorities in the Stony Rock Sect were sure that the King wouldn''t deny their request because they had already struck a deal with the Third Prince of the Glerian Kingdom.


    It would be very strange if the King refused to ept their request. Besides, the King was also looking for a way to decrease the influence and authority of the top-grade sects.


    The Red Crown Sect was more or less under the Royal Authority so there wasn''t a need to weaken its influence. The Night Mountain Sect had already been demolished andstly, the ck Lake Sect was weak after the battle against the Night Mountain Sect.


    This, in turn, had greatly boosted the King''s Authority! The King would allow the Stony Rock Sect to grow powerful to keep the other sects in check without having to use his own power

 Chapter 446 - Romans Plan

    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces at the borders were preparing to ambush the Glerian Kingdom''s forces. However, Roman Alfornsen held a meeting with his strategists and the othermanders and dyed the attack.


    The strategists and the othermanders were puzzled. They wondered <em>''Why is Roman dying the attack? Does he have something in his mind or is he terrified of facing that kid? Can''t me him if he is scared. He is just a kid, and this was his first setback. Moreover, it was at the hands of someone much younger than him.''</em>


    They couldn''t just sit there like that, even if they understood Roman''s perspective. They believed that now was the ideal time for action, and they couldn''t afford to miss out on this opportunity!


    They naturally made their concerns known to Roman, "Sir, if we attack now, there is a big possibility that we can catch them off-guard. Ever since the arrival of that Heretical Pdins group, we have always remained on the defensive and they have been the ones tounch the offensive."


    Roman remained calm and stared at themander with an impassive look in his eyes, "What do you want to say, Commander Gary?" Commander Gary''s demeanor remained unchanged even after hearing Roman''sments, which were delivered in a firm, confident tone.


    Before Commander Gary could exin his thoughts, one of the strategists spoke out, exining his reasoning to Roman, "Commander Roman, I believe Commander Gary is trying to suggest that this is the perfect opportunity for us to attack the Glerian Kingdom''s forces. I have some theories to support this statement so please hear me out."


    "Ever since the arrival of the Heretical Pdins, the Glerian Kingdom''s forces haveunched multiple surprise attacks on our encampment. Sometimes, they would evenunch a night-right and deal significant damage to our forces."


    "Fortunately, due to the trap we prepared for them, the Glerian Kingdom''s forces have suffered significant loss. They were clearly not prepared for this kind of damage to their forces and thus hadn''t requested any reinforcements."


    "They must have called in for their reinforcements only after they suffered loss during their recent ambush. We have calcted the time it would take for their reinforcements to arrive based on the previous data. ording to my estimation, it would take 2 more weeks before the reinforcements for the Glerian Kingdom''s forces arrive." With a pleased and confident tone, the strategist concluded his statement.


    Even Roman was lost in deep thought after he heard those words. At this moment, another strategist began speaking, "This isn''t all, Commander. Our scouts have collected information and generated a map of the enemy''s soldiers dispersed around its encampment."


    The strategist took out a thin, rolled-up brown sheet right away. He unrolled the sheet, which had a lot of lines etched on it. It was, without a doubt, a map of the enemy''s camp. The lines drawn around the encampment showed how the enemy''s soldiers had been stationed.


    There were two different colored lines drawn on this map. One was blue and the other was red. The red seemed to cover a wider range while the blue colored a rather small range. There were other markings on the map, but Roman didn''t immediately understand what they were for.


    The strategist then began exining, "This red line depicts the Glerian Kingdom''s defensive set up prior to their recent attack when they sustained such a significant defeat. The blue line represents their most recent defensive setup."


    "Due to the loss of manpower, they had clearly shrunk the area but kept a simr defensive structure. This disys that the enemy has grown conceited and it''s the perfect opportunity tounch an ambush on them! Can you see it, Commander Roman?" This strategist was pretty brave as he directly challenged Roman.


    Roman stared at the map and analyzed it carefully. After dozens of seconds, he spoke with a calm tone, "I get what you mean. The adversary has yet to discover that, ording to their defensive formation, the east gate is being guarded by far too few troops. This defensive formation previously seeded because they had arger number of soldiers, and each side was adequately defended. However, this is no longer applicable. It has be the weak point of the enemy''s encampment."


    The strategist was extremely excited to hear Roman''s reasoning and spoke out, "That''s correct, Commander Roman, but it doesn''t end there! Their overconfidence is demonstrated by the fact that they did not develop a new defensive formation. Do you recall the soldier who imed he wasn''t afraid of us since he knew the Heretical Pdins woulde to their rescue? This shows that the Glerian Kingdom''s forces are actually counting on this group named Heretical Pdins."


    Before Roman and any othermander could say anything else, this strategist continued, "My theory has already been proven when the Glerian Kingdom''s forces actuallyunched an ambush on us without a proper investigation. If they had properly investigated us, they would have found out about our reinforcements and thought twice before ambushing us so soon."


    Nearly all the individuals seated in the room were convinced by those words. A few secondster, Roman spoke with a solemn tone, "Even if all you say is true and say weunch an attack on their weak point and managed to breach into the encampment. How long do you think it would take for the entire Glerian Kingdom''s force to gather?"


    "Do you think we can handle that force? Even if we are numerically superior to them, what do you think will happen if they ughtermanders and leaders of our forces? The gains won''t outweigh the losses!" Roman finished speaking with a firm tone.


    Before anyone of them could ask him, Roman stated, "Yes, I am talking about that young kid who could utilize Sword Domain! Do you know what this means? In the entire Sinyalian Kingdom, there is no warrior who can utilize a Domain under the age of 50!"


    "I''m not sure why the kid didn''t use it right away, but I''m guessing he was just toying with me. Despite the fact that I have my own trump cards and would not easily lose to that kid, I will not be able to stop him from ughtering all of you!" He nearly yelled at the end.


    Themanders and the strategists were startled to hear this statement. They didn''t think that Roman was so worried about them. They were a little touched to know that Roman cared about them and that was why he hadn''t given the order to ambush the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment.


    However, this didn''t prevent them from trying to convince Roman to change his decision!


    "You can''t miss on such a great opportunity, Commander Roman! We are ready to risk our lives for this operation. And if this operation seeds, we would be one step closer to destroying this encampmentpletely and expanding our boundaries!"


    Amander tried to convince Roman. He wasn''t the only one. All the othermanders and strategists began to convince Roman.


    After a couple of seconds, Roman shouted, "Silence!" His voice was cold and firm. And all those who heard it couldn''t help but shut their mouths. The entire cabin was filled with silence.


    Roman then spoke out, "I understand your point and also don''t wish to waste this opportunity. I am actually waiting for arade to arrive. He is a 5 Star Warrior and my senior from the War General''s Association. I received his message, and he is already on his way. ording to thetest report, it would take him another 2 days to reach the encampment!"


    A thin smirk appeared on Roman''s face as he asked them, "You all understand what this means, right?" Themanders and the strategists instantly understood what he meant. A wide smile appeared on their faces as they knew that Roman was telling them that they would soon attack the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment.


    A solemn look appeared on Roman''s face as he added, "We willunch an attack 3 dayster. Make sure to keep your preparations for this ambush as discreet as possible. Otherwise, the enemy will prepare a trap for us."


    "Yes, Commander!" With gleeful expressions on their faces, they all yelled. They could finally exact vengeance on the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers for the murders of their subordinates andrades!


    Roman dispersed this strategy meeting. He then organized another meeting. Alby and Sophie joined Roman for this meeting. Roman then informed them of his n of ambushing the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment three dayster.


    He also informed them that his senior brother Gilberd was going to join them soon enough. Upon the mention of their senior brother Gilberd, Sophie''s expression turned a little ugly. She recalled that man had tried to court her multiple times.


    Gilberd was a bit presumptuous in his courtship of Sophie. He''d barge inside the Array Association and try to spend time with her. Sophie despised his presence and had ordered her guards to ensure that he couldn''t enter her chambers.


    Fortunately, her father was Spencer Russel, the captain of the Royal Guards. He has dispatched several 5 Star Warriors to defend his daughter. As a result, Gilberd couldn''t go too far in his attempts to court Sophie.


    Despite Sophie''s repeatedints to her father about Gilberd, no harsh action has been taken. This was because Gilberd was the son of her father''s best friend, who was also the president of the War General''s Association. Furthermore, Gilberd had joined many expeditions under Spencer''smand and left asting impression on him.


    Spencer believed that Gilberd was a great choice for a son-inw.. Thus, he wasn''t very harsh with the boy since he believed that his daughter would see his good points eventually.

 Chapter 447 - Gilberd Reaches The Camp

    Gilberd showed up three dayster. He had arrived by himself. He had a legitimate reason foring alone: Roman had urged him to do so discreetly. The Glerian Kingdom''s forces must have learned their lesson when theyunched an ambush against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s camp without gathering sufficient intelligence.


    Roman was sure that they wouldn''t repeat that mistake. At the least, they would try to keep their eyes on the new soldiers that enter the Sinyalian Kingdom''s camp. Even if a small team of warriors arrived, the information would spread to the whole army. And the Glerian Kingdom''s forces would be alerted as well.


    Moreover, Gilberd could fly in the air. However, his power wasn''t so great that he could have other warriors fly together with him. It would significantly affect his speed and stamina. And Roman''s priority was to have Gilberd here as soon as possible.


    Roman was the War General Association''s prodigy. Not only that, but he was also a descendant of an extremely famous General Family and he was quite prideful of that. However, Roman also knew that he couldn''t risk the lives of these soldiers for his insignificant pride.


    He was well aware that requesting a 5 Star Warrior and having him execute Noah was a heinous act. It just demonstrated that hecked the ability to murder Noah. But Roman was willing to take that on his conscience and deal with this terrifying opponent.


    <em>''If this kid is allowed to grow any further, he will be a great threat to the Sinyalian Kingdom. And if this kid reaches the 5 Star Rank, even the Crown Prince could deal with him! It''s urgent that we deal with him now!''</em> Roman thought.


    Roman recognized that if the Glerian Kingdom learned of their talent''s death, they would go to any extent to investigate the matter. They would eventually understand all that had urred.


    The names of Roman, Gilberd, Sophie, and Alby, as well as the names of othermanders, would emerge in front of them. The Glerian Kingdom would ce them all on a hit list and seek retribution at all costs.


    <em>''I''ll ask my master and father to protect them from any assassination attempts. After learning that I killed an adversary who can utilize Sword Domain, they should not refute.''</em> Roman was adamant about killing Noah.


    Meanwhile, Gilberd was quite excited. Roman had informed him that one of his enemies was a 4 Star Warrior who could utilize a Sword Domain. However, this didn''t terrify Gilberd.


    There was a qualitative difference between a 4 Star Warrior and a 5 Star Warrior. Only until the 4 Star Rank was it possible to fight across ranks. The 5 Star Rank served as a line of separation between the mighty and the mediocre.


    It was believed that everyone below the Lord Rank was an ant! And this was not an exaggeration! A 5 Star Warrior had a greater quantity of Ardor, with its density increased by dozens of times. His Ardor would be powerful enough to interact with the environment and fight an opponent from afar.


    His spirit would be five to six times stronger, and his lineage or other innate talents would be significantly augmented.


    Finally, he couldbine all of his abilities to put a lot of pressure on his opponent. If the opponent''s cultivation was below 5 Star Rank, he would be restrained to the point of being unable to battle effectively.


    As a result, Gilberd felt confident in his ability to defeat Noah. The Sword Domain could make Noah resistant to the suppression ability of the 5 Star Rank, but it couldn''t let Noah entirely bridge the enormous gap between the 5 Star Rank and the 4 Star Rank.


    Gilberd could only be ecstatic for one reason. He was thrilled since he would be able to meet Sophie and spend time with her. He agreed right away when Roman contacted him and urged him to hurry to the battlefield.


    After agreeing to Roman''s request, he went to meet his father. Fortunately for him, Spencer Russel was apanying his father. Spencer hade just to talk about some serious issues. They were done speaking about the serious matters and were now drinking booze.


    Gilberd entered the hall and saw his father and Spencerughing like mad guys. They seemed to be talking about some silly things andughing over them like children. However, Gilberd didn''t care about their talks.


    He was here for a specific reason. He immediately went and paid his respects to Spencer and his father. After that, he informed his father that he would be leaving for the battlefield right away since Roman was urging him toe. It seemed that Roman required his presence.


    Spencer and his father both became solemn when they heard Roman''s name. They had nothing but reverence for the Alfornsen Family. This family had given the Sinyalian Kingdom valiant and heroic generals who had never shied away fromying down their lives for their nation.


    Moreover, they had heard many good things about this prodigious descendent of this prestigious family. Gilberd''s father roared at him, "You idiot! What are you doing here?! Leave immediately and assist him however you can!"


    It seemed as though Gilberd''s father was ready to pick up the jug and smash his son''s head with it. Gilberd was truly frightened when he heard his father shouting at him. Fortunately, Spencer ced his hand on Gilberd''s father''s shoulder and spoke, "Calm down. Let him speak."


    "Whatever," Gilberd''s father spoke as he dropped the thought of beating his son. Gilberd let out a sigh of relief.


    He then stared at Spencer and spoke, "Uncle Spencer, I actually wanted to ask for my father''s permission to speak to you. I have a small request for you. I hope you could fulfill it."


    Spencer was curious about Gilberd''s request and spoke, "Speak child. What do you want from me?"


    "As you know, Sophie has also gone to the battlefield. I am sure she has some 5 Star Guards apanying her, who would protect her from any harm. However, as you know Uncle, she is rather impulsive and could risk her life to save someone. I don''t want something to happen to her. If she is injured, it would truly break my heart," Gilberd took a small pause to stare at Spencer.


    Spencer seemed lost in thought. He knew that Gilberd was right. There was indeed a good chance that this could ur. She seemed to like courting disasters. After a few seconds, Spencer spoke, "You are correct, child. So, what is the solution?"


    "I know that the Royal Guards are protecting her, and she would be safe if the situation remained normal. However, if the situation turned dire and she rushes into danger, I can''t prevent her from risking her life if the Royal Guards stop me. Thus, I request yourmand token so that I can order the Royal Guards to take her away," Gilberd had carefully prepared his words and presented them before Spencer.


    Spencer thought about these words for a couple of seconds. He was aware of the value of hismand token. With thatmand token, Gilberd could easilymand all of the Royal Guards, and the Royal Guards would prioritize hismands above Sophie''s.


    It would be very dangerous to leave thismand token in the hands of the wrong person. But Spencer trusted Gilberd greatly. He had seen this child grow up and believed that he had a good heart.


    Thus, Spencer didn''t think much before he handed over that Command Token to Gilberd. If he wasn''t drunk right now, he would have noticed that wicked grin on Gilberd''s face as he held thatmand token.


    Gilberd knew that even after possessing thismand token he couldn''t order the Royal Guards to do some dishonorable deeds. However, Sophie could no longer order these Royal Guards to prevent him from visiting her.


    This was all he wanted! And maybe, he could get a chance to do something more with Sophie. Thus, Gilberd went to the ck market and bought the Silver Rabbit''s Blood Syrup.


    Silver Rabbit''s Blood Syrup was a potent aphrodisiac that could stimte intense sexual desire when consumed. Gilberd was nning to use this only as ast resort. He knew that this would be a one-way road.


    There would be no going back after hepleted this task. He had to be ready to deal with a furious Spencer who would be determined to make Gilberd pay for his actions.


    If Spencer was after him, then given his great rtionship with the King, Gilberd would have the entire Sinyalian Kingdom after him! They would be like hungry beasts after his blood!


    Gilberd had naturally nned an escape route for himself. After carrying out the act, he intended to flee to the Lamhilhan Theocracy. He possessed sufficient jewels, secret techniques, weapons, and, most importantly, the strength to protect himself in the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    But Gilberd truly hoped that he wouldn''t be forced to resort to this.


    Now, as he entered the encampment, he couldn''t help but stare at Sophie, who hade out to greet him. A smile appeared on his face as he turned towards Roman and spoke arrogantly, "Heya, Roman. Didn''t think you would ask for my assistance to deal with some kid who can fight decently with the sword."


    Gilberd knew that a Swordsman who could utilize a Sword Domain was a big deal, but he wanted to show off in front of Sophie, so he downyed Noah''s ability in front of the group.

 Chapter 448 - Commander Celan

    When he heard Gilberd dismiss Noah''s skills, Roman became annoyed. Roman had made a pact with Noah. Gilberd appeared to be mocking Noah''s abilities, which in turn suggested that he was also mocking Roman.


    Roman scoffed in return, "Yeah, he can fight decently with the sword. I mean, the world is overloading with swordsmen who can utilize a Sword Domain. What about you, brother Gilberd? I heard you are rather proficient in fighting with a Spear. Are you any closer to gaining an insight into the Spear Domain?"


    The sarcasm was clearly obvious. Gilberd''s face became cold as he gazed at Sophie and Alby, who had covered their mouths to conceal theirughter. He stared right back at Roman and noticed Roman gazing at him with a cold look in his eyes.


    Before Gilberd could even state anything, Roman added, "Before making fun of your opponent, take a look at yourself. He is merely a child. I would say he isn''t any older than 12-year-old. And he has managed to earn a draw against me in our battle. I wonder how strong you were when you were 12-year-old, senior brother Gilberd."


    Gilberd remained silent for a few seconds before speaking with a smile, "It was just a little joke, junior brother. You don''t need to be so serious."


    "It''s fine if it was a joke. But I won''t tolerate any disrespect to my opponent. Do not insult him by calling him weak. I wouldn''t have urged you toe if the situation wasn''t urgent," Roman spat out.


    Before leaving, Roman stared at Gilberd through the corner of his eyes and spoke, "A guard wille and escort you to your cabin. Also, I am still themanding general of this expedition. You will need to ensure that you follow the orders. Or else, you can return."


    Gilberd noticed that Roman was quite serious. With a solemn expression, he responded, "I will naturally obey the orders of the Commanding General."


    Roman faintly nodded upon hearing that tone and returned to his cabin. He was nning to run some more simtions and perfect his n.


    On the very same day, he sent an order to one of hismanding generals, "Commander Cn, gather all the soldiers at the 1 Star Rank and attack the northern outpost of the Glerian Kingdom''s camp!"


    Commander Cn received many explosive talismans from Roman. The chaotic power of Fire and Lightning was instilled into these exploding talismans! When they were detonated, they would trigger a massive st that would rupture the soil and obliterate the metals.


    "Begin the battle with these exploding talismans. However, use them consecutively. Two at the same time so that the enemy won''t be able to focus on anything but these explosions. Allow a few of them to escape and then immediately advance into the Glerian Kingdom''s territory!" Roman finished giving his instructions.


    Commander Cn had a puzzled expression on his face. He asked Roman, "What good would it do to alert our adversary ahead of time? We are nning arge-scale attack on our adversary''s camp. If they know we''re nning an ambush, they''ll set traps for us."


    Roman had a smile on his face, "There is only so much a single Commanding General can handle at one time. When he hears that we have attacked the Northern Outpost with explosive talismans apanied by arge number of warriors, he is bound to send a few teams to scout your force. At that time, you and your soldiers will wear those disguised vests that will automatically release the fake aura we will prepare from our veteran and strong forces."


    "Once the Commanding General realizes that we are advancing into the Glerian Kingdom''s territory and quite near to some of its viges, it''s bound to send his forces after your contingent. It will be a strong force. If you are unlucky, those forces might include those pesky Heretical Pdins."


    "After these forces have left their camp and are some distance away, our real forces will quickly assault the enemy''s camp. We will strike their camp where their force is the least concentrated, the Western Side of the Camp!" Roman informed Commander Cn.


    Commander Cn seemed convinced with that exnation. Roman remained silent for a few seconds before he stated, "Commander Cn, you will be in grave danger. Even in the best-case scenario, you will be forced to fight the Glerian Kingdom''s finest soldiers. If you are lucky, you and a chosen few could escape with their lives intact, but in every other situation, you will all die."


    Roman paused for a few seconds and inquired Commander Cn, "Are you still as determined to carry out this mission, Commander?"


    "Haha. Commander Roman, you look down on me. Ipletely grasp the idea that in order to be triumphant in great battles, you must be willing to make enormous sacrifices. I guarantee you that I will offer my life to ensure that my assignment is aplished wlessly!" Commander Cn promised with a solemn expression on his face.


    Roman nodded his head, "Very well. I am pleased to see your resolve. I assure you that your sacrifice will not be in vain! The tales of your bravery will be sung by bards and poets for generations toe!"


    Commander Cn became a little emotional as he heard those statements and spoke, "There is no greater honor than to die in the battle. I wish to talk to my family onest time."


    "Very well," Roman spoke. He then quickly added, "However, it will ur in my presence. You should understand that I cannot take any risks. Currently, you are the only one who knows of my n."


    "I perfectly understand, Commander Roman," Commander Cn spoke with a pleased smile on his face. He was happy that Roman trusted him enough to confide him with his n.


    In the meantime, Sophie and Alby''s teams were working on talismans and pellets that could disguise an individual''s aura and make it appear much stronger. Fortunately, with the resources avable, this task was quite easy. It was just that the number of talismans and the pellets they required were quite numerous.


    Roman had, of course, given Sophie and Alby a general outline of his n. Their teams had been working constantly over thest three days. It would take them another day toplete the task they were given.


    And after weing Gilberd, Sophie and Alby returned to their respective workstations and continued their work. In the meantime, Gilberd was roaming around in the camp, observing it carefully.


    He didn''t immediately enter Sophie''s workshop as he knew that if he disturbed her now, Roman woulde to her defense. It would be a bad decision to provoke Roman at this moment.


    If Roman became truly furious with Gilberd, he could order Gilberd to return to the city. Even though Gilberd was a strong 5 Star Warrior if Roman ordered Gilberd to return and he resisted that order then Roman could ask Sophie''s guards to deal with him.


    At that moment, Roman''s authority would outstrip Gilbert''s authority even though Gilbert held themand token of the Captain of the Royal Guards.


    The guards'' primary job was to keep Sophie safe. The camp''s security was their secondary priority. They were, after all, Sinyalian Kingdom soldiers. If Gilberd refused to obey Roman''smands and started causing havoc in the camp, these guards would assault him to maintain the peace.


    The multiple problems made Gilberd''s headache. He felt like he was treading on a narrow path, and if he was careless, he''d be left with nowhere to go. He had to keep all theseplications in his mind and move towards his objective.


    Moreover, Gilberd did have something to do within this camp. He decided to prepare his escape route while Sophie was drawing the talismans.


    Gilberd''s preparations included creating a few traps along the way for those who would immediatelye to catch him. He knew that the ones who would be truly troublesome to deal with would be the 5 Star Warriors flying towards him.


    A 5 Star Warrior''s ability to fly was a great boon to him, but a curse for his adversaries. This was because escaping from a 5 Star Warrior would be extremely challenging.


    However, Gilberd had been prepared to deal with such a situation and had brought multiple gravitational talismans. He bought so many of them under the guise that he nned to use them for training.


    It wasn''t strange for a warrior to use these gravitational talismans for training. Thus, the array association didn''t think much and provided him with these talismans. They had no idea of the wicked n in Gilberd''s mind.


    Gilberd knew that he could stack on the effects of these gravitational talismans if used over one another. Thus, he nned to create a field with a strong gravitational area and activate it after he has just flown past that area.


    Thus, all his pursuers would be immediately attracted to the ground. The gravitational pull would be so strong that even if they were 5 Star Warriors, they would find it hard to move. Let alone fly or run.


    Thus, Gilberd could use that time to widen the gap between them. After that, pursuing him for any 5 Star Warrior would be absolutely impossible.. In fact, if the distance was wide enough, even a 6 Star Warrior wouldn''t be able to pursue Gilberd.

 Chapter 449 - Perfect Timing

    It took two more days for the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces to be ready to attack the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment. Gilberd had also nned his escape path and was now confident in his ability to make it out alive.


    During these two days, he had tried to meet Sophie at every turn. Talk to her politely and respectfully but Sophie ignored his advances. Eventually, Sophie was getting tired of Gilberd who kept on pestering her every day.


    Thus, she told him, "I do not like your presence, Gilberd. Stop pestering me and leave me alone. You are a talented warrior and there should be no shortage of women in your life. Just give up on me."


    Gilberd responded to her with a calm tone, "I will keep on trying until you change your mind, Sophie. I promise you that you won''t regret a life together with me. I am already a 5 Star Warrior and will get into the Royal Guards. If fate wills it, I could even inherit your father''s position as the Captain of the Royal Guards! Your father is clearly fond of me, and his opinion would matter quite a bit so it''s quite possible."


    Sophie frowned at those words. She seemed irritated to hear that her father was fond of Gilberd. She voiced out while ring at Gilberd, "I have been enduring you for quite some time, thinking that you will give up once you realize that we aren''t fated. But it seems you have no intention of leaving me alone."


    "Know this: I have a lover, and I have already be his woman, both physically and spiritually! You are wasting your time!" Sophie finally dropped the bomb on Gilberd. She felt that this information would finally make Gilberd give up.


    Gilberd was visibly shaken after hearing those words. He thought that he had heard wrongly and asked her with a look of disbelief, "There is no way this is the truth. You are lying. Right? You are just saying this to make me give up, right?"


    Sophie had a mocking smile on her face as she asked him, "Am I? What do you think?" She left with a scornful look on her face. There was a hint of disgust on her face as well.


    While Sophie was walking towards her tent, Gilberd was left alone. After a few seconds, he was trembling. He was shaking due to anger. Blood had rushed to his eyes, and he wanted to do nothing more than to kill Sophie''s lover.


    He didn''t just feel hatred for Sophie''s unknown lover. He felt hurt by Sophie''s betrayal. In his mind, he had already considered Sophie as his woman. He took deep breaths to calm down and thought resolutely <em>''I was stupid to think that I was doing something wrong! It''s not me who is wrong. It''s her! And she has to pay the price for that!''</em>


    Sophie had no clue that her remarks had fueled Gilberd''s drive to carry out those heinous acts. Gilberd decided on the timing of when he should put his n in motion. The timing would be one dayter after their ambush of the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment.


    Gilberd had heard the n from Roman and he felt that this n was most likely to seed. He knew that even if he surpassed his junior brother in power, Roman was unmatched in intelligence, especially regarding matters rted to the battlefield and formations.


    Roman''s n was most likely to seed. This meant that the day after, everyone would be celebrating their victory over the Glerian Kingdom''s forces. He would use Spencer''s Token and enter Sophie''s tent andmit the deed.


    After that, he nned to escape that same night and leave behind some footsteps or other things they could use to track him. They would all lead them to his trap. After that, there would be fake leads all around them so that they would have no idea how to follow Gilberd. Gilberd would have departed the region by then and would be out of their grasp.


    Soon, the moment for which everyone had been waiting arrived. Commander Cn was leading his forces to the Northern Outpost of the Glerian Kingdom''s encampment. This outpost had been set up here for scouting purposes and to keep watch over the borders.


    For that reason, there weren''t a lot of soldiers avable to defend this outpost. The soldiers at the Northern Outpost were startled to perceive Commander Cn leading arge force towards them.


    The sensors at the outposts tried to get an urate read of the enemy''s strength. After some time, they immediately sent their messengers on horses to the nearest camp of the Glerian Kingdom''s forces.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s encampment immediately received the message. They were naturally startled to hear that such arge force of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army was marching towards the Norther Outpost of the Glerian Kingdom.


    It wouldn''t take a genius to know that their target wasn''t the Northern Outpost, but the viges and towns in that direction. The Commanding General of the Glerian Kingdom''s forces was quite puzzled.


    He contacted his superiors and the governor supervising that area. He informed the governor of the entire situation. Naturally, the governor was startled and terrified to hear that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers were going to breach into his territory.


    He responded to themanding general at the encampment, "Send your best teams after this army. I will immediately gather the troops and send them to you as reinforcements."


    Each city and town would have its own guards. They were a settlement''sst line of defense. The troops that a governor couldmand were indeed these guards and some mercenary bands. However, this governor didn''t n to send his personal forces to the frontlines. If so, he would be left without any defenses.


    The governor was going to send a message to the capital and request for troops. If the king sent the troops, then good. If not, then themanding general of the Glerian Kingdom''s forces was on his own for some time.


    The Commanding General understood the character of this governor. He knew that he couldn''t expect any help from this selfish man. This man wouldn''t expend a single coin from his treasury to hire a mercenary band and deal with the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces.


    It had to be known that the city was quite far from the battlefield. It would be impossible for the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces to advance that deep inside the Glerian Kingdom.


    He knew there was no point in thinking deeply about this matter. He immediately called out hismanding officers and chose a few of them to lead the Glerian Kingdom''s army to annihte the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army that was stepping inside the Glerian Kingdom''s territory.


    In the meantime, the troops led by Commander Cn had just pierced the barrier around the Northern Outpost. They hadpletely destroyed the Northern Outpost to ensure that the Glerian Kingdom''s forces couldn''t make use of it any time soon.


    They would have to spend a significant amount of time repairing it before they could utilize it. Commander Cn kept moving ahead, just as Roman had ordered. If there were no obstacles, Roman had directed him to pige the viges of the Sinyalian Kingdom to guarantee that his army had enough provisions tost for a long time.


    The Commanding General had already ordered his subordinates to gather a strong force that could easily deal with the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army. However, the Heretical Pdins and the other high-ranking officers remained within the encampment.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s Commanding General realized he couldn''t just order his best squads to charge out of the camp, leaving the camp utterly vulnerable.


    However, the Commanding General of the Glerian Kingdom''s forces had no idea that Roman had anticipated his actions. In fact, right at this moment, Roman was rushing towards Commander Cn''s position from another direction.


    The n that Roman mentioned to Commander Cn was actually a sham. In reality, Roman nned to pincer attack the Glerian Kingdom''s troops that would charge out to attack Commander Cn''s forces!


    In this way, he would be able to cope with a huge force of the Glerian Kingdom while minimizing his casualties. However, this wasn''t the end of his n. This was the mere beginning!


    Commander Cn gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he saw the dust clouds in the distance. He knew that the Glerian Kingdom''s army was approaching him. He immediately ordered his soldiers, "Get into the Defensive Formation 5! We will soon face the Glerian Kingdom''s forces!"


    The soldiers obeyed his orders and turned in the direction from which the Glerian Kingdom''s forces wereing. However, the Glerian Kingdom''s forces had no idea that Roman''s forces were just behind them!


    Well, not exactly behind them. This was because Roman''s forces wereing from a direction that was at a right angle to the Glerian Kingdom''s forces. Roman had calcted the timing and the speed of the enemy''s forces down to the seconds. He was sure that the enemy would have no idea that they were going to be under a pincer attack soon enough!


    The timing was so perfect that even the best sensors in the Glerian Kingdom''s forces had no idea that they had been fooled. The enemy was approaching them from two directions. And Roman had maneuvered his forces in such a manner that he had blocked any escape routes of the enemy.


    A solemn look appeared on Roman''s face as he thought <em>''It''s time for a ughter!''</em>

 Chapter 450 - Urgent Information

    The Glerian Kingdom''s force that had been sent to deal with the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces were filled with the finest soldiers avable at the encampment, except for the Heretical Pdins.


    Naturally, the sensors were rather talented as well. Their observational skills were impressive. In this situation, these sensors were very confident in winning their battle against this Sinyalian kingdom''s army that was traveling into the Glerian Kingdom''s territory.


    However, one of these sensors noticed something strange on their back. They sensed the movements of multiple birds flying in separate directions. Normally, a sensor wouldn''t be intimidated by this information.


    But the situation was slightly puzzling. The sensor couldn''t sense anything strange due to which these birds might be flying in other directions. He was quite skilled in analyzing the movements of the beasts.


    After a few seconds, he reached a conclusion. However, when he did reach this conclusion, sweat beads began to drop down his forehead. A deep fear appeared in his eyes along with a look of realization.


    "Oh shit! I have to tell the superiors about this!" He immediately ran to inform the captain of his theory. All the superior officers in the army knew him and hence didn''t stop him when they saw him approaching the captain''s horse.


    They also noticed that his expression was rather grave, unlike his usually joyful face. They knew he was an optimistic guy. And if he had such a grave and worried expression on his face, it meant that the situation was absolutely serious.


    "Make way!" yelled a couple of lieutenants, "Allow the horse to pass through by dividing into two columns." Thatmand was instantly carried out, and the army was separated into two groups. When the path freed up for the sensor''s horse, he easily passed.


    The sensor soon met up with the captain of his army. The captain was surprised to see him appear and asked him, "Anything wrong, Filip? You seem deathly pale. It''s as if you have seen a ghost. Haha."


    The sensor named Filip didn''tugh. His expression remained grave as he spoke with the most respectful tone he could muster, "Captain, please send a message to themanding general to request reinforcements immediately. I have a good reason to believe that we are walking into a trap!"


    "What?!" The captain yelled out, clearly terrified at this thought. Even his intuition had been telling him that the situation was dangerous. But the captain dismissed his worries and thought that he was merely nervous.


    After exchanging a couple of sentences with the sensor, the captain''s expression turned grave. He seemed quite serious as he realized that his intuition was absolutely right.


    "We must adjust our course in order to avoid bing stuck between these two armies!" Filip spoke right away. For a little while, the captain stayed silent, which Filip found frustrating. Filip knew that staying on this course meant more danger to him, however, he didn''t n to run away by himself. He stayed there and continued to speak a couple of sentences to convince the captain to change their course.


    In the end, Filip couldn''t convince the captain. The captain responded to him in an interesting manner. He spoke, "It seems that we are very lucky. This was valuable information, Filip. You can return to your position now."


    Filip was startled to hear this response. He gulped down a mouthful of saliva and asked the captain with a nervous tone, "¡­Is that all, sir? Please tell me that we are traveling towards the west."


    The captain, on the other hand, answered him with a smile. It wasn''t an enthusiastic smile, but it wasn''t a serene smile either. Almost immediately, Filip knew just what the captain was nning. He let out a sigh and had a distressed look on his face.


    The captain noticed Filip''s emotions but chose to ignore them. He had greater matters at hand now. If he was careless, this army would bepletely annihted. And he wasn''t going to let that ur.


    And if the enemy truly desired to destroy his troops, he intended to make them pay a hefty price. They would regret ever thinking up of such a foolish n! The captain called out a few of his subordinates and informed them of their tasks.


    Meanwhile, Roman''s forces were running at their full speeds. They weren''t actually charging at the army itself. They were charging at the point where the army would eventually reach. He was quite confident in his calctions.


    In fact, he had also considered the possibility of what would ur if the enemy discovered his force charging towards them. He knew that the enemy could find out the n through many methods.


    However, the most prominent method was to spread multiple scouts in the area who were concealing their energy. They would report everything back to the army. If these scouts saw Roman''s force, the gig would be up.


    However, Roman knew they couldn''t set up scouts so quickly. They would need to decide the area and choose the soldiers. There could also be the issue of distributing them talismans or pellets.


    By the time the enemy set up the scoutingwork and held information about a wide range, Roman''s army would be close enough to ensure that the enemy would only have a couple of options remaining.


    The first option was to change their direction. This was the simplest choice, and any ordinary warrior would immediately choose it. However, Roman knew that the captain of the army wouldn''t be that ordinary.


    This man was chasing an army of the Sinyalian Kingdom that was nning to wreak havoc in the Glerian Kingdom''s territory. He couldn''t be an ordinary warrior! Thus, Roman had tried to anticipate this man and his thoughts.


    Roman knew that if this man turned around or altered his path, this captain could have his army avoid a battle against Roman''s army. However, Roman had already calcted what he should do in such a situation.


    Roman was going to order Commander Celen to immediately change their targets and move towards this armying towards them. He knew that the captain of the Glerian Kingdom''s army would now realize that he was trapped.


    The Captain of the Glerian Kingdom''s army couldn''t allow his battle against Commander Cn to begin because that would allow Roman''s army to get close to them and join the battle soon. Once Roman''s army joined the battle, it would be over for them.


    Naturally, the captain of the Glerian Kingdom''s army had realized this issue and thus hadn''t altered his path. In reality, this was his error!


    Roman knew that if the Glerian Kingdom''s army fought against the army led by Commander Cn, it wouldn''t take them much time before iming victory and leaving. This was because the warriors led by Commander Cn were merely 1 Star Warriors.


    They were only numbers, and their sheer numbers could only serve to intimidate the opponent. Commander Cn''s army, in other terms, was a paper tiger. It might be used to terrify people, but it couldn''t harm them!


    And this was Roman''s gamble. That the captain of the Glerian kingdom''s army wouldn''t realize this ruse. If he did realize this ruse, not only could the Glerian Kingdom''s army escape sessfully, but also significantly damage the Sinyalian Kingdom''s troops.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army would lose arge number of young prospects and soldiers. Roman would be cursed by all the other soldiers and warriors at the encampment that he might be removed from his position of themanding general. Someone more deserving would be given the opportunity to demonstrate his merits.


    However, Roman had won his bet! The Captain of the Glerian Kingdom''s army was now heading deep into the jaws of a deadly trap. However, the situation was also not goingpletely ording to Roman''s expectations.


    Roman had no idea that the captain of the Glerian Kingdom''s army had realized anything or not. Noticing that the path of the army remained unchanged, he was getting an eerie feeling. It felt as though he was the one walking into a trap.


    Roman soon suppressed those worries and led his warriors at a decent speed. The Glerian Kingdom''s army was just about to reach the point where the great battle would ur! From the movements of the Glerian Kingdom''s army, Roman didn''t feel as if the Glerian Kingdom''s army had realized anything.


    Their pace and direction had remained constant throughout the entire path. However, Roman knew he couldn''t leave anything to fate. Thus, he took all kinds of precautions and ordered his men to spread around.


    After half an hour, the Glerian Kingdom''s army reached the point at the exact same moment as Roman''s army. It proved just how urate Roman''s calctions were.


    There was still arge gap between the two armies, but Roman believed that he and his army could easily cover this gap. He immediately ordered his soldiers to charge forwards! It was time for a ughter fest!


    The Glerian Kingdom''s army''s captain wasn''t surprised to see Roman. The same could be said about his army. Along the way, the captain had already informed his Lieutenants, who had further informed their soldiers.. The captain did this so that his side wouldn''t lose morale when they see an unexpected enemy.

 Chapter 451 - Clash Between The Two Armies

    When Roman and his side saw the captain of the Glerian Kingdom''s forces, they immediately ordered their troops to charge. Both were of the opinion that they should end this battle quickly.


    Moreover, their armies held the best troops of their respective kingdom. The Glerian Kingdom''s forces'' captain was confident of his victory when he noticed that Roman was leading a nearly equal number of troops.


    Meanwhile, Roman had a smirk on his face as the armies shed ahead of him. Unsurprisingly, the result was in his favor. The top-grade soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom were at the same level as that of the Glerian Kingdom''s best troops.


    However, Roman''s side could easily suppress Glerian Kingdom''s forces by utilizing battle formations. These battle formations boosted their abilities by more than a few times. Roman moved from his position and joined the battle soon enough.


    Roman didn''t sh with the troops. He ignored them all and charged towards the captain of the army. His subordinates intercepted all the attacks that wereunched at him and cleared the way for him.


    In a sense, no one could stop him from reaching the Captain. However, at this moment, a few troops nearby Captain joined hands and whispered something underneath their breaths. A few secondster, arge Earth Wall was erected ahead of the captain.


    Roman was surprised when this Earth Wall was raised. He had thought that the captain would fight him head-on. He believed that the captain was bbergasted due to Roman and his forces'' intervention and would find it difficult to understand the situationpletely.


    Moreover, given his perplexity, he was unable to make a rational decision. This Earth Wall, on the other hand, gave him the impression that the situation was not as he had assumed. A cold and sharp glint appeared in his eyes as he thought <em>''He knew of this ambush! We need to finish this quickly!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    Roman didn''t slow down his horse even as they were about to run into the Earth Wall. He clenched his fist and pointed it ahead. Dozens of Fist Qi were released from his hand that pierced the Earth Wall.


    A huge part of the Earth Wall was soon sliced and opened the space for Roman''s horse to pass. However, Roman was surprised when he noticed the captain of the Glerian Kingdom''s forceing forward.


    The captain held a heavy sword in his hand and charged towards Roman''s horse. Roman attacked the captain with his Fist Qi. The soldiers near the captain immediately attacked the dozens of Fist Qi and redirected them.


    Roman was surprised that these soldiers could redirect his Fist Qi. Every elemental attack would need to be sufficiently enforced with Ardor to redirect a strand of Fist Qi. This indicated that they knew of his abilities and were more or less prepared for them.


    This was only natural. They were probably heading towards Commander Cn''s army while considering the possibility that Roman could be hidden within them. It would only be natural for them to bring soldiers and officers who would be proficient in dealing with Roman.


    This lineup seemed proficient in dealing with Roman but only on paper. The practical reality waspletely different. They had somehow managed to deal with Roman''s Fist Qi, but the real challenge was ahead.


    Before the captain of the Glerian Kingdom could attack or kill his beloved horse, Roman jumped from his horse andnded on the ground. There was a determined look on his face as he immediately began to run towards his adversary.


    Roman stopped releasing the Fist Qi and began to congeal it within his arm. The captain of the Glerian Kingdom sensed a threat to his life and his sword began to glow with an orange color.


    This was the color of his mes. This sword was capable of withstanding theplete power of the captain''s mes. The de was an alloy that was formed after mixing many rare metals.


    This sword was durable and highly flexible. Moreover, it weighed nearly 5 quintals. The fact that the captain could hold this sword and swing it with one hand was an impressive feat for a 4 Star Warrior.


    A 4 Star Warrior''s strength was usually restricted to lifting up a quintal. However, the captain had trained with his Heavy Sword for so long that he had be ustomed to utilizing it inbat.


    The craftsmanship of this sword was quite old. Even the rare alloy that this de was formed of had gone extinct. This sword had been passed down in his family for many generations.


    In a sense, this was a family heirloom. Each member of the family''s task was to guard this Heavy Sword with his life. And use it only for their nation. Legends stated that when used for the Glerian Kingdom, this Heavy Sword would provide great power to its user.


    The captain had experienced this power. He knew that the first condition to receive this power from the sword was to not have any greedy thoughts in his mind. He had to solely think about protecting his nation.


    The captain swung his sword and it shed against Roman''s fist that was condensed with pure Fist Qi. When the two shed, the ground beneath them ruptured as the pure power the two radiated in every direction.


    For a few seconds, the result remained neutral. It didn''t seem to favor Roman or the captain. However, the situation quickly changed as the captain began to suppress Roman. Roman noticed that the de of the Heavy Sword was actually cutting his hand. It had already pierced ayer of his skin!


    Roman immediately pulled back his hand and kicked the captain. However, the captain quickly responded by jumping back and dodging the kick cleanly. As the captain regained his footing, he swung his Heavy Sword and tried to sh Roman''s chest.


    Meanwhile, Roman had realized that there was something mysterious about that Sword. He dodged that sh and made the captain hit nothing but the ground. The captain was now immobilized for a few seconds.


    Roman didn''t waste this opportunity and took a step forward. He kicked the captain quite strongly, but he was shocked when he realized that he couldn''t move the captain from his spot.


    It was as if the captain was rooted to that spot. When he looked back, he realized the trick. The sword had pierced and fixed itself in the ground. The captain had held the sword tightly and used all his Ardor to reinforce his body to endure Roman''s kick.


    Roman could sense that the sword was sending a dense stream of Ardor within the captain''s body. It was this Ardor that allowed the captain to gain the power to withstand Roman''s kick which was reinforced by his Fist Qi.


    Roman, however, knew that the captain wasn''t invincible after gaining this Ardor from the sword. If he kept on striking that spot, it was bound to feel the aftereffects sooner orter. Thus, he threw out his punch to strike the spot.


    During that moment, the captain had regained his breath and raised his sword. He was nning to attack Roman from behind while he was lifting his sword. Roman realized what the captain was doing and struck his chest strongly.


    When Roman struck the captain''s chest with his fist, the captain stopped moving for a second. This time, Roman''s attack held even greater power than when he kicked the captain. The Fist Qi could only disy its true potential through a punch. It was the same case when a Sword Qi was utilized through a sword.


    When the troops behind the captain observed that the captain had stayed still after being punched, they charged towards Roman. Roman, on the other hand, was far closer to the captain than they were. Roman had already started throwing punches at the captain''s chest before they could even take three steps towards him.


    The captain remained still and continued to endure those punches. He was still alive and was coughing blood. Every time he tried to move his muscle to lift his sword, Roman''s punch interrupted him, and he would be forced to release his sword.


    However, when Roman noticed that the soldiers were getting close to him, he was forced to jump back. The captain finally regained his breath and immediately began to utilize his Ardor to repair his injuries.


    These injuries included torn muscles, fractured bones, and damage to his organs. The captain gave the first preference to his organs and then his bones.


    He knew that muscles could be repaired easily. There were many supplements and even pellets that could repair the muscles, but the bones and organs would take time to recover.


    Thus, he had to minimize the damage done to them. However, the captain''s first priority was to fight against Roman. Roman wasn''t the slightest bit injured at this moment.


    Roman realized the threat that the captain''s sword posed to him.. Thus, he was trying to avoid contact with that sword while also striking the captain as much as possible.

 Chapter 452 - Persistence

    Unknown to Roman, a small team was on its way to the battlefield, where Roman''s side and the captain''s side of the Glerian Kingdom were engaged in life-or-deathbat.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s camp had received a message from the captain earlier that they were likely to jump into a trap and requested quick reinforcements. In fact, the captain had decided that retreating wouldn''t be a good decision.


    The captain wanted a fight with the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces and inflict heavy damages on their army. He was well aware that if he retreated, he would have to give up his desire. The captain had decided to take the risk and led his forces to battle against Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces.


    The Commanders at the Glerian Kingdom''s camp were startled to hear this. Some of them facepalmed and wondered <em>''Why the heck did we allow this crazy guy to lead our elite force?! We should have known that he would rather fall into a trap than retreat!''</em>


    Thus, thesemanders had no choice but to quickly gather enough soldiers and send them to this battlefield to act as reinforcements.


    While the meeting was taking ce, a soldier arrived in the tent and spoke, "Commander, I bring urgent news for you. General Noah has led his forces out of the camp. Before leaving, he mentioned that he was going to support Captain''s forces that were engaging the enemy forces inbat."


    All themanders were surprised to hear this information but a few of them muttered, "Perfect!" Thesemanders indeed wanted Noah to go and reinforce the Glerian Kingdom''s forces that were fighting Roman''s forces.


    There were two main reasons. The first was that Noah''s forces were very quick. They were the only ones who could cover the massive gap between the forces and arrive just on time to save the Glerian Kingdom''s forces.


    The second reason was more personal in nature. Eachmander was in charge of a small group of warriors in battle. These soldiers respected their respectivemanders a bit more than othermanders. Their loyalty was gathered generally through respect or fear.


    Meanwhile, thesemanders held a position of absolute authority in this group. They wanted to maintain their power and prestige, so they weren''t very open to the idea of risking their soldiers'' lives. They wanted to make sure that thebat strength of their group would remain the same.


    Thus, they were rather reluctant in choosing someone among themselves. However, since Noah had gone now. They knew that there was a good chance that Noah would return victorious.


    Only a few soldiers had seen how Roman had tied with Noah during theirst battle. Moreover, the Glerian Kingdom''smanders had no idea about the Gilberd''s presence, who was a 5 Star Warrior.


    The Glerian Kingdom''smanders were very confident about Noah. They had not only heard of Noah''s legendary power and skills but had personally witnessed it during numerous battles.


    They had also witnessed Noah''s Sword Domain. This Sword Domain was the reason why thesemanders were so sure that Noah could not be defeated by warriors of simr rank. They had heard many legends about a Doman. And a Sword Domain was considered the most aggressive among myriad domains.


    The battlefield was undergoing a massive transformation as Roman fought against the Captain. His forces had begun to overwhelm the Glerian Kingdom''s army. Even though the number of soldiers was nearly the same on both sides, the effects of the Battle Formations were evident.


    And just as the Glerian Kingdom''s army was pushed back by a couple of steps, a few soldiers noticed a massive dust cloud behind them.


    This massive dust cloud couldn''t have urred naturally. They sensed no strange Ardor that could have raised such a dust cloud.


    There was only one exnation. A massive group or a herd was charging at them at a quick pace!


    Their steps kicked the soil into the air and thus a massive dust cloud was raised.


    "C-Commander! It''s another army with the Sinyalian Kingdom''s g!" A soldier quickly shouted with a terror-stricken voice. It was as if he had seen his worst nightmare.


    And this wasn''t wrong in the slightest. He had truly seen his worst nightmare as they witnessed Commander Cn''s army marching towards them with their quickest speed.


    These soldiers had no idea that Commander Cn''s army wasposed of entirely low-ranking soldiers. The Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers could easily kill these warriors with a p.


    However, Roman''s aim had never been to make Commander Cn''s army join the battle. He was using Commander Cn''s forces to apply psychological pressure on the Glerian Kingdom''s army.


    Whatever fighting spirit they had was suddenly extinguished, like blowing out the fire on a matchstick!


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army swept through the Glerian Kingdom''s forces, encountering little to no challenge.


    The entire battlefield was in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s control. There was no way for them tounch aeback.


    Roman noticed that his opponent''s movements were getting sloppy. He immediately punched the captain, infusing it with all his Fist Qi.


    The punchnded on the Captain''s right arm that held his Heavy Sword. The punch was so strong that it broke the captain''s bone into tworge parts and the shockwave sent him flying in the sky.


    The Heavy Sword fell out of his palm andnded on the ground.


    The Captainnded near his forces and winced in pain. He hadn''t expected Roman to suddenlyunch such a sinister attack. He was caughtpletely off-guard.


    He looked around and noticed his soldiers getting clobbered by the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. For a second, a doubt shed in his mind as he thought <em>''Was I wrong? They will die for nothing. Did I just kill them all because of my persistence?''</em>


    He wasn''t wrong. He had truly killed the elite forces of the Glerian Kingdom by taking an absolutely stupid decision.


    He slowly rose to his feet to take his final stand. <em>''If this is to be my death, I will make sure it bloody hurts the Sinyalian Kingdom,''</em> he thought, his eyes filling with resolve.


    His entire body began to glow with an orange glow. If Roman had believed that he had defeated the captain after taking the Heavy Sword from his hands, he was dead wrong.


    The only reason the captain used that Heavy Sword was because that alloy was the one that could truly handle the powers of his mes. He wasn''t actually skilled in fighting with a Heavy Sword.


    He was skilled in fighting with his fists! From the streets, he had fought his way into the army and ughtered countless foes with his fists! He began to use the Heavy Sword only to honor his ancestors who passed the de down the family tree.


    All hairs on his body began to burn because of the high temperature. His body was gradually turning orange and his eyes were filled with a rare bit of fierceness.


    He yelled fervently, "All of you! How dare you give up like that?! Was this why you joined the army?! To give up when you encounter a challenge?! How many times have we not encountered this situation?! How many times have we not fought against unbelievable odds and survived till this day?! Are you just going to let it go to smoke?!"


    "You must think we have no chance of survival. You are right! We can''t survive. So, why not die with glory?!" His question resonated within the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers.


    Even the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers halted their attack as they heard that speech.


    A startled expression appeared on Roman''s face as he understood what the enemymander was doing.


    He immediately shot forward, his hands infused with an extremely high density of Fist Qi and Gold Ardor! This was a clear killing attack, meant to instantly extinguish the enemymander''s life.


    His punch connected with the Captain''s chest. However, a brilliant glow emerged from the captain''s body and blocked that attack.


    This glow was created with pure me Ardor that had been magnified tens of times after the captain burned his life force!

 Chapter 453 - The Primal Truth

    Absolute contempt was visible in his eyes as the Captain continued, "I don''t know about you, but I will die with glory! I will die with my head held high, looking down on the enemy who thinks they can ughter us with their clever scheme! I will make them have nightmares about me! <strong>KILL!</strong>"


    The troops of the Sinyalian Kingdom sensed something unusual. They sensed that they were in life-threatening danger.


    And this danger emerged from the battered Glerian Kingdom''s forces.


    It was as if a spark had been lit in their souls that raised their spirits and morale to new heights.


    Their faces had lost all traces of even thinking of giving up. It was as if they didn''t know of the word flight. All of them had a single thing on their mind.


    <strong>Kill!</strong>


    <strong>Kill the enemy!</strong>


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s troops found themselves dumbfounded as the Glerian Kingdom''s forcesunched a quick counter.


    There was no rhythm, no elegance, no formation, and no refinement to their attacks. Instead, it had regressed to its primal state.


    "<em><strong>Strength dominates all.</strong></em>"


    Humans devised ns, plots, tactics, and other clever battle tactics in order to challenge a stronger opponent. To bridge the immense chasm that stands between them.


    However, throughout the beginning of time, there had been innumerable instances where pure strength had entirely dominated clever stratagem!


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces werepletely dumbfounded as they witnessed this instance.


    Roman was busy fighting a fierce battle against the captain. He knew that this was the man who had lit up that fire. He was the torch! He had to be extinguished to quickly deal with the Glerian Kingdom''s forces!


    Meanwhile, the Glerian Kingdom''s forces had seemingly be fierce beasts as they attacked the Sinyalian kingdom''s forces.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s warriors were battling against the Glerian Kingdom''s army while attempting to retain their formations. This made it impossible for them to fully concentrate on their opponent.


    Through their battle formation, they had defeated countless foes. And this was the first time they felt that using this battle formation was detrimental!


    It went without saying that not all soldiers were feeling the same. Thus, their coordination was off and the enemy easily managed to pierce their formation.


    Meanwhile, some Glerian forces charged at the army led by Commander Cn! They had no idea that Commander Cn was leading rather weak soldiers.


    Commander Cn personally intervened and tried to stop them, but how could he stop a bunch of crazy soldiers who had no care for their lives!


    He could only stop a couple of them before the rest charged like crazy beasts.


    As the Glerian Kingdom''s forces attacked Commander Cn''s forces, they realized the ruse in an instant!


    "HAHAHA¡­ Weaklings! These are weaklings! I will ughter a hundred of them!"


    "Just a hundred?! I will kill a thousand of them!"


    "Hmph! Talk less and fight more!"


    The soldiers loudly bickered,ughing wildly.


    The other soldiers fighting Roman''s forces heard those words and grinned. Their morale soared even further as they actually managed to push back Roman''s forces by a couple of feet.


    It had to be known that at this point, Roman''s forces outnumbered them greatly. Even their primal way of battle, it should have been impossible for them to push back such a great force.


    The impossible had just urred, however!


    Since ancient times, it was said that words held great power. The body was just a vessel; the mind held the greatest power.


    Anyone who could tap into the mind''s power would experience an incredible surge of energy rushing throughout his body!


    The legend appeared to have proven true as the Glerian Kingdom''s army''s morale had been raised to such an extent that they had all surpassed their natural limits.


    This situation didn''t ur due to just the captain''s speech. The speech was merely a catalyst. Or a turning point.


    Their low spirits sparked this incident! It has been stated that the harder you fall, the greater you can rise. However, this required a single-minded focus and an obsessive devotion!


    The captain''s speech managed to trigger their mind into this state! He made them focus only on killing the enemy!


    The devotion of these soldiers was so great that the current situation urred!


    There was, however, a w. This phenomenon could notst forever. The soldiers would eventually feel the consequences of utilizing their Ardor so wildly. And that would truly be the end.


    There would be no walking out from that situation.


    Themander of the Glerian kingdom''s armies was aware of the issue. But it didn''t matter to him at this moment. He believed that rather than waiting to be butchered, he should ughter as many troops as he could before sumbing.


    And soon, the moment arrived as the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers began to fall one by one. It wasn''t the attacks of the enemy that killed them. Their minds gave out. The soldiers had overexerted themselves too greatly and it killed them.


    The soldiers didn''t even realize they died. Their bodies continued to il around,unching an attack that was previously instructed by their brain!


    There had been multiple cases that showed that even after death, the body would execute the finalmands of the brain before it shut down.


    The warriors of the Sinyalian Kingdom saw their adversaries fall one by one and were relieved. As they say ''Even the darkest nightse to an end and the sun will rise.''


    At this time, the troops of the Sinyalian Kingdom rted to this statement. Hope surged through them, raising their spirits to their peak point.


    The battle continued into a stalemate.


    On one side was an overwhelming side with a great number of soldiers who fought elegantly by using Battle Formations while on the other side was a smaller force fighting like crazy beasts!


    It was a very delicate bnce. The side whose tempo suffered even slightly would instantly be crushed by the enemy.


    And this delicate bnce was thrown into chaos by none other than Roman.


    Romanunched a series of fist techniques that increased the power of his attacks steadily.


    The captain of the Glerian Kingdom countered Roman by attacking him with his own me Fist Fighting Style. This was something he created personally.


    And it perfectly depicted his bold and ferocious temperament!


    However, as he continued to struggle, the intensity of his mes waned for a little while. This was the starting point of the repercussions of using power beyond his limits.


    Perhaps he could have reached this level if he continued to train for the rest of his life. However, this question would be left unanswered as Roman managed to pierce his chest with his fist.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s forces'' captain felt as though a herd of bulls was storming throughout his body, smashing everything inside him.


    Roman suddenly sensed something frightening, however. When he stared at the enemy''s face, he saw a poker face. No¡­ As he looked carefully, he noticed a thin, unnoticeable smile on the captain''s face.


    <em>''It was a trap! He intentionally weakened his mes to make me think that he was feeling the consequences of burning his life force. What a bold man! He dared to gamble with his life even in such a dire situation!''</em>


    "<strong>Bear Lock!</strong>"


    Suddenly, the captain raised his arms and tightly sped Roman. He pulled Roman closer to his body.


    In response, Roman''s fist emerged from the other side of the captain''s body. But the captain ignored the pain as the me around him lit brighter than ever.


    "<strong>zing Dragon!</strong>"


    The me took the shape of a Dragon. This was a technique the captain created after witnessing the metamorphosis of a python into a flood dragon. He was merely an onlooker as the flood dragon fought a great warrior.


    However, this transformation had given him great insight and assisted him in creating this technique!


    The transformation had urred after the python used the enemy''s attack to break its limit and evolve into a flood dragon.


    Simrly, this zing Dragon devoured the captain''s as well as Roman''s life energy in order to be even more powerful.


    Soon, even the Gold Ardor protecting Roman''s body burned out.


    And, for the first time since the beginning of the battle, Roman showed a horrified expression.


    He tried to pull out his arm and get away, but the captain was tightly holding him. It was impossible to pull his arm out.


    His life force continued to burn for a few seconds before a few soldiers near Roman attacked the captain!


    These attacks didn''t even tickle the captain. In fact, Roman felt his bones crackling a little as the captain''s hold became even tighter.


    Roman struggled with all his might. Under this life-threatening danger, his mind waspletely focused on getting away!


    And soon, an idea struck him like lightning from the heavens!

 Chapter 454 - Romans Counter

    Roman understood that the reason behind the Captain''s strength surge wasn''t merely morale. It was because he had burnt his life force.


    His attack had already begun to devour Roman''s life force as well. Since he was bound to lose his life force, Roman felt that he should put it to better use.


    Thus, he had a dangerous notion in his head.


    The idea involved willingly burning his life force and converting it into his Fist Qi. He was sure that it would be strong enough to easily ovee this me Dragon!


    No matter how strong this technique was, it couldn''t devour his insight.


    He burnt just a bit of his life force and the results were astounding! A massive hole appeared in the me Dragon.


    The captain''s mes waned eventually as the Fist Qi managed topletely overpower him!


    "This is the end!" Roman yelled, making sure all his soldiers heard him.


    And sure enough, his soldiers did hear him. Along with the Glerian Kingdom''s forces! Roman began shouting, "<em><strong>Hyaaahhhh! Ahhhhhhhh</strong><strong>¡­!</strong></em>"


    He tried to break free from the captain''s Bear Lock while yelling. Roman''s veins bulged out of his head, neck, arms, and legs. It was clear that he was relying on the strength of his entire body to break free.


    After a few seconds, Roman had managed to open the captain''s arm. Roman knew that if he stopped resisting even for a moment, the captain would once again have a tight hold over him.


    However, during that moment, he would have a small window of opportunity!


    If he could take advantage of that opportunity, this battle would be over!


    ''<em>I am rather fond of such gambles</em>,'' Roman thought as he suddenly stopped resisting the captain''s Bear Lock.


    Instantly, the captain''s arms tried to hug Roman strongly. It was so fast that the eyes of the soldiers couldn''t even see his movements.


    However, what urred even faster was Roman''s left fist piercing the captain''s stomach.


    This forced the captain to stay still. Even he couldn''t move his body after incurring such serious injuries.


    Roman snorted and pulled out both his arms of his body.


    The captain finally felt his heart''s absence. Blood leaked from his mouth as his eyes lost thest bits of life in them.


    His death was a heavy blow to all the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers. The soldiers seemed to have regained their consciousness from their crazed state.


    Tears ran down their faces as they shouted worriedly, "Captain Karsten!"


    Captain Karsten''s body hand moved slowly. It tried to punch Roman''s face.


    Roman stood there, letting the punchnd on his face. The punchnded so softly that Roman didn''t even feel it.


    Even though it was a harmless punch, it aroused all of the Glerian Kingdom''s troops and drove their feelings intoplete turmoil.


    Some were angry, some mncholic, and some had a devoted look on their faces. They wished to join Captain Karsten!


    He wasn''t just amander or a leader. He was their elder brother! He was family to them!


    They had shared misery and joy together. He had taken blows for them and each one of them felt that they owed him their lives.


    Not just this life. He had saved them that even if they fought for him for 7 generations, it wouldn''t be enough!


    Yet, this figure now stood immobile at his position.


    Roman had a rather respectful look on his face. He knew that this opponent''s experience was countless times greater than his own.


    If the two had an equal number of soldiers, perhaps he would have triumphed Roman. No¡­If Roman hadn''t burnt his own life force to gain that sudden power boost, he would have lost.


    Roman turned his head and observed the faces of the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers. He was startled to see their expression retain that same crazed look. No¡­ The me in their hearts was burning even greater.


    ''They will die! They canunch just one final attack and they will die after burning so much life force. They should realize it. Yet they are doing it.''


    Roman turned his head and stared at Captain Karsten ''What amazing charisma he has. He is a generational talent. If he had grown even further and be the General, the Sinyalian Kingdom would have encountered some serious problem then.''


    "Halt!" A sudden shout resounded in the entire battlefield.


    This battlefield was filled with warriors that held somber looks and crazed expressions. They had stopped their battle because the Glerian Kingdom''s army''smander had died. Typically, this would make the enemy army lose all their morale and give up.


    However, they were witnessing something amazing. These soldiers hadn''t lost their morale. They were ready tounch one final attack.


    Yet, a shout so loud that it was heard by all soldiers resounded on the battlefield.


    They all cocked their heads in the direction of this shout and saw a little kid standing there. Behind him stood hundreds of men. It was a rather small force.


    When counted, they were merely 500 soldiers.


    Yet not a single Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldier dared to underestimate this group. They recognized this group.


    It was the damn Heretical Pdins team!


    Even Roman showed a startled look. He never expected the Glerian Kingdom''s camp to send the Heretical Pdins here! In fact, the Glerian Kingdom''s top brass should have identified that their forces were caught in a trap.


    Either they should have sent veryrge reinforcements to aid Captain Karsten''s forces to retreat, or they should have refused to send any reinforcements.


    However, they had actually released the Heretical Pdins?! This was most probably the strongest group within the Glerian Kingdom''s forces. They were actually shoving it in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s trap?!


    And this had greatly messed up Roman''s ns!


    He had no idea Noah would appear here. He clearly remembered Noah''s strength. Even without his Sword Domain, he was a fearsome opponent whose strength wasn''t the slightest bit below Captain Karsten, who had burnt his life force.


    "The Heretical Pdins are here. All of you, retreat now," Noah''s cold voice resounded in the surroundings.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers immediately regained theirposure.


    However, before the soldiers could move from their spots, Noah added, "Take Captain Karsten''s corpse along. He deserves a burial of the highest respect after that battle. The warrior who refuses to fall even after death."


    Noah held a lot of respect for Captain Karsten. During his time in the Glerian Kingdom''s camp, he had interacted with Captain Karsten many times.


    Captain Karsten had a rather straightforward character and no matter who met him, they would be fond of his excited and honest personality!


    Most of the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers began to cry. The soldiers nearest to Captain Karsten immediately moved to pick his body.


    Roman didn''t stop them. In fact, not a single Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers moved from their spot.


    On one hand, they were showing respect for Captain Karsten. Even though he was an enemy, he had deeply imprinted his existence in their minds! It would be a crime to say there weren''t Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers who didn''t admire Captain Karsten''s valiant and heroic figure!


    On the other hand, their attention waspletely focused on the Heretical Pdins. They were all exhausted but Noah''s group was fresh. They were radiating a dense fighting intent.


    Noah observed the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers clear the battlefield as they retreated while taking Captain Karsten''s body along with them.


    "I, Noah, thank you for this mercy. I will ensure that word reaches the Glerian Kingdom''s forces," Noah spoke.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers were startled to hear those words. They were internally delighted.


    However, some caught onto the hidden meaning within Noah''s words.


    Noah spoke that he would ensure that the word reaches the Glerian Kingdom''s forces, yet he wasn''t turning back. Instead, he had begun to step towards them.


    This made them realize that a battle was imminent.


    "Now that the formality is over with.. Let''s start our battle without any further ado," Noah spoke, pulling out his sword.

 Chapter 455 - A Frightening Realization

    Roman instinctively stepped forward to fight Noah. He knew that no one other than him could battle Noah at this moment.


    He clenched his fists that were covered with Captain Karsten''s blood.


    Noah didn''t hesitate any longer and shouted, "<strong>Attack now!</strong>"


    Without any further ado, the Heretical Pdins charged at the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. Nearly 500 soldiers were charging at a force that held more than 3000 soldiers!


    Yet, the one who trembled in terror was the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. They were tired while the enemy waspletely fresh, bustling with energy.


    Thus, the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces instinctively responded by switching their formation into a purely defensive formation. They wanted to deal with this charge and surround all these warriors before killing them.


    It was an appropriate strategy¡­ Usually.


    Unfortunately for them, Noah''s warriors didn''t fall into the usual category. The defensive formation managed to halt their charge after some seconds.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces surrounded the Heretical Pdins. Nearly each Heretical Pdin was outnumbered 8 to 1. Yet, these Heretical Pdins remained calm as ever.


    It was as if such a situation wasn''t unique to them. Ever since they had begun assisting the Glerian Kingdom''s forces against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces, they had always fought against enemies who outnumbered them greatly.


    There were times when they were outnumbered by tens of times. They managed to survive even that situation. So, how could this force intimidate them?


    Each soldier of Noah''s soldiers fought the soldiers nearest to them and threw them in different directions.


    This urred simultaneously at all points of the formation. After most of the soldiers supporting the battle formation were thrown in different directions, the formation couldn''t sustain itself any longer. The formation was instantly shattered!


    This was the first time this battle formation had been shattered using such a method!


    The morale of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces instantly plummeted. Under this low morale, the soldiers were battling their exhaustion while fighting the Heretical Pdins.


    Even though Roman knew that his soldiers were facing a dire situation, he didn''t dare to turn his head.


    His eyes werepletely focused on Noah. Noah attacked Roman with his Sword Qi.


    Meanwhile, Roman countered with his Fist Qi. These invisible energies battled each other in the air.


    To an ordinary warrior, the two were stationary. But only Roman and Noah knew that their battle had already begun. And it had been in this state for quite some time.


    Roman noticed something. Noah''s Sword Qi was even sharper today.


    ''He had gained even deeper insight since thest time we fought?! How can his ability grow so drastically within a few days?!''


    However, he soon realized a possibility. But this wasn''t the least bitforting. If anything, it terrified Roman even more.


    <em>''Don''t tell me he never had a battle against another warrior with an insight as strong as mine. This means he reached this level through his pure natural talent and hard work! And along with that is the Sword Domain?! He is a monster, through and through!''</em>


    Meanwhile, Noah showed a slightly disappointed face. He had thought Roman was like him. He had thought Roman''s ability had grown as well during these past few days.


    It had grown, but the growth was insignificant whenpared to Noah''s progress.


    <em>''I was wrong. He isn''t the one¡­''</em> Noah thought as his excitement died down.


    All this time, he had wanted an opponent who could match him, stride by stride. When he had first fought against Roman, he had a feeling that Roman was that guy.


    However, he now realized that his intuition was probably wrong.


    <em>''I need a strong rival. The one who can force me to my limits. Boss said that only when I encounter a rival whose growth rivaled my own could I truly grow. Just where will I find this person, boss?''</em>


    This question was something even Azaroth couldn''t answer. Noah''s Enlightened Sword Heart was an extremely rare talent. And very few things in the world could match it.


    However, a Prince of Stars lived within the Sinyalian Kingdom. He was one of the few individuals whose potential could match Noah''s Enlightened Sword Heart.


    In fact, in pure power, it couldpletely overwhelm Noah''s Enlightened Sword Heart!


    Noah''s Enlightened Sword Heart allowed him to gain insight into the most primitive swordws.


    Meanwhile, the Prince of Stars could connect to the countless stars in the sky. The more stars he connected to, the greater his fighting prowess would be.


    To a certain extent, the growth rate of Shun Gordon, the Prince of Stars, exceeded even Noah''s!


    ~~


    Currently, Shun Gordon was living inside his City of Vanta. He was developing it, dealing with all kinds of internal issues faced by the citizens.


    He still solved multiple cases that the king found troublesome as an Inquisitor. He had never forgotten that case with Edwin Rhodes. He found his thoughts asionally drifting to that case.


    This man''s identity was revealed to be a Tyrannical Asura Devil God. The man whomitted suicide before confessing anything.


    He had personally witnessed that man''s dead body. The physicians had confirmed it. And they had burnt his body just to be safe. Even though that man''s body was a treasure trove, the king was very adamant about destroying it.


    It was only natural for the king to be so adamant. A Demon God was a massive threat for any individual, and this included the King.


    Just the experience of a Demon God was something that no one in the Kingdom could match! Let alone the strange abilities known to him.


    Shun Gordon just failed to answer a question that had been roaming in his head.


    <em>''An Ancient Demon God who has survived the Great War. He returned to life through his totem. Would hemit suicide simply because he was cornered? No. He should have persisted more. There was a strong chance of his survival if he waited for the right opportunity. If he was alive, we would have tried to extract more information from his spirit¡­''</em>


    Shun Gordon suddenly halted his thoughts as he encountered a rather familiar word. He realized that he had missed something¡­Something crucial. Something staring at him in the face this whole time, and something that fit the puzzle and made sense.


    <em>''Spirit¡­ He revived by taking over the body of a youngd as his spirit survived the passage of time in his totem. We epted his death simply because the physician mentioned that the demonic spirit within the corpse was fading. This indicated his death¡­ No one can live after their spirit has been exposed to the surrounding without any protective talisman.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''But¡­But¡­What if he had strengthened his spirit? What if he had taken over another body?!''</em> Shun Gordon''s eyes widened with shock as this terrifying possibility dawned upon him.


    ''<em>That exins his death! That exins why he wouldmit suicide! He was trying to find more information about us! Either he found what he was looking for or he decided it was useless and aborted that goal!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''Who or what was his target? Information from us? His next target? Or about someone among us?''</em>


    However, Shun Gordon''s thoughts didn''t stop there. In fact, he felt as though his mind was suddenly getting closer to a dreadful truth!


    He picked up a copy and a feather pen. He began to write a timeline of his strategic and tactical battles against Azaroth.


    After he finished writing the entire timeline, he started thinking from the very beginning. This time, with the possibility of Azaroth possessing another body.


    The conclusion he reached was absolutely horrifying news to him. He believed that Azaroth had pulled one up over up and had long since escaped the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    By his guess, there was a single opportunity for him where he could have crossed the border. At least when Shun Gordon wasn''t keeping an eye on him. The moment when he allowed a fake to pass to the Glerian Kingdom in the secret Merchant Union tunnel in Yhord City.


    <em>''He could be anywhere now!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''I need to notify the King about this possibility as soon as possible! A deadly Demon God is free.. He is no doubt cooking up his next n. He needs to be stopped before he can put his n into motion!''</em>

 Chapter 456 - Shuns Decision

    After Shun informed the King about that terrifying possibility, he was absolutely startled to hear the following words from the king.


    "Inquisitor Fox, are you going mad? Were you not present at the location when this Demon died? Were you not the first one to report to me that the body was no longer breathing?!" King Valliadis yelled at Shun.


    "However, now you say that this demon god not only survived, but he has already escaped into another kingdom. You request me to send a team of Inquisitors inside the Glerian Kingdom to deal with this demon god?"


    He took a short pause as he stared at Shun''s ice-cold look. King Valliadis grimaced as he saw the somber expression on Shun''s face, "¡­You will be punished for your attempt to intimidate me with your delusion."


    "Delusion, huh? So, this is what you believe, King Valliadis," Shun whispered softly. He perfectly understood the King''s point of view.


    "I shall make myself scarce now," He turned around and left the Royal Pce.


    <em>''The King is terrified yet delighted. He is terrified yet the demon god is on the loose and doesn''t want to entertain this possibility. However, even if the demon god has escaped, he had already left the Sinyalian Kingdom. This was no longer supposed to be the Sinyalian Kingdom''s issue.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''He is trying to save his kingdom. This is to be expected of someone from his position, but I thought he was different. I guess my hopes were a little too great for him.''</em>


    <em>''It seems that I can only rely on myself to stop this Demon God,''</em> Shun thought. He was a little scared of fighting against this Demon God. He was worried that innocent lives would be lost.


    However, Shun would be lying if he said he didn''t feel any goosebumps right now. This was the first time someone had outsmarted him like this. It was usually him outsmarting others.


    <em>''I have already aplished the task for which I became an Inquisitor. I knew the day woulde when I would choose to leave these identities. Vanta City, earlier known as the Bleak City, had now transformed into a city of riches and treasures. I can be rest assured by letting the people run that city by themselves.''</em>


    The task he had to undertake was one he had pledged himself a long time ago.


    Even for a single second, he hadn''t forgotten those two murders. The murders changed his very perspective about life and ultimately changed his path!


    It was Earl Nathan who murdered his teacher due to Shun''s carelessness. Meanwhile, a descendent of the Duncan House had killed Shun''s best friend.


    Shun initially joined the Inquisitor to dive into the King''s closest circle. He wanted to form his connections with those individuals and then take any real action.


    Regrettably, the king was even warier than Shun had anticipated. It had gotten to the point where Shun had only seen one cab minister out of a total of thirteen.


    However, Shun didn''t really care about these ministers. He merely wanted to gather enough information, power, and connections, to deal with these Noble Houses.


    And Shun believed that he now possessed the threshold strength and connections to act against the Noble Houses.


    Moreover, he had noticed a trend recently.


    The Noble Houses'' rebellious campaign against the King was gaining momentum.


    <em>''Good. This was what I wanted to destroy. The autonomous power possessed by the Noble Houses. I can use this opportunity to act against them.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    <em>''It''s time I start using up the favors that everyone owes me.''</em>


    Shun had an ice-cold look that radiated nothing but a chilling killing intent.


    <em>''First, I need to contact Marquis Jonas to gain some inside information,</em>'' Shun calmly nned his next course of action.


    Marquis Jonas held Shun in high esteem. There were very few people in the Sinyalian Kingdom who terrified him. And Shun belonged to that category.


    He had personally witnessed Shun creating the n to entrap a Demon God! Even though the Demon God possessed myriad abilities and a cunning personality, he was still captured by Shun.


    However, Marquis Jonas wasn''t a random noble. He was terrified of Shun, yes. But that didn''t mean he hadn''t prepared any means to deal with Shun.


    Marquis Jonas had his own secrets. He was sure that even Shun would bepletely caught off-guard by those secrets.


    When Marquis Jonas heard that Shun wanted some information about the Noble Houses Alliance, he was only slightly shocked.


    He had been expecting this for quite some time. It surprised him that Shun waited so long to contact him.


    This indicated that the King didn''t actually feel any real pressure from this Noble Family Alliance. Marquis Jonas instantly concluded that the King probably had many individuals spying on this Noble Family Alliance. The King was confident that the situation waspletely under his control.


    Thus, the King hadn''t acted yet. It was due to this reason that Marquis Jonas kept a low presence within the Noble Family Alliance. There was no way to know which family was acting as the King''s spies.


    However, today, Shun had contacted him to request information within the Noble Family Alliance.


    Marquis Jonas instantly concluded that Shun wasn''t doing this on the King''s orders. It was acting personally.


    If it was on the King''s orders, Shun would have been notified of the inside intelligence personally by the King.


    Naturally, Shun had anticipated that Marquis Jonas would reach this conclusion. He knew that Marquis Jonas was definitely going to help him.


    He would not refuse such a wonderful opportunity of bing Shun''s ally.


    As Marquis Jonas informed him of the inside information, a solemn expression appeared on Shun''s face.


    <em>''¡­It is the Lewis Family acting up and using their influence to create thisrge rebellious movement. The grounds are that the King is trying to take their power because they heard of the Walsh Dukedom''s utter destruction. The King cannot notify them the true reason behind the Walsh Dukedom''s destruction.''</em>


    <em>''They will refuse to believe it and think that the king was lying to them. However, why did Lewis Marquis Family rise up? ording to the information I have of them, the leader is ambitious but cautious. He wouldn''t act unless he had a proper guarantee. However, even a random citizen can see that this was a losing battle.''</em>


    <em>''Just how is he so audacious to create a rebellious organization in the Sinyalian Kingdom? He merely has a Marquis Ranked Family. I need to investigate just who is supporting the Lewis Family. And I need to figure out how to use that information against Nathan and Duncan Noble Houses,''</em> Shun wondered.


    In reality, Shun missed something crucial. He missed Piero, the advisor of the Lewis Family''s leader.


    Piero had managed to convince his brother that it was the perfect opportunity to create this rebellious organization. Naturally, Piero used some lies and half-truths to convince his brother.


    His brother was skeptical at first, but he was aware of Piero''s personality. Piero was even more cautious than him.


    If Piero advised him on something, it was most likely supposed to seed. This allowed him to trust Piero blindly at this point.


    However, he had no idea that Bianca was the one guiding Piero. Due to Piero''s lust and love for Bianca, he blindly followed hermands. He had even attacked the eighth prince of the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    There was no backing out now!

 Chapter 457 - Seals

    Azaroth was residing at the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s Main Pce. He stayed here for a few reasons.


    He organized the creation of a new pce that was a little farther away from the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s Main Pce. The warriors staying in this pce were either close friends or family members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    It didn''t matter whether the member was a sect elder or a disciple. All they had to do was submit a request to Tiana.


    After verifying their request through Sargan''s informationwork, Tiana assigned them to the branch pce of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Naturally, a proper hierarchy had been created to manage the situation in this branch sect. Thus, another head was appointed for this branch of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. And Azaroth also assigned a name to it. It became the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    The head of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect was responsible for developing and managing it. However, the head of this Elemental Aurora Valley Sect didn''t hold the power to wage war against any faction.


    This power rested in Tiana''s hands. The head of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect had to contact Tiana and request permission to attack someone. In fact, most of the decisive powers rested in Tiana''s hands.


    It clearly showed that the main sect was the favored sect.


    Perhaps a few members of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect were dissatisfied due to such discrimination.


    However, their feelings were cated by the fact that Azaroth had provided many different and rare cultivation skills to the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. The sheer number of these skills surpassed the techniques avable in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect by tens of times.


    Moreover, all of them were rare techniques that could easily be considered a sect''s secret cultivation technique. However, Azaroth was giving away such precious techniques for free.


    Actually, not exactly free. Azaroth did have a condition. He wanted them to imprint a seal on their bodies. Only then were they allowed to stay in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect and learn his techniques.


    Initially, the women were startled to hear this condition. They had no idea about this seal, so they were naturally terrified.


    However, they calmed down after hearing that this seal was a miniature array. Its task was to boost their body''s potential by injecting them with unknown energy.


    Unlike the disciples and elders of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, whose optimal ce of cultivation was the base of the Arctic Summit. The same wasn''t true for the members of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    They possessed different kinds of elements. Some directly opposed the Icy Aura and significantly slowed their cultivation.


    Thus, they were bound to leave this ce eventually to look for optimal locations to cultivate.


    This seal was their way of recognizing their fellow disciples and elders. Naturally, there were different grades of seals to differentiate between the identities.


    In total, there were three grades. Disciple grade, elder grade, and the sect master grade.


    Now, this was something Azaroth informed the members of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. The true purpose of these seals was to inject them all with a portion of his spirit. It was merely 0.0000001% of his spirit.


    Since it was such a minuscule part of his spirit, he couldn''t assign itplex orders. He gave two orders.


    The first order was to feed on the spirit of their user. Naturally, his spirit would only ingest a very small part of someone''s spirit. It would be so small that the user wouldn''t even feel it.


    In return, his demonic spirit enhanced their body''s potential significantly.


    The second order was to ingest all their Spiritual Energy if they were betraying Azaroth. However, this was a slightlyplex order.


    His spirit lived deep within the souls of these warriors. These warriors couldn''t hide the ugly truth from them.


    However, Azaroth didn''t want his spirit to kill these warriors if they habituated even just a tiny bit of dissatisfaction, or thoughts of betrayal against him. That would defeat the point of setting up this Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Thus, he devised a system in which, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 representedplete loyalty and 10 represented joining the opposing side, if their sentiments reached 7, his spirit dwelling within their souls would consume all of their Spiritual Energy and return to Azaroth.


    As a result, Azaroth will be able to get the most out of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    The Sect Master and the elders were injected with a stronger dose of his spirit aspared to the disciples of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Now, Azaroth knew that he couldn''t be avable at the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect to imprint the members with these seals. He had to create a more efficient method.


    And it didn''t take him long to think of one.


    He went back to basics and designed a stamp and inkpad. The stamp was made up of rare wood that could store a spirit temporarily.


    Meanwhile, the inkpad was filled with shiny blue ink glowed under the moonlight. Azaroth had injected 1% of his spirit within this ink.


    It had been a few weeks since he created the entire system of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Today was the day the first Sect Mistress of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect would be elected. Along with the Sect Mistress, her fellow elders would also be assigned.


    The first condition, of course, was to have a 4 Star Cultivation.


    Out of hundreds of candidates, only 10 individuals passed this condition. Azaroth then took some written tests regarding logical analysis, tactics, and situation evaluation.


    Only 3 candidates were chosen from the results of these tests. These three candidates were given a single cultivation technique of a King Grade. They had one week to cultivate it.


    The one who improved the most would be the Sect Mistress of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Azaroth''s goal had been clear. He wished for the Sect Mistress of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect to be a sharp thinker who was also skilled in cultivation.


    The first Sect Mistress of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect was Amelia Byrne. She had managed to reach the initial mastery rank of the Mysterious Sun Scripture within just three days.


    This was a King Ranked Cultivation technique only because Azaroth had withheld its second part from the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    In reality, this was an Emperor Ranked Cultivation Technique. This was a poor attempt of trying to copy the ability of Inheritors of Stars.


    Using this technique, the user could cultivate rapidly during the day. However, his cultivation speed would be halved during the night. At noon, the warrior could borrow the sun''s energy for a few minutes and use it. There were repercussions but nothing too serious.


    However, even though this technique possessed such rare abilities, it still could notpare to the natural abilities possessed by the Inheritors of Stars.


    The Inheritors of Stars could do all that the warriors cultivating the Mysterious Sun Scripture could do. However, they didn''t face any drawbacks during the day or night. Their cultivation speed was permanently tens of times faster than an ordinary genius.


    And if the warrior was perfectly attuned to his star, his natural abilities would be significantly boosted.


    The Inheritors of Stars could also use the Star Force to cure themselves. One of the reasons these Inheritors of Stars were so tough to eliminate had to do with their regenerating abilities.


    If an Inheritor of Star still had any life left in them, the star attuned to them would utilize its Star Force to heal them.


    This was an automatic process.. There were cases when this Star Force managed to even restart the heart and heal some fatal injuries of a few Inheritors of Stars. In a certain sense, they had been brought back to life!

 Chapter 458 - Amelia Byrne - Elemental Aurora Valley Sect Mistress

    At this moment, Amelia Byrne stood in front of Azaroth. Her face was solemn as she saw the stamp in his hands.


    The two were standing on arge podium. All members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect sat on their respective seats ahead of this podium. Their seats were arranged in a semi-circr shape, facing the podium.


    "Amelia Byrne. Do you swear to give the rest of your life to the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect?" Azaroth''s solemn voice resounded in the area.


    Amelia responded in an equally solemn voice, "Yes, I do."


    "Then, starting today, I, Azaroth, will entrust you with the crucial job of overseeing the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. I hope you make the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect rise in power and prestige," Azaroth solemnly spoke.


    "I assure you that I shall do everything in my power to make the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect rise in the entire world," Amelia replied a little passionately.


    Azaroth nodded in response and spoke, "Now, it''s time to imprint you with the seal of the Sect Mistress."


    Amelia naturally understood what she needed to do. She unbuttoned her top and slowly removed it. Her fair skin was seemingly glowing as the sun rays fell over her body.


    As she removed the top, her bra covering her double D cup breasts could be seen. The bra was holding onto her breasts rather tightly.


    Amelia didn''t feel embarrassed about removing her top in front of Azaroth. In fact, she had a hopeful look on her face. She wished that Azaroth would find her body attractive enough.


    However, Azaroth showed a serious expression as he ordered her, "Turn around."


    Amelia turned around and her fair back was revealed to Azaroth. There were a few scars on her back, but they didn''t take away her beauty. In fact, these scars added a wild feel to Amelia.


    Azaroth''s gaze was drawn to a round blue mark on Amelia''s back. This was none other than the elder seal. Amelia received it after she was chosen to be an elder since she possessed a 4 Star Cultivation.


    The stamp in Azaroth''s hand moved and it firmly pressed against the inkpad before he moved closer to Amelia''s body.


    Under everyone''s focused gaze, Azaroth pressed that stamp over the spot where the elder seal had been imprinted.


    "Aaah¡­" Amelia winced in pain as she experienced a burning sensation. This was to be expected since the Sect Mistress seal was fusing with the Elder Seal.


    Fortunately for Amelia, she didn''t have to endure this agonizing sensation for long.


    Unfortunately, another sensation reced it.


    "Hah¡­Hah¡­Aiyaahhh¡­" Amelia let out these strangely sexual moans as she panted heavily, sweat dripping down from her forehead as if she had just gone through physical exercise.


    "¡­Hah¡­Hah¡­ Oh yeah¡­More¡­Yaahhhh¡­" She asionally whispered these words between her moans.


    Azaroth slowly lifted the stamp and stepped back. Amelia remained in that state for some moments before she finally regained herposure.


    Despite the fact that she had shown a humiliating facet of herself, she was not particrly concerned. She was well aware that practically every member of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect could understand her situation.


    They received immense sexual pleasure when they were imprinted with this seal. In reality, this was the side-effect of Azaroth''s spirit being injected within them. Their body got heated and tried to resist this invasion by Azaroth''s spirit, but aftering into contact with Azaroth''s spirit, her senses would feel extreme ecstasy.


    Azaroth did this to ensure that their souls wouldn''t resist his spirit. If they resisted, his spirit could harm their souls.


    When their mind fell into pure ecstasy, they would unknowingly open the gates to their soul and allow Azaroth''s spirit to invade without any resistance.


    There was another side-effect of Azaroth''s spirit being imnted inside their soul. This was something even Azaroth hadn''t expected.


    He noticed that after he imprinted these women with the seal, these women started ncing at him with affectionate gazes.


    He confirmed this using his Mystic Eyes of Perception and realized the crux of the issue after a few minutes.


    His spirit within them was ingesting a tiny part of their spirit very slowly. It was slowly providing them with demonic power, making them half-demons. That is the physique of a human and spirit with demonic energy.


    This was a rather good thing for them. It would allow them to gain some demonic abilities instinctively. It would increase their Ardor''s strength significantly.


    However, because Azaroth''s spirit was created to devour the spirit energy of these women, it had greatly infected their souls.


    When these women were near Azaroth, they enjoyed a sense of protection and trust. And they greatly respected him because of his knowledge, power, and abilities.


    Furthermore, they had heard several stories about him from their rtives and friends. There were emotional rumors about Azaroth, heroic tales, and epic tales that made their jaws drop wide.


    Azaroth yed no part in spreading these stories. He didn''t need to.


    Whatever stories Azaroth told them had been exaggerated by tens or hundreds of times before it was told to their rtives and friends.


    This was something that usually urred due to gossip. And it wasn''t anything to be worried about.


    Amelia soon wore her top and stepped aside. Azaroth turned towards the audience and dered, "Let the feast begin!"


    A few disciples of the Element Aurora Valley Sect brought multiple trays of food. The food was served for all the disciples and elders.


    Amelia soon stepped down the podium and joined her close friends. They all began to talk andughed happily.


    Azaroth noticed them ncing in his direction from time to time before giggling. He ignored them and went to talk to Tiana.


    It was now appropriate time to ''eat'' her.


    Azaroth whispered in her ears, "Come to my room after the celebration."


    Tiana blushed heavily as she felt Azaroth''s breath touch her ears. She was strangely excited and found herself tongue-tied at this moment. Thus, she nodded to indicate her affirmative response.


    Azaroth smiled and soon walked away. He didn''t need to eat anything.


    He was going over to meditate and find out the situation within the Sinyalian Kingdom. It had been some time since he contacted Bianca. He had to get updates on the Noble Family Alliance and also regarding the task assigned to her.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, the Heretical Pdins were fighting a tough battle against Roman''s troops. However, for Roman''s troops, it was a disaster.


    Numerous soldiers had already fallen to the Heretical Pdins, and Roman''s troops had barely managed to take the lives of 20 warriors.


    They couldn''t fathom how these Heretical Pdins could be so powerful?! They were all so powerful individually that each one could take on roughly three or four armored soldiers.


    Meanwhile, Roman''s condition wasn''t the best. Noah''s improvement was beyond his expectations. He was quite tired so there were a few techniques that he couldn''t use. And he believed that using forbidden techniques would not be the best decision while keeping his future in mind.


    However, Roman also knew that if this situation continued then they were going to be ughtered soon. At the least, his soldiers would be.


    He had to reorganize the army, but this proved to be impossible if Noah continued to target him.


    Roman soon pulled out a silver whistle. He immediately blew that whistle.


    Noah didn''t stop and continued to charge towards Roman.. He sliced that whistle into two parts.

 Chapter 459 - Gilberts Choice

    Roman jumped back as he dodged Noah''s attack. His silver whistle was sliced into two parts. A serious expression appeared on his face as he nced at Noah.


    Noah didn''t stop. He continued to charge at Roman, having made up his mind to kill his enemy today.


    Using his Fist Qi, Roman tried to stop Noah, but it was all for naught.


    Noah easily managed to counter that Fist Qi with his Sword Qi. His Sword Qi was so powerful, so robust, and so sharp that it easily defeated Roman''s Fist Qi.


    Roman understood why he couldn''t challenge or stop Noah. He had just burned his life force and boosted his Fist Qi. And now, he was feeling the repercussions.


    However, it was never Roman''s intention to have a serious bout with Noah. He was merely buying time. Buying time for Gilbert to arrive.


    Gilbert hadn''te along with him. It seemed that he was preupied with something. In reality, Gilbert was preparing for his eventual escape.


    However, while he was giving it onest finishing touch, he received Roman''s signal.


    <em>''It seems that the kid possessing Sword Domain has arrived,</em>'' He thought with a sneer.


    Gilbert was very confident about this mission. He didn''t think that a 4 Star Warrior would be any trouble for him.


    In a sense, this was correct. A 4 Star Warrior could never be the source of trouble for a 5 Star Warrior. This was how wide the difference between them existed.


    However, Noah wasn''t some random 4 Star Warrior. He possessed a Sword Domain. This Sword Domain boosted his attacking techniques, defensive techniques, and his Sword Qi significantly. It was to such an extent that no other 4 Star Warrior could be his match!


    Gilbert took off immediately after receiving the signal. He was nning to deal with this troublesome warrior quickly and then return to the camp.


    While Roman and most of the warriors were away, he could put his n into motion. He nned to have Sophie under him by this evening.


    Gilbert reached the battlefield rather quickly. His flying speed was quite high since he possessed Wind Ardor which boosted his speed significantly.


    As he reached the battlefield, his eyes immediately focused on two portions of the battlefield. One portion was where Noah and Roman were fighting.


    And the other portion was where he saw hundreds of warriors fighting against Roman''s entire army. The surprising thing was that these hundreds of warriors were actually ughtering Roman''s army.


    For a second, Gilbert wondered whom he should assist. Soon, his vision fell over two women fighting against Roman''s army.


    These two were rather pretty women. Among the women he had seen and yed around with, he believed that only Sophie couldpare with these beauties.


    These two women were none other than Aria and Luna. They caught his hungry and lustful gaze as he drooled a little.


    Without waiting any further, Gilbert charged towards Aria.


    Aria had no idea a 5 Star Warrior had targeted her. She was coolly dodging her opponents'' attacks andunching Icicles in return.


    She didn''t need to aim much because she was encircled by opponents.


    Every time she killed a few warriors around her, more woulde and take their ces. However, not a single one of these soldiers had managed to scratch her.


    The same went on with Luna. Her Wind Abilities had gotten even better, and she managed to nonchntly dodge her opponent''s attacks as if she was dancing. She released Wind Spheres and sted the soldiers ahead of her.


    For a few seconds, there was an open area ahead of her, which was immediately upied with more soldiers.


    The two were the ones who had killed most soldiers on this battlefield. Roman''s soldiers feared them more than anything at this moment.


    The two seemed like goddesses of war and destruction!


    As Aria continued tounch icicles at her opponents, she was surprised when her icicles were suddenly intercepted by thin wind des.


    Naturally, she gazed at the source of these wind des and raised her head.


    Her eyes widened in shock as she noticed a warrior flying in the sky, leering at her. Aria had a bad feeling as she stared at this warrior.


    She could sense that this warrior wasn''t using Wind Ardor to levitate. He was using pure Ardor to fly in the air.


    This made her realize that this was a 5 Star Warrior.


    She immediately shouted out, "Get back! This is a 5 Star Warrior. We need to support our leader immediately and retreat!"


    Her voice was very loud and nearly all the Heretical Pdins heard her words.


    They all were shocked to hear there was a 5 Star Warrior on this battlefield. They immediately raised their heads to see Gilbert flying high with a calm expression on his face.


    Gilbert had also heard Aria''s words and chuckled impishly.


    "You think you can escape?"


    An invisible pressure was exerted on all the warriors and soldiers in the area. Gilbert didn''t have great control over his Ardor so he couldn''t target only Heretical Pdins.


    The force of his Ardorpelled all the troops and warriors in that region to be crushed. Aria and Luna were no different.


    Gilbert slowlynded in front of Aria and spoke, "What''s your name?"


    Aria didn''t like the way Gilbert was looking at her. She was rooted to the ground, delivering the most venomous gaze she could muster at Gilbert.


    Gilbert didn''t seem to appreciate her venomous re. He spoke with a frown, "You do realize that I hold your life in my hands. If you don''t respond, I will be forced to be vicious to you. Now, neither of us wants that. So, just answer my question, beauty."


    As he stated those remarks, he had a really nasty expression on his face.


    However, Aria remained utterly silent. She had no intention of going along his order.


    "Hmph. It seems that you don''t understand what''s good for you. Since that''s the case. Die," Gilbert spoke as he released wind des at her.


    Those wind des weren''t actually targeting her life. What they targeted were here clothes. He wanted to strip her naked in front of all these soldiers.


    He wanted to make her lose that worthless pride and submit to him!


    However, he never expected his Wind des to be intercepted by a dozen of dense Sword Qi.


    Gilbert scowled angrily as he red in the direction these Sword Qi emerged. He noticed Noahing towards him, a furious expression on his face.


    Sword Qi emerged from his body and revolved around him wildly. It formed a dense and sharp domain that struck Roman a couple of times before throwing him far away.


    Roman was bleeding profusely as he stared in Noah''s direction with horror evident in his eyes.


    ''He has stopped ying around with me. Why did he use the Sword Domain so suddenly?''


    "I really don''t know who you are. But you have pissed me off," Noah spoke as he stepped towards Gilbert.


    Gilbert snorted in response as he heard those words. He looked back at Aria and Luna and noticed a hopeful yet anxious look in their eyes.


    He instantly understood that these women admired Noah. If he broke Noah in front of them, they were bound to give up on their worthless pride and submit to him.


    Aftering to this conclusion, he instantly flew in Noah''s direction.


    Meanwhile, Noah took a rather unfamiliar stance before whispering, "<strong>Sword Domain ¨C Crouching Tiger Thrust!</strong>"

 Chapter 460 - Sword Domain Attacks

    This was the first time Noah was using a Sword Domain attack against an opponent. He had only used this attack in practice before.


    He knew that his opponent was a 5 Star Warrior but that didn''t affect him much.


    Noah had a rather strong spiritual sense. He noticed Gilbert''s presence as soon as he appeared over this battlefield.


    He understood that this was due to that whistle earlier. The whistle must have sent a special signal to Gilbert. It probably held an echo array or something simr.


    Noah expected Gilbert to attack him after arriving on the battlefield. However, he never expected that this warrior would target the other members of the Heretical Pdins. Moreover, he actuallyunched an attack on Aria!


    At that moment, Noah realized that holding back any more would be nothing more than foolishness! He couldn''t be selfish any longer and used his Sword Domain immediately.


    Roman was caught off-guard at the sudden activation of the Sword Domain and was unable to form proper defense around himself.


    As he was thrown aside while bleeding profusely, he noticed that Gilbert had arrived. A frown appeared on his face as he wondered <em>''What is Gilbert doing over there? He should havee and helped me immediately.''</em>


    However, he noticed a rather beautiful woman stered to the ground near Gilbert.


    Roman was instantly speechless as he thought <em>''This guy is actually focusing on a woman in the middle of a battlefield?! Fuck! So, this is why the headmaster never allowed him to lead an army even though he possessed such strong martial strength?!''</em>


    This opened Roman''s eyes and he understood that he had to rethink his ns a bit. He couldn''t count on such a fickle individual who didn''t realize the seriousness of the situation.


    This battle was quite important to the Sinyalian Kingdom! They couldn''t afford to lose here!


    Meanwhile, Noahunched a rather quick attack at Gilbert. This was the Crouching Tiger Thrust. His starting eleration was very great, and his speed increased exponentially along with time.


    Gilbert saw that attacking at him in slow motion. He hadn''t reached 5 Star Rank through medicinal pellets alone. Well, medicinal pellets yed a significant role in his breakthrough to the 5 Star Rank, but he had fought his share of battles.


    And there had been many times when his life hanged on the bnce between life and death.


    Thus, his senses were unusually sharp, and he had a massive experience under his belt. He could see multiple ws within Noah''s attack.


    Gilbert side-stepped the thrust and enveloped his leg with Wind Ardor and kicked Noah''s stomach.


    But then something unexpected happened. Noah leaped at thest possible moment, turning his body at a right angle. He whirled to face Gilbert, a calm expression on his face as if everything was under his control.


    Noah intercepted Gilbert''s kick with the hilt of his sword. As those two attacks collided, a massive shockwave urred, and it blew everyone in the area away.


    This was the sh between the Sword Domain and a 5 Star Warrior.


    Noah could feel the massive pressure from a 5 Star Warrior. However, his Sword Domain didn''t let up! It continued to release its sharp yet terrifying force at Gilbert and managed to slice his skin by a bit.


    Gilbert was absolutely shocked as he felt Noah''s attack piercing his skin!


    This indicated that Noah''s attack empowered by his Sword Domain had managed to cover the gap between the 4 Star Rank and 5 Star Rank. At the least, this attack was stronger than Gilbert''s 5 Star Ardor!


    Gilbert instantly realized that it was a bad idea to have underestimated this kid. He should have listened to Roman and not underestimated Noah and his sword domain.


    However, this was not where Noah''s attack ended. Instead, it had begun only now!


    The sword domain around Noah suddenly disappeared. Gilbert frowned a bit in confusion.


    <em>''What is this kid doing? By putting down the Sword Domain, he can''t fight me. Or does he think he can bring me down even without his Sword Domain?! He is overestimating his ability! I will make him pay for looking down on me!''</em>


    Gilbert was ready tounch multiple wind rings and a dense wind de at Noah. However, he stopped these attacks and jumped back very suddenly.


    The pressure he generated on all the warriors and soldiers in the vicinity instantly disappeared. They were shocked to see that Noah had actually made Gilbert retreat!


    The Heretical Pdins knew Noah was strong, but they never expected that his strength had reached such a high level!


    However, Noah didn''t grow arrogant despite this amazing feat. He knew that Gilbert''s Ardor had been stretched thin as he used it to suppress these warriors and soldiers.


    The Ardor he could muster for his defense was minuscule inparison. This battle was far from over! Gilbert was bound to fight seriously now!


    And this was the truth. Gilbert had a furious look on his face as he stared at the small wound on his leg.


    Noah had infused the entire power of his Sword Domain into that little wound! Noah''s Sword Domain had prated his bone and chiseled away a piece of it.


    Fortunately, Gilbert had realized before it was toote, or Noah would have sliced his right leg!


    Gilbert could heal the wound, but it would cost him a fortune. Besides, he couldn''t afford to be seriously injured for the evil scheme he had in mind.


    It would greatly affect his escape n!


    Now that Gilbert had recalled his entire Ardor, the warriors and soldiers in the vicinity were standing up. However, none of them were fighting. Instead, their gazes were fixated on Noah and Gilbert.


    They knew that the one who won this battle would have won it all.


    Meanwhile, Noah had a serious expression on his face. He knew that charging once again wouldn''t work.


    Gilbert was extremely alert and there were no openings that Noah could take advantage of.


    ''I need to look for an opportunity when he attacks me. He is bound to make some mistakes,'' Noah thought seriously.


    Gilbert soon moved from his spot. However, he wasn''t moving towards Noah.


    Instead, he was moving around Noah in a circr path. He covered this circr path rather quickly and his speed increased over time.


    Noah''s eyes couldn''t follow Gilbert''s body and a small frown appeared on his face.


    Suddenly, he turned his head and blocked a Wind de heading in his direction. Noah was using the force of his entire Sword Domain to block a single Wind de.


    However, even as his positioning and posture were perfect, this Wind de made him skid back by a couple of feet. This told Noah volumes about Gilbert''s power.


    Noah''s grip over his Sword tightened as understood that fighting head-on against Gilbert would be pure foolishness. He had to do something smarter!


    Gilbert attacked Noah once again. This time, there were multiple wind des heading towards Noah.


    Instinctively, Noah responded by whispering, "<strong>Sword Domain: Hundred Swords!</strong>"


    The Sword Domain stretched itself around Noah''s body, epassing a few feet.


    As soon as those Wind des entered the range of his Sword Domain, Noah struck them with his sword. This was an extremely quick swing that even Gilbert couldn''t see.


    In the blink of an eye, there were dozens of such swings and all those Wind des were deflected in different directions.


    And surprisingly, Gilbert narrowly dodged his own Wind des. He realized that Noah wanted to harm him by his own attack.


    This was the first time someone had countered his attack in this manner. It made Gilbert understand that Noah was abat genius.


    <em>''¡­I need to return to the good old method!''</em>

 Chapter 461 - Decisive Moment

    Since ancient times, strength was used to determine victory! Techniques, schemes, and other ways of fighting were invented afterwards.


    And Gilbert was certain that this was one aspect where he was undoubtedly better than Noah!


    Thus, Gilbert decided to make it a closebat battle.


    However, Noah wasn''t intimidated even as Gilbert chose to have a closebat battle. He took the same stance as before and whispered, "<strong>Sword Domain: Hundred Strokes!</strong>"


    This time, his Sword Domain wasn''t stretched around his body. Instead, it was densely packed around his sword.


    Noah knew that he had to strike quickly and strongly. And this was exactly what he did.


    However, Gilbert was preparing for such an attack. With a sneer, he released significant wind pressure from his palm and forced Noah back by a couple of feet.


    Noah''s attack missed and a small window of opportunity opened for Gilbert.


    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gilbert attacked Noah. It was a punch to Noah''s face. This punch was enhanced by Wind Ardor and would easily break Noah''s face.


    Noah realized the threat from this punch. He immediately moved his hand and whispered, "<strong>Reverse Swallow!</strong>"


    His hands turned and Noah raised his sword at a blinding speed. His sword struck the lower part of Gilbert''s arm. However, this time he failed to pierce the arm and only move it by a few inches.


    Noah could feel the wind around that punch brush past his cheek. He immediately pulled back his sword before taking another yet unfamiliar stance.


    Suddenly, Noah''s entire aura vanished.


    Gilbert understood that this next attack would possess all that Noah had to offer. And even he sensed a threat from it.


    "<strong>Heaven Rending Stance!</strong>"


    A secondter, Noah swung his sword with all his might. His sword was swinging from right to left, targeting Gilbert''s Torso.


    Clearly, Noah''s aim was to deal a significant damage to Gilbert''s torso. He would win as long as he managed to aplish it!


    Unfortunately, it didn''t go as easy as he had imagined. Gilbert recovered sooner than he anticipated and raised his arm, densely packed with Ardor to block Noah''s swing!


    Another massive shockwave urred as the Sword Domain shed with Gilbert''s 5 Star Ardor.


    This time, Gilbert and Noah were using every bit of their strength. Thus, the shockwave that urred was even stronger!


    Noah soon noticed that Gilbert was overpowering his swing. A few secondster, Gilbert suddenly used a burst of strength to swipe away Noah''s right arm!


    Noah was currently in an incredibly unpleasant situation! His sword-wielding right arm was swept aside, and his chest was entirely exposed, with no protection!


    Gilbert just had to punch Noah''s chest and he would be finished!


    And Gilbert didn''t fail to take advantage of this opportunity! His right hand was ready as he immediately punched Noah''s chest!


    Noah tried to move his right hand to deflect this punch, but it was too far away from his chest. It couldn''t reach on time.


    Gilbert''s strikended hard on Noah''s chest, fracturing two of his ribs! This was an absolutely ruthless strike and Noah was sent flying back by this attack.


    Gilbert didn''t let up and released hundreds of Wind des at Noah.


    These Wind des contained the full power of his Ardor. It was impossible for Noah to block them all even if he waspletely fine, let alone in such a dire situation!


    The Sword Domain around Noah immediately acted up as it released Sword Qi in all directions. This Sword Qi managed to deflect majority of these Wind des. However, a few still struck Noah.


    Noah was bleeding profusely. His entire body was riddled with wounds from these Wind des.


    His top, trousers, and even his sword, were drenched with his blood!


    However, even though he had lost much of his blood and was feeling rather dizzy, it didn''t loosen his hold over his sword.


    Gilbert was growing more confident. He could sense that Noah''s Sword Domain was trembling!


    It was clear that Noah couldn''t maintain his concentration for much longer! He had to keep this up and he would win!


    However, something unexpected urred at that moment. A purple light shone over Noah''s body and his injuries recovered instantly!


    As his wounds recovered, it seemed as if there were no signs of him even receiving them.


    Gilbert noticed that purple glow emerging from the ring that Noah wore on his index finger!


    <em>''That was instantaneous healing! That ring actually possesses such a rare ability?! I need to acquire it! I can use that ring to its full potential!''</em>


    In reality, Gilbert had misunderstood something. This healing wasn''t the ring''s ability.


    This was the ability of Azaroth''s spirit sealed within that ring!


    Azaroth had sealed a part of his spirit within all the Mystical Spiritual Communication Ring that he handed to his retainers!


    It allowed him to not onlymunicate with them, but also act at an appropriate time. As Noah''s blood fell over this ring, it awakened Azaroth''s spirit sealed within it.


    Azaroth soon realized that Noah was fighting a 5 Star Warrior.


    <em>''I need to assist him and increase the power of his Ardor or else he will die,</em>'' Azaroth''s spirit thought.


    He didn''t n on letting Noah die here!


    Meanwhile, Gilbert had a rather bad feeling as he saw that Purple Glow enveloping Noah''s body.


    He could sense a power even stronger than 5 Star Ardor from that purple glow. It was as if he didn''t stand a chance against that purple energy!


    At that moment, Roman shouted, "Don''t fight him anymore. Help our forces to retreat!"


    However, Gilbert ignored those words. He felt that if he didn''t kill Noah today, he would never have the opportunity!


    He would be a target of ridicule if he failed to defeat a 4 Star Warrior like Noah!


    "<strong>Triple Fleeting Cresent sh!</strong>"


    Noah released three shes at Gilbert. These shes were filled with the Sword Qi from his Domain and the Purple Ardor that Azaroth was lending Noah!


    Heunched three shes in the shape of a half-moon. There was a horizontal sh, a vertical sh, and a diagonal sh!


    Gilbert blocked those attacks with his Wind Ardor.


    Azaroth''s spirit within Noah''s ring sneered as he saw Gilbert''s defense. He thought ''Idiot. That''s the wrong way of blocking this attack.''


    The power that Azaroth had strengthened Noah''s Wind Ardor Wind Ardor! This was the first time Noah was using Wind Ardor since this battle began.


    Gilbert had no idea that his Wind Ardor barrier couldn''t put up the slightest bit of resistance against Noah''s Wind shes that had been boosted by Azaroth''s Purple Ardor.


    It went without saying that the three shes smoothly passed Gilbert''s defense and sliced his body apart. The first sh sliced his body into two parts. The second sh sliced his body into four equal parts. And the third sh sliced his body into 6 parts!


    Roman was absolutely startled to witness Gilbert''s death! He hadn''t expected Gilbert to die so suddenly! Moreover, he was shocked to see that purple glow and thought <em>''Is this his true ability?! But what is that power?!''</em>


    <em> </em>


    However, Noah fell on the ground as his body was still rather weak and couldn''t endure Azaroth''s robust and dense Ardor.


    Heretical Pdins moved at that moment and recovered Noah before retreating swiftly. Luna and Ariaunched their strongest techniques that epassed a wide area to ensure that no enemy could pursue them!

 Chapter 462 Disease Outbreak

    The death of Gilbert was a significant blow to the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. Roman had never expected that Noah would kill Gilbert.


    He figured Noah was going to be a tough opponent, but this was beyond his assumptions!


    A 4 Star Warrior had actually ughtered a 5 Star Warrior. Moreover, the 5 Star Warrior couldn''t even block an attack from that 4 Star Warrior.


    Roman knew that his n had failed. His army had suffered significant damage against Captain Karsten''s forces and Noah''s Heretical Pdins.


    They were no longer in any position to attack the camp of the Glerian Kingdom''s army.


    However, what Roman didn''t anticipate was a quick and vicious ambush by the Glerian Kingdom''s army.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s army soon received information that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army had suffered massive damage. It was the perfect opportunity to ambush their camp!


    Thus, after Roman returned to his camp, it was under siege by the Glerian Kingdom''s forces.


    Roman and his forces were no longer in any condition to mount up proper defenses that could defeat the Glerian Kingdom''s forces.


    It didn''t take long before Roman had to send the order to fall back to the Zoson City!


    The Sinyalian Kingdom had lost a part of its territory to the Glerian Kingdom. When the King heard this information, he was absolutely dumbfounded.


    He hadn''t expected his kingdom to lose territory even though they held a greater number of defending soldiers aspared to the attacking soldiers!


    King Valliadis soon heard the reason behind their loss. It was a small party by the name of Heretical Pdins. This party managed to ughter many soldiers and the leader of this party even killed a 5 Star Warrior. The shocking thing was that the leader of this party was just a 4 Star Warrior. Yet, he had managed to ughter a 5 Star Warrior!


    This was an unprecedented feat! Not even David Valliadis had managed to aplish something remotely simr!


    This information soon spread in all parts of the Sinyalian Kingdom. Naturally, Shun heard of it as well.


    Shun''s eyes narrowed as he heard of the rumor that a purple glow surrounded the kid who then ughtered a 5 Star Warrior. He also learned that this warrior could also use Sword Domain.


    Realizing that this was a terrifying enemy, Shun requested a rough sketch of this guy.


    The soldiers who had returned from the battlefield didn''t ignore his request. Roman personally helped the artist in preparing the sketch and sent it to Vanta City.


    When Shun saw the sketch, his eyes went wide open in utter shock.


    "How did this youngster end up there?! Is he the leader of the Heretical Pdins?!" Shun was taken aback by this revtion and wondered openly.


    He naturally remembered Noah. He had met Noah, Sargan, and Ralph when he came to inspect the Kloras Town along with Marquis Jonas.


    At that time, Noah and Sargan had begun to talk randomly and diverted from the topic. Shun had deduced that Noah was a talented swordsman based on his grip and walk. However, he had no idea that Noah would grow so quickly in just a few months!


    This kind of exponential growth was just too unrealistic!


    ''If this kid is in the Glerian Kingdom, then there is a high chance that his master, the Demon God, is also there! Maybe he is acting on that Demon God''s orders!''


    Slowly, a smile appeared on Shun''s face as he thought ahead, ''I finally found a way to track the Demon God! I can use the Heretical Pdins! If the Demon God is still alive, this kid is bound to lead me to him eventually.''


    A sickness outbreak erupted about this time in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Capital. This was a peculiar illness.


    It targeted the lungs, stomach, and heart at different levels. In the initial stages, this disease targeted the lungs.


    The individual found it difficult to breathe properly. Only the strong warriors who possessed a robust Ardor could ignore this stage. In fact, this was even more dangerous for them since they wouldn''t realize that they had caught this illness until it was toote.


    In the second stage, this disease targets the stomach. The patient would lose his appetite and would experience asional stomachaches.


    Because of the loss of appetite, the patient would find it increasingly difficult to ingest food to fulfill their body''s nutritional needs. Their physical condition further deteriorated due to that.


    And finally, the third stage where this disease targeted the heart! Well, it was said that if a patient reached the third stage, he was as good as dead. He would experience a couple of heart attacks before his heart suddenly stopped beating!


    The entire Sinyalian Kingdom was caught off guard as this strange disease started to spread in Mesenana City!


    Even the King was quite wary and anxious as he heard multiple reports of this disease. Even a few servants working in the Royal Capital caught this disease.


    The King immediately decided that it was time to leave the Royal Pce until this disease was dealt with.


    The King and his ministers left immediately for their private vis and farms. These vis were located outside of cities, isting them from affected regions.


    Since the king had moved to his own vi, the Royal Guard had inevitably apanied him and settled there as well to protect him.


    They had all been carefully inspected by the Royal Physician, and only after that were they given the permission to stay alongside the king.


    Spencer Russel told his wife Bianca to return to the Lewis Mansion and stay there for a few days until they found a way to deal with this disease.


    Bianca agreed to her husband''s words, but she didn''t return to the Lewis Mansion.


    She did something rather clever. She sent a message to Piero and asked him to spread information that Bianca had returned to her farmhouse near Mesenana City.


    Naturally, the servants working in that farmhouse were already bribed by Bianca. They were supposed to provide her with perfect alibis.


    Now that this matter was dealt with, Bianca returned to her warehouse, where she kept the genius Alchemist Liam Parker hostage.


    Liam Parker had an uglyplexion as he knew that he had concocted an absolutely horrifying disease.


    This disease spreads from person to person. It could be shared through the air or even physical contact.


    For a 4 Star Warrior or below, it took nearly three days for this disease to enter the next stage of this cycle. That is, within ten days of encountering this disease, the warrior was bound to die.


    Only warriors at the 5 Star Rank or 6 Star Rank could be considered safer as their cultivation allowed them to deal with the aftereffects of this disease.


    Liam Parker had created not only the virus but also the disease''s antidote. It was capable of treating all patients, regardless of the stage of sickness they were suffering.


    There were two types of antidotes avable. One was simr to a vination. After administering this antidote, there was no need to be concerned about this illness.


    However, there was another kind of antidote that would cure the patient for a few days before the patient would require more doses of that antidote.


    "Start mass-producing the powdered form of the antidote. You understand which one I am talking about, right?" Bianca instructed with a cold voice.


    Liam Parker instantly understood which kind of antidote Bianca was referring to. It was thetter kind where the patients would require multiple doses of the antidote.


    He asked, a little puzzled, "Are you trying to make it a business? Is that why you had me create such a terrifying disease and are now set on selling its antidote?"


    Bianca snorted at those words and responded coldly, "You don''t need to care about such matters. Just focus on the task assigned to you, and I won''t identally kill you!"


    Liam Parker shivered a bit as he didn''t doubt Bianca''s words. He didn''t want to die yet. Thus, he decided to obey Bianca''s instructions.

 Chapter 463 Eating Tiana (R-18)

    Azaroth was delighted to hear that his n was working. The disease was spreading within Mesenana City.


    Actually, the impact of this disease could be felt even in towns neighboring the capital city! Caravans regrly moved from one city to another.


    Bianca naturally targeted these merchant caravans and spread the virus through them.


    King Valliadis failed to understand how such a strange disease could have suddenly spread in the capital. He had a feeling that this was someone''s scheme!


    However, he was confused about how he should counter this scheme. He didn''t have much idea about this illness.


    Suppose only he could understand how this disease was spreading. In that case, he could set up a special team of warriors and order them to return to Mesenana City and investigate the cause behind this disease outbreak.


    Even the Royal Physician failed to understand this disease. The Royal Physician had never witnessed or heard of such a strange illness in his long years of service.


    Even the historical records didn''t mention anything regarding this illness.


    When the King heard that even the Royal Physician was helpless against this illness, he gritted his teeth angrily as he thought ''Do I really need to contact them?!''


    Whoever King Valliadis was pondering about was certainly not on friendly terms with him. If at all possible, King Valliadis would have preferred not to approach them. But the situation waspletely out of his control. He didn''t have an alternative but to ask for their help.


    ~~


    The base of the Arctic Summit, the Glerian Kingdom.


    Azaroth had selected the sect mistress of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. The feast went on for 6 hours, and all the sect members enjoyed themselves in it.


    Tiana could be seen hurrying towards Azaroth''s chamber now that the feast had ended. Her heart was beating crazily as she could guess what Azaroth wanted from her.


    She knocked on his door a couple of times before hearing a loud voice, "Come inside."


    The door ahead of her suddenly opened, and Tiana entered the door without any hesitation. As soon as Tiana stepped inside the room, the door closed.


    Tiana was taken aback when she saw Azaroth half-naked. Tiana thought his golden hair seemed lovely, despite his rough haircut. It was unthinkable for her to look away from Azaroth.


    Her gleaming oceanic blue eyes met Azaroth''s ruby pupils.


    Tiana dropped her sight to concentrate on Azaroth''s bare chest. His chiseled abs and beautiful physical form captured her attention and captivated her.


    She noticed that the gorgeous red robe that he was wearing earlier was ced aside on the bed.


    Azaroth was still wearing his white trousers, whichplemented his pale upper bodyplexion!


    He suddenly stood up and walked towards Tiana.


    Tiana understood what Azaroth was going to do, and her heart nearly leaped out of her chest with anticipation.


    Once the two were close enough, Azaroth smiled at Tiana.


    Tiana''s body temperature began to rise as soon as she saw that smile. And before she knew it, Azaroth had moved from his position and crashed his lips to hers.


    It was a vigorous kiss, with Azaroth''s tongue quickly infiltrating Tiana''s mouth. Tiana took a moment to respond as her tongue contacted Azaroth''s equally passionately!


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s hands were already stripping Tiana of her robes and clothing. He tore whatever he couldn''t remove.


    Tiana soon stoodpletely naked in front of Azaroth.


    Azaroth released her mouth and allowed her to regain her breath. Meanwhile, he removed his white trousers, revealing hisrge dick to Tiana.


    One of his hands touched Tiana''s pussy andmented with an evil smirk on his face, "We haven''t even done anything, yet you are so wet?"


    The fluids seeping from Tiana''s pussy had soaked his fingertips. Well, this was only convenient for Azaroth.


    He didn''t need to wait anymore for the main dish.


    While licking his lips with a wicked grin, he whispered devilishly, "¡­Time to eat."


    His words sent a chill of excitement down Tiana''s spine. And she didn''t have the time to think about these words as she experienced a sharp pain in her pussy!


    "AaaaaHHHH!" She let out a loud painful scream.


    Azaroth''s dick had already entered her pussy. However, when Tiana looked down, she noticed that not even half of Azaroth''s dick had entered her pussy. There was still that other half of the shaft to go!


    Blood was already flowing out of Tiana''s pussy, signifying her loss of virginity. Meanwhile, Yang Ardor from Azaroth''s body flowed into Tiana''s body.


    Tiana had no idea the Nine Yin Cultivation Art was automatically triggered and was beginning to assimte the Yang Ardor throughout her body.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s Heavenly Demon Cultivation Art absorbed Tiana''s Yin Ardor and assimted it through his own body.


    Azaroth didn''t focus on these matters. His Heavenly Demon Cultivation Art had already reached a rank where he didn''t need to operate it manually all the time.


    He held Tiana''s body rather tightly and pulled her towards him.


    Tiana felt her body moving towards Azaroth''s body. She also felt Azaroth''s dick moving deeper into her pussy.


    "AAHhhhhh¡­" Her painful shout slowly lowered, and she began to breathe heavily.


    Azaroth''s dick had reached the most sensitive portion of her pussy. As his dick brushed over that spot, she experienced an unreal wave of pleasure across her entire body.


    Her pupils appeared to be fixated on the upper half of her eyeball since only the white portion of her eye could be seen. This indicated that Tiana was experiencing mind-numbing pleasure!


    The pleasure was so great that it overpowered the pain she was feeling. Moans of pure pleasure and bliss were released from her mouth, "Ahh¡­ Ahh¡­ More¡­ More master¡­"


    ? Azaroth''s hand suddenly moved to her thighs, and he picked her up in the air. Tiana''s legs instinctively wrapped around Azaroth''s waist tightly. They were now in a Standing Suspected position.


    Azaroth''s dick prated Tiana''s pussy even deeper as he suddenly smacked her ass strongly.


    Her soft ass wriggled in response. Surprisingly, Tiana''s pussy became even tighter as she was smacked.


    Azaroth experienced a rather blissful feeling as the walls of her pussy tightened so suddenly.


    Tiana let out loud moans, "Hah¡­Hah¡­ Ahhh¡­ More! I want more! Ahh¡­ Smack me more master¡­"


    "You don''t need to say that again," Azaroth responded with a sneer. He was naturally not satisfied after smacking that ass once.


    He immediately smacked her ass a couple of times. And as he expected, her walls of pussy tightened in response and made him experience an unreal pleasure!


    He began to thrust inside Tiana''s pussy. Slowly, his movements became quicker. He would smack Tiana''s ass suddenly while he rammed his dick inside her pussy!


    Both Tiana and Azaroth were experiencing unreal pleasure.


    Tiana had already squirted a couple of times as she enjoyed being pped a bit too much.


    After nearly ten minutes or so, Azaroth decided to release his massive load within Tiana''s pussy.


    Tiana''s pussy proved to be too small to take all of Azaroth''s semen within it. Most of Azaroth''s semen dripped out of Tiana''s pussy after it was mixed with the fluids within her pussy.


    Tiana significantly calmed down after Azaroth shot his massive load within her pussy. She felt Azaroth pulling his dick out of her pussy.


    The sharp pain that she had ignored all this time due to ecstasy suddenly returned in full force.


    "Aiya¡­" She let out a painful groan.


    Her ass waspletely red because of Azaroth''s smacks.


    However, Azaroth wasn''t satisfied with just a single round. He ced her on the bed, with her head to his near side.


    Tiana didn''t understand what Azaroth wanted from her until he shoved his dick into her mouth!


    Well, this was more than enough to make her understand that he wanted a blowjob from her.


    As a result, Tiana had a wild night in which she received neither leniency nor rxation from Azaroth. She was forced to serve him all night, using her entire body to cater to his demands!


    Her Nine Yin Cultivation Technique managed topletely assimte Azaroth''s Yang Ardor with her body during this moment. It greatly boosted her cultivation, but most importantly, it was greatly beneficial for her physique.

 Chapter 464 Another Demonic Labyrinth

    The next morning, Azaroth and Tiana awoke nude on the bed next to each other.


    There was a smile on Tiana''s face as she hugged Azaroth.


    "I feel so delighted to finally be your woman," Tiana sincerely spoke.


    Azaroth grunted in response, "Hmm. Don''t fool yourself into thinking that I hold feelings for you. I am fulfilling my carnal desires. You aren''t my first woman, and you won''t be thest."


    Tiana was startled to hear those words. But she had already expected such a scenario, "¡­I don''t dare to monopolize you, master. I just want to please you anyway I can while hoping to upy a tiny portion in your heart."


    Azaroth moved his hands and fondled Tiana''s ass. That big and fluffy ass seemed to perfectly fit in his hands.


    Tiana moaned in response as Azaroth fondled her ass. Azaroth soon spoke, "Your wishes don''t matter as I will do what I want."


    "Mhm~!" Tiana moaned out in response as she felt Azaroth lightly smack her cherry buttocks.


    The two soon got up and went into the bathroom to wash their bodies with fresh water.


    While they were bathing together, the two fucked once more before getting out and wearing their clothes.


    It was now Tiana realized that she had no clothes to wear right now. Azaroth had torn most of her dress yesterday.


    Azaroth shrugged in response as he pulled out arge robe and covered Tiana''s body, "Return to your room now."


    Tiana ran to her chambers while being covered by nothing but Azaroth''s robe. Fortunately, her room was close to Azaroth''s room, so she didn''t have to run very far.


    ''Done with Tiana. It''s time to move to the next target,'' Azaroth was like a predator who had already selected his next prey.


    His next prey was Helena!


    However, he was in no rush. He just had a rather pleasurable night with Tiana. He was going to let his desire build up a bit before making his move on Helena.


    Moreover, he had something important to deal with.


    He sensed that his spirit within Noah''s Mystical Connection Spiritual Ring had suddenly gotten weaker.


    This indicated that Noah had encountered a strong enemy and Azaroth''s spirit felt it would be appropriate to lend him aid.


    ''This means that the opponent he encountered was most definitely a 5 Star Warrior. The death of a 5 Star Warrior at the hands of a 4 Star Warrior must have caused a great sensation within the Sinyalian Kingdom,'' Azaroth thought with a frown.


    Poprity in the Sinyalian Kingdom wasn''t a good thing for him. If news of Noah reached that irritating Inquisitor Fox, the situation would be rather troublesome.


    He recalled that Inquisitor Fox had met Noah when he came to inspect Kloras Town. If Inquisitor Fox saw Noah''s portrait, he was bound to recall that Noah was one of Azaroth''s retainers.


    ''No. I need to assume the worst. I can''t make the same mistake of looking down on him,'' Azaroth thought.


    ''He must have seen Noah''s portrait by now and connected him to my survival. Then his next course of action would be to use Noah to find my location,'' Azaroth further thought with a serious look.


    ''He has one chance to follow Noah''s position and sessfully find my location. If hemitted a blunder, he would lose the only method of knowing my location. This means he can''t leave such a crucial task to someone else.''


    A cold smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he concluded ''He will be infiltrating the Glerian Kingdom alone. Interesting. I am ready for another round, Inquisitor Fox. Let''s see who wins this time.''


    Unlike the previous round where Azaroth was in Inquisitor Fox''s territory, this time, Inquisitor Fox was entering Azaroth''s territory!


    Azaroth had already spread his retainers and prepared massive forces in all parts of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Moreover, Sargan''s informationwork was so widespread that he would know when Inquisitor Fox entered the Glerian Kingdom.


    However, contrary to Azaroth''s expectations, Shun had no intention of infiltrating the Glerian Kingdom any time soon.


    Even though Shun knew that Noah could lead him to Azaroth, he also realized the risk of following Noah.


    He knew that Azaroth must have realized that Noah had be rather famous in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom. And he was bound to anticipate the best action that Inquisitor Fox would take after realizing Noah''s identity.


    Thus, he did somethingpletely opposite. He stayed in his city and waited for an opportunity to infiltrate the Glerian Kingdom.


    And this opportunity arrived rather quickly for him. He heard that the Sinyalian Kingdom was preparing most of its forces to mount a quick counter against the Glerian Kingdom and recover its recently lost territory!


    Shun was also a bit worried about the disease outbreak within Mesenana City. He didn''t know why but he felt that a scheme was operating behind the scenes.


    He felt that thwarting this scheme was crucial. The disease would spread wide if they didn''t, and the Sinyalian Kingdom would be in grave danger.


    However, neither Azaroth nor Shun knew that King Valliadis had already thought of how to deal with this disease. He merely required some time to put his n into motion.


    ~~


    In the meantime, Dn, Camille, Margeria, and Nudar, joined the Glerian Kingdom''s army and ambushed the Lamhilhan Kingdom''s camp.


    Dn, Camille, and Margeria escaped deeper into the Lamhilhan Theocracy amid the confusion.


    Camille was familiar with the area and led the tree. Meanwhile, Nudar followed Margeria and stayed on the correct path.


    In reality, Nudar was wondering when he should make Margeria ditch Dn. However, he eventually decided against that.


    He understood that Dn possessed a rather unrealistic prominence. And since that''s the case, he was bound to encounter something interesting now that he had entered another Kingdom!


    And sure enough, Dn did encounter something interesting a few dayster. What Dn encountered was an Underground Labyrinth of the Demons.


    Moreover, a race actually resided in this Underground Labyrinth of the Demons.


    Nudar knew that demons couldn''t survive in this Underground Labyrinth for so long.


    This indicated that these demons had recently upied this undergroundbyrinth. And since they were able to ess thisbyrinth, it meant that one of the demons among them possessed a bloodline of either a Demon King or Demon Emperor.


    ''I can sense a rich aura of treasures and herbs. This will be a great harvest for me,'' Nudar thought.


    Nudar''s aura was purely Celestial, so he was unusually sensitive to the Demonic Ardor. And the strong demonic aura he sensed from this Underground Labyrinth told him that it held a rare treasure.


    ''Let''s see which demons are upying thisbyrinth. But before that, I need to think of a way to apany Dn''s group. Fortunately, I have just the idea,'' A roguish smirk appeared on his face.


    After a few minutes, Dn and his group suddenly sensed a massive Celestial Aura heading towards them.


    They were all instantly on their guard, well, except for Margeria. She could feel that this aura signature belonged to Nudar.


    ''Master is nearing us. But why? Does he want to apany us in exploring thisbyrinth? He is a demon¡­ He must know a lot about thisbyrinth, so maybe that''s why he is curious. I must aid him however I can.''

 Chapter 465 Wood Elf

    After an hour or so, Nudar reached the entrance of the Underground Labyrinth of the Demons.


    Margeria kept Dn and Camille upied and prevented them from entering the Labyrinth. She wanted Nudar to join their group before they all entered thisbyrinth together.


    Nudar came flying down from the skies with a serene smile. His angelic wings revealed his identity and caught Dn''s attention.


    Soon, Camille also stared in Nudar''s direction and was startled to see such a handsome man flying towards them. She noticed the wings on his back and understood that this was actually a Celestial!


    Meanwhile, Margeria was trying to contain her excited heart as she stared at Nudar''s flying figure. However, it wasn''t just her heart that was excited.


    Her entire body heated up, and her pussy twitched in anticipation. It went without saying that just a look at Nudar made Margeria wet.


    "Hello, I am Nudar¡­ Umm. What''s your name?" He asked rather kindly.


    He had his own reasons to stay kind to Dn. He was curious about Dn''s fate energy, and he had already seen the results of how it worked if an individual was antagonistic to him.


    He now intended to see how this fate energy would respond to anyone Dn saw as a reliable ally.


    He would arrange his future actions correspondingly.


    "I-I am Dn," Noticing that Dn was rather nervous, Camille stepped up and spoke out, "I am Camille. His name is Dn, and her name is Margeria. We live in a nearby vige and havee to investigate this strange cave."


    Camille was worried that Dn would say something that would reveal their true identity.


    She believed that the man ahead of her was a Celestial, which meant that he belonged to the Lamhilhan Theocracy. Maybe one of the great ns. It would be best if they concealed the fact that they belonged to the Glerian Kingdom.


    Nudar was amused and thought ''A decent story. But unfortunately, you can''t fool me with it. I have been following you all this time.''


    However, Nudar''s expression remained solemn as he responded, "I see. I arrived here because I sensed this cave''s rather terrifying demonic energy."


    "Demonic Energy?!" Camille and Dn eximed at the same time.


    "That''s correct. This is most likely an Underground Labyrinth of the Demons," Nudar nodded before pointing in Margeria''s direction, "She must have realized it."


    Dn frowned slightly as he stared in Margeria''s direction, "Why didn''t you inform us about it, Margeria?"


    A scowl appeared on Margeria''s face as she responded coldly, "Don''t forget our rtionship, Dn. You should refer to me as your Master."


    Dn was a little confused by Margeria''s grimace. He didn''t understand why she seemed a bit irritated.


    However, he concluded that Margeria must be reluctant to talk to him openly in front of a stranger. Moreover, this was a Celestial. She probably wanted to maintain the pride and respect of the Celestials.


    With that, a smile appeared on his face as he asked Margeria, "Why did you not inform us, Master?"


    Margeria seemed satisfied with those words and exined, "It''s just a bit of Demonic Energy. I didn''t feel it was necessary to mention it. The demons inside can''t be too strong."


    Nudar spoke up, "That''s correct. But the number of these demons is too great. And I can sense a dense demonic energy from an Artifact."


    "Hmph. It might be something dangerous for you, but it''s trash in my eyes. Before losing my body, I was an Archangel. What is your rank?" Margeria spoke with a hint of pride in her voice.


    Nudar appeared amused as he heard those words. He understood what Margeria was doing. She was trying to make Dn and Camille think that Margeria was superior to Nudar.


    Margeria had some idea of what Azaroth wanted from Dn, and she was helping him achieve his aim.


    Nudar soon responded with a shocked tone, "I am merely a Celestial in-training. I received a great opportunity to enter the Holy Sanctuary where I was gifted the Wings of an Angel."


    "Hmm. I see," Margeria spoke. She then turned towards Dn and sent him a spiritual message, "He is a 5 Star Warrior. However, his Celestial Powers are probably stronger than mine at this moment. It would be great if he joined us. We will swipe everything in thatbyrinth."


    Dn seemed rather interested in this idea. He nced at Camille to discuss this matter with her, and he was astonished to see her peeking at Nudar from the corner of her eyes and blushing madly.


    Dn studied Nudar carefully and reluctantly admitted that whether it was his body or his face, it was absolutely wless.


    However, if Dn thought he had the final say in it, then he was wrong.


    Margeria immediately turned towards Camille and spoke, "You don''t mind if he joins us, right?"


    Camille responded absent-mindedly, "No, I don''t mind."


    And thus, the four walked near the entrance of this Underground Labyrinth of the Demons.


    The gate was remarkablyrge. It covered the entire opening of this Labyrinth.


    Before even touching the gate, Nudar knew that a spatial barrier existed around it.


    ''I can dispel this Spatial Barrier, but how would Dn have aplished it? How could he have opened it?''


    He nced in Dn''s direction and sensed nothing extraordinary around him.


    "Let''s try to open this gate together," Nudar suggested to Dn.


    Now that Nudar was seeking his assistance, Dn couldn''t really reject him, or else Camille and Margeria would have looked down on him. He stepped forward with a serious look on his face.


    He was about to touch the door when suddenly, they heard a voice in their heads, "Don''t touch it!"


    Nudar''s eyes widened upon hearing that voice. That voice belonged to an elf. And when he heard that voice, he realized that the individual was near their position!


    Nudar couldn''t believe that an elf had managed to conceal himself from his senses for so long!


    Moreover, this elf actually spoke just before Dn''s hands were about to touch the spatial barrier!


    ''I truly can''t underestimate that Fate Energy. It''s working properly even after I took one of his women,'' Nudar thought somberly.


    The voice emerged from a tree, and Nudar now noticed that the tree was merely an illusion. It was actually a Wood Elf who rooted himself to that spot and created an illusion of a tree so that he could hibernate peacefully.


    What Nudar found absolutely inconceivable was the timing when this wood elf woke up. It was just before Dn''s death or him suffering a grave injury.


    And since this Wood Elf was in hibernation, his aura waspletely masked by the world. Even Nudar couldn''t detect this Wood Elf without using his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    And Nudar never used his Mystic Eyes of Perception randomly. He used it when he wanted to investigate something.


    Clearly, the tree didn''t give him a bad feeling, so he didn''t use his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    At that moment, the Wood Elf moved forward and spoke out, "I am Jander, a wood elf who has lived here for a long time."


    He then bowed to Nudar and Margeria, "I am truly honored to meet Celestials here."


    Nudar''s eyes narrowed at those words as he thought ''I see. He intervened because he sensed a Celestial''s presence. Even if I weren''t here, Margeria''s presence would have made him intervene.''


    "Alright, speak up. What do you know about this cave? Why are there so many demons living here?" Nudar asked with a somber tone.

 Chapter 466 Kings Envoy

    The base of the Arctic Summit, the Glerian Kingdom.


    It had been two weeks since he took Tiana''s virginity. In this one week, he had taken the virginity of all the elders of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    And during this time, he had even executed an orgy where he had sex with all the high-ranking members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    This was something he nned to do only this time since he had to ensure their high loyalty quickly. And he believed orgy was the most convenient method to achieve his goal. It was certainly quite enjoyable.


    Tiana and all her subordinates were delighted with the current rtionship they shared with him.


    Azaroth had also informed Tiana that he had already taken Laura and Yrellea''s virginity long ago. The two were his women as well.


    Tiana was a bit frustrated that she was thest one to join his harem.


    Azaroth didn''t care about Tiana''s frustration as something else had caught his attention. It was the presence of an individual within the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory.


    This individual was a 5 Star Warrior, and he seemed to be alone.


    He was flying all over the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory, probably trying to find the Sect Pce. However, the mist released by the arrays made it impossible for him to find the sect.


    Azaroth wondered just which faction this individual belonged to. He didn''t seem to be a member of the Origin Sect or any other sect Azaroth hade into contact with.


    "Let''s see what he wants from us," Azaroth whispered.


    He informed Tiana about this trespasser and asked her to invite this individual.


    Tiana naturally followed his order and cleared the mist around the Ice Pce. The warrior was quite shocked when the mist suddenly cleared, revealing a beautiful Ice Pce.


    He soon flew towards the Ice Pce, a proud look on his face.


    However, just as he entered the Ice Pce''s window, a mysterious pressure was exerted on his body, and his body hit the floor!


    As he looked up, he noticed some words in mid-air formed through pure ice.


    "Move straight ahead and enter the Hall."


    This wasn''t a message. It was amand. That warrior''s proud look vanished, and there was a slightly terrifying glint in his eyes.


    However, he concealed his emotions and continued to walk down the corridor before entering the Hall.


    This warrior spotted 11 women within the Hall. And each of these 11 women was a stunning beauty who had a heavenly presence.


    His mind went nk at this sight, and he forgot the purpose of his visit.


    "Who are you, and why did you enter my sect''s territory?" Tiana asked with a bone-chilling tone.


    Those words jolted the warrior out of that tranced state. He recalled why he hade here and spoke with a smile, "Ladies, my name is Sam. I havee here on His Highness King Tryfon''s order!"


    His words were spoken with a proud tone. He was expecting them to don a shocked expression and treat him with the utmost respect.


    However, he was bound to be disappointed as Tiana''s expression remained the same. She didn''t seem to have any intention of training him differently even though he was sent by the King of the Glerian Kingdom.


    "And what does the king want from me?" Tiana asked in the same cold tone as before.


    "The King expects an exnation from the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect for stealing all the Night Mountain Sect''s Treasures and killing their top brass," Sam spoke in the same proud tone as earlier.


    He thought that Tiana was bound to be shocked or absolutely terrified this time.


    However, Tiana''s expression remained the same. Azaroth had already informed her to be prepared in such a situation. She couldn''t lose her calmness. At least not in front of this man.


    "This is entirely false. We have no such treasures," Tiana responded. They couldn''t admit to such a thing so simply.


    Sam didn''t seem impressed by Tiana''s response. He spoke with a scowl, "Are you questioning my intelligence or His Highness''s ability?! Because no matter what it is, the result won''t be good for you, Sect Mistress!"


    Helena yelled out before Tiana could say anything, "How dare you be so disrespectful to our Sect Mistress?!"


    However, Sam didn''t seem to care about those words. He added, "I believe it would be best for your sect if you cooperate. If not, I will return. And I assure you that the King won''t send an envoy the next time. He will send a force capable of destroying this tiny sect!"


    "I see¡­" Tiana responded.


    "That''s correct. So, I will repeat my words. Give up all the treasures you stole from the Night Mountain Sect''s treasury!" He spoke.


    Tiana remained silent at those words. Azaroth was curious about the identity of this warrior and the purpose of his visit.


    Now that he had all the required information, he sent a signal to Tiana. It was a red re.


    Tiana instantly understood what Azaroth meant. She pulled out a Blue Sphere from her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring and activated it.


    Sam thought that this Blue Sphere would open a secret path, and Tiana would lead him to the treasure.


    However, he was shocked to discover that the Ice Pce around him had suddenly disappeared. Instead, he stood within a thick mist.


    "W-What is going on?! How did I end up here?!" He was absolutely shocked as he voiced out this question.


    The strange suppressive force vanished. He felt the cold ice underneath his feet and instinctively flew into the sky.


    He flew around and tried to leave this mist. He was sure that if he continued to fly in a particr direction, he would leave sooner orter.


    However, he had no idea that he was ying right into Azaroth''s trap by doing that.


    In reality, the Blue Sphere in Tiana''s hands had activated a teleportation formation and teleported Sam to another ce.


    And now that Sam was flying in a single direction, Azaroth manipted a Spatial Array that he had set up around the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and twisted the shape into a sphere.


    In other words, if Sam continued to fly in a single direction, he was only going to circle around a particr area.


    However, Azaroth didn''t n on just tiring him out through this method. He had another trap set up for Sam.


    After a particr moment, Azaroth stopped twisting space in that area and allowed Sam to get out of the mist.


    However, Sam had no idea that the area he ended up was none other than the Boreal Mountain Bear''s territory.


    Azaroth believed that there were at least two 5 Star Beasts in that territory. Sam''s Ardor didn''t seem strong enough to deal with both of them, and his speed wasn''t quick enough to escape them.


    Moreover, even if he somehow managed to escape from those Bear''s clutches, he would be forced to return to this mist area. Azaroth could personally kill him at that moment.


    Azaroth wasn''t scared of fighting against the King. In reality, the Royal Family wasn''t so fearsome at this moment, and Azaroth intended to takeplete advantage of this opportunity!

 Chapter 467 Patricks Deeds

    Sam couldn''t return after he entered the Boreal Mountain Bear''s territory. However, he died only after killing one of the two 5 Star Beasts in the area.


    Azaroth nned to have Zena leader her force and take over the Boreal Mountain Bear''s territory.


    All the beasts at the same rank as Zena couldn''t put up a fight against her. The Crimson Lightning Phoenix Bloodline suppressed thempletely.


    Only the 5 Star Beast could attack Zena, but Azaroth was sure that Zena could defeat this Boreal Mountain Bear with some assistance from Frozen Spirit Foxes.


    Azaroth didn''t want Zena to kill these beasts. He wanted her to upy the territory and subjugate the species.


    This would allow Zena to gain valuablebat experience.


    Anyway, this wasn''t all. Azaroth arranged another array that connected the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    He taught Tiana how to control this array. The purpose of this array was quite simple. It was to control the position of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Tiana could basically relocate the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect wherever she wanted. This would be one of their escape routes.


    The enemy had no idea that there were two sects in this location. After destroying one, the enemy was bound to be satisfied, and it would prevent him from looking for another sect. This would temporarily save Tiana and her direct members'' lives.


    ''The King must be waiting for Sam''s report. But since there will be no report, the King will send an army to assault us,'' Azaroth thought.


    ''I need to activate my other agents. It''s time I make the King realize that he doesn''t have such a firm hold over his Kingdom,'' Azaroth had a devilish smile on his face as he plotted further.


    Currently, Azaroth had his men imnted in two of them out of the top sects. One was Origin Sect, while the other was the ck Lake Sect


    He knew that Erica was bound to support him. She couldn''t disobey him due to the contract.


    In this manner, Azaroth had the support of a rather powerful sect that had just destroyed another top sect.


    If the ck Lake Sect went against the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom, the other sects that were looking for an opportunity to free themselves of the Royal Family''s chains were bound to support it.


    Naturally, before that, he had to give all those sects a vision that they could defeat the Royal Family.


    The best way to aplish that would be to deal massive damage to the Red Crown Sect.


    Within the sects, the Red Crown Sect could be considered the Royal Family''s sword. It managed to control all the various private sects within the Glerian Kingdom.


    The power of this Red Crown Sect was so great that no sect dared to go against the Glerian Kingdom actively.


    It was no longer a mere sect. It had be a symbol! A symbol of power and fear!


    However, Azaroth anticipated that if the Red Crown Sect sustained major damage, the sects would shed their dread of it and begin to take up weapons to support him in this rebellion.


    Actually, Azaroth''s main motive wasn''t a true rebellion. He merely wanted to create an atmosphere in the Glerian Kingdom so that the Sinyalian Kingdom would feel that this was the perfect opportunity tounch a full-scale attack.


    And after the Sinyalian Kingdomunched a full-scale attack on the Glerian Kingdom, King Tryfon Res was bound to request a ceasefire with Azaroth.


    At that moment, Azaroth would put forward an alliance with Tryfon Res and support the Glerian Kingdom''s forces against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army.


    By doing so, Azaroth could manipte the battlefield to some extent. And since he could manipte the battlefield to some extent, he could ensure maximum losses to both kingdoms.


    There was also one more reason why Azaroth was using this scheme to force the war between these two kingdoms. He believed that if he bought enough time, his clone in the Lamhilhan Theocracy would achieve his objective and finally receive the blessings of the Royal Church.


    After gaining those blessings and elevating his Celestial Ardor, Azaroth would instantly break through to the 6 Star Rank!


    And once Azaroth broke through to the 6 Star Rank, no one in either of these kingdoms could defeat him!


    He contacted Patrick, who was living in the main branch of the Origin Sect. The Origin Sect had suffered from arge-scale assault by the demons.


    During this time, the Origin Sect had used all its members and tried to defend against the demons'' attack. Fortunately, they managed to defend against the demons'' assault sessfully.


    Patrick took advantage of the chance to amass a slew of aplishments, and his fame skyrocketed.


    The people heard of how Patrick''s team appeared on the most dreadful battlefield and rescued the most people during this entire battle against the Demons.


    Moreover, news of his power at the 5 Star Rank began to spread as well. After Azaroth hadpletely activated his Bloodline, Patrick''s power had skyrocketed.


    And this was disyed during his battle against the demons.


    The citizens and even the other elders of the Origin Sect were filled with respect and dread for Patrick. They no longer dared to look down on him.


    Even Patrick''s old rival, Hugo Corlett, didn''t dare to mess with him anymore. His father had died in the battle against the demons.


    Hugo Corlett couldn''t trust his uncles, and his father''s friends seemed ready to turn on him at any moment.


    Thus, Hugo Corlett left the Origin Sect as quickly as well. He divorced his wife Cara, who was actually Patrick''s ex-wife.


    After being divorced, Cara pursued Patrick and tried to convince him to take her back. Patrick was very disappointed as he heard Cara''s requests.


    He couldn''t believe how this woman could change colors so easily. She was actually begging him now that Hugo Corlett had left her.


    Unfortunately for Cara, Patrick was all out of pity. He wasn''t interested in hearing her story or her reasons. He threw her out of his chambers.


    Patrick finally realized that he no longer cared for Cara. He had truly given up on her.


    Cara was forced to leave the Origin Sect, but unfortunately, she hadn''t traveled very far before some bandits captured her.


    After the bandits had their fun with her, they sold her to a nearby obese merchant.


    Cara couldn''t tolerate such a hellish life and finallymitted suicide. This was the end of her rather unremarkable tale.


    Anyway, Patrick was enjoying his time in the Origin Sect, building a widework of connections with reputed figures in Origin Sect and other sects.


    Even though he was enjoying his newfound reputation, he didn''t dare to think of betraying Azaroth!


    He knew just how he had gained this reputation. It was through Sargan''s assistance!


    Sargan''s informationwork had spread to nearly the entire Glerian Kingdom. He would inform Patrick when and where to attack.


    Sargan was the one who informed Patrick of the location of the demons'' camps.


    Patrick prepared a small force and targeted those camps, killing countless demons and umting great prestige.


    Moreover, there were some individual parties in these areas that fought the demon groups. Sargan naturally kept track of these parties and asked Patrick to support them.


    By the time Patrick''s party reached the battlefield, the individual parties would have been ughtered already, and the demons'' groups would be rather tired. This was the perfect opportunity for Patrick''s party to strike.


    After killing those demons, Patrick made sure to take the full credit. Sargan used his informationwork to ensure that no one would doubt Patrick''s deeds. This was how Patrick managed to be a living legend within the Origin Sect.

 Chapter 468 Emissaries Of Clyranis

    Azaroth''s n to start a rebellion and use it to force the war between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom could be considered brilliant.


    However, multiple factors were required to make this n a reality.


    The most important factor was for the que to spread uncontrolled across the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The fear of this que would force the King to take some immediate actions. Devoid of any proper knowledge of this disease, the King would try to leave the Sinyalian Kingdom quickly.


    However, the King knew that it might endanger his life even more. Thus, he would begin looking for a foreign territory to upy.


    At that moment, the Glerian Kingdom''s internal strife would present him the perfect opportunity to march into the Glerian Kingdom and upy their territory.


    The King nned to set up arge military base in that newly upied territory to preserve his forces and prevent them froming into contact with this disease.


    In a sense, they would be leaving the Kingdom until the situation was normal.


    Contain, wait, and purge. This was the typical protocol of most authorities when a que spread in the Kingdom.


    However, Azaroth had no idea that his n would fall apart because of a bit of miscalction.


    He miscalcted King Valliadis''s capabilities!


    The virus that Azaroth created was extremelyplex, and not just any alchemist could concoct its antidote without knowing the true form. However, there was a gimmick in this.


    The core feature of this virus was a Demonic Ingredient. Thus, it could be countered by a Holy Ingredient.


    As they all say, everything in this world has its counterpart! And this que was no different!


    King Valliadis contacted multiple religions and offered them lucrative deals and, in return, asked them to cure this disease.


    Each religion had its specific set of Alchemists, and one religion particrly stood out as it quickly managed to create a permanent antidote!


    This religion was known as the Emissaries of Clyranis.


    Now, this name was rather familiar to Azaroth. There was a Celestial named Clyranis, and his title was Poison God!


    This Celestial had ughtered countless demons without even lifting his finger. His poisons were so advanced that they could infect even a Demon God and kill them in the right conditions.


    The terrifying part about his poisons was that a Demon couldn''t detect them no matter how hard he tried.


    Even though the Poison element was supposed to be a Demons'' forte, this Celestial hadpletely surpassed all poison experts in that era.


    Azaroth had no idea that this Celestial had managed to endure the passage of time and his religion stayed intact!


    The Emissaries of Clyranis quickly spread the antidote and informed the other religions of the trick to dealing with this disease.


    Thus, the Emissaries of Clyranis quickly dealt with the sense of terror and anxiety that Azaroth had created within the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    Not only that, Azaroth''s actions had strengthened the religious factions within the Sinyalian Kingdom. The King offered themrge pieces of hisnd, a tremendous number of resources, and, most importantly, many new followers.


    Since the Radiant Church had already fled from the Sinyalian Kingdom, the people were looking for another religion they could follow.


    Religion was an integral part of people''s lives. It wasn''t just because religion gave them hope and allowed them to endure for a better future. No. It was so much more.


    Religion brought a whole new culture to them. And this culture could be anything. Whether the manner of praying is changed, some religious sites, different ways of blessings, and most importantly, their diverse festivals!


    While following a religion, people would be filled with hope and joy.


    After donating something to their respective religion, people would be filled with a sense of satisfaction. This gave them positiveness which responded to their vicious everyday world.


    In a sense, religion gave people hope, power, and a way of living! It must be considered a crucial element of their lives!


    Thus, when these three religions became a bit famous for dealing with the gue, they instantly rose to great heights within the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    The ones that rose to great prominence were the Emissaries of Clyranis. Many people were interested in joining this religion.


    However, it wasn''t so easy to join them. The Emissaries of Clyranis required a follower to have a fit body, a talent in alchemy, and most importantly, fate with their God Clyranis!


    If an individual didn''t have fate with their God Clyranis, the Emissaries wouldn''t allow him to join the religion!


    However, even with these three restrictions, the number of Emissaries of Clyranis was increasing at an unreal pace.


    Fortunately for Azaroth, Bianca had managed to conceal her presence in this entire incident perfectly. She killed the Alchemist and badly dismembered his body before throwing those pieces to the beasts.


    The beasts ate those pieces and made an entire manpletely disappear from the face of this world.


    Bianca returned to her Lewis Family Mansion and kept up the illusion that she had always been staying there with her servants. This allowed her to form a near-perfect alibi.


    However, she had no idea that a rather sharp dog was already after her.


    This sharp dog was none other than Shun Gordon!


    Shun still hadn''t linked this disease to Azaroth, but he had realized that someone intentionally spread that que.


    que couldn''t spread in the Capital of the Kingdom so quickly without any proper nning.


    And this belief was further strengthened when he gathered the data of the infected families.


    He noticed most of the infected families of this disease were actually merchants and guards! Out of the total suffering from this que, around 40% were merchants, 20% were guards, and the rest were the general popce.


    Shun knew that such data couldn''t ur naturally. There had to be a particr reason why so many merchants and guards were targeted!


    And he found one quickly enough.


    Firstly, it was easy to infect merchants and guards because essing them wasn''t very difficult.


    They could easily be found in local taverns or some shops.


    Once he found out how the culprit chose his targets, Shun immediately spread his moles and ordered them to gather info about any suspicious individual in the area who had appeared before the disease outbreak.


    His men talked to hundreds and thousands of people every day. After a week, they finally gathered some info which further indicated that they were on the right path.


    They had formed a character sketch of a few servants working for Bianca. However, they couldn''te into contact with these servants, so they didn''t know how to find these individuals in this vast Kingdom.


    Actually, it had to be impossible, but the reality was a tiny bit different. Shun recognized one of these servants. He had an eidetic memory, and he would never forget anything he had seen. No matter if it was data or someone''s face.


    He recalled seeing one of the individuals serving Spencer Russel''s wife, Bianca Russel when he had gone to Spencer''s house to talk to Sophie. He remembered meeting Bianca, and this woman was apanying her. They appeared to be rather close.


    ''A worthwhile lead regarding this case, finally!''


    A wide smile appeared on his face. He knew that either this servant or Bianca were bound to know something crucial about this disease!

 Chapter 469 Abducting Biancas Personal Maid

    Even though Shun had proper proof for his suspicions concerning Bianca and her personal maid, he was hesitant to initiate action against them.


    Ignoring Bianca''s close rtionship with Spencer Russel, she was still a descendant of the Lewis Marquis Family.


    Moreover, Lewis Marquis Family had gained a lot of influence as they headed the Noble Family Alliance. He couldn''t act against Bianca without having Spencer Russel and Lewis Noble Familying after him.


    But after spending some thought on it, Shun decided to risk it. However, he had to do it very intelligently with a full-proof n.


    ''What can be her motivation for doing such a thing? I can''t imagine any reason she would want to harm the general popce,'' Shun thought.


    He had investigated Bianca''s entire history and found no evidence signifying precarious beliefs. She had lived her life as a model citizen of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Why would she suddenly change her mind?


    However, Shun answered his own question ''Is she supporting her family? Was this idea from someone within the Lewis Family? Are they pressuring her through some method?''


    Now that he was aware of the problem, Shun understood he had to be careful not to reveal his presence while probing Bianca. He had to be so discreet that Bianca wouldn''t notice he got what he desired.


    This was hard but not impossible.


    After all, Bianca had no idea about Shun''s motives or even the fact that he was investigating this case. This made her situation greatly precarious.


    However, Shun only had limited methods to investigate Bianca. Following her wouldn''t work since it was a rather perilous method with small gains. In other words, the risks would greatly outweigh the gains.


    Thus, Shun decided on something else. He first nned to investigate all her manors and collect evidence against her.


    He needed to have a great number of proofs against her in case Bianca sensed his presence andined to her husband or the Lewis Marquis Family.


    If Bianca sensed his presence andined to either her husband or her Lewis Marquis Family, these proofs would act as a robust shield for Shun. The King would protect Shun at that moment.


    However, Shun truly hoped that the situation wouldn''t reach such an extent. But it was best to be prepared for all kinds of possibilities.


    He spread all his spies and ordered them to search all the manors under Bianca''s name.


    Unfortunately, they failed to find any clue within these manors. Naturally, they made sure to cover their traces after leaving these manors.


    But Shun was slightly surprised that they found nothing in any one of these manors. He now understood that Bianca had always been ying smartly.


    Thus, he widened his search range and began to investigate all the manors under her servants'' names.


    Fortunately, the number of manors that belonged to her servants was fewerpared to Bianca''s.


    Bianca had a total of 19 Manors and Warehouses in Mesenana City. And her servants only had about 15 Manors and Warehousesbined.


    This time, Shun did find something in one of these warehouses. He found traces ofrge furniture being moved recently. There was still the smell of chemicals in the air.


    ''This must have been theb where that terrifying disease was concocted,'' He thought rather somberly.


    ''Everything has been relocated from this ce. Was I toote?'' Shun thought gravely.


    After thinking for a few seconds, his eyes suddenly shone with excitement.


    ''Yes, this can definitely work!''


    ''I should contact the servant under whom this location was registered. She is bound to know something. Maybe kidnap her for a couple of days and interrogate her.''


    "Investigate the family of the woman under whom this warehouse is registered," Shun ordered his subordinates.


    It took his subordinates only a single day to find all the information pertaining to that woman''s background.


    It seemed as though her family had worked for Bianca''s family for multiple generations. Thus, they lived within the Lewis Marquis Family''s territory.


    ''Rather far away. It would take too long to kidnap her family members and then threaten her about it. I need to improvise quickly,'' Shun thought.


    Soon, he had a solution for this issue.


    Shun nned to send Bianca''s personal maid a message that she muste near Hyde za for a rather serious talk. Her family would be in danger if she didn''te. She couldn''t talk about this to anyone, not even Bianca. She had to request a leave of absence ande to him.


    The issue was if Bianca''s personal maid still informed Bianca about this message. For that, he added something down below that would be visible after she had read the entire message.


    If she dared to inform Bianca about this message, he would kill Sophie!


    Shun already knew Sophie''s exact location. He would mention that in the message to further threaten Bianca''s personal maid.


    At that moment, Bianca''s personal maid would have no choice but to keep the contents of his message to herself. She had no idea how his spies were observing her.


    It was bound to terrify her and prevent her from trying to counter him. If Sophie was harmed by them, she could never face Bianca.


    As a loyal Lewis Marquis family subordinate, Sophie''s safety would be her top priority!


    Shun knew that this was a despicable method, but he didn''t care at this point. He was trying to prevent another tragedy that targeted millions of people, so his conscience was clear!


    The next day, he put his n into motion.


    He personally ced the message over the bed of Bianca''s personal maid. She was bound to find it and read it after noticing that it was addressed to her.


    He wrote additional instructions that she had to follow to ensure that Bianca wouldn''t get suspicious about her leave of absence!


    Fortunately, everything went ording to his n, and she arrived at the mentioned location!


    Bianca''s personal maid shouted out, "I am here! Now reveal yourself! What do you want from me?!"


    In the very next second, the light around her disappeared, and all she saw was darkness.


    Someone had covered her eyes and was carrying her to an unknown location!


    After what appeared to be half an hour, the eye mask was removed, and she could finally see her current location.


    She was startled to see a man sitting on a wooden chair ahead of her, wearing what appeared to be the standard uniform for the Inquisitors! He donned the Fox mask, and she instantly understood that she was in the presence of Inquisitor Fox!


    There were five more men near the Inquisitor Fox! They were also wearing masks to conceal their identity, but their dress was rathermon. This meant that they weren''t Inquisitors!


    "What is the meaning behind this, Inquisitor Fox?! Why have you brought me here in such a manner?!" The woman spoke with a hint of fury in her voice.


    "You should be aware of why I brought you here, Miss Savannah! This concerns the que that your mistress spread in the Sinyalian Kingdom," Shun responded coldly.


    Even though Savannah tried to keep her reactions normal, her heartbeat was something she couldn''t control.


    And at such a close range, Shun could sense her frantic heartbeat as he added, "There is no use lying to me. I will find the truth through hook or crook. I would prefer it if you were honest. Otherwise, I have no choice but to use some rather cruel methods."

 Chapter 470 The Terrifying Truth

    At this moment, Miss Savannah was rather terrified. It was the first time she was meeting Inquisitor Fox, and she got a rather horrifying feeling from him.


    She had heard his reputation. He had a perfect record of resolving difficult tasks. And most importantly, she knew that an Inquisitor acted at the King''smand.


    Since Inquisitor Fox had bound her here, it meant that he was obeying the King''smand. There had been no cases of an Inquisitor taking personal action before.


    Ironically, this was exactly the case right now. Shun was doing this on his own. He didn''t have the King''s consent. In fact, the King had no idea that Shun was doing something like this.


    If the King realized what Shun was doing, he would certainly punish him severely.


    However, this was Shun''s sce. The King had no idea about his actions. And if all went ording to his ns, he wouldn''t ever find out.


    "Now, you can start by telling me why your Mistress concocted such a dangerous poison? Why would she spread that poison in the Kingdom? Under whose order is she working?" Shun asked these three questions with a cold look in his eyes.


    Savannah gulped down a mouthful of saliva as she heard those questions. From Shun''s tone of certainty, she understood that he must have concrete evidence concerning her master.


    As she recalled how her mistress had taken care of her, she began to cry.


    Shun didn''t seem to care about her tears and ordered her, "It would be better if you speak now because that would save your mistress from a load of trouble. The King still doesn''t know that Miss Bianca is involved in this issue. However, if you don''t speak, I will have no choice but to inform him of this and hand him the evidence as well."


    He paused for a short moment and spoke, "We both know that the King won''t show her any mercy. So, it''s best if you speak up now."


    "¡­It was that young man! She changed the day she met that man!" Savannah shouted out, her tears stopped leaking, and there was a furious look in her eyes.


    Shun''s eyes widened slightly as he heard those words. He asked, "Who?"


    "It was Edwin Rhodes! Mistress changed the day she met that man," Savannah shouted out the name!


    Those words struck Shun like bolts of lightning. His mind froze for a few seconds as he hadn''t expected Edwin Rhodes to be connected to this issue!


    A few secondster, he regained his calmness and thought ''That Demon God was using Bianca to control the situation within the Sinyalian Kingdom. If that''s the case, it certainly opens up a lot of possibilities. Maybe it''s not the Lewis Marquis Family that''s controlling Bianca, but the opposite!''


    ''Bianca is the one truly controlling the Lewis Marquis Family somehow and, by extension, the Noble Family Alliance!''


    Shun sucked a breath of cold air. He now understood that the fish he caught was toorge.


    He stared at Savannah and thought ''She needs to return to Bianca''s side without revealing any clues about me! I can''t let that Demon God know that someone knows of his secret!''


    "What did your Mistress do on that man''s orders?" Shun asked his next question rather carefully.


    Savannah shot off like a machine gun and informed him of many incidents that she believed Bianca had done on Edwin''s orders. She spoke truthfully because she wanted to save her mistress.


    She wanted Inquisitor Fox to not harm her Mistress after knowing the whole truth!


    Meanwhile, the information she shared with Inquisitor Fox caused his eyes to widen.


    ''What?! She was involved in that attack on the Third Prince, Bernado?! She is the reason Bernado was in that estate so far away from the main city?! And she had been in regr contact with someone from Rhodes territory? So, there is someone else along with Bianca?! Moreover, it''s from the Rhodes Territory?!''


    Shun felt as if his mind was fried after knowing the whole truth. After Savanna was finished speaking, he stared at his subordinate and gave him a subtle nod.


    The subordinate understood his task. He pulled out an injection that was filled with a red liquid.


    Savannah did not know what that Red Liquid was, but she bore an instinctive dread towards it.


    However, she was tied tightly to the chair. She couldn''t escape her fate.


    The red liquid was soon injected into her body, and she lost consciousness.


    ''Alright. She should forget about the past hour that she spent with us. With some gentle mental suggestions, she should believe that she spent thest hour shopping in the Hyde za.''


    His subordinates dealt with Savannah while Shun spent his time alone, lost in thought. Soon, he started chuckling and thought ''What a terrifying enemy! The fact that I thought I had vanquished him seems like aplete joke now.''


    ''I am finally at the starting point. I need to find his other agent within the Sinyalian Kingdom. Fortunately, I have a clue. His other agent belongs to the Rhodes Territory. And since he spent his time in Rhodes Mansion, I believe the agent must be someone in that ce.''


    ''No¡­ I need to keep in ount all the information that I possess. That Demon God wanted to use these agents to spread chaos in the Sinyalian Kingdom. To do that requires resources and a certain level of authority. However, many candidates fit this description within the Rhodes Territory.''


    Shun began to think about all his past interactions with Azaroth. He was searching for anything that seemed unusual that he had ignored at that time.


    And soon enough, he found it.


    ''I see. His other agent is one of Jonas''s concubines,'' Shun decisively thought.


    It was easy for him to reach this conclusion. It was because he recalled the incident when Shun and Jonas paid a surprise visit to Azaroth and Azaroth seemed to be prepared for them when they arrived.


    This could only be done if Azaroth knew they wereing!


    And only very few people knew about this surprise trip. One of them was Jonas''s beloved concubine. Shun didn''t know her name but Jonas had assured her that she could be trusted.


    ''He had her in his grasps long ago!'' Shun thought with a bitter smile.


    ''I can''t even trust Jonas at this point. There is no telling whether this Demon God has a single agent in the Rhodes Mansion or multiple agents,'' Shun thought.


    ''I need another n,'' He finally thought before sighing out.


    ~~


    Savannah returned to Bianca''s side with some new clothes in her hands. She brought a few dresses for Sophie and nned to gift them to her.


    Bianca was happy to see Savannah so excited for Sophie''s return. She now understood why Savannah took such an unusual leave.


    It must have been to get a gift for Sophie!


    Shun''s informers observed Savannah for a couple of days and stopped only when they felt that Bianca didn''t suspect a thing!


    Meanwhile, Azaroth heard the entire report from Bianca, and he frowned. He hadn''t expected the emissaries of Clyranis to gain prominence by curing his disease.


    ''The remnants of Clyranis religion managed to survive the passage of time. It was only natural for them to solve that poison since I used one of their own ancient poisons. I need to think of another n to create chaos within the Sinyalian Kingdom. Maybe it''s time for the Noble Family Alliance to show its true worth!''


    And with that, he sent amand to Bianca.


    "Order a coordinated attacks on all the merchant organizations working for the Royal Family! Either subjugate them under the Noble Family Alliance''s control or utterly destroy their headquarters. It''s time to weaken the Royal Family!"

 Chapter 471 Importance Of Merchant Union

    In the Sinyalian Kingdom, Bianca made her move ording to Azaroth''s instructions. She informed Piero that it was time to attack all the Merchant Organizations working for the Royal Family.


    This meant that their primary target was Merchant Union.


    At this moment, Piero was slightly hesitant to follow Bianca''s instructions. He knew how useful the Merchant Union was to Noble Families and local citizens.


    Many viges and cities werepletely dependent on the Merchant Union for vital supplies such as food and funds.


    Furthermore, the merchant union established uniform pricing for all essentialmodities, preventing local merchants from exploiting the general public.


    It was only natural for Piero to attack such a vital existence of the Sinyalian Kingdom. He knew that an attack on the Merchant Union would shake the very roots of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He talked to Bianca again to confirm whether this was truly her wish. At that moment, Bianca added, "There are many forms of attacking. Killing the enemy is one method and making him bankrupt is another."


    Piero instantly understood what sort of attack Bianca desired!


    She wanted him to set up another organization of merchants that would work entirely for the Noble Family Alliance.


    That meant it would sh with the Merchant Union set up by the Royal Family. And in this trade battle, Bianca wanted the Merchant Union to be slowly ripped apart.


    Piero had many ideas on how he could bring the Merchant Union down using this method.


    Firstly, he would set up an organization under the name Trade Union! From the name, it was clear that it would directly sh with the Merchant Union.


    After a few days of setting up this Trade Union, he would ask all the Noble Families affiliated under him on the Noble Family Alliance to cut off ties with the Merchant Union!


    Naturally, the Lewis Family would promise them profitable rewards in return.


    The Trade Union''s first task would be to spread the entire Sinyalian Kingdom and set up a base in each main city.


    Then, the Noble Family Alliance would buy all the necessarymodities from the Merchant Union. Basically, buy all the supplies essible to the market through their wide range of connections.


    With the wealth that the Noble Family had umted, it wasn''t a challenging task.


    During that time, another team of the Trade Union will spread in the entire Sinyalian Kingdom, talking to farmers and other merchants, offering them lucrative deals. Many were bound to switch sides from Merchant Union to Trade Union.


    And the ones who didn''t change sides would soon be forced to do so.


    This was because the Merchant Union had lost 70% of its essential supplies to the Trade Union. They only possess 30% of reserve supplies now.


    And that 30% of their reserve supplies were being attacked by suspicious parties.


    Since many of the local merchants who supplied the Merchant Union with their products had already switched sides to the Trade Union, the Merchant Union couldn''t resupply themselves in time.


    Even their loyal customers had no choice but to start counting on the Trade Union. And when they visit the Trade Union, they would see other resources and equipment at a much cheaper price.


    This was bound to force them to return a second time, and the Merchant Union was going to lose its business.


    As Merchant Union lost its business, the Royal Family would probably intervene and lend its support to the Merchant Union.


    Now, that would be a decisive point.


    Piero believed that if the Trade Union had managed to spread to all parts of the Sinyalian Kingdom, they would be in a position tounch a full-scale attack on the Merchant Union.


    This full-scale attack would significantly damage the Merchant Union and the Royal Family by extension.


    This would be a great result for Noble Family Alliance. However, this strategy wasn''t without its disadvantages.


    All the Noble Families would have to expend a lot of their personal resources. Now, Piero knew that the true challenge was convincing them to expend their resources.


    Thus, he was immediately on his way to contact each Noble Family privately.


    The creation of the Trade Union had to be swift, and it required the assistance of all the Noble Families to spread it to the entire Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory!


    In the meantime, Shun started getting to work as well.


    Shun was investigating the Lewis Marquis Family. He had to find out just how Bianca was controlling the Noble Family.


    It was unlikely that Bianca''s prestige in the Noble Family was so great that they obeyed all her orders.


    And after investigating the Lewis Family a bit, Shun figured out Bianca''s agent in Lewis Family.


    It was undoubtedly Piero or his elder brother. Piero was more likely to be her agent since he heard the news that Piero met up with Bianca a few months ago.


    Bianca must have convinced Piero to agree to her demands. Shun didn''t understand how, but that didn''t matter.


    He had to figure out what the Lewis Family was nning now.


    As he further investigated them, he found out that the Lewis Family was selling their ornamental material and gathering arge quantity of resources.


    Not just that, they had pulled out valuable treasures from their coffers and offered them to other Noble Families.


    ''They are definitely nning something big! I need to figure out what it is and take appropriate action to stop them without revealing my presence!'' Shun felt a massive pressure over his head.


    He felt as though he had two colossal enemies. One was the Demon God, and the other was the King!


    He couldn''t let either of them figure out his motives.


    The Demon God would use all his influence in the Sinyalian Kingdom and try to kill Shun. Meanwhile, the King wouldn''t believe Shun''s reasons and tried to silence him at all costs.


    ~~


    In the meantime, Azaroth was staying in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. He was waiting for the Glerian King''s forces to arrive to demolish the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    A week or so passed in the blink of an eye, and arge group,prised of 2000 men, was seen marching towards the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Tiana did have some informers in the nearby cities and viges who informed her of this massive force approaching her sect.


    Azaroth smiled slightly as he heard this information. He was getting tired of waiting for them. He sensed only three dangerous figures in this entire group. These three were 6 Star Warriors.


    He instantly recognized themander of this force. It was none other than the Fourth Prince of the Glerian Kingdom.


    And this Fourth Prince was, in reality, a demon titled ck Hurricane! ck Hurricane had numerous interactions with Azaroth, and he had even revealed his trump card to kill Azaroth.


    Unfortunately, it turned out to be useless due to Azaroth''s Bloodline Pressure. He now wished that he would never encounter Azaroth again.


    However, he had no idea that he was leading a force to attack a sect created by Azaroth.


    ck Hurricane was quite surprised when he received the King''s order to demolish a sect. The sect''s name was rather familiar since it had been one of the two sects that destroyed the Night Mountain Sect. He had heard that the Sect Mistress of this sect was exceptionally beautiful and was rather excited to meet her.

 Chapter 472 Spatial Tears

    When the ck Hurricane arrived at the foot of the Arctic Summit, he was startled to see nothing but thick fog in his way.


    ording to the map he possessed, there should be a clear way to direct him to his destination. So howe there was such thick fog in his way?


    Moreover, he sensed the presence of spatial tears in this fog. It was his Demon King''s spirit that instinctively sensed those Spatial Tears and warned him of stepping into that fog.


    His instincts were urate. The fog was something Azaroth created through the use of his arrays.


    These arrays used thews in the limited territory and opened Spatial Tears. A warrior could use those arrays to manipte the location of spatial tears.


    Naturally, Azaroth had prepared another couple of formations that prevented anyone else from essing these Spatial Tears.


    Furthermore, there were also a couple more arrays that acted asst resort that would automatically activate and purge these Spatial Tears if they ever got out of his control.


    Anyway, Azaroth sensed ck Hurricane''s presence. He was curious whether this demon would step inside the fog or not.


    He could anticipate that ck Hurricane had already sensed the Spatial Tears in the fog.


    Azaroth received his answer a few minutester.


    ck Hurricane immediatelymanded his army to halt and began to set up arge formation around them.


    A disdainful smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he understood what the ck Hurricane was doing.


    ''He is setting up another spatial formation to counter this spatial formation concealed within the Mist. He knows that doing so would make the situationpletely chaotic. It would be down to luck¡­Wait¡­''


    Suddenly, Azaroth''s eyes widened as he recalled an important fact.


    ck Hurricane possessed the body of the fourth prince. And the fourth prince was blessed with great providence. In fact, it wouldn''t be strange if ck Hurricane''s luck made the situation favorable to him.


    ''The territory of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect could tear apart and create a massive void. ck Hurricane would be most likely teleported somewhere else randomly while I will be left in that void. Even I can''t survive a void of that caliber. Although I have spread my spirit around, they are too weak. Moreover, I would forever lose my own bloodline that I spent millions of years cultivating in my previous life. That would be a great waste.''


    Azaroth hesitated as he continued to observe the situation. He wondered whether he should put down the Mist or not.


    ''Or is this also a part of ck Hurricane''s luck? These thoughts are trying to change my mind and safely allow ck Hurricane''s forces to enter the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.''


    ''I can''t go away and observe the situation y out unless I am prepared to give up on this sect. If ck Hurricane''s spatial formation shed with mine and damaged the spatialws around here, it would prevent me from arriving in time to ughter them. They would have plenty of time to kill Tiana and others. No, this is not an optimal solution.''


    A resolute look appeared on Azaroth''s face.


    ''I need to think of something quickly. It would take ck Hurricane a little more than one week to finish constructing this array,'' Azaroth frowned as he roamed in the sect.


    It had to be mentioned that ck Hurricane didn''t need to fear Azaroth at this moment. This was because three 6 Star Warriors were apanying him.


    These 6 Star Warriors were purely human and wouldn''t be suppressed by Azaroth''s bloodline.


    Azaroth was confident in fighting a single 6 Star Warrior and even killing him if he was lucky. But unfortunately, luck was not going to be on his side.


    Moreover, the other two warriors were not going to sit and allow Azaroth to kill theirrade. Besides, Azaroth sensed a strange connection between the three of them.


    He guessed that this connection was due to their cultivation techniques. Their cultivation techniques probablyplemented each other.


    This warned Azaroth that they would be tough to cope with. At the least, he would lose if he fought them with his current strength.


    He knew there was no chance of having a parley with ck Hurricane. There was a specific reason that he avoided meeting ck Hurricane at this moment.


    ''This guy is probably filled with hatred for me. I forced him to have his Demon Forces attack the Origin Sect, which has gravely harmed his forces. Most of the experts of his Demon Forces died in that attack on the Origin Sect. The ones who survived are clearly not enough for whatever ck Hurricane is plotting.''


    ''It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that I have dyed his master n by a decade or two. It''s only natural for him to kill me,'' Azaroth thought.


    He only had a few options remaining.


    One was to disable the Mist Array and allow ck Hurricane to reach the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. However, this would mean that Azaroth would have to fight those three 6 Star Warriors by himself. That would spell danger or even death for him.


    The second option was to keep the Mist Array enabled and try his luck. There was a good chance he was overthinking this. In that case, ck Hurricane''s formation wouldn''t create a surprising effect and allow Azaroth to defeat him easily.


    After some minutes of deep thought, Azaroth decided to choose the second option. He had a faint feeling that his negativity was due to the fate energy ck Hurricane possessed.


    ''This will be an interesting battle,'' Azaroth thought.


    He waited for a week and allowed ck Hurricane to prepare a spatial array to counter Azaroth''s mist array.


    Azaroth couldn''t help but marvel as he analyzed ck Hurricane''s spatial array. It was a fine spatial array that would tear the space by using the energy borrowed from his troops.


    All the troops were essential parts of this formation. Currently, they were allid out in a tiger formation and seemed ready to charge inside the Mist.


    ck Hurricane and the three 6 Star Warriors had chosen the safest spot in this formation, in what seemed to be the abdomen of the Tiger Formation.


    The Tiger Formation soon began to move into the Mist.


    Azaroth''s eyes snapped open as he sensed the enemy''s movement. He was currently in a remote chamber with hundreds of blue orbs in front of him. These blue orbs were all simr to the orbs that he had handed to Tiana, which allowed her to control the array around the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    However, that blue orb was the master control. Currently, Azaroth was in the room where the heart of the array formations rested.


    Inymen''s terms, Tiana could use the array formations as a user utilizing software while not understanding how it was created. Meanwhile, Azaroth was a programmer who was currently standing in the spot where he set up the code.


    At this moment, Azaroth made his move suddenly. His hands moved quickly as he grabbed multiple orbs and quickly began to shift them.


    Azaroth was doing the only thing he could. He was fighting against Fate using the only method known to him!


    From his experiences, he knew that only one thing could suppress this strange fate energy and luck. And that was strength!


    As a result, Azaroth promoted the Spatial Tears in the Mist to seventh grade! This was only temporary since the pace of energy depletion was too rapid. The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s resources would be depleted in an hour.


    It had to be known that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had looted most of all resources possessed by the Night Mountain Sect. Yet, it could sustain a seventh-grade formation for only an hour. It showed just how terrifying this formation was.

 Chapter 473 Black Hurricanes Distress

    ording to Azaroth''s past experiments on the warriors possessing this fate energy, he knew that the fate energy required a certain time to adjust to the strength of the enemy.


    Moreover, the fate energy wouldn''t act unless the opponent had acted. This meant that the fate energy couldn''t read thoughts. At the least, not when a warrior was actively shielding his thoughts.


    A week earlier, Azaroth had conducted another experiment. He was risking a lot by experimenting in such a situation.


    He could lose the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect along with the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. But Azaroth didn''t hesitate at all. He felt that this was the perfect opportunity to test another one of his theories!


    Azaroth set up a spirit within his mind that began to think cynically and harbor thoughts of losing. Meanwhile, his true thoughts were being concealed under his spirit''s thoughts.


    A weekter, Azaroth now understood that he could use such a defense against the fate energy. He was rather proud to have thought up a method.


    ''No. I can''t grow toocent. There is a chance that the fate energy prepared for this or would get adjusted to this situation. I can''t let down my guard!''


    The mist formation slowly upgraded, and the spatial tears in it reached the seventh grade.


    ck Hurricane soon noticed his formation breaking as it came in contact with the spatial tears in the mist.


    His eyes widened due to shock as he thought ''Impossible! I set up an adaptive void array. That array would have instantly created 6 Star Spatial Barrier to protect us!''


    He realized there were no longer Spatial Tears in the mist. It was slowly bing an invisible storm that was tearing apart his group.


    ''¡­This is a seventh-grade spatial storm! Someone can actually set up such a high-level formation in this remote ce?!'' ck Hurricane thought with a bitter look on his face.


    ''Fuck! Why is my luck so bad?! Ever since I took over this brat''s body, I have encountered more misfortune than before! Why is it not a smooth sailing for mepared to when I was a Demon King?!'' ck Hurricane was rather frustrated at his bad luck.


    The three 6 Star Warriors immediately released full power and created a robust barrier around ck Hurricane.


    The other warriors in the formation began to fall one by one. Most of them were torn apart by the spatial storm, while the others fell into the void!


    After an hour, only ck Hurricane and the three 6 Star Warriors survived. These 6 Star Warriors had barely managed to hold onto their dear lives, but they werepletely exhausted. They had overexerted the power of their lives to counter the seventh-grade spatial storm. This naturally left them weakened right now.


    However, they had aplished their mission and prevented ck Hurricane from getting injured.


    Unfortunately, the trio had no idea that they weren''t out of danger just yet.


    ck Hurricane soon sensed a rather terrifying yet familiar aura. His body trembled, and he raised his head instinctively.


    His eyes fell on a handsome figure flying towards him. When he saw that figure, his face turned pale, his blood dried, and his legs lost all their strength.


    Azaroth hadn''t even done anything, but ck Hurricane fell to his knees.


    When Azaroth saw this scene, he snorted in response.


    ''<strong>Triple Domain: me Wind Lightning!</strong>''


    Azaroth instantly released this domain. He knew the greatest danger that these three 6 Star Warriors posed to him.


    If he gave them enough time, they would definitely recover part of their energy and could fight Azaroth.


    They just needed to recover a bit of their energy to block Azaroth''s attacks and buy some time for themselves. As long as they bought enough time, they could recover more of their energy and kill Azaroth.


    The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had depleted the aura of all its resources. It would take a long time for all the resources to regain their power, so Azaroth couldn''t use those arrays to deal with these warriors.


    It was due to this reason that Azaroth left the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and personally appeared to kill these three 6 Star Warriors.


    The triple domain''s function wasn''t just to strengthen Azaroth''s attacks. This was the secondary reason behind using these domains.


    The primary reason to use these domains was to prevent these 6 Star Warriors from essing their respectivews!


    Azaroth was confident that his Ardor was strong enough to match a 6 Star Warrior''s Ardor evenly. However, it would be a different story if the 6 Star Warriorsbined their Ardor with theirws.


    Their innate ability at the 6 Star Rank allowed them to ess greater power of thews and could easily defeat Azaroth, no matter how deep hisprehension of the Laws was inparison.


    His triple domain managed to seal them in a sphere and prevented them from using thews of the world. However, this didn''t deal with their Ardor.


    Even though his Ardor could evenly match the Ardor of a 6 Star Warrior, there were three 6 Star Warriors fighting him. Theirbined might was bound to be superior to him.


    But¡­This was true only against his normal form.


    "<strong>Divine Holy Devil Physique ¨C Activate!</strong>"


    Instantly, an overwhelming aura erupted from Azaroth''s body. It was a perfect fusion of Humanely Ardor, Demonic Ardor, and Celestial Ardor!


    ck Hurricane immediately experienced a raw force that cemented him to the ground. It was so strong that he couldn''t get up even after he released all his Ardor!


    He noticed he wasn''t the only one affected when he looked around. Even the three 6 Star Warriors seemed to be in a simr state! They possessed the ability to move their arms a bit, but it wouldn''t help them fight Azaroth!


    ''<strong>Triple Lightning shes!</strong>'' After thinking about the name of this technique, Azaroth disappeared from his spot.


    In the next instant, he was standing on the ground with a Sword made of pure lightning in his hand.


    Meanwhile, the bodies of the three 6 Star Warriors immediately split into pieces. The three died instantly!


    Threemps under the Royal Pce extinguished. These threemps were ced in an underground stronghold right below the Royal Pce.


    It wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that the Royal Pce constructed this. Themps in this chamber indicated the lives of all the 6 Star Warriors.


    The 6 Star Warrior of any force was a valuable weapon! If even one of them died, the entire force would suffer greatly. And the Royal Family had lost three of them at the same time!


    The overseer waspletely stunned, and he left the chamber to notify the King of this startling information!


    Meanwhile, Azaroth brought ck Hurricane away from the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    "Long time no see, my dear friend," Azaroth spoke with a contemptuous look on his face.


    ck Hurricane was so angry that he wanted to curse Azaroth to vent his frustrations. However, his fear was much greater than his fury! He definitely didn''t want to sign his death contract by angering Azaroth at such a moment!


    He just wanted to know what Azaroth was doing here?! Was he cursed to meet Azaroth?! Did he have to switch the Kingdom or leave this Kingdom altogether?! He certainly didn''t want to meet Azaroth anymore!


    "¡­I had no idea you were here, Lord Azaroth," ck Hurricane spoke with a respectful tone while cursing Azaroth inwardly.

 Chapter 474 Another Mastermind

    Azaroth stared at ck Hurricane and spoke out politely, "So, what brought you here? I had to take drastic measures since it didn''t seem as though you wereing to have a chat with me."


    ck Hurricane caught the sarcasm in his words. He knew that Azaroth had deliberately ughtered all his subordinates. He wanted to remind ck Hurricane of his strength.


    It did work. Seeds of hatred and rebellion had been sown in ck Hurricane''s heart. And they were instantly uprooted by Azaroth''s current action.


    "¡­It was on the order of His Majesty the King. His Majesty was annoyed that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had killed his envoy and decided to teach them a lesson. Initially, it was my second brother who was assigned this task. However, I talked to the King and convinced him to grant me this opportunity," ck Hurricane spoke.


    He had a gloomy expression on his face. He''d squandered a golden opportunity to get closer to King Tryfon. Now that he had blown this prime opportunity, another prince was certain to profit from his tragedy.


    The King had many sons, and only one of them could be the Crown Prince. ck Hurricane found out that he still couldn''t suppress the other princes even with all his powers and talent.


    He knew the reason behind this. It was their greater providence! His strength and knowledge were still insufficient to tip the scales in his favor! He had to umte more.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was lost in deep thought. As he heard ck Hurricane speak, he felt as though something bizarre was going on.


    ''Why is it that, of all the princes of the Glerian Kingdom, solely ck Hurricane is suffering as a result of his interaction with me? Tiana hase in contact with the sixth prince Philip, and he didn''t suffer in the slightest. Instead, he pulled Tiana up. And I have nevere into contact with the other princes for some reason. Not even a direct contact with any of their factions.''


    This thought made him frown as he slowly discovered anotheryer of the fate ability that these Royal Descendants seemed to possess.


    ''ck Hurricane''s fate is most likely shing against the Royal Family''s fate due to his dark ambition. Moreover, the ability''s effect must have weakened significantly because of his true identity. Since ck Hurricane''s fate is shing against the King''s fate, it''s naturally going to lose out. There is no way ck Hurricane''s fate ability to outss the King''s fate. It''s like a child fighting an adult!''


    ''Perhaps that is why ck Hurricane is being pushed to me. The Royal Family''s fate is saving themselves from me by using ck Hurricane as a scapegoat.''


    Azaroth used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to observe ck Hurricane.


    What he witnessed was a mixture of anger and dread! Both these emotions were rather dense.


    However, he ignored them. At this moment, ck Hurricane couldn''t harm him. There was a greater scheme at y that required hisplete attention.


    ''It''s too soon to kill him. This guy will be a great asset in the battle against King Tryfon. He is bound to inflict some damage to King Tryfon eventually. I can take advantage of that opportunity,'' Azaroth thought.


    "Tell me something, do you want to die?" Azaroth asked ck Hurricane with an amused smile.


    ck Hurricane was stunned to hear those words and instinctively responded, "N-NO!"


    "Then you need to understand to never target this sect! And you should know what will happen if you reveal this information," Azaroth spoke with a smile.


    ck Hurricane quickly nodded his head. He was more fearful of Azarothpared to anyone else in the world.


    "Good. Now, why don''t you tell me on whose orders you are working?" Azaroth asked as his pupils narrowed while staring at ck Hurricane.


    ck Hurricane''s eyes widened in response and asked nervously, "W-What do you mean, Lord Azaroth? I-I am operating independently."


    "Is that so?" Azaroth snorted in response. ck Hurricane could lie to him, but could he lie to himself.


    ''Previously, I was in the dark regarding the powers of the Fate Energy, so I reluctantly believed you when I heard that you took over the fourth prince''s body. But now that I know of its fearsome ability, how could you have killed the fourth prince and taken over his body? You are not powerful enough. Someone else is pulling the strings.''


    Naturally, these weren''t mere guesses. Azaroth confirmed it as he observed ck Hurricane with his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    ''An unknown power instilled in his spirit has activated. Is it simr to my Spiritual Seal? Would it kill ck Hurricane if he revealed anything about his master? How interesting¡­ There seems to be another demon who has great control over the spirit. Whose legacy has he inherited?''


    ''This demon emperor must have known about my presence and has probably included me in his ns,'' Azaroth was a bit displeased inwardly. He clearly didn''t want to be plotted against.


    Azaroth asked another question a few momentster, "How many demon forces do you possess?"


    ck Hurricane responded instantly, "Following the war with the Origin Sect, there are thirty Demon Lords, 700 Elite Rank Demons, and over a hundred thousand demons with weaker cultivation than Elite Rank Demons."


    "I see. And why did you not employ them against the Origin Sect?" Azaroth inquired while releasing a cold aura.


    ck Hurricane was instantly frightened as he sensed that aura. He thought Azaroth was furious and instantly responded to calm him, "I-I thought that 60% of my forces would be more than enough to destroy the Origin Sect. I never expected them to fail! Moreover, the Origin Sect has upgraded the defenses of its remaining branches, and it has be impossible to defeat them with just these numbers, so I didn''t continue the war any longer!"


    Azaroth snorted before speaking, "Yeah, right. You most likely intended to preserve a portion of your forces for your own agenda. Whatever. I''m not interested in that scheme, but just make sure you don''t get in my way. I''ll crush you!"


    This threat was very effective. ck Hurricane wished nothing more than to run away at this moment.


    "Scram!" Azaroth spat out that word as he red at ck Hurricane.


    An instantter, ck Hurricane rushed out of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s territory. He was dashing back to the Royal Pce of the Glerian Kingdom.


    ''The Demon Emperor behind ck Hurricane shouldn''t have realized that I now know his presence. Well, that is unless he sensed my Mystic Eyes even though I only used them spiritually and didn''t change the color of my eyes. But a Demon Emperor''s spirit can''t sense the fluctuations of my Mystic Eyes no matter how talented he is or which inheritance he possesses,'' Azaroth thought calmly.


    As for ck Hurricane, Azaroth could guess what this brat was going to inform the King.


    He was deeply terrified of Azaroth at this point and would definitely not make the mistake of angering him. Thus, he would y it safe and inform the King that a supreme expert had made its move to protect the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    He let ck Hurricane go only because of his identity as the Royal Prince of the Glerian Kingdom.


    The King was absolutely startled to hear that a Supreme Expert safeguarded the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    This Supreme Expert attacked ck Hurricane''s forces even though he knew they belonged to the Royal Family. It showed his determination and confidence.


    King Tryfon couldn''t help but frown as this Supreme Expert was aplete stranger to him. He didn''t doubt ck Hurricane''s words because he had noticed that the three 6 Star Warriors apanying ck Hurricane had truly died.


    Moreover, ording to the overseer, they were all killed at the same time. This indicated that they couldn''t resist that power in the slightest. It must have been the work of a true expert.


    King Tryfon guessed that this expert was most likely a powerful 6 Star Expert or even a terrifying existence who had taken a half-step into the Emperor Rank, otherwise known as the 7 Star Rank!


    There was another possibility, and this possibility horrified the King the most. The possibility of this Supreme Expert being an Emperor Ranked Expert!

 Chapter 475 False Information

    In Lamhilhan Theocracy, Nudar finally found out why so many demons were living in this Underground Labyrinth of the Demons.


    The wood elf named Jander informed him that these demons had appeared nearly three decades ago. They were led by a Demon Emperor who waged war against the Archangel overseeing the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    The Archangel proved to be much stronger than the Demon Emperor and beat it ck and blue. This Demon Emperor was forced to leave, ditching nearly all his subordinates in Lamhilhan Theocracy. The direction he fled to was unsurprisingly the Glerian Kingdom.


    Nudar couldn''t help but stare at Margeria. She was also an Archangel who had been summoned from the Pinhian Republic. This nation was much farther away from the Glerian Kingdompared to Lamhilhan Theocracy. However, still, Margeria was summoned to deal with the Demon Emperor and not the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s Archangel.


    However, this wasn''t strange. It was mostly because of the religion dominant within the Glerian Kingdom. It was the Holy Church!


    Meanwhile, the religion dominant in the Lamhilhan Theocracy was none other than Radiant Church. These two churches were very different and hardly interacted with one another.


    The Holy Church cultivated thews of the Divine Ardor, while the Radiant Church cultivated thews rted to Light Ardor. Both had their advantages and disadvantages. And against the demons, the Light Ardor was considered the most effective.


    It was due to this reason that the Archangel of the Lamhilhan Theocracy defeated the Demon Emperor with ease, and Margeria couldn''t aplish the same.


    Nudar guessed that this wasn''t because of the two possessing different attributes of Holy Ardor but also because the Demon Emperor must have gained significant strength while he recovered from his injuries. Maybe he gained an insight into a destructivew and used it to easily defeat Margeria.


    That made sense.


    Anyway, back to the demons here in this Underground Labyrinth. These were remnants of the Demon Emperor''s subordinates.


    When the Demon Emperor waged war against the Lamhilhan Theocracy, his forces swept the entire kingdom and spread everywhere. And when the Demon Emperor was forced to escape, his forces were hunted by the Celestials and the religious factions.


    These demons were naturally terrified as they were hunted by the Celestials. They tried to hide nearby, and some lucky groups found an Underground Labyrinth where they hid and waited for news from their Demon Emperor!


    The Celestials naturally didn''t ignore such a massive issue. They looked for Elves with great sensing and concealment abilities. These elves were given the task of overseeing the Underground Labyrinth secretly.


    They were to inform the Celestials as soon as any demon left the Underground Labyrinth.


    The entire group was startled to hear this information.


    Nudar asked Jander curiously, "Does that mean you can contact them?"


    Jander nodded while smiling brightly. He immediately pulled out an azure stone and handed it to Nudar.


    "This was handed to me by an Angel. She told me that I must immediately contact her in case the demonse out of the Underground Labyrinth!" He spoke rather proudly.


    Jander had absolutely no idea that Margeria was an Archangel and Nudar possessed an identity even more revered among the Celestials. If he knew, he would have already prostrated himself to Nudar and Margeria.


    Margeria frowned upon noticing that this was a voice transmission stone with the insignia of the Radiant Church.


    Meanwhile, Nudar had an amused smile on his face as he stared at this Radiant Church insignia. He recalled the Radiant Church''s branch in the Sinyalian Kingdom that had been demolished because of Azaroth.


    Should he repeat that feat here?


    Nudar shook his head and handed the stone to Margeria.


    Margeria instantly understood what Nudar wanted her to do. She started injecting the stone with her Celestial Ardor.


    Meanwhile, Dn and Camille stared at Margeria with puzzled looks. Dn peered at the stone and curiously inquired, "What are you doing, Master?"


    "Contacting the Celestials in the Lamhilhan Theocracy and summoning them here," Margeria responded casually.


    Camille frowned slightly as she spoke, "Didn''t you mention that you belong to the Holy Church? I have heard that your church doesn''t interact much with the Radiant Church. Would they heed your requests?"


    Margeria snorted and replied, "It''s better than what you humans have. Besides, I have another n in my mind."


    This n actually belonged to Nudar, who telepathically narrated it to Margeria.


    The azure stone stopped shining, and a cold voice rang out, "What is the emergency?"


    Margeria spoke with a rather anxious voice, "I am a Wood Elf assigned by the Celestial Race! I wish to inform you that the Demons hiding in the Underground Labyrinth near the Canta district have emerged outside! They appear to be rather bloodthirsty and are heading towards the nearby viges! Please arrive as soon as possible!"


    "What?! The demons have emerged! What is the cultivation of the strongest demon?" The voice on the other side of themunication stone appeared startled and inquired rather worriedly.


    Margeria frowned a bit as she quickly added, "I don''t know for sure. All I can sense is an unfathomable power from it. It''s as if his power has enveloped the surroundings and is eating it."


    "A Demon King has emerged?!" The voice on the other side of the azure stone eximed loudly.


    "¡­I don''t know for sure," Margeria still spoke.


    The voice soon added, "Don''t worry, an Angel will be dispatched quickly! It will reach the Canta district a weekter. Make sure to conceal yourself and survive!"


    The connection was cut-off.


    Dn, Camille, and even Jander were puzzled as they heard Margeria tantly lie about the situation.


    "Why are you summoning an Angel here? Wouldn''t the Angel be angry if she finds out that you were lying?" Camille inquired curiously.


    Margeria turned towards Dn and Nudar before speaking, "It''s all because of him. I want him to receive the Divine Blessings as soon as possible."


    Dn was startled, and a heartfelt smile soon appeared on his face. He thought that Margeria was referring to him.


    Poor guy had no idea that Margeria was talking about Nudar.


    Camille thought about it for some moments and decided that meeting an Angel early would be a good idea. Margeria was a former Archangel, and an Angel from another religion wouldn''t make things difficult for her.


    "Let''s set up a camp around here," Nudar suggested.


    Meanwhile, Jander was utterly speechless at what he had just witnessed. He had seen Margeria lie to a Celestial Angel and was worried that once the truth was unveiled, the Angel would punish him for concealing the truth.


    Jander apanied the group and helped them set up a camp nearby. Nudar pulled out a rather strong wine and shared it with everyone.


    Dn and Camille were utterly drunk. In his drunken state, Dn tried to make a move on Margeria, but he was pped powerfully.


    The p threw Dn some distance away, but he remained unharmed.


    Jander was also rather drunk andid down on the ground before closing his eyes. It had been a long time since he enjoyed such a deep and peaceful.


    On the other hand, Camille was intoxicated and proceeded to approach Nudar. Nudar retaliated by stripping her naked. Camille began to experience throbbing pain and mind-numbing ecstasy as she joined Nudar and Margeria in their threesome.


    Dn had no idea that Nudar was making love with beauties he thought belonged to him while he was sound asleep.

 Chapter 476 Ambush

    After four hours, their threesome finally stopped. Nudar wasn''t tired yet. It was just that Camille had fallen unconscious.


    Margeria gave a blowjob to Nudar before standing up, a satisfied smile on her face. Meanwhile, Nudar also stood up with an impassive look.


    "It''s time to put our true n in motion," Margeria spoke.


    Nudar responded coldly, "Yes."


    The two walked near the Underground Labyrinth entrance. Nudar went ahead and firmly pressed his palm against therge gate.


    Margeria stepped next to Nudar with a smile on her face.


    Holy Ardor spread out from Nudar''s palm as it spread over the entire gate. Nudar was employing an array using his Holy Ardor.


    "<strong>Radiant Demon Suppressing Array!</strong>" Nudar whispered as demonic ardor suddenly began to sh against his Holy Ardor.


    Nudar increased the output of his Holy Ardor andpletely destroyed the Demonic Ardor that empowered the array safeguarding the Underground Labyrinth.


    The Demonic Ardor seemed to be almost endless as it managed to sustain against Nudar''s Holy Ardor for half an hour. It had to be known that the Radiant Array was consuming Nudar''s Holy Ardor rapidly. In this half an hour, this Radiant Array had already exhausted Nudar''s Ardor.


    Fortunately, Nudar was prepared for such a scenario. His ring shone with a purple light, and a treasure of pure Holy Ardor immediately provided him with additional Holy Ardor.


    After using two more heavenly treasures, Nudar finally managed to destroy the Demonic Ardor, empowering the Underground Labyrinth''s array.


    "Finally done," Nudar whispered as he felt a wave of exhaustion.


    He knew that the demons inside couldn''t have sensed that their array had lost all its energy. They must be thinking that they were safe inside.


    Nudar cultivated Divine Ardor Assimtion Technique. This was taught to him by Margeria.


    It was a standard cultivation technique to recover Holy Ardor. This technique was rather effective as Nudar managed to recover his Holy Ardor within an hour.


    He stared at Margeria and injected her with a part of his Holy Ardor, "I have temporarily strengthened your spirit. You have recovered your power as a 5 Star Celestial."


    "Thank you, master!" Margeria was excited as she experienced a rush of Holy Ardor.


    It was even purer than her Holy Ardor at its pinnacle. She understood Nudar held a really noble identity!


    A few secondster, the door to the Underground Labyrinth of the demons suddenly opened. The opening of the gates greatly rmed the demons, especially the ones patrolling near it.


    Both Nudar and Margeria gazed at some 3 Star Demons, who had a dumbfounded expressions on their faces.


    Margeria immediatelyunched a couple of Holy Spears at them and killed them instantly. Their bodies soon disintegrated and turned into pure energy.


    Nudar alsounched a couple of Divine Spheres that exploded as they came into contact with the demons.


    The explosion was sorge that itpletely shook the entire Underground Labyrinth.


    "Attention! We are under attack! We are under attack!"


    This announcement resounded in the entire Underground Labyrinth and woke up all the sleeping demons.


    A few Demon Lords had a frown on their face as they heard this announcement. They didn''t understand just who was daring enough to attack them.


    Moreover, something confused them even more. Just how could anyone attack them inside the Underground Labyrinth. The process of opening the Underground Labyrinth was known only to the Demon Kings. Even Demon Lords like them were clueless about the way to open the Underground Labyrinth.


    They spected that another Demon King had discovered this Underground Labyrinth!


    A demon lord spoke with a worried expression, "We must immediately inform the Deep Sea Demon King of this. Only he can deal with the situation if the other party is also a Demon King."


    A few secondster, another loud announcement resounded in the entire Labyrinth, "This is an ambush by the Celestials! An Ambush by the Celestials!"


    Clearly, this announcement startled all the demons in the Labyrinth, including the Demon Lords.


    The Deep Sea Demon King was in seclusion, reaching the peak of the Demon King Rank, so he didn''t hear this announcement.


    The Demon Lords were utterly startled and terrified. They recalled their days when the Celestials hunted the demons all across the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    The demons had no ce to hide in the kingdom. Moreover, they couldn''t leave the territory since the Demon Emperor had ordered them to wait in this nation for his return. Unknowingly, decades have passed since they received that order.


    One of the Demon Lords spoke out with a frightened look, "Oh no! The celestials are ambushing us?! How did they break our array?!"


    Not a single Demon Lord knew how the Celestials managed to aplish this task. If they possessed such capability, why hadn''t they done so earlier?! Was this something they recently invented?!


    Whatever the case, they were in danger right now!


    "We must awaken the Deep Sea Demon King from his seclusion immediately, or the Celestials will kill us all!"


    The other demons agreed with those words.


    Just as they were thinking along those lines, Nudar flew inside the hall where the demons were regrouping!


    There was a bone-chilling smile on his face as he stared at the Demon Lords ahead of him.


    "So, this is where you all were," Nudar whispered.


    "How dare you barge inside?! I will make you pay the price of entering our hideout!" One of the demon lords spoke out as it charged at Nudar. The Demon Lords could sense that Nudar was merely a 5 Star Celestial. He wasn''t even an Angel.


    This Demon Lord had a ten feetrge body. The color of his body was violet, and there was a ferocious look on his face.


    His entire body was covered with a thick ck aura. This was clearly Demonic Ardor! The ws of this demon were densely covered with a red demonic aura as he rushed at Nudar.


    This Demon Lord was utilizing its Bloodline and attacking Nudar with his strongest attack from the start.


    It was known as <strong>Crimson me w</strong>.


    Nudar snorted with a disdainful look in his eyes. This was such a low-level technique that he didn''t even want to be struck by it.


    "<strong>Heavenly Lightning Network Streams!</strong>"


    Nearly a hundred streams of Golden Lightning were released from Nudar''s palm, and they pierced the demons near him. Two demon lords were struck, including the Demon Lord rushing towards him.


    Even though these demons were pierced by these Lightning Stream, they weren''t killed. In fact, they appearedrgely unharmed.


    The Demon Lord standing on the ground, looking at Nudar with a sneer, "What a weak attack! Everyone, surround him! We will kill this idiot who has barged inside our stronghol-"


    He couldn''t continue his sentence because the Lightning Stream that prated him suddenly unleashed a tremendous Holy Lightning in his body, effortlessly destroying it!


    This assault imed the lives of almost a hundred demons. And they had something inmon. Their bodies were utterly obliterated!


    This caught the attention of the remaining three Demon Lords as they stared at Nudar with a terrified look on their faces.


    All of them were thinking the same thing ''Shit! This must be a Sacred Envoy of the Celestial Race!''

 Chapter 477 Sacred Envoy

    Sacred Envoy were those humans who had been blessed with a bit of Celestial Blood. This Celestial Blood originated from an Angel and could not be considered very impressive.


    In reality, Sacred Envoys weren''t all that different from humans. They just possessed the ability to use Holy Ardor instead of Humanely Ardor. They retained their original potential.


    For religious fanatics, though, this was a status worth fighting for, even if it meant putting their lives in jeopardy. This was because after bing a Sacred Envoy, they could enter the Heavens and cultivate there.


    As the Demon Lords in Underground Labyrinth saw Nudar ughtering theirrades and subordinates with Holy Ardor, this status appeared in their minds.


    Nudar ignored their shocked expressions and continued to ughter Elite-Ranked Demons. He had a specific reason for not targeting the Demon Lords. In fact, he wanted them to survive for as long as possible.


    The Demon Lords seemed to realize that Nudar wasn''t targeting them and was instead going after Elite-Ranked Demons.


    This made them slightly suspicious, but then they thought that maybe he was recovering from the bacsh of using that terrifying technique. It made sense.


    Without paying a specific price, a Sacred Envoy couldn''t hold so much Holy Ardor. Or maybe he held a special weapon.


    The Demon Lords didn''t care any further and charged toward him.


    The corners of Nudar''s lips lifted slightly as he saw them approaching him. He thought ''They finally considered that possibility.''


    The three Demon Lords attacked Nudar with their techniques.


    Nudar dodged one of the techniques, but he was struck by the other two attacks. He spat out some blood before whispering, "Divine Cloud Palm!"


    This attack didn''t target the Demon Lords. Instead, it targeted the demons around him. This palm attack released a massive palm-shaped Holy Ardor that struck the demons in that direction.


    However, the attack only killed all the demons weaker than an Elite-Ranked Demon this time. The Elite-Ranked Demons managed to survive this attack at the cost of heavy injuries.


    This strengthened the guess of the Demon Lords as they bombarded Nudar with their strongest attacks.


    Nudar seemed to have no choice but to endure their attacks. He gritted his teeth as these demon lords continued to gang up on him.


    After some minutes of fighting, Nudar released a massive shockwave that threw all the demons away from him. Even the Demon Lords were no exception to this.


    However, the Demon Lords weren''t hurt by this attack. In fact, they remainedrgely unharmed.


    When they gazed at Nudar''s spot, they noticed that he had disappeared. Noticing the trial of Nudar''s Holy Ardor, they understood that he had left the Underground Labyrinth. He must have realized it was impossible to win and retreated!


    The Demon Lords took a breath of relief. They had no idea that a Sacred Envoy would break into their Underground Labyrinth.


    After gathering their subordinates, they realized that another Sacred Envoy had attacked. It was a woman, but she didn''t enter the great hall to support herrade for some reason.


    The Demon Lords inferred that she was most likely scared of fighting against Demon Lords. The man must possess a reckless identity and the woman a cautious one.


    Anyway, it didn''t change the fact that Celestials had discovered their hiding spot! They were bound to lead arge force to attack them soon.


    At this moment, Deep Sea Demon King left his seclusion after hearing that Celestials had attacked them. He frowned as he sensed Holy Ardor in the Underground Labyrinth''s Hall.


    The Celestials had already entered so deep?


    His frown deepened as he noticed that the gate of the Underground Labyrinth had opened. In fact, the arrays of the Underground Labyrinth had seemingly lost all their Demonic Ardor.


    ''How could this happen?! It had only been a month since I entered seclusion. The arrays still held considerable power and could have sustained for another decade or so. Why would they lose all their Demonic Energy within a month?!''


    Searching for the answer wasn''t his top priority. His top priority was what he should do now.


    ''The Celestials must be heading to this location at their top speed! I need to think of something to survive. We will definitely die if we encounter a pair of Angels!'' Deep Sea Demon King thought profoundly.


    After meeting the Demon Lords, he found out that two Sacred Envoys had attacked them. And surprisingly, one of them managed to annihte two Demon Lords with a single attack!


    Deep Sea Demon King was sure that this individual used a forbidden attack. A Sacred Envoy couldn''t use such a great amount of Holy Ardor without suffering terrible aftereffects.


    After a long discussion with his Demon Lords, Deep Sea Demon King decided to leave the Underground Labyrinth.


    Without the support of the arrays in the Underground Labyrinth, they were sitting ducks. The Angels would soon arrive and ughter them all! It was better to try their luck and hide somewhere else!


    Deep Sea Demon King immediately ordered his subordinates to gather all the treasures in Underground Labyrinth. They were going to leave this ce soon!


    Deep Sea Demon King was going to lead them to another Underground Labyrinth that was quite close to their current location.


    This was Nudar''s true motive behind attacking this Underground Labyrinth!


    He suspected that this Demon King had seen a map of Lamhilhan Theocracy''s Underground Labyrinth with all of its locations. If that''s the case, the Demon King would most likely flee to another Underground Labyrinth if he came against a significant threat.


    However, this was merely the beginning of his diabolic n!


    After four hours, Deep Sea Demon King led his forces to the Underground Labyrinth in the Buv district. The Demon King had no idea he was being followed by five individuals.


    ~~Nearly five hours ago~~


    Nudar and Margeria returned to their spots.


    Margeria used her telekinesis to control Camille and her clothes. Soon, Camille was wearing her original clothes. Her blood had already dried and didn''t stain her clothes.


    Nudar and Margeria soonid down before closing their eyes. They weren''t really sleeping, though. Even though Nudar was using his Spiritual Sense to conceal their presence, it would be a disaster if the Demon King identally encountered them.


    The two were sleeping with some distance between them.


    After five hours, the two woke up as they sensed the demons'' movement. They woke up others as well, and soon the entire group was awake, including the Wood Elf.


    When Dn woke up, he was startled to see arge force of demons moving out. They were heading deeper into the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s territory!


    "We must follow them immediately! These demons must be nning something sinister!" He shouted before rushing towards the demons'' force. He failed to notice Camille''s bizarre expression.


    Camille stared at Nudar with a confused expression. She sensed that the reason for the pain in her womb originated from Nudar.


    At that moment, Margeria stepped toward her and whispered in her ears, "¡­Next time, don''t be so intense. I could hardly sleep!"


    She seemed to beining to Camille.


    Camille was startled to hear thisint. She asked with an anxious tone, "¡­W-What did I do?!"


    Margeria snorted in disdain as she responded, "What did you not do? You were all over Nudar. I know he is handsome, and you like him, but at the least, don''t make a move on him in public. You moaned like a beast!"


    Camille''s face turned utterly crimson as she heard those words. She shyly nced at Nudar. Nudar sensed her gaze and nced back at her. Camille immediately averted her gaze. She couldn''t look him in the eyes!


    Margeria snorted at that moment and added, "Both of you were heavily drunk. I doubt he remembers what happenedst night."


    Camille nodded her head and added with a pleading look, "Please don''t mention this to Dn or Nudar."


    "Hmph. Who do you think I am? A gossiping woman?!" Margeria seemed to have gotten angry and shouted at Camille.


    Camille hurriedly calmed her down byplimenting her. It worked as Margeria no longer seemed to be angry.


    What Camille had no idea that this was Nudar''s trick of burning the bridges after crossing them.


    He naturally didn''t want to be involved romantically with Camille. In reality, he didn''t have romantic feelings for anyone, but Camille''s talent was far too low to receive any more attention from him. He could easily use her without expending much effort. She wouldn''t be of much use to him!

 Chapter 478 Deathly Energy

    Deep Sea Demon King led his subordinates at a moderate pace. If he dashed at his full speed, his subordinates couldn''t catch up to him. He had no intention of abandoning his subordinates.


    On their way, they encountered multiple viges and towns. The demons had a rather ferocious look on their faces as they came across these weak humans.


    They nced at their Demon King with an expectant look on their faces. Deep Sea Demon King frowned as he noticed his subordinates'' expressions. He knew these fellows wanted to ughter the humans.


    After thinking for some moments, he gave them the order to go through with it. ording to his analysis, the Angels should still be a few days away from their location. By the time they reached the Underground Labyrinth in Canta district, the Demons would have reached the Underground Labyrinth in Buv district.


    Even if they ughtered the humans, it would hardly change the situation. The angels would still do their utmost to hunt them.


    However, his subordinates would be very grateful to him, increasing their loyalty. Thus, the Demon King felt that ughtering the humans on their way to the Buv district wasn''t a bad idea.


    Nudar and Dn''s group followed the Demon King. Dn and Camille seemed greatly affected as they witnessed the massacre.


    Dn wished to engage the demons, but Margeria prevented him. She smacked him across the face before shouting at him and making him understand that it would be useless if he fought the demons now.


    Nudar quietly observed Dn''s reactions. Dn seemed to have clenched his fists tightly and took a rather clich¨¦ oath. It went along the lines of ughtering all demons and so on.


    Nudar couldn''t help but roll his eyes as he heard that oath. The ignorant were truly fearless.


    After Dn took that oath, Nudar couldn''t help but speak up, "Well, the demons are right ahead. It''s time for you to fulfill your oath."


    Dn couldn''t help but re at Nudar hatefully. He already understood that he would die if he attacked the demons now. There were multiple Demon Lords and even a fearsome Demon King!


    Yet this fellow was urging him to attack now!


    Seeing Dn remain fixated at his spot while hatefully ring at Nudar made Margeria and Camille chuckle. Even the Wood Elf joined them and startedughing at Dn. It seemed as though the oath Dn took earlier had be a huge joke to them.


    It was fortunate for the group that Nudar''s barrier prevented any voice from leaking out; otherwise, the demons would have found them and attacked them already.


    Jander, the Wood Elf, began to talk at this moment, "¡­Where are the demons going? I can''t sense anyone from my race in that direction."


    Nudar rolled his eyes and spoke, "Clearly, the Celestials didn''t find all the Labyrinths. Not all Labyrinths are in in sight as the one before. This one is probably sealed deep within the ground and onlyes to the surface through a specific procedure."


    Jande felt that those words made sense and replied, "Hmm. That might be true." He soon added with a frown, "But why did the demons suddenly leave their Labyrinth? They were safe there. I have never heard of demons leaving their Labyrinths and heading to another one."


    Nudar shrugged and replied, "I don''t know about that. Maybe they wanted to take a breath of fresh air and meet some old friends."


    "¡­Or maybe they just wanted to massacre some humans," Dn responded with venom in his voice.


    Nudar rolled his eyes at those words, "You seem awfully disturbed at this sight. Tell me, what were you doing when the demons attacked the Origin Sect?"


    Dn was stunned upon hearing that question. He was actually speechless as he was merely a 3 Star Warrior, and most of the demons attacking the origin sect were 4 Star Demons. There was no way he could have won against the demons.


    However, he couldn''t just say that he was afraid of fighting the demons. However, he felt that Margeria and Camille would consider him a spineless man.


    He had taken that oath earlier just to impress them with his determination and heroism! It would be utterly useless! In fact, they would look down on him.


    But Nudar wasn''t going to stop at this moment. He added with a sneer, "What? Cat got your tongue? Stop shouting like an idiot all the time. It''s annoying!"


    Dn gritted his teeth upon hearing those words. He hatefully red at Nudar. He wanted to do nothing more than rush up and sh him with his sword!


    However, he knew that Nudar was much stronger than him, so he restrained his anger and tried to show a smile. It was a rather ugly smile, and Nudar couldn''t help but turn his body to ensure he couldn''t see this idiot.


    It was rather annoying for Nudar to even look at Dn and not punch this guy in the face.


    ''No. I can''t just beat him up today. I need to find out more about this fate thingy,'' Nudar thought.


    After a few days, the group entered the Buv district! Nudar could sense the Labyrinth in his range.


    Nudar immediately brought Jander and asked him to inform the Angels that the demons had entered the Buv district!


    Moreover, Nudar made sure to have Jander add that there was only a single Demon King here.


    The Angels had no idea that there was another Underground Labyrinth. For a single Demon King, they were definitely going to send only a pair of Angels. At the most, it could be three Angels, definitely not more than that.


    Nudar felt that he could handle that force.


    While they were traveling, Nudar gathering the Death Energy. This Death Energy continued to increase as the demons ughtered more humans.


    However, Nudar didn''t absorb this Death Energy. If he absorbed it, his perfect Celestial Ardor and Bloodline would be infected with a part of Demonic Ardor. He couldn''t do that.


    Thus, he was storing this Death Energy in his Spatial Ring.


    His Spatial Ring couldn''t just store objects but also intangible energy. He was going to use this Death Energy to set up a massive array.


    Actually, now that he could sense the location of the Labyrinth in the Buv district, Nudar wanted to quickly set up the array.


    He stared at Margeria and spoke, "I need to do something urgently. I will set up a concealment array around you all. Just make sure to not move about 10 miles from this spot while I am away."


    He then looked at Jander, "I will use your Wood Elven Bloodline as support. It would make the array hold out for a week at least."


    "¡­Alright," Jander responded.


    After saying those words, the angel wings unfolded on Nudar''s back as he flew towards the ground directly above the Underground Labyrinth.


    The death energy immediately started to leak from his ring.


    Nudar used his Holy Ardor to envelop the entire Death Energy and started to set up an array through it.


    This was a Killing Array known as the Deathly Barrage of Exploding Spears!


    It took him about one whole day to set up this array and another half a day to conceal it using another array. He used his Holy Ardor to set up a concealment array that could prevent any aura of Death Energy from leaking out.


    Nudar believed that this concealment array could hold out for 5 days at the most.


    And the Demon King would be here with his army in two days. ording to Nudar''s calctions, the Angels would take around two more days to get here.


    If the Angels were here in time, Nudar would deactivate the concealment array, which in turn would activate the <strong>Deathly Barrage of Exploding Spears</strong>. But this was an important juncture. At this point, Nudar wouldn''t use his array to attack these demons with Exploding Spears.


    No. That would be stupid! He would merely use the Deathly Energy to deal with the Spatial Laws of the Underground Labyrinth.


    A Demon King could empower the Labyrinth''s Spatial Laws. However, did they have enough time? They were going to battle the angels at that moment, after all! And after both parties were tired out, Nudar would fully activate his <strong>Deathly Barrage of Exploding Spears</strong> and kill everyone inside.


    This would allow Nudar to kill the angels and the demons simultaneously and loot their stuff from their corpses. It was a rather old-fashioned way of gathering treasures. Still, Nudar wanted to replenish his resources now that he had splurged quite a bit in the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom.


    Also, if the Angels took longer to arrive, Nudar would still activate the Deathly Barrage of Exploding Spears and use all its energy to create a barrier, preventing the demons from leaving the array.


    This would naturally use quite a bit of Death Energy. In fact, by the time the Angels arrive, Nudar was sure that his array would be nearly out of energy.


    During that time, Nudar was going to ughter a few viges and towns to gather more Death Energy. He was going to empower the array with that Death Energy!


    All in all, it was a full-proof n!

 Chapter 479 Experiment And Declaration Of War

    While Nudar was executing his full-proof n in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, the situation was quickly transforming in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Lewis Noble Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom managed to convince most of the Noble Families in the alliance to join their cause.


    Piero of the Lewis Noble Family promised them excessive returns since if they managed to take over the entire business of the Merchant Union, it would truly enrichen them!


    Most of the Noble Families naturally understood what Piero meant. However, this also indicated an arduous battle against the King. None of them wanted that.


    The King held great power,manded a colossal army, and held a range of connections with powerful individuals from other kingdoms.


    If he requested help, these influential figures would definitelye to assist him.


    However, the Piero Family pulled out its ace in the hole at this moment! They mentioned a deal with a religion!


    Moreover, this deal included the Clyranis Religion! This religion was spreading rather quickly as its followers increased regrly.


    This was all because the Emissaries of Clyranis had saved the citizens when even the King was helpless.


    Their magnanimity earned people''s praise, and it hadn''t taken long for Clyranis to spread its branches in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, this religion didn''t possess a proper foundation in the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    The Noble Families could help with that! If they set up proper temples andid out some schemes that favored the Clyranis Religion, it would spread among the people even more rapidly.


    The purpose of nearly every religion was to spread its teachings and make more people pray to their gods.


    This was how their gods gatheredrge quantities of faith energy and became even stronger!


    When the other Noble Families realized it was a deal with the Clyranis religion, they didn''t immediately reject the proposal of the Trade Union.


    They believed that if they could grab the Clyranis Religion''s support, they would have a good chance of making the Trade Union a sessful entity.


    This was what Piero wanted to do. He wanted to imnt a vision in their mind! Once the vision had taken root, he was done with half of his work.


    The other half was basically to convince the Clyranis Religion.


    Now, this part wasn''t so challenging when nearly ten heads of the Noble Families visited the pope of the Emissaries of Clyranis.


    The pope requested time. Piero gave him a day to think about it.


    On that day, the pope sent an emergency message to the Celestials.


    After the Celestials received that message, an Angel contacted the pope and asked him about the issue.


    The pope exined the entire matter to the Angel and asked her consent on whether he should ept this deal or reject it.


    The Angel was silent for nearly half an hour. She might have been discussing it with her higher-ups.


    However, after half an hour, she returned and confidently told the pope to ept the deal. Just as Piero had guessed, the purpose of this religion was to spread among more people to strengthen their god.


    It didn''t matter whether they were going against the Monarch of the Sinyalian Kingdom in the process. What mattered was arge number of followers!


    The next day, the pope gave his answer to Piero.


    The answer naturally delighted the entire group. When the Noble Family Alliance heard that the Emissaries of Clyranis had epted their deal, they immediately began to celebrate, and more noble families joined their cause.


    With the assistance of Clyranis religion and their already huge manpower, there was no way the King could stop them!


    The King and the Merchant Union were going to experience a million-volt shock so intensely that it would shake their very soul!


    When the King heard this news through his spies, he did get that million-volt shock! And the funny thing was that he could do nothing to stop it!


    He couldn''t just oppose a new organization being set up in his Kingdom. If it was without the support of the religion, perhaps he could have fought it out against the Noble Families.


    However, the support of Clyranis religion was truly effective! Itpletely tied down the King''s hands!


    Even if the king ignored the power of the Celestials backing up the Emissaries of Clyranis, they still held the public''s support!


    The public''s support couldn''t be ignored! If he lost the support of the people, he could very well lose parts of territories in his own kingdom! It would shake the foundation of his Kingdom!


    However, the king had no idea how he should deal with this situation.


    It almost seemed as if he had given up.


    A few dayster, something shocking happened. Piero of the Lewis Family lost his life, even though, he was fully guarded by his 5 Star Warriors! However, this wasn''t shocking news.


    The shocking news was that the ones who murdered Piero were none other than the infamous Inquisitor Fox, Inquisitor Dog, and Inquisitor Wolf!


    The location where they ughtered Piero was a whorehouse. It seemed as though it was a fully nned murder.


    The king was shocked because he hadn''t given the order! The Inquisitors had actually acted on their own!


    And he knew just one guy who had nned this. It was Inquisitor Fox!


    King Valliadis knew that Inquisitor Fox must have deduced the identities of hisrades by getting some clues and using his extraordinary intelligence.


    Or maybe he had nned something on them that he could sense to find their other identities and privately contacted them.


    King Valliadis knew what Shun was trying to do here. He was forcing the King into action.


    The news of Clyranis religion and the Noble Family Alliance''s cooperation had thoroughly shaken the King. It made him meek. He was scared of taking a decision that had the potential to shake the foundation of the Kingdom!


    However, there was something King Valliadis didn''t know that Shun knew. Shun knew that Piero was working on a Demon God''s orders without even realizing it!


    Shun knew that killing Piero would definitely alert Azaroth. Azaroth would eventually realize that Shun knew everything!


    On the other hand, Shun realized that if this Trade Union was sessful, it would have entirely overthrown the Royal Family. At that point, Azaroth could have simply stepped inside and controlled the Kingdom!


    This scheme had to be stopped at all costs!


    When Azaroth heard from Bianca that Inquisitor Fox had killed Piero, he began to chuckle loudly.


    ''The experiment was a sess! Inquisitor Fox truly did realize that I was controlling the Sinyalian Kingdom through Bianca.''


    There was a fond smile on his face as he thought ''What an entertaining opponent. He truly doesn''t allow me to rx for a single second.''


    In the Glerian Kingdom, King Tryfon Res had halted any further attacks on the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. He was horrified at the prospect of an Emperor Ranked Expert turning against him.


    However, Azaroth wasn''t naturally going to stop just because the King didn''t continue his attack. The next day, a loud announcement resounded in Crario, the Capital City of the Glerian Kingdom.


    "Attention all citizens! I''m Tiana Rhodes, the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s Sect Mistress. The King dispatched a group to destroy our sect just a few days ago because we refused to pay him bribes! He attacked us because of an illegitimate cause! We are not going down without a fight! We''re going to strike back! Join us if you are tired of the King''s tyranny!"


    The voice abruptly ceased to speak. However, those remarks triggered an explosion that manifested itself in the form of muttering.

 Chapter 480 Banquet Invitation

    Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s deration of war against the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom utterly shook all citizens of Crario City. They were stunned that someone actually dared to dere war against the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom!


    It went without saying that no citizen lost his trust in the Royal Family. The Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom had remained strong for nearly thousands of years. Meanwhile, this sect seemed rather unfamiliar.


    It would be impossible for this insignificant sect to deal significant damage to the Royal Family, let alone destroy it!


    However, the citizens did make sure to curse the Royal Family in their hearts. The King''s tyranny knew no bounds!


    King Tryfon Res heard this matter and couldn''t help but be even more scared. He thought he had truly enraged a supreme entity by attacking the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect!


    His ministers even advised him to send a letter of apology to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect that would disy his sincerity.


    This advice displeased him greatly. He couldn''t just show a submissive attitude! He was the Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom!


    ''Do you really think I have no means to deal with you if you are a 7 Star Warrior?! Don''t kid yourself! If you dare to anger me any further, I won''t hesitate to use my trump card on you!'' King Tryfon Res thought.


    It was a very guarded secret, but the King''s trump cards included two 7 Star Warriors! These were the final line of defense for the Glerian Kingdom! And it was because of them, the King remained fearless as he waged war against all the kingdoms bordering it!


    A few days passed, and it didn''t seem as though the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had made their move yet.


    The Royal Family was just nning to send a peace envoy when suddenly another announcement urred in Crario City!


    This time, Erica Blythe''s voice resounded in Crario City! She conveyed her support to Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect in their war against the Royal Family!


    Now, the citizens of Crario City were utterly shaken to hear this announcement.


    They could understand that since Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was a new sect, it didn''t know of the fearsome power possessed by the Royal Family. Some even thought that destroying the Night Mountain Sect had inted their ego! They probably didn''t consider anyone in the Glerian Kingdom their match!


    However, the ck Lake Sect was different! It had a great foundation and long history to back it up! It shouldn''t have joined this war against the Royal Family so recklessly!


    At this moment, the people began to think that maybe the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect wasn''t so weak in reality! It must have a hidden background that convinced the ck Lake Sect to join them!


    This news spread to the entire Glerian Kingdom rapidly! Within two weeks, all citizens of the Glerian Kingdom knew that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect were revolting against the Royal Family, and the ck Lake Sect had joined them in this cause.


    Laura, Yrellea, Noah, and William heard of this news as well! They all knew that Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was managed by theirrade, Tiana! And even Azaroth was staying there at this moment!


    All of them immediately contacted Azaroth and asked him, "Should we also wage war against the Glerian Kingdom?"


    Azaroth immediately answered them, "No!"


    His answer startled all his retainers. They were all a bit saddened, especially Noah! They all thought Azaroth rejected their plea because they weren''t strong enough.


    Azaroth noticed their emotions and sighed.


    He decided it would be better to exin his thoughts to them. Thus, he began, "Noah, you can''t wage war against the King because he will look for you soon enough to join an expedition to attack the ck Lake Sect or us. At that time, I want you to act as my informant in the army. Tell me what''s the rank of the strongest warrior in the army and what kind of array they are using."


    Noah seemed a bit satisfied after hearing those words. He was relieved that he could help his master in this war.


    Azaroth then spoke up, "As for the rest of you. You all are my secret weapons. I don''t want the King to realize that I have any contact with you. Yrellea, your Mystic Flower Pavilion should have amassed a massive profit by now. I want you to send it to Tiana. You will fund her sect in this war."


    "Willian, you need to be stronger and truly awaken your potential. You have be stronger after splitting up from Noah, but you should have realized that your power isn''t limited to this. You have amplebat experience; you need to start meditating and look deeper within yourself. Only then would you understand how to use perfectly use your power!"


    Next, he focused on Laura and instructed her, "You need to continue helping the citizens and increasing your prestige. When the timees, you will understand your task."


    The more Laura''s prestige increased, the more faith energy she would gather. Azaroth knew that he would gather much greater faith energy if he created a different culture and people began following it.


    However, creating a whole new culture and managing it was far too much of a hassle. Moreover, he didn''t want to officially create a religion since that would highlight him and the other religions would start targeting him. It would be challenging to deal with all of them!


    For this reason, Azaroth used this simple method to gather Faith Energy. He was aware that this method had its limits.


    At most, he could only reach the Demon King level through this method. He would need to create a religion after that.


    But Azaroth had ns for that situation. This was also why the war between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom so necessary for his future breakthrough!


    In fact, if Nudar was sessful in his mission, this wouldn''t just be a war between the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom. It would be a war between three nations: The Sinyalian Kingdom, The Glerian Kingdom, and the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Azaroth cut off the connection after he finished informing his retainers of their current objectives.


    He soon met up with Tiana and instructed her to send a letter of invitation to all sect masters in the Glerian Kingdom. It was time to invite them all to a banquet.


    The purpose of this banquet was clear. It was to figure out who would stand in their way and who would support them.


    The ones who rejected their invitation were those who were determined to stand on the Royal Family''s side. They would be the first targets of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect!


    Meanwhile, those who epted their invitation wouldn''t automatically be their supporters!


    No. No. No. It wouldn''t be so simple and convenient.


    Those who epted their invitation woulde to witness the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s strength. Whether or whether it had enough clout to warrant their backing. And what they may gain by working together.


    For that reason, Azaroth was constructing a couple more seven-star arrays that could sustain themselves for a month. He was going to intimidate everyone through these seven-star arrays!


    Azaroth wasn''t going to activate it now. That would just be a waste of resources. He was going to activate it when the sects arrive at the banquet location!


    After nearly seven days, nearly all the top grade sects of the Glerian Kingdom received Tiana''s invitation.


    All of them were naturally curious about the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. it was for the simple fact that this sect dared to wage war on the Royal Family and the ck Lake Sect actually supported it!


    They knew there had to be something peculiar about this sect.


    Naturally, there were a few sects that conducted a secret deal with the King. They immediately informed the King of this banquet and requested further orders.


    The King ordered them to visit this Banquet. He wanted to know everything happening in the banquet!


    Most importantly, he wanted to know just who his opponents were and their proper background. Only then could he prepare countermeasures. Although he was a warmonger, he wasn''t an idiot. He knew that attacking blindly would only hurt his forces more!

 Chapter 481 Banquet

    Surprisingly, all the top-grade sects of the Glerian Kingdom epted Tiana''s banquet invitation.


    Azaroth found it slightly shocking that the Red Crown Sect epted the invitation. This was the sect considered directly under the Royal Family. Why would it ept their banquet invitation?


    He understood that the rtions between the Red Crown Sect and the Royal Family weren''t as strong as he had imagined. Cracks had already begun to appear that were broadening with time.


    He didn''t focus on the Red Crown Sect any longer. He was more interested in the number of sects attending the banquet.


    After reading through all the invitations, Azaroth realized that only 30% of the total number of sects in the Glerian Kingdom had epted his invitation.


    Fortunately, it included all the top-grade sects, or else they couldn''t have achieved the purpose of this banquet.


    Once he finished reading all their eptance letters, Azaroth continued to set up the seven-tier arrays. These arrays were Passive Suppression Array, Malevolent Restraining Array, Thousand Spear Exploding Array, and Ardor Enhancing Array.


    These were the four primary arrays that Azaroth was setting up. There were also some secondary six-tier arrays that he set up topliment them.


    He was preparing himself for an all-out war against all these guests! Even if they all joined forces, they could forget abouting out alive from the banquet unless a 7 Star Warrior apanied them.


    Azaroth was more or less sure that there was no 7 Star Warrior in the Glerian Kingdom. If there was, this warrior would have made his presence known a decade ago when the Demon Emperor began to wreak havoc in the Glerian Kingdom.


    The Glerian Kingdom wouldn''t have waited for Margeria to arrive.


    But Azaroth also didn''t dare topletely underestimate the Glerian Kingdom. Considering that all the top grade sects had a 6 Star Warrior each, they would have already joined forces and revolted against the Royal Family.


    However, even after all these years, none of them dared to revolt. This proved that the Royal Family held a trump card that these sects feared more than anything.


    Unless someone could deal with this trump card, these sects wouldn''t dare to stand against the Royal Family.


    Azaroth guessed that this trump card could only be a couple of things. A couple of 7 Star Warriors or a special power would temporarily allow someone to advance to a 7 Star Warrior.


    This special power could only be aw fragment. It might also be both.


    Thus, Azaroth had to be prepared for all possibilities. During this banquet, he had to make all these sects believe that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect could deal with the Royal Family''s trump cards!


    Other than setting up arrays, Azaroth also concocted seven distinct medicinal pellets. He didn''t concoct a lot of pellets, just a pair for each sect joining the banquet.


    In a sense, this was aplimentary reward for joining this banquet.


    However, this was meant to be much more than aplimentary reward. It was because all these pellets were very high grade and would greatly assist in awakening the true potential of sects'' disciples.


    The sects were bound to understand the value of this pellet. Each one would bepelled to forget a secret agreement with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect for these pellets.


    Nearly two weekster, the banquet officially began.


    At this banquet, all the envoys hade in pairs. In other words, only the sect master and the strongest warrior after him arrived at this banquet. It was a condition mentioned in the invitation letter.


    The first one to arrive was Erica, along with her daughter Christina.


    Christina and Tiana were rather good friends, and the two started to talk about random stuff. It was mostly Christina doing the talking and Tiana attentively listening to her friend.


    Meanwhile, Erica met up with Azaroth and understood her task for the uing banquet.


    Erica was taken aback as she never expected her actions to lead to this. She thought that the Royal Family''s envoys would trouble Azaroth quite a bit.


    However, Azaroth actually responded decisively and boldly, that thoroughly stunned Erica!


    After Erica arrived, Azaroth tested the power of his arrays on her. The results were shocking.


    Azaroth noticed his Suppressive Arraypletely restraining Erica. It was to the point that she couldn''t even move.


    Even Azaroth hadn''t expected such a great result. Erica was not some random 6 Star Warrior. She had even gained insight intow, yet she was helpless against the suppressive array.


    Azaroth thought ''The 6 Star Warriors of this generation are much weaker than my expectations. Is it because they haven''t properly gained insight intow or for some other reason?''


    Well, this question didn''t matter much to Azaroth. The fact remained that his arrays worked properly.


    Meanwhile, Erica was utterly terrified as she experienced apelling force over her. She could feel that even the power ofws around her waspletely suppressed.


    At this moment, Marin, the Great Kun Spirit inside Erica, muttered, "This is an ancient array that wasst used in the Great War millions of years ago!"


    "The Great War?" Erica had an inquiring look in her eyes.


    "Nothing. It''s better if you don''t know. There is too much karma involved," Marin responded quickly.


    Erica didn''t understand what Marin meant by karma, but she didn''t ask any further. She knew that he must have his reasons for concealing information regarding the Great War from her.


    "Hmm. Actually, you are being suppressed because you gained insight into the Water Law through my assistance. It wasn''t entirely by your own capability, so you can''t use the waterw to itsplete potential. If you had understood thewpletely, at the least, you could move your fingers," Marin spoke.


    Erica rolled her eyes at that statement. It basically meant that it wouldn''t have mattered much. What could she do just by moving her fingers? Nothing!


    Anyway, it had been 3-4 days since then, and the other Sect Masters had arrived as well.


    The Origin Sect Master, Felix Harrer, brought Patrick along with him. Other than him, Patrick was one of the strongest 5 Star Experts of the Origin Sect.


    The Origin Sect did have a 6 Star Warrior, but it was the previous sect master. And his current location was unknown. While he passed down his position, he informed the sect to only contact him if the sect was on the brink ofplete destruction.


    This was why Felix hadn''t contacted the previous sect master even during the demon invasion because the Origin Sect could resist them. And even now, he hadn''t contacted the previous sect master because his condition hadn''t been satisfied.


    However, Felix nned to contact the previous sect master after this banquet in case he felt that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was worth supporting.


    Patrick, alongside him, remained silent all the way. He didn''t try to manipte Felix''s mind and actually honestly informed him of his thoughts.


    This was because Patrick had no idea Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect belonged to Azaroth. Thus, his genuine thoughts helped him build a good rtionship with Felix on this journey.


    Felix naturally knew of Patrick''s entire history, but he couldn''t care about the personal matters of his elders. He just didn''t want this matter to affect the Origin Sect''s strength.

 Chapter 482 Helge Degener

    Helge Degener, the sect master of the Red Crown Sect, had lived all his life under the Royal Family''s shadow. In a sense, he was the Royal Family''s dog. He had always done anything the Royal Family asked him to do.


    However, he wanted to resist the Royal Family''s influence with all his might this time! The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s deration of war appeared to be the only way he could. Thus, he epted their invitation and arrived here at this banquet.


    Helge''s presence was naturally rather surprising for the other sects. They hadn''t expected that one of the strongest sects under the Royal Family would arrive here.


    They could guess that this was a trick or that even the Red Crown Sect wished to escape the Royal Family''s control.


    All of them were led to the Great Hall by the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s elders.


    The sect master of the Stony Rock Sect, along with a couple other sect masters, were startled to see such beautiful women.


    They had heard that the sect mistress of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was very beautiful. Moreover, she was very strong and managed to overpower the sixth prince Philip for a brief period.


    However, they had not anticipated that even the sect''s elders would be so gorgeous. A few sect masters and thepanions they brought were infatuated with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s elders at first nce.


    They tried to strike a conversation with them, but the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s elders didn''t respond.


    These women knew just what these guys were hoping for and had a disdainful look in their eyes. Even though they were influential figures in their respective factions, they couldn''tpare to Azaroth.


    After arriving in the great hall, all of them saw threerge semi-circr tables and took their respective seats. These tables were pointed in the north direction, and in that direction were ced a couple of chairs.


    These chairs belonged to Tiana and her subordinates. Azaroth didn''t yet n to make an entrance in front of these Sect Masters.


    The banquet soonmenced with a few questions from the sect masters.


    "I have epted the invitation to this banquet only for a single reason. It is to find out whether your sect possesses the capital to confront the Royal Family or not! And from what I see, it was an empty threat," The Stony Rock Sect''s Sect Master stood up as he spoke with a sneer on his face.


    A few other sects supported his words. They also couldn''t see anything extraordinary in this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Tiana listened to this question rather calmly and responded with an ice-cold tone, "Sit!"


    Instantly, the Stony Rock Sect felt a strong suppression on his body, and he was forced to sit back on his seat!


    "What?!" All the sects, excluding the ck Lake Sect and the Red Crown Sect, were stunned!


    Erica already knew of Azaroth''s skill in arrays. While the Sect Master of the Red Crown Sect had already sensed the presence of some arrays in this Great Hall.


    Some of these arrays werepletely unfathomable to his senses, and even he would be restricted to some degree by them! This made Helge think ''I made the right decision toe here. A mysterious yet rather incredible existence is definitely supporting this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.''


    "I believe you all can understand what happened just now?" Tiana coldly asked the other members. She added. "You shouldn''t be mistaken into thinking that we are weak. I assure you that even the Royal Family will suffer if they attack us with their full strength. They have already lost three 6 Star Warriors in their earlier attack."


    "What did you say?! The Royal Family attacked you, and you lot actually managed to repel them?!" The Origin Sect''s Sect Master found it unbelievable.


    "That''s correct. If you don''t believe me, I can disy their corpses. You can return and confirm whether these three were 6 Star Warriors or not," Tiana responded coldly.


    Soon enough, a few members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect brought threerge trays. Each one was covered by a thin white cloth.


    After walking to the center of this Great Hall, the cloth was removed, and all the sect masters were startled to see three injured heads on the trays.


    Helge Degener was so shocked that he instantly stood up. He knew all three of them personally!


    He frequently sparred with them, and although he won, the margin wasn''trge. This already spoke volumes of their capability.


    Each one of these warriors was just a tiny bit weaker than Helge Degener. And Helge Degener was one of the strongest 6 Star Warriors of the Glerian Kingdom!


    Tiana red at Helge and spoke, "Sit!"


    Another suppressive array acted and forced Helge to sit down. Well, this was actually just a 6 Star Array. It could force Helge to sit down because Helge wasn''t actively resisting it.


    If Helge began to actively resist this array, the entire Great Hall would be instantly destroyed!


    However, Helge''s reactions already informed the other sect masters that Tiana was speaking the truth.


    What did this mean?! It meant that they possessed the capability of ughtering 6 Star Warriors!


    Most of the sects were unaware of the Royal Family''s true foundation. The two Ancestral figures of the Glerian Kingdom possessed 7 Star Rank! These sects were bing hopeful of their chances!


    "Now, that should have convinced you of our power. If anyone is still doubtful, I can provide another demonstration. I wonder if we have any volunteers?" Tiana asked that question with a contemptuous gaze.


    All the sects were more or less convinced of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s strength.


    "How do you n to attack the Royal Family? Are you going to attack the capital?" It was Helge who asked this question.


    His question naturally garnered lots of attention. He was the Sect Master of the Red Crown Sect and could be considered the most influential person in this banquet.


    Tiana was prepared for such a question, though. She instantly shook her head and responded, "No. What we are going to do is attack all the cities except the capitals. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated because if we all join hands, the Royal Family can''t possibly deal with all these attacks at the same time."


    At that moment, Erica spoke aloud, "This is an amazing idea. We can steal the Royal Family''s territory while also harming their very foundation in the Glerian Kingdom. Once the Royal Family has weakened to a certain extent, we can attack the Capital and end this swiftly!"


    The Stony Rock Sect''s leader had a sneer on his face as he responded, "What do you know of the Royal Family''s strength, little girl?! We will need a decade topletely uproot the Royal Family if we go through this method!"


    Another sect master added and supported the Stony Rock Sect''s leader, "The Royal Family is bound to resist with all their strength. They holdplete control over the Beast, Alchemy, Array Associations, and many sects that haven''t joined us today! The sects with 6 Star Warriors might survive the battle against the Royal Family, but what about sects like ours?!"


    "If the Royal Family attacks our sects, we will be destroyed! Tell us, why should we take the risk of joining you in this war against the Royal Family?!" This question resonated with all the leaders of the small sects in this meeting!


    Silence fell over the entire hall.


    "I have a solution to that question," Tiana spoke confidently.


    "Really? What is it?" The Stony Rock Sect''s leader asked with a curious expression.


    "If any of the small sects are in danger, the top grade sects nearest to their location would assist them. And if even the top-grade sects are helpless, then my sect willunch an attack on the Royal Capital! And if you are captured by any chance, I give you my promise to try my best to free you," Tiana solemnly spoke.


    "That makes it seem as if we have no choice but to trust your word for it! You have no way to prove your words!" Another sect master sneered.


    Meanwhile, Patrick asked at this moment, "Why would the top-grade sect assist a lower-ranked sect and risk fighting against the Royal Family? What do we stand to gain from it?"


    Tiana responded calmly, "All the resources, territory, and even treasures of the Royal Family will belong to you. The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect will not take anything of the Royal Family. However, we will supervise the division of these resources, territory, and treasures ording to the contributions in this war against the Glerian Kingdom."


    "To ensure impartiality, I invite an expert from each sect and propose to form an association that will receive thetest status of the war against the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom! They will debate and assign contribution points to sects based on their impact on the war. In other words, if you have a great impact on the war, the small sects can be the top-grade sects, and the top-grade sects can be even stronger. You won''t get opportunities like this every day. So, choose calmly and wisely. Don''t you think the rewards are something worth risking your lives?!"


    All the sects were taken aback by the time Tiana finished her speech.


    At that moment, Tiana suddenly stood up and spoke up, "Let''s take a small break and have dinner. Please follow me."


    ~~


    (A/N: Hope you all like the story till now. Please support it and share it.)

 Chapter 483 Hookers In Banquet Hall

    Tiana led all the guests to the banquet hall with multiplerge rectangr tables and seats ready for each individual.


    All the guests took their seats; it was on the basis of first cum, first serve.


    Tiana took her own seat. Since the seats were upied randomly, Tiana was seated between the sect masters of two lesser sects.


    These two were sect masters of the Old Venom Sect and Blue Silver Sect, respectively. Their sects were very close to the Capital, which worried them to no extent. They were very excited to hear Tiana''s proposal and wished to contribute. But they knew that the Royal Family would easily destroy them if they instigated chaos in the area.


    They urgently wished to consult Tiana about their issues. And coincidentally, Tiana sat adjacent to them.


    The Sect Master of the Old Venom Sect spoke out, "Sect Mistress, our Old Venom Sect is situated on the west of the Crario Capital. The Royal Family can easily purge us If we attack the nearby viges or the towns. The nearest top-grade sect won''t be able to arrive in time."


    Tiana remained calm as she heard this issue. Azaroth had already given her answers to various questions they were most likely to ask. The sects hadn''t even scratched the surface yet. They had no idea what true troubles they would encounter when they executed the n.


    However, Tiana didn''t n to inform them immediately. Doing everything at once wasn''t always a good idea. It was best to take one step at a time.


    Besides, Azaroth''s true aim wasn''t the Royal Family''s destruction. It was to present an opportunity to the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Thus, the more mistakes these sectsmitted, the better for him.


    However, he also knew he had to appear genuine in attacking the Royal Family, or else these sects wouldn''t trust him. Thus, he was going to solve any issue they encountered.


    This was also why he prepared Tiana for all the possible questions.


    Tiana responded calmly, "It''s simple. You just have to relocate near a top-grade sect''s main branch."


    "Are you suggesting that we leave behind our ancestralnd?" Both these sect masters frowned at this solution.


    "It isn''t as bad as you think. The Royal Family won''t destroy your sect if you take everything with you. After all, what''s the purpose of merely destroying some buildings? You can alwayse and take control of the territory."


    "The relocation would allow you to amassrge contribution points while also protecting you from the Royal Family. My suggestion would be a town in the Red Crown Sect''s territory if they join us," Tiana finished speaking and finally took a bite of her meal.


    The other sect masters were carefully listening to Tiana''s words. They all had an impressive hearing and were curious about how Tiana would solve this issue, and suffice to say, they were all well satisfied.


    All the sect masters who still had some doubts immediately approached Tiana to get a solution. Tiana resolved their issues withposure while eating her food.


    After she finished eating, Tiana spoke out, "Let''s discuss more doubts in the session tomorrow. We have prepared some activities for you all. Please enjoy it."


    She pped a couple of times, and the sounds of her palms colliding resounded in the entire banquet hall.


    The gates opened a few secondster, and hundreds of women entered the banquet hall. These women instantly caught the attention of all the guests since most of them were men.


    The appearance of these women could be considered top-grade. It was quite inferior to the members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, but still, each one of these women could be considered a top beauty of a particr region.


    These women were merely wearing a small bikini and a pencil skirt, which did nothing to conceal their impressive assets.


    Even though these men were rather old in age, their bodies instantly reacted to such a stimting sight.


    These women began dancing in the open space as soon as they entered the banquet hall. All of thedies followed the identical dancing steps and motions, lulling all the sect masters and theirpanions into a stupor.


    Tiana and all the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect members soon disappeared from the banquet hall.


    These dancing women were actually hookers brought from a nearby city. Azaroth used a technique topletely transform their physique and purged all the impurities in their bodies.


    He then imnted some art skills in their minds. This allowed these hookers to know some dance moves. After some practice, they were perfect in it.


    At this moment, only Helge Degener stared at them with deadly cold eyes. The rest of the sect masters were staring at these women with a look of pure lust and desire.


    In reality, it wasn''t their fault. The meat they had eaten belonged to a rather special breed of rabbit. This meat was actually a kind of aphrodisiac. However, its effect urred so subtly that it was impossible to detect.


    At this moment, these men found it impossible to control their lust and stood up.


    The Stony Rock Sect''s Leader whispered some words into a woman''s ears and took her away. It was clear that he was leading her to his room.


    And this was the trigger point!


    All the other men who couldn''t restrain themselves at this moment stood up and led these women to their rooms.


    They let go of any restraints and had fun with these women for the whole night. Now, these women were actually hookers. They were quite experienced in sex and easily managed to satisfy their customers for the entire night.


    Fortunately, the number of hookers exceeded the number of guests, or else some of the guests couldn''t have controlled their carnal desires.


    Only Helge Degener remained at his seat. He thought ''What a bold scheme. The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect now has the support of all these sects. After all, their reputation is in the hands of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.''


    To the sects, reputation mattered everything.


    After the other men had left, Helge heard the footsteps of someone approaching the banquet hall. He unconsciously turned his gaze towards the door.


    The door eventually opened, and an extremely handsome man stepped inside the banquet hall.


    There was a brilliant smile on that man''s face as he saw Helge. It seemed as though he was happy to see Helge remained here. A few other sect masters were present, but they were all women. Helge was the only man seated in the banquet hall.


    "You didn''t disappoint me, Helge Degener. So, I n to personally talk to you," Azaroth spoke out with a smile.


    "Who are you?" Helge Degener spoke a little cautiously. He could sense that the man ahead of him was only a 5 Star Warrior, but he instinctively felt dread.


    Azaroth stepped forward and spoke, "The true mastermind of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect."


    Helge instantly understood what Azaroth meant and frowned before asking, "¡­You mean there is no 7 Star Warrior here?"


    He sounded greatly disappointed. He had high hopes for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, but now that he understood they had no 7 Star Warrior, he was greatly disappointed.


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he spoke, "Why do you need a 7 Star Warrior? To deal with the King''s secret weapons?"


    "I can deal with them without an issue," Azaroth confidently proimed.


    Naturally, Helge didn''t think much about these words. He thought Azaroth was boasting randomly.


    Azaroth raised his finger and activated a Seventh Grade Array! This suppressive array instantly exerted a ton of pressure on Helge.


    Helge found his Ardorpletely suppressed and his body entirely glued to the ground. It was difficult to even move his fingers.


    "¡­ Don''t assess my power based on my cultivation level. Countless people have perished as a result of such a mistake."

 Chapter 484 The Noble Family Alliances Outrage

    Azaroth slowly released Helge Degener and spoke, "This was just one of the Seventh Grade Arrays I know. Do you need another demonstration? This time, I will show you that I have enough power to ughter a 7 Star Warrior."


    Helge was entirely impressed and no longer required further proof from Azaroth, "No. This is more than enough. You have convinced me."


    A serious expression appeared on his face as he spoke, "What do you want to discuss?"


    At that moment, Erica''s voice resounded in the hall, "It''s to make a deal with us, Helge."


    Helge turned around, and his eyes contacted Erica''s. She was still in the Banquet Hall. She naturally wasn''t going to leave the banquet hall with those hookers.


    "What is this deal?" Helge asked, a little curious and cautious as he spoke those words.


    Azaroth spoke, "I want your cooperation in this war against the Royal Family. In return, I am ready to set up two seventh-grade arrays in your sect which can protect the Red Crown Sect even from an attack of a dozen 7 Star Warriors."


    "Woah, Woah, Woah! What?!" Helge was shocked to hear that statement.


    Seeds of ambition had already begun to bud in his heart long ago, but he didn''t dare to entertain these wild thoughts because he had no way to deal with the Royal Family''s trump cards.


    But if Azaroth set up two seventh-grade arrays in the Red Crown Sect, he would possess an invincible armor that the Royal Family couldn''t break. It would be akin to adding wings to a tiger!


    "You heard right. Now, tell me your response," Azaroth asked quickly. He didn''t want to give Helge too much time to think.


    Helge didn''t even dare to think much. He directly agreed to this condition!


    "When will youe to set up this array?" Helge asked a little curiously.


    "You don''t need to worry about that. Themotion will be sorge that you won''t miss it. Until then, refrain from announcing our alliance publicly. In fact, inform everyone that you rejected us. Even your closest subordinates!" Azaroth was very specific about this.


    "That makes sense. If the Royal Family finds out that we have joined hands with you, they will instantly use their influence and power to destroy us. In fact, the Royal Family has enough connections within the Red Crown Sect to cause an internal war within the sect."


    He let out a sigh and added, "If an internal war urred, I would be forced to focus on the internal matters of my sect."


    Azaroth nodded, "Hmm. You are right. And that is why you will inform the Royal Family of everything that happened in this banquet other than this conversation."


    "I''m sure King Tryfon is intrigued about what transpired at this banquet. He must have spies among the sect masters who havended. If you tell King Tryfon all that happened at the banquet and he verifies it via his spies, his trust in you will deepen."


    A satanic smile soon appeared on Azaroth''s face as he added, "What better opportunity to betray someone than when they have total faith in you?"


    Those words sent a chill down Helge''s spine. This was a stark contrast to his typical demeanor as he was a forthright warrior who habitually followed all instructions.


    Helge has never deceived someone before. He was, however, feeling a little giddy at the notion of betraying the King for some reason.


    "What exactly do you want from me?" Helge asked straightforwardly. He further exined his question, "You can deal with a 7 Star Warrior. I don''t understand why you need to form this secret alliance with my sect."


    Helge didn''t want to be used and thrown by Azaroth. He wanted topletely understand Azaroth''s motive for choosing the Red Crown Sect.


    Even Erica was curious about the reason. Azaroth had ordered her to openly dere her support for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. If all Azaroth wanted to do was deceive the King, then he could have aplished it through the ck Lake Sect.


    However, Azaroth specifically chose to strike a secret deal with the Red Crown Sect. She wished to understand the reasoning behind this decision.


    A smile appeared on Azaroth''s face as he answered, "The reason is very simple. It''s because you have taught the members of the Royal Family. What I want is something only you can provide. Information rted to the Royal Family! I want to know their history, powers, abilities, and rtionship with each other."


    "All the Royal Princes and even the current King had joined the Red Crown Sect for a brief period. Thus, the Red Crown Sect is bound to have some secret information about all of them. I want it."


    Helge finally rxed as he heard this exnation, "I see. Other than a few things, I am willing to share everything else with you."


    This was unsurprising. You couldn''t expect someone to just hand over their entire fortune!


    ~~


    In the Sinyalian Kingdom, a rather troublesome situation was going on.


    Even though Piero, the mastermind of the Noble Family Alliance, was dead. The Noble Family Alliance was far from finished.


    After discovering that an Inquisitor ughtered his brother, Kuno Lewis gathered the other Noble Families to attack the Merchant Union''s branches in their territories.


    It wasn''t a simple ambush. It was a genocide!


    Each Noble Family created its individual groups to ughter the members of the Merchant Union and Royal Family''s subordinates in their city.


    Even a few merchants who were suspected of buying from the Merchant Union were publicly hanged!


    King Valliadis was outraged when he learned of the news. He quickly assembled all of his Inquisitors and Royal Guards.


    This was the first time in the history of the Sinyalian Kingdom that the King''s sword and shield received a joint mission!


    "I have endured long enough. It''s time to deal with this situation decisively. I order you all to ughter the Noble Families, openly massacring my subordinates! Start from the Lewis Family."


    This was also the day when they would receive their second joint mission.


    "And your secondary task is to find Inquisitor Fox and bring him to me! Alive!" The King wanted to understand why Inquisitor Fox suddenly killed Piero. Only then could he properly punish Inquisitor Fox.


    The Inquisitors were divided into two parts. One would hunt the Noble Families while the other would focus on finding Inquisitor Fox.


    Just as the King ordered, these Inquisitors and Royal Guards attacked the Lewis Noble Family. Within a week, all the members of the Lewis Noble Family were ughtered.


    In fact, only Bianca possessed the pure bloodline of the Lewis Noble Family. However, this was only the start of a massacre.


    The other Noble Houses recognized the danger only when the Lewis Noble Family had been ughtered. It was only natural for them to be terrified.


    The Lewis Noble Family had a long history and possessed multiple trump cards. Yet, all members of the Lewis Family were ughtered within a week by the Inquisitors!


    This was the first time the Noble Families realized the true terror of the Inquisitors. They had no idea that the King had so many elite warriors!


    What was worth noting is that the second Noble Family these Inquisitors targeted was the Nathan Noble Family.


    This was precisely one of the two Noble Families that Shun desperately wanted to destroy. And his wish was now being fulfilled as the Inquisitors ughtered all the members of this Noble Family.


    The next Noble Family that was destroyed was none other than Renner Noble Family. This was the other Noble House that Shun wished to destroy. It took nearly 5 days for this Noble Family to be turned into ruins.


    Now, it would be a lie to say that Shun did not have a hand in destroying these two Noble Families.


    In reality, the captain of this mission was someone close to Shun. He was a good friend who greatly respected Shun.


    Shun contacted him right after he received the mission of purging the rebellious Noble Families. He informed the captain, "¡­You always wanted to know how you can repay me, right? Then destroy the Nathan Noble Family and Renner Noble Family after you all are done with the Lewis Family."


    This was all it took for the two Noble Families to be destroyed and turn into ruins!


    ~~


    A/N: Azaroth is going to advance his rank soon. Hope you all love the method and the heavenly tribtion.


    ~~

 Chapter 485 Misinformation

    After so many years, King Valliadis had overlooked why Shun had joined the Inquisitors.


    Shun''s objective was to destabilize the Noble Families'' power. He intended to make them pay for their hubris!


    This was exactly what was happening right now.


    The King felt that the Noble Families were getting out of control. He ughtered so many Noble Families to intimidate the remaining ones.


    Shun was sure that no matter which Noble Family remained, they wouldn''t dare to go against the King any time soon.


    At the very least, until the King passes the throne to David Valliadis.


    During this time, the King was going to further strengthen the Royal Family and somehow weaken the Noble Families.


    However, Shun wasn''t very interested in these matters. He was delighted to have finally taken his revenge.


    ''Nothing holds me back any longer,'' Shun thought. It was time for him to execute the next phase of his n.


    Meanwhile, the situation was swiftly transforming in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Azaroth traveled to the Red Crown Sect Pce to set up a seventh-grade array. It would be a killing array that would be concealed by another sixth-grade array.


    Until before activation, the seventh-grade array won''t consume any resources. But after activating it, the array would most likely suck all resources of the Red Crown Sect within a week!


    But Helge still agreed to this deal. He wanted to have some sort of countermeasure in ce in case a Seven Star Warrior attacked the Red Crown Sect.


    In return, Azaroth received detailed information about the entire Royal Family. This information contained the likes, dislikes, factions, and even the secrets of the members of the Royal Family.


    However, Azaroth frowned as he saw no mention of fate energy. He wondered ''I thought he would have some hidden tomes about the fate energy. It seems that it won''t be easy to find the true abilities of the fate energy. I can only try the good hit and trial method.''


    Azaroth let out a sigh and further thought ''I was too hopeful about it. I shouldn''t be too disappointed, though. I managed to gain a great deal of the Royal Family''s personal information. This will be useful soon enough.''


    Azaroth handed the information about the Princes and the Princesses to Sargan. He couldn''t hand over the King''s information since his fate energy was too strong.


    Sargan would definitely face grave danger if he held such a thing.


    Azaroth made sure to inform Sargan not to target any members of the Royal Family directly. He had to use this information to build a strongwork around them.


    Sargan failed to understand why Azaroth didn''t want to target the Royal Family, but he guessed that his master had his reasons.


    Azaroth soon focused on setting up the seventh-grade array for the Red Crown Sect.


    It was worth mentioning that the other sects had already begun to attack the administrators in the towns and cities near their location.


    A team had already been set up which rewarded contribution points to each sect. The Red Crown Sect nned to join the party after the seventh-grade array had been set up.


    Naturally, the Royal Family knew that the Red Crown Sect had epted Tiana''s invitation to the banquet. He sent envoys to the Red Crown Sect to know just where their allegiance rested.


    Helge informed the envoy that he had no intention of joining the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect in their war against the Royal Family. He was on the side of the Royal Family.


    He made sure to inform the envoy of all the proceedings that urred during the banquet.


    The King confirmed it through the information he received from his other spies and was assured that the Red Crown Sect was on his side.


    He then focused his firepower on dealing with all the troublesome sects that were attacking the city supervisors. It was through these city supervisors that the King ruled over that respective city.


    Taking out the city supervisor was a direct attack on the King!


    The other sects loyal to the King made their move as well. It was worth noting that only 20% of the sects loyal to the King made their move.


    Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect finally made their move as well. They targeted the nearby towns and cities and took control of them within three days.


    When the King heard that the members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect were finally attacking, a smile bloomed over his aged face.


    He was waiting for this opportunity!


    He allowed them to attack even more cities. On the surface, it appeared as though the King didn''t have enough firepower to deal with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s attacks. But in reality, the King was setting up a massive trap for them.


    King Tryfon was leading Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s members towards his army. Noah''s battalion also joined this massive army and was heading for Andarcia City.


    Noah had already informed Tiana of his current location. Tiana knew that a massive army was arriving and nned ordingly.


    After looting the nearby cities and towns, she didn''t persist in attacking any further. Instead, she gathered her members, and they were on their way to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    The King was startled when he heard the news that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect managed to avoid their trap.


    And this didn''t happen a single time. It happened multiple times after that.


    The King was now sure that there was a traitor within the army who was informing the enemy of their movements.


    The King ordered his Silver Hawk group to investigate the army deeply and find out if anyone had a connection with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect or not.


    And just two dayster, he received a report that there was indeed amander who had a connection with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    He found out that themanding general of this army contacted Tiana just a year ago, and the two held an ambiguous rtionship. He didn''t have a lot of proof, but the King immediately believed that information.


    The information from his Silver Hawk group had always been urate. This time was going to be no different.


    But in reality, the Silver Hawk group had been entirely fooled. And this was aplished by Sargan!


    Sargan knew that the King must have a wide spywork. Which meant he had a very loyal and reliable spy in each city at the least.


    Thus, he chose a single city that was a little farther away from the capital and whose trade wasn''t very impressive. He then started spreading a scandal about Tiana and the Commanding General of the army.


    He also prepared some witnesses and evidence to make these rumors more believable.


    A member of the Silver Hawk group heard this rumor and investigated it a bit before finding the evidence. And thus, the King was fooled.


    The army''smanding general was immediately exiled due to cooperating with the enemy.


    No matter how themanding general tried to exin himself, the King turned a blind eye to it.


    The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect didn''t attack anymore for the next week. This made the King even more confident that he had dealt with the enemy''s spy.


    The King had no idea that he had actually promoted the enemy''s spy while exiling a loyal subordinate!

 Chapter 486 Plan Successful

    During this moment, the situation in the Lamhilhan Theocracy had reached a climax.


    The scenario proceeded just as Nudar expected.


    Deep Sea Demon King went to the spot and tried to contact his fellowrade. The other Demon King controlled the Spatial Laws of the Underground Labyrinth and made it appear on the surface.


    Once the Underground Labyrinth appeared on the surface, it required some time to materialize. This wasn''t an issue. Deep Sea Demon King and his army waited patiently.


    After a couple of hours, a pair of Angels suddenly arrived and attacked the Deep Sea Demon King!


    Deep Sea Demon King was extremely shocked to see a pair of Angels here. It didn''t seem as though they were patrolling randomly. They knew he would be found here.


    The Underground Labyrinth that was materializing on the surface started to blink suddenly. It was clear that the other Demon King had no intention of assisting the Deep Sea Demon King.


    Deep Sea Demon King cursed hisrade underneath his breath, but this was all he could do!


    Deep Sea Demon King''s battle against this pair of Angels was extremely fierce. His subordinates were massacred irrespectively of their rank. It didn''t matter who was struck by that Holy Ardor; they would be purged instantly.


    Even Demon Lords felt like ants in front of these Angels. Only the Deep Sea Demon King could resist these powerful angels. But the demons noticed that even their master couldn''t persist for a long period.


    At that moment, something unexpected urred.


    The Angels and Deep Sea Demon King suddenly sensed an influx of Death Energy. This Death Energy instantly rejuvenated the Deep Sea Demon King and weakened the pair of Angels.


    However, this wasn''t the primary mission of this Death Energy. The primary mission of this Death Energy was to suck the Demonic Energy within the Underground Labyrinth!


    The fluctuations stopped soon enough, and the Underground Labyrinth became stable. The doors to the Underground Labyrinth opened.


    The demons inside the Underground Labyrinth probably had no idea that such a thing would ur at this juncture. Not just these demons, even the demon king inside was utterly startled.


    However, the Demon King didn''t have any other option. He immediately flew out of the Underground Labyrinth and started attacking the pair of angels.


    His presence was greatly unexpected, and his first attack actually injured one of these Angels.


    The other Angel immediately created a barrier of pure Holy Ardor around her injuredrade to prevent the demons from targeting her.


    She managed to seed in saving herrade, but she had to endure some rather powerful attacks from the demons.


    Their fight continued for nearly one whole day. During this time, the demons had suffered significantly.


    Thebined forces of the two Demon Kings had been whittled down by 30% of their original number.


    However, hope returned to the demons as they noticed that the Angels were getting tired.


    At that moment, the demons shared all their demonic ardor with their Demon Kings. This provided the Demon Kings with an additional boost of Demonic Ardor. They could definitely persist much longer than the Angels now.


    Once again, something extremely shocking urred. Both Demon Kings sensed a sudden influx of the Deathly Energy. However, this time, this Deathly Energy seemed a lot more controlled and focused.


    They noticed small spears of pure Death Energy forming beneath them. The tip of the Spear was pointed at them.


    Both Demon Kings and even the Angels frowned. The Angels thought that this was a trap by the Demon Kings.


    Meanwhile, the Demon Kings felt that there was another mastermind who had set up a trap for all of them. It was Deep Sea Demon King who shouted, "Get out! If we don''t, we will all die!"


    At that moment, they heard a cold yet amused tone, "You want to get out now? Toote, buddy."


    The spears condensed with pure Deathly Energy immediately attacked the four individuals in the sky. The Angels and the Demon Kings immediately resisted by attacking these spears with their strongest attacks. But unfortunately, these spears were condensed under the influence of the seventh-grade array.


    These spears were much stronger than the attacks of a 6-Star Warrior.


    Hundreds of explosions urred in the sky, and the entire sky erupted with a blinding light for a moment.


    Blood spilled down on the ground after that short instant. Even pieces of the Demon King''s corpse were spotted on the ground.


    All the demons in the area were visibly shaken to see this sight. Since even the Angels had been killed, it meant that someone else was the mastermind. They couldn''t forget that wicked voice they had heard earlier.


    "That was disappointing. I thought they would survive the first round. Well, I guess I was too cautious for nothing," The voice resounded once again. This was Nudar, and his words clearly suggested something horrifying.


    After setting up this killing array, he was only worried that the Death Energy would be exhausted before even aplishing its true motive, which was the Demon Kings'' and the Angels'' death.


    To ensure that he would have enough death energy, he had to ughter more individuals and gather their Death Energy. This meant he had to clear out the nearby viges.


    However, killing these vigers and the popce in the town presented a risk in itself. If the followers of the Radiant Church dropped suddenly, they were bound to investigate the reason behind this.


    They could find Nudar and Dn''s group and interrogate them at that moment. But Nudar wasn''t scared of this.


    This was because he knew his identity among Celestials was unordinary. However, even if it wasn''t, he had his way of dealing with the Celestials.


    By the time the Celestials reach this location, Nudar would be long gone. So, he felt there was no need to be scared. He could easily pin the me on the Demon King and his forces.


    Thus, he actively ughtered all the viges near the spot and gathered arge amount of Death Energy so that he could use the array multiple times.


    But it seemed that he was being too cautious for nothing.


    "Now then, what to do with you?" The voice resounded again.


    "What do you want from us?!" A Demon Lord yelled out this question while concealing his nervousness.


    "First thing you should do is ce all your treasures on the ground. The second thing you should do is scram!" Nudar coldlymanded.


    The Demons were startled but also relieved. It meant they had a chance to survive!


    Only the Demon Lords frowned. They were internally nning to take all the treasure and run. However, this didn''t seem like a valid option anymore.


    Although they were resistant to this order, they didn''t dare to go against it. They had witnessed the death of their masters firsthand.


    A few individuals didn''t put down all their treasures, though. They sneaked their treasures into a really secret location, counting on the fact that the unknown mastermind won''t know of their hiding spot.


    However, these were the unfortunate individuals who died first and terrified others. This once again disyed Nudar''s power, and no demon entertained the thought of fooling Nudar.


    It had been nearly four hours since the demons left. Nudar flew over to the location and started gathering all the treasures. After gathering all the treasures outside, he headed inside the Underground Labyrinth and cleaned the whole ce.

 Chapter 487 Esther, An Archangel

    The Underground Labyrinth in the Buv district possessed a lot of rare treasures and resources. There were even some resources that were required for a seventh-grade array and pellets.


    Azaroth had seemingly recovered nearly half the resources that he had expended since his reawakening.


    After gathering those resources, he left the Underground Labyrinth and met up with Dn''s group.


    Dn''s group had already reached the Buv district and were staying in the town right now. It was under Margeria''smand.


    Margeria didn''t want any of them to know of Nudar''s n.


    All of them stayed in the town for a week before Nudar and Margeria finally sensed the presence of a Celestial.


    Nudar immediately released tremendous Celestial Ardor from his body. He purposely released such a huge quantity as he wanted the Angels to take note of him.


    The Angels sensed a massive burst of pure Celestial Ardor and instantly halted. They swiftly headed in Nudar''s direction.


    As they got nearer, Nudar was surprised as he sensed the presence of an Archangel.


    ''Interesting. Did they find out that their Angels died to a Seventh Grade Demonic Array? It doesn''t make sense for them to dispatch an Archangel otherwise,'' He guessed with a thoughtful look on his face.


    However, he remained fearless. He was sure that even an Archangel couldn''t see through his identity.


    Nudar whispered to Margeria, "It''s an Archangel. Probably the one who manages this area. Make sure she doesn''t find out about our rtionship."


    "¡­I understand, master," Margeria spoke with a strangely excited look on her face.


    A Celestial Archangel couldn''t lose her virginity to a human. They couldn''t form an immoral rtionship with a human. If found, that Celestial Angel would be purged immediately.


    This could be considered one of their basic rules. However, Nudar''s identity was that of a Holy Son.


    After some stimtion from his Demon God''s Blood, his Celestial Bloodline had undoubtedly transformed into a God''s Bloodline.


    Even the Archangel would be intimidated when she finds out about his Bloodline. And this was indeed the case.


    As the Celestials approached Nudar, they could sense the bloodline more clearly. It was the leader of their group who muttered, "This¡­This is the presence of a Holy Son!"


    The status of a Holy Son was undoubtedly much greater than that of a Sacred Envoy. A Sacred Envoy''s bloodline was greatly impure. Moreover, the Celestial blood they inherited belonged to the lowest rank bloodline of the Celestials. Thus, it was only natural that their status belonged to the lower tiers.


    However, a Holy Son was different. A Holy Son possessed the bloodline from either an Archangel or a God.


    If it was God''s child, then the Holy Son''s status would surpass even an Archangel!


    Furthermore, Azaroth had created Nudar''s body with pure Celestial Bloodline. In other words, he was a pure Celestial with no trace of the human bloodline. This greatly increased his status among the Celestials!


    At this moment, Nudar and the group were walking in the market street. They ate some fruits and drank some juice while waiting for the Celestials to arrive.


    Before long, a blinding light could be seen descending from the sky. The blinding light stopped right in front of Nudar.


    When Nudar looked ahead, he noticed an extremely beautiful and fair woman kneeling to him. Large pair of white wings sprouted out from her back, and there was a submissive look on her face.


    Her silver hair extended down to her waist, and they seemed to be glowing as the sun''s rays fell over them. Her skin was so fair it seemed to be glistering under the light. It also appeared to be rather soft.


    Her breasts were slightly small inparison to Margeria''s, but her face was iparably cuter. Her blue eyes curiously nced at Nudar, and she immediately blushed as sheid her eyes on him. Nudar was undoubtedly the most handsome and beautiful man she had seen in her life. Just looking at him made her heart pound swiftly.


    "Holy Son, it is my honor to have met you here!" Her voice was extremely mellow as she spoke those words.


    This Archangel was very sincere as she spoke those words.


    Meanwhile, Dn and his entire group, save for Margeria, were shocked to see this scenario. Not just Dn''s group but all the other humans approached Nudar to observe this incident closely.


    Before Dn could say anything, Margeria spoke to him, "Don''t speak and keep your distance!"


    However, Dn''s entire focus was on that heavenly woman he saw in front of him. He stepped closer and asked unconsciously, "W-Who are yo-"


    ? Dn found this Archangel so gorgeous and so charming that he was stuttering like a nervous brat.


    The Archangel ignored his words and kept on staring at Nudar.


    Nudar smiled suddenly. He touched the Archangel''s cheeks and stroked them, "What''s your name?"


    "Esther~" She purred while responding to Nudar''s question.


    "Esther, huh? What a beautiful name. My name is Nudar," Nudar spoke with a bright smile on his face.


    Nudar suddenly bent down, and his hands were on Esther''s waist as he added softly, "Please stand up. I don''t like to look down on anyone."


    He soon helped Esther to her feet. Esther felt her heart fluttering with excitement as the Holy Son helped her get up.


    She had recently be an Archangel and could be considered very young by the Celestial standards. She took over this territory just a few decades ago and had only fought a single Demon Emperor.


    Because of herck of experience, she fell for the Demon Emperor''s trick and allowed him to escape even though he waspletely trapped. Aftermitting that error, Esther was forced to stay and manage the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Esther would be allowed to return to Heaven if her senior Archangel changed her mind. However, Esther knew that was impossible.


    However, there was another method. That was to apany a Holy Son. Not even a God would try to offend a Holy Son, let alone a mere Archangel.


    After a God, the Holy Son held the highest status as they possessed the potential to be a God! Many religions didn''t have a Holy Son and desired one. Thus, the Holy Son was always in high demand and low supply.


    It would be a great loss if a God offended a Holy Son enough topel him to join another religion. Thus, no God would normally try to offend a Holy Son.


    At this moment, other humans had surrounded Esther and Nudar. They all had a devoted look on their faces as they realized the identity of the Angel before them.


    "It isdy Esther! Everyone, this isdy Esther! She hase to bless our town!" A loud voice resounded in the market street.


    In the next moment, all the humans seemingly rushed towards Esther with a devoted look in their eyes.


    Esther coldly hmphed as she heard those words, "Don''te any closer, or I won''t show any mercy."


    Would her devotees really stop even after hearing those words? Some sure did. But most of them didn''t!


    Light Ardor was released from Esther''s palms. It seemed like a ball of pure light energy. It moved, and it appeared simr to a ray. A secondter, all the humans who were approaching Esther suddenly fell down!

 Chapter 488 Divine Faith Pool

    Celestials were very conceited about their race. They thought of themselves as the supreme beings of this universe. In their eyes, humans were cowardly, deceitful, petty, and filthy.


    Thus, an Archangel would try their best to not be touched by a filthy human. Margeria had the same attitude as the other Archangels, but her condescending attitude had mellowed quite a bit after being trapped for so long.


    However, Esther didn''t possess a shred ofpassion for humans. Thus, she killed all the ones who approached her. There was another reason she killed all the humans. It was because she couldn''t allow these humans to touch the Holy Son with their filthy hands.


    "I warned you all!" Esther coldly spoke while ring at the humans through the corner of her eyes.


    Dn halted as he saw that cold expression. He knew that if he took another step forward, he would die.


    Esther then turned to face Nudar, and her entire demeanor appeared to shift as she shed an enthusiastic smile and an expectant expression.


    "Can I join you at the Radiant Church in the capital?" Nudar inquired.


    "Certainly!" Esther didn''t even need to think before answering Nudar. She also wanted to lead Nudar to the Central Cathedral of the Radiant Church!


    White wings sprouted from Nudar''s back, and he began to fly in the air. As he flew, Esther saw a faint radiant glow around Nudar that made him appear divine.


    "Then let''s go," Nudar spoke as he held Esther''s hands and flew in the sky. Esther was quite excited as she flew together with Nudar.


    The angels that were apanying Esther finally arrived at the scene. They were startled to see Esther holding someone else''s hand. They noticed Nudar''s white wings and understood that he was a Celestial. However, they still weren''t very clear about his identity.


    Esther immediately spoke out, "I had the fortune of encountering the Holy Son here. Go on without me and investigate the demonic presence while I escort the Holy Son back to the Central Cathedral."


    The angels were a little scared as they heard that order. Their sensors had picked up a Rank 7 Demonic Presence. This meant someone with power equal to a Demon Emperor was nearby. The angels couldn''t fight against such a powerful demon. They required the presence of an Archangel.


    However, they didn''t feel it would be right to speak against Archangel at this moment. They could only begrudgingly obey her orders and approach the location.


    While he was on his way to the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s capital, Nudar shared his memories with Azaroth.


    Azaroth was utterly shocked as he read his clone''s memories. He even read his clone''s thoughts that had urred chronologically. Thus, he realized that the Demon Emperor that was sealed inside the abyss near Night Mountain Hill actually emerged from Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    "Wait¡­The Demon Emperor sealed inside the Night Mountain Hill cultivates the Yin Devouring Demonic Technique. His spiritual energy must be very impure after cultivating such a technique. How can he imnt his spirit deep within Back Hurricane''s spirit? I am missing something crucial," Azaroth mumbled to himself.


    He further added, "Also, the Eternal Moonlit Radiance Barrier could prevent even spiritual interference with the outside world, regardless of the strength of the spiritual connection. So, howe ck Hurricane is still acting on his master''s orders?"


    At this moment, Nudar asked Esther, "I heard a Demon Emperor attacked the Lamhilhan Theocracy a few years ago. What exactly happened? I want to know all the details regarding that incident."


    Esther seemed surprised to hear that statement, but she quickly answered his question, "Actually, that''s only half-true, master. The public doesn''t know theplete truth about that incident."


    Nudar could guess where it was going. And he didn''t like the sound of it very much. He inquired with a grave expression on his face, "What is the truth?"


    "There was not one but two Demon Emperors!" Esther spoke those words with a serious look.


    Nudar felt like facepalming at that moment. This was what he feared the most!


    "Initially, the Radiant Church also received information that the enemy was merely a Demon Emperor. Thus, the Radiant Church sent a single team of Angels with an Archangel leading it. However, it turned out that another Demon Emperor was lying in wait for them. They easily ughtered the entire team, but their power output was great enough that our sensors caught the demonic signature of both the Demon Emperors."


    "Another team was set up. This time, there were 3 Archangels, including me. We were ordered to hunt these Demon Emperors at all costs. One was merely a sex demon while the other was a terrifying Spiritual Bolt Demonic Emperor!"


    "During the battle, I fought that sex demon and fell for his trick, which allowed him to escape to the Glerian Kingdom. Meanwhile, the other two Archangels fought the Spiritual Bolt Demonic Emperor, but they were caught off-guard by his spiritual attacks and were temporarily paralyzed. This gave him enough time to conceal his presence. We haven''t managed to find him ever since."


    Nudar let out a sigh as he finished hearing the whole story. This unknown demon emperor was bound to be a troublesome individual.


    It would be impossible to deal with this fellow using pure power. A Seventh Grade Array couldn''t show its true potential under Nudar''s hands because his rank was too low. He had to resort to trickery.


    After six days, Nudar stepped into Lamhilhan Theocracy''s capital. This city''s name was Zavega!


    Esther led Nudar straight to the central cathedral of the Radiant Church. At this moment, the people hade to the Cathedral to pray and receive the Radiant God''s blessings.


    At this moment, people saw Esther flying inside the Cathedral with another Celestial. They figured it was a Celestial because of those unique pair of white wings.


    As Esther appeared, these devotees immediately squealed and howled in excitement. They thought that the Radiant God had listened to their prayers and sent Esther to personally bless them.


    It greatly increased their positive feelings for the Radiant God and strengthened their faith.


    When Nudar witnessed this sight, he sighed, "There are always fanatics regardless of the era."


    After arriving, Esther spoke out, "The Cathedral will be closed for a short period due to an emergency. We will open the Cathedral as soon as possible. Please leave."


    The priests conveyed Esther''s orders to the people and led them out of the Cathedral.


    "Open the Divine Faith Pool. I want to baptize myself in there," Nudar ordered Esther.


    Esther didn''t find this order odd. She guessed that Nudar wanted to clear himself of the human filth.


    It took nearly 2 hours for all the devotees to be escorted out of the Cathedral and another hour to prepare the Divine Faith Pool.


    This Divine Faith Pool was Spiritual Water that was enriched with Faith Energy. This Faith Energy was gathered from these devotees, and it was used to empower the Angels or Archangels in the area.


    Every five years, the remaining energy in the Divine Faith Pool would be transferred to heaven for the Radiant God to absorb it. This was how the Celestials cultivated!


    The Gods or the Primordial Gods weren''t scared that the angels would try to absorb their faith energy. The Bloodline of the angels or Archangels couldn''t endure the power of the Faith Energy. They could only borrow the faith energy temporarily before they would be forced to return it to the Divine Faith Pool.


    However, Nudar was different! As he entered the Divine Faith Pool, he sensed a powerful presence within this pool. He wasn''t scared, though.


    Nudar closed his eyes and concentrated on absorbing the faith energy in this Divine Faith Pool.


    "Help me, Radiant God. Save me from my boss! I will donate my yearly ie to you!" Nudar snapped his eyes open as he heard this statement.


    There was no one near him inside the water.


    He closed his eyes once again and tried to absorb the Faith Energy in this Divine Faith Pool. He heard more whispers.


    "Please grant me strength to take revenge, Radiant God."


    "Please allow me to pass the examination and join the Guards."


    "Please grant us the strength to control this Lamhilhan Theocracy for one more year."


    These whispers continued to resound in Nudar''s mind. However, Nudar ignored them and concentrated on absorbing the Faith Energy.


    In the meantime, Azaroth sensed a massive amount of Faith Energy entering his body. He understood that this was aplished by Nudar and was very excited!


    Meanwhile, as Nudar began to absorb more Faith Energy, a powerful yet chilly voice echoed in his head, saying, "You dare to steal my Faith Energy?"


    Nudar knew who had spoken. This was probably the Radiant God''s Intent infused within this Divine Faith Pool.


    Even though it was the Radiant God''s Will that had spoken, Nudar didn''t stop absorbing the Faith Energy. With a devilish smirk on his face, Nudar increased the absorption speed as if to spite the Radiant God''s Will and responded arrogantly, "Stop me if you can."

 Chapter 489 Heavenly Tribulation For Demon King Rank (1)

    The Radiant God''s intent was instilled into the Divine Faith Pool. This made the Radiant God the rightful owner of this Faith Pool! If other deities desired to ingest this Faith Pool, they had to do so at the risk of offending the Radiant God.


    The Radiant God''s prestige was great enough to prevent any random deity from absorbing his Faith Pool. Actually, very few deities would risk offending other deities. This would highlight them in the heavens and make their lives rather difficult.


    However, at this moment, Nudar waspletely offending the Radiant God''s Will within this Divine Faith Pool by directly absorbing the Faith Energy.


    The Faith Energy was quickly transferred to his main body, and Azaroth finally sensed his Ardor breaking past that bottleneck.


    His Ardor was undergoing aplete transformation as his insights of the variousws started merging with Azaroth''s Ardor.


    me, Lightning, Wind, Ice, Sword, Saber, Bow, Spear, Axe, Fist, Spatial, Shadow, Blood, Death, Life, Yin, Yang, Alchemy, and Array. These were thews that Azaroth had gained insight into.


    There were somews into which Azaroth had gained a deep insight. However, there were also somews that Azaroth had barely scratched the surface.


    All thesews,bined with Azaroth''s Ardor, made it much stronger and more robust than before.


    The sky turned dark above the Red Crown Sect. Actually, the sky turned dark for the entire city, not just the Red Crown Sect!


    These dense dark clouds loomed over the entire city and gave off a menacing feeling.


    Helge Degener stepped out of his seclusion when he sensed the Heavenly Tribtion gathering above the Red Crown Sect.


    As a 6 Star Warrior, he had naturally heard of the Heavenly Tribtions. The Heavenly Tribtions was an attempt by heaven to inhibit the rise of a warrior possessing monstrous talent.


    An ordinary warrior would face Heavenly Tribtion while breaking through to Emperor Rank. This was the 7 Star Rank.


    Thus, when Helge Degener saw this Heavenly Tribtion, he thought someone was breaking through to the 7 Star Rank.


    However, as he stretched his Ardor to its limits, he sensed Azaroth breaking through to the 6 Star Rank.


    ''This guy summoned the Heavenly Tribtion while breaking through to the 6 Star Rank. He must possess monstrous talent. A talent so great that the heavens cannot tolerate his existence!''


    This was not good news for the Red Crown Sect.


    Azaroth noticed the heavenly tribtions, but he didn''t stop. He couldn''t stop! The process was automatic at this point, and there was no way to suppress it.


    A bright light shone over Azaroth''s body. This was Holy Ray of Evil Extermination!


    Azaroth could feel this Holy Ray of Evil Extermination trying to purge his Demon God''s Blood.


    However, it wasn''t so easy to purge his Demon God''s Bloodline! The Demon God''s Bloodline retaliated badly as it emitted tremendous Demonic Ardor from Azaroth''s body.


    Azaroth wasn''t in control of this Demonic Ardor. He instinctively used his Demonic Ardor to fight off against the Holy Ray!


    He managed to hold off the Holy Ray with his Demonic Ardor and regained his senses after some moments.


    After regaining his senses, he controlled the Demonic Ardor and released Holy Ardor from his body as well!


    Azaroth used his Divine Holy Devil Transformation and flew into the air. The longer he stayed on the ground, the greater the chance for someone to find his true identity!


    He had to prevent typical people from finding his true identity.


    Well, flying towards the heavens was also not a brilliant idea. As he flew in the sky while fighting the Holy Ray by using his Holy Ardor and Demonic Ardor, he was struck with a rather quick lightning bolt!


    Azaroth sensed the Law of Annihtion within his Lightning Bolt. It had even burnt off Azaroth''s right arm.


    A frown appeared on his face as he sensed the Law of Annihtion injected within his arm. This Law of Annihtion prevented Azaroth from healing his arm quickly.


    His Ardor was fighting this Law of Annihtion fiercely while Azaroth noticed that the Heavenly Tribtion was just beginning.


    Seven figures suddenly emerged from the dark clouds. Azaroth was very calm as he gazed at those seven figures.


    He was very familiar with all of them. They were the God-Ranked Experts of their respective races from the Ancient Era.


    Three of them were from the Demon Race, two belonged to the Celestial Race, one belonged to the Beast Race, and one belonged to the Elven Race.


    From the Demon Race were the <strong>Nether Devil God</strong>, <strong>Raging Sun Devil God</strong>, <strong>Serene Ghost Devil God</strong>!


    From the Celestial Race were the <strong>Silver Lake Goddess</strong> and <strong>Thunderstorm Spirit Goddess</strong>.


    From the Beast Race was the <strong>Golden Furred Divine Ape</strong>! Andstly, from the Elven Race was none other than the <strong>Elven Queen</strong>.


    These were all generational talents from Azaroth''s era. Each one could be considered invincible in their respective fields.


    ''The Heavens picked these warriors from history since they have great karma with me. It duplicated these warriors and gave them 6 Star Rank Ardor to kill me. Even though its supreme, heaven is bound by its own rules. Thus, it can only use such a method to try and kill me.''


    Among all these warriors, Azaroth hadn''t killed the Elf Queen in his life. However, he guessed that he had great karma with this Elf Queen because of his rtionship with Laura.


    "To think that the heavens duplicated you all to kill me," Azaroth had a rather amused smile on his face.


    He didn''t feel fear when facing these generational talents from the Era of the Great War! His blood boiled with excitement at the prospect of facing them!


    Azaroth''s body was filled with infinite power, and he was confident of winning against all of them.


    Azaroth disappeared from his spot.


    He soon reappeared next to Golden Furred Divine Ape and punched him strongly. The fistnded squarely on the Ape''s face and threw him far away.


    Azaroth thenunched multiple Dark Spheres at the Golden Furred Divine Ape. Those Dark Spheres immediately exploded and enclosed the Golden Furred Divine Ape in a thick Demonic Ardor barrier.


    Other than the Elf Queen, Azaroth found this Golden Furred Divine Ape the most troublesome opponent.


    The Golden Furred Divine Ape would adapt to the opponent''s power and be stronger as the fight progresses. Azaroth didn''t want to give him enough time to adapt. Thus, he managed to deal with the Golden Furred Divine Ape rather quickly.


    At this moment, Azaroth suddenly sensed killing intent. He disappeared from his spot and reappeared just a bit away.


    When he reappeared, he had conjured a ck sure of pure Demonic Ardor, which was piercing the Nether Devil God''s heart.


    With a condescending look in his eyes, Azaroth spoke, "I could kill you then, I can kill you now. If anything, I have only be stronger!"


    At this moment, he was forced to move and dodge the Silver Lake Goddess''s attack. Sheunched a tsunami of Divine Water at Azaroth, hoping to engulf him in it.


    However, Azaroth used his Spatial Movement once again and dodged it with ease.


    He didn''t target the Silver Lake Goddess, though. He knew that the Raging Sun Devil God was waiting for him to approach the Silver Lake Goddess. That fellow was sure tounch a strong attack as soon as Azaroth appeared next to Silver Lake Goddess.

 Chapter 490 Heavenly Tribulation For Demon King Rank (2)

    Azaroth''s battle against the Seven Experts created massive shockwaves. All disciples of the Red Crown Sect raised their heads to look in the sky.


    They saw bright shes of light shing against each other.


    The pressure generated by those bright shes was great enough to suffocate them. Fortunately, one of the Red Crown Sect''s original arrays activated and reduced the pressure significantly.


    At least the disciples wouldn''t suffocate to death now.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s aura was soaring with each passing second. This was because Nudar was absorbing the Faith Energy from the Divine Faith Pool of the Radiant God.


    The Radiant God''s Will erupted in rage when it discovered Nudar had no intention of stopping!


    The Radiant God''s Will suddenly contacted Esther and the other Angels in the area. He inquired angrily, "Who brought this fellow to the Divine Faith Pool?!"


    Esther didn''t seem to realize that her god was furious. She was still thinking that she would receive a reward for her God. Thus, she answered proudly, "I brought him here, Your Grace."


    The Radiant God''s Will gritted its teeth upon hearing Esther''s proud response. He decided to deal with herter andmanded all the Archangels and Angels in the area, "He is a thief! Kill him as soon as he emerges from the Divine Faith Pool!"


    The Radiant God''s Will couldn''t afford someone to barge into the Divine Faith Pool and destroy it.


    This Divine Faith Pool was constructed using extremely rare materials. To restore even a fraction of the damage, the Radiant God would have to use a lot of his precious resources.


    The Radiant God wasn''t willing to pay such a hefty price, so he ordered his subordinates to attack Nudar only after he emerged from the Divine Faith Pool!


    Meanwhile, Nudar understood that he hadpletely offended the Radiant God''s Will. He knew that even after sessfully reaching the 6 Star Rank, it would be impossible for him to walk away intact.


    In fact, there was a huge possibility of Nudar''s body being injected with a Spiritual Imprint that could track him.


    Thus, Nudar had already made up his mind to destroy this body.


    His Mystical Ring''s resources and treasures were already passed to Azaroth''s Mystical Ring. These two rings had been linked spatially. Thus, they could share anything stored inside them if both individuals desired it.


    Nudar had alreadypletely corrupted Margeria, who would apany Dn and inform Azaroth of anything unnatural. And now, Nudar was absorbing a tremendous amount of Faith Energy to allow Azaroth to break through to the Six Star Rank.


    In a sense, Nudar hadpleted all his missions. In fact, he had exceeded Azaroth''s hopes.


    After two hours, Azaroth''s body was filled with pure Faith Energy. This Faith Energy rapidlybined with his Ardor, making it even stronger. This was why Azaroth possessed seemingly infinite power and could fight against seven generational warriors for so long.


    These seven generational warriors couldn''t be underestimated, especially the Golden Furred Divine Ape, Serene Ghost Devil God, Silver Lake Goddess, and the Elf Queen.


    It had to be mentioned that these four hadn''t even started fighting seriously. During Azaroth''s previous life, these four posed a great challenge to him, and he barely managed to defeat them.


    The Golden Furred Divine Ape''s eyes shed with azure light, and he released massive Beast Qi and activated his Bloodline Skill.


    The fur of the Divine Ape seemed to be glowing brightly as its strength increased tremendously.


    Azaroth had a grim expression as he noticed that the Divine Ape had managed to activate his Bloodline Skill.


    The Divine Apeunched a punch at Azaroth. This blow obliterated the Demonic Ardor surrounding the Divine Ape and immediately struck Azaroth.


    Azaroth couldn''t dodge the attack in time because he realized that the Serene Ghost Devil God had sealed the Spatial Laws around him.


    He now understood that Serene Ghost Devil God was also beginning to fight seriously. This was a unique skill possessed by the Serene Ghost Devil God. He was a great grandmaster in sealing and could even sealws!


    Moreover, the Serene Ghost Devil God remained calm at all times. No one could sense killing intent from him. And he was very good at concealing his energy.


    Thus, he was considered a ghost who coulde and go whenever he wanted. No one could stop him!


    Serene Ghost Devil God''s strength wasn''t very astounding. The truly amazing feat, though, was locating it and allowing your strike tond on him!


    Azaroth could barely detect the Serene Ghost Devil God by using his Mystic Eyes of Perception. He knew the trick of dealing with Serene Ghost Devil God and had defeated him in his previous life.


    However, he wasn''t just fighting against the Serene Ghost Devil God. He had to keep his eyes open and concentrate on his other opponents as well.


    Thunderstorm Spirit Goddessunched multiple lightning bolts that directly attacked Azaroth''s body and spirit!


    Azaroth snorted in response and absorbed those lightning bolts. His body possessed the Heavenly Thunder, and he had even absorbed the lightning from Heavenly Tribtion.


    Perhaps the Thunderstorm Spirit Goddess was an impressive opponent in his previous life because of her ability to control lightning; that was the bane of all demons. But now? Azaroth could ignore her existence.


    Just as Azaroth was thinking along those lines, Heavenly Tribtion''s Lightning struck him!


    This was truly unexpected! Azaroth was absorbing Thunderstorm Spirit Goddess''s lightning bolts and had also absorbed the Heavenly Tribtion''s Lightning now.


    It had to be known that Azaroth absorbed Heavenly Tribtion''s Lightning previously because it didn''t contain the Law of Annihtion!


    But now, this lightning was filled with the Law of Annihtion! And it had been absorbed in his body!


    Azaroth prevented his body from absorbing any more lightning and controlled all hisws to deal with this Law of Annihtion!


    Since Azaroth wasn''t absorbing the lightning, he had to use his physical body to resist the lightning. This also wasn''t an optimal solution.


    Thus, Azaroth released pure Lightning Beam from his palm and intercepted the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning.


    Azaroth''s Lightning Beam, filled with numerousws, managed to hold off the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning.


    While Azaroth resisted the Heavenly Tribtion Lightning, he sensed a terrifying killing intent.


    This terrifying killing intent came from none other than the Elf Queen. Currently, she was holding onto a magnificent bow made of divine wood. And this divine wood was a tiny branch belonging to Yggdrasil, the World Tree!


    This Divine Wood contained hundreds ofws, including the Law of Creation and Destruction!


    Elf Queen pulled her bowstring slowly. A pure wooden arrow conjured on that bowstring and continued to absorb the power ofws from the Divine Bow.


    "This will be my only attack. I will give up if you can block this attack," The Elf Queen''s soft voice suddenly resounded.


    Azaroth frowned slightly as he didn''t think these avatars duplicated by the Heavens could speak.


    ''And why is she only attacking me a single time? Can the Heavens not control the Elf Queen''s Will, or something else is going on?'' Azaroth wondered.


    In the next instant, he sensed the power of Heavenly Tribtion''s Lightning getting weaker before it finally dispersed.


    The Devil Gods and Celestial Gods wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to bind Azaroth and prevent him from blocking the Elf Queen''s blow.


    However, before these warriors could touch Azaroth, all of them were attacked by Golden Furred Divine Ape simultaneously!


    The Golden Furred Divine Ape utilized its cloning technique and actually attacked these warriors!


    Azaroth was once again startled to see this scenario. However, he soon formed a hypothesis ''I see. After activating its bloodline, this Golden Furred Divine Ape''s strength continued to increase and it even broke free of the Heaven''s Will!''


    Azaroth let out a sigh and further thought ''What a terrifying beast this is.''

 Chapter 491 Ending The Heavenly Tribulation

    Azaroth was very impressed by the Golden Furred Divine Ape. This Divine Ape was holding off the other warriors to prevent them from distracting Azaroth.


    This Divine Ape wasn''t helping Azaroth for nothing.


    No! Azaroth was very clear about its character. This Divine Ape loved to have a fair battle. It would overlook injustice against itself, but it would not allow even the tiniest degree of unfairness towards his opponent!


    In other words, it had an innocent yetpetitive nature.


    At this moment, this Divine Ape wanted Azaroth to focus on blocking the Elf Queen''s attack!


    The Elf Queen finished infusing the arrow with all her energy andws. There was a contemptuous look in her eyes as she loosened the arrow.


    Azaroth''s eyes snapped open as he noticed that contemptuous look. He was furious, but he controlled his emotions well.


    In fact, he responded with a disdainful look, "It would make no difference whether you shoot once or multiple times. The result will be the same."


    Hell mes was released from his right hand and Absolute Zero Ice from his left hand.


    "It was a pity that I could never fight you. I always wanted to personally test the power of the legendary Elf Queen, who was considered the strongest in the history of the Elves!"


    Azaroth''s Triquetra Ardor red up as his Six Star Rank Ardor began to stabilize.


    The Law of Annihtion within Azaroth''s body was instantly suppressed by Azaroth''s Triquetra Ardor, and his body began to heal at a tremendous rate.


    The Elf Queen maintained her cool as Azaroth recovered to his peak state. As Azaroth healed, she could sense a trace of pure Elven Bloodline.


    ''The Spiritual Mark of a Royal Elf. I see. My descendent in this era have fallen for this individual and lost her purity to him.''


    However, the Elf Queen didn''t n to go easy on Azaroth even after realizing this.


    In fact, she tightly grabbed the arrow she was about to let loose!


    ''I need to purge this fellow and prevent the Elven Bloodline from losing its purity!''


    Meanwhile, Azaroth continued to infuse morews in his Hell mes and Absolute Zero Ice.


    The Elf Queen infused her arrow with a greenish aura. This was the power of Bloodline surrounding her arrow. The arrow instantly doubled in thickness, and its aura condensed to another level.


    Meanwhile, even the sixth-grade array of the Red Crown Sect that was blocking the pressure of these beings instantly shattered.


    The Red Crown Sect members felt suffocated, and their bodies were glued to the ground. The ground cracked slowly due to the tremendous pressure.


    Some members instantly died upon experiencing this terrifying pressure!


    At this moment, seven 6 Star Warriors appeared and were spread around the entire Red Crown Sect. They released their entire Ardor and established another barrier that could block 90% of this pressure!


    This allowed most members of the Red Crown Sect to survive this tragedy!


    After ten or so minutes, the Elf Queen was done infusing all her power into the arrow. She then let that arrow loose.


    Azaroth immediately sensed space bending around him. He knew that this was because that arrow had locked onto Azaroth. It was preventing Azaroth from escaping! If Azaroth escaped using a spatial technique, this arrow would follow him through that spatial tear.


    However, Azaroth didn''t feel despair as he faced this arrow. He raised both his hands and whispered, "<strong>zing Frost Lotus!</strong>"


    A massive lotus of pure Hell mes and Absolute Zero Ice was conjured right ahead of Azaroth!


    This lotusprised hundreds ofyers, with me and Ice Ardor stacked on top of each other.


    The arrow struck the me Layer first. In thisyer, thews infused in the arrow shed against the Laws in the Hell mes. Azaroth knew that this arrow must have been infused with manyws. It was impossible to purge them all in a singleyer.


    However, a Hell me Layer was bound to decrease its power to some extent.


    After the Hell meyer, the arrow came in contact with the Absolute Zero Iceyer. Thisyer didn''t try to purge thews infused in the arrow. Instead, Absolute Zero Ice tried to weaken thews to some extent. The Absolute Zero Ice also slowed the arrow''s speed to some extent.


    This cycle repeated nearly a hundred times, and thews infused within the arrow weakened significantly. Some had been purgedpletely!


    Even as this urred, the Elf Queen didn''t seem worried. This was her strongest attack. How could it be so simple?


    After the arrow was a particr distance away, something strange started urring. As the arrow passed through the meyer, it didn''t lose any power. And as the arrow passed through the Iceyer, it didn''t lose any speed.


    Azaroth frowned slightly as he sensed this issue. The cycle repeated, and the arrow''s speed increased tremendously. Eventually, it struck Azaroth squarely in the chest.


    As he was hit by this arrow, Azaroth finally realized the issue. This arrow had actually absorbed thews in Hell mes and Absolute Zero Ice.


    This urred because the Elf Queen''s Bloodline Aura stuck to the arrow. It assessed thews within the Hell meyer and Absolute Zero Iceyer before it began to absorb thosews subtly.


    Azaroth didn''t realize the change until he was struck by the arrow.


    Once the arrow impaled Azaroth in the chest, he could sense a powerful aura trying to purge the Elven Bloodline within his body.


    This powerful aura belonged to the Elf Queen. The Elven Bloodline in Azaroth''s body was forced to obey the Elf Queen''s Bloodline Aura and was about to purge itself.


    However, an extremely thick Devil Bloodline Aura was unleashed, and it suddenly entrapped the arrow! The Devil Bloodline Aura evenly battling the Elf Queen''s Bloodline Aura!


    Both these Bloodlines were of the God Rank. One was a Nature Bloodline, while the other was a Devil Bloodline. It was impossible to determine a victory quickly.


    At that moment, Azaroth also released the Celestial Bloodline Aura to attack the Elf Queen''s Bloodline Aura.


    Even the Elf Queen''s Bloodline Aura couldn''t resist thebined might of the Celestial Bloodline and the Devil Bloodline.


    Meanwhile, a look of pure terror appeared on the Elf Queen''s face as she noticed that Azaroth was actually absorbing the arrow! Moreover, the arrow was assimting across Azaroth''s blood!


    ''Devil Bloodline?! Celestial God''s Bloodline?! He possesses a trace of a Demon God''s Bloodline and a Celestial God''s Bloodline?! He also appears to possess a human bloodline. How can so many bloodlines exist in the same body?! He should have exploded and turned into chaos by now!''


    It was at that moment the Elf Queen realized just how terrifying this individual was.


    "Finally reached the Demon King rank in the truest sense," Azaroth spoke as his Mystic Eyes of Perception activated.


    His Mystic Eyes of Perception seemed to have changed slightly. An inneryer of golden color formed in his crimson pupil.


    As he sensed the change in his surrounding, Azaroth whispered slowly, "This battle is over now!"


    Thousands of vines emerged from Azaroth''s palms, and these vines immediately confined his opponents, including the Golden Ape and the Elf Queen! The Elf Queen had lost most of her Blood Essence and was feeling rather weak and dizzy.


    ? Even the Serene Ghost Devil God couldn''t escape from Azaroth''s vines.


    After his Mystic Eyes of Perception upgraded, he could easily follow the movements of the Serene Ghost Devil God. In fact, he could peer a few seconds into the future by perceiving everything in the world.


    In other words, he knew the precise location of the Serene Ghost Devil God!


    The others were rather easy to capture.


    After trapping all his opponents, Azaroth whispered, "Hell mes. Burn them all!"


    Dark purple mes lit up the wooden vines as theypletely burned all his opponents. The Triquetra Ardor,bined with his Law of me, was powerful enough to easily destroy all his opponents.


    They were little more than a shadow of their past selves.


    With that, Azaroth''s Heavenly Tribtion finally came to an end!

 Chapter 492 Reuniting With Yrellea

    After sessfully dealing with his Heavenly Tribtion, Azaroth returned to the Red Crown Sect.


    He met up with Helge Degener and talked with him for some time before working on setting up a Seventh Grade Array.


    Azaroth''s powers had greatly improved after advancing to the 6 Star Rank. He could control Ardor over a wide area. Thus, setting up a Seventh Grade Array became much simpler for him.


    Two dayster, Azaroth was done setting up a Seventh Grade Array around the Red Crown Sect. He set up a couple of six-star arrays that could boost the Seventh Grade Array and also gather energy passively for it.


    Once he was done, Azaroth flew away. He nned to check up on Yrellea, Sargan, Ralph, and Laura. It had been quite long since he saw them.


    Yrellea and Laura had already left shire City. Yrellea had already set up a Misty Flower Pavilion in shire City and had used the Dragon Tiger Pce to spread her branches in other cities.


    Yrellea traveled to each city and chose her subordinates before imparting those skills to them. Each member was forced to sign the Blood Contract. They couldn''t divulge information rted to the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    However, this allowed the Dragon Tiger Pce to set up their personal Misty Flower Pavilions in a few cities. They copied everything they observed from the Misty Flower Pavilion in shire City and hoped it would work.


    They were disappointed when not many customers visited it regrly. The Dragon Tiger Pce''s higher-ups soon realized that Yrellea was using something unique to attract customers to the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Some elders even asked Yrellea, but they received no response from her.


    And recently, Yrellea had set up a massive branch in the Crario, the Capital City of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Yrellea knew that this branch would catch the biggest fish. Thus, she spent an extra month finalizing everything before leaving the branch in the hands of her trusted subordinate.


    At this moment, Yrellea was targeting Outiva City. This was a city bordering the Lamhilhan Theocracy. It was called the Outiva Fort, with four massive walls around it.


    Since this cityy on the border areas, it naturally required heavy fortifications to resist the enemy''s assault.


    ~~


    Meanwhile, in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, Nudar remained submerged in the Divine Faith Pool. He hadpletely emptied the Divine Faith Pool of any Faith Energy.


    This Faith Energy would definitely assist him in breaking through to the 7 Star Rank.


    He remained immersed because he knew those Archangels and Angels would attack him when he left the Divine Faith Pool.


    He was only temporarily safe.


    ''Since I have already offended the Radiant God, let''s go all the way,'' Nudar thought as he triggered his Holy Core.


    An insane amount of Holy Ardor was emitted from his body,pletely shaking the Divine Faith Pool.


    It was so much so that the cemented sides of the Divine Faith Pool began to crack.


    Nearly ten minutester, Nudar exploded. Holy Ardor erupted in the Divine Faith Pool, and it instantly shattered and struck the Angels and Archangels standing near it.


    The Angels came in contact with pure Red Lightning that burnt their skin, while the two Archangels were thrown back by the shockwave.


    The self-destructive explosion of an Angel Ranked Celestial was indeed quite intense. Even an Archangel wouldn''t escape unscathed after being hit by such an explosion.


    Nudar had destroyed his Spiritual Energypletely with this explosion. This was because he wanted to purge the Radiant God''s Spiritual Imprint.


    He couldn''t allow the Radiant God to figure out his true body. If that happened, the Radiant God would dispatch all his Archangels to kill Azaroth.


    Even though Azaroth was sufficiently strong for a 6 Star Warrior, he couldn''t deal with a team of Archangels. In fact, it would be challenging for him to defeat an Archangel, let alone a group of them.


    On the other side, Azaroth sighed as he could no longer sense his clone.


    After nearly 3 days, Azaroth entered Outiva City. After entering the city, he immediately found Yrellea. She was currently training her subordinates.


    Azaroth quietly entered the building. He opened the window of the building using telekinesis.


    He stepped inside the balcony of the great hall. The great hall was where Yrellea trained her subordinates.


    No one realized that someone had stepped into the building. Azaroth quietly opened the door to the Great Hall. Yrellea''s students immediately spotted him, and one of them shouted loudly, "Who are you? How dare you enter this building?!"


    Yrellea also turned to see the intruder. However, when she saw Azaroth, her heartbeat quickened with excitement! She never expected Azaroth would suddenly visit her residence!


    To calm down her subordinates, Yrellea immediately spoke out, "Chill everyone. He isn''t a stranger."


    She wanted to scream out that Azaroth was her lover. But she knew Azaroth wouldn''t like that. In fact, he might avoid her in the future if she did such a thing.


    "He is my master! He is the one who taught me all the skills and is the reason behind my power and prestige!!" Yrellea proudly and confidently spoke.


    At that point, all of Yrellea''s students lost their indignant expressions and adopted inquisitive ones.


    Now that they looked at Azaroth calmly, they noticed his gorgeous features with a perfectly sculptured face and those beautiful ruby eyes that captured their very soul! He had an athletic body that seemed to be packed with great power.


    Thery also sensed a dangerous powering from Azaroth.


    Azaroth soon approached Yrellea. When he was close enough, Yrellea bowed down. Her subordinates followed her and did the same.


    When Azaroth noticed this, he smiled slightly. Hemented, "This is a good batch. I see you have chosen well and training them properly."


    "Thank you for your praise, Master!" Yrellea spoke while trying to contain her excitement. It was all for naught, though. Her intense breathing and the movement of her bosom were impossible to conceal.


    Azaroth ced his finger on Yrellea''s chin before using minimal force to make her stand. Yrellea noticed a mysterious power that was acting on her chin,pelling her to stand.


    She couldn''t even think of resisting this power!


    Since thest time she saw Azaroth, Yrellea had seen quite the world. However, she felt that her experience didn''t count anything in front of Azaroth''s.


    Azaroth always seemed to surprise her!


    "How is your cultivation going on?" Azaroth asked her.


    Yrellea truthfully replied, "I am at peak 4 Star Rank thanks to the cultivation technique granted by Master. But for some reason, I can''t breakthrough to the 5 Star Rank."


    Azaroth remained calm after hearing her response, "I see. Why did you not ask me the secret to break through to the 5 Star Rank?"


    "¡­I wanted to figure it out myself," Yrellea responded with an almost inaudible tone.


    Azaroth sternly spoke, "It''s nice to know that you aren''t depending on me for every little thing. But a breakthrough to a new rank is a serious matter. Even a small mistake could be very expensive. You are ying with your life!"

 Chapter 493 Multiple Explosions

    Yrellea dropped her head as Azaroth chastised her. She had be greedy in her desire to impress Azaroth by rapidly rising to the level of Demon Lord. However, it turned out to be far more arduous than she had anticipated.


    Azaroth slowly stroked Yrellea''s cheeks as he spoke, "It''s something I''ve already mentioned. You live and die for me. I don''t want you to perish in such a careless way. Next time, be careful. Alright?"


    Yrellea nodded quickly as she heard the question.


    "Alright, why don''t you introduce your subordinates to me," Azaroth spoke with a smile.


    "As youmand, Master. This is my second-inmand Bettina. She will handle this branch after I finish training them." Yrellea excitedly replied.


    Bettina greeted Azaroth with a respectful look in her eyes. Azaroth seemed satisfied by her bow as she seemed genuine.


    After an hour, Azaroth and Yrellea left the great hall. Azaroth was quite delighted because Yrellea had prepared a good batch.


    "It''s been so long since Ist saw you, Master. You have no idea how happy your presence makes me today," Yrelleamented as she walked next to Azaroth.


    "Hmm," Azaroth grunted in response. He then added, "I didn''te here just to reminisce about old times."


    "What is it you need, Master? If it was urgent, you could have informed me using the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring," Yrellea spoke confusedly.


    "Firstly, I have to boost your cultivation rank. You can''t just stay at the 5 Star Rank for this mission," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    "But how do I break through to the Demon Lord Rank?" Yrellea was truly puzzled as she had tried many things to break through to the Demon Lord Rank.


    Those methods were something she had learned from her n before she met Azaroth. But she found out that those methods merely strengthened her foundation and didn''t actually increase her cultivation base.


    Azaroth smirked upon hearing that indigent tone and replied, "You can''t reach the Demon Lord rank through the typical means since you are cultivating Heavenly Poison Scripture. You need something special to be a Demon Lord."


    "To reach the Demon Lord rank, you require at least a grade 5 Poison. However, this will significantly limit your potential. Thus, I will concoct a poison that will fuse with your body and grow alongside you. This will also greatly boost your potential and evolve your physique into the Diabolical Poison Queen."


    Azaroth couldn''t actually create such poison from nothing. Thus, he required the venomous blood of a Taipan Snake, Blue Poison Dark Frog, a Tiger Snake, and the blood of the Demonic Azure Bull Python.


    With these ingredients, he could concoct the Blue Diabolic Dragon Poison.


    Currently, Azaroth already possessed three of the four materials he required. The only missing thing on his list was the Demonic Azure Bull Python.


    Fortunately, he had heard some rumors of the Demonic Azure Bull Python dwelling in this area. Actually, Sargan learned about it through his spies, and Azaroth verified it after visiting this location.


    As a Demon King, Azaroth''s divine sense wasrge enough topletely envelop the entire district. He easily spotted the Demonic Azure Bull Python.


    However, Azaroth was in no rush to attack it. He thought it would be best to meet Yrellea first and understand how things were going for her.


    Well, he didn''te to see her just to chat with her. Satisfying his carnal desires was the other purpose.


    Yrellea knew this quite well and thus led him to her private chamber. Azaroth instantly stripped her and was on top of her.


    Perhaps it was because of breaking through to the 6 Star Rank, but Azaroth found it rather challenging to control his carnal desires.


    His desires as a human and a demonpletely overwhelmed his Celestial and Elven Blood.


    To Yrellea, Azaroth was like a raging tsunami that couldn''t be contained. As a subus, her body was naturally endowed with the great physical capability to handle sex. In fact, a typical subus from Yrellea''s n could easily handle a dozen men on her own and still have enough stamina to go for another round.


    However, Yrellea''s situation waspletely the opposite. After 10 hours of nothing but pure sex, Yrellea felt as if her body was at its limit. However, she didn''t ask Azaroth to stop. Even as she fell unconscious, Azaroth came in her pussy thrice before finally letting her go.


    His carnal desires calmed down significantly as he regained hisposure. Azaroth knew he had to do something.


    This was just the Demon King rank, and his carnal desires were already so difficult to handle. Once he broke through to the Demon Emperor rank, even dozens of women like Yrellea wouldn''t be enough.


    However, Azaroth didn''t worry about it so much. He had an idea on how to handle this.


    Azaroth was now healing Yrellea''s body with his Triquetra Ardor. Yrellea''s entire body was healed from the inside out.


    Once Yrellea was healed, Azaroth stepped out of the room. He recalled everything that Yrellea had informed him the previous night.


    Yrellea arrived in Outiva City because of a specific reason. As this was a city inside a fort, the military-ruled it.


    In other words, the higher-ranking officials were all rather talented and strong warriors. And some of them included 5 Star Warriors.


    If Yrellea opened a branch of the Misty Flower Pavilion in this city and employed their typical tactics of utilizing medicines, growing techniques, and fragrances to get people addicted to the venue, they would be in grave danger from the customers.


    People restrained themselves from acting against the Misty Flower Pavilion in other towns or cities for two reasons. One was the threat of Dragon Tiger Pce. Nearly all citizens of the Glerian Kingdom knew of Misty Flower Pavilion''s deal with the Dragon Tiger Pce.


    And the second was that the people in those cities cherished their clean reputation. Nobody wanted to sully their reputation by acting against someone from Misty Flower Pavilion since they all believed that this Pavilion had a mysterious background. The mistress of this pavilion had connections with all sorts of influential people.


    It was Sargan who created rumors to make the Misty Flower Pavilion appear to have a very mysterious background. Thus, no one in the other cities would make trouble with the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    However, Yrellea guessed that these reasons wouldn''t be enough to restrain those officials in Outiva City.


    She had long been aware of the heinous crimes performed by the officers stationed in Outiva City. Even the King was said to be dissatisfied with them, but he didn''t take any action against them because of their excellent talent. As a result, he put their skills to good use by stationing them in a border city that was routinely attacked.


    As a result, these officers were free to do anything they wanted within Outiva City. Thus, Yrellea had personallye to this city and discreetly gathered enough recruits beforemencing their training surreptitiously in a private estate.


    The next day, a piece of very interesting news spread in the Glerian Kingdom.


    All the administrators and officials of Outiva City were attacked and assassinated within a single night! The main building, which served as the administration''s office and all of the officials'' homes, detonated on the same night.


    There was no survivor.


    When King Tryfon heard this news, itpletely caught him off guard. He spent quite some time figuring out who the culprit could be. After some hours, he concluded it was the Coiled Gate Gang. Only they were strong enough to have annihted so many 5 Star Warriors within a single night.

 Chapter 494 Cooperation Of Demons And Celestials

    Due to Azaroth''s actions, a power vacuum urred in Outiva City. All the army officials in this city had died suddenly.


    King Tryfon Res thought this was done by Coiled Gate Gang. But he didn''t have conclusive proof against them and thus was hesitant to act.


    Around this period, a well-known and influential group advanced toward Outiva City. This group hadtely garnered a lot of poprity for resolving citizens'' problems wherever it went. It was even referred to be a Force of Justice!


    The one in charge was a gorgeous woman with an exceptional charisma thatpelled others to follow her and obey hermands.


    The leader of this group was none other than Laura.


    After Azaroth decided to join Yrellea in Outiva City, he sent a message to Laura, asking her to lead her group in this city.


    Thus, Laura subtly led her group to a town near Outiva City andpleted some missions there when she suddenly heard of the massive news regarding Outiva City. She knew it was Azaroth''s signal and immediately ordered her followers to advance towards Outiva City.


    The public was likely to be bewildered following the deaths of all officials inmand of Outiva City. As people panicked, the situation would soon degenerate. Humans had never been very adept at making judgments when they were terrified.


    At that moment, Laura was going to act as a support for them to lean on.


    If news spread in the Glerian Kingdom that Laura''s group managed to calm down the rattled public in Outiva City, their prestige would greatly increase. In fact, it wouldn''t just be their prestige, but the King would re-evaluate the worth of Laura''s group.


    Laura''s group held the public opinion and had an impressive ability to calm down the public. Not many groups could achieve that in the Glerian Kingdom.


    King Tryfon was bound to secretly contact Laura to recruit her for the Royal Family''s cause.


    The situation was quite urgent. The public support was wavering due to Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s deration of war. Many sects were supporting the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s cause, and this was weakening the Glerian Kingdom from within.


    First and foremost, he wanted to re-establish citizens'' trust in the Royal Family. The popce had to think that the Royal Family was legitimate and that they deserved to reign.


    Typically, gaining the support of someone like Laura wouldn''t be a very challenging task for King Tryfon.


    However, King Tryfon had no idea that Laura was one of Azaroth''s retainers. In fact, now that Azaroth had reached the Demon King rank, he had gotten a lot bolder.


    He didn''t feel the need to be scared of anyone in the Glerian Kingdom. Even if a 7 Star Warrior appeared, Azaroth could escape by using Void Steps. Each step allowed Azaroth to cross arge distance that was impossible to traverse, even for a 7 Star Warrior. Well, that was only true if the 7 Star Warrior hadn''t gained insight into the Spatial Element.


    This was highly unlikely, though. It was considered extremely difficult for a human to gain insight into the Spatial Element. At least, that was true during Azaroth''s previous life.


    However, this fact might no longer hold true in the current era. Perhaps normal people could still not gain insight into the Spatial Element, but people like Dn and members of the Royal Family were beyond Azaroth''s understanding.


    Maybe they gained an inherent ability that allowed them to gain insight into the Spatial Element. Azaroth couldn''t underestimate the Fate Energy, after all.


    After breaking through to the Demon King rank, he noticed that thews of the world had changed. No¡­It would be more appropriate to say that somews had be stronger while some had gotten weaker.


    Taking his vast experience into ount, Azaroth made a bold guess.


    ''After my death, the human race rose to prominence. The human race must have given rise to multiple 9 Star Warriors who broke through by using some rather rarews which resulted in the current situation.''


    ''Just a single 9 Star Warrior can change the working of the world. I can''t even imagine the result if multiple 9 Star Warriors emerged from a single race! Perhaps this is the reason that the Celestials and the Demon Race have temporarily given up on this continent. Just by itself, the human race must hold at least two 9 Star Warriors.''


    ''ording to the current situation, it would be prudent to assume that these 9 Star Warriors are still alive. But this shouldn''t stop the Demon Race or Celestial Race. It wouldn''t be the first time they are joining hands.''


    That was right. This partnership was considered a forbidden secret for both races. It was during the time when the Demon Race raided the Elven Kingdom!


    In reality, the Elven Kingdom was a rather mysterious ce, and its exact location was known only to selected individuals. The Elven Kingdom was at the time aligned with the Celestial Race; hence the Celestial Race was well aware of their precise location.


    The Celestial Race knew that the Demon Race nned to raid the Elven Kingdom. Thus, they informed the Demon Race of the Elven Kingdom''s exact location in return for a sizeable amount of resources only found in Purgatory.


    The Celestial Race betrayed the Elven Kingdom in return for great benefits because they knew of the Yggdrasil''s abilities. They knew that even if the Elven Kingdom suffered greatly, it wouldn''t fall as long as this tree existed.


    Yggdrasil''s abilities could be considered on the same level as that of 9 Star Warriors or even beyond them. It would move the forces of nature, and only the Elf Queen couldmunicate with it!


    Thus, the Celestials were very confident that the Demon Race was going to suffer terribly if they attacked the Elven Kingdom. In a sense, the Demon Race was paying for its own suffering.


    Although numerous innocent elves would die, the Celestial Race wasn''t much concerned about them.


    The elves amount to very little aspared to the total poption of the Frascoia Continent. Thus, the faith energy they could provide the Celestials was a tiny amount. It could even be considered a drop in the ocean.


    After the Demon Venerable by injured by the Elf Queen''s attacks, the demons suffered greatly. Numerous Demon Emperors and even Demon Gods fell.


    The Celestial Race took advantage of the Demon Race''s weakness andunched arge-scale attack on all demons which nearly purged them!


    During that time, Azaroth distinguished himself by killing multiple Archangels and even a God while he was only a Demon Emperor! He walked the path of the Blood Demon Emperor, and hisbat power was very impressive.


    Hisbat power wasn''t just because he possessed great power. In reality, power couldn''t have allowed him to dominate or kill a God Ranked Expert.


    He could only kill a God through trickery and gaining information of all his abilities beforehand!


    As he continued to be stronger, Azaroth finally reached the Demon God Rank. After bing a Demon God, Azaroth began to scheme against his fellowrades.


    He had always been suspicious of the rtionship between the Demons and the Celestials. Thus, he started Demon Gods and read their souls. Through this method, he found multiple forbidden secrets that he shouldn''t have known.


    One such secret was this assault on the Elven Kingdom!


    Even today, the Elven Kingdom had no clue that their closest allies had betrayed them in exchange for great benefits.


    However, Azaroth knew that even if he informed the Elven Kingdom of this information today, they wouldn''t be rattled. Numerous eras had passed, and there was no evidence to support Azaroth''s words.


    Anyway, Azaroth was more concerned about the current situation. He couldn''t understand why the Celestials and Demons hadn''t teamed up once again to deal with the troublesome humans.


    He did have a theory, but it terrified him slightly. He thought ''Does that mean something is preventing them from acting against the human race? If so, what''s that? Are the 9 Star Warriors of the Human Race more formidable than the Demon Venerable and the Primordial Godbined? No. That can''t be possible.''

 Chapter 495 Stabilization Of The Sinyalian Kingdom

    While Azaroth came to a terrifying conclusion, he also understood that he needed to keep his identity a secret.


    ''The more challenging it is, the more rewarding it will be,'' Azaroth thought with a bright smile.


    In any case, Azaroth had no enemy in the Glerian Kingdom who could kill him. This was certainly true! However, he wasn''t nning to take any immediate action.


    In actuality, he intended to let the sects fight the Glerian Kingdom on their own rather than aiding them.


    This was because he was about to reap the benefits of hisbors.


    The situation in the Sinyalian Kingdom had more or less stabilized after Shun acted and dealt with the Noble Family Alliance''s perpetrator!


    In other words, King Valliadis was focused on capturing Shun while also handling the Noble Family Alliance.


    The Noble Family Alliance had foolishly chosen to wage war on the Royal Family. Their situation was a lot differentpared to the Glerian Kingdom''s current scenario.


    The Noble Family Alliance wasn''t a monolith existence. Each had their own thoughts and philosophies regarding these matters. They didn''t have a proper leader. The Lewis Family was only a de facto leader.


    Most Noble Families would have supported the Lewis Family''s ideas if their Noble Houses could benefit from them.


    However, none of them thought they would truly gain anything if they stood against the Royal Family. Only the strongest Noble Houses that had amassed great wealth and power could receive offers from the other kingdoms. The other Noble Houses would be left to fight the Royal Family on their own, and the other kingdoms would act when both parties had exhausted their resources.


    Moreover, the primary reason they were bound to fail was the possibility of betrayal. The war ended before it even began. This was because many Noble Families quickly pledged their allegiance to the King while gaining numerous resources, information, or some contracts that would be greatly beneficial to their Noble House.


    It didn''t take more than two months for the King to have dealt with the Noble Family Alliance. Only remnants of the Noble Family Alliance remained, but they couldn''t harm the Sinyalian Kingdom, for the time being, so the King let them be. He did keep watch over them as he didn''t want to be attacked at a crucial moment.


    Naturally, this war against the Noble Family Alliance had exhausted numerous resources of the Royal Family. But this further enforced the public''s belief in the Royal Family''s terrifying power!


    David Valliadis and Ellen Valliadis were the ones that stood out during this period. If David was the firepower that ughtered the Royal Family''s foes, Ellen was his best ally who oversaw the actions behind the scenes. She exploited the press and utilized dubious techniques to boost the Royal Family''s reputation. She also manipted the scenario so that these adversaries would slip into their traps.


    David would ambush their adversaries after they fell into their traps! In a certain sense, Ellen was considered more dangerous out of the two. This was because she knew a lot of information about the illegal deeds of various associations and Noble Families.


    However, she didn''t use this information to act against them. Instead, she nned to keep it as a trump card and use it only in the most urgent situation.


    What even the Monarch of the Sinyalian Kingdom didn''t know was that Ellen was actually infatuated with Inquisitor Fox. And she was actually acting on Inquisitor Fox''s instructions!


    Shun was aware that dealing with the Trade Union meant alerting the Demon God. The Demon God must have realized that Shun knew about his control over Bianca.


    This meant he had to act even more covertly! Returning to serve King Valliadis was also no longer a choice.


    However, he knew that to manipte the Sinyalian Kingdom, he required the Royal Family''s authority. Thus, he contacted Ellen Valliadis, the seventh princess of the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    He was aware of Ellen Valliadis''s crush on him. He never reacted to it since he didn''t wish to be romantically involved with her.


    However, the situation was urgent now. He had to make a few sacrifices if he wanted to stop Azaroth.


    He could faintly guess that Azaroth was looking forward to a war between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom. The information he gathered about the Glerian Kingdom proved that much.


    He knew that the sects in the Glerian Kingdom were revolting against the Royal Family. It was the perfect opportunity for the Sinyalian Kingdom to attack their hated enemy!


    And even with Ellen Valliadis''s influence, Shun knew that he couldn''t stop this war from urring. He was very familiar with King Valliadis''s temperament.


    An ambitious ruler like King Valliadis would never miss such a tant opportunity!


    Thus, Shun altered his n. Instead of preventing the war, he would ensure the Sinyalian Kingdom''s victory by a great margin.


    However, he couldn''t do it alone. He needed to show the King who his ultimate enemy was.


    Once the King realizes that it was a Demon God he was fighting against, he would definitely use all his contacts to deal with him.


    However, Shun recognized that it would not be an easy task to make the King realize this fact. From his battles against this Demon God, Shun deduced that this Demon God was very intelligent.


    In fact, this Demon God was far above Shun in terms of scheming, knowledge, and mysteriousness!


    Shun''s only advantage was his identity was a secret. Even though the King had ordered his subordinates to search for Inquisitor Fox, he hadn''t revealed that Shun Gordon was Inquisitor Fox!


    ? This showed that he didn''t truly want to punish Inquisitor Fox. The part of finding Inquisitor Fox and punishing him was just a method to calm down the Noble Families. Since it had failed, the king was inclined to never reveal Shun''s true identity.


    ''I can''t count on this. I must ensure that the King can never reveal my true identity to this Demon God. It would be over the day this Demon God finds out my true identity,'' Shun thought with a serious expression.


    Thoughts of killing King Valliadis entered Shun''s mind, but he soon gave up that line of reasoning.


    He believed that King Valliadis would be more valuable alive than dead. This puzzled Shun quite a bit.


    He couldn''t see the path ahead of him clearly. It was filled with multiple hurdles, and he had no way of crossing even a single one.


    After thinking about these obstacles for a long time, Shun finally realized something crucial and startedughing.


    ''How stupid of me! I was wrong from the very start! I mixed up my priorities and confused myself! How can I win against this Demon God without risking my life? I was scrapping all ns in which my life was threatened. And this was a mistake. Trying to win against this Demon God without even daring to risk my life is just looking down on him and his ability!''


    ''I had already made such a mistake when I trapped him previously! It turned out that this Demon God managed to trick me easily! He can do the same this time!''


    From that day, Shun changed his npletely. He no longer nned to kill the King to conceal his identity. There was no longer any need for it. He also wasn''t nning to prevent the war between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom.


    Shun also wasn''t nning to support the Sinyalian Kingdom in their war against the Glerian Kingdom.


    Instead, he was doing something different altogether! Something that could kill this terrifying Demon God.

 Chapter 496 Bold Guess

    Azaroth was oblivious to whatever Shun was nning. Actually, even if he knew about Shun''s ns, he wouldn''t have cared much.


    The situation was dramatically different than before.


    Both parties suffered from ack of urate information. Azaroth didn''t know much about Shun''s personal information and vice-versa.


    This meant that Shun didn''t know of Azaroth''s advancement to the Demon King rank. This information alone tipped the scales in Azaroth''s favor.


    And even if Shun found out this information by some chance, he would be helpless unless he could order multiple 7 Star Warriors after him.


    Even the Monarch of the Sinyalian Kingdom didn''t hold such an influence, let alone an Inquisitor working under him.


    Thus, Azaroth was safe and was much ahead of Shun in this battle. As of now, Azaroth was concentrated on increasing the chaos within the Glerian Kingdom.


    Laura and her group had already arrived in Outiva City. She was extremely delighted to be reunited with Yrellea and Azaroth.


    Obviously, the three met secretly as Azaroth didn''t want to reveal that the heads of the Misty Flower Pavilion and Noble Guardians knew each other.


    The Noble Guardians, led by Laura, had raised much greater waves among the general popce than Azaroth''s expectations. This was why he nned to use her in Outiva City and bow the seeds of rebellion in the general popce.


    Laura would be the public figure the citizens would support.


    Meanwhile, Laura would subtly guide the public to support other factions established by Azaroth''s retainers.


    This was Azaroth''s strategy for reaping the greatest reward with the least amount of work.


    As the three met secretly, Azaroth informed her of what she had to do. By now, Laura was rather proficient in manipting and calming down the public. Thus, she perfectly understood what Azaroth wanted from her and executed it brilliantly.


    After the three had concluded their serious discussions, they all enjoyed a fairly hot and sexy night.


    Laura was meeting Azaroth after such a long time, and she was also looking forward to it.


    After the two fell unconscious, Azaroth stood up and left the room. There was a thoughtful look on his face.


    ''What is this feeling of terror?'' Azaroth wondered. After advancing to the Demon King rank, his instincts were a lot sharper. Thus, he couldn''t ignore this feeling of terror.


    ''Is it possible that the Radiant God tracked down Margeria and extracted information about me from her spirit? That is entirely usible.''


    A serious expression appeared on Azaroth''s face ''I need to prepare some countermeasures to deal with Archangels or even the Radiant God. But if the Radiant God is aware of my existence, why hasn''t he entered the Glerian Kingdom to attack me?''


    ''Can he not step on Frascoia Continent for some reason?'' Azaroth made a bold guess.


    He felt that this guess made sense. Maybe there was a reason that he hadn''t heard information about a Celestial God descending onto the continent in thest hundreds of years.


    Even at the Radiant Church''s primary Cathedral, there appeared to be no records of Radiant God stepping onto the Frascoia Continent after creating it.


    This was considered suspicious and Azaroth suspected that it involved a great secret. Azaroth had no intentions of trying to uncover that great secret now.


    He could easily uncover it after he grew stronger. The fact remained that the Radiant God couldn''t step on Frascoia Continent and hunt Azaroth.


    However, what Radiant God could do was send his Archangels to kill Azaroth. Even though these Archangels weren''t crossing the border just yet, they would do so after the war between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom officially begins.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s condition was deteriorating rapidly at this time. The general popce was the first to feel the consequences of the internal conflict.


    Since the sects had attacked multiple cities and towns, it directly affected the market. Trade had to be temporarily halted because of these attacks. After all, no businessman wanted to lose his precious cargo and wagons.


    As a result, basicmodity prices have skyrocketed. As the price of basicmodities increased, it triggered a chain reaction, causing the price of othermodities that were directly or indirectly dependent on it to rise as well.


    When King Tryfon Res learned of this, he was horrified. The prime minister had just informed him that the towns targeted by these groups were the foundation of basicmodity production!


    It wouldn''t be wrong to say that these towns and cities supported grain and othermodities to the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    The prime minister also warned the King that if the current scenario persisted, prices would rise, and food would be scarce.


    This would bring the general popce on the streets. The sects supporting the King''s faction would be a little hesitant to express their support to the Royal Family. They also needed to eat, albeit not as frequently as ordinary people.


    Furthermore, it would destroy the current system in the Glerian Kingdom. The current system included market and administration!


    In a sense, the king would be losing his hands and feet simultaneously.


    To prevent this situation from urring, the king took immediate action. He flooded the market with food from the Royal Family''s reserves. It went without saying that the situation didn''t return to normal, but it didn''t turn any worse. In fact, it stagnated for a short period.


    This gave the King ample time to prepare a strategy and free the towns that supplied basicmodities.


    Multiple 6 Star Warriors were spread all across the Glerian Kingdom and they were focused on retaking control of these supply towns.


    While the king''s entire attention was on the market, he didn''t notice the Sinyalian Kingdom''s movements.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army had covertly infiltrated the Glerian Kingdom. The armymander had noticed that the situation matched with that of the information he received from the higher ups.


    Something major was happening on in the Glerian Kingdom, forcing the monarch to withdraw his border troops!


    King Tryfon Res knew that the Sinyalian Kingdom would move up its border line after realizing that the Glerian Kingdom had withdrawn its border troops, but he didn''t expect that the Sinyalian Kingdom would act so soon.


    However, King Tryfon Res had little choice in this matter. He had to solve the internal matters of the Glerian Kingdom. If not, he couldn''t even use all his forces to stop the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army.


    At that moment, something very shocking urring. An incident that shocked both the kingdoms.


    As the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army infiltrated the Glerian Kingdom, they were suddenly ambushed with a massive force. This massive force numbered nearly 100,000 soldiers against 150,000 soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    And the most shocking part was that the individual leading this massive army was none other than Noah!


    This force was actually ordered to strike the primary branches of the Origin Sect and the Stony Rock Sect.


    However, Noah had changed the target without even asking for the king''s consent. This was naturally done on Azaroth''s orders.


    Azaroth knew that even if the King found out about this, he couldn''t me Noah''s actions. Noah was doing what any typical citizen would do. He was fighting their hated adversaries and saving the Glerian Kingdom!

 Chapter 497 Worst-Case Scenario

    King Valliadis was utterly shocked to hear that his army advancing into the enemy territory was actually ambushed.


    This terrified him to some extent. He had begun to overthink about this issue. He thought that the Glerian Kingdom had tricked them into thinking it was the perfect opportunity to attack.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s officials had caught the Sinyalian Kingdom''s spies and used them to pour fake information into the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, he threw that notion away when more of his trusted allies informed him that the situation in the Glerian Kingdom was truly bad. And it was bing worse!


    This ambush was nned by a single individual who had caught even the Glerian Kingdom off-guard.


    Without the army, it was getting very challenging for the Royal Family to fight the sects. The power slipped from their fingers as a few more sects betrayed them and joined the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s side.


    This information relieved King Valliadis, and he sent even more of his forces to attack the Glerian Kingdom.


    As of this moment, Noah''s forces, numbering up to 100,000 soldiers, were up against 180,000 soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom!


    Even 5 Star Warriors and 6 Star Warriors joined this battlefield and turned everything much more chaotic.


    Each 6 Star Warrior could easily ughter thousands of soldiers.


    It was worth noting that there was not a single Heretical Pdin in this army other than Noah. In fact, after this war began, Noah ughtered a few soldiers before hepletely disappeared!


    He appeared to be kindling a smoldering ember that would envelop the two kingdoms in an enormous inferno!


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army was totally suppressing the Glerian Kingdom''s army. And just as it looked like the Glerian Kingdom could lose the first battle of the war, reinforcements emerged.


    These reinforcements didn''t belong to the Royal Family. In fact, the Royal Family didn''t have enough manpower that could turn the scales in their favor.


    The sects affiliated with Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect were the ones that acted at this time. They only numbered 50,000 warriors or so.


    However, each of these warriors was a great talent of their sect. The sects even employed their secret 6 Star Warriors to turn the scales in their favor.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army was once again caught off-guard by Azaroth''s strategy as this became a battle of quality vs. quantity.


    All the individuals in the Royal Pce were excited to hear this information. They were happy that Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect decided to assist them at this moment.


    This would not only halt the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army but also weaken the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s forces.


    The towns captured by the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s side were freed, and the trade became very active once again. The pressure on the Royal Family lightened a great deal, and they could finally regroup their forces beforeunching a full-scale attack!


    During this time, Azaroth flew to the battlefield.


    He had to absorb the Deathly Energy released by the soldiers after they died! At his current speed, he only needed three days to reach the location.


    After reaching the battlefield, he created a massive tunnel by invoking a tornado that drilled into the Earth.


    This tunnel led directly beneath the heart of the battleground.


    Azaroth sat in that location and took a deep breath. His Heavenly Demon Breathing Technique was active, and he absorbed the Deathly Energy that was getting denser as the battle raged on.


    As he absorbed the Deathly Energy, Azaroth experienced a bit of pain in all parts of his body. He even heard multiple voices of regret. It was simr to the time when he heard voices as he absorbed the Faith Energy in the Divine Faith Pool.


    This bit of pain didn''t annoy him. In fact, he felt ecstatic. This was far more delightful than having sex.


    The speed of absorption of the Deathly Energy increased as time passed.


    Days passed, and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army lost nearly a hundred thousand soldiers. The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s forces also suffered heavy losses. They had 60% of their forces. Only 20,000 warriors of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army remained fit to fight.


    After defeating the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces andpelling them to return, the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s side also returned to their respective sects.


    Contribution points were granted to the sects that participated in this fight based on the number of opponents they killed.


    Killing foes earned you a lot of contribution points. Azaroth had a solid reason for awarding so many points for killing enemies.


    He knew that the sects would soon realize that it was very easy to gain contribution points by killing their enemies.


    Thus, they were bound to actively participate in this war against the Sinyalian Kingdom and gather many contribution points.


    Once they had repelled the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces, they would reignite the war against the Glerian Kingdom by using all their resources.


    In a sense, they would significantly damage the Sinyalian Kingdom while destroying the Glerian Kingdom!


    And during this time, Azaroth would be absorbing the deathly energy to advance his Demonic Ardor to the peak of the Demon King rank.


    ording to his calctions, he should reach the peak of the Demon King rank after absorbing the death energy of a million soldiers.


    As of this moment, he had barely absorbed one-third of that number.


    ''For a brief time, I need to halt the attack on the Glerian Kingdom and allow both sides to regroup. The warriors of the sects who survived this conflict will have the opportunity to grow more. In contrast, the King will have time to regroup his soldiers and enroll additional recruits into the army, resulting in a massive army.''


    ''The Monarch of the Sinyalian Kingdom must be rather shocked to know that his attack on the Glerian Kingdom had failed. The intervention of the sects must have startled him. He must think that this was a trap, and he had fallen right into it.''


    ''The Sinyalian Kingdom is going to gather a massive force in the next few months and station it in the Rhodes House''s territory. All the Noble Families loyal to the Monarch are going to join the next battle.''


    ording to Azaroth''s calctions, the situation was developing positively for him, but for some reason, he still couldn''t ignore that threatening feeling. He still felt as though his life was in grave danger.


    "This can''t be another false rm, right?" He muttered to himself. He received no answer as all that surrounded him was pure darkness.


    "Is this threat not from the Radiant God?" He wondered out aloud. After a few seconds, he further added, "I need to prepare another countermeasure for the worst-case scenario."


    And to prepare this countermeasure, Azaroth contacted his seventh retainer, William!


    William had been traveling all around the Glerian Kingdom, getting stronger as he fought against monsters and warriors. He learned multiple skills that helped him control his power and increased hisbat power significantly.


    Azaroth was a bit surprised to see William growing so swiftly. He hadn''t paid much attention to William, but it seemed as though William was also richly gifted with great providence.


    William had found hidden races in the eastern mountain range of the Glerian Kingdom. And these hidden races possessed their rare inheritance, originating from their Ancestor who was probably an Emperor Ranked Expert.


    Surprisingly, William discovered three rare inheritances that were tailor-made for him!

 Chapter 498 Williams Great Providence

    The first inheritance was an outstanding Body Cultivation Technique designed by a human expert in the past.


    This cultivation technique absorbed the Ardor in his surroundings and infused it into his body. This strengthened his physique permanently.


    This cultivation technique''s most astounding aspect was its ability to enhance William''s body by infusing it with his Gold and Metal elements. There were only a few cultivation techniques that permitted someone to infuse their body with two different elements simultaneously. Furthermore, because these two were variant elements, developing a skill that could integrate them was significantly more challenging.


    Not just anyone could cultivate this body cultivation technique. The requirement for this body cultivation technique was to possess a Divine Strength Body so that it could endure being fused to multiple elements.


    The second inheritance William gained was a lost skill and blood essence. The name of this skill was Golden Dragon''s w! The blood essence he inherited belonged to a Golden Drake. This Drake most likely possessed a trace of the Golden Dragon n''s Bloodline.


    As William inherited this blood essence and lost skill, he underwent a transformation. This Blood Essence dramatically boosted his Spiritual Energy, transformed his physique, and significantly enhanced his Gold Ardor.


    After fusing with the Golden Drake''s Blood Essence, William could no longer bepared to before. He could use his Bloodline Pressure to suppress the beasts with bloodlines weaker than that of Golden Drake.


    He had changed a bit physically. His height had grown by three inches, and he was now 5 feet 10 inches tall. His facial structure had changed slightly, and he could be considered a bit more handsome now.


    Moreover, his body released Draconic Aura that would intimidate most warriors. This Draconic Aura also acted as Pheromones for women. Women instantly reacted to this Draconic Aura and would be very horny.


    And this was only the second inheritance. The final inheritance was where he discovered a massive stockpile of resources, pellets, and weapons. 90% of the treasures in this vast collection were only for metal attribute cultivators, while the rest were for everyone else.


    Few persons possessed the metal attribute since it was a variant element. This, in turn, caused there to be rather few metal attribute resources in the market.


    As a result, it was extremely difficult for a Metal Attribute cultivator to grow. The other variant elements were simr, except for the Wood or Gold Attributes. The cultivators with Gold or Wood Attributes could utilize their attributes to dramatically boost their absorption speed. This increased their cultivation pace significantly, leaving metal attribute cultivators in the dust.


    In any case, William had secured his path to an Emperor Ranked Expert through these three inheritances. He hadn''t just inherited techniques, resources, and blood essence. He had also forged strong bonds with the hidden ns in the Eastern Mountains of the Glerian Kingdom.


    These deep ties weren''t merely friendship ties. It was a familial rtionship because William was now engaged to threedies, each of whom belonged to their respective hidden n.


    Azaroth was rather amused to find out that William was engaged. He believed that William was probably forced into this engagement and couldn''t find it in himself to refuse the hidden ns.


    Azaroth pondered whether William''s allegiance had been influenced by his extraordinary experiences. Due to his extraordinary experiences, William was bound to grow conceited.


    Through the spiritual imprint within William''s Mystic Spiritual Connection Ring, Azaroth activated his Mystic Eyes of Perception and gazed at William''s body.


    Azaroth suddenly spoke out, startling William, "I have a task for you."


    William was startled but immediately responded, "Give your order, master!"


    Through his Mystic Eyes of Perception, Azaroth could see that William was still very loyal to him.


    ''Having retainers with a decent disposition was a perfect decision. Their conscience won''t let them betray me,'' Azaroth smiled internally.


    Anyway, he contacted William for a specific task. It was to prepare a countermeasure in case the worst situation urred!


    ~~


    In the meantime, the Monarch of the Sinyalian Kingdom was utterly distraught as he heard of his army''s defeat!


    King Valliadis was despondent for two days before dering an emergency in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    This meant that the kingdom would soon go to war. The taxes on the citizens would increase by 30%, and the merchants had to sell all the surplus supplies to the Kingdom.


    All the citizens older than 16 and younger than 60 years old with no upation could join the army in the castle nearest to their location. Commanders had begun their recruitment in those castles!


    The Noble Families were to contribute a portion of their earnings to the army''s upkeep that arose from a castle in their region.


    Finally, all Noble Families were to follow the King''smands throughout this period. If they ventured to defy the king''s edict, their whole Noble House would be uprooted.


    During this time, no one could spread bad rumors about the King. Anyone who spoke against the king or even the Royal Family would have their entire family killed.


    Within Mesenana City, Shun was staying in a typical cottage in a rather crowdedmunity. He wasn''t shocked to hear the King dere an emergency. He had managed to guess the right timing.


    He picked up his Voice Transmission Array Stone and asked, "Ellen, is it ready?"


    On the other side, Ellen Valliadis responded with a sweet tone, "Yes, my dear. I managed toplete the task you gave me."


    "Good. Inform me when an army is nning to attack the Glerian Kingdom," Shun instructed her.


    "I will," Ellen affirmatively replied.


    Shun was about to cut off the connection when suddenly Ellen added, "¡­I feel lonely, Shun. I want to meet you. Let''s have a date today."


    Those remarks rendered Shun speechless. He responded exasperatedly, "We had a date just two days ago. And don''t you remember that the two of us were nearly caught by that guard? What if something like that happens again?"


    Ellen responded with an apologetic tone, "I-I apologize, Shun. Something like that won''t happen again." However, she added with a mncholic tone, "B-But I really want you with me. I have no friend here, and you have banned me from meeting Sophie."


    Shun heavily sighed upon hearing her words. His heart softened a great deal and thought ''¡­I am merely using her to get what I want. She knows that. Yet she is willing to go to any lengths for me. She doesn''t question me when I give her an instruction. I should at least be willing to do this for her.''


    "¡­Alright. Let''s meet in the evening," Shun responded softly.


    "Really?! Yay! Thank you! I love you!" Ellen excitedly spoke before cutting off the connection. She summoned her maids to assist her in dressing for her date with Shun.


    Shun shook his head, a small smile on his face. Interacting with Ellen alleviated Shun''s boredom and eased his stress. He truly loved Ellen''spany.


    However, his expression soon turned serious as he thought ''All the followers secretly trained by Ellen have now infiltrated the armies led by the Great Generals of the Sinyalian Kingdom. I can know the precise movement of these armies and deduce their aim by observing their movements.''


    Deducing the aim of an army wasn''t a very challenging task for Shun. The truly arduous task was to figure out how the Glerian Kingdom would counter them.


    Shun stillcked crucial information regarding the Glerian Kingdom, so it was hard for him to deduce their reactions.


    ''Ah well, hit and trial it will be,'' Shun thought.

 Chapter 499 Declaration Of War

    King Tryfon Res, the Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom, heard of the deration of emergency within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    He wasn''t startled to scared. He had expected the Sinyalian Kingdom to do this after theirtest defeat.


    However, ording to the calctions of his ministers, it would take at least two months before the Sinyalian Kingdom could attack the Glerian Kingdom.


    This implied that the Glerian Kingdom had two months to sort out their internal problems before confronting the Sinyalian Kingdom in a war!


    The sects had fallen silent after beating the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army. The King''s ministers spected that they probably suffered heavy losses and wished to umte more before continuing their war against the Glerian Kingdom.


    It was the perfect opportunity for the king to act! He still had his reserve forces that were safeguarding those towns and city responsible for exporting goods.


    He could easily assemble these reserve forces and persuade a few sects to change sides! He understood that once those sects realized the vast disparity between the two sides, they would switch sides instantly. After all, no one wanted to be on the losing side.


    In the next week, the King assembled his reserve force. It numbered nearly 150,000 soldiers!


    The first target of this army was none other than the Origin Sect! The King wanted to terrify his adversaries with his first attack, so he had to choose an influential sect. However, the targeted sect couldn''t be too powerful to significantly harm his forces.


    The Origin Sect was one of the most well-known sects in the world. It had a great reputation and a stable foundation. During their struggle with the demons, though, it had suffered a huge amount of damage.


    Thus, the truebat power of the Origin Sect was quite low whenpared to other top-grade sects. They had also exhausted their resources during their battle against the demons. And King Tryfon believed that conquering the Origin Sect wouldn''t be too difficult.


    However, the King remained oblivious that the Origin Sect was equipped with defensive arrays that could even stop a group of 6 Star Warriors. These arrays were installed by Azaroth.


    Naturally, Azaroth didn''t do it for free. The Origin Sect had to use their contribution points to install these arrays.


    The other top-grade sects used their contribution points to install defensive arrays in their primary branch. They all feared an attack by the King.


    Azaroth hadn''t just installed a defensive array. He had also added an escape array that would teleport them ten thousand miles away from their location.


    This escape array could be used to protect important members of the sect. Naturally, the price of using this escape array was quite high, but the sects felt that it was worth it. They could safeguard their strongest warriors and the disciples with the greatest potential through it.


    The Origin Sect was soon attacked by the King''s massive army. And just as Azaroth had anticipated, the primary branch of the Origin Sect was destroyed after enduring the attacks for nearly two weeks.


    It was worth noting that even though the defensive arrays were powerful, they would break sooner orter if the enemy kept on assaulting it. Moreover, the King''s side also had their array experts who prepared some battle arrays that would increase their firepower.


    In such a situation, Azaroth''s defensive arrays were bound to be destroyed. However, it wasn''t without a price.


    The King''s massive army of 150,000 soldiers had lost about 70,000 of its soldiers. Among them were two 6 Star Warriors.


    The defensive arrays installed by Azaroth in these sects were not conventional. A normal defensive array would simply withstand the strikes and ultimately break after exhausting all its durability.


    Azaroth''s defensive arrays, on the other hand, would withstand the strikes and unleash a single strike with the target chosen by the defensive array''s controller.


    In a sense, the aggressors would be assaulted with their own attacks. However, even though this defensive array would be absorbing the Ardor to unleash its own attack, it would still lose its durability.


    The percentage of its absorption was merely 30%. This meant that the array had to withstand 70% of the power by itself.


    This 30% of the power would be unleashed by the array in the form of an All-Exterminating Laser Beam!


    Because this Laser Beam had numerous elements, no elemental wall could stop it!


    Two 6 Star Warriors were unfortunate enough to be caught off-guard by thisser attack and instantly disintegrated.


    This instilled terror among the King''s soldiers. They initially thought that the Origin Sect had gained a new weapon and were using it against them. However, they soon realized it wasn''t a new weapon, but actually the defensive array.


    Naturally, the army informed the king and asked for further instructions. The king seemed quite annoyed when he heard of this information, but he ordered his forces to continue attacking.


    After two weeks of persistently attacking the Origin Sect, they finally managed to break the defensive array and destroy it.


    However, after destroying the sect, the king''s army realized that the sect master and nearly all the elders, including the core disciples, had already fled from the primary branch. What remained was merely buildings, inner and outer sect disciples.


    The army captured the inner and outer sect disciples beforepletely destroying the Origin Sect''s buildings. They didn''t want the sect members to return and make it operational again.


    A part of the King''s army secured the area.


    The king was startled and terrified when he heard that he had lost nearly half of his forces just to destroy the primary branch of the Origin Sect. He had been expecting maximum of 20,000 casualties. But the situation turned out to be much worse than his expectations.


    He wondered just how many sects possessed these defensive arrays.


    What if all the sects were equipped with such defensive measures?! It would make it too costly to attack them!


    However, the King knew he couldn''t give up so easily. He decided to disperse his forces and enlist more soldiers.


    The king had decided to deal with the internal matters after defeating the Sinyalian Kingdom in the war.


    Actually, from the earlier battle against the Sinyalian Kingdom, he understood that these sects woulde to support him against an external enemy. They also didn''t want the Glerian Kingdom to lose territory to the surrounding kingdoms.


    Thus, he felt it would be better to first deal with the Sinyalian Kingdom and then strike the weakened sects.


    The situation would be vastly different because the king nned to figure out the defensive arrays in each sect until then.


    This attack on the Origin Sect proved to be quite valuable as it allowed the king to decide his future approach.


    The king then ordered all his children and generals to strengthen their forces. The king''s edict was well received as it allowed the princes to further boost their factions'' power.


    Furthermore, the king informed his children that he would choose his heir depending on their results in this war against the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Those words instantly motivated the princes. They had to do their best and beat their rivals to gain the position of the Crown Prince.


    A month flew past in the blink of an eye. This month was rather peaceful for both the kingdoms. Both Kingdoms peacefully umted their strength.


    And today, a rather small incident urred that triggered the massive war between the two kingdoms! The incident was merely a typical urrence.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers had breached the borders and killed the Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers. Only 20 or so soldiers of the Glerian Kingdom had died and they had killed 10 soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, the King instantly dered war on the Sinyalian Kingdom after finding out about this incident!

 Chapter 500 Aqua Blade Dance

    The forces of both sides began to move towards border areas as the Glerian Kingdom dered war against the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom had gathered nearly 500,000 soldiers during this time. This was all thanks to their high poption.


    Meanwhile, the Glerian Kingdom had gathered nearly 350,000 soldiers. The quality of these soldiers was a little superior to typical soldiers. However, the King wasn''t sure whether these forces could defeat the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces.


    Unlike the Glerian Kingdom''s forces, the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army had very talentedmanders who were proficient in using battle formations.


    As a result, even if they just recruited inexperienced soldiers, they could ovee arger experienced force with rtive ease.


    However, King Tryfon was quite relieved when he heard that 100,000 warriors from the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect had been released, and they also joined the Glerian Kingdom''s army on the borders.


    This significantly boosted the number of Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers. Moreover, the quality of warriors belonging to a sect was much greater than that of an ordinary soldier.


    However, the king did not believe that these sect warriors could replicate their previous sess.


    It was worth mentioning that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army was caught off-guard by them. If the Sinyalian Kingdom had been aware of their presence, the battle would have be much more challenging.


    And since these sect warriors had revealed themselves at the start, the battle was going to be much more challenging!


    There was also something else that the king was worried about when he heard of the sect warriors that joined them. Their numbers were too great!


    Even with all the sects affiliated to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sectbined, he found it difficult to believe that these sects possessed that many talented warriors.


    This indicated only a single possibility.


    And when he heard the report from themanding general, it further strengthened his guess.


    The report stated that most of the warriors belonging to the sects were quite young or had a rather low cultivation base.


    The king instantly deduced that these warriors were the outer sect disciples with some inner sect disciples mixed in them! There was no way it was a force consisting of their core sect disciples or elders!


    ''These sects aren''t nning to use their truly talented and strong warriors. They want to whittle down the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces beforeunching an ambush on the remnants likest time.''


    After the sects reinforced the Glerian Kingdom''s army, a piece of interesting information emerged from the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The Crown Prince David Valliadis and the Seventh Princess Ellen Valliadis were also joining the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army.


    The very mention of David Valliadis was enough to frighten not just the young, but also the elders! His very presence raised the morale of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces to new heights!


    Meanwhile, the Glerian Kingdom''s leaders donned concerned looks. They were aware of David Valliadis'' aplishments. And each one was more remarkable than the one before it.


    He had already been recognized as invincible in the 5 Star Rank!


    However, this war wasn''t just limited to the 5 Star Warriors. It had 6 Star Warriors participating in it. And all the Royal Guards, including Spencer Russel, were present to guard the David Valliadis.


    If David Valliadis'' name frightened the Glerian Kingdom''s 5 Star Warriors and below, Spencer Russel''s name horrified the Glerian Kingdom''s 6 Star Warriors and below!


    There had been times when Spencer Russel fought five 6 Star Warriors alone and emerged victoriously.


    He was a very talented swordsman. But his talent wasn''t constrained to the sword, as Spencer also had a very high affinity with the Water Element!


    He was the only 6 Star Warrior in this war who had gained a deep insight into two different fields. The Water and the Sword! Moreover, he had managed to fuse his insights to create apletely new fighting style!


    This fighting style was known as the <strong>Aqua de Dance</strong>! This was a very unorthodox sword style as it didn''t have a particr set of movements.


    Instead, this fighting style focused on reacting to the enemy''s attacks in a flexible and powerful manner. Its mantra was to ''dodge flexibly and respond powerfully.''


    The requirements for learning this Aqua de Dance were very high, so Spencer couldn''t teach this sword style to hisrades.


    As the Glerian Kingdom''s forces began to lose heart, they received a pleasant surprise a few dayster.


    The Dragon Squad''s Leader of the Dragon Tiger Pce, who had mysteriously vanished all those years ago, reappeared and joined the army of the Glerian Kingdom.


    His reappearance was truly shocking, but it was the Glerian Kingdom''s army that weed his presence!


    The morale of the Glerian Kingdom''s army instantly soared because Dragon Squad''s Leader was also a terrifying 6 Star Warrior. His achievements spoke for themselves.


    He had defeated several 6 Star Warriors, including a Beast King with the Flood Dragon''s Bloodline!


    His fighting style was much differentpared to Spencer Russel. The Dragon Squad''s Leader was solely focused on a long-lost Spear Style. The name of this Spear Style was Mighty Dragon yer Style!


    Unlike the <strong>Aqua de Dance</strong>, that was focused on dodging flexibly and countering powerfully, the Mighty Dragon yer Style was focused on powerfully attacking! This style was actually created by an expert for humans to defeat or kill a Dragon!


    There were very harsh conditions to cultivate this fighting style. The warrior must possess a Divine Strength Body and further reinforce it!


    Just to cultivate this fighting style, the Dragon Squad''s leader had to fuse with the blood essence of a Redwood Bear! This bear was known for its explosive strength and great endurance.


    The Dragon Squad''s Leader fought against the Flood Dragon and sessfully won against that beast rtively easily. Without anyone knowing, the Dragon Squad''s Leader had extracted the Blood Essence of the Flood Dragon.


    He had injected that Blood Essence into his body and tried to absorb it. However, it proved too much for his body to handle the blood essence of two strong beasts. The blood essence of the beasts showed great rejection, and it took a long time before the Dragon Squad''s Leader managed to suppress this rejection and fuse with them in the truest sense.


    At this moment, even the Dragon Squad''s Leader didn''t know how strong he waspared to a random 6 Star Warrior! He felt like he could take on an army of them and stille out on top!


    Naturally, the reality was bound to be much different from his expectations, but he earnestly believed that it wouldn''t be big trouble to deal with five 6 Star Warriors.


    The twomandersid out their forces on the battlefield and the Glerian Kingdom''smander began the attack with the lowest-ranked infantry. The Glerian Kingdom''smander wanted to gauge the strength and the tactics of the Sinyalian Kingdom''smander.


    After observing the reaction, he would consult his strategists and devise a thorough strategy to defeat the Sinyalian Kingdom''s armies.


    However, their first wave was quickly defeated as the enemy employed a Battle Formation to augment their ability.


    The results were worse than their expectations. Each of the hundred-man and thousand-manmander of the Sinyalian Kingdom seemed to have a thorough understanding of the Battle Formations.


    Moreover, they weren''t just employing a single Battle Formation to attack the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army. Each battalion used a distinct Battle Formation that coordinated with other Battle Formations and further augmented their capability!

 Chapter 501 Receiving A Threat

    Azaroth''s primary aim was to absorb the death energy of 800,000 people. He could aplish that if all the soldiers gathered near the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s borders died.


    But he knew it was very unlikely for that to ur. The Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces could be considered decisively stronger than the Glerian Kingdom''s army.


    Moreover, he recalled that Ellen Valliadis had a crush on Inquisitor Fox. It was Sophie who informed him of this crucial information. Azaroth was sure that this woman had joined the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army on Inquisitor Fox''s orders.


    ''It would be strange if the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army loses even after the involvement of that guy.''


    Azaroth believed in Inquisitor Fox''s intelligence more than anyone in the world. Inquisitor Fox had managed to deduce his identity with very little information. Moreover, he had also managed to trap his Edwin clone within the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    This was truly worth apuding.


    However, the results of this war didn''t bother Azaroth. In fact, he had now advanced to phase 2 of his ns.


    Sargan''s report soon arrived. It was in the form of a map of the Glerian Kingdom. Numerous cities and towns were marked on this map and connected with a red line.


    Azaroth had a diabolic smile as he stared at this map and thought ''This is just perfect!''


    The two kingdoms were blissfully unaware that this battle was merely a pretext for them to send all of their armies along the border, leaving their cities vulnerable.


    The next day, King Tryfon received a report that utterly shook him to his very core. City Gagena had beenpletely demolished!


    He consulted his advisors as they tried to understand the reason behind the destruction of City Gagena. However, the very next day, they heard reports of Macete Town and Tecete Town being demolished.


    In all these three cases, all the citizens had been ughtered!


    This bizarre situation continued for a whole week. In this one week, nearly 6 cities and 10 towns were annihted from the map!


    This was Azaroth destroying the cities and gathering deathly energy! He had managed to absorb the massive quantity of death energy and reached the peak of Demon King Rank through his Demonic Ardor.


    The Humanely Ardor would reach the peak by absorbing the energy from the elemental crystals.


    Azaroth possessed those elemental crystals and had already reached the peak of the Demon King rank through the Humanely Ardor by using the Elemental Crystals.


    His primary issue had always been the Celestial Ardor. Azaroth knew that he would require more than ten Divine Faith Pools of the size in the Lamhilhan Theocracy to break through to the Demon Emperor Rank.


    However, each of the Lamhilhan Theocracy only had a single Divine Faith Pool! It was impossible to find tens of those in this area.


    ''I need to think of something else. Maybe I can gather the survivors of both kingdoms after this war and have them follow my religion. A constant supply of faith energy is bound to make me reach the peak of the Demon King rank eventually.''


    Azaroth wasn''t worried about how he could have the survivors follow him. Firstly, no one had witnessed him do anything wicked. All those who did had already died. And the ones that were alive wouldn''t dare to go against him!


    Secondly, he had a trump card in the form of Laura! Her Noble Guardians group was bound to gain the trust of these survivors rather easily.


    Azaroth contacted Bianca as he wanted to have her do a task for him. However, Azaroth was startled when he heard a man''s voice from Bianca''s side.


    It was a rather familiar voice, and Azaroth couldn''t forget it even if he wanted to.


    "Greetings, my dear friend. I am sad you haven''t talked to me in such a long time, Edwin," those words somehow magnified the terrifying feeling Azaroth was experiencing.


    "¡­I never anticipated you would realize the truth, Tronte," Azaroth spoke calmly.


    Tronte snorted in response and spoke coldly, "I noticed the hints long ago. But I ignored them, thinking that you were still Edwin. Congrattions, you managed to fool me with your great acting, Demon God!"


    "I see¡­" Azaroth didn''t find it ridiculous that Tronte found out about his true identity. If Tronte had managed to follow Inquisitor Fox or Jonas Rhodes''s movements, it wouldn''t be impossible for him to reach this conclusion.


    "I am contacting you through this method only to inform you of one single fact. I will kill you! I will make you regret swallowing Edwin''s soul!" Tronte''s words were mixed with deadly killing intent.


    "¡­Is that so? I wish you good luck," Azaroth responded calmly. He wasn''t scared of such a threat. He couldn''t even count how many times he had received such threats. However, his intuition told him not to take things lightly.


    Tronte cut off the connection between them. Azaroth sighed after the connection was cut-off. He knew Tronte''s true aim for contacting him through this method.


    ''He wanted to inform me that he has dealt with my spies in the Sinyalian Kingdom.''


    This guess turned out to be true as Azaroth couldn''t connect with Josephine.


    ''He must have been waiting for an opportunity for Spencer to leave for the war and act against Bianca. Maybe even Sophie has been kidnapped. But informing me of his presence and acting so emotionally is going to be detrimental for him. Inquisitor Fox is much smarter than him. But why does my intuition tell me that he is a more terrifying foe out of the two?''


    ''Whatever, my countermeasure for the worst-case scenario should be able to deal with it.''


    Meanwhile, in the Sinyalian Kingdom, Inquisitor Fox was keeping a strict watch over Bianca''s household through his loyal subordinates.


    He was shocked to hear that someone had kidnapped Bianca and Sophie. Moreover, that individual had managed to evade his subordinates with rtive ease.


    ''Was that one of Demon God''s followers? Did hee to get Bianca and Sophie to prevent any information about him from leaking out? No. That''s very unlikely. He should know that I am living in the Capital. Unless he has theplete confidence of dealing with multiple 6 Star Warriors, he won''t take such a risk.''


    ''However, the fact that he was able to elude my subordinates who have already reached the 5 Star Rank suggests that this is the case. Yes, I need to update my n so that I can defeat him even though he has broken through to the 6 Star Rank!''


    His face hardened as he realized what he needed to do to win.


    ''I need to sacrifice Ellen and David Valliadis to ensure the defeat of this Demon God!'' Shun thought with a serious expression.


    Shun''s n was rather simple. It was for the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army to suppress the Glerian Kingdom''s army in the initial stage of the war and then suddenly lose, with Ellen and David being captured by the enemy. And that the enemy was acting on the Demon God''s orders!


    The threat of losing David and Ellen would definitely convince King Valliadis to make a move and use his trump card! Shun was sure that this trump card could deal with Azaroth with rtive ease!


    Actually, it wasn''t just King Valliadis who possessed this trump card. It was possessed by all the rulers of different kingdoms.


    It was a Saint Stele that would only be activated by the current ruler of the respective kingdom. And this Saint Stele could be activated only if the Kingdom was facing a terrifying Devil God or Celestial God!


    If the kingdoms tried to activate the Saint Stele to deal with their personal issues, the kingdom''s Royal Family would be destroyed. Thus, a Royal Family was very cautious before activating this Saint Stele.

 Chapter 502 Saint Stele

    Azaroth was oblivious to Shun''s nning. Actually, this sort of information was a closely guarded secret that only the ruler of a Kingdom would know.


    Shun found out about this information through pure coincidence when he was reading the ancient records of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The Saint Stele was briefly mentioned in those ancient records, and Shun remembered such a stone stele in a secret chamber of the Royal Pce.


    He then met with an archaeologist specializing in ancient history and authored books about it. This was the same archaeologist who had deduced the truth about Azaroth''s totem.


    This archeologist had many theories regarding the ancient era and also mentioned Saint Stele. His theories regarding the Saint Stele matched up with Shun''s guesses.


    After that, Shun mentioned Azaroth''s true identity as the Demon God to the king and observed his reaction. The king was startled and terrified. That much was true. But he didn''t seem to have a hopeless look on his face.


    He clearly had a trump card underneath his sleeve. And this Saint Stele could be the only thing that could be considered a trump card against a Demon God.


    Azaroth was now concentrating on concocting pellets and a unique poison. His retainers and subordinates had been gearing up for a long time, and now was the time for them to breakthrough.


    Other than Noah, all of Azaroth''s retainers were in seclusion to break through to the 5 Star Rank. Noah had only managed to reach the peak of the 4 Star Rank. He still required some battle experience against a strong opponent to break through to the 5 Star Rank.


    The quickest one who broke through to the 5 Star Rank was none other than William! Azaroth was sure that this was because of the Golden Drake''s Blood Essence, which had allowed William to absorb those pellets quickly.


    Moreover, the techniques William was cultivating would allow him to stabilize his cultivation quickly.


    The next person to reach the 5 Star Rank was Laura. As a pure-blooded elf, while possessing the Royal Blood, her potential in cultivation was far superior to a typical human warrior. Thus, she reached the 5 Star Rank just a bit after William.


    Tiana, Yrellea, Sargan, and Ralph were the next ones to advance to the 5 Star Rank in chronological order.


    Meanwhile, on the borders of the Glerian Kingdom, as the war on the battlefield continued, both sides lost their forces.


    However, it was worth noting that the Sinyalian Kingdom lost very few menpared to the Glerian Kingdom''s army.


    The battles between the 6 Star Warriors seemed to be nearly equal. They fought in the skies to prevent harming their own side.


    Since the 6 Star Warriors were out of the picture for a while, a single man seemed to dominate the entire battlefield. This was none other than David Valliadis.


    His presence was like that of a Monstrous Bird that would show up at any part of the battlefield and defeat all his enemies easily. His Phoenix mes and Avatar seemed to have turned the battlepletely in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s favor.


    And just when the Glerian Kingdom seemed to be losing ground, something unusual urred. Something that waspletely out of expectations for both sides.


    Thousands of beasts suddenly charged out of the western forest of the Glerian Kingdom and attacked the Sinyalian Kingdom from another angle.


    The one leading this force was a young man with a ferocious look. His markings on his face, eyes, and ears told them that this was a Demi-Human!


    Moreover, this demi-human led several other demi-humans who possessed simr beast-like features. These demi-humans were leading merciless creatures and attacked the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces.


    The battlefield turnedpletely chaotic after the entrance of this group. It was led by none other than Ralph.


    After breaking through to the 5 Star Rank, Ralph immediately led all his forces to attack the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army. His task was to catch them off-guard and prevent them from reorganizing their rear army.


    This was all so that the second phase of this assault could seed.


    ? The second phase of this assault was performed by none other than the most prestigious group of the Glerian Kingdom; The Heretical Pdins!


    Moreover, this group directly targeted the area where David Valliadis was fighting! The one leading them was none other than Noah, who fought like a demon and killed all the enemy soldiers in his way!


    His appearance was truly shocking for both allied and enemy forces. The allied forces soon cheered and immediately shouted his name, "NOAH! NOAH! NOAH!"


    As Noah''s name resounded on the entire battlefield, David Valliadis couldn''t help but stare in the direction from where the Heretical Pdins were attacking them!


    He noticed the young kid that everyone had been talking about. Despite Noah''s young age, David didn''t look down on him. Noah had managed to aplish great deeds on the battlefield, and he was worth respecting!


    Raising his right arm, David pointed his finger in Noah''s direction. Those who were familiar with him realized what he was doing.


    "<strong>Golden Sr Finger ¨C One Finger Version!</strong>"


    A highlypressed ray of the pure gold element was shot out of his finger. This ray targeted Noah. Only Noah saw this attacking and could react on time among the Heretical Pdins.


    He could sense a very threatening feeling from this attack and immediately raised his sword to deflect it.


    Noah had infused his sword with his wind ardor and his sword qi, yet as he blocked that ray, he realized his power was far from enough.


    Noah could barely deflect it that it went through his shoulder rather than his heart. However, his left hand waspletely useless now!


    "Split up! I will handle him!" Noah gave that order to his subordinates as he jumped toward David.


    He managed to gauge David''s power as he blocked that ray. It made him realize that this was more than he could handle.


    David didn''t seem surprised that Noah managed to slightly deflect his attack. He had expected such a thing to ur.


    Noah released his Sword Domain and tried to boost his power as much as possible. Any attack entering his Sword Domain would experience a strong suppression from the swordws.


    Only through this method could Noah fight against David equally. However, in reality, Noah underestimated David too greatly.


    David stimted his Royal Bloodline and instantly boosted his Ardor''s power. He also released the seal on his Phoenix mes and once again pointed his fingers in Noah''s direction.


    This time, David was pointing two fingers in Noah''s direction. Both these fingers were gathering different elements. One was gathering dense Gold Element while the other gathered dense phoenix mes!


    He was about to shoot the Golden Sr Fingers ¨C Two Fingers Mode at Noah when his body was suddenly struck by a sharp w. It was Ralph who had arrived at this moment, and he quickly kicked David away.


    Ralph had a serious expression as he kicked David away. He thought ''He could even react and move his hands to block my kick in that posture. What a great battle intuition he possesses!''


    Suddenly, twin rays of golden and orange color wereunched at Ralph.


    Ralph saw those rays and immediately moved from his spot. He had activated his bloodline, and his speed was significantly boosted at this moment.


    This was all thanks to the Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth Azaroth gave him. The Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth hadpletely fused with Ralph''s body and transformed his bloodline into a superior one.


    Ralph''s bloodline now possessed a trace of an <strong>Ancient Tiger''s Bloodline</strong>!

 Chapter 503 Noah And Ralph Vs David

    The reinforcements brought by Ralph and Noah managed to slowly tip the scales in the Glerian Kingdom''s favor.


    David Valliadispletely dominated his battle against Ralph and Noah, but he couldn''t kill them.


    He was caught off-guard by their amazing teamwork and also because he was interrupted by one of the Heretical Pdins at a crucial moment.


    David Valliadis couldn''t release a truly big attack that covered a massive area since that would also harm his own soldiers. Thus, his hands were tied.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army would suffer massive losses if things continued like this. The beasts were dominating their battle against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers.


    The ferociousness of these beasts was something these soldiers couldn''t handle. It dampened their morale and prevented them from resisting properly.


    me Wings suddenly opened on David Valliadis''s back, and he flew in the beasts'' direction. The beasts sensed the Phoenix Bloodline in David Valliadis''s blood and experienced a strong suppression!


    However, Ralph appeared quickly and resisted the Phoenix Bloodline''s suppressive effect. Fortunately, David Valliadis''s Phoenix Bloodline wasn''t too pure, or else it would have been impossible for Ralph to resist this Bloodline Pressure merely by using a trace of Ancient Tiger''s Bloodline!


    "Continue attacking the humans in red armor! ughter as many as you can!" Ralph shouted hismand.


    The beasts let out loud howls of acknowledgment. David snorted in response, "Coming here was a blunder!"


    Vermillion mes burned in his right hand as he sprayed them in the beasts'' direction. Ralph soon understood what David meant.


    Here, David didn''t need to hold back the power of his attacks. His subordinates would be safe even if he released a strong attack!


    Biting his lips in frustration, Ralph used his Bloodline Skill to immediately evade this attack. This was one of the core skills of his mutated bloodline. <strong>Seven Steps of the Tiger!</strong>


    Meanwhile, the beasts in that location suffered from massive burns as those vermillion mes struck them.


    The mes were so potent and hot that these beasts soon died. Even their very traces were annihted by these vermillion mes.


    Only a few beasts that had already pierced deep into the Sinyalian Kingdom''s formation remained. However, David judged that his soldiers could handle these remaining beasts.


    He believed it was more important to deal with Ralph and Noah.


    At this moment, Noah had released his Sword Qi and ughtered all the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers in his way!


    His Sword Qi was invisible and so potent that not just any soldier could block it!


    Before David could move or attack other Glerian Kingdom''s soldiers, Ralph suddenlyunched another w attack from his blind spot.


    Once again, David was caughtpletely off-guard by Ralph''s first attack but managed to react to Ralph''s second attack.


    Ralph had tried to punch David''s gut, but he failed!


    David easily caught Ralph''s punch and suddenly threw him to the ground. Ralph coughed out some blood as he was thrown towards the ground with incredible force.


    Before he could even get up, David was already standing next to him with a stern look on his face, "<strong>Burn!</strong>"


    Vermillion mes shot out of David''s palm as they assaulted Ralph. However, Ralph didn''t seem scared of these mes. In fact, one of his fangs grew longer as an unbelievable aura emanated from his body.


    This was the true appearance of the <strong>Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth</strong>!


    David experienced a great suppression from this Sabertooth Tiger''s Bloodline Pressure, but he remained unmoved. The mes that could have obliterated Ralph into nothingness only grazed him.


    Furthermore, Ralph turned his head at this precise moment and hurled himself at David!


    David sneered in response and strongly kicked Ralph''s gut. David''s kick was reinforced with his Gold Ardor.


    His kick was so strong that Ralph felt a shockwave in his entire body. His stomach had burst apart along with a couple more of his crucial organs!


    However, Ralph couldn''t focus on his injuries since he was sent flying by that kick!


    David raised his arm and nned to end Ralph with his next attack. He used <strong>Golden Sr Fingers ¨C Two Finger Mode.</strong>


    This time, the two fingers released purely Golden Beam that was filled with Gold Ardor. Ralph''s Sabertooth Tiger''s Aura couldn''t suppress it or block it.


    And fortunately, just before he was struck by that aura, a random sword struck Ralph''s body and threw him out of the way! Thus, he managed to dodge David''s attack sessfully!


    David didn''t even need to turn his head to know just who threw that sword. It was none other than Noah!


    Noah spoke seriously, "Leave him alone. I will fight you!"


    David moved at that moment and entered <strong>Noah''s Sword Domain!</strong> The Sword had already returned to Noah''s hands, and he attacked David''s fists with his best sword techniques.


    However, the results weren''t very good for Noah!


    David''s fists seemed to possess unreal power in them as they actually created a crack in Noah''s sword!


    Noah seemed to have be livid when he noticed that crack on his sword. It was as if someone had harmed his beloved.


    David was slightly surprised when Noah''s power began to rise!


    ''¡­This kid is using me a whetstone to advance to the 5 Star Rank, huh?'' David instantly understood Noah''s aim and truly respected him as an opponent.


    However, there was no mercy in war! Before Noah could advance to the 5 Star Rank, David suddenly punched Noah''s stomach with his fist infused with pure Gold Ardor!


    His punch was so strong that nearly every bone in Noah''s body endured a terrifying shockwave. And unlike Ralph, Noah''s body wasn''t very strong to endure David''s punch.


    However, even as blood dripped from his mouth, Noah held onto his sword tightly and used his Heaven Rending sh on David!


    Unfortunately, Noah''s speed was far too slow for him to truly strike David with this attack. Before Noah could finish his attack, David punched Noah once again. The force was so great that Noah''s bones let out a crackling sound once again.


    David was about to strike him again, but he suddenly experienced a sharp pain in his shoulder. He then realized that Ralph hade to attack him. Moreover, Ralph was actually biting his shoulder!


    ''Howe I can''t detect his first attack? This has happened three times in a row now!'' David was truly a bit startled. He raised his hand and held Ralph by his hair before pulling him away from his shoulder.


    It was only natural that he couldn''t detect Ralph''s presence because that was used along with an Ancient Tiger''s Bloodline Skill. <strong>The Silent Steps of a Tiger.</strong>


    The bite had managed to reach deep into David''s left shoulder. It would prevent him from moving his left arm now.


    David threw Ralph away andunched <strong>Golden Sr Fingers ¨C 5 Fingers Mode</strong> at him. This was bound to finish him up!


    However, just when he was about tounch his attack, a bolt of ck lightning suddenly struck him! At such a moment, Davidunched his Golden Sr Fingers attack, but itpletely missed Ralph!


    This ck Lightning was instantly identified by Noah, and he knew it belonged to Sargan! Sargan assaulted David in order to allow Noah time to flee.

 Chapter 504 Fighting Defensively

    Ellen informed Shun about David''s battle against Noah and Ralph. Shun was a bit startled that Noah and Ralph had managed to halt David''s momentum. However, the surprise was apanied by a delightful expression.


    ording to the situation on the battlefield, it was necessary to stop David from further damaging the Glerian Kingdom''s army. If the damage was too great, Shun couldn''t use the Glerian Kingdom''s army to achieve his objective.


    After nearly three more hours of fighting, all forces retreated to their respective camps. It was time for the soldiers to get some rest while the captains of their respective divisions were briefed on the tactical changes for the battle tomorrow.


    Noah had ingested Supreme Recovery Pellet, and his injuries were healing rapidly. Nearly all the Heretical Pdins were the same.


    Ralph was in another corner of the camp, healing his injuries along with his group. He didn''t approach Noah because Azaroth had forbidden them to make contact in front of strangers.


    Both sides were bound to think that the two only cooperated temporarily to defeat David Valliadis.


    Shun, on the other hand, had a different perspective. Indeed, he was very certain that at least Azaroth''s three main subordinates had already entered this war as he studied David''s battle based on the intel he had acquired.


    Thankfully, David hadn''t kept anything from his sister; otherwise, Shun would have been left in the dark.


    ''Let the war go on for a bit longer¡­'' Shun decided as he was waiting for the bigger fish to enter this battle.


    The second day started soon enough.


    Simr to the previous day, the 6 Star Warriors immediately started their own battle in the skies while the others fought on the ground.


    The 5 Star Warriors could fly, but they remained pretty close to the ground since they didn''t want to die identally through an attack by a 6 Star Warrior. That would be pretty unfortunate.


    The battle continued, and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army continued to dominate. It was because of their much higher morale and the presence of David Valliadis on the battlefield.


    Nearly 400,000 Sinyalian Kingdom soldiers fought the 300,000 Glerian Kingdom soldiers. This meant that the Sinyalian Kingdom had lost nearly 100,000 soldiers on the first day, and the Glerian Kingdom had lost nearly 150,000 soldiers.


    There were massive casualties for both sides.


    The second day got off on a rocky start for the Glerian Kingdom as the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army seemed prepared to deal with the beast army. This trick could no longer surprise the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army.


    There were only 50,000 beasts who had joined the battle on the first day, and nearly 47,000 of them had been ughtered already.


    Such a great casualty rate was because there was no Beast Lord among them. And once the Sinyalian Kingdom found the trick to deal with them, it became a very simple battle for them.


    The situation improved slightly when Ralph appeared in the army and regrouped the remnants of these beasts, and led them to attack the weak points of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army.


    David fought against Noah and Ralph.


    Noah couldn''t reach the 5 Star Rank since he was disturbed the previous day by David. He was more focused on diverting or dodging David''s attack rather than blocking.


    Meanwhile, Ralph was focused on using his quick speed to assault David whenever he found an opportunity. This created a short window for Noah to attack David.


    Unfortunately for them, David managed to deal with thatbo rather easily. He was just that strong!


    However, because of Ralph and Noah, David couldn''t rally his troops to ughter the Glerian Kingdom''s forces. This, in turn, allowed the Glerian Kingdom''s forces an opportunity to breathe.


    While this was urring, the battle in the skies turned more chaotic. The 6 Star Warriors on both sides fell one after another. And it had reached a situation where the Sinyalian Kingdom had more extra 6 Star Warrior on their side.


    This gave them an edge in the battle!


    Currently, the Dragon Squad''s Leader and Spencer Russel had already fought while using their full strength. However, it was a perfect draw.


    ? Spencer Russel seemed to be very cautious of Dragon Squad''s Leader''s strength, while Dragon Squad''s Leader was very cautious of Spencer Russel''s fighting style. He had to stray extra-attentive to ensure Spencer Russel couldn''t lead the pace.


    Typically, the assistance of another 6 Star Warrior would be very helpful for Spencer Russel in such a situation. But that wasn''t the case here.


    In fact, the 6 Star Warrior did his best to ensure that he wouldn''t involve himself in their battle.


    Even for a 6 Star Warrior like him, the battle between Spencer and Dragon Squad''s Leader was going on at a very high level. He didn''t want to be a liability for Spencer!


    Thus, this 6 Star Warrior assisted his otherrades and slowly reduced the warriors on the Glerian Kingdom''s side.


    The Dragon Squad''s Leader noticed it, but he had his hands full as he fought Spencer. He couldn''t go and assist hisrades as well without harming them.


    New factions joined the battle just when the situation seemed very unfavorable for them! Three more 6 Star Warriors joined this battle, while nearly 100,000 soldiers joined the Glerian Kingdom''s army on the ground.


    This massive army of 100,000 soldiers was thebined army led by the princes of the Glerian Kingdom!


    Even ck Hurricane joined this army and was intent on defeating the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. He recalled the King''s promise that the prince with the highest impact in this war would be the crown prince.


    After ck Hurricane arrived, Noah and Ralph fell back, and they disappeared from the battlefield. They had suffered grave injuries in their battle against David. Now that the princes of the Glerian Kingdom were here, they decided to leave it up to them.


    Only ck Hurricane could somewhat counter and block David''s attacks. The other princes were absolutely terrified as they faced David. They now understood how David had killed three of their brothers alone.


    And these princes were quite shocked as they witnessed ck Hurricane''s battle against David. They never realized that ck Hurricane was so powerful.


    The battlefield on the ground and the battles in the air were slowly tipping in Glerian Kingdom''s favor.


    The second day ended soon enough. Today was the Glerian Kingdom''s victory. Due to the princes '' reinforcements, they managed to ughter more of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s soldiers.


    Shun didn''t seem worried as he saw the casualties. He knew the king would make his move soon enough and order anothermander to join this battlefield.


    The next week, another 100,000 soldiers would join the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces. They had to y it defensively for the next whole week to ensure low losses.


    This was precisely what the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces did for the entire week. They only lost about 79,000 soldierspared to the 65,000 soldiers on the Glerian Kingdom''s side.


    They managed to minimize their losses by using a defensive battle formation that acted as a protective avatar that blocked the enemy''s attacks.


    This was only natural since the Sinyalian Kingdom''s forces yed purely defensively. And soon, the arrival of this new force of nearly 100,000 soldiers changed everything.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s army that was on the defensive this whole week suddenly utilized offensive battle formation.


    This was true even for the 6 Star Warriors who fought in the sky. The Sinyalian Kingdom''s side was a rather low number of 6 Star Warriorspared to the Glerian Kingdom''s side. Despite their low numbers, the battle formations allowed the Sinyalian Kingdom''s 6 Star Warriors to fight equally against the Glerian Kingdom''s 6 Star Warriors.

 Chapter 505 The Radiant Churchs Attack

    While the war was going on, Azaroth stayed in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and concocted pellets in peace for his subordinates to grow.


    Tiana''s direct subordinates were in the middle of their breakthrough now. He was pretty sure that it would take them just one month to stabilize their cultivation.


    Azaroth naturally took care of his carnal desires rather frequently with Tiana''s assistance.


    Fortunately, Yrellea had handled most of Azaroth''s carnal desires after advancing to the Demon King rank. If not, Tiana would have most likely experienced a near-death experience.


    While he stayed in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, Azaroth kept his vision on the battlefield between the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom.


    After the entrance of the princes'' factions, Azaroth ordered his subordinates to return. Noah, Ralph, and Sargan were ordered to head towards William''s spot.


    William was still staying in a hidden n within the Eastern Mountain Range. That location was shielded by spatial arrays and sensory blocking arrays, which would prevent anyone from discovering those hidden ns without someone guiding them.


    Fortunately for Noah, Ralph, and Sargan, they were guided by William and easily reached his position after roaming for a couple of weeks.


    Meanwhile, Laura led her Noble Guardians in gathering survivors from the towns devastated by Azaroth.


    Laura was providing them with food and shelter. This, in turn, made the survivors very grateful and voluntarily became her followers.


    Their task wasn''t very difficult. All they had to do was spread some information to Laura. This helped in spreading Laura''s propaganda much easier.


    Laura was eventually contacted by a King''s envoy when she wandered around, aiding people.


    The King''s envoy delivered his message with reverence and rity. This disyed the king''s attitude towards Laura. If anyone else was in ce of Laura, they would have squealed in delight.


    It was a big thing for the Ruler of a Kingdom to contact you. And more so if he wanted you to do a task for him while promising handsome rewards in return.


    However, Laura had been expecting this envoy for quite a while. Azaroth had already informed her of what to do after this envoy came.


    The king wanted to use Laura''s newfound prestige to improve his image. For that, Laura had to publicly praise or support the king. Naturally, the king wasn''t stingy with his rewards.


    The king promised her a very rare set of bow and quiver that invoked Laura''s greed. This bow would boost her wood ardor and also add the sharpness attribute to Laura''s attacks.


    This meant Laura''s arrows would have a piercing effect, and it would be challenging for the enemy to block them!


    However, Laura couldn''t go against Azaroth''s order. She quickly released this information to her lovely and faithful followers.


    She informed them, "Today, I was visited by the King''s envoy. He is still in that guest tent for those who want to meet him. He has given me the choice of either supporting the king or dying. He mentioned that I am too famous and if I don''t support the king, the king will kill me."


    "But is that the right thing to do? I am just helping people who need assistance. I have never asked for anything in return. I just like helping you all. Yet, I receive such threats¡­ I truly do not know how I should respond. If I don''t support the king, they will act and kill me. I am not scared of dying, but I don''t want you to be on the receiving end of the king''s fury."


    She continued speaking some more nonsense for the next half an hour, and the public''s reaction could be easily anticipated. The entire public was outraged at those words and immediately rushed to the tent where the king''s envoy was staying.


    The king''s envoy was actually killed in a stampede of nearly thousands of people. The sleeping envoy never imagined that the people would actually rush at him in the middle of the night.


    The next day, King Tryfon Res heard a piece of news spreading in the Glerian Kingdom. The news mentioned King Tryfon Res threatening Laura with her life to improving his image.


    This news was merely the trigger for multiple other rumors to emerge. These rumors stated how the recently destroyed towns harbored Anti-Royal Factions, and the king might have destroyed them to prevent them from growing.


    This rumor caught fire rather quickly, and the public opinion of the king worsened greatly. At this point, even if the king wanted, he couldn''t improve the public''s opinion of him.


    The effect of those rumors was quickly witnessed as multiple righteous administrators and officials of the king resigned the next day. They couldn''t serve such a greedy and wicked king.


    The king waspletely overwhelmed by this negativity. He couldn''t understand how his actions were interpreted so badly. Just why did that woman named Laura do this? Why would she reject him and fabricate everything?


    "Does she belong to the Anti-Royal Faction?" The king wondered aloud. If so, that would make a lot of sense.


    He gritted his teeth in anger, "I can''t kill her as it would only confirm those rumors. I need to do something else."


    The best thing the King could do at this moment was to do nothing. He had to endure all these rumors without reacting.


    Even Azaroth hadn''t expected the king to actually endure at this moment. But this was also fine. He didn''t want the situation in the kingdom to devolve too suddenly.


    He knew that the king hadn''t used all his forces in this war against the Sinyalian Kingdom. Actually, the king had only used up half of his forces. He was gathering even more soldiers for his reserve force in case of an emergency.


    This emergency could be the sects suddenly attacking the Royal Capital of the Glerian Kingdom!


    However, what no one in the entire Glerian Kingdom or the Sinyalian Kingdom expected was for the Lamhilhan Theocracy to join this war.


    It had been nearly 2 weeks since the war officially began between the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom. On this day, the Lamhilhan Theocracy suddenly waged war on the Glerian Kingdom!


    Azaroth was caught off-guard by this scenario. But it wasn''t just him; even the entire Sinyalian Kingdom, including Shun, was astounded to hear this news. No one had anticipated that the Lamhilhan Theocracy would get involved in this war.


    After thinking about it, Azaroth believed there was a fair chance the Radiant Church had tracked down Margeria and Dn. They must have already gotten all of the crucial information from Margeria!


    Margeria couldn''t betray Azaroth, so this meant that the Archangels of the Radiant Church used a technique, forcing her to disclose everything.


    As Azaroth thought deeply, he realized that the Radiant Church must have not gained much information from Margeria. The only thing they knew was Azaroth and Nudar''s appearance. They didn''t know Azaroth''s exact location or information about his retainers.


    ''Good thing I was somewhat prepared for this situation,'' Azaroth thought with a smile.


    The best countermeasure to deal with a Celestial was to use a Demon. And fortunately, Azaroth had one in store for the Radiant Church.


    However, he couldn''t use this trump card from the very beginning. He had to let the situation turn a bit more chaotic. The Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom would likely use his trump cards before Azaroth.


    Azaroth''s guess was true. The Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom was much more terrified and startledpared to Azaroth.


    He didn''t care about it anymore and nned to use his trump card. He visited the Royal Cemetery while holding an Ancient Turquoise Jade.


    The Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom activated that Ancient Turquoise Jade with his Ardor. A blue light was released from that Ancient Jade which fell on two graves.


    The ground trembled slightly as that light fell over those graves. Soon, tworge ck boxes emerged from the ground. From afar, these ck boxes looked like coffins.


    The Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom bowed to these boxes and spoke respectfully, "Great Ancestors. Please wake up and save the Glerian Kingdom from an unprecedented catastrophe."

 Chapter 506 Ancestors

    The Glerian Kingdom used to be a massive empire that consisted of the entire middle part of the Frascoia Continent.


    However, the tyranny and carelessness of its ruler caused the Glerian Empire to be split into many parts.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom and the Lamhilhan Theocracy were created, while some northern parts became the territories of the Alinginian Kingdom and the Jorailian Kingdom.


    The Arctic Summit now prevented the Glerian Kingdom from having any involvement with the North. Not a single man, including a 6 Star Warrior, could cross that mountain range. This was how terrifying the height of this mountain was.


    There were Beast Emperors that resided near the summit of this mountain range. On average, each Mountain Peak had a Beast Emperor guarding it. This meant there were nearly seven Beast Emperors on this Arctic Mountain Range!


    These Beast Emperors never left their spot because of the high-quality Spiritual Ardor they received directly from the Ice Vein in the ground.


    The more they absorbed, the denser their Ardor became, and they could gain insight into Ice Laws. Even their bloodlines improved after consistent exposure to this energy from the Ice Vein.


    Most of them went into hibernation and would wake up once in a hundred years before digesting the entire energy. And go to sleep again. These Beast Emperors had been following this cycle for nearly a thousand years.


    The Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom was aware of the Beast Emperors and decided to formte a strategy to deal with them.


    Finally, they determined that after the age of 600 years, each 7 Star Warrior of the Royal Family would retire from the throne and hibernate within a unique casket within the Royal Cemetery.


    This coffin was infused with Ice Laws, which drastically dyed the aging process. Despite the fact that these two had been sealed for thousands of years, they had visibly aged by a year or two.


    In fact, 600 years of age wasn''t considered very long among the Emperor Ranked Experts. This would be consideredte middle-age for them.


    The two warriors who stepped out of the casket in the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Cemetery had a mixture of ck and grey hair.


    Their face resembled King Tryfon Res significantly. In fact, the two who stepped out seemed to be twins of each other.


    The two men who stepped out from these caskets were directly rted to each other. They were father and son.


    After their demise, no one managed to advance to the 7 Star Rank.


    In their respective generations, these two warriors were the Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom. They had a calm look along with a dignified aura that made King Tryfon Res kneel to them in respect.


    "What is the emergency, descendent?" The man on the left spoke. His name was Bryon Res.


    Tryfon Res replied almost immediately, "The current Glerian Kingdom faces an unprecedented threat from two kingdoms. Moreover, one of them ising at us with Archangels."


    "Archangels? Celestials dare to attack my kingdom¡­ How impudent!" The man on the right spoke with an arrogant expression. His name was Lennard Res.


    From his words, Tryfon Res got the feeling that his ancestor had ughtered many Celestials during his era.


    "Son, calm down. You shouldn''t look down on the Celestials. They have a God-Ranked Expert as their leader," Bryon Res chided his son Lennard.


    But Lennard snorted in response, "The Radiant God doesn''t care about the Radiant Church. In my time, he didn''t. I ughtered nearly six Archangels of the Radiant Church, but he never made his move against me."


    "The situation might be slightly different. It''s because I can sense three Archangels approaching the Royal Capital," Bryon spoke rather calmly.


    "What?!" Both Tryfon and Lennard were startled to hear this information. It made them understand that Bryon''s sensory skills were probably off the charts.


    Tryfon Res spoke out with his eyes widened in disbelief, "No way! How can the Archangels enter the Capital so quickly?! They dered war on us just yesterday!"


    Lennard responded with a sneer, "These filthy Celestials had already infiltrated the Kingdom before they dered war on the Kingdom!"


    Lennard then looked in Bryon''s direction and spoke, "Let''s go, father. We should intercept them and take them far away from the Capital before fighting them!"


    Bryon suddenly bonked his son''s head and spoke with a dignified expression, "Idiot. Your head is full of nonsense! All you think of is fighting! We should approach them and ask them the reason behind this war! Didn''t I always tell you to use violence only when the dialogue fails?!"


    "Yeah, yeah, father," Lennard responded casually before the two flew towards the iing Archangels.


    Tryfon Res followed them at his top speed. The two were flying at a rather low speed to get used to their Ardor.


    Thews had changed slightly while the two were hibernating, but fortunately, the change wasn''t too great.


    Bryon and Lennard suddenly absorbed variousws from nature to regain their past strength. Their physique instantly recovered to when they were at their peak. Their spirits were instantly activated, and the two released a dense aura that startled the iing Archangels.


    Their absorption ofws actually destabilized thews in the Glerian Kingdom. Only Azaroth sensed this change as he used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to observe the change.


    He knew something major had urred. Thews in the Glerian Kingdom had be weaker.


    Meanwhile, the three Archangels came to a sudden halt as they saw Bryon and Lennard approaching them.


    "What are you doing here?" Before Lennard could speak, Bryon asked these three Archangels rather curiously.


    It was Esther who replied, "The Glerian Kingdom is housing too many demons and heretics. As a result, he''s decided to put it under his authority and prevent any further demons from surfacing!"


    In reality, this was just a pretext for the Lamhilhan Theocracy to attack the Glerian Kingdom. The true reason was that the Radiant God was furious upon learning that a Celestial had stolen his Faith Energy. He also knew that this Celestial''s true body resided in the Glerian Kingdom.


    ? However, the Radiant God couldn''t search the Glerian Kingdom for Azaroth without giving a proper reason. And he didn''t want to reveal that a half-celestial had managed to steal his Faith Energy. That would be rather embarrassing!


    Moreover, the Radiant God noticed that the situation of the Glerian Kingdom was not good. It would easily copse if they attacked the Glerian Kingdom at this moment.


    "What nonsense is this?! You are actually using such stupid reasoning for this war?!" Lennard couldn''t hold himself back any longer.


    He instantly activated his Bloodline Energy before attacking these Archangels.


    The Archangels immediately pulled out their respective Holy Weapons that were imbued with Light Energy!


    <strong>Burnished Obsidian Light Longsword</strong>, <strong>Moonlit ss Sword</strong>, and <strong>Judgement Trident</strong>! Judgement Trident was of a superior rank among these weapons and held an impressive set of abilities.


    One of its abilities was to use the power of Faith Energy to instantly gain a tremendous amount of power.


    Thus, even though Lennard managed to push away two Archangels who utilized Burnished Obsidian Light Longsword and Moonlit ss Sword, he couldn''t move Esther, who was holding the Judgement Trident.


    "Attack him now!" The <strong>Judgement Trident</strong> shone once again, and multiple chains of Light Ardor were released that now held Lennard in ce.

 Chapter 507 Earth Phasing Technique

    Lennard was taken aback as those chains of Light Ardor held him in ce. He struggled with all his might, but it proved to be insufficient. In fact, the chains of Light Ardor seemed to be getting tighter.


    If Lennard knew the concept behind these wires of Light Ardor, he would have restrained his power and suddenly released all of it in one go. This would have immediately burst apart all these chains of Light Ardor constraining him.


    Unfortunately, Lennard didn''t realize this method as he remained entrapped in those chains.


    The two Archangels he had shoved before appeared quickly to pierce his heart. The two were somewhat annoyed as they lost in the battle of strength even while using their Celestial Weapons against a lowly human. The lowly human wasn''t even using his weapon, but they still lost!


    However, the two Archangels realized that now was not the time to grow angry and make reckless decisions.


    At this moment, the three Archangels had forgotten about Bryon''s presence. It hadpletely slipped their mind.


    By the time Esther recalled, there was another enemy; Bryon had already moved from his initial spot.


    Esther looked around and attempted to find him, but her mission was a flop. She wondered whether he had fled after realizing the vast differences in their abilities for a brief while.


    Her question was soon answered as Esther felt something pierce her back.


    Esther''s concentrationpsed for a second before she tightly gripped her Judgement Trident. The Light Ardor of her Judgement Trident freed Lennard and condensed into a dense wave that attacked Bryon''s body.


    However, after Lennard was free, Bryon stopped his attack and immediately jumped away. He dodged the dense wave of Light Ardor.


    The wave continued to follow him as he flew in the sky. It didn''t seem as though Bryon could fool it.


    Bryon pulled out a dark dagger that shot off an endless amount of shadow energy. Bryon sliced apart that wave of Light Ardor by that dagger and was temporarily safe.


    Esther had used the remaining power of her Judgement Trident to heal her body.


    Lennard was startled to see his father utilize his Deadly Phantom Shadow Dagger. Bryon obtained this dagger after killing a powerful Demon Emperor.


    This dagger could conceal the user''s presence from the world and allow its user to utilize the Shadow Attribute.


    Lennard didn''t remain stationary as he saw his father fighting so seriously. He congealed a massive quantity of Ardor before releasing a ball of pure Earth Ardor in the air.


    This ball of Earth Ardor flew high in the sky that only a small dot about be seen. This dot suddenly split into multiple parts, and Lennard whispered, "<strong>Meteor Shower!</strong>"


    Hundreds of meteors were charging in their direction with blinding speed! These meteors were massive chunks ofnd in a round structure heading straight towards them. They covered a massive area which made it impossible to dodge this attack.


    All these meteors suddenly caught fire as they approached them at blinding speed.


    Even Lennard and Bryon would be buried underneath these meteors if this continued. However, Lennard raised his hand at an opportune moment and shouted, "Father, grab my hand!"


    Bryon appeared a secondter and grabbed hold of Lennard''s hand. Lennard held Bryon''s hands tightly before speaking, "<strong>Earth Phasing Technique!</strong>"


    This technique allowed Lennard to phase through Earth Ardor based attacks with ease. In fact, it could be considered a hack technique.


    However, the concept of this technique slightly differed from its name. This technique didn''t allow Lennard to fuse his body with the earth. That was a skill exclusive to the Royal Bloodline of Elves.


    The Earth Phasing Technique repels any Earth Ardor away from Lennard''s body. In this case, a hole suddenly opened in the meteor that was falling over Lennard. This ensured Lennard and Bryon''s survival.


    Meanwhile, the Archangels were absolutely shocked to see Lennard use this kind of technique. It had to be known that even though they had left the city, they were still close to it.


    Lennard''s technique easily enveloped the entire city in its range! These meteors would destroy the entire Royal City!


    The Royal Pce was a bit farther away, so it would be safe apart from feeling some earthquakes.


    Esther raised her Judgement Trident and shouted out, "<strong>Radiant Net!</strong>"


    A massive web of pure Light Energy covered the entire area. It blocked the meteors from getting any closer to the ground.


    However, blocking such a massive attack did take its toll on Esther as she experienced unreal pressure. She had to endure that pressure until the final meteor was trapped in this Radiant Net!


    Lennard seemed to have anticipated Esther''s actions as he smirked viciously. He whispered, "Eras have passed, but the weakness of you Archangels remains the same."


    Lennard and Bryon moved at this moment as they fought against the other two Archangels.


    The two Archangels were beingpletely suppressed in their battle against the father-son duo.


    Lennard possessed a rather strong body and could easily break their attacks and block their swords with his bare body. Meanwhile, they couldn''t detect Bryon''s presence, and he would wait for an opportunity andunch a fatal attack.


    While Esther''s hands were tied, herrades were repeatedly pushed around by this father-son duo, and it seemed as though they would soon die!


    Esther wanted to recall this Radiant Net and help herrades. She didn''t want to sacrifice herrades to protect measly human lives.


    However, she had her own scheme for saving the lives of these humans.


    Soon enough, Esther saw the results of her actions. She was relieved and thought ''I didn''t choose wrongly.''


    A massive amount of Faith Energy flowed through Esther''s body as the Judgement Trident began to glow with a mysterious red light.


    This faith energy was from the people who were praying to God to save them from this tragedy. They were absolutely sincere as this was a matter of life and death. These sincere prayers were converted into a massive amount of faith energy and absorbed by Esther because she held the Judgement Trident in her hand right now.


    "Good. I can defeat them with this!" Esther whispered confidently. She lifted the Radiant Net slowly, and after a specific period, she made the entire thing explode!


    The explosion was so great that itpletely shook Lennard and Bryon as they fought against the two Archangels.


    The Archangels were very thankful for this explosion as it allowed them to take deep breaths. The two had stopped trying to attack these monsters in human form and focused on dodging or fleeing.


    Unconsciously, Lennard and Bryon turned towards Esther and saw her heading toward them with a furious look on her face.


    "<strong>Radiant Net!</strong>" Esther used this technique again, but its purpose waspletely different this time.


    The purpose of this Radiant Net was to cover arge area and entrap Lennard and Bryon in it. While Lennard and Bryon were thinking of fleeing in the opposite direction, they were struck by a powerful blow and tossed straight towards the Radiant Net.


    It didn''t take them more than a minute for the two to be tied in the Radiant Net. Lennard and Bryon struggled with all their might, but the Radiant Net was very powerful and prevented them from moving even slightly. Since their movements were inhibited, it seemed impossible to get out of this restraint.


    "Attack them!" Esther remained on her spot as she had to ensure the two couldn''t get out of these restraints!


    The other two Archangels took deep breaths and nodded in each other''s direction. They flew straight towards Lennard and Bryon with extraordinary speed.

 Chapter 508 The Demon Emperor Emerges

    The battle between the two Royal Family Ancestors and three Archangels escted significantly. Both parties activated their Domains and tried to overpower each other.


    The Royal Family''s Ancestors initially won by a small margin, but the situation slowly turned in the Archangels'' favor. This was all because of the faith energy that these Archangels acquired as the people in Crario City continued to provide faith energy to them.


    The Judgement Trident had many uses. One was to heal and provide Faith Energy to Archangels other than its holder.


    It was because of this weapon that the Archangels regained their advantage and defeated the Royal Family Ancestors.


    The battle between them continued for nearly an entire week. During this time, three viges and two towns near Crario City had been destroyed due to the shockwaves of this battle.


    Fortunately, the Crario City had greater defensive arrays and was able to effectively cope with the shockwaves.


    Tryfon Res'' heart bled as his entire fortune had dried while keeping the 6 Star Defensive Arrays active and preserving the Crario City. And even after paying such a heavy price, the result turned out to be the Royal Family''s loss!


    This would depress even the most optimistic warrior in the world, let alone the Monarch of the Glerian Kingdom!


    However, something shocking urred on the day the Royal Family''s Ancestors were about to lose.


    A tremendous amount of Demonic Ardor was released in the entire Glerian Kingdom. Dark clouds covered the skies as far as eyes could see. Heavy rainfall and thunderous lightning followed soon.


    The Archangels were startled to sense this Demonic Ardor, especially Esther. She was very familiar with this Demonic Aura and cursed under her breath.


    ''You had to emerge now?!''


    Clearly, the timing was not very optimistic for the Archangels. They were exhausted after that long battle against this irritating duo of humans, and now a Demon Emperor had joined the fray!


    "<strong>Radiant Seal!</strong>" Esther recalled all the Light Ardor andunched it in the Demon Emperor''s direction.


    She wanted to seal the Demon Emperor before he could absorb thews and reach the peak of his power.


    Unfortunately for Esther, the Demon Emperor had anticipated her actions. He had long since left that spot and was perfectly concealing his presence.


    The Archangels were anxious since they were now up against a Demon Emperor as well as two incredibly powerful human warriors!


    The human warriors had realized that a Demon Emperor was on the loose, but they weren''t scared. Their top priority was to deal with these rattled Archangels.


    All through the battle, Azaroth remained in the distance, sipping a drink and soaking in the scenery.


    Even he didn''t know who would win in this battle now. The Archangels weren''t out of the game yet all because they still possessed that Judgement Trident.


    Azaroth knew that the <strong>Judgement Trident</strong> was a <strong>God-Ranked Weapon</strong>! The Radiant God was quite generous as he provided such a weapon to an Archangel.


    But it made sense since this Judgement Trident had acknowledged the Radiant God as its master. The Radiant God could summon it with a thought!


    And since this weapon didn''t recognize Esther as its master, she couldn''t utilize its true abilities. Esther would have already ughtered her opponents ten times if she could even utilize 10% of her weapon''s true abilities.


    However, the Archangels didn''t stay there and continued the battle. They were aware that it would be an arduous battle without very low chances of victory even though they held the Judgment Trident!


    In fact, they imagined that the situation would turn in their favor if they left at this moment.


    This was because Esther knew of the Demon Emperor. It was known as the Depraved Demon Emperor.


    Esther also knew that these humans could not live together with this demon. Or else, they would be giving the Radiant Church a just cause to invade the Glerian Kingdom.


    Actually, not just the Radiant Church of the Lamhilhan Theocracy but the other kingdoms surrounding the Glerian Kingdom would also attack them.


    Thus, the Archangels fled rather quickly. Once they were gone, the Demon Emperor''s aura vanished instantly.


    The sky turned normal, and people, including the two Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family''s Ancestors, could finally breathe in peace.


    This, however, was just a brief respite. Only Azaroth was aware of the Demon Emperor''s whereabouts. It had been a decade since this Demon Emperor hadst touched a woman, and it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say he was famished.


    Moreover, the cultivation technique of this Demon Emperor depended on absorbing the Yin Energy from women. Without absorbing the Yin Energy from women, this Demon Emperor couldn''t regain his peak energy.


    The Demon Emperor had previously used all of his might to give the impression that he had recovered his former glory. He was well aware that this would frighten the Archangels into leaving the kingdom.


    This was only a temporary solution, but it allowed him to reim his strength and return to Purgatory!


    A Demon Emperor was strong enough to create a spatial fissure to travel between the Purgatory and the Frascoia Continent.


    However, it required the Demon Emperor to be at his peak since he would have to endure Spatial Winds in the fissure. He could die if he wasn''t careful.


    At this moment, the Demon Emperor had already entered Crario City. The Demon Emperor was in the red-light district of Crario City and raped all the women he found in the area.


    All the women in this red-light district died after being raped by the Demon Emperor. He managed to absorb the entirety of their Yin Ardor and was slowly recovering to his peak.


    The two Royal Family''s Ancestors returned to their Royal Pce and recovered from their grave injuries. They weren''t nning to hunt a Demon Emperor in their current condition.


    Monarch Tryfon Res soon heard the news of what was urring in the red-light district of Crario City!


    He was infuriated and immediately sent hundreds of guards to apprehend this criminal. At this moment, King Tryfon Res had no idea about the culprit''s true identity.


    King Tryfon Res thought that it was merely a rogue who was using this as an opportunity to have fun with women. However, he was utterly bbergasted upon hearing that all his guards were ughtered without getting the chance to resist.


    The guard captain was a 5 Star Warrior. If even a Guard Captain didn''t have the chance of resisting, the enemy could only be a 6 Star Warrior.


    The king didn''t even consider the possibility that the situation was worse than his expectations. It was a terrifying Demon Emperor!


    Moreover, from these women, the Demon Emperor understood the situation of the Glerian Kingdom and was plotting his next move.


    ''It seems that ck Hurricane has joined the Glerian Kingdom''s army and is fighting the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army. I need to inform my partner and all my subordinates that I am free from my seal.''


    ''Fortunately, Serene Ghost Demon Emperor managed to stay quiet for all these years! Once the two of us join forces, we can ughter these three kingdoms and finally obtain a domain on this continent. We can submit this domain to the Demon Venerable in return for a great weapon!''

 Chapter 509 The Demon Emperors Plan

    The Demon Venerable conspired to seize vast chunks of territory on Frascoia Continent. However, his efforts throughout the years have yielded no results.


    The Demon Venerable himself couldn''t step on Frascoia Continent because of the deterrence of the human experts. The Transcendent Saints of the Human Race would definitely act as soon as they sense the presence of Demon Venerable.


    Even the clones of Demon Venerable were quickly found and ughtered by these Transcendent Saints. Thus, it became impossible for the Demon Venerable to directly affect Frascoia Continent.


    Meanwhile, all the Demon Gods who entered the Frascoia Continent were either purged or forced to flee back to the Purgatory.


    However, the Demon Venerable noticed that the Transcendent Saints didn''t act against Demon Emperors. He then understood that these human experts weren''t going to involve in battles against Demon Emperors.


    They would only act against Demon Gods and the Demon Venerable.


    After realizing this matter, the Demon Venerable immediately issued amand to all the 72 pirs and all the reputed noble ns of Purgatory to capture a piece ofnd on the Frascoia Continent and sell it to him.


    If the demons acquired a domain on Frascoia Continent, they could connect it to the Purgatory by using arge-scale spatial array. Another array would be set up around the domain that would prevent thews of the domain from interacting with the Frascoia Continent.


    After connecting to the Purgatory, the demons'' domain would be flooded withws from Purgatory and slowly corrupt thews there. Once thews were corrupted, that domain on Frascoia Continent would be a foothold for the demons.


    Once this domain was perfectly set up, any other race that entered this domain would experience a great suppression from thews. The Demon Venerable could even defeat two 9 Star Warriors simultaneously in this domain.


    As a result, the Demon Venerable became very keen to seize control of a domain. In contrast, the task of the humans was also rather simple. They had to prevent a demon from seizing a part of the Frascoia Continent.


    The Demon Venerable knew just how dangerous and challenging this mission was and had thus announced that he would owe a great favor to the demon whopleted this mission.


    For this reason, countless Demon Emperors were plotting to enter Frascoia Continent and grab hold of a domain.


    However, all of them were ughtered without any exception.


    Even this Yin Devouring Demon Emperor and hispanion Serene Ghost Demon Emperor invaded Frascoia Continent with contempt. They assumed that no one could ovee them unless a Celestial God or a Saint intervened.


    On the other hand, the reality hit them like a ton of bricks.


    Just an Archangel from the Lamhilhan Theocracy was powerful enough to subdue the two Demon Emperors.


    The Serene Ghost Demon Emperor had inherited the legacy of the reputed Serene Ghost Devil God! But he hadn''t mastered it just yet. He could conceal his presence just fine, but his location was revealed as soon as he intended to attack his opponent.


    ? It was this faint killing intent that allowed Esther to lock onto his position and strike him with a powerful Light Beam from her Judgement Trident!


    Meanwhile, the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor had yet to realize his error even as he was forced to flee to the Glerian Kingdom. After healing, the Demon Emperor immediately attacked the humans in the nearby city and began his battle against the Glerian Kingdom.


    The Glerian Kingdom had been torn asunder, and Margeria from the Pinhian Republic was dispatched to confront the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor.


    Thus, Margeria lost her physical body, and the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor was sealed inside the Night Mountain Hill''s Abyss. Thus, peace returned to the Glerian Kingdom eventually.


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor realized his errors while he was sealed and was determined to not repeat them.


    Thus, he didn''t reveal himself to fight against the Archangels. After these Archangels left, he didn''t directly attack the humans and decided to regain his power by raping women in the red-light district of Crario City.


    However, the king had already heard of the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor and sent warriors after him.


    After killing those warriors, the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor had two choices ahead of him. One was to attack the Royal Pce and take the risk of killing those two Emperor-Ranked Experts who fought the Archangels earlier.


    The second option was to flee immediately andw low for a while.


    After thinking deeply, the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor chose thetter. His n was rather simple. He wouldy low for a while and contact ck Hurricane.


    He was sure that ck Hurricane''s main body had a method of contacting the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor.


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor nned to contact the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor and prepare a scheme to deal with the human experts and the Archangels.


    ording to what he understood, the Archangels would be back with greater reinforcements. The two Demon Emperors had to initially assist the human experts to defeat the Archangels!


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor had no idea that someone was following him. It was none other than Azaroth.


    Azaroth naturally concealed his Ardor to the maximum level and used his Mystic Eyes of Perception to follow the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor.


    ''He is probably nning to meet the other Demon Emperor and scheme against the Archangels. However, the Archangels are bound to be prepared for an ambush by the human experts and the two Demon Emperors. Should I intervene?''


    ''I should be prepared to intervene. I need to kill all the Emperor-Ranked Experts in this kingdom.''


    Unlike the Glerian Kingdom, the Sinyalian Kingdom had no Emperor Ranked Warrior. They did have a 7 Grade Offensive Weapon that could kill even an Emperor Ranked Expert with a single attack.


    Moreover, they also held a Seventh Grade Defensive Mobile Array that could protect them from the attacks of an Emperor Ranked Expert.


    These arrays were used by the Array Association and studied extensively. This 7 Star Array has be a source of inspiration for many talented students.


    Azaroth took a deep breath as he decided it was time to stroll in the regions around Crario City. Specifically speaking, he nned to visit the towns and viges destroyed in the earlier battle between the human experts and the Archangels.


    He had to gather an enormous quantity of Death Energy to affect the battles at the Emperor Rank Level.


    Fortunately, the task of gathering Death Energy couldn''t be considered very difficult for Azaroth. If he couldn''t get enough, he could always destroy a couple of cities or towns to gather more Death Energy.


    ''I can''t follow the Demon Emperor while also gathering the death energy. I need to choose one,'' Azaroth thought with a grave expression.


    After some moments, Azaroth decided that he would focus on gathering the death energy. Since he could guess the Demon Emperor''s motive, he knew that the Demon Emperor woulde along with hisrade to attack the Archangels.


    Thus, Azaroth had to focus on keeping an eye on those two Royal Family experts!


    At this moment, Lennard and Bryon were healing from their injuries. Fortunately, the Royal Family''s treasury held precious herbs that boosted their healing speed.


    The next thing the two did was retrieve their Emperor Ranked Weapons from the Royal Treasury.

 Chapter 510 Lennard Vs Bryon

    Lennard and Bryon had their respective Emperor Ranked Weapons. However, these weren''t the standard Emperor Ranked Weapons. Unlike standard Emperor Ranked Weapons, these weapons weren''t formed of some mythical grade metal.


    In fact, those weapons were made of standard materials. However, these were very special because these weapons were the Natal Weapons of the two warriors.


    Natal Weapons were those weapons that were innately connected to their master. These weapons were made of standard materials and were regrly infused with the owner''s Ardor and Spirit. These weapons grew alongside its master.


    However, not just anyone could possess a Natal Weapon. There was a strict requirement to obtain one.


    Firstly, the owner had to possess very great insight into that particr field. Secondly, they had to reach the King Rank at the least. Thirdly, they had to nourish the weapon with their Spirit and Ardor.


    Lennard''s Natal Weapon was a Battle Axe named <strong>Warped Skeletal Cleaver</strong>! This weapon was made of a mixture of a demon''s skeletal and Steel Gold Metal.


    This weapon possessed numerous abilities, and its primary ability was to absorb the Demonic Ardor and cut apart the Celestial Ardor.


    Lennard was sure that the battle would be very different if he possessed his Natal Weapon at that moment. He had been too rash to rush towards the Archangels without his Natal Weapon.


    Meanwhile, Bryon''s Natal Weapon was a rather standard-looking bow. This bow seemed to be made of very brittle wood. But for some reason, as Bryon lifted this bow, he noticed a crack on the floor.


    It must be known that this was the Royal Pce. Even the tile on the floor was made of very rare and dense material. For this bow to crack that tile showed just how heavy it was. This bow was a perfect example of looks were deceiving.


    "It seems that no one managed to gain your approval even after all these years. Were you too harsh on my descendants?" With an affectionate look on his face, Bryon remarked.


    The bow buzzed in his hands as if to respond negatively in indignation. Meanwhile, Lennardughed wildly as he swung his Axe.


    "Hahaha¡­ You are still as heavy as ever. Let''s go and ughter some of those white crows!" Lennard seemed very excited and nned to rush out to have his rematch against those Archangels.


    Bryon nced at Lennard rather coldly and sternly called out, "Lennard!" This caused Lennard to frown and stare in his father''s direction.


    "Don''t forget that terrifying Demonic Aura we sensed earlier. The Demon Emperor may be nearby. The Royal Pce will be defenseless if we leave it. We need to remain defensive," Bryon coldly ordered.


    His argument was sound, but Lennard evidently disliked being instructed what to do. Even though it was his father''smand, Lennard protested it indignantly.


    "I don''t think we should just sit here while the enemy ns to attack us. We should attack their forces and ughter them as soon as possible!"


    Lennard''s protest was to be expected. When they reached the age of 600, they retired to the Royal Cemetery and could be regarded as equal in terms of experience. Furthermore, Lennard substantially extended the Glerian Kingdom''s boundaries throughout his reign, leading him to conclude that he was a superior leader to his father.


    Naturally, this was merely his wishful thinking. If not for Bryon''s extraordinary vision, Lennard wouldn''t have half the force required to expand the Glerian Kingdom''s territory.


    Bryon could sense theck of respect in Lennard''s tone. He was usually not bothered by such a tiny thing. But the situation was very dire at this moment. He couldn''t allow Lennard to go out at this moment.


    With a hardened look, Bryon spoke, "If you want to go out, you will have to pass through me."


    Bryon chose this path instead of providing an exnation. He knew that if he relented now, it would lead to massive troubles in the future. Thus, it was better to make Lennard understand the difference between them.


    Meanwhile, Lennard had a wide grin on his face as he added, "What a great idea. I always did want to beat you once in my life."


    Lennard stepped forward while tightly holding his Battle Axe, an arrogant grin on his face.


    "We can''t fight here. Let''s go outside," As soon as Bryon spoke those words, he vanished from his spot.


    Lennard was caught off-guard as he could no longer see Bryon nor sense him. Before long, he saw Bryon, but the situationpletely startled him.


    Bryon was standing right ahead of him. There was barely a hand''s distance between the two.


    Bryon suddenly grabbed Lennard''s face and flew into the sky at a blinding speed. There was a shadowy aura restraining Lennard''s right hand that held his Warped Skeletal Cleaver.


    Lennard resisted as he tried to swat away Bryon''s arm but was unsessful. Soon, the Warped Skeletal Cleaver released a massive Demonic Aura, that shadowy aura that restrained Lennard''s right hand.


    Lennard moved his right hand and swung his battle axe to slice Bryon''s right arm and free himself.


    However, Bryon quickly released Lennard''s face and vanished from his spot.


    Lennard was very startled as he tried to find Bryon but failed to do so. He knew that the earlier situation would be repeated if he didn''t do something quickly.


    "Nirvana Earth Domain!" Lennard immediately spread his domain around his body. A thick brownish aura spread in the entire area.


    This was actually the Earth Aura that boosted Lennard''s Elemental Power but also allowed him to conjure Earth Attacks instantly within this entire domain. This meant Lennard could attack any portion of his domain instantly.


    If Bryon tried to attack Lennard now, he would be instantly detected and attacked by multiple rocks.


    The most effective way to counter a domain was to expand your own. When two domains are expanded in the same space, the more refined one will dominate that space.


    Thus, Bryon''s best option was to release his own domain. However, for some reason, Bryon didn''t choose that option.


    In fact, Lennard sensed that Bryon wasn''t even in his domain right now. A serious expression appeared on his face as he wondered ''What is he plotting?''


    After a few moments of searching for his father, Lennard finally heard sounds ofughter from above him. He noticed Bryon gazing at him with disdain, "You haven''t grown at all, my dear son. Did you forget my bow''s ability?"


    Lennard was initially confused as he heard those words. But he soon realized what his father meant, and his eyes widened in realization.


    "After every 10 seconds, the power of my arrow doubles. It has been nearly three minutes since I stretched my arrow. How strongly do you think it is? Can you block it with your domain?"


    What Bryon didn''t mention was that his Ardor was depleted in ordance with how long he strained his arrow. Furthermore, Bryon''s bow could lock onto its target and never miss it, regardless of the target''s distance or speed!


    This was Bryon''s <strong>Phantom Ebon Longbow</strong>.


    Lennard immediately congealed a massive ball of Earth to block that arrow. Bryon had a disdainful look on his face as he released the bowstring.


    The bowstring released a thunderous sound as the arrow was let loose. The arrow immediately pierced that massive ball of Earth and reached closed to Lennard''s body.


    Lennard seemed prepared for this arrow and swung his Battle Axe at the perfect moment to block the arrow. Demonic Ardor was released from the Battle Axe as it tried to cut apart the arrow.


    Just as Lennard cut apart that powerful arrow, he felt a de touching his throat and a cold voice, "You should surrender now. This is your loss."


    Bryon had used his <strong>Shadow Dagger</strong> to infiltrate Lennard''s domain while he was busy dealing with that powerful arrow. The battle between the two ended rather quickly, and Lennard was embarrassed to even think he could defeat his father.

 Chapter 511 Boosting Ralphs Morale

    The battle between Bryon and Lennard made their standings clear. Although Lennard was very conceited, he wasn''t a hypocrite. He would respect the results of the battle. Moreover, he figured it wasn''t a big issue to submit to his father.


    Azaroth was on a journey to gather Death Energy andy out a veryrge-scale Seventh Grade Killing Array. This killing array was known as the Instantaneous Deathly Array.


    The effect of this Instantaneous Deathly Array was quite simple. The user could condense the Death Energy and infuse the target with it. As long as Death Energy overpowered the vitality of the targeted individual, the opponent would die instantly.


    Fortunately, the opponent would be able to detect when the Death Energy was poured into his body. The only way of countering this array was to either use Life Force or flee from the array''s boundary.


    However, the loss of vitality would be permanent. And no matter if it was an Archangel, a Demon Emperor, or a human expert. All of them feared death more than anything!


    "¡­It''s getting troublesome setting up arrays for everyone. I am clearly not enough for this task. Creating a clone won''t be a good idea. I have already sacrificed a lot of my spirit, and losing any more of it would prevent me from gaining insights into the elements," Azaroth whispered.


    He recalled Sophie''s talent in Array Formations. That woman did have an impressive ability to understand arrays and set them up. If she was under Azaroth''s tutge, her skill would advance tremendously, and she could learn to set up a 6 Star Array in no time. In fact, she could also help Azaroth in setting up a 7-Star Array.


    ''However, Tronte is aware of my true identity now. It''s likely that he has already revealed it to Sophie, or he is holding her captive and ns to use her as bait to capture me,'' Azaroth thought and sighed.


    ''I can only give up on that woman,'' Azaroth resolutely concluded. He wasn''t a stupid individual who would take a risk for such a matter.


    A talented array master was rare, but Azaroth''s current task of killing all the Emperor Ranked Experts took greater priority. Moreover, his spirit was in a recovering phase and couldn''t create a clone. Lastly, Tronte was probably ready for him.


    ''I can always search for another talent or teach one of my retainers,'' Azaroth further determined with a serious expression.


    There had to be someone who was talented in constructing arrays. He had already tried to teach Tiana, Yrellea, and Sargan. The results were mediocre, and Azaroth wasn''t going to invest any more of his time in teaching those blockheads.


    Trying to teach Noah to construct arrays would be even worse. He possessed an Enlightened Sword Heart, and his entire talent was focused on the sword.


    Thus, only William, Ralph, and Laura remained. Azaroth was slightly optimistic about William and Ralph.


    Azaroth didn''t know what to say about Laura. Her creativity was surprisingly astounding. By surprising, he meant that sometimes she had very interesting ideas for techniques that Azaroth couldn''t think of. And sometimes, she wouldck basicmon sense.


    While on the road, Azaroth began guiding William, Ralph, and Laura in the array formation via his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    He took a test two weekster and received an update on their progress. Among the three, William and Laura showed astounding progress in array formation!


    William took the standard approach and absorbed all of Azaroth''s knowledge and insights rted to the array like a sponge. Meanwhile, Laura seemed to understand the bare minimum regarding the theory of array formation and used her ingenuity to think of some amazing designs and theories.


    Moreover, she managed to incorporate her wood techniques with arrays and further increased the power of her attacks.


    Azaroth was very satisfied with these results. Meanwhile, Ralph was a little disheartened as he couldn''t understand arrays as well as hisrades.


    Noticing his plight, Azaroth reassured him that it wasn''t such a big deal. Instead, he had noticed Ralph''s other talent during this training.


    Ralph had a very impressive me control. Perhaps it was after he fused with the Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth and mutated his bloodline to the Ancient Tiger''s Bloodline, but his me control truly seemed extraordinary.


    Moreover, his mes were also on the verge of a mutation. Those mes would mutate as soon as Ralph absorbed a bit of pure energy from the zing Cerulean Crystals.


    Azaroth passed those crystals to Ralph and ordered him to focus on absorbing the me energy within those crystals. He had to bepletely concentrated and prevent any leakage of the me energy.


    Once Ralph''s mes had mutated into Cerulean mes, Azaroth nned to teach him alchemic techniques.


    Ralph possessed eidetic memory because of the Ancient Tiger''s Bloodline. And Alchemy''s primary focus was on memorizing the effects and reasoning of the various techniques, herbs, and ingredients.


    Secondly, an Alchemist''s control over the me or his respective element had to be absolutely perfect. The purity of the pellets wouldrgely depend on the Alchemist''s fine me control.


    Azaroth felt that Ralph could easily concoct a high-grade pellet due to his fine me control. He merely had to practice hard and gather more recipes.


    Fortunately, getting more recipes wouldn''t be a challenging task for Ralph since Azaroth would provide them to him. He merely had to focus on working hard.


    However, Ralph didn''t know about Azaroth''s thoughts. He was thinking of himself as a failure.


    Ralph knew he had the worst potential out of all of Azaroth''s retainers. He only managed to thrive recently because Azaroth gifted him that Sabertooth Tiger''s Tooth. If not for that, he would be even weaker.


    His group was far weaker than Noah''s Heretical Pdins or Laura''s Noble Guardians, far less useful than Sargan''s Intelligent Network or Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion, and far less influential than Tiana''s Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Ralph began to think of himself as a pure failure. Azaroth noticed his plight and was already giving him a huge opportunity, but without exining it to him. He knew Ralph would be happy after discovering it, so he ignored this matter. He had a lot on his mind recently.


    Azaroth''s retainers also noticed Ralph''s predicament. They tried to encourage him by praising his group and giving him reasons for how he was useful to Azaroth. They were using truth and facts, but Ralph''s mncholy was not alleviated.


    Only William remained, who had yet to talk to Ralph.


    After everyone went to sleep, he walked to Ralph and spoke, "You have been rather depressed these days. I see everyone saying those encouraging words to make you feel better. But I believe they are doing it wrong."


    William then gazed at the beautiful scenery of the mountains and valleys glowing under the moonlight. He added seriously, "¡­You see. I faced this issue as well. It was when I realized the difference between Noah and me. I thought I was the most useless of master''s retainers."


    "However, what was the result? I turned out to be absolutely wrong!" William spoke with a determined look.


    Ralph was forced to gaze at him with an inquisitive look on his face, "And what do you mean by that?"


    "There isn''t anyone more useless or less useful to Master. In fact, if you look at the whole structure, you will understand that the Master wanted to spread his control over everything. You are a small but integral part of that structure, just like Noah or Sargan."


    "Moreover, Master doesn''t look for short-term gain. He is always focused on the long-term benefits. Just how long do you think you have been with Master? It''s barely been one and a half years. You have had incredible progress within this period!"


    "Trust Master a bit. There is no way he would allow you to rx even slightly. He has big ns for you," William assured confidently.


    That confident expression shook Ralph a bit. Ralph was shaking due to excitement as he also experienced goosebumps all over his body.


    Ralph asked with a curious yet excited look, "You know something about master''s future n, right?"


    "Maybe. Maybe not. What do you think?" William left that question hanging as he walked away.

 Chapter 512 Distinct Customs

    William managed to resolve Ralph''s depression. Noah and Sargan were rather grateful to him. Ralph was a valuablerade to them, and they were quite worried about him. Even Laura, Yrellea, and Tiana thanked him earnestly.


    Around this moment, Ralph, Noah, and Sargan were staying in a hidden n along with William. This daughter of the hidden n''s chief was William''s fianc¨¦. So, William could be considered the future owner of this hidden n.


    All the people in the hidden n seemed to hold genuine respect for William. It had been thousands of years since someone managed to clear all the trials set by their Ancestors and inherit their Ancestors'' True Legacy.


    They were a little annoyed that they couldn''t monopolize William since he had inherited the True Legacy of another two hidden ns. These hidden ns were almost equal in strength and had decided to share William.


    Thus, William had gained a small harem. His wives were all nation-toppling beauties who could bepared to Aria and Luna. They possessed an impressive figure and an extraordinary talent in cultivation that would be hardly found in the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    Anny Macher belonged to the Macher n and possessed an impressive talent in body cultivation art. She could even crush the powerful beasts with her pure physique.


    Vivi tz belonged to the tz n, and she was rather gifted with an exceptionally powerful Gold Element and great instinctive control over it.


    Simr to Vivi tz, Regina Lerch possessed a rather powerful Metal Element and intuitive control over it.


    The trio of fianc¨¦s seemed to be a match made in heaven. Their abilitiesplimented William''s, and they hit it off as soon as they met.


    Despite their animosity toward each other, the three did not fight to alleviate William''s tension. They were madly in love with him and didn''t want to hurt him.


    They knew he had a rather simple yet kind outlook and fell for him instantly. No one wished to leave his side.


    Thus, the four of them lived together in Macher n. Noah seemed to have taken a liking to the training schedule in Macher n and followed it earnestly.


    Noah and the Macher n hit it off right away due to hismitment to his training. The Machen n members trained extra hard to match Noah''s training.


    William sweat-dropped at the scenario as he noticed his inws andrades getting along so well.


    His fianc¨¦s were good friends with Luna and Aria. The five of them had formed a group and seemed to love gossiping with each other.


    Luna and Aria briefed the other three about their exploits, while William''s fianc¨¦s briefed them about their lifestyle in their respective ns.


    Each n had a distinct way of living and was rather interesting. The Macher n seemed to be grateful for nature and used a part of their ie to buy some rich elemental crystals and let them dissipate slowly.


    The tz n didn''t seem to care much about nature and were more focused on living their individual livesfortably. They considered Gold Element the perfect element and used it to make their lives better. They held three Gold Mines that held enough gold to sustain a kingdom for a long time.


    They emphasized donating their earnings to the poor and vulnerable. This was considered a very noble cause within the tz n.


    Meanwhile, the Lerch n had proimed their main house as the God''s Envoys and received gifts from the branch family at the end of each year. The main house would then go on to buy many weapons and recruit warriors in their n.


    Because of this, the Lerch n was the most powerful hidden n in this area.


    The tz n wasn''t too weak. If they felt threatened, they would use all their Gold and spend it on recruiting mercenaries and buying weapons or armors. Thus, gaining an instantbat power boost. However, they would only do this in desperate times.


    The Lerch n and the tz n had a rtionship filled with animosity. In the past thousands of years, the tz n had gained an instantbat power boost to fight against the Lerch n only three times. And it has already been more than 600 years since theyst took such an action.


    This proved that the rtions between the two ns were getting better.


    The Lerch n never dared to go against the Macher n. This was because the Macher n was considered crazy. If someone dared to annoy them, they would go all out against their enemy.


    The Lerch n didn''t fear enemies, but they did fear a crazy enemy. The Macher n would do anything to destroy the Lerch n, even if they were being destroyed as a consequence.


    And currently, the three ns were tied together through William. They were all very satisfied with William. He was a handsome, smart, strong, and dedicated fellow. Moreover, he treated their princesses just right.


    They were quite happy to meet William''srades. Noah had brought his group, the Heretical Pdins, along with him. Ralph had brought a tiny group of ten warriors with him. Meanwhile, Sargan hade alone.


    They were all training as hard as they could and awaiting Azaroth''s further orders.


    They only received the orders to remain in the Macher n for now. Azaroth didn''t require their assistance.


    Soon, Azaroth gave Yrellea, Laura, and Tiana the same order. Laura had to leave her Noble Guardians group by faking her death.


    She had to leave behind a clone of exact same appearance. For this, Azaroth ordered her to meet up with him.


    He still needed to gather more Deathly Energy. And for that, he required another two weeks. Azaroth nned to keep the preparations for a clone''s creation ready.


    Unlike his Nudar clone, the Spiritual Energy would return to Laura''s body once this clone died. Azaroth was unable to retrieve his spiritual energy after Nudar''s death because he was concerned that the Radiant God''s Will had marked it somehow. If so, he would have been a live target for the Celestials.


    It took Laura one week to reach Azaroth''s spot with her Noble Guardians. The two met in secret, and Azaroth started the procedure of creating her clone.


    It was the clone that joined the Noble Guardians while the true Laura stayed with Azaroth. The Noble Guardians departed from the region soon and were off to assisting citizens in another part of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth and Laura had sex day and night. She was taking care of Azaroth''s carnal desires by turning into his sex toy.


    After three days, Azaroth ordered Laura to go to the Eastern Mountain Range of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Yrellea and Tiana had already left for the Macher n. However, the orders they received were slightly different from Laura''s.


    There was a specific reason behind that. This was because Yrellea and Tiana''s organizations could work without them, while Laura''s Noble Guardians group couldn''t. Moreover, he wanted to make the Noble Guardians utterly remorseful and follow Laura''s vision until their death.


    This was only possible through Laura''s death!


    Yrellea received an order that she had to bring a very small group of loyal and powerful subordinates. Thus, Yrellea brought like 10 subordinates.


    Meanwhile, Tiana received an order toe with Helena and Iris while leaving the rest in the main branch to manage the sect. They would be given a Voice Transmission Array Stone to contact Azaroth. But that was all.


    Azaroth delivered thesemands to his subordinates because he was anxious. Every day, the terrible sensation he was feeling grew worse. He wanted to safeguard his retainers from whatever thing was targeting him.


    The hidden n''s array would prevent even a God from sensing his retainers. They should be safe there.

 Chapter 513 Secret Royal Treasury

    As time passed, Azaroth gathered an appropriate amount of Deathly Energy. Now, the question was where to set up this killing array.


    Only by setting it at an appropriate location could he directly influence the battle between the Demon Emperors, Archangels, and the Emperor Ranked Human Experts.


    Thus, Azaroth didn''t set up his array formation just yet. He was waiting for a hint from either the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family or the Archangels. The Demon Emperors were clearly more focused on contacting each other.


    He''d heard that dozens of demon factions had suddenly appeared in the Lamhilhan Theocracy, eachmanded by a Demon King! The situation in the Lamhilhan Theocracy became a little chaotic while the Archangels were busy dealing with these demon groups.


    He also understood that the Archangels were probably waiting for reinforcements from the Heavens. As soon as they arrived, they wouldunch another assault on the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Capital and attempt to sweep all experts in this ce.


    There was a good chance that the reinforcements would include another Archangel with a God-Ranked Weapon.


    The war against the Sinyalian Kingdom was turning cold. The Glerian Kingdom''s army had managed to force a draw against the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army.


    It appeared as though the Monarch of the Sinyalian Kingdom realized the grave situation within the Glerian Kingdom and didn''t wish to continue this war any longer. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say that he was waiting.


    King Valliadis was waiting for more information and the defeat of the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family. He didn''t fear the Lamhilhan Theocracy that greatly. He had already struck a deal with the Emissaries of Clyranis to handle the Radiant Church.


    The Emissaries of Clyranis had taken a noble oath that they would prevent the Radiant Church from harming King Valliadis. Naturally, both parties signed a contract to enjoy mutual benefits.


    However, the contract restrained the target of Emissaries of Clyranis to the Radiant Church. The Emissaries of Clyranis won''t assist the Sinyalian Kingdom with any other issue. At that moment, another contract would be created.


    The King didn''t doubt the capability of Emissaries of Clyranis. This was because Clyranis was a rather famous god who struck fear in everyone. He was called a terrifying Poison God, and his terror wasn''t without reason.


    His poison was strong enough to even kill God-Ranked Experts. He had achieved the feat of killing another Celestial God in a battle. The battle urred for personal reasons only and didn''t affect his standing in Heaven.


    Thus, even the Radiant God feared Clyranis God to quite some extent. He wouldn''t dare to go against Clyranis God for an insignificant reason.


    As the war cooled down, one individual had lost all color. It was none other than Shun Gordon. His n had utterly failed as the king slowly pulled his forces from the war. There was no way to salvage the situation.


    ''Shit! The appearance of the Lamhilhan Theocracy in this war was beyond my expectations! I knew that the Lamhilhan Theocracy would act upon noticing the Glerian Kingdom''s situation, but I didn''t expect they would be so earnest as to send their Archangels! Moreover, the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family still has its 7 Star Warriors capable of resisting those Celestial Archangels.''


    ''What should I do?! If this continues, the Demon God will slip right through my fingers! No¡­He has probably already slipped out of my fingers. I am merely counting on a small chance that he is still in the Glerian Kingdom!''


    Even though it was a tiny chance, Shun believed it was a chance worth dying for.


    ''Fuck it. Since that''s the case, I will use everything,'' Shun thought with a determined expression.


    He did have a n on how he should proceed further. He was aware of his strengths and knew that he was much stronger than a typical warrior.


    He didn''t know whether it was because of his bloodline or something else, but he felt innately connected to the Stars. Not just a particr star, but all the stars in the sky. Even the ones he couldn''t see yet.


    The stars granted him unknown energy that allowed him to digest nearly any resource in the world, no matter how potent it was.


    Shun had broken through to the 5 Star Rank by cultivating earnestly and swallowing multiple precious resources containing potent energy.


    ''What would happen if I swallowed a part of a Law?'' Shun knew that he was only missing the power of a Law to break through to the 6 Star Rank. And he knew exactly where to find that Power of Law.


    ''The Secret Royal Treasury¡­'' This treasure and the location of this Secret Royal Treasury was something that the King had kept concealed from the entire world. The people who knew about this could be counted on one hand, including Shun.


    The power ofws was used to assist warriors in gaining insights and breakthrough to the 6 Star Rank.


    Shun also didn''t have urate information regarding this matter. But he had noticed the hints. It was during the time when he devised a n to capture Edwin.


    At that time, Shun was handed the list of all the 6 Star Warriors. In that list, Shun noticed several names of warriors who used to be 5 Star Warriors. If it was just one or two, he wouldn''t have been very shocked. But he recognized nearly 14 names of warriors who used to be 5 Star Rank and had recently advanced to the 6 Star Rank.


    After apprehending Edwin, he spoke with a few of them and attempted to learn more about their unexpected advancement. He thought their breakthrough was strange because the timing was incredibly convenient, and theirbat power was extremely pathetic.


    Some of them opened their mouths regarding this sudden advancement. They were rather delighted as they informed Shun of the entire situation.


    Apparently, they approached King Valliadis to assist them in their breakthrough. They were expecting for King Valliadis to send a warrior to guide them and allow them to gain insight into aw, but that wasn''t the case.


    King Valliadis instead ordered them to sign a ve contract with their lives in his control. They all sold their lives to him in return for advancing to the 6 Star Rank.


    After that, they were all knocked out and taken to a rather unfamiliar location. It was arge space with a massiveva floor, rocky area, the mountain summit, and ocean.


    ording to their descriptions, Shun guessed that there were at least four locations. All these locations possessed distinct power ofws.


    Actually, there was onemon thing. An orb rotated in the middle of this space that released a tremendous aura. And from what they sensed; it was the thing releasing the power ofws in that space.


    Since Shun belonged to the King''s faction at that moment, they had revealed this secret information rather easily. The ve contract couldn''t restrict them from talking about their experiences.


    If they had known earlier that Shun would use this information to harm the King, then they would have died immediately. The contract depended on perception of the individual in the current moment.


    At this time, Shun was nning to swallow the power of thesews to advance to the 6 Star Rank.


    Shun had no true element since he could use all elements with equal proficiency as long as he could connect his spirit to the star possessing an appropriate element. Even the Wood Element, the Ice Element, the Metal Element, the Gold Element, and many other elements.


    But it wasn''t easy to connect to stars possessing variant element. Thus, Shun possessed all of the basic five elements and the Gold and Ice Elements.


    ording to the description of these people, Shun was sure that he could absorb the power ofws stored by the Royal Family without much issue.

 Chapter 514 Searching For Clues

    Finding the Secret Royal Treasury containing thesews was a rather challenging task for Shun. Well, if he tried searching for it in a typical manner. It would be different if he used a smarter method.


    Even though the King didn''t wish to continue the war against the Glerian Kingdom, he wouldn''t say no to the extra 6 Star Warriors serving him.


    Shun''s task was rather simple. He knew a lot of 5 Star Warriors who were loyal to the King. He was going to inform them of a very interesting rumor. A rumor which stated that the king could make them break through and reach the 6 Star Rank as long as one served him earnestly.


    There were bound to be some people biting the bait. And Shun would personally follow them and find the Secret Royal Treasury.


    Shun knew that these people couldn''t realize his true identity. He had to do this very smartly and prevent any name froming up. This would be the case of creating something from nothing.


    Many people found out about this secret scheme as the news spread. The news went a bit out of control as more people found out.


    Thus, many people approached King Valliadis as they wished to break through to the 6 Star Rank. Most of them were rejected by King Valliadis.


    King Valliadis wasn''t stupid. He could sense a scheme in the air as so many 5 Star Warriors approached him to help them in their breakthrough. This meant someone had found the secret.


    ''But why would he reveal this information to the public and raise my guard?'' King Valliadis wondered.


    In reality, Shun knew that this would alert the king and prevent him from acting for a short while. However, he knew that the King wouldn''t be able to resist the temptation for too long.


    He knew King Valliadis quite well and knew that his greed mostly overwhelmed his intelligence. The same thing urred in this scenario.


    After nearly five days, Shun received a report that three warriors he had chosen were summoned by the King. These three disappeared after the king summoned them.


    Shun had a bright smile on his face. He decided it was time to enter the Royal Pce, and he knew the perfect way to get inside.


    It was through Ellen Valliadis that Shun stepped inside the Royal Pce.


    Ellen Valliadis was more than delighted to help Shun. She procured a guard''s uniform for him and began roaming the entire Royal Pce. Shun followed her closely as her personal guard and observed the entire Royal Pce for any hints.


    However, Shun didn''t find any hints in the Royal Pce. Fortunately, this wasn''t the end of their n.


    The two headed towards the Great Hall, where those warriors were summoned. Ellen was heading to the Great Hall for a trivial matter. It was something along the lines of meeting her dear father and asking if he had any mission for her. She wanted to help him in this war against the Glerian Kingdom as best as she could.


    The King was bound to praise his daughter for her eagerness to assist the Glerian Kingdom. During that time, Shun analyzed the interior of the Great Hall from the entrance.


    Shun soon noticed a faint smudge and thought ''The path is through this Great Hall. Most likely, a secret passage that nobody but the king knows. The only way he can create a secret passage and keep it hidden from everyone else is to make it deep underground.''


    And Shun now had a slight idea of the Secret Royal Treasury''s location.


    He returned to his room and gathered the list of abandoned underground mines near Mesenana City. He was sure that this Secret Royal Treasure was situated in one of these abandoned mines. In fact, the report about the abandoned mine could be aplete fake.


    Fortunately, Shun could use Earth Ardor and sense the vibrations under the ground. He traveled to the location of these abandoned underground mines. Actually, he went to their position right above the ground and tried to sense vibrations or so.


    He knew that there was a Secret Royal Treasury under the ground; someone must be guarding it. The individual was most likely a 6 Star Warrior. And even a 6 Star Warrior couldn''t prevent the vibrations from urring due to his movements.


    After checking all the spots, Shun found the exact location of the Secret Royal Treasury. However, he was rather worried as it was guarded by two individuals. And both gave a terrifying feeling to Shun. They were most likely 6 Star Warriors absolutely loyal to the King.


    In fact, they must be one of the warriors who had signed a ve contract with the King as their master. Even though they were the weakest 6 Star Warriors, they were still a bit stronger than Shun.


    Actually, Shun didn''t know his current strength after connecting himself to three new stars. He knew it had reached an absolutely terrifying level, but he guessed it hadn''t bridged the gap between a 5 Star Warrior and a 6 Star Warrior.


    ''I have to find their identities. I will need to infiltrate into the tunnel somehow,'' Shun thought as he created a n to enter the tunnel.


    He could use his Earth Ardor to create a path to enter the tunnel, but that would create a hugemotion, and these 6 Star Warriors would be alerted by thatmotion. He couldn''t possibly fool them after that.


    Suddenly, Shun was struck with a rather amazing idea as a massive, excited grin appeared on his handsome face, "Yes! I can do that!"


    Shun asked for a dear friend''s assistance and registered apany under his name. He also informed him of the risks to his friend. His friend might need to stay the rest of his life deep undercover.


    Naturally, Shun struck a deal with a Noble Family and requested them to provide asylum to his friend.


    In reality, every Noble Family knew of Shun and was absolutely terrified of him. Even more so than the king.


    By now, they had all found out about his grudge against the Nathan Noble Family and the Renner Noble Family. They knew that the destruction of these Noble Families so quickly in that civil war earlier was likely rted to this man.


    No one in their right mind would offend this man at any costs! Besides, it was just providing asylum to amoner. This was something they could do with the turn of their hands.


    After his friend had gone deep undercover, Shun recruited many warriors using the registeredpany''s name.


    All these warriors were Earth Attribute Warriors who were proficient in digging and maintaining a foundation for a building.


    Shun ordered them to dig at particr points at the same time. Nearly hundreds of Earth Attribute Warriors got to work. He had already informed them to just do the task they were asked to do without asking any questions.


    These Earth Attribute Warriors sensed the presence of two people underneath the ground, but they guessed that Shun must be nning to kill those fellows. Thus, no one asked a question.


    If any of them knew that these two belonged to the King''s faction and were 6 Star Warriors, they wouldn''t have dug the Earth even if someone beat them to death. But ignorance is bliss.


    Shun dug the Earth until a particr depth at a specific point before moving to the next one.


    The two warriors belonging to the King''s faction sensed the Earth tremble. They could sense that something was happening above the ground.


    They believed it was either the king''s n or a battle was going on. They never imagined that someone was executing a n against the King. The person was just courting death! And nobody would be doing that, right?


    Shun had anticipated their mentality when he prepared this n. He also knew that the king''s sensors must have sensed the shifts in tectonic tes and were bound toe and investigate it soon.


    After nearly 3 hours of work, Shun''s entire team managed to utilize their Earth Attribute to dig nearly 30 spots.


    This n was going to advance to Phase 2.


    Shun released a tremendous amount of Ardor and controlled the Earth over those 30 spots. He applied an unprecedented pressure over the Earth on all those 30 spots.


    The blocks of earth started slipping. The 6 Star Warriors underneath noticed that the tunnel was actually copsing!


    They immediately released an Ardor field to protect themselves from the Earth Blocks. The Earth Blocks were destroyed as they came in contact with their Ardor Field.


    Soon, the two warriors noticed hundreds of warriors above the ground. They all wore rather traditional clothing and had shocked expressions.


    "I will stay behind. Go find out what is going on," One of them spoke up. The other immediately flew in the sky with an ashen expression.


    The 6 Star Warrior immediately asked these Earth Attribute Workers what was going on. These workers started informing him of the whole story. That they were recruited by apany and asked to dig in specific spots and so on¡­


    Meanwhile, underneath the ground, Shun''s eyes shone with faint killing intent as he jumped toward the second 6 Star Warrior.


    "<strong>Star Walk: First Step ¨C Silent Steps!</strong>"

 Chapter 515 The Great Star Gods Cultivation Technique

    Fooling the senses of a 6 Star Warrior wasn''t something Shun could have done by himself. However, it was this falling debris and the blocks of the earth around them that masked his presence perfectly.


    He had strategically positioned himself directly above the other 6 Star Warrior while covering himself in the block of Earth. And now, he moved his feet slightly and was charging towards the 6 Star Warrior while concealing his presence in this block of Earth.


    Shun hadn''t yet prepared an attack as that would have alerted the 6 Star Warrior. Instead, he kept his Ardor prepared to instantly conjure a <strong>Star de.</strong>


    This Star de was created from his bloodline and possessed the strongest piercing attack he possessed. If it couldn''t break through this 6 Star Warrior''s defenses, then nothing in Shun''s arsenal could.


    This Star de was formed of mysterious energy known as the Star Force. It was the strongest energy known to all races.


    By the time the 6 Star Warrior realized that there was an enemy nearby, Shun had already pierced his throat with the Star de!


    "W-Wh-?!" The Star de was proven effective as itpletely pierced the 6 Star Warrior''s throat and killed him instantly!


    "Phew!" Shun was sweating heavily due to nervousness. He used Earth Ardor to hide the body before staring at a ck-colored gate.


    Without wasting any further seconds, Shun barged inside. He was utterly shocked as he barged inside.


    His surroundings had changed entirely, and he felt as though he was still on the surface. His surroundings were very bright as he noticed a Sun shining high in the sky.


    There was a rocky terrain ahead of his eyes, and Shun believed this was the rocky area that one of those warriors mentioned. He also experienced light wind swaying his hair.


    ''What a realistic illusion. I would have been easily convinced by it if I didn''t know the truth!'' Shun thought seriously.


    He could sense nearly ten times the Spiritual Energy aspared to outside. Moreover, it was much easier to sense the Earth''s Laws here than in the outside world.


    "I need to find the orb quickly."


    ording to the description of those warriors, Shun knew that the orb would be easy to find. He just had to follow the source of this energy.


    On his way, he encountered three warriors who were meditating at this moment. Shun could sense their cultivation rank fluctuating between the 5 Star Rank and the 6 Star Rank.


    After passing these warriors, he was even nearer to the Earth Orb. At this point, he experienced a great repulsion from an unknown force. It was using a mysterious power to prevent Shun from getting closer.


    However, Shun didn''t give up. He thought ''Rocky Star¡­ Let me borrow your strength.''


    Instantly, Shun''s body was enriched with massive Earth Energy that allowed him to keep moving towards the center.


    Shun could feel the pressure getting stronger as he moved ahead, but he didn''t want to give up at this moment.


    The orb trembled slightly as Shun continued to get closer. After some minutes, Shun ced his hand on the orb and whispered, "<strong>The Great Star God''s Cultivation Technique</strong>."


    After activating this cultivation technique, the Earth Energy and thews within that orb were instantly absorbed by Shun.


    The energy andws he required to break through to the 6 Star Rank were provided by this orb.


    Shun''s body unleashed an unreal power as his mind registered all the information from this orb. It was only after a couple of seconds he understood that this was a spark. An Elemental Spark that contained the power ofws of a particr element.


    This was a rtively young elemental spark and contained a rather mediocre understanding of the Earth Elementpared to the other Earth Elemental Sparks. However, even this mediocre understanding was far beyond that of an experienced Earth Elemental 6 Star Warrior.


    Bybining his own understanding with that of the Earth Elemental Spark, Shun reached the 6 Star Rank!


    Fortunately, he didn''t incur the wrath of heaven and summon the Heavenly Tribtion!


    The massive influx of power in the area startled the other warriors, and they jolted awake. They were shocked to see someone standing so close to the Earth Spark. Moreover, the Earth Spark appeared to have be lifeless, as if it no longer released the Laws of Earth.


    An agitated look appeared on their faces as one of them shouted, "What did you do?! Why is that orb not releasing any more Laws of Earth?!"


    The person who shouted unleashed his Ardor that kept on fluctuating between 6 Star Rank and 5 Star Rank. His aura seemed boundless, but this could no longer affect Shun.


    When he absorbed that Earth Spark''s energy andws, he had witnessed an eternity within the blink of an eye.


    "Control your tone, or I can help you!" Shun released his massive Ardor as a 6-Star Warrior. Unlike the warrior before him, Shun''s Ardor waspletely stable. His control over the Ardor was still not that good, but it was enough to deal with these false 6 Star Warriors!


    The warriors ahead of him were instantly humbled as they sensed that great Ardor. They understood that he was a 6 Star Warrior.


    "Good. I won''t be killing any of you. Inform the king of something for me. Tell him that I, Shun Gordon, will being for the next one soon. Stop me if he can!" Shun coldly spoke before he flew out of the building.


    He returned to that underground copsed tunnel and flew away quickly.


    The 6 Star Warrior sensed his presence and instantly gave chase, but Shun proved to be much faster than him.


    This was only natural. Shun''s Star Force was already quite strong when he was a 5 Star Warrior, and it had undergone a qualitative transformation after bing a 6 Star Warrior! There was no way an ordinary 6 Star Warrior could match him!


    Meanwhile, the other warriors left the building and were shocked to see they ended up in a copsed tunnel. They flew out of the massive chasm and came across a 6 Star Warrior.


    This 6 Star Warrior instantly subdued all these warriors and took them to the Royal Pce. The King was absolutely startled as he heard of the entire situation. This shock was soon reced with fury as he yelled out, "WHO WAS IT?!"


    His furious voice resounded in the entire Great Hall! The fact that King Valliadis had actually shouted was news to these warriors. It was the first time they saw him losing his cool so badly!


    "Did you see his face? What did he look like?! Prepare his sketch immediately! I will torture him if it''s thest thing I will do!" King Valliadis asked those questions rather quickly.


    The warriors ahead of the King immediately bowed respectively. They all had signed a ve contract with the king and informed him a little hesitantly, "Actually, we bring a message from him. The person said he was letting us go because he wanted us to tell you that he would being for the next ones. Stop him if you can. And he even gave his name. His name is Shun Gordon!"


    "<strong>WHAAT?!!!</strong>" This time, the King''s voice was even louder than before. Such a thing should have been impossible. After all, the king''s voice was already quite loud earlier.


    The King never in his life imagined that Shun would act like that. In fact, he felt as though someone might have wrongly used Shun. However, when these warriors finished drawing the sketch of the warrior, he understood that it was truly Shun.


    There was no way someone else could impersonate Shun so well!


    ''Wait¡­He mentioned that he would being for the other ones. Does that mean he already knows the location of my other Elemental Sparks?! I need to increase the security! I need to do this secretly because if he doesn''t know of the location, I would be leading him to it,'' King Valliadis thought rather seriously.

 Chapter 516 A Candid Talk

    King Valliadis assigned his loyal subordinates to guard the other Secret Royal Treasury to prevent Shun from stealing other Elemental Sparks. Nearly all of the reserve experts of the Royal Family were spent.


    ''The quality of the 6 Star Warriors working under me is degrading. I can''t let that go on any longer. I guess it''s time I involve David in this and have him advance to the 6 Star Rank. He has umted enough as a 5 Star Warrior. The strength of the Royal Family would significantly improve after he bes a 6 Star Warrior.''


    King Valliadis also understood that this would be the final nail in the coffin. He would need to concede the throne to his son in the next decade.


    King Valliadis wasn''t fond of this idea, but he had little choice in this matter at this point. The war against the Glerian Kingdom was taking an unfamiliar path.


    He knew that David''s strength and talent were much greater than his own. David was truly an extraordinary genius who managed to impress a Phoenix''s Spirit and inherit its pure yet terrifying Vermillion mes.


    King Valliadis didn''t tell David about the shortcut to the 6 Star Rank because he was afraid his son might conspire to overthrow him. Considering David''s poprity and talent, this was very much possible if he grew to a 6 Star Rank.


    However, King Valliadis hade to realizetely that the situation was slowly spiraling out of his control. It began when he found out that a Demon God had reincarnated into a Noble Heir of his Kingdom.


    Ever since then, he would it difficult to sleep. He was scared that the Demon God would return and raid the entire Sinyalian Kingdom with an army of demons.


    Even after he supposedly killed the Demon God, King Valliadis couldn''t help but be really uneasy when he thought of the matter.


    The Noble Family Alliance...The strange disease spreading in the capital¡­The troublesome situation on the borders¡­And now, he had Shun Gordon as his enemy.


    King Valliadis perfectly understood Shun Gordon''s abilities. Shun was on par or even superior to David in terms of pure talent and intelligence. He was the one who nned the Demon God''s demise.


    Moreover, he had gathered a lot of secrets and formed multiple connections as an Inquisitor.


    Perhaps he was tired at this point and wanted his sessor to inherit this tiresome throne. The preparations had to begin now so that David could be a legitimate ruler of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    It had been nearly a week since King Valliadis gave the order to his subordinates to guard the Elemental Sparks, and David began meditating near the Elemental Spark. The elemental spark chosen by David was none other than the me Attribute.


    David was sure that he would be a genuine 6 Star Warrior even after using this shortcut. He already had a rather profound insight of the me Element, and he could use more abilities of the Phoenix after gaining a deeper understanding of the me Element.


    However, nobody had any idea that this entire thing was merely a ruse with apletely different objective.


    At this moment, Shun Gordon infiltrated the Royal Pce! Shun knew the locations of all the experts in the Royal Pce by using his sensing skill. He sensed the King''s presence from his chamber and immediately headed towards it.


    Shun''s concealment technique was quite advanced. This was a technique he created by modifying multiple concealment techniques. The Sinyalian Kingdom''s sensing techniques could not see through this concealment technique.


    Shun was baffled as he opened the door to see King Valliadis reclining on his bed, sighing tiredly.


    "You didn''t expect me that I would be waiting for you, right? Actually, I saw through it long ago. I admit I am not as smart as you, but even I wouldn''t ignore such a tant scheme," King Valliadis spoke.


    Shun regained hisposure and spoke, "If you realized my motive from the start, then why did you still fall into it? You could have used this opportunity to try and trap me."


    King Valliadis snorted in disdain, "I am not arrogant enough to believe you would fall into my trap. In fact, if you knew I was preparing a trap, you would make a counter n to deal with it."


    "Perhaps you would have nted someone loyal to you who would backstab me at a crucial moment or just use one of your strange abilities to deal with my trap," King Valliadis nonchntly added.


    "I see. That exins no traps here," Shun spoke as he observed the King''s chamber. After a few seconds, he rxed his guard and sat on a nearby chair, "I guess you wish to talk and find my true motive."


    The King nodded and responded with a resounding, "Yes." He further spoke with an indignant expression, "How did your animosity get to this point? Everything seemed to be going so well at the time, but before I realized it, things began to slip downhill. I wanted to know why?!"


    "¡­It''s not that I have an issue with you, Your Majesty. And I have no particr reason to hate you. It''s just that I have an earnest wish to defeat my enemy. No¡­I have a feeling that this was my calling. This was why I was born in this world," Shun spoke with a rather candid look.


    "Your calling? The reason for your birth?" King Valliadis spoke with an empty look in his eyes. He suddenly regained his senses and asked, "What are you talking about?! Have you fallen under some kind of spell?"


    Shun shook his head, "¡­It''s not that, Your Majesty. I had always wondered just why I was born into this world. From the start, I knew I was a little different from others. I initially disregarded it and thought it was probably because of my arrogance and ignorance. You might not believe me, Your Majesty, but I have never met my match or someone even remotely close to it."


    "¡­It was only after I swallowed the Elemental Spark that I havee to understand a bit about my true self. Let me give you an example. Do you know how strong I was as a 5 Star Warrior?" Shun asked King Valliadis.


    King Valliadis thought for some moments before responding, "As strong as David perhaps."


    Shun smiled in response and answered, "¡­David''s full power, even in his crazed state, was barely 20% of my true abilities."


    "I schemed to pull you away from your guards not because I was worried for my life but for theirs. I didn''t want them to die a needless death," Shun spoke seriously.


    King Valliadis was shocked to hear those arrogant words spoken by Shun with that conceited look in his eyes. The unwavering confidence in Shun''s eyes prevented King Valliadis from responding.


    Seeing that King Valliadis was speechless, Shun continued, "I was satisfied serving under you even though I noticed many of your faults and ignored them. However, there is something that I must absolutely do. I need to deal with that Demon God before he causes more chaos."


    "¡­That Demon God really is not dead?" King Valliadis still found it incredibly difficult to believe.


    "I wish he was. But I have seen enough hints to believe he still lives and is scheming against the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom. In this war against the Glerian Kingdom, I nned to make you realize it, but the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s involvement has made the situation spiral out of my control."


    "Thus, I only have this forceful method left with me. So, tell me, King Valliadis. What will it be? Will you activate that Saint Stele or die here?" Shun asked his question with an eerily calm voice.


    "So, you even know about the Saint Stele, huh?" King Valliadis muttered under his breath. He had never informed Shun about this.


    Shun nodded and spoke, "That''s correct. I believe there must be a huge price for using the Saint Stele, but we have to activate it as soon as possible no matter the price. The longer this Demon God lives, the more time he would have to cause chaos. We need to kill him as soon as possible."


    King Valliadis bit his lips and added, "The Saint Stele is a sacred object that my ancestor received from a Transcendent Saint. Only when we are under threat from a Celestial God or a Demon God are we allowed to use the Saint Stele."


    Shun spoke angrily, "That''s exactly the threat we are facing right now! So why haven''t you activated the Saint Stele."


    "¡­Let me finish, will you? The price for using the Saint Stele is the Ruler''s sacrifice," King Valliadis spoke grimly.

 Chapter 517 The Three Way Triangle Of Conflict

    Shun gasped aloud as he heard the cost of activating the Saint Stele. He was hoping it wasn''t something like this. But the reality disappointed him.


    He took a deep breath and spoke with a resolute look, "Even if that''s the case, you have to do it. You must activate that Saint Stele. Killing a Demon God at the cost of your life is indeed worth it."


    King Valliadis had a forced smile on his face as he heard Shun''s words. He responded, "I knew you would say something like that. Actually, I was preparing for this situation. This is why I want David to advance to the 6 Star Warrior."


    "I will pass all my responsibilities and powers to him before activating the Saint Stele. That should be okay, right?" King Valliadis asked.


    Meanwhile, Shun pondered deeply ''¡­If the king dies so suddenly, the entire Kingdom will split apart. It would be much better to wait for David to reach the 6 Star Rank and start handling the entire Kingdom.''


    "Alright. I agree to wait for some time, but if I feel that you are backing out at the right moment, I will kill you. At that time, I won''t see who stands in my way. They will all die," Shun left the Royal Pce after saying those words.


    King Valliadis sighed upon hearing those words. He knew his days were numbered. He summoned all his wives and concubines to inform them of his decision. Since King Valliadis had made up his mind, he wasn''t going to be half-hearted about it.


    In the meantime, the situation in the Glerian Kingdom was reaching a climax.


    The Lamhilhan Theocracy''s entire forces were focused on dealing with the demons that had emerged within its territory.


    These demons belonged to the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s army and stayed in the nearby Underground Labyrinth of the Demons within the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Yin Devouring Demon Emperor and the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor had ordered these demons through a mysterious channel to emerge and cause chaos within the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Thus, the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s forces stayed in their territory and fought the demons. However, the Archangels weren''t deployed to deal with these demons.


    In fact, five Archangels were dispatched to attack the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family. The Radiant Church seemed very adamant about ughtering the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family and gaining full control of this Kingdom.


    Azaroth had already gathered enough Death Energy by traveling around. He used a part of that Death Energy to cultivate some skills.


    Azaroth''s physique changed slightly as it was imbued with a bit of Death Energy. He could make his body intangible, and only those who had gained a high insight into their respective elements could affect it. This skill was known as the Deathly Intangible Body.


    Naturally, this skill would be useless against a 7 Star Warrior since an Emperor Ranked Expert possessed a deep insight of a specificw or multiplews. However, using this skill, Azaroth could fight against arge number of 6 Star Warriors without getting injured.


    Moreover, his attacks would be infused with Death Energy that would steal the opponent''s life energy.


    This Deathly Intangible Body was very hard to maintain since it required a high degree of concentration and consumed a lot of Ardor.


    Azaroth still hadn''t set up this array since he didn''t know where the battle would ur. He was waiting for an opportunity.


    Meanwhile, the Demon Emperor within the Glerian Kingdom had alreadye into contact with ck Hurricane.


    ck Hurricane withdrew from the war against the Sinyalian Kingdom after Yin Devouring Demon Emperor visited him.


    ck Hurricane soon summoned his main body and used it to contact Ghost Serene Demon Emperor. Ghost Serene Demon Emperor then ordered all their subordinates to emerge from the Underground Labyrinth and raise hell in the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Meanwhile, the Ghost Serene Demon Emperor secretly crossed the border and had already infiltrated the Glerian Kingdom.


    The two Demon Emperors soon heard about Azaroth from ck Hurricane. They were absolutely startled to hear that someone with a Demon God''s bloodline was actually roaming in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Their eyes immediately shone with insatiable greed. They knew how valuable a Demon God''s bloodline was. To be a Demon God, a Demon would have to evolve his bloodline to a Devil Bloodline by undergoing torture at the lowest level of Purgatory. Only then would they reach the threshold to advance to the Demon God rank.


    The other method of obtaining a Devil Bloodline was to steal the Blood Essence of a Demon God Bloodline. Well, this was easier said than done.


    A Demon God could kill the Demon Emperors with a mere thought. Only the Demon Emperors who had gained a very deep insight into a particrw couldst against a Demon God.


    This was also easier said than done. A Demon God could sense the world''sws more easily than a Demon Emperor. Thus, it was an extraordinary feat for a Demon Emperor''s understanding of a Law to surpass that of a Demon God''s understanding of a Law.


    However, such examples were found in the human world. A human''sprehension of thews was indeed much superior to the demons or celestials.


    Anyway, the two Demon Emperors included Azaroth in their n and wanted to steal his Blood Essence to reach the threshold to advance to the Demon God Rank.


    After nearly 3 dayster, the Archangels arrived near Crario City. Before they could advance into Crario City, Lennard and Bryon emerged from the Royal Pce. Both of them demonstrated a high battle intent as they red at these Archangels.


    Surprisingly, Lennard remained quiet as he observed the two new Archangels. One of these Archangels was holding a Pitch-ck Spear while the other held a Golden Zither.


    Meanwhile, Esther and herrades noticed something different about Lennard and Bryon. The two were holding weapons! Moreover, the aura of their weapons was very impressive!


    They immediately understood that these were Natal weapons.


    "If you think that you can win against us by bringing nothing but these measly weapons then you couldn''t be any more wrong!" Esther shouted as she tried to intimidate Lennard and Bryon.


    Meanwhile, Bryon nced at his son and asked, "¡­Ready?"


    "Yes, father. I am ready," Lennard spoke while raising his Axe. He seemed ready to rush towards these Archangels and attack them with his Axe.


    "What are you waiting for? Charge!" Bryon yelled out and Lennard charged at these Archangels.


    Lennard instantly became the focus of all the Archangels as he brandished his Warped Skeletal Cleaver.


    His swing was extremely powerful, and the battle axe released Demonic Ardor that startled the Archangels.


    Esther immediately countered the Warped Skeletal Cleaver by releasing Radiant Light from her Judgement Trident.


    The Judgement Trident managed to deal with the Demonic Ardor, but it couldn''t stop the Battle Axe.


    The Angel with the Pitch-ck Spear immediately attacked and tried to stop Lennard in his tracks, but it proved to be useless.


    The Warped Skeletal Cleaver easily pushed away that Spear and headed towards Esther.


    Another two Angels appeared and blocked this Warped Skeletal Cleaver with their mighty swords. Theirbined might along with the support from the Judgement Trident finally managed to stop Lennard.


    Esther suddenly frowned as she noticed that Bryon was no longer at his position. He had disappeared.

 Chapter 518 Comet Drop

    Esther and herrades continued to fight against Lennard. Lennard''s power shocked them greatly as he managed to handle nearly 4 Archangels all by himself.


    The only Archangel who hadn''t moved held her Zither with a cold expression on her face. This Zither was also a God-Ranked Weapon and possessed great power.


    Moreover, her proficiency in handling her weapon was much greater than Esther''s.


    She suddenly raised her head before lightly tapping her Zither. Multiple strings of pure Radiant Energy were released from her Zither, and it shot towards an invisible target.


    Esther noticed a dark shadow move from that spot and was shocked to see it was none other than Bryon. His figure was soon visible, and it was rather shocking. He was holding onto a standard-looking bow, fully stretching its bowstring.


    A red aura was slowly infused into the arrow. The Archangel with the Zither immediately struck her Zither strings, and multiple strings of pure Radiant Energy shot towards Bryon.


    Bryon knew his Shadow Dagger''s skill couldn''t conceal his perfectly from this Archangel. He had to eliminate her quickly.


    Thus, Bryon aimed at the Archangel and released his arrow. As soon as the arrow was released, the bow released a thundering sound.


    The arrow had already locked onto the Archangel. She couldn''t dodge this arrow no matter how she tried.


    In response, the Archangel struck the Zither strings once again. An extremely high-pitched sound was released from her Zither that forced all the warriors, including herrades, to cover their ears.


    Bryon continued to nce at this Archangel while covering his ears. He was shocked to see his arrow actually disintegrating in the air!


    This Archangel used an unusual skill to disintegrate his arrow into nothingness! He noticed that the Archangel striking her Zither strings again.


    Once again, Radiant Energy was released from her Zither, and it targeted Bryon. Bryon immediately countered by releasing triple arrows! These arrows were infused with pure me Ardor, and they immediately exploded as they came in contact with those streams of Radiant Energy.


    Those three explosions shrouded Bryon, and he used the <strong>Shadow Dagger''s</strong> skill at that moment.


    The Archangel possessing Zither managed to sense him only because he was infusingrge bits of Ardor in his Arrow.


    She also frowned and looked around to find Bryon. However, Bryon didn''t repeat that mistake.


    Meanwhile, the battle between Lennard and the four Archangels was reaching a climax in itself. Two Archangels were struck by the Warped Skeletal Cleaver, and Demonic Ardor was infused into their bodies.


    This Demonic Ardor was rather strange as these Archangels couldn''t purge it quickly. In fact, this Demonic Ardor was fusing with their bodies.


    The Archangels couldn''t help but scream in anguish as the Demonic Ardor merged with their bodies. To an Archangel, the Demonic Ardor was the most potent poison. Even a fallen Archangel couldn''t fuse with the Demonic Ardor.


    Esther and her Judgement Trident could help them. However, Esther was busy fighting Lennard. If she didn''t fight against him seriously, he could injure her gravely. And that would be the end of this battle.


    After all, no one other than her could use this Judgement Trident effectively. And herrade Aeshma, who possessed that Divine Zither, couldn''t hold onto these two terrifying human warriors on her own.


    Now that Bryon had disappeared, Aeshma focused on this battle against Lennard. She also noticed herrades suffering under the effect of Demonic Ardor.


    "I will hold onto this guy. Heal them," Aeshma softly spoke as she struck her Zither strings. All the Archangels made way for Aeshma to fight Lennard.


    Lennard snorted in disdain as he rushed toward Aeshma. She appeared rather weak to him, and he nned to end this battle in one swing.


    Unfortunately, Lennard couldn''t make that one swing. Aeshma struck her Zither strings rather strongly. A massive shockwave was released from her Zither that was released in all directions.


    Lennard was struck rather strongly and flew far away. The other Archangels weren''t affected at all.


    This shockwave affected those beings who weren''t Celestials. Thus, even Bryon experienced this shockwave and was thrown far away.


    Lennard frowned as the power of this shockwave was quite great. He believed it would be prudent to attack Aeshma from a distance.


    "<strong>Comet Drop!</strong>" He spoke with an extremely serious voice. Earth started to gather above Lennard''s head. And it was a massive quantity of Earth.


    However, attacking Aeshma with merely a simple Comet Drop wasn''t Lennard''s n. He spiced this attack by adding Demonic Ardor in it.


    After a single swipe against theet, Demonic Ardor infused into thisrge Earth Body. Aeshma ced her fingertips on her Zither strings and was ready to release a huge attack.


    As soon as Lennardunched thatrge Earth Body at her, Aeshma''s fingers started moving at a blinding speed.


    The Radiant Energy was released from her Zither as her fingers moved. And before Lennard released it, hiset was covered by pure Radiant Energy. The Demonic Ardor tried to make things difficult for Aeshma, but the Radiant Energy soon overpowered it.


    It was only natural for this Radiant Energy to overpower that Demonic Ardor since the Radiant Energy had emerged from a God-Ranked Weapon.


    In the meantime, Esther had managed to heal herrades. All of them rushed towards Lennard with a newfound resolve.


    They were aware of Lennard''s tricks now and were confident in winning against him. Meanwhile, Aeshma backed off quite a bit as she focused on finding Bryon.


    While she was attacking thatet, she had released some more Radiant Energy and was searching for Bryon rather subtly. And she sensed his presence in the west.


    Aeshma didn''t n on letting Bryon aplish whatever he was nning. She immediately released waves of Radiant Energy in the west direction.


    An instantter, she heard a groan and Bryon was visible ahead of her. He seemed distraught that Aeshma managed to find him.


    However, this wasn''t the end of the battle. Bryon decided that enough was enough. He raised his bow and shot off multiple me Arrows towards Aeshma.


    Aeshma released even wider waves of Radiant Energy to intercept those me Arrows. As the Radiant Energy intercepted those me Arrows, small explosions urred. These small explosions obstructed Aeshma''s vision for a second.


    She had no idea that Bryon was actually getting closer to her. He timed his arrows and the explosion in such a manner that Aeshma wouldn''t know about this.


    And when he was extremely close to her, he used his Shadow Dagger''s ability to disappearpletely.


    As those explosions faded and Aeshma stared at in the west direction, she was shocked to see that Bryon had disappeared.


    Before she could understand the trick he used to disappear, Bryonunched a sneak attack and backstabbed her.


    This backstab attack appeared to be helpful as the Divine Zither slipped out of Aeshma''s fingers. She was so shocked that her mouth remained agape, and she could barely turn her head to look at Bryon.


    Bryon pulled out his dagger and nned to end this battle by striking Aeshma again. But Esther intervened at that moment. She threw her Judgement Trident at Bryon.


    This Judgement Trident had a lock-on attribute and Esther had set it in such a manner that after striking Bryon, this Judgement Trident would release great quantity of Radiant Energy that would explode Bryon from the inside!

 Chapter 519 Domains

    Bryon noticed the Judgement Trident heading towards him and immediately pulled away from Aeshma. He noticed the Judgement Trident changing its direction midway and heading towards him.


    Bryon cursed under his breath as he noticed this phenomenon. He knew that even Shadow Dagger''s concealment ability couldn''t protect him from this Judgement Trident.


    ''Oh no! This is a God-Ranked Weapon. I need to counter it with an equally powerful weapon. But I don''t have one!'' He thought rather frantically.


    After thinking for some time, Bryon found a solution. He positioned his body in such a manner that this Judgement Trident would strike his arm.


    This was indeed what urred. The Judgement Trident struck Bryon''s arm, and almost immediately, Bryon pulled out his Shadow Dagger and sliced off his right arm. Bryon knew that this was the only method of dealing with this Judgement Trident.


    Esther cursed underneath her breath as she noticed Bryon using such a trick to deal with her Judgement Trident. The arm soon exploded as it was overloaded with Radiant Energy.


    ? She had taken a massive risk by throwing the Judgement Trident as she now had to fight Lennard without it.


    Retrieving the Judgement Trident and the Divine Zither was an issue in itself. However, fortunately, she wasn''t the only one worried about this issue. Another Archangel was worried about the same and had already begun to move.


    It was none other than Aeshma. She already grabbed hold of her Divine Zither and used it to release a dense stream of Radiant Energy.


    This dense stream of Radiant Energy guided the Judgement Trident to Esther. After aplishing this task, Aeshma flew high in the sky and had a determined expression on her face.


    "Everyone. It''s time we revealed our true power!" Aeshma shouted out to herrades. Herrades chorused in agreement as they all released rather impressive Radiant Energy.


    Suddenly, the Radiant Energy began to expand around their bodies. Bryon and Lennard soon flew side by side, and they were shocked to witness the Archangels'' Domains.


    "<strong>The Luminous zing Domain!</strong>" This was a domain mixed with Radiant Energy and me Element.


    "<strong>The Luminous Lightning Domain!</strong>" This was a domain mixed with Radiant Energy and Lightning Element.


    "<strong>The Luminous Storm Domain!</strong>" This was a domain mixed with Radiant Energy and Wind Element.


    "<strong>The Luminous Musical Domain!</strong>" This was a domain mixed with Radiant Energy and sound element.


    Lastly, "<strong>The Luminous Radiant Domain!</strong>" This was a domain filled with pure Radiant Energy. And only the most talented Celestial could unlock it.


    Esther released her Luminous Radiant Domain while Aeshma released her Luminous Musical Domain, while the rest released the other domains.


    After releasing their domains, the power of every Archangel was boosted by five to ten times. The only one who experienced a ten times boost was Esther, while the others experienced 5 times boost and so on.


    In reality, a Celestial couldn''t release his true energy on Frascoia Continent. This was all because the humans dominated thisnd and had influenced thews to favor themselves. Thus, a Celestial or a Demon could never use their true power on this continent.


    However, an Archangel or a Demon Emperor could resist thesews on Frascoia Continent by releasing their Domain!


    An Emperor-Ranked Expert could release a powerful domain that could change thews in a particr area.


    This was exactly what urred here. Thebined might of the Archangels'' domains was so great that it had altered thews in the surroundings to their favor.


    And this wasn''t all¡­ An Archangel''s domain was much different from a demon''s domain or a Human''s domain. An Archangel''s domain was actually a different space where individuals could live irrespective of their race.


    Thus, each Archangel usually carried an army of Angels with them in their domains! This army would reveal itself after an Archangel uses its domain. This was exactly what urred!


    Bryon and Lennard were extremely shocked to see small Angels flying out of those domains. Each of them possessed the power of a genuine King Ranked Expert. In fact, these Angels seemed a bit stronger than a regr King Ranked Expert.


    The two were sure that their descendant Tryfon would lose against one of these Angels.


    "¡­It''s time we use our full power too. We can''t lose this battle," Bryon spoke with a determined face. The fate of the Glerian Kingdom depended on them!


    Lennard released his domain an instantter, "<strong>Nirvana Earth Domain!</strong>"


    Meanwhile, Bryon released his own domain known as "<strong>zing Spiritual Domain!</strong>"


    He gained insight into this domain during his expedition inside a Volcano in search of rather rare material and a source of Fire Attribute Gem.


    Only on this journey Bryon not only gained insight into the me Element but also took the first step to advance to the 7 Star Rank.


    Using this domain, he could burn his opponent physically and spiritually. An Archangel''s physique couldn''t be considered very strong. This zing Spiritual Domain posed a great threat to it.


    "<strong>zing Sea of mes!</strong>" Bryon released this attack almost immediately as he aimed to ughter all those Angels that were released from the Archangels'' domain.


    "<strong>Stone Bullets!</strong>" Lennard conjured thousands of stones andunched them at these Angels. He targeted their heads to kill them instantly.


    While Lennard and Bryon were dealing with these Angels, the Archangels were actually healing themselves.


    All their domains possessed a healing ability and would recover to their full health after some time.


    Once they were fully recovered, Aeshma and Esther nced at each other and nodded. They nned to release their attacks at the same moment.


    The two charged toward Lennard and Bryon. Soon enough, their domains came in contact with each other.


    The two Archangels used their God-Ranked Weapons to enhance their domains and immediately overpower their opponents'' domains!


    As soon as they managed to suppress their opponents'' domain, theyunched dense streams of pure Radiant Energy and attempted to entrap the two.


    Aeshma continued to strike her Zither strings which empowered her streams of Radiant Energy. With each strike, the streams of Radiant Energy would split into two while maintaining their power.


    This meant that the streams of Radiant Energy were empowered with each energy so that they wouldn''t lose power even after dividing into two.


    And Esther released a single dense stream of Radiant Energy that aimed to entrap Lennard.


    Meanwhile, Bryon couldn''t use his bow since he had lost his right arm. It was impossible to use his bow with a single hand.


    The two warriors were covered with pure Radiant Energy. The other three Archangels moved at this moment and attacked these two warriors. In a span of ten seconds, these three Archangels had already struck their enemies with more than a hundred attacks.


    Aeshma and Esther opened their Radiant Energy to examine their enemies'' state. They were startled to see that the two were still living. However, it did seem as though they were on theirst breaths.


    Aeshma struck her Zither string tounch one final attack topletely kill her opponents. However, before her Radiant Energy could strike their bodies, an Archangel near them suddenly screamed with terror visible in her eyes, "<strong>AAAHHHHHHHH¡­.!</strong>"

 Chapter 520 Heavenly Concealing Array

    The Archangel''s scream caught everyone off-guard, including Aeshma and Esther. The two Archangels held their God-Ranked Weapons tightly as they gazed at the dark energy surrounding theirrade.


    That dark energy had a deathly aura and seemed extremely menacing. They were so taken aback by the death aura that they overlooked Lennard and Bryon''s bodies slipping from their Radiant Energy''s hold.


    The Archangels instantly concluded that this dark energy was the work of a terrifying Demon. They searched for the source of this dark energy and soon found it.


    This dark energy was emerging from a distance. And the one releasing it was none other than a demon at the Demon King rank.


    The Archangels were taken aback since they couldn''t fathom how a Demon King could control deathly energy. Controlling death energy needed a thorough understanding of deathws. A Demon King couldn''t have such deep insight into deathws.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was sweating nervously as he released his Demonic Domain. He couldn''t remain on standby and let these two humans die. Their lives were very crucial for his future ns.


    However, Azaroth knew that he couldn''t set up arge-scale Deathly Array through normal means. Thus, he had a single option left. It was to release his Demonic Domain and set up the Instantaneous Deathly Array and kill two Archangels.


    Unfortunately, the Archangels had already deployed their domains. Thus, it became very challenging for Azaroth''s Death Aura to kill a single Archangel.


    Azaroth had exhausted nearly 30% of the Deathly Aura he had gathered in thatst attack. Moreover, he was already highlighted, and these Archangels were sure to target him.


    Azaroth went with the best choice he had. He dashed at full speed! He wasn''t without a n.


    In the previous few weeks, Azaroth had built up some teleportation arrays in the previous few weeks as ast-ditch escape n.


    However, he wanted to use it after starting a battle between the Demon Emperors and the Archangels. Only then could he enjoy the greatest benefits.


    But the Demon Emperors were using the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor''s skills to hide in the shadows and observe the battle. Azaroth had already detected the two through his Mystic Eyes of Perception, but the Archangels hadn''t aplished that.


    Azaroth had to make the Archangels detect these two Demon Emperors and divert their target.


    This was easier said than done. But still, Azaroth dashed in their direction andunched a tremendous quantity of Hell mes.


    These Hell mespletely enveloped the area where the Demon Emperors were hiding. Azaroth burned that entire location so that the Archangels could easily find them.


    When the Demon Emperors noticed what Azaroth was attempting, they immediately shot a Demonic Beam to kill him.


    The Demonic Beam struck Azaroth''s body, and he fell down shortly after. However,unching this attackpletely revealed the Demon Emperors to the Archangels'' eye.


    ncing at these Demon Emperors, Esther''s blood boiled with anger. She shouted, "You two again?! I won''t let you escape this time!"


    The Demon Emperors weren''t stupid. They knew that a fight was imminent now that their location had been revealed. They immediately activated their respective domains and charged toward the Archangels.


    During theirst battle, the Demon Emperors were severely underestimating the Archangels. Moreover, during the time he was sealed, the Yin Devouring Demonic Emperor had learned some new skills.


    The same was true for Serene Ghost Demonic Emperor. They were ready for round two of their battle!


    As their terrifying battle began, the two parties failed to notice the disappearance of Azaroth''s corpse. In fact, not just Azaroth''s body but Lennard and Bryon''s bodies had also disappeared.


    At this moment, Azaroth was flying while holding onto Lennard and Bryon''s bodies. He was also using his Golden mes to heal the two.


    However, Azaroth controlled the rate of healing and prevented them from recovering too quickly. If they recovered any more of their strength, his n would fail, and he would definitely die.


    Azaroth flew through a Teleportation Array to get some distance away from this battlefield. He was curious to not leave behind any traces and made sure to destroy the Teleportation Array from his side. He couldn''t have anyone else follow him from this Teleportation Array.


    On this side, Azaroth had set up a massive ck cauldron that seemed to contain a rather dense purple liquid. This liquid was boiling hot as Azure mes lit underneath this cauldron.


    Before Lennard and Bryon couldprehend the purpose of this pot, Lennard was thrown directly into it!


    Azaroth used his Golden mes to suppress Bryon''s Ardor and restrained him before tossing him nearby. He had restrained Lennard as well by using his Golden mes before he was thrown into the cauldron.


    Screams of Lennard resounded in the area as he kept yelling for help, "<strong>S-SSSSssaaAAAAVVVEEEE MEEEE!!</strong>"


    Unfortunately, no one could hear his screams in this area. Azaroth had a bone-chilling smile as he stared at the cauldron and controlled the temperature of his Azure mes.


    The Azure mes burned fiercely, and Lennard''s entire bodypletely dissolved with the purple liquid.


    Once Lennard hadpletely dissolved with the liquid, Azaroth controlled the purple liquid and pulled it out of the cauldron. He also released more of his Azure mes and burned that purple liquid.


    Azaroth noticed the clouds turning ck and snorted in disdain, "I was prepared for you all this time."


    "<strong>Heaven Concealing Array!</strong>" Dark energy shot out of the ground from near Azaroth''s surroundings, and itpletely covered a small area around Azaroth.


    Not even the sun''s rays could pierce that area. In that dark area, Azaroth could see only through the light released from his Azure mes.


    This array allowed a certain area to hide from the heaven''s senses for a short period.


    Azaroth nned toplete the concoction of this thing before his Heavenly Concealing Array would lose effect. He used numerous streams of Red Lightning to swiftly fuse everything together.


    After nearly seven hours of concoction, Azaroth let out a breath of relief as the concoction had finallye to an end.


    He ended up with three purple pellets that had nine stripes on it. Nine stripes indicated a perfect pellet that had gained spiritual awareness and withstood heavenly tribtions.


    Fortunately, Azaroth''s Red Lightning had the same effect as the heavenly tribtions and allowed him to form perfect pellets.


    "¡­What a strange yet terrifying aura these pellets have?! Should I really ingest it?" Azaroth wondered.


    He didn''t want to ingest a pellet in Bryon''s presence. If he lost consciousness, Bryon would soon recover and be free to do whatever he wanted to do with Azaroth.


    And Azaroth didn''t have chains that could hold Bryon for long.


    ''Killing him will make the battle end in the Archangels'' favor. I can''t have that. I need to keep the situation bnced,'' Azaroth thought.


    He decided to leave a trace of Golden mes in Bryon''s body that would heal him slowly and sent him to another location through his teleportation array.


    This location was also far away from the true battlefield so Bryon could easily recover. Moreover, Azaroth also fed Bryon a pellet to allow him to recover his lost arm. The arm was recovered perfectly and Azaroth immediately left the area.


    He cut-off the teleportation array from his side to prevent Bryon froming here and taking revenge for Lennard.

 Chapter 521 Unknown Great Law And Future Vision

    Azaroth always wanted to concoct a pellet while mixing an individual with Royal Bloodline. He wanted to understand this fate energy more.


    The pellets he concocted earlier were actually known as the Abyss Eyes Pellets. The mixture of someone with a Royal Bloodline was the only modification rather than an ordinary human.


    Azaroth''s Mystic Eyes were much superior to these Abyss Eyes. He wanted to experience the difference between a Royal Bloodline and an ordinary bloodline in case this modified Abyss Eyes gained an extra ability. His Mystic Eyes of Perception were sure to detect this change.


    After taking a deep breath, Azaroth ingested that purple pellet while storing the other two. For a few minutes, nothing urred. Azaroth even began to think that the experiment ended in failure.


    He couldn''t find out more about Fate Energy through this method. However, he soon realized that tears of blood were leaking out of his eyes.


    Suddenly, Azaroth began to experience a sharp pain in his eyes as a star shape appeared in his pupils.


    The sharp pain was apanied by his sight blurring. He could no longer see his surroundings clearly and felt the pain increasing as he kept his eyes open.


    Azaroth hurriedly closed his eyes to reduce the pain, but the reliefsted for a mere second before he experienced that same burning sensation.


    Azaroth saw the light even though his eyes were tightly shut. He couldn''t understand what he was seeing.


    It appeared to be a vision. He saw it was arge field with a massive war going on. Behind Azaroth was arge city, and it appeared to be Crario City.


    Ahead of Azaroth stood that familiar man, wearing that same annoying mask. It was Inquisitor Fox and an unknown woman.


    The unknown woman wore a rather in white dress. She was very gorgeous, but it wasn''t her beauty that drew Azaroth''s attention. It was the feeling that allws were under her control. He knew that this woman was a God-Ranked Expert or a Lesser Saint!


    She opened her mouth and whispered softly, "So, you are <strong>Tyrannical Asura Devil God</strong>?" It didn''t seem as though she was asking Azaroth but stating it.


    Her eyes were filled with great resolve and integrity. Azaroth already judged her to be a rigid woman who would never give up on her ideals!


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s figure responded with an equally sinister smile, "So what if I am?"


    "You cannot live in this world. I won''t allow you to taint it any further!" The woman spoke with a determined expression as she controlled thews around her.


    Pure Ice Ardor emanated from this woman, and it swept Azaroth''s surroundings! Azaroth was frozen solid with that ice. The vision soon ended, and all that Azaroth saw was endless darkness.


    However, Azaroth heard a faint sound before his mind shut downpletely!


    After 10 or so hours, Azaroth woke up. He noticed his surroundings and was relieved to see that it was all a dream. He was still safe!


    However, he didn''t dismiss that earlier vision as a dream. The dream felt way too realistic, and he could remember all the details of that dream.


    Most importantly, he had never seen that woman in his life. So, how could he have dreamed about her?


    A dream is a session of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually ur involuntarily in mind during certain stages of sleep.


    The more Azaroth thought about it, the more he was convinced that it was no mere dream. It was a vision! He had seen a possible future!


    This was the first time he had experienced something like this, so he wasn''t sure whether he could change this future or not.


    ''If the future is unchangeable, then I am pretty much doomed. It''s impossible to escape from a God-Ranked Expert, even for me. Especially at my current power level.''


    He soon let out a sigh and whispered, "Giving up is not my style. I will do what I can to ensure my survival. The rest is out of my hands."


    The first thing Azaroth did was fly towards Crario City at his top speed. He could see a slightly different world through his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    He had gained a bit of future sight and could see the future actions of creatures. This future sight allowed Azaroth to see nearly a minute in the future.


    A minute could be considered very decisive in a battle between experts. Azaroth could easily dodge an attack if he knew the future. Or change his attacks to ensure that he sessfully hits his opponent.


    It required him to concentrate strongly on his Mystic Eyes of Perception. The second thing he noticed was that he could see other color streams in his surroundings. This was pure Golden Color, and the strange thing was that Azaroth suddenly began to sense another overwhelmingw in his surroundings.


    He was sure that this strangew and these Golden Colored streams were rted to each other.


    And to confirm his guess, Azaroth headed towards Crario City. He was getting closer to the battlefield where the Archangels and the Demon Emperors were still fighting.


    ''I can see the perfect vision if I focus enough even though the battle is urring so far away! Perfect!'' Azaroth wanted to smile widely as he observed the battle.


    It seemed as though the Archangels were holding a decisive advantage in this battle. But all was not lost for the Demon Emperors.


    The two managed to use the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor''s skills to hide from the Archangels for quite some time. Their attacks would asionallynd on the Archangels.


    However, the Archangels quickly used their domains to restore themselves to full health. Azaroth knew that if this battle continued in this manner, the Archangels would be victorious.


    However, he didn''t dare to intervene in this battle. Any random attack could take his life.


    He did notice something peculiar. The streams of Golden Aura seemed to be avoiding the Demon Emperors and the Archangels. Those streams weren''t flowing through them.


    Azaroth frowned as these golden streams passed through his body. The same was true for regr humans in Crario City.


    In fact, there was a group of individuals who held an overwhelming amount of these golden streams. It was none other than the Royal Family.


    Azaroth was utterly startled because he witnessed nearly millions of golden streams converging in King Tryfon''s body!


    ''What the heck is going on?! What are these Golden Streams? And howe this mysteriousw I have begun to sense feels so overpowering?! It''s actually much superior to all the Demonic or Holy Laws?! But how can that be possible?!''


    These questions were truly eating Azaroth alive. He was very sure that he hadn''t sensed thisw even during his previous life as a Demon God. This meant it was a neww that was created after his death.


    The rise of humanity was the most significant shift that urred following his death. Moreover, ording to his guesses, the Royal Family had acquired the fate ability during that time.


    There was a great chance that these Golden Streams indicated providence. If so, that would mean only humans were blessed with this providence. These Golden Streams avoided demons and Celestials like a gue.


    ''This is definitely the work of a great expert. Someone with the power of peak 9 Star Rank. Only the existence of that level can change thews of an entire continent. But shockingly, the Demon Venerable and the Primordial God haven''t tried to wipe out thisw from Frascoia Continent. They should understand that as long as thisw exists, they can''t conquer the Frascoia Continent. Does that mean it''s impossible to get rid of thisw through typical means? Even the Demon Venerable and Primordial God are helpless against this greatw by this unknown expert? How interesting¡­''


    Azaroth held a wide smile as he finalized his thoughts. A sinister n appeared in his mind.

 Chapter 522 Golden Streams Of Providence

    "These Golden Streams most likely indicate providence. I have gained the ability to discern providence through that earlier concoction," Azaroth smirked.


    Fortunately, he had two more pellets. He passed over those two pellets to William and ordered him, "Ingest one of them and hand over the other one to Sargan."


    William ingested a pellet and instantly fell unconscious. Azaroth''s spirit within the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring noticed that he was still breathing and understood that the effects of this Abyss Eye Pellet were fusing with William''s eyes.


    Something simr urred with Sargan as he also fell unconscious. His eyes bled crazily as the effects of Abyss Eye Pellet fused with Sargan''s Evil eyes.


    Azaroth wondered which ability the two would inherit. The ability to discern providence, or the precognition ability. Both of these abilities were incredible.


    Instead of a star shape like in Azaroth''s Mystic Eyes of Perception, a full moon shape appeared in William''s pupil, and Sargan''s Evil Eye had anotheryer of pure Golden Energy surrounding his reddish inner pupil.


    Moreover, Sargan''s Evil Eye unlocked even more of its original abilities. Sargan already possessed petrification, hypnosis, and mirage abilities of his Evil Eye. But now, he had unlocked another ability belonging to the Evil Eye.


    This ability was known as <strong>Adoptive Muscle Memory</strong>!


    This was a passive skill that allowed Sargan to copy everything he had observed, including the movements, actions, and even martial techniques.


    However, this ability had its limits. Even though the user can remember all movements or techniques, he can only disy skills limited to what his body could achieve.


    Meanwhile, William gained the ability to utilize <strong>Abyss Eyes</strong>. The Abyss Eyes allowed William to utilize <strong>Night Vision</strong>, <strong>Photographic Memory</strong>, <strong>Fear Inducement</strong>, <strong>Disruption</strong>, and <strong>Advanced Aura Control</strong>.


    There was a full moon of pure Golden Energy around his green pupils. This full moon was only visible after William activated his Abyss Eyes.


    Other than the traditional skills of Abyss Eyes, there was another skill William gained. It was the ability to discern providence! Azaroth named it <strong>Providence Perceiving Skill</strong>.


    Meanwhile, Sargan gained the <strong>Precognition Ability</strong>, which allowed him to perceive a few seconds in the future. He also gained a few standard abilities of the <strong>Abyss Eyes</strong>. These abilities were <strong>Night Vision</strong>, <strong>Photographic Memory</strong>, and <strong>Advanced Aura Control</strong>.


    At this moment, Azaroth was flying close to the Royal Capital of the Glerian Kingdom. At this moment, a battle was urring in this area that could very well decide the fate of this Glerian Kingdom.


    And ironically, both parties fighting at this moment could be considered the Glerian Kingdom''s adversaries.


    The Glerian Kingdom only had a single 7 Star Warrior, and that was Bryon. He was recovering to his peak health because of the Golden mes Azaroth injected into him.


    Azaroth nned to intervene in the battle between the Archangels and Demon Emperors. He had killed one Archangel earlier, but there were still nearly four Archangels who were in top condition.


    Activating his Mystic Eyes of Perception, Azaroth headed towards the battlefield. He released his Demonic Domain and the Deathly Energy.


    It was time to kill another Archangel. This time, his target was Aeshma. She possessed a God-Ranked Weapon and could be a deciding factor in this battle.


    Aeshma had to be killed to bnce the scales. Unfortunately, killing Aeshma was much harder than killing another Archangel.


    This was all because of the God-Ranked Weapon she held. It was the Divine Zither. If Azaroth targeted her with Deathly Energy, she could brush it off by using the Radiant Energy from her Divine Zither.


    Thews contained in the Divine Zither were much stronger aspared to the Deathly Energy gathered by Azaroth. In fact, even if Azarothbined all his insights into the Deathly Energy, it would still lose out to the purews contained within the Divine Zither.


    Thus, he had to prepare a thorough scheme to get rid of Aeshma.


    Azaroth concealed his Demonic Domain by using Deathly Energy. The Deathly Energy shrouded him inws of death that prevented the Archangels from sensing his presence.


    They would naturally detect an outflow of thew of death in their surroundings, but they would be too preupied with the conflict to notice. Thus, Azaroth headed towards this raging battle in an attempt to make this situation even moreplicated.


    After an hour, he finally reached his destination. Azaroth noticed a good location and slowly lowered his altitude. He controlled the trees and covered his body by using Wood Element while also shielding the Law of Death.


    At this moment, he was waiting for an opportunity. The Demon Emperors were on the losing end, and the Archangels were bound to be a little careless.


    Azaroth wanted to take advantage of that slight carelessness and attack them when they least expected it!


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor was the attacker, while the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor was the defender.


    The two Demon Emperors were together. The Serene Ghost Demon Emperor had released the Ghost Domain that allowed him to conceal his aura within a specific area instantly. Meanwhile, the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor had released his Yin Domain. This allowed him to gather Yin Energy effortlessly andunch an attack on an Archangel.


    Unfortunately, the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor''s Ghost Domain would lose its effect while the Yin Devouring Demon Emperorunched his attack on the Archangels.


    However, after hisrade finished attacking the Archangels, the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor would instantly use the Ghost Domain''s ability to conceal the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor.


    Until now, this was the tactic they utilized. It was a pity that the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor had been struck by Radiant Energy from Divine Zither.


    The Radiant Energy from Divine Zither was much quicker to gather and attack. Meanwhile, the Radiant Energy from Judgement Trident was a bit harder to gather, but its attack was much stronger than an attack from Divine Zither.


    Esther was sure that a single good hit on the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor was all she needed to end him.


    Aeshma''s attacks slowly whittled down the enemy''s defenses and tested his endurance. These Archangels hadn''t allowed the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor to heal at all.


    Meanwhile, those Luminous Domains instantly healed any attacksunched by the Demon Emperors.


    As he observed the battle, Azaroth thought ''¡­I can affect the battlefield by adding an influx of Death Energy to the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s domain. After all, Death is also an aspect of Yin. However, I need to sacrifice nearly half of the Deathly Energy I currently hold to affect the battlefield.''


    This was a one-time opportunity. If it failed, Azaroth would lose Deathly Energy required to make a difference on this battlefield.


    However, if it seeded, Azaroth would aplish his objective and prevent the Archangels from taking over the Glerian Kingdom.


    He was adamantly opposed to the Archangels gaining control of the Glerian Kingdom because he knew it wouldn''t be long before the Radiant God tracked down Azaroth and discovered he was the one who had stolen his Faith Energy!


    Azaroth assassinated one of the human experts required to prevent the Archangels from gaining control of the Glerian Kingdom in order to carry out a crucial experiment.


    Typically, the Fate Energy would have protected Bryon and Lennard since they possessed a rather dense Royal Blood and most likely those Golden Streams as well.


    However, an attack from the Archangels and the presence of Demon Emperors had changed the situation. The Royal Family''s power was much lowerpared to the threats it faced.


    This was also one reason that Azaroth only killed Lennard for his experiment. He left Bryon alive because if both were killed, something unthinkable might ur due to this weird fate energy. Maybe a slumbering expert would awaken, or another random expert could emerge for some reason.


    Moreover, as these Golden Streams of Providencepletely avoided Demons and Celestials, it could even be considered that they were considered an anomaly for these Golden Streams of Providence.


    The priority of a threat for these Golden Streams of Providence was much higher for Demons or Celestials aspared to other humans.


    This meant that if a human targeted a Royal Prince at the same time as another demon, then the demon would be killed, but the human might survive. In fact, the human might even seed in his mission while the fate energy was busy dealing with the demon. But the condition remained that this was only active when the other races intervened.


    This exined why the ck Hurricane took over the body of a Royal Prince. The ck Hurricane desired to be under the protection of these Golden Streams of Providence.


    However, the ck Hurricane didn''t understand the true abilities of these Golden Streams of Providence. Even though he took over the body of a Royal Prince, the Golden Streams of Providence started abandoning him due to his connection to its true body.


    ''Something simr can ur to me. Fortunately, William is blessed with great providence, and the same is probably true for Tiana, Noah, and Ralph. They inherently possessed human blood in them. But I can''t say the same about Sargan, Laura, and Yrellea. They might face the suppression from these Golden Streams of Providence as they advance.''

 Chapter 523 Frozen Hell Longbow

    After pondering deeply about this issue, Azaroth decided to intervene in this battle!


    He controlled nearly half of the Death Energy around him and formed a small sphere of it. This small sphere held enough energy to kill its target instantly.


    However, Azaroth was sure that he couldn''t kill Aeshma with this Death Sphere. Her Divine Zither''s Radiant Energy could deal with this Death Sphere.


    But the situation would bepletely different if the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor received this influx of Deathly Energy.


    The strikes of Yin Devouring Demon Emperor were already devastating. He was, however,cking in Yin Energy, or else they would be much deadlier and would be able to heal his injuries.


    Azaroth had noticed that the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s target had been Esther or Aeshma. He seemed to realize that these two Archangels posed the greatest threat to him.


    If it weren''t for these two Archangels holding onto God-Ranked Weapons, the two Demon Emperors would have steamrolled them by now.


    Unfortunately, the reality was rather unfair. The Archangels held God-Ranked Weapons, while the Demon Emperors were suffering from ack of energy!


    Azaroth activated his Mystic Eyes of Perception to its full potential to utilize its Precognition Ability. After witnessing the future, he immediately moved and threw the Deathly Sphere towards the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s domain!


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor was charging up another attack, and this time, he was nning to attack Aeshma.


    The addition of Deathly Energy was bound to make the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s attack much deadlier with a hint of Death Energy in it.


    Azaroth was sure that Aeshma would find it much harder to deal with this attack than before. This was exactly what urred.


    As the battle continued, Aeshma managed to anticipate Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s actions. Her timing in setting up a barrier to protect everyone from Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s attacks was absolutely perfect.


    Before the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor even attacked, Aeshma had already set up a significantly strong barrier that could block his attack with no problem. She was conserving much of her power as she knew the maximum output he could muster.


    Unfortunately, Aeshma was about to pay the price for this perfect timing. Azaroth''s Death Sphere boosting the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s attack significantly waspletely out of her expectations!


    It wasn''t just her. Even the Demon Emperors weren''t expecting to receive such great support from someone. But the reality turned out to be convenient and much more favorable than they initially imagined.


    The barrier instantly shattered uponing in contact with the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s attack. This attack was known as the Pure Yin Spear!


    After receiving that boost from Death Energy, the Pure Yin Spear instantly shattered the barrier and headed straight towards Aeshma.


    Aeshma was taken aback when she saw this Pure Yin Spear charging right at her. She spotted the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s astonished countenance as he came toward her.


    Esther arrived at the perfect moment to block the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor from advancing any further. She shouted out to Aeshma, "Deal with that <strong>Yin Spear</strong>!"


    Only Aeshma could deal with that Yin Spear because it took quite some time for Esther to gather Radiant Energy by using her Judgement Trident. It was easier for her to physically block the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor.


    While Esther and the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor were engaged in a fierce battle, Aeshma quickly moved her fingertips.


    Instantly, a melodious sound along with a dense amount of Radiant Energy was released from her Divine Zither.


    The Radiant Energy formed a thin sheet of rectangr shape that blocked the Pure Yin Spear. This thin sheet of Radiant Energy wasn''t like a rigid wall that strived to halt the Pure Yin Spear but a rather flexible thing that slowly reduced the momentum of the Pure Yin Spear.


    Controlling this sheet while blocking the Pure Yin Spear required all of Aeshma''s focus. Maybe it was because of this that she didn''t see a peculiar shadowing up behind her.


    This was a sneak attack by none other than Serene Ghost Demon Emperor. However, the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor faced the attacks of more than two Archangels who rushed toward him at top speed.


    The Serene Ghost Demon Emperor clicked his tongue as he realized that he had lost the opportunity!


    However, what none of them knew was that another shadow was getting closer to Aeshma. This peculiar and sinister shadow was right underneath her.


    The two Demon Emperors drew the attention of all the Archangels, prompting Azaroth to act.


    Azaroth took a deep breath while he controlled the Deathly Energy. He decided it was time for him to pull out one of his old weapons.


    <strong>Frozen Hell Longbow!</strong>


    This was a demonic bow that Azaroth used during his previous life! He had used this bow to assassinate countless figures. It wouldn''t be the first time he was using this bow to kill an Archangel while he was at the Demon King rank.


    All the Death Energy started converging as an Icy Aura was released from this bow. The icy aura formed the shaft of the bow while the arrowhead was formed of pure Deathly Energy.


    This bow had a particr skill, due to which Azaroth loved it. It was this bow''s astounding shooting speed!


    This bow didn''t hold a lock-on skill but instead held an extremely quick shooting speed. At the least, the senses of an Archangel could never react to that speed unless specifically trained for it.


    After Azaroth felt that the power was more than sufficient, he shot that arrow.


    The arrow shed in the air like lightning! Before Aeshma even sensed this arrow, it had already pierced her body, leaving behind that thick Deathly Energy!


    At this point, Aeshma realized that her body was pierced by Deathly Energy. However, she couldn''t use her <strong>Divine Zither</strong> to disperse this Deathly Energy.


    It took all her focus and power to deal with that Boosted Pure Yin Spear. If Aeshma recalled even a bit of Radiant Energy to deal with this Deathly Energy, this Boosted Pure Yin Spear would pierce her body.


    And this Boosted <strong>Pure Yin Spear</strong> was definitely going to split her in two! It would be an instantaneous death!


    Aeshma could sense this Deathly Energy incinerating her vitality! Her vitality was drying so fast that Aeshma guessed she only had a couple of minutes.


    However, before her death, she wanted to take a look at the person who attacked her. Aeshma lowered her head slightly and saw Azaroth standing on the ground with a conceited look on his face.


    She despised that look. It exuded the validation of a mastermind inmand of the entire battlefield.


    Aeshma was exceptionally prideful of her ability and intelligence, so she couldn''t tolerate someone else anticipating her actions!


    She recalled all her Radiant Energy andunched onest attack in Azaroth''s direction.


    Azaroth sinisterly smirked as he saw a stream of Radiant Energy heading towards himself. Actually, he saw that a minute earlier through his precognition ability and was prepared for this attack.


    Azaroth''s body disappeared just before the Radiant Energy stream struck him. Since he knew the attack was heading toward him, Azaroth was prepared to teleport out of the way by using his Spatial Technique.

 Chapter 524 The Archangels Retreat

    After Azaroth was gone, the Pure Yin Spearpletely annihted Aeshma''s body. The two Demon Emperors were startled to see that Pure Yin Spear ying Aeshma.


    They had seen Aeshma withdraw all of her Radiant Energy andunch a devastating strike downward. But when they dipped their heads, they couldn''t see anyone.


    An expert on Aeshma''s level wouldn''t be stupid enough tounch a pointless attack like that. The two immediately understood that someone else must have targeted Aeshma, and she used thest bits of her energy to attack that individual. However, that individual was prepared for this attack and had already fled the scene.


    ''It was very faint, but I definitely sensed someone utilizing Spatial Laws. Moreover, thosews appeared rather simr to the Serene Ghost Devil God''s signature technique,'' the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor thought deeply.


    ''I shouldn''t think about this question now. I should focus on retreating!'' The Serene Ghost Demon Emperor immediately appeared next to the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor, and the two disappeared from the Archangels'' vision.


    The Archangels had grim looks as they had suffered massive losses in this mission. Even though theypletely overwhelmed human experts and the demon emperors, they couldn''t kill any of them.


    That wasn''t entirely urate. Esther recalled the wounds those two humans had suffered and were certain they would perish.


    They could only survive if they were given a holy or sacred nt. But Esther was certain that such an herb did not exist in the Glerian Kingdom.


    However, the fact that they couldn''t kill the two Demon Emperors remained a sour point for Esther. The Radiant Church had even lost two valuable Archangels. One of them was a possessor of a God-Ranked Weapon!


    After Aeshma''s death, the God-Ranked Weapon immediately lost all its radiance and luster. In fact, it turned to stone shortly enough.


    Esther let out a sigh as she witnessed this phenomenon. A God-Ranked Weapon was considered useless unless its weapon spirit acknowledged its master.


    Even though the Judgement Trident hadn''tpletely acknowledged Esther as its master, it did allow Esther to use it.


    But the Divine Zither was different. It hadpletely acknowledged Aeshma as its master because of her highprehension of soundws.


    Even Esther or another Archangel in the Radiant Church couldn''t utilize this Divine Zither in the short interval.


    If this Divine Zither was touched by someone other than its master, it would suck all their vital force and enforce its energy. Even the Archangels would lose their life if they carelessly touched this Divine Zither.


    Thus, Esther wrapped the Radiant Energy from her Judgement Trident and carried the Divine Zither carefully.


    The Archangels were returning to the Lamhilhan Theocracy. They never imagined that they would return vanquished the second time after trying to invade the Glerian Kingdom.


    They knew that this setback would annoy their Radiant God. But if they stayed any longer, the Demon Emperors might kill another one of them.


    It wasn''t worth it to lose another Archangel. They had no choice but to submit the expedition''s discoveries to the Radiant God, regardless of the repercussions. Even if it entailed the Radiant God unleashing his fury on them.


    Bryon and the Demon Emperors were recovering from the injuries they suffered in the battle against the Archangels. It was rather relieving and fortunate for them that the Archangels temporarily retreated.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth was flying away from the battlefield at his top speed. He was sure that the Archangels hadn''t sensed his presence, but it didn''t hurt to be careful. He couldn''t underestimate those God-Ranked Weapons.


    If those weapon spirits turned to be willful and decided to intervene, even Azaroth could be in big trouble. The true power of those weapons wasn''t something he could handle just yet.


    At this moment, Azaroth was flying towards the Eastern Mountains Range of the Glerian Kingdom. This was where his retainers were hiding.


    Initially, he had no ns of meeting them in that location. He was a bit worried that someone would follow his traces. However, the situation had changed earlier as he noticed a troublesome thing.


    In the meantime, as the Archangels returned to the Central Cathedral in Zavega, the Lamhilhan Kingdom''s capital.


    They contacted the Radiant God through a specialmunication array in the Central Cathedral.


    Soon enough, the Radiant God''s avatar descended into the Central Cathedral. His appearance was akin to a child. His hair and eyes were of pure golden color, and he had a purely impassive look on his face as he nced at the Archangels.


    The Archangels didn''t dare to be the slightest bit careless as they bowed respectfully.


    "Where are Aeshma and the other one?" The fact that the Radiant God remembered Aeshma''s name was a pretty big deal. It showed just how talented Aeshma was aspared to the other Archangels.


    Esther bit her lips as she responded to her God''s question, "She is dead, milord."


    All the Archangels were expecting the Radiant God''s Avatar to get furious upon hearing this information. However, strangely enough, the Radiant God''s Avatar remainedpletely calm.


    "Did you bring her Divine Zither?" The Avatar inquired rather calmly.


    "Yes, milord!" Esther instantly replied. She pulled out the Divine Zither from her Life Ring. The Divine Zither was still wrapped in the Radiant Energy from the Judgement Trident.


    The Radiant God''s Avatar raised his arm, and the Divine Zither started moving towards his hand. Soon, the Avatar held that Divine Zither in his hand, and the stony Divine Zither slowly returned to its radiant form. It was glowing and releasing a lot of Radiant Energy.


    Meanwhile, the Radiant God''s Avatar looked strangely delighted as he spoke, "pfft. So, you really are in that Kingdom. Hehehe¡­"


    The Avatar''sugh shocked the three Archangels. They thought that the Radiant God would be angry with their defeat, but he seemed extremely pleased for some reason.


    The Radiant God''s Avatar noticed their abnormal looks and spoke jubntly, "You must be curious about myugh. I should be angry since you were defeated not once but twice! Moreover, this time, you were defeated by those filthy Demon Emperors! You were five but couldn''t kill even a single one of those two Demon Emperors!"


    Esther and herrades were extremely embarrassed as the Radiant God''s Avatar spoke those words. They were confused about how he knew these facts, though. It was as though he was personally present there.


    The Radiant God''s Avatar soon added rather gleefully, "I injected a part of my spirit inside this Divine Zither that observed everything in the Glerian Kingdom. Just now, I fused with my spirit and received all the memories of your expedition in the Glerian Kingdom."


    The three Archangels were instantly enlightened upon hearing this. They were a little worried about why the Radiant God''s Avatar would resort to this method. Did he not trust them?


    "I trust you all greatly. I know you do not n to betray me. However, your senses aren''t very sharp, and you could miss a few details. I wanted to personally witness this expedition in the Glerian Kingdom. And it didn''t disappoint me."


    "Do you know why you lost?" He inquired with a slightly amused look.


    "¡­We underestimated the humans and those demons?" Esther responded after thinking for some seconds.


    The Radiant God''s Avatar instantly shook his head negatively and replied, "No. Even if you were all serious from the start, the situation would have remained the same."


    The three Archangels were shocked to hear this statement and were slightly skeptical. Even though it was their God telling this, they had convinced themselves into thinking that they could have made a difference, so it was very hard for them to change their mind now.


    "The one who acted is none other than a Demon God. Moreover, he is the Tyrannical Asura Devil God. He is the Devil God feared more than any other, even in the Ancient Era two million years ago! Even if it was me, I can''t be the slightest bit careless against him, or I would suffer greatly!"

 Chapter 525 The Two Rules In Celestial Race

    Following the Radiant God''s Avatar''s revtion, the Main Hall of the Central Cathedral of the Radiant Church in Zavega, the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s Capital, had be remarkably silent.


    "W-What?! A D-Demon God?! Moreover, it''s the Tyrannical Asura Devil God?! Didn''t he die in the Ancient Era?" Esther was utterly shocked as she shakily asked for confirmation. The Radiant God''s Avatar''s grim smile was all the verification she required.


    The Tyrannical Asura Devil God was a rather famous name within Heaven. He was an extremely powerful and influential demon who had killed many Celestial Gods but also Devil Gods.


    He was considered rather willful and held no pride whatsoever, so it was impossible to find his weakness.


    It was said that he had angered both parties so greatly that theyunched a simultaneous attack coincidentally and killed him!


    However, the Radiant God knew that the truth was something else!


    The Celestials had done their best to remove all information about this demon god from the human world. It was to prevent the other races from finding that the Celestial Race and the Demon Race had joined hands.


    The Tyrannical Asura Devil God was not only powerful and talented, but he held a lot of secrets. Secrets that could shake the very foundations of the Celestial and the Demon Race.


    The Celestial Race and the Demon Race weren''t a monolith. Even though they held a supreme 9 Star Expert, it didn''t mean that this 9 Star Expert handled everything for them. There was a lot of independence within the race.


    However, a set of rules had been established, which served as the race''s philosophy. "Death to all Demons/ Celestials!!"


    Even the Primordial God and the Demon Venerable were no exceptions to this rule. If they broke this rule, their united race could fall apart, and it would be weaker and weaker.


    This affected the Primordial God more seriously than the Demon Venerable since his power origin was Faith Energy. If his race split apart, his power would fall dramatically.


    The second rule was "Control the world through faith/ fear!"


    Thus, there were two factions in the Celestial and the Demon Races. One side followed the first regtion zealously while the other followed the second one.


    The Supreme Leaders of both races leaned a bit on the second one, but they never showed any particr bias. It would negatively affect their race, after all.


    Thus, they wished to keep their cooperation a secret from the individuals who zealously followed the first rule.


    The Radiant God tilted towards the second rule and heard more secrets than a typical Celestial. The Archangels didn''t know about this secret, but they had heard of the Tyrannical Asura Devil God. He was made a viin in many of the Celestial''s constructed stories.


    All three Archangels were nervously sweating at this moment. In fact, it wouldn''t be strange if all of them had died in the Glerian Kingdom.


    They wondered why this Demon God let them go. Did he take pity on them? But that''s impossible. Or could that be attributed to his willfulness? None of them knew the answer.


    The Radiant God''s Avatar slowly spoke, "¡­I also heard of his death. I don''t know how but it seems that he survived somehow. ording to my observation of information my spirit gathered from within that Divine Zither, this Tyrannical Asura Devil is only a Demon King at this moment. Maybe he suffered a grave injury because he used a forbidden technique? But that doesn''t matter anymore. The fact remains that he is in the Glerian Kingdom, and we need to purge him quickly."


    His face turned a bit serious as he added, "You all do not need to worry too much. You can kill him since he is still merely a Demon King. He is still restricted by his realm."


    In the meantime, the Radiant God was thinking ''I sensed the same spiritual signature from him as that of the individual who stole my Faith Energy. Don''t tell me that it was his clone?! But how did he cultivate Holy Ardor?! But he also gave off a humane aura. How can so many powers converge in a single body?! Just what sort of cultivation technique is he practicing?!''


    The Radiant God was truly terrified of Azaroth. Even though he was a God-Ranked Expert, his power couldn''t bepared to the peak of the Tyrannical Asura Devil God.


    The Radiant God couldn''t be considered a top tier God-Ranked Expert. In fact, he could only be considered a mid-tier God-Ranked Expert. Someone who was somewhat stronger than a typical God-Ranked Expert.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth could be considered a top-tier God Ranked Expert because he lived during the Ancient Era and had participated in that Great War.


    That was a Golden Era filled with many talents and techniques. Experts were as numerous as clouds. And even during that era, the Tyrannical Asura Devil God managed to make a name for himself.


    Thus, it made sense that the Radiant God was terrified of him quite a bit. In the current era, the battle had nearly ceased to ur since the humans upied the continent.


    The humans were so strong that fighting them was nothing but foolishness for the Celestials or the demons. Only if the two races joined forces could they fight the humans. But that was impossible because of the two factions in their races.


    Thus, the situation had devolved to this extent. Both the Celestial Gods and the Demon Gods could be considered out of practice. And since no great war urred, no new talents emerged.


    The saying "War gives birth to heroes" was absolutely true. Even though great war urred nearly two million years ago and onlysted for about 300 years, the number of talents that propped up in those 300 years of war period were twice more than the talents that propped up in those two million years of peace.


    Each talent that propped up during that Great War could have shaped an era around themselves.


    Unfortunately, or fortunately, these talents were born during the era when the world was overflowing with talents. Thus, they died rather typical death and couldn''t morph that era around themselves.


    Even though the Radiant God was terrified, it didn''t mean he would give up on killing Azaroth. In fact, he was even more determined to do so.


    He knew the threat this man posed to the entire Celestial Race. His death was more urgent than anything else in the world.


    In the meantime, Azaroth reached the Eastern Mountain Range of the Glerian Kingdom. He quickly found Noah and others by using his Mystic Eyes of Perception. Under his Mystic Eyes of Perception, no illusion or concealing array could fool him.


    He easily passed through those arrays and assembled his retainers.


    "¡­Today, I have assembled you here to assign you my next tasks." Azaroth spoke seriously.


    "What is it, Master?" Noah asked rather excitedly. He had recently created a new technique and was eager to test it out.


    He was feeling rather depressed after losing to David Vermillion. And this technique he had created would definitely allow him to fight David Vermillion equally or even defeat him!


    The rest of them were curious about what Azaroth''s next task for them was.


    "It''s time for you all to travel to different kingdoms and continue expanding your respective organizations. Remain in contact from time to time."


    "Noah will be the de facto leader while Sargan will be the vice leader. You all must listen to the two of them. Got it?!"


    He received affirmative nods from all his retainers. Noah and Sargan enjoyed a high reputation among his retainers, so the others found it rather easily to ept.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth stared at Laura and spoke, "¡­The Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng you are searching for is somewhere in the south. That''s all I know. After finding it, return to the Elven Kingdom and focus on increasing your influence in it."


    Laura was delighted to hear the location of the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng, "Woah! You really found the location of that herb! Thank you, Master! I will definitely be the crown princess of the Elven Kingdom after I return!"


    Azaroth coldly nodded and then nced at Noah, "You need to travel to the Empire of Qin sometime soon. You cultivate the Mysterious Qin Technique; I am sure it has some rtion with this Empire of Qin."


    Noah excitedly responded, "Got it, Master! I won''t disappoint you!"


    Azaroth cocked his head in Sargan''s direction, "It''s time for you to return to Purgatory and gain control of the Bach n. With your talent and abilities now, it should not be too difficult for you to be the most talented member of your n and enjoy great quantity of resources. I will open up a portal for you to return to Purgatory. It won''t be a forbidden zone. That''s all I can promise you. You need to make your way back to home by yourself."


    He turned to Ralph, "Travel to the far west and enter the Beast Kingdom. Only then can you unlock your true potential as the inheritor of the Sabertooth Tiger''s Bloodline. Participate in the trials there and gain even more Ancient Blood. This is the fastest way you can be stronger."


    He then focused on Yrellea, "Your task is simple enough. Expand the Misty Flower Pavilion. Use the techniques you possess and advance further."


    He nced at Tiana and spoke, "Your task is simr to Yrellea. Just make sure that your sect bes influential and powerful!"


    Andstly, he nced in William''s direction, "I have already informed you of your task. You need to travel the world. I am sure you can already see the Golden Streams in the world as you activate your Abyss Eyes. Find a lot of acquaintances who have a thick golden aura."


    "Additionally, anyone among my retainers is trapped or in danger, it will be your job to save them, William!"


    At this moment, Sargan stepped up and asked Azaroth rather worriedly, "¡­Master, why does it feel like you are assigning us our final tasks?"

 Chapter 526 Noah Vs Laura

    At this moment, Sargan stepped up and asked Azaroth rather worriedly, "¡­Master, why does it feel like you are assigning us our final tasks?"


    All of Azaroth''s retainers were looking at him, intrigued. Sargan''s statements took everyone off guard and got to the heart of the situation.


    The smile on their faces vanished. Noah was the first one to react as he instantlytched onto Azaroth, "Please don''t leave me, Master! I am really strong. I¡­I am a 5 Star Warrior. I will definitely not hold you back!"


    Ralph looked rather sad as well, and the same could be said about Sargan. Meanwhile, Yrellea, Laura, and Tiana appeared to be extremely distraught as theirplexion turned pale! They never imagined it was something like this.


    Surprisingly, the only one who remained calm at this moment was William.


    Azaroth slowly caressed Noah''s head to calm him, "Shh¡­ It''s okay. Everything will be okay." At the least, Noah stopped shaking, but he continued to hug Azaroth tightly.


    Azaroth was slightly thrilled to see Noah bing so close to him. Noah would rather go against the world than betray him, he knew. This was the extent of his devotion.


    The same was true for his other retainers. Because of Azaroth, their lives were changed forever. They could never betray Azaroth, even if they discovered that he was only employing them because of their extraordinary abilities. This was how much they loved him.


    He then stared at his other retainers, "The missions you received are the paths you should take if you want to help me. You all stayed in the Glerian Kingdom and created your respective factions under my protection. This was all a trial for you. I wanted to know whether you could handle the real world without my protection."


    "In a sense, I have always been preparing you all for this path. And I now believe that you are ready!" Azaroth spoke proudly.


    He paused for a short moment before adding, "Since this will be a long break, I will inform you of my secret."


    "I am a reincarnated Demon God who lived during the Ancient Era. Through some coincidence, I managed to reincarnate in this era. Edwin was my previous body, and this is my true body," Azaroth spoke seriously.


    His retainers listened carefully as they were rather curious about this information. All of them, other than Noah, had managed to guess that their Master was formerly a demon. And only Sargan had sessfully guessed that his Master was a Demon God.


    However, they were still iparably shocked when they heard this from Azaroth''s mouth! Actually, one of them wasn''t shocked. It was Noah. He didn''t care about the previous identity of Azaroth. To him, it mattered not whether Azaroth was a Demon God or not.


    This made no difference to the fact that Azaroth was his dear Master.


    "You will encounter great difficulties in your journeys ahead that you will think everything you have experienced until now as a joke. But do not give up. Stay connected through the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring. As long as you seven remain connected, no one can defeat you! Never let anyone figure out your true connection!"


    His words caused everyone to unconsciously grow gloomier. Azaroth was preparing them for his absence, and they didn''t like where this was going.


    "I know you are getting sad because of this talk. But you should understand that it is necessary in case I lose. Our enemy is none other than the Radiant God and a Lesser Saint of unknown origins. And I want to be perfectly prepared to deal with them," Azaroth added with a slight smile.


    All his retainers had a hopeful look upon hearing those words. They started praying in their hearts to allow Azaroth to win. They didn''t want to lose him!


    Azaroth helplessly shook his head with a smile as he thought ''Praying to let a demon god win? I don''t think heaven will listen to that kind of prayer.''


    He then stared at Noah, "I need to talk to you alone, Noah. Since you will be the leader, you will have an extra task."


    "Yes, Master!" Noah spoke. The two soon went some distance away, and Azaroth ensured that no one else could eavesdrop on them.


    To do this, heid out the Heavenly Concealing Array. He didn''t want even heaven to know what he was talking about with Noah.


    After an entire hour, the Heavenly Concealing Array was released, and Noah had a tearful expression as he hugged Azaroth.


    "I will definitely obey your words, Master! I will never give up!" Noah spoke as he hugged Azaroth tightly.


    Azaroth softly nced at Noah and caressed his head, "Shh¡­ I know. That''s why I assigned you this duty. You have the greatest talent and mental fortitude among them all. Never forget that I am already very proud of you!"


    "¡­Yes, Master," Noah spoke slowly.


    "Let''s return. The others must be getting worried by now," Azaroth spoke with a smile.


    They rejoined the group shortly after. The women surrounded Noah, attempting to persuade him to reveal his secret conversation with Azaroth. Laura had even attempted to eavesdrop on their talk by using the other trees around them, but she had failed due to the Heavenly Concealing Array.


    Unfortunately for these women, Noah kept his mouth shut. He wasn''t going to disobey his Master''s order to keep that conversation a secret.


    A few secondster, he became annoyed and red at everyone before dering coldly, "The next time you open your mouth to pose this question, I will reply with my sword. Don''t expect mercy from me."


    His deration shocked and terrified the three women. They gritted their teeth upon hearing that deration.


    Laura clenched her fist as Wood Ardor began to leak out of her body. She spoke, "Is that so? Do you think that threat scares me? Come. Let''s see who is stronger. I did want to fight you!"


    Tiana and Yrellea were rtively calmer as they remained silent.


    Noah deepened his re at Laura and pulled out his sword, "Very well. It''s time I make you all realize the difference in our abilities."


    Sharp and deadly Sword Qi was unleashed from his body as Noah unsheathed his sword. His sword was filled with scratches and was chipped all over, but it gave a menacing feeling to Laura.


    Azaroth and his other retainers noticed this conflict, but no one stepped forward. This battle was necessary for Noah to consolidate his position as the leader of this group.


    "Keep your eyes on this battle," He advised his other retainers. They would sooner orter begin gaining insight into thew. This was the best method for them to advance to the 6 Star Rank.


    Noah''s Sword Qi would allow them to understand just how powerful aw truly was. Even Azaroth was somewhat curious about Noah and Laura''s aplishments.


    Laura began the battle byunching dozens of wooden vines at Noah. However, those wooden vines were cut apart into pieces before they could touch Noah''s body. It didn''t seem as though Noah had even moved his sword.


    This was purely aplished by his Sword Qi.


    "Hmph. Looks like you did be a bit stronger. But so did I!" Laura didn''t appear impressed by Noah''s Sword Qi as she released more of her Wood Ardor.


    "<strong>Wood Dragon</strong>!" The Wood took the shape of a Dragon that had a ferocious appearance. It had a long body that coiled around Laura and protected her.


    However, Laura didn''t stop at conjuring a single Wood Dragon. She created three more Wood Dragons andunched them at Noah. These Wood Dragons contained enough Nature Ardor that even Noah''s Sword Qi couldn''t destroy them easily.


    Meanwhile, Noah had a calm appearance as he moved along with his sword. He raised his sword while whispering gently, "<strong>Instant de</strong>!"


    Noah dashed towards Laura at a quick speed while his right hand was moving like lightning. His right hand couldn''t be seen.


    Laura couldn''t even see just how many times Noah struck her Wood Dragon, but she guessed it was more than a hundred times in that split second!


    She couldn''t understand how he could aplish such a feat!


    Before the Wood Dragon could fall apart, Noah had already moved to the next Wood Dragon and cut it apart into tiny pieces! The Sword Qi released from his sword pierced the Wood Dragonpletely!


    It didn''t take long for Noah to destroy all her Wood Dragons and continue charging toward Laura.


    Laura immediately jumped back whileunching hundreds of vines at him from all directions. Unfortunately, Noah used another technique, "<strong>Revolving de</strong>!"


    Noah released the sword from his right hand by spinning it at high speed. This de revolved around Noah while spinning quickly. It shredded all the wooden vines that attempted to strike Noah.


    Even Azaroth was slightly impressed upon seeing this technique.


    After the de lost all its power, Noah recalled it to his hand using his Sword Qi. He noticed Laura was getting back to gain some more distance between them. She probably wanted tounch arge technique.


    Noah was eager to get this over with. So, he poured all of his Wind Ardor and Sword Qi through his feet and pushed as hard as he could against the ground to gain a significant speed boost.


    It was extremely beneficial as Laura hadn''t expected Noah to gain such a significant speed boost. He instantly crossed the massive gap between them.


    In her nervousness, Laura quickly formed a protective wooden dome to protect her body and stop Noah for a brief second.


    Noah effortlessly shredded that dome by using the Instant de technique. His de soon approached Laura''s throat. He reduced his speed to stop his de as he didn''t want to kill her. He just wanted to cause a small cut on her throat, but he was surprised to see his de phase through Laura''s throat.


    Instantly, he understood what was going on. This was Laura''s Bloodline Technique. She could make her body intangible ording to the element around her. Currently, she chose the wind element.


    Noah phased through her body, and right then, Laura solidified her body to attack Noah. This time, her hand was covered with thick Wood as she attempted to pierce Noah''s stomach.


    However, Noah had anticipated this and immediatelyunched the <strong>Revolving de technique</strong>!


    Noah''s sword slightly grazed Laura''s throat from the side before she could even touch his body.


    Noah''s cold voice resounded in Laura''s ears, "Satisfied now?"

 Chapter 527 The Final Training

    The battle ended as Laura surrendered. She had no notion Noah had grown so powerful to defeat her so swiftly.


    Noah walked away, but he nced at Laura, Yrellea, and Tiana, "Master wants to keep it a secret, and I will do so. If you go against master''s order, I will personally ughter you lot."


    His eyes were filled with deadly killing intent as he red at the women. They had enraged him by disobeying Azaroth''smand! Laura, Yrellea, and Tiana, slowly nodded their heads in affirmation.


    They seemed to have realized their silly actions and were a bit embarrassed.


    They looked in Azaroth''s direction with an apologetical gaze. Azaroth stepped forward along with William, Ralph, and Sargan, "That was an interesting spar. You both have grown rather powerful."


    He was truly delighted to see them getting so powerful. It relieved him since they were all about to part. Azaroth couldn''t assist them in their adventures any longer. They had to count on each other to survive!


    "I will remain here for two more weeks. Let''s begin thest phase of your training. I will guide you enough until you can sensews on your own," Azaroth spoke.


    Azaroth possessed the Seven Colored Bodhi Tree. He nted it earlier in the Origin Sect''s Branch in Veninza Town. However, before returning to the Eastern Mountain Range, Azaroth brought this Seven Colored Bodhi Tree along with him.


    Now that he was a 6 Star Warrior, it wasn''t much of a big deal for him to carry a tree in his Spatial Ring. He utilized his Celestial Ardor to sustain the lifeforce of this Seven Colored Bodhi Tree.


    Azaroth nted this <strong>Seven Colored Bodhi Tree</strong> in an empty field. Suddenly, all of Azaroth''s retainers experienced a strong suppression.


    This was because the Seven Colored Bodhi Tree had released densews. It was also gathering all kinds ofws to their location. Thus, the suppression effect increased tremendously.


    Only Noah could somewhat resist this suppression after he unleashed his Sword Qi.


    "From now on, you will train, meditate, and spar in this area. In these two weeks, I will make you experience true hell," Azaroth spoke with a slight grin on his face.


    Except for Noah, all of his retainers were terrified when they heard those statements. Only Noah was ecstatic since he was looking forward to learning from his beloved master. He wanted to impress Azaroth during this training!


    Thus, the two weeks of hell began for Azaroth''s retainers.


    In the meantime, the Radiant God was plotting a terrifying scheme along with his Archangels. At this moment, Esther and herrades apanied her as they listened to the Radiant God''s n.


    "Our true motive for attacking the Glerian Kingdom is that Demon God''s demise. He must have sensed my presence and will be more alert in the next battle. It''s very much possible that he stays concealed until the end of the war and tries to escape to another kingdom," The Radiant God spoke seriously.


    Esther was a bit confused as she heard the Radiant God''s words. She asked, "If he remains concealed, how should we find him? Our sensing skill is insufficient for finding him."


    Radiant God nodded as he added, "I know. If Aeshma was alive, she could have used her Divine Zither to find this Demon God. But unfortunately, she has already perished. But don''t worry, I have another n in motion. Even this Demon God can''t guess it."


    The Archangels wondered what their Lord''s n was, but they didn''t inquire about him.


    "Your primary goal is to eliminate the Demon Emperors. In fact, after we y them, we can utilize their bodies to further our just cause of seizing the Glerian Kingdom''s territory, managing it, and ridding it of the demons."


    The Radiant God concluded his n with that. The Archangels understood what they had to do and prepared themselves. This time, they took more Demon suppressing artifacts to ensure the death of the two Demon Emperors!


    And in the meantime, the two Demon Emperors were also having a long talk.


    "Did you see the death of those two Archangels? I believe that the Demon mentioned by the ck Hurricane acted. He already found our location and led those Archangels towards us," The Serene Ghost Demon Emperor spoke.


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor agreed with his friend''s guess, "You are most likely right. We were perfectly concealed. It should have been impossible for the Archangels to find us."


    The Serene Ghost Demon Emperor added, "I also believe that the reason your Pure Yin Spear managed to strike that Archangel possessing that Divine Zither was because of the interference of this Demon God."


    "Yes. I suddenly experienced a surge of energy, and my attack was greatly boosted. This was how Iunched such a powerful Pure Yin Spear." The Yin Devouring Demon Emperormented as he recalled that great surge.


    If he knew why he experienced that great surge, he could have used that energy to ughter all the Archangels.


    This was also why Azaroth boosted the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor right when he was about tounch his technique. He didn''t want the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor to kill all these Archangels. That would destroy the bnce.


    "Another battle is soon approaching. I can feel it. There is a chance those Archangels will be better prepared," The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor spoke with a grim tone.


    Both Demon Emperors knew that if they fought those Archangels again, there was a high chance they would lose. Unlike those Archangels, those Demon Emperors didn''t have any artifacts or resources to heal themselves.


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor required very dense Yin Energy to heal those injuries. At the same time, the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor had a rather high regeneration, but he still required some healing artifact to recover from those injuries.


    The Demon Emperors received an invitation from a rather shocking person in the next few days. This individual was none other than the Ancestor of the Glerian Kingdom''s Royal Family, Bryon Res!


    Bryon knew that his son had been killed by that unknown individual. He was extremely furious and wanted nothing more than to kill that individual!


    From what he could understand, the person was merely a 6 Star Warrior. He merely needed to turn his hand to kill that individual!


    However, he also understood that finding that person would be impossible now. That person must be hiding in a secludedir, concealing all his tracks.


    Moreover, the Glerian Kingdom didn''t just have a single enemy. Their true enemies were swarming them from the sides. One was the Sinyalian Kingdom, while the other was the Lamhilhan Theocracy!


    The Archangels were sure to attack them soon. Thus, the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom urgently required allies.


    Allies who were at the 7 Star Rank and could resist those Archangels. These Demon Emperors seemed to be the only candidates avable for the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom.


    After fleeing from the battlefield, the Demon Emperors hadn''t concealed their tracks as effectively as they could. Both were injured, and they didn''t wish to utilize their vital energy merely to keep their energy concealed. They wanted to save their vital energy for an emergency situation!


    They chose a fairly secluded area and recovered in that location.


    Bryon mobilized the entire intelligencework of the Glerian Kingdom and managed to find their traces. He then sent them a message covertly, "¡­Join me if you want to defeat those Archangels; otherwise, I will reveal your position to them."


    This threat was extremely effective. The two Demon Emperors would most definitely be killed if their location was revealed to the world. Bryon''s prestige would be greatly boosted as he helped the world purge two Demon Emperors.


    Moreover, since this message was sent secretly, Bryon had ensured that it couldn''t be traced back to him.


    After much consideration, the two Demon Emperors epted Bryon''s offer.

 Chapter 528 The Sinyalian Kingdoms Situation

    A week passed by in the blink of an eye. The situation in the Sinyalian Kingdom changed significantly!


    There was news that David Vermillion had sessfully advanced to the 6 Star Rank! Moreover, after reaching the 6 Star Rank, he triggered a heavenly phenomenon of the me Phoenix Avatar above the Royal Pce.


    The entire Royal Pce was blessed with a divine light from that me Phoenix Avatar. It was considered an auspicious omen.


    Once David Vermillion was out of the Secret Royal Treasury, King Valliadis dered him the next king. He immediately began to process to pass the crown.


    By the end of this one week, the process of passing the crown to David would beplete. And on the final day, King Valliadis nned to sacrifice himself and utilize that Saint Stele!


    Shun promised King Valliadis that he would never let anyone harm David or the Sinyalian Kingdom. He felt rather guilty at making King Valliadis sacrifice his life like that, but he didn''t have a choice.


    Shun thought ''If I could be assured of your destruction, I would, in public interests, ept my demise.'' It indicated that if Shun could be assured of the Demon God''s death, he was willing to sacrifice his life in a heartbeat.


    Unfortunately, his death wouldn''t result in the Demon God''s demise. He had to use this wretched method to ensure that Demon God''s death!


    It hurt his pride and conscience, but Shun felt that the world''s safety was a much greater cause.


    The Emissaries of Clyranis remained on standby as they gathered all information regarding the Radiant Church. They were startled to hear that the Archangels had been repelled by the Glerian Kingdom, not once but twice!


    Moreover, one of those angels possessed a God-Ranked Weapon, yet they were vanquished! It was a shocking piece of information.


    This information caused chaos, not just on Frascoia Continent but also in Heavens! Not that a God-Ranked Weapon was without a master, it could be considered up for sale!


    Although it was challenging to find the master of a God-Ranked Weapon, the high poption of the Angels and Archangels made this seemingly impossible mission feasible.


    The Radiant God would be willing to sell it for the right price.


    In any case, the fact that an Archangel wielding a God-Ranked Weapon had been in on Frascoia Continent was top news!


    More importantly, the Radiant God kept his mouth shut about how his subordinate perished! He appeared to be concealing something from them!


    He had a specific reason for concealing that information from them. He didn''t want other Celestial Gods to focus on the situation in the Glerian Kingdom and find out about Azaroth''s existence.


    Azaroth was a treasure trove that the Radiant God wished to enjoy alone. The Radiant God was sure that he would gain immensely if he managed to read Azaroth''s soul.


    If nothing else, he would understand how Azaroth could utilize Celestial Ardor and Demonic Ardor at the same time.


    The Radiant God didn''t try holding onto the Divine Zither. Instead, he exchanged this weapon with another weapon that was ratherpatible with one of the Archangels working under him.


    The weapon he received was Twin Daggers. One was of Lightning Element, while the other was the me Element. Holy Lightning ze Twin Dagger!


    He passed this twin dagger to his subordinate and allowed her to proceed with the Blood Ceremony. The Blood Ceremony was basically when the weapon was ced in a container full of the client''s blood.


    After the Blood Ceremony, the individual''spatibility with the said weapon would be tested and known.


    3 dayster, the Blood Ceremony came to an end. The Holy Lightning ze Twin Dagger had chosen its new master. Thepatibility turned out to be nearly 89%.


    This was extremely highpatibility. Typically, thepatibility wouldn''t break through the 67% mark.


    Aeshma was an exception, as herpatibility with Divine Zither was nearly 91%.


    In any case, the Radiant God was delighted to have another Archangel who could utilize a God-Ranked Weapon.


    This Archangel hadn''t joined the battle in the Glerian Kingdom earlier. However, this time, she was going to apany Esther andy waste to that kingdom.


    Nearly four dayster, a team of three Archangels charged out of the Lamhilhan Theocracy. This time, hundreds of Angels followed them as they rushed towards the Glerian Kingdom.


    Even the Radiant Church''s fanatics within the Lamhilhan Theocracy followed the Angels and Archangels in their attack on the Glerian Kingdom.


    Around the same time, David Valliadis became the new ruler of the Sinyalian Kingdom, and the former King Valliadis vanished into thin air.


    Only David and Shun knew his precise location. He was in a secret chamber of the Royal Family, right underneath the Royal Pce.


    At this moment, King Valliadis was activating the Saint Stele through an Ancient Ceremony.


    Shun remained near King Valliadis as he observed the ceremony. King Valliadis wasying down an array by spilling his Royal Blood on the ground. It was a rather pitiful sight to see a valiant king being reduced to such a state.


    However, Shun noticed the Saint Stele glowing a bit. He was relieved to see that the method was working.


    While this was going on, a group of Inquisitors led by Inquisitor Cat charged into the Glerian Kingdom. Apanying these masked individuals was a rather handsome youth that held a cold expression.


    This was none other than Tronte and his team. Inquisitor Cat was one of his agents, and he used her to recruit more Inquisitors ever since King Valliadis''s power had weakened.


    He possessed a great intelligencework in the Sinyalian Kingdom and arge set of resources. It didn''t take much effort to convince these Inquisitors to pledge their allegiance to him.


    They easily passed the Glerian Kingdom''s security since it was ratherx after the Lamhilhan Theocracy dered war.


    The Glerian Kingdom couldn''t focus on both sides. Thus, they decided to deal with an immediate issue. And in this scenario, dealing with the Lamhilhan Theocracy appeared to be more urgent and crucial.


    The Angels and the Radiant Church''s fanatics spread over the entire Glerian Kingdom. Their task was to take over the Glerian Kingdom''s territory as quickly as possible.


    The Glerian Kingdom was already suffering from ack of troops because of their recent war against the Sinyalian Kingdom. They couldn''t handle the Radiant Church''s fanatics and the Angels at this moment.


    King Tryfon Res did leave the Royal Pce with his trusted subordinates and killed any Angel or warrior that came to attack the Capital. It was his job to ensure that the Capital remained safe. Bryon had promised to deal with everything else.


    Just as the Archangels were on their way to attack the Royal Pce, they were intercepted by the Demon Emperors.


    These Demon Emperors seemed to have recovered from their injuries and even be a bit stronger. There were Demonic Emperor Ranked weapons in their hands.


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor possessed a Deathly Scythe, while the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor possessed a Shadow Dagger.


    The two parties began fighting. Unsurprisingly, the Archangels were the ones winning this battle. They easily suppressed the Demon Emperors through the use of their God-Ranked Weapons.


    However, they didn''t know that an Assassin was gazing at this battlefield from afar with a deadly glint in his eyes.

 Chapter 529 The Flame Storm

    Bryon flew some distance away from the battlefield where the two Demon Emperors fought against the three Archangels.


    He pulled out his bow and cocked his arrow before stretching his bowstring. It had been nearly three whole minutes since he stretched his bowstring, and the power of his arrow had significantly boosted.


    In fact, this was the first time Bryon held out his bowstring for more than two minutes. This arrow had drained him of all his Ardor and Bloodline Energy, but he was sure that it would kill whoever he targeted.


    His target was none other than Esther, who held the Judgement Trident.


    Bryon''s bow held the lock-on ability. Meaning that Esther could never escape this arrow if she was in this world.


    Bryonunched that arrow. The arrow covered the massive gap between Bryon and Esther within the blink of an eye.


    However, its speed wasn''t fast enough to bypass Esther''s senses. She sensed that arrow as soon as Bryon released it.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t know that this arrow couldn''t be dodged. Thus, she wasted quite a bit of her time moving out of the way. It wasn''t until she saw the arrow had drastically altered its route and was still after her that she realized its true power.


    Esther saw a shadowy aura in the distance and was sure that it belonged to one of those human experts they had killed earlier.


    ''It seems one managed to survive,'' Esther thought as she brandished her Judgement Trident.


    The middle prong of the Trident released a mysterious red-colored beam as it struck the arrow. That reddish beam was filled with destructionw personally added to the Judgement Trident by the Radiant God.


    Esther could sense a deadly aura from that arrow and didn''t want to take any risk. The arrow was filled with an unreal aura, and it managed to slice apart that red beam to move forward. However, as it resisted that red beam, its body was slowly destroyed before it eventually shattered.


    Bryon, flying in the distance, was stunned to see Esther destroying his arrow containing all his power. It made him understand the true difference between him and an Archangel possessing a God-Ranked Weapon!


    Now that Bryon had revealed himself, Esther wasn''t going to let him go. She immediately nced at her fellow Archangel, who had recently gained the Twin Daggers, and ordered her, "Go and kill that human expert!"


    Bryon''s concealing skill was quite good, but those twin daggers could releaserge area-based attacks and engulf the entire area in deadly mes and terrifying lightning!


    Most importantly, this Archangel hadn''t gotten used to fighting with those twin daggers in a group. She was more of a nuisance than a helper. Esther had to keep an eye on her to ensure that this Archangel wouldn''t hit her allies.


    It was more troublesome to keep an eye on her than to fight the two Demon Emperors.


    Once she was gone, the Archangels began topletely suppress the Demon Emperors. This was all because the Radiant God had been kind enough to gift them rare Demon Suppressing Artifacts that even affected Demon Emperors.


    And now that the new Archangel was no longer inhibiting Esther and herrade, it made sense that the two began winning again.


    However, Esther kept watching over her surroundings. She recalled the Radiant God''s words, who mentioned that the Reincarnated Tyrannical Asura Devil God might make a move against her during their next battle.


    She had to remain very attentive. This was also the true reason why the Radiant God injected the power of hisws within the Judgement Trident.


    In the meantime, the two Demon Emperors were gritting their teeth with frustration. They had already utilized their domains and were fighting as best as they could with their weapons, but it was just too difficult to defeat these Archangels.


    The Demon Suppressing Artifacts had significantly reduced the power of their attacks, making it impossible for the Demon Emperors to counter the Archangels.


    They noticed that the human''s surprise attack had failed.


    Bryon shouted out while amplifying his voice with his Ardor, "Why is the Lamhilhan Theocracy attacking my Kingdom?! We should be united against the demons! I wish to apany you to fight the demons if you promise to return after these Demon Emperors die."


    Esther was instantly furious upon hearing those words. She shouted back while amplifying her voice, "Shut up! You have a lot of nerve to say that while coborating with the demons! We have received news that there are a lot of deadly demons staying in the Glerian Kingdom. The Radiant God has been kind enough to take the responsibility of purging those demons, but you power-hungry humans can''t let go of your power! It is because of you that the citizens of your Kingdom suffer from the raids of those demons!"


    Bryon snorted in disdain and responded instantly, "The Lamhilhan Theocracy shouldn''t talk about demons in the Glerian Kingdom. I reckon it hasn''t even been two weeks since hundreds of demon groups suddenly emerged in the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s territory. I wonder where those demons were staying. There is no way the Radiant Church wasn''t aware of their location, so why didn''t the Radiant God act earlier?! Don''t tell me that the demons and celestials were coborating?!"


    Esther yelled out angrily, "SHUT UP! You dare nder the righteous and noble Radiant Church! You deserve a thousand deaths for those words!"


    Bryon smirked as he dodged another attack of the Archangel he fought while responding to Esther with augh, "Your attack on the Glerian Kingdom is entirely unjustified. You are trying to expand your territory by using the demons as an excuse. Is the Radiant God trying to breach the Ancient Treaty between Humanity and the Celestials? You shouldn''t try to expand your territory, or else you will suffer the consequences."


    Esther was really furious when she heard those words, but she swallowed her words. She couldn''t reveal the presence of Tyrannical Asura Devil God!


    Seeing that Esther was silent, Bryon believed that he managed to guess it right and continued, "I will be sure to inform the human experts that the Radiant God is breaching the Ancient Contract. I wonder if the Radiant God would dare to step onto Frascoia Continent when the human experts ughter you all. My guess is not. That coward won''t dare to leave his shithole."


    Esther was so angered by those statements that she turned her head in Bryon''s direction and nned tounch a deadly attack on him.


    However, turning her head away from the ongoing battle was a blunder on Esther''s part!


    The Serene Ghost Demon Emperor immediately stabbed her body with the <strong>Shadow Dagger</strong>! Esther was shocked as the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor''s dagger stabbed into her chest!


    She managed to use her Holy Ardor to prevent it from reaching her heart, but the deadly poison of that dagger paralyzed her body temporarily.


    The Judgement Trident fell out of her grasp, and the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor approached her with a massive smile on his face.


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor nned to suck all her vital force. This vital force would allow him to get stronger and gain some immunity to the Luminous Energy! This was one of the abilities of his Yin Devouring Demonic Technique!


    If he absorbedws other than the Yinws, the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor would gain immunity to thosews.


    Moreover, the pure power of the vital force would remain the same and be added to the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s core.


    However, the new Archangel who was fighting Bryon suddenly intervened. Sheunched a massive me storm that revolved around Esther.


    This me storm prevented the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor from moving any further. Those were Holy mes. He would die if he entered that Holy me Storm.

 Chapter 530 Saber Emperor

    As the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor paused for a brief period, Esther managed to recover from that paralysis.


    She brandished her Trident and attacked the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor with a dense Radiant Energy.


    The Yin Devouring Demon Emperor was a bit too close to her, so he couldn''t dodge that attack in time. The attack struck his body, and his domain instantly dissipated.


    This time, the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor found no opportunity to sneak attack Esther. Instead, he picked up Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s body and disappeared.


    Esther snorted upon noticing the two Demon Emperors fleeing from the battlefield, "Not so fast!"


    She had injected a part of Radiant Energy within the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor''s body earlier as she struck him with that Radiant Beam. She could now track the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor effortlessly.


    "<strong>Quick Chase</strong>! <strong>Radiant Stream</strong>!" Esther utilized these two attacks andunched a dense stream of Radiant Energy.


    This attack was even stronger than the beam that struck the Yin Devouring Demon Emperor. Moreover, it was much thicker as well.


    Esther clearly wanted to end this entire battle quickly. It didn''t take long for the Radiant Stream to strike the two Demon Emperors.


    Their bodies became visible as the Radiant Stream struck them. Once their bodies were visible, Esther released a bit of that red beam. This red beam contained the destructivews personally injected by the Radiant God.


    The two Demon Emperors immediately activated their domains to halt that red beam from striking their bodies. They even sacrificed most of their life force to temporarily gain a significant boost.


    However, they had forgotten that they weren''t fighting a single Archangel. There was another one in the vicinity.


    And this Archangel instantly hurled her spear at the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor! As the Holy Spear pierced the Serene Ghost Demon Emperor, his domain faltered, and the red beam struck both of them.


    The two instantly perished as they were struck by a dense quantity of destructionws!


    Esther drew a few deep breaths as she gazed at the Demon Emperors'' ashes. Herrade collected the weapons that had fallen out of their hands.


    She managed to aplish one of her primary missions. Everything else should get a bit easier. After all, Bryon couldn''t hold them off for long.


    Esther and herrade rxed a bit as they nned to fight Bryon soon after recovering their breath. Rxing at this moment was a massive blunder on Esther''s part.


    Suddenly, the two Archangels sensed a terrifying aura. This terrifying aura belonged to a human, and he was right behind them.


    As she turned around, Esther noticed a rather typical guy with dark hair and brown eyes. He had a nk expression as he brandished his Saber.


    Esther moved her Judgement Trident to intercept his Saber, but she was a tad bit too slow. This guy pierced her chest with his Saber and whispered, "<strong>Thirteen shes!</strong>"


    Within a split second, the human pulled out his Saber and struck Esther''s body thirteen times! His Saber was filled with Saber Qi and Lightning Ardor, which severely injured Esther while paralyzing her.


    "<strong>L-Luminous R-Radiant Domain!</strong>" Esther activated her domain to heal her injuries. Inside the Luminous Radiant Domain, she healed much faster than a typical Archangel.


    Unfortunately, this human had no intention of letting her heal. He whispered with a nk look, "<strong>Saber Domain!</strong>"


    Instantly, thousands of Saber Qi were released from his body and pierced Esther''s body! His insight into the Saber appeared much deeper than Esther''s insight into the Radiant Laws!


    Esther tried to release the red beam from her Judgement Trident, but the human brandished his Saber while whispering, "<strong>Unleashed Bear Swing!</strong>"


    This was an extremely heavy and quick swing. It was so strong that this human managed to sever Esther''s hand that held the Judgement Trident!


    She could no longer utilize the Judgement Trident now that it was no longer in her hands.


    Herrade immediately attacked this human, but the Saber Domain weakened her attack greatly, and he easily blocked it with his sword.


    "W-Who are you?!" Esther asked while angrily ring at this human.


    "I am known as the <strong>Saber Emperor</strong> for thest few years," The human opened his mouth and responded calmly.


    "What?!" Esther was startled to hear that title. She had indeed heard of a human who had managed to be a <strong>Saber Emperor</strong>. But thest time she heard any news about him was nearly three decades ago.


    He had fought against many Archangels from the Radiant Church and killed nearly three of them! He never lost to an Archangel in a one-on-one battle, even if the Archangel held a God-Ranked Weapon.


    Because of his terrifyingbat power and hatred towards the Celestials, he had managed to enter the Execution List of the Celestials.


    This human must have heard of the conflict between the two kingdoms and decided to intervene after hearing that the Archangels were also involved.


    "Hgggh¡­I can''t die just yet!" Esther shouted as sheunched a massive sphere of Radiant Energy. This massive sphere contained all her insights into the Radiant Energy, and even this Saber Emperor couldn''t deal with it in a short time.


    She immediately backed away while the Saber Emperor was busy dealing with her attack. In fact, she used her life ring to pull out a precious herb and ingested it immediately.


    It was an instant recovery herb that only grew in Heavens. Her arm that had been severed earlier started growing out of her wound.


    Naturally, Esther experienced an intense pain that made her want to die, but she endured this pain while gritting her teeth.


    Esther nced at herrade and nodded seriously. Herrade instantly charged at the Saber Emperor and nned to keep him upied while Esther recovered her Judgement Trident.


    The Archangel barelysted ten seconds against the Saber Emperor before he split her apart in pieces. Not even an Archangel could recover from that state.


    However, the good news was that Esther managed to recover her Judgement Trident. She used her Judgement Trident to boost her speed and got close to herrade, who was fighting Bryon.


    Esther nned to quickly kill Bryon and reduce the number of their opponents. Unfortunately, the Saber Emperor wasn''t going to allow Esther to seed.


    He used his Saber Qi to reduce Esther''s pace and prevented her from reaching Bryon.


    As the battle in the sky raged, the battle on the ground became even more chaotic. This battle was between the King-Ranked Warriors and below. The situation was so chaotic on the ground that the Glerian Kingdom''s warriors didn''t even notice the presence of some foreign experts.


    These were none other than the warriors from the Sinyalian Kingdom. Among them was Tronte and a whole team of Inquisitors.


    They remained together and protected each other in this chaotic situation. Tronte''s vision waspletely focused on the battle going on in the air. He noticed that the Demon God wasn''t fighting in the air just yet.


    ''Looks like we need to find a safe location from where we can observe this battlefield,'' Tronte thought.


    It didn''t take long for Tronte''s team to find this ce. There was an abandoned castle just a dozen miles away from their location.


    There was no one at this castle since a war between the Celestials and the Glerian Kingdom''s warriors was going on.


    The Glerian Kingdom had recalled all its warriors to the capital to make one final stand against the Lamhilhan Theocracy''sbatants!

 Chapter 531 Trontes True Identity

    Azaroth had already arrived on the battlefield. He was a bit startled to see an unknown human shing and defeating the Archangels, but when he gazed at Bryon and noticed those Golden Streams within his body, he didn''t find it so strange.


    It was only natural for Bryon to receive assistance from such an expert. In fact, Azaroth was more surprised that this helper wasn''t a Saint Rank Warrior!


    But still, after this Saber Emperor''s appearance, he noticed that the Golden Streams within Bryon''s body faded a bit.


    Azaroth thought he was seeing things, but he was sure that those Golden Streams were less than 20% of their original number.


    ''Fortunately, thew of conservation of mass remains alright. The fate energy used those Golden Streams to slightly manipte the mind of this Saber Emperor and summoned him here.''


    Azaroth looked around and checked his surroundings rather carefully and cautiously. He didn''t want to be unaware of any more experts hiding in the area.


    After some time, he noticed something peculiar. There were experts stationed in a fort nearly a couple of miles away from his location. The aura felt rather familiar to Azaroth. He soon concluded that this aura belonged to Tronte.


    When Azaroth first met Tronte, he was merely a 2 Star Warrior. Yet, Tronte had already reached the 6 Star Rank in this short period.


    ''How could he have reached the 6 Star Rank so quickly?! I can sense no special cultivation or talent that could greatly boost his cultivation. Did he encounter a divine fruit? But even if that''s the case, it should have left traces of its presence within his blood or Ardor.''


    Azaroth noticed something even more peculiar. There was not a single Golden Stream passing through Tronte!


    This indicated that Tronte was not a human. But how was that possible?! Even demi-humans would possess those Golden Streams. Tronte could not be deemed human as hecked those Golden Streams.


    Just what was his true identity?!


    Azaroth had been watching Tronte for some time and was taken aback when Tronte abruptly raised his head and peered in his way. Moreover, Tronte even smiled as if he had found what he was looking for.


    He ordered all hisrades, "Men, we have our target! He is in the east direction. Let''s go!"


    In the meantime, Azaroth wondered just how Tronte managed to sense his gaze. Azaroth''s Mystic Eyes of Perception was an ocr technique at the Demon God Rank. Tronte had to possess the Spiritual Perception of someone with a Demon God Rank to sense his Mystic Eyes of Perception.


    Azaroth soon stopped thinking about how Tronte managed to sense his gaze and instead prepared to battle them. He wasn''t scared of Tronte and his little group. This group only had 6 Star Warriors.


    Azaroth''s ability was great enough that he could defeat these 6 Star Warriors easily. However, he also didn''t n to look down on Tronte.


    Since Tronte could sense his gaze, it proved he had a sufficiently strong Spiritual Perception. Maybe he had a rtion to a God-Ranked Expert.


    Hell mes gathered in Azaroth''s right hand while ck Lightning gathered in Azaroth''s left hand.


    After Tronte and his group were close enough, Azaroth unleashed those Hell mes and ck Lightning in a thick, dense stream!


    "<strong>Lightning me Dragon Jaw!</strong>"


    The purple-ck stream quickly altered its shape into a dragon''s head shape with its jaws open with a ferocious look and a menacing aura!


    ording to Azaroth''s calctions, this Lightning me Dragon Jaw held enough power to ughter all these warriors charging toward him. But he attacked this group against Tronte''s group for another reason. He was rather oblivious of Tronte''s true abilities and wished to use this attack to figure that out.


    A massive explosion urred as the Lightning me Dragon Jaw struck Tronte''s group. Azaroth''s face became grim as he witnessed that sight.


    He instantly activated his Heavenly Demon Body Transformation Art, and his body started changing. Horns grew out of his skull, and small bat wings appeared on his back. His height grew significantly as his body became much thicker.


    This was his Heavenly Demonic Transformation Technique. It was simr to the Divine Holy Demonic Physique but a lower ranked than that physique.


    In the Heavenly Demonic Physique, Azaroth could only utilize Demonic Ardor. He activated this technique because he noticed something peculiar when his attack struck Tronte''s group!


    Tronte had raised a Golden Barrier to shield his group from the Lightning me Dragon Jaw! Moreover, this Golden Barrier was filled with Holy Ardor.


    Azaroth now understood that Tronte was a Celestial! This guy had concealed himself too deeply!


    But that wasn''t all. Azaroth quickly connected the dots and guessed that Tronte''s identity as a Celestial wasn''t normal!


    He was most likely the clone of a Celestial God! That was the only way to exin his insights into the Radiant Law! It was much deeper and more profound aspared to Esther and herrades!


    Moreover, Azaroth felt as though his aura seemed rather familiar to that will of the Radiant God he sensed in the Divine Faith Pool.


    ''I see¡­The Celestial Gods cannot step onto the Frascoia Continents, but their clones are allowed. Whatever agreement the humans had with the Demons and the Celestials seems to be riddled with holes. Or maybe it''s because they can''t differentiate a God''s Clone from another human unless they reveal their identity.''


    Whatever the case, the situation had be a bit troublesome for Azaroth!


    However, Azaroth didn''t flee. Since Tronte could detect him from so far away, his Spiritual Perception was stronger than Azaroth''s. At least for now. He must also possess some rare treasure that boosted his sensing range.


    Thus, Azaroth couldn''t escape from Tronte''s grasp!


    Even so, Azaroth remained calm as a rock. The situation was stillrgely under his control. Judging by Tronte''s insight into the Radiant Law, Azaroth could guess hisbat level.


    This Heavenly Demonic Physique should be enough to defeat him!


    Azaroth charged toward Tronte with a quick burst of speed without any further ado! He was so quick that Tronte almost didn''t see him.


    Azaroth''s fistnded on Tronte''srade on his right side. He wanted to cull their numbers before engaging Tronte in one-on-onebat.


    He knew that with the presence of his allies, Tronte wouldn''t dare to unleash a great attack. His guess turned out to be correct.


    Tronte hesitated to use his Radiant Surge attack as he saw hisrades swarm Azaroth. The cold smile on Azaroth''s face told Tronte that this was exactly what he wanted.


    Tronte immediately shouted out to hisrades, "Get back! I will fight him alone!"


    He had brought hisrades so that he could swarm Azaroth with numbers. But now that he personally witnessed Azaroth''s agility and strength, he knew that those numbers would inhibit him rather than trouble Azaroth!


    Thus, it was better for them to back off temporarily. They weren''t going to go too far away, though. Tronte wanted them to keep their eyes on the battlefield and attack Azaroth as soon as they saw an opportunity.


    In the meantime, Tronte leaped at Azaroth and attempted to hold hisrge body down while amplifying his own body with Radiant Laws.


    Azaroth countered Tronte and punched his chest multiple times. He knew Tronte would choose such an option, and it was the perfect chance to gravely injure him.


    In the meantime, Tronte''s group quickly backed away from that battleground. They kept their senses alert while gazing at them as they wished to be of assistance to Tronte!

 Chapter 532 Azaroth Vs Tronte

    Azaroth attempted to turn this into a closebat duel with Tronte. He was well aware that no matter how skilled Tronte was, his vulnerability as a Celestial would linger.


    All Celestials have feeble physiology. It was somewhat more powerful than a human''s physiology but far less so than a demon''s.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s body may rank among the best among demons for a Demon King. He was sure to win this battle if he continued to battle Tronte in closebat.


    But Tronte knew his body''s weakness better than anyone. Beforeing here, he had anticipated all kinds of battles against Azaroth.


    He knew that Azaroth would definitely try to close the gap between them and gain the upper hand in the battle once his identity was revealed. Thus, Tronte was prepared for this situation.


    Tronte sprang up after taking a few strikes from Azaroth, heavenly wings unfolding on his back. There was a resolute look on his face as he whispered, "<strong>Radiant Domain</strong><strong>!</strong>"


    His domain was much different whenpared to those Archangels'' domains! At a nce, it appeared much smaller. However, this domain''s quality was much higher than those of Archangels'' domains.


    It was only expected since this domain belonged to the clone of a Celestial God. The wounds on Tronte''s body instantly healed as the Radiant Domain spread around him.


    Azaroth could sense the pure power of the Faith Energy from Tronte''s Radiant Domain. He was drawn towards it like a moth to a me.


    He understood the reason for this phenomenon. This was because he absorbed the Faith Energy meant for the Radiant God! The Faith Energy that he had absorbed at that time wished to return to the Radiant God!


    ''Interesting¡­So this is another reason why no other Celestial God tries to steal Faith Energy belonging to another Celestial God. Once their body is close enough, the faith energy will try to return to its original owner. This must be the price of stealing another Celestial God''s faith energy. You be helpless against its original owner. Now, this is not something you want to ur during a battle.'' Azaroth thought.


    The situation would be much worse for another Celestial God in Azaroth''s position.


    Azaroth sensed his Holy Ardor behaving rather abnormally. It seemed to be paralyzed to some extent. He was now sure that he couldn''t utilize his Divine Holy Demonic Physique Transformation against Tronte.


    But it didn''t bother him all that much. He still continued to battle as if nothing had urred. Not even a frown or scowl appeared on his face.


    Tronte was observing Azaroth''s reactions thoroughly. He received his original body''s message that Azaroth might be the one who stole his Faith Energy.


    Thus, after Tronte activated his domain, he was expecting to see a change in Azaroth''s body. But unfortunately, Azaroth''s physiology was a bit too advanced for Tronte to sense with his Spiritual Perception.


    Actually, Tronte could have easily grasped this physiology if he had tried to inspect a typical warrior possessing the Triquetra Ardor instead of Azaroth. Unfortunately, Azaroth possessed Spiritual Perception that had been honed during the Ancient War, which could easily shield him from Tronte''s analysis.


    "<strong>Divine Extermination Ray!</strong>" Tronteunched a thin but dense beam of pure Holy Ardor that targeted Azaroth''s heart.


    This ray moved at light speed so Azaroth couldn''t dodge this attack even if he wanted to unless he knew that this attack wasing for him!


    The Mystic Eyes of Perception gave him Precognition ability which allowed him to see his future a few seconds ahead. This meant he was a few seconds ahead of Tronte in this entire battle!


    He easily dodged that Divine Extermination Ray andunched an attack that he had prepared in the meantime.


    It was a Dark Sphere possessing the power of Hell mes and Spatial Laws. Unfortunately, Tronte easily dealt with that attack as it entered his Radiant Domain.


    Tronte''s eyes narrowed as he saw Azaroth dodging his Divine Extermination Ray. He had thoroughly analyzed Azaroth''s physical abilities and knew it was impossible to dodge that ray unless he knew it wasing.


    "You are rather troublesome to deal with than I initially thought, Demon God!" Tronte hatefully spat out while ring at Azaroth.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth returned a smile as he spoke, "And you concealed yourself rather deeply, Tronte. So, you are a Celestial God in disguise? Damn. I never would have guessed this. I wonder why the great Celestial God has to create such a weak clone. Are you scared of someone?"


    Azaroth was digging for information by taunting Tronte. Tronte sneered at those words. He was about to respond angrily when suddenly he stopped himself.


    "¡­Digging for information, huh? Well, I did read in the records that despite the great strength you possess, you are rather chatty during a fight. Well, sorry to disappoint you, Tyrannical Asura Devil God, you won''t get anything from me," Tronte spoke with a snort.


    Azaroth shrugged in response, "Doesn''t matter to me. I will figure out the truth eventually."


    "Hah. You need to survive today for that. And let me remind you, I have no intention of letting you walk away!" Tronte spoke with a deadly calm voice.


    Immediately after, Tronte''s body released an extremely high quality of Holy Ardor. It was so pure and so highly ranked that it caught the attention of the Archangels and the Emperor Ranked Humans fighting in the air.


    The Archangels were bbergasted to sense the aura of their master! They gazed in Tronte''s direction and noticed he was fighting a Demon King!


    The Archangels immediately recalled their master''s words. The Tyrannical Asura Devil God was currently a Demon King. They had to kill him at all costs during this expedition!


    Even though all those Archangels were aware of his presence, Azaroth remained unfazed. He knew that if those Archangels attempted to assault him, those human experts would seize the chance and kill them.


    Since the Archangels were a greater threat to the Glerian Kingdom, Bryon wasn''t going to bother about a Demon King in his territory. Even if it was the same Demon King who killed his son viciously.


    Bryon was an experienced, cold, and ruthless ruler. He would first deal with the Glerian Kingdom''s enemies before resolving any personal matter!


    Thus, Azaroth''s immediate concern was only Tronte. And as time passed, he realized it wasn''t so easy to defeat Tronte.


    Tronte unleashing that massive Holy Ardor from his body seemed to have boosted his Ardor significantly! Its quality had entirely changed, and Azaroth could sense the raw power of the Radiant Laws from his Ardor. This was considered the Divine Physique of the Celestials. Only extremely talented Celestials could unlock this state. Even Archangels would spend centuries or millenniums to gain insight into this state.


    Combining this state with the Radiant Domain made Tronte a truly terrifying opponent. At the least, not a typical Demon King could defeat him now!


    Fortunately, Azaroth was not a typical Demon King! He was the former Tyrannical Asura Devil God! He had fought against this form countless times!


    And as he witnessed that yet familiar form on Tronte''s body, his blood boiled with excitement. Tronte didn''t give Azaroth the time to spread his domain.


    He instantly charged toward Azaroth. His speed was as fast as light, and Azaroth couldn''t catch a glimpse of him.


    Even his Precognition ability failed him at this moment. Azaroth saw the future and prepared for Tronte''s attack, but Tronte would change his attack trajectory at thest possible second while observing Azaroth''s posture.


    Tronte''s current speed was so quick because he was utilizing Light Laws through his body. Moreover, he was focusing on the Speed Component of the Light Laws and using them at their full potential!


    Azaroth was punched multiples times within a single second! His face was bashed seven times, while his chest was punched five times.


    When Tronte targeted Azaroth''s chest, he focused all his punches on a single point. It was right above Azaroth''s heart!


    If he kept attacking that spot with those Light Laws, he could eventually pierce Azaroth''s skin. But even as he took a beating from Tronte, Azaroth smiled delightfully!


    He wasn''t a masochist and definitely didn''t like this pain! He was delighted because he saw an opportunity!


    Until now, he hadn''t seen his Precognition ability prove him wrong! He hadn''t seen the future alter before his eyes. But now he did! He saw how Tronte altered the future that Azaroth saw.


    This indicated that the future could be changed through one''s actions!

 Chapter 533 The Radiant Gods True Body

    Azaroth was thrilled after he saw the future changing before his eyes. It confirmed a possibility in his head, and he could see his own survival now!


    Tronte''s assaults, on the other hand, were disregarded by Azaroth. Whenpared to the two Demon Emperors, his bloodline''s regeneration ability was far superior.


    Tronte''s Divine State,bined with his Radiant Domain, made him a formidable opponent. But Azaroth smirked as he whispered softly, "<strong>Death Domain!</strong>"


    Among the Demonic Domains Azaroth had gained insight into, the Death Domain was the most appropriate domain to counter this Radiant Domain!


    Death was aw that even the Holy Laws couldn''t eradicate! And he had noticed that the Radiant God hadn''t managed to gain insight into the Law of Life. Only thisw could contain the Death Law to some extent.


    Tronte tried to contain Azaroth''s Death Domain through his Radiant Domain. But the Radiant Domain was quickly suppressed, and he was forced to back off.


    Tronte''s Light Ardor had managed to trouble Azaroth quite a bit. His speed was so great that Azaroth could barely see him.


    However, this was about to change quickly. The ck Lightning''s presence could be sensed around Azaroth as the Death Domain spread around him.


    The ck Lightning was slowly injected into Azaroth''s body, and his tinum blonde hair became supercharged and stood stiff!


    Tronte snorted upon noticing this transformation and used his Light Ardor to continue his assault on Azaroth.


    However, Azaroth moved just as swiftly this time, blocking Tronte''s blow before striking his chest. Tronte managed to block the blow, but the impact sent him back a few meters!


    This happened so swiftly that Tronte''s subordinates had no idea what had happened. All they saw was their lord disappear for a few seconds before reappearing while clutching his chest and breathing heavily.


    Meanwhile, it didn''t seem as though Azaroth had even moved from his spot!


    Slowly, Azaroth flew towards Tronte. He was purposely being so slow as if to give the initiative to Tronte.


    Tronte dly took the bait and started off with abo attack that further boosted his speed. It was a movement technique that allowed him to fool his opponent by moving mysteriously.


    However, Azaroth nced at that technique once and recognized the movement technique.


    <strong>Crimson Snake Movement Technique!</strong>


    Crimson Snake was considered one of the fastest beasts in Heavens. It possessed the crimson lightning of the Heavenly Tribtion and was considered the most terrifying mutant snake in Heavens.


    It was considered terrifying due to its quick speed and mysterious movement technique. There had been many experts who captured this Crimson Snake just to study its movement technique.


    The Radiant God was one of those experts. Afterprehending the Crimson Snake Movement Technique, the Radiant God managed to utilize the speed attribute of his Light Laws to itsplete potential.


    This Crimson Snake Movement Technique was actually a bit troublesome as Azaroth furrowed his brow. He could see Tronteing from one direction, but the attack striking him was from another direction altogether!


    It was a rather mysterious movement technique. Azaroth stood there and countered Tronte''s assault while furrowing his brows. It seemed as though Azaroth was in deep thought.


    Azaroth noticed the secret to this movement technique after witnessing Tronte execute it a few times. While moving, the user used Illusion to maintain the motion while shifting his course entirely.


    It meant that Azaroth''s eyes, ears, and other senses, werepletely fooled by this strange movement technique.


    ''Nothing but a cheap trick. Beasts use this kind of movement technique,'' Azaroth was filled with disdain towards this type of movement technique!


    Even humans had created better movement techniques than this trash in the Ancient Era.


    "<strong>Void Shifting Movement Technique.</strong>"


    Suddenly, Azaroth''s body phased away, and he disappeared from Tronte''s view. Tronte was a bit surprised and stopped using his Crimson Snake Movement Technique. He wondered whether Azaroth was escaping.


    But soon, Tronte received his answer in the form of a punch! It was a solid blow on his vertebrae before a roundhouse kicknded on his face!


    Tronte was thrown far away, and before he could crash against the ground, he was struck with another punch and was thrown high in the air!


    Azaroth used his Void Shifting Movement Technique tounch the Breathless Combo! Azaroth had to halt his pulse and restrict his intake of breath while using this Breathless Combo!


    Breathless was a quick and devastatingbo that greatly injured Tronte.


    Tronte suffered grave external and internal injuries that could put him on the bed for a couple of years. But fortunately, he had gained a rather deep insight into the Radiant Energy and could heal himself just fine very quickly. The Radiant Domain helped a lot.


    Tronte soon found the trick to this Breathless Combo and released a massive quantity of Radiant Energy that formed an array around this. This was <strong>Space Locking Array</strong>!


    It prevented Azaroth from forming any other space tears in their surroundings. Azaroth was forced to stop his Void-Shifting Movement Technique, but he had a satisfied look on his face as he nced at Tronte.


    Meanwhile, Tronte spoke with a disdainful look, "You truly deserve your reputation as one of the most terrifying Demon Gods of the Ancient Era. I will definitely lose if this fight continues."


    Azaroth shrugged in response, "Perhaps. Perhaps not. There are endless possibilities. Aren''t you still concealing your trump card?"


    "Heh? What do you mean?" Tronte smirked while asking that question. He already knew what Azaroth was hinting at.


    "You used the Space Locking Array to not only stop mybo but also toy down another array subtly. I can see that it''s a summoning array of a very high rank but can''t recognize which one is it. So¡­Are you summoning some Archangels to fight for you?" Azaroth asked with a grin.


    He remained confident because he was confident in handling a bunch of Archangels.


    However, Tronte shook his head as his smirk widened, "This Space Locking Array isn''t just for you. So even you haven''t managed to guess the true tier of this array. If you did, you wouldn''t have such a rxed expression."


    "Hmm?" Azaroth raised his eyes in question. He wondered what Tronte meant by those words.


    An Ancient Summoning Array was activated around them. The Space Locking Array was temporarily disabled as arge portion of the space was torn above them.


    When Azaroth gazed up, his eyes widened with utter disbelief! It was the <strong>true body of the Radiant God</strong> that was passing through that gigantic space tear!


    Azaroth immediately activated his Void-Shifting Movement Technique to flee. Since the Space Locking Array was disabled, he could use the Space Tears as well.


    However, the Radiant God''s True Body sensed Azaroth utilizing Space Laws and sealed the spacews around him!


    He now understood what Tronte meant! If Azaroth had recognized the true tier of that summoning array and the Space Locking Array, he would have thrown everything away and fled as quickly as possible.


    Tronte wasn''t nning on summoning Archangels. He was summoning his true body to help him destroy Azaroth!


    No matter how strong or clever Azaroth was, he couldn''t defeat the Radiant God''s True Body. A genuine Celestial God managed to reach his current level through intense grinding for thousands of years!


    This was what Tronte, and the Radiant God believed. They had no clue that Azaroth had long recognized the true tier of those arrays and had foreseen this scenario!

 Chapter 534 A Terrifying Ultimatum

    The Radiant God''s True Body soon flew into Frascoia Continent while keeping his eyes fixated on Azaroth.


    He spoke with a rather content tone, "Never in my life did I expect to encounter the fabled devil god who influenced the Ancient War without having my life jeopardized."


    "I am surprised you aren''t putting me in chains," Azaroth responded calmly.


    "There is no need to. I don''t suppose you can escape me now that you are in this situation, right? I can sense that you reincarnated with merely your Spiritual Energy. It''s not enough if you want to defeat me or surprise me, Devil God!" The Radiant God spoke with a rather calm and confident tone.


    This confidence emerged from the massive gap between 6 Star Warrior and an 8 Star Warrior.


    "¡­ It''s true that I can''t defeat you. In my wide experience, I have never managed to surmount such a massive gap in power. As a Celestial God, I know that you merely need a thought to kill me. You can spread your world, and even this Death Domain won''t protect me. It will be rewritten ording to what you desire. This is because you are just that strong," Azaroth spoke withposure.


    The Radiant God''s True Body didn''t seem to understand why Azaroth was still so calm. Just what trump card did he have now?


    Azaroth then stared at Tronte, "But still, to think that your clone developed another personality in itself. I guess your cloning technique or method was wed. You used a human as a medium and used your spirit to take over his mind. Let me guess, it was through that pendant your Radiant Church gives away, right?"


    The Radiant God''s True Body remained silent at that usation. He didn''t need to exin anything to either Tronte or Azaroth.


    Tronte was him. And well, Azaroth wouldn''t care about any exnation. But his silence and facial expressions confirmed Azaroth''s guesses.


    Azaroth smiled, "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Radiant God. It''s time for you to scram."


    "Pardon. I think I heard wrongly. You are asking me to scram?" The Radiant God''s True Body appeared extremely surprised.


    "That is what I just said. I am giving you ten seconds to think about it. Scram now, or you will die," Azaroth had a menacing smile on his face.


    That smile actually startled the Radiant God, and he was forced to look around to check what was going on.


    It took him 3-4 seconds topletely understand the situation. His face went pale, and he red at Azaroth angrily, "Y-You! You devil!"


    "That''s what I am indeed," Azaroth acted as if it was great praise and seemed awfully pleased.


    "¡­You set up your Death Laws around the Space Locking Array! You are nning to destroy the Space Locking Array." The Radiant God spoke with a terrified tone.


    "Actually, you are wrong about that too. What makes you think we are under ''your'' Space Locking Array?" Azaroth asked with a smile that suddenly seemed very terrifying and life-threatening.


    Azaroth noticed the look of realization on the Radiant God''s face, "You see, I could have destroyed your Space Locking Array when youid it down. But then I wondered why you were utilizing such a high-level array. So, I didn''t do anything at that point and made it look as if you managed to block me from using Space Laws. You caught my entire attention when you subtlyid a Summoning Array. I knew you would have to temporarily put down the Space Locking Array to activate the Summoning Array. To my surprise, it was your true body. So when you utilized the Space Locking Array, I destroyed it with one of my unique techniques andid out my own. Ever since then, we have all been under ''my'' Space Locking Array."


    "What would ur if I were to put down my Space Locking Array? Hmm. Maybe you can tell me more about this. Since you were so careful, I assumed you were clearly aware of the implications," Azaroth spoke with a smile. That devilish smile made the Radiant God tremble with anger.


    "¡­Thanks for confirming another guess of mine. I guess the result would be your death. This means that whoever this expert is, he can kill you from a distance. The second he senses your aura is on Frascoia Continent, he can kill you. Isn''t that right?" Azaroth asked a rhetorical question.


    Azaroth finished speaking by letting out a heavy sigh, "The growth of humans still astounds me. This Transcendent Saint must be truly terrifying to prevent you arrogant pricks from even revealing your aura on Frascoia Continent!"


    The Radiant God had remained silent for quite some time. He finally opened his mouth and said, "It seems that I overestimated myself by thinking I could entrap you. You were ying with me all this time."


    Azaroth faked his surprise and asked, "Really? How did you know?"


    Regardless of his fake surprise, the Radiant God answered seriously, "If you could detect andy a Space Locking Array instantly that even my true body didn''t notice, then you could have easily utilized some assault arrays to kill my clone. But you didn''t. Why?"


    "Well, looks like you aren''t so dumb, after all. You should have guessed my motive by now, right?" Azaroth asked.


    "¡­You were digging for information. Either during the fight or abducting my clone and interrogating him," The Radiant God''s True Body responded eventually.


    "Bingo!" Azaroth spoke. He then quickly added, "Before you return, you should take along this baggage."


    Azaroth was pointing towards Tronte while mentioning ''baggage.'' Tronte didn''t respond to the taunt. It seemed as though he was a mindless doll of the Radiant God.


    Or maybe, Tronte''s consciousness had already rbined with the Radiant God''s.


    "It seems I need to leave. Regardless, I am pleased to have personally met you, Devil God," The Radiant God spoke.


    "When youe after me, keep in mind that if I don''t flee when I''m in a horrible situation, maybe the situation isn''t so terrible for me. You just cannot see the whole picture. I expect an improvement next time, Radiant God!" Azaroth spoke with a pleased smile.


    Soon, the Radiant God returned to Heavens from the very portal he used to barge into Frascoia Continent.


    Tronte soon lost consciousness and fell to the ground. His body turned into aplete paste as his bones were crushed to smithereens.


    The Archangels were still fighting. They hadn''t noticed the Radiant God''s aura since the Space Locking Array prevented his aura from leaking out. However, they did see hime out of a portal before returning swiftly. They wondered what that was all about.


    Azaroth knew that the time hade for him to disappear. The fight against Tronte had gone on long enough, and he gathered the attention of the Archangels and the human experts.


    In a sense, both parties were after him. And he didn''t want to allow them to seed in their goal of capturing or killing him.


    It would be embarrassing if he got killed by an Archangel after forcing the Radiant God to return to Heavens! That would be like defeating a champion but losing to a noob.


    Azaroth actually didn''t need to worry so much since the Archangels were actually on a losing end against the human experts. When they left the Cathedral in Lamhilhan Theocracy, they hadn''t expected to fight two 7 Star Human Warriors. They were only expecting two Demon Emperors and had armed themselves appropriately with strong and potent demon suppressing equipment.


    But they came across not one but two terrifying human experts. Both of these human experts were getting harder to deal with.


    In fact, they noticed that fleeing from the Saber Emperor was impossible. He could ride his Flying Saber and swiftly pursue them. His flying sword flew nearly twice as quickly as any of the two Archangels.

 Chapter 535 The Terrifying Power Of The Transcendent Saint

    While the battle between the Archangels and the Human experts was going on, the situation in the Sinyalian Kingdom began to change.


    King Valliadis had lost nearly all his blood as he set up the array to activate the Saint Stele. His muscles were losing strength rather quickly, but Shun brought many blood fruits for King Valliadis and spoke, "Please ingest these <strong>Blood Fruits</strong>. You can''t copse now due to theck of enough blood!"


    "I know!" King Valliadis responded while taking deep breaths. He slowly ingested those Blood Fruits one by one. It did not take him long to finish eating them all and recover all his lost blood.


    Even though he was able to regain all of his lost blood, his mind was still weary. He had to focus intensely to avoid losing consciousness.


    King Valliadis soon whispered, "The array is halfplete. I will need another day toplete it."


    "¡­Another day, huh?" Shun whispered with a bitter expression. He knew that the battle between the Archangels and the Glerian Kingdom''s experts had already begun.


    In Tronte''s group were hisrades as well. They informed him of the situation inside the Glerian Kingdom.


    And recently, he heard of Tronte''s battle against Azaroth. And it seemed that Tronte mentioned to them that Azaroth was the terrifying Demon God.


    He also heard that even the Radiant God appeared in the Glerian Kingdom before he left soon enough.


    This basically confirmed Shun''s guess. This Azaroth was the Demon God he was hunting all this time!


    When he heard that the Radiant God''s True Body left just as quickly as it arrived, Shun could already guess what had urred.


    The Radiant God must have stepped into Frascoia Continent by preparing some arrays that would conceal his aura. And Azaroth must have used those arrays and threatened to destroy them.


    With no other choice, the Radiant God''s True Body could only leave. However, there was another possibility of the events that had urred.


    Perhaps Azaroth had some kind of weapon that acted as a deterrent against the Radiant God. Maybe he could ignite his life force to gain his peak power for a few seconds. But these couple of seconds were enough for him to y the Radiant God.


    The Radiant God didn''t wish to take such a risk and left immediately.


    Shun even questioned Saint Stele''s effectiveness. What if Azaroth had a way to deal with it even if it was entirely activated?


    That would certainly defeat everything that Shun was doing. It would make King Valliadis''s sacrifice worthless. He couldn''t have that. He had to take appropriate measures to ensure that the situation remained under his control!


    While this was going on, the Radiant God''s True Body returned to his pce in Heaven. He was utterly distraught and started destroying everything he saw.


    He never expected to lose to Azaroth like that. Not when he had barged into the Glerian Kingdom with his true body!


    ying Azaroth should have been a simple job for the Radiant God''s True Body. He could do so with a turn of his hand. But Azaroth still managed to turn tables on him!


    If the Radiant God killed Azaroth or hurt him even slightly, the Space Locking Array would have been disabled. And no matter how quick the Radiant God was in setting up another Space Locking Array, that terrifying warrior would still detect his aura!


    And if that terrifying warrior detected the Radiant God''s aura, not even the Primordial God could save him!


    The Transcendent Saint of Frascoia Continent was considered the strongest warrior in the world. He managed toprehend an entirely neww to its peak and spread it to the entire world!


    He couldunch terrifying invisible attacks that no one could detect except for the other 9 Star Warriors!


    This Transcendent Saint made his first appearance in the Ancient War and used his terrifying technique to kill nearly five Devil Gods and seven Celestial Gods simultaneously. The strange thing was that most of these God-Ranked Experts were quite far away from each other.


    It should be impossible for someone to kill them simultaneously. But this Transcendent Saint had aplished this seemingly impossible thing!


    This resulted in the end of the Ancient War and the emergence of the Human Race as the supreme ruler of the Frascoia Continent.


    And since the end of the Ancient War, any God-Ranked Expert from the other races who barged into Frascoia Continent was killed by an undetectable wave of energy!


    This terrified Celestial Gods and the Devil Gods greatly. Even after countless years have passed, this one fact hasn''t changed at all!


    It angered the Radiant God that Azaroth used this method to force him to withdraw! It greatly hurt his pride!


    Moreover, as his spirit rbined with Tronte''s spirit, his heart was filled with hatred for Azaroth.


    He sent an instruction to his Archangels, "Retreat to the camp in the Glerian Kingdom. The Angels have managed to defeat the human experts in the south of your position. Advance to that location immediately!"


    The Archangels received this message through their Divine Weapons. Their weapons contained a tiny hint of the Radiant God''s Spirit to assist the Radiant God inmunicating with his subordinates.


    In the meantime, Azaroth flew for quite some time until he was sure that no one was tracking him.


    He noticed that the battle for today had ended. It could be considered the Glerian Kingdom''s victory since they managed to force the Archangels to withdraw! It was an impressive feat!


    The credit for this victory went to none other than the Saber Emperor! His sudden appearance had been a blessing for the Glerian Kingdom!


    When Bryon returned, he made sure to generously reward the Saber Emperor. There was a great banquet which was attended by all the ministers and the various sect leaders of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Even though these sects had some conflict of interest with the Royal Family, they didn''t wish for the Lamhilhan Theocracy to swallow the Glerian Kingdom.


    If that urred, they would lose their current territories, power, and prestige! It was a wiser choice to join up with the Royal Family and think of a way to throw these invaders out of the Glerian Kingdom!


    As all the experts gathered at the banquet, Bryon stood up while holding a whisky ss. He drank that whisky before speaking seriously and a bit emotionally, "I am the Ancestor of the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom. I know you all have your issues with the Royal Family. Perhaps it''s how we have tried to keep everything under our control through some rather hical means."


    "But this is not the primary topic for today''s gathering. As you all might be aware, the Glerian Kingdom is facing an unprecedented threat. You see¡­I have experienced remarkable things during my reign. I have destroyed invincible armies and conquered indomitable castles! But as I stand before you day, I wish to confess that this is the first time I have experienced such a grave situation."


    "I never imagined that the entire Radiant Church would be after the Glerian Kingdom. And it seems to be the primary target of the Radiant God. Thus, in a sense, we are not fighting some annoying angels or Archangels. We are directly fighting against a great Celestial God!"


    Those words shocked and distressed everyone at the banquet. It was noticeably clear that each one was terrified of going up against a Celestial God. Even the current king Tryfon Res! However, they kept their mouth shut and continued to listen to Bryon.


    "However, what none of you know is that the Radiant God cannot intervene in this battle directly due to some specific reasons! Thus, we only have to handle the Archangels and the Angels of the Radiant Church."


    "And fortunately, in thest battle, we gained a valuable ally. His title is familiar to all of you present in this room. Everyone, I wee the Saber Emperor to this banquet!"

 Chapter 536 Saber Emperors Life

    The appearance of the Saber Emperor startled most of the individuals present at the banquet. His title was very familiar to them, and they held him in high regard.


    He belonged to an extremely ordinary background and possessed nothing but a strong obsession with Saber! It was this obsession that led him to form countless enemies. But the Saber Emperor eventually walked over the corpses of his enemies while reaching an extremely high rank.


    After reaching the 5 Star Rank, the Saber Emperor had actually settled down and married his childhood sweetheart. The entire vige considered them a perfect match for each other.


    However, everything changed one day as two Angels arrived and captured his wife. It seemed as though the Saber Emperor''s wife possessed the legendary Luminous Physique that was very useful for the Radiant Church.


    Her pure body could innately produce a very high rank in the Radiant Laws. This was extremely useful to the Radiant God, and he had personally ordered his subordinates to capture her.


    The Saber Emperor resisted those Angels with all his might, but he was merely a 5 Star Warrior. The battlested hardly a second before he was thrown down a cliff.


    The Saber Emperor knew he would die once his body contacted the ground. His Ardor had been sealed, and it was impossible for him to fly at this point.


    But he wasn''t satisfied with his destiny! He was enraged, and all he wanted was to murder the Archangels who had kidnapped his wife.


    However, he knew that saving his wife was impossible if he died now. Thus, this Saber Emperor actuallyprehended the Saber Laws in that free-fall state!


    The Saber Emperor fell into a profound meditation state, and although just a few seconds had passed, it felt like an eternity.


    It was the moment the Saber Emperor had managed toprehend the Saber Domain! His dense Saber Qi allowed him to float in the air without using any Ardor!


    He trained as diligently as he could to save his wife and make those Archangels suffer for abducting her.


    His deep insight into the Saber Laws and strong obsession with strength allowed him to reach the King Rank within a year.


    After reaching the King Rank, he infiltrated the Lamhilhan Theocracy and began hunting the priests and the pope of the Radiant Church.


    Soon enough, he found out that his wife had already been sacrificed by the Radiant Church.


    That night, the Saber Emperor lost all his restraint. He released his intense emotions on the beasts in a nearby forest. And on that same night, he took an oath to make the entire Radiant Church pay!


    He trained with an even stronger obsession with strength and death. It was to such an extent that his Saber Intent transformed into ughter Saber Intent! His killing intent became intense as he killed more beasts, and his hatred deepened every time he thought about those Angels and Archangels.


    He was angry at his powerless self, who couldn''t stop those Angels from taking away his dear wife! Ten years passed by in the blink of an eye, and he finally reached Emperor Rank.


    After bing the Saber Emperor, the first thing he did was attack the Radiant Church. It was the first time in the Radiant Church''s history that someone wasunching a frontal assault against it. Moreover, when the attacker was a single individual!


    The Saber Emperor lost that battle, but not before killing two Archangels of the Radiant Church. This attack hadpletely destroyed the Radiant Church''s prestige and boosted the Saber Emperor''s fame.


    People became curious about the Saber Emperor''s backstory and researched him deeply. After finding all the facts about him, people greatly supported him.


    The Saber Emperor soon disappeared as he left the Lamhilhan Theocracy. It seemed as though he was more focused on finding women who possessed a physique simr to his wife and safeguarding their lives!


    He hated these Celestials more than anything in the world and didn''t n on allowing them to seed.


    The Saber Emperor soon understood why the Radiant God wanted his wife''s sacrifice. It seemed as though his wife''s physique possessed an Origin Energy that was very important for the Radiant God.


    The Radiant God required Origin Energy since it contained the purest form of the Radiant Laws. In fact, it greatly boosted the Radiant God''sprehension of the Radiant Laws and allowed him to recover his energy much faster.


    There were many other uses of this Radiant Origin Energy, but the Saber Emperor didn''t know them yet.


    Thus, he began to gather other women with a physique simr to his wife and trained them. He was startled to see their quick cultivation speed.


    He was sure that it would take them only 50 years to reach Emperor Rank. They managed to innately understand the Radiant Laws, so the bottleneck between the ranks wasn''t going to be a big issue for them.


    At this moment, these women were still in seclusion. They were going to reach the Emperor Rank if they kept training for the next five years.


    Since these women weren''t yet Emperor Rank Experts, the Saber Emperor didn''t bring them to fight these Archangels. He had gathered seven women who held simr physiques to his wife.


    If all these seven women had reached Emperor Rank, defeating the Radiant Church''s forces would have been very easy!


    Unfortunately, the situation wasn''t so convenient for the Glerian Kingdom. Still, knowing that the great Saber Emperor had joined their side lifted the mood of everyone in the banquet.


    All the sect masters decided to provide aid to the Royal Family by donating some resources. Even the sects who were allied to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect contributed to the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom!


    This was amand they received from the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s master!


    The battle from the previous day continued on to the next day. The forces of the Glerian Kingdom and the Lamhilhan Theocracy met each other in battle!


    It was a fierce battle that greatly damaged both sides. Meanwhile, the Saber Emperor used his Saber Qi to massacre a lot of experts from the Lamhilhan Theocracy. His top-priority targets were Angels.


    Eventually, the Archangels arrived. They kept Bryon, and the Saber Emperor upied. They were prepared to battle human experts this time.


    They had returned all the demon suppressing equipment to the Radiant Church and brought some power-boosting tools! Boosting their own power was the only way for the Radiant Church to deal with the Glerian Kingdom''s warriors.


    Meanwhile, Bryon and the Saber Emperor possessed the same equipment as the previous day. However, they had prepared a thorough n of dealing with these Archangels.


    The Saber Emperor was to gather their attention and block them somehow. Meanwhile, Bryon would gather energy to attack them with his arrow, or maybe sneak attack one of them with his Shadow Dagger.


    However, the Archangels already knew of Bryon''s weapon''s abilities. They were prepared to deal with those abilities.


    While fighting the Saber Emperor, Esther remained attentive as she knew an attack could arrive from anywhere!


    It was very much possible that Bryon stood much closer to them than she thought.


    After a deep thought, Esther utilized her Judgement Trident to release a shockwave uniformly in all directions. This shockwave wasn''t too strong, but it was bound to shake someone.


    And if Bryon shook at this point, he would be exposed.


    The Saber Emperor quickly used his Saber Intent to block the shockwave for Bryon. Even Esther didn''t sense his Saber Qi.


    After some seconds, Esther frowned as she wondered why Bryon''s body wasn''t revealed. Did she guess wrongly?

 Chapter 537 Luminous Flare

    Esther hadn''t guessed wrongly. It was just that the Saber Emperor had used his Saber Intent to help conceal Bryon''s body.


    The battle between the Saber Emperor and the three Archangels continued. The Saber Emperor didn''t show a bit of weakness as he utilized his Saber Domain.


    The Saber Emperor''s intent domain was actually much superior whenpared to the Luminous Domains released by the Archangels. It greatly disyed his talent!


    Without any resources or adequate guidance, the Saber Emperor rose to such a high level that he was able to suppress the intents of the great Archangels who had received the Radiant God''s advice and guidance at every stage of their journey.


    Maybe that''s why the Saber Emperor''s intent won out. It was because they hadn''t established their own path and were following someone else''s! Meanwhile, the Saber Emperor had carved out his path from scratch exclusively for himself.


    Even though the Archangels lost out whenparing their Intent Domains, Esther''s God-Ranked Weapon bnced the scales. In fact, the Judgement Trident made their side a bit superior.


    Esther was a bit worried because if Bryon intervened at this moment, the Archangels would be in grave danger!


    The teamwork of these Archangels wasn''t very impressive. Especially the Archangel who possessed the Twin Divine Daggers. She kept getting in Esther''s way and prevented her fromunching an attack that could truly harm the Saber Emperor.


    As the battle continued, Esther suddenly sensed a terrifying aura. She didn''t even need to turn in that direction to know who it was.


    She remembered this terrifying aura and attack rather vividly. Gritting her teeth, Esther shouted, "Mira, hold up that Saber Emperor. I will deal with this attack!"


    Twin Daggers belonged to Archangel Mira. She had been controlling up until now and had not crossed the gap between herself and the Saber Emperor. This was all due to Esther''s instructions!


    Mira had be absurdly strong and quick after acquiring Twin Daggers. She was quite skilled in using them as well. However, there was still a massive gap between her skill and the Saber Emperor''s.


    Esther didn''t want Mira to fight the Saber Emperor in closebat since she knew that Mira would lose.


    However, it is a rather grave situation right now. They had to block that terrifying arrow and also prevent the Saber Emperor from killing one of them.


    Mira could hold off the Saber Emperor for a couple of seconds while Esther dealt with that terrifying arrow.


    Mira charged toward the Saber Emperor while Esther turned around and threw her Judgement Trident.


    Bryon released the bowstring at the same moment, and an arrow enveloped in an orange aura flew towards Esther.


    ? The arrow soon collided with the Judgement Trident, and a massive explosion urred. Esther guessed that Bryon was going to use this explosion as cover and charge toward her.


    However, Esther''s powers couldn''t be considered very impressive without the Judgment Trident.


    "<strong>Luminous re!</strong>" She used this technique to suddenly sh a bright light that would blind everyone in the area.


    The Saber Emperor and the Bryon were caught up as their world turned dark instantly. They shut their eyes and waited for them to return to normal.


    However, Bryon hadmitted a blunder. He unknowingly disabled his stealth state, and his body was visible.


    Esther didn''t waste any time and bombarded his body with multiple waves of Radiant Energy. Multiple explosions urred as those waves of energy struck Bryon''s body.


    Bryon''s body was soon riddled with injuries, and he fell to the ground shortly enough.


    Fortunately, he controlled his flying speed and ensured that hended gently on the ground. Or else, his body would have suffered additional injuries from the fall.


    In the meantime, the Saber Emperor intensified the Saber Domain around himself as he was temporarily blinded. Not even Mira dared to approach that intense Saber Domain at this moment.


    She remained just outside of the Saber Domain''s reach and was waiting for it to get weaker. But a few secondster, the Saber Emperor recovered his vision. He nced at the ground and frowned as he observed Bryon''s injured body!


    Bryon had suffered very grave injuries from those waves of Radiant Energy. He had to receive treatment quickly!


    The Saber Emperor charged toward Bryon with a quick burst of speed!


    In the meantime, Estherunched additional waves of Radiant Energy at Bryon''s injured body while rushing towards her Judgement Trident.


    Her Judgement Trident had naturally emerged victorious in that sh against Bryon''s super powerful arrow.


    The Saber Emperor quickly reached Bryon''s body and shielded him from those waves of the Radiant Energy.


    He immediately pulled out a small ss bottle that had three pellets inside it. These three pellets were of pure white color, and they radiated a very thick medicinal aura once they were out of that ss bottle.


    The Saber Emperor fed that pellet to Bryon and waited for him to chew it properly. Bryon''s injuries began healing rapidly!


    Even though this pellet couldn''tpletely heal all of Bryon''s injuries, it could still put him back into fighting shape.


    And this was the top priority at this moment. If Bryon didn''t recover quickly, they would both die in this battle against the Archangels.


    Bryon slowly stood up while staring at the Saber Emperor, "Thank you for helping me. Now, please go! I will be fine now."


    Bryon activated the Shadow Dagger''s stealth skill and disappeared instantly. Meanwhile, the Saber Emperor nced at Mira, who was charging toward him.


    He took a rather strange posture and unleashed a flurry of swings in Mira''s direction. His Saber couldn''t reach Mira''s body. However, an invisible wave of energy was released that scratched Mira''s right arm for some reason.


    There wasn''t just a single wave of this energy. There were nearly hundreds of such energy streams. These were Saber Intent Streams!


    This was basically a Saber Intent used through a technique. It greatly extended the range of a technique!


    Moreover, the attack''s power didn''t diminish due to therge distance. It remained uniform throughout.


    Lastly, it was invisible, so the enemy couldn''t guard against it. Only if someone was very sensitive to intents could he detect those invisible waves of energies and stop this attack!


    By this time, Esther had retrieved the Judgement Trident. She observed that the Saber Emperor waspletely vulnerable.


    Without wasting any more seconds, sheunched the Red Beam of pure destruction in the Saber Emperor''s direction.


    The Radiant God had informed her that there was no point in saving up that red beam of destruction any longer. He told her it was impossible to kill Azaroth with this.


    She should rather use this red beam of destruction against one of those humans. Especially that Saber Emperor!


    The Saber Emperor had been a thorn in the Radiant God''s side for quite some time. And it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him!


    However, Esther was utterly shocked as she sensed killing intent. She immediately flew out of the way and barely dodged Bryon''s de!


    Because of Bryon, she was forced to stop that Red Beam of Destruction. The Saber Emperor noticed that beam of pure Destruction Laws heading towards him and moved out of the way.


    Fortunately, Esther could no longer control that beam because of Bryon''s surprise attack, or else it wouldn''t have been so simple for the Saber Emperor to evade that attack!

 Chapter 538 Gaining Spirituality

    In the Eastern Mountain Range around this time, Azaroth''s retainers were recovering from the injuries they suffered from Azaroth''s intense training.


    In this training, Azaroth taught them various movement skills and fighting styles. He knew many different fighting styles and passed many to his retainers.


    Each retainer learned a fighting style ording to their abilities. William learned seven different fighting styles from Azaroth while the others only learned three or so.


    After each day''s intense training, they would be asked to rx to heal their bodies. However, even during that time, they would be reading some books personally written by Azaroth.


    Those books focused on topics like strategic nning, tactical movement, and economics. The one who excelled in all three subjects was none other than Sargan.


    Yrellea excelled in strategic nning and economics. Meanwhile, Laura excelled in tactical movement.


    Noah excelled a bit in strategic nning and tactical movements, while William didn''t have much talent in this.


    Tiana had an average understanding of these three subjects. Azaroth was sure she would be just fine as she was.


    Meanwhile, Ralph possessed a rather good head for tactical movement. In fact, he was the only one who didn''t study all that much. He was focused on reading books rted to Alchemy.


    Those books stated Alchemy ingredients and pellet concoction methods.


    William and Laura were also focused on their Array studies. They were proficient enough toy down a four-star array without Azaroth''s assistance.


    Azaroth was very satisfied with their progress. He urged them to always work on their array techniques and further hone them. It would greatly assist them in the future. The rest would depend on their good fortune and providence.


    At this moment, William was staying in a mansion set up by the Macher n for him and hisrades. William''s three wives lived together with him and were massaging his body.


    "Just where were you these past two weeks? Just what were you doing that you suffered such great injuries, hubby?" Regina Lerch asked worriedly.


    His other wives shared this concern as well. Well, not Anny Macher since this kind of training was rathermon in her tribe, but not for the other two.


    William softly responded, "My master was training me along with myrades for the past two weeks."


    "Why did he need to be so heavy-handed about it? Let me talk to him. I will give him a piece of my mind," Vivi tz spoke indignantly.


    Suddenly, Vivi found herself on the receiving end of a re. This re came from William! He spoke with a cold and serious tone, "Do not ever badmouth my master again!"


    Vivi instantly shut her mouth as she knew that her husband was truly angry. Regina added with a frown, "Why are you defending him when he left you in such a bad state?!"


    William snorted in response but stayed silent in the end. He wasn''t going to inform them of Azaroth''s n. It would be useless even if he stated it since they wouldn''t understand it.


    "Just remember that he is the one person I respect more than anyone in the world, and I will go to any lengths for him," William stated seriously.


    ''Fortunately, it was just me whom they talked to about this. If they spoke like this in front of Noah, the worst would have already urred by now,'' William thought.


    Noah''s great loyalty and love towards Azaroth could be seen vividly. He would never tolerate anyone disrespecting Azaroth, no matter the identity of that individual!


    While William was talking with his wives, hisrades were already up as they made their way towards the fields to train some more.


    The first one to get up was surprisingly Noah. It was surprising that Noah got up first because, unlike others, he didn''t possess elerated healing. His recovery speed was the same as other regr humans.


    But he still endured the pain and made his way towards the fields to train more. As he slept, Noah continued to recall that conversation with Azaroth, which prevented him from sleeping.


    Noah wanted to do something to help Azaroth, but he was powerless. This feeling of powerlessness frustrated him to no end, and he unleashed his frustration in his training.


    Laura and others were soon out in the fields, continuing their training. During their training with Azaroth, they had seen a glimpse of their path and wished to pursue it. In reality, it wasn''t all due to Azaroth''s training. The Seven Colored Bodhi Tree''s presence had a huge role in it.


    ? All of Azaroth''s retainers were on the verge ofprehending an intent. Noah had alreadyprehended sword intent, but he was diving deeper into the swordws.


    At this moment, he was trying to reach the Man, Sword, and Heaven as one state. After reaching this state, he could control the Sword Qi in his surroundings and further boost his strength! His Sword Domain would be much stronger!


    However, Noah had no idea that his sword was actually gaining spirituality as he advanced his state!


    In other words, Noah''s sword was about to be a Spirit Sword! All its cracks were slowly filled with Noah''s spiritual energy and sword qi.


    The power of a Spirit Sword was absolutely horrifying. Noah''s power would grow by five to seven times if he used his techniques together with a Spirit Sword.


    All this time, it was his sword that was pulling him back from disying his true power. But after upgrading to the Spirit Sword, it could be said that his sword will finally reach the same level as him, allowing him to disy his true potential.


    In the meantime, Laura used her Ardor to practice Array Formations. She created different types of Array Formations, and some of them were experiments. She wanted to test the limits of the array formations and understand what she could aplish with it.


    Laura recalled that Azaroth once mentioned that the usage of Array Formations is absolutely limitless. If Laura could create her own array formations, she could be considered a proper Array Grandmaster. After hundreds of experiments, Laura admitted that there was a massive difference between her and an Array Grandmaster. She had to train a whole lot to bridge this gap!


    Ralph soon arrived on the fields to train as well. He was using Alchemy Ingredients to concoct some pellets.


    Ralph practiced the various concoction methods in those books. He also concocted a couple of pellets, but they were all of the medium quality! He had to improve his timing to ensure a better quality of these pellets.


    Sargan, Tiana, and Yrellea remained in their rooms and continued to study the various books that Azaroth provided them. Their task was a bit different whenpared to Ralph, Laura, Noah, and William.


    They had to focus on their mental development while keeping a fit physical body that could handle anything!


    Tiana contacted her subordinates in the sect and ordered them to temporarily join the Glerian Kingdom''s side.


    Azaroth informed her that he didn''t wish for the Glerian Kingdom to lose its territory to the Radiant Church any time soon. And this was one way to prevent it from urring quickly.


    The sects allied to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect couldn''t affect the battle on the Archangels'' level, but they could still handle the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s warriors and Angels.


    Preventing the Lamhilhan Theocracy from seizing any more territory was crucial!


    But as time passed, a drastic event urred in the Sinyalian Kingdom that would decide the fate of these three kingdoms!


    ~~


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 Chapter 539 An Old Man

    It had been nearly two days since King Valliadis began the process of activating the Saint Stele. And now, it was nearly the time.


    The Saint Stele was glowing with a bright light. A ray shot out of the Saint Stele that scanned King Valliadis.


    King Valliadis copsed on the ground, his face pallid and limp with wide-open eyes. Shun rushed to King Valliadis''s side and picked up his body. Theck of vitality in King Valliadis'' body astounded him.


    Moreover, King Valliadis''s body was withering at a rapid rate. Soon, his body converted into rough ashes.


    At this time, the Blood Array that King Valliadis hadid down was glowing vibrantly. A ck aura appeared over the Blood Array as the Saint Stele released a Golden Beam towards it.


    The ck Aura and that Golden Beambined before Shun sensed unreal energy repelling him from the location.


    The shockwave was so strong that even though Shun was a 6 Star Warrior now, he couldn''t resist it.


    Shun''s body was stered against the rough walls of this underground chamber as he stared at that ck aura rapidly changing shape.


    Soon, its shape converted into a vertical oval shape facing Shun. The shockwave vanished once that shape was fully formed, and Shun fell down.


    He could see fabulous scenery on the other side of that oval portal. This scenery definitely belonged to a mountain peak. Shun could see dense white clouds actually beneath the ground, which just indicated just how tall this mountain peak was.


    Moreover, there was a man seated on a stone, wearing orange clothing. It was a thin old man that had long white hair and a beard. He gave off a rather wise aura while his eyes contained a strange sharpness that seeped into Shun''s body.


    "¡­Who are you? And what is your request?" The old man asked as he wrinkled his brows.


    "I belong to the Sinyalian Kingdom. My King activated this Saint Stele to request for your assistance in ying a Demon God who has infiltrated the Sinyalian Kingdom!" Shun quickly spoke as he chose his words rather carefully.


    The old man''s expression remained neutral even as he heard of the issue. It seemed like an everyday matter for him.


    "How many are there?" The old man asked inly.


    "Just one. But he reincarnated inside a human and has reached the 6 Star Rank," Shun further exined the situation to this old man. For some reason, Shun received a rather menacing aura from this old man.


    He had a feeling that this old man must never be threatened.


    The old man frowned slightly upon hearing Shun''s words, "You used the Sacrificial Royal Blood Communication Array to request for my assistance in dealing with a mere Demon King? Are you kidding me?!"


    The old man''s aura seemed to pass through that oval portal and directly brought Shun to his knees.


    Before Shun could say anything, the old man continued, "Any random Emperor Ranked Expert can kill this demon right now!"


    Shun gritted his teeth upon hearing those words. He was getting angry at those words and whispered in his mind ''Oh Great Sacred Stars. Please lend me your strength!''


    Shun borrowed the power of nearly thirty stars at once, but even then, the pressure on his body lightened only slightly!


    The old man seemed a bit startled as he sensed the aura of multiple stars. He thought seriously ''So he is this generation''s Royal Prince of Stars?!''


    This was a stunning piece of information, yet the old man remained indifferent. Shun''s body was still under relentless pressure!


    "¡­If the solution was so simple, the King wouldn''t have sacrificed his life to activate that damn Stele! At this moment, this Demon God is in the Glerian Kingdom that''s embroiled in a war against the Lamhilhan Theocracy."


    "I don''t suppose you will understand me like this. Then let me change my words. The Lamhilhan Theocracy is under the control of the Radiant Church led by the Radiant God!"


    "Archangels are swarming the Glerian Kingdom''s capital while the Ancestors of the Glerian Kingdom''s royal family battle them. And even amongst all this chaos, this Demon God managed to y those Emperor Ranked Experts at his current power level."


    "He managed to repel even the Radiant God''s True Body that personally arrived to y this fellow! Now, do you think he is just a random fellow?!" Shun let out deep breaths as he spoke those words.


    Meanwhile, the old man''s eyes narrowed slightly as he asked coldly, "What did you say? The Radiant God''s True Body arrived? Are you sure about that?"


    "Very sure!" Shun responded in a heartbeat. He didn''t understand why this old man seemed so bothered about this fact rather than focusing on the Demon God.


    In reality, the old man was startled that a God-Ranked Expert of another race managed to infiltrate Frascoia Continent, and he had no idea.


    This old man''s senses extended over the entire Frascoia Continent. Yet, he had never sensed the presence of the Radiant God. It was a terrifying piece of information!


    "I had my fair share of battles against this Demon God. He is an extremely intelligent fellow who ns ahead. He always has a secret n to deal with all kinds of bad situations. And another thing I noticed is that he seems a bit too focused onmitting a massacre."


    The more he heard, the more the old man frowned.


    "He continues to involve himself in this war between Emperor Ranked Experts of the Glerian Kingdom and the Lamhilhan Theocracy despite the wide difference between the King Rank and the Emperor Rank. So tell me, would any random Emperor Rank Expert aplish the job of ying this Demon God?"


    "In my opinion, if I send an Emperor Ranked Expert after him, he will find a way to use the Archangels or those Ancestral Warriors of the Glerian Kingdom to kill that Emperor Ranked Expert."


    "I thought that this Saint Stele would give me a method to y that Demon God. That this Saint Stele would possess something that would be outside of that Demon God''s expectations! However, I see that I was expecting a bit too much. All I see is a senile old man who is living in his own paradise," Shun spoke with a disdainful look.


    He knew that this old man was an extremely powerful being. It was very powerful that he was at the Saint Rank. At the least, this was what his Earth Spark indicated, but Shun no longer feared him!


    Shun wanted this old man to understand that underestimating Azaroth was not a good idea! The pressure around Shun soon dispersed.


    "¡­I see. You have caught my attention. I will be sure to send a Lesser Saint to y this Demon God. Give me a sketch to identify him," the old man spoke.


    Shun immediately spoke, "I don''t have a sketch, but from what I heard, he is an extremely handsome fellow with blonde hair and red eyes."


    The old man rolled his eyes upon hearing that description and responded a bit angrily and sarcastically, "Yeah. This helps a lot."


    However, Shun didn''t give up and spoke out, "This doesn''t matter at all! I still have myrades in the Glerian Kingdom! They personally saw that Demon God and can definitely identify him!"


    "I see. Then what is the name of this Demon God? He must have a name, right?" The old man asked, a bit convinced by Shun''s words.


    Shun was a bit embarrassed as he heard that question, but he still responded, "I don''t know his true name. Sometimes he uses Edwin and sometimes it''s Nudar. Or maybe his name is something else entirely. However, I know his title!"


    "I found his totem once through which I suspected he preserved his spirit. With the help of a famous archeologist who was proficient in reading <strong>Ancient Demon Language</strong>, we read the title on his totem. It said, <strong>Tyrannical Asura Devil God</strong>!"


    The old man''s eyes widened as he spoke while grinding his teeth, "<strong>Tyrannical Asura Devil God</strong>, Azaroth!"

 Chapter 540 Qin Feng

    In the Ancient Era, the Demons and the Celestials continuously waged their wars on Frascoia Continent. The humans had no ce to live as these two races ravaged the continent.


    This was all because the human race was weak, and they had no protector! The human race had a rather weak physique and feeble spirits whenpared to other races.


    Nheless, their adaptability was quite remarkable. Even though their abilities were inferior to those of the Demons and Celestials, they banded together and continued to survive!


    Their survival depended on their resourcefulness, quick thinking, and vision for the future. Their ns failed more times than they seeded. Perhaps that''s why only a few million humans lived on Frascoia Continent.


    Qin Fang belonged to a human group that banded together with other human survivors to live through that brutal era.


    One day, his group came across an injured demon. This Demon was at the Demon Lord rank, and fortunately, the experts in Qin Feng''s group could easily deal with him.


    The experts in Qin Feng''s group were at Emperor Rank. Dealing with a Demon Lord wouldn''t take much effort.


    At that time, a woman in the group pleaded with those experts to not kill that injured Demon Lord. The injured demon lord had a handsome appearance and seemed quite pitiful. After some discussion, the human experts took pity and let the Demon Lord live.


    However, they treated him with a cautious attitude. They kept an eye on each one of his movements to ensure he wasn''t a threat to them.


    After finding out that he was saved by the humans, the demon lord nned to return the favor. He was fiercely intelligent and used his brilliance to help the human group survive and improve their position on Frascoia Continent.


    They found many resources, treasures, and secret techniques.


    Years passed as the human group became stronger. They also began to trust this Demon Lord as he had helped them immensely in dealing with all sorts of troubles in the wilderness. And soon, they took him back to their hideout.


    This was a hideout of the human race where different human groups would arrive to get some rest. It was concealed using special array techniques that were formed by some extremely gifted talents. Even the Demon Venerable or the Primordial God couldn''t see through those mystical arrays.


    However, taking this Demon Lord to the hideout turned out to be the worst blunder of that human group.


    A few dayster, an army of demons attacked that hideout and ughtered all the human groups in it. They ravaged that entire territory and plundered everything in the hideout!


    However, this wasn''t the worst thing that urred to them. The demons'' army eventually found the array through which the humans had concealed their hideout for so long and studied it.


    Once their secret concealing array was revealed, it wasn''t long before the humans had no ce to hide on Frascoia Continent. They were hunted by every race!


    Only a couple of humans survived that brutal massacre, and Qin Feng was one of them! On that very same day, Qin Feng vowed to make the human race ruthlessly step over the Celestials and the Demons.


    He was going to make the humans so strong that the Celestials and the Demons would tremble in fear before even setting foot on Frascoia Continent!


    Most important, he was going to make that Demon Lord pay for betraying them in such a vicious manner! Only that Demon Lord could have leaked the location and the method to infiltrate their hideout.


    Qin Feng gritted his teeth every time he recalled the name of that Demon Lord. Demon Lord Azaroth! In reality, Azaroth had observed the group and intentionally appeared before them with an injured body. He used a secret technique to charm one of the women in the group.


    Through his observation, he noticed that this woman had quite some influence in the decision-making of this human group and chose to charm her. Thus, Azaroth managed to not only survive but also aplish his mission.


    After surviving that massive, Qin Fengid low with his group in another location. He couldn''t take revenge immediately. First, he had to be a lot stronger.


    Qin Feng''s talent was very special, and he used it to make himself powerful. Hisprehension had always been a bit abnormal whenpared to his peers or even the elders.


    He created his personal techniques and stepped onto the path ofws before long! His ability to sensews was so great that he could even search for valuable resources by sensingws around the area!


    It didn''t take him long before finding an undiscovered mine filled with rich resources. Qin Feng controlled thews around that location and prevented even a tiny aura from leaking out. This became the new hideout of the humans!


    Before long, Qin Feng found an Elemental Spark in that mine. This elemental spark was none other than the <strong>Wind Spark</strong>.


    Qin Feng was extremely talented in Wind Laws and absorbed that <strong>Wind Spark</strong>. After absorbing that Wind Spark, he understood many things about the world. The creation of the world and the role of wind in it. He noticed how so many things, so many beings, were depended on and connected to the wind.


    Without the wind, it would make survival so much more difficult! However, it also opened a world of possibilities for him.


    Qin Feng recalled his vow to make the human race step onto the Celestial Race and the Demon Race. He now saw a path to aplish that pledge.


    After absorbing the wind spark, Qin Feng''s cultivation grew quickly. He also modified the cultivation technique that he had inherited from his ancestors. The technique he inherited was known as the <strong>Mysterious Qin Technique</strong>, and a warrior could cultivate this technique to the Emperor Rank only.


    This was the highest-ranked cultivation technique created by humans. But now, Qin Feng began to modify the Mysterious Qin Technique and made it much more powerful.


    After short hundred years, Qin Feng was a <strong>God-Rank Expert</strong>. He was the first human to be an 8 Star Warrior or a <strong>Saint</strong>!


    He spent these hundred years roaming around the world, killing many experts on his path of cultivation and gathering resources or finding more mines. He found many other elemental sparks on his journey.


    These elemental sparks greatly elevated his strength but also became the basis for his research as he continued to study various array formations.


    Moreover, Qin Feng kept himself updated on the news about Azaroth. He was extremely frustrated at Azaroth''s growth speed.


    Qin Feng knew he was growing stronger at an astounding rate, but Azaroth was doing the same!


    Qin Feng''s frustration grew as he heard of Azaroth''s aplishments. He knew that Azaroth''sbat power was also no joke. If things went on like this, he could never take his revenge!


    Thus, Qin Feng did an extremely daring thing. He infiltrated the <strong>Purgatory</strong>!


    By now, he understood the unique characteristics of the Demonic Ardor and the Celestial Ardor. He also understood what made them so different from Humanely Ardor.


    However, Qin Feng''sprehension of thews was so deep that he could release those unique characteristics of the Demonic Ardor and mask his Humanely Ardor''s aura.


    This would prevent anyone from finding his true identity. All that remained was for him to always wear a mask.


    Qin Feng had to be extremely careful to prevent that mask from falling off his face or ever getting unconscious. He had to mask his aura even while he was sleeping.


    In Purgatory, Qin Feng made connections with other Devil Gods and convinced them to y Azaroth. One of them was the direct descendent of the Demon Venerable! The Demon Venerable obvious remained out of loop about this entire scheme, but his descendent stillmanded incredible influence within Purgatory.


    However, Azaroth dealt with all the attacks on him! After finding it was Demon Venerable''s descendent after him, Azaroth turned the tables on him and made life very difficult for him.


    At that moment, Qin Feng understood that Azaroth couldn''t be defeated through these cheap schemes. He had to prepare something better and more vicious.

 Chapter 541 Law Of Destiny

    Qin Feng realized that defeating Azaroth would be difficult even with the Demon Venerable''s descendant''s assistance. However, his identity was quite useful.


    Before long, a rumor in Purgatory spread that Azaroth was targeting the Demon Venerable''s descendant.


    Azaroth naturally found out about such a rumor and knew someone was scheming against him. It had to be someone from that Demon Venerable''s descendant''s faction.


    Instead of taking any action against the Demon Venerable''s descendant, Azaroth disappeared from the Purgatory!


    Qin Feng was utterly startled to hear about Azaroth''s disappearance. He expected Azaroth to act against the Demon Venerable''s descendant in anger.


    But instead, Azaroth vanished without a trace. In the next decade or so, no one heard anything from Azaroth.


    However, two decadester, Qin Feng did hear that Azaroth was found near a forbidden area in Purgatory. And it seemed as though Azaroth had be the master of those terrifying Hell mes!


    The Hell mes contained a Demonic me Spark that was simr to the Elemental Sparks Qin Feng had absorbed. But at a much higher rank. It was nearly a peak God-Rank Elemental Spark.


    This kind of Elemental Spark had already developed its intelligence and spirituality. It was extremely difficult to gain its eptance to be its master.


    He was sure that Azaroth''s battle prowess must have increased even further. But his battle prowess wasn''t what worried him. It was a boost to hisprehension.


    Azaroth must have witnessed the creation of the world and the Laws of the Demonic me Element.


    Witnessing the creation of the world would greatly boost any individual''sprehension significantly. This was a huge blessing for an already intelligent and talented demon like Azaroth.


    Qin Feng knew that Azaroth had to be dealt with quickly. And soon enough, Azaroth left the Purgatory to kill some Celestials. He tested his newfound power while also contributing to the Demon Race immensely.


    In that battle, Azaroth killed a Celestial God while injuring another one. And this was when Azaroth couldn''t control the Hell mes thoroughly.


    Azaroth stayed on Frascoia Continent for many years. Meanwhile, Qin Feng convinced the Demon Venerable''s descendant to go to Frascoia Continent.


    Just the promise of some resources and valuable treasures was enough to convince the Demon Venerable''s descendant toe up on Frascoia Continent.


    They formed a party of four Demon Gods and twenty Demon Emperors. These four Demon Gods included Qin Feng and the Demon Venerable''s descendant.


    As they roamed around Frascoia Continent, they came across many Celestials and killed a couple of Celestial Gods.


    However, Qin Feng saved one of those Celestial Gods and struck a deal with him. The Celestial God signed the Wind Law Contract and returned to Heaven.


    Meanwhile, Qin Feng convinced the Demon Venerable''s descendant to hunt Azaroth, who also happened to be on Frascoia Continent.


    The Demon Venerable''s descendant was instantly convinced by Qin Feng. He was still rather annoyed at Azaroth for killing all his loyal subordinates. His party had four Demon Gods. It would be an easy win!


    However, Qin Feng didn''t share those thoughts. He was worried that Azaroth would escape.


    The Celestial he had signed the Wind Law Contract informed Qin Feng of Azaroth''s urate information, and Qin Feng passed that information to the Demon Venerable''s descendant.


    The entire group of the Demon Venerable''s descendant made their way toward Azaroth. In the meantime, three Celestial Gods, including the one who had signed the Wind Law Contract with Qin Feng, joined forces and decided to attack Azaroth.


    They were waiting for the Demon Gods to ambush Azaroth.


    After a year, this battle began. Azaroth''s battle prowess was much greater than those Demon Gods expected.


    Qin Feng didn''t participate in this battle as he thought of an excuse and escaped just a bit before those Demon Gods ambushed Azaroth.


    Qin Feng was well aware that he wasn''t Azaroth''s match. It would be disastrous if Azaroth revealed his true identity in front of all the Demon Gods.


    Azaroth was absolutely suppressing these three Demon Gods and came close to killing two of them. And suddenly, three Celestial Gods entered the battlefield as they attacked Azaroth.


    Azaroth had ughtered many of theirrades, and these Celestial Gods seemed determined to take their revenge today. The Demon Gods and Celestial Gods joined forces to y Azaroth, turning it into an extremely strange situation.


    However, Azaroth''s true power was beyond their expectations. He nearly killed them all!


    Before his death, the Demon Venerable''s descendant used his trump card. He sacrificed his life force to strike Azaroth with an extremely deadly curse.


    Meanwhile, a Celestial God noticed the Demon Venerable''s descendant using that technique and boosted its power by adding his Holy Spirit to it.


    Even though Azaroth was rather talented in controlling Spiritual Energy, he couldn''t deal with that deadly curse now since it possessed the properties of Celestial Ardor and Demonic Ardor.


    He left the battlefield in a hurry by using Spatial Laws. Even Qin Feng couldn''t catch up to him and had no idea whether he survived or not.


    However, Qin Feng never heard from Azaroth afterward and concluded that the Holy Curse must have taken his life.


    He had no idea that Azaroth had nted a totem in a cave for his revival. However, he never expected that the revival n woulde to fruition nearly millions of yearster.


    In any case, now that Qin Feng had taken his revenge, he finally rxed after so many years.


    Now, it was time for him to work on his primary objective. He had to make the humans step over the Demons and the Celestials. He wanted to throw these two races out of the Frascoia Continent!


    For this, Qin Feng had been working ever since he absorbed the Wind Spark! He was working on creating an entirely neww. Aw that would make the world assist the humans when going up against the other races.


    This would be an invisiblew that would support humans indirectly by turning the abstractws in their favor, such as luck, the chance of enlightenment, and so on.


    This neww was named Destiny!


    Qin Feng gathered all his closerades and gave them the rich power of destiny. This power seeped into their bloodline, and their children would also inherit it.


    All the humans whoe in indirect contact with these people would also inherit thisw of destiny!


    Thisw of destiny greatly boosted theprehension of the humans and allowed them to break through to the Saint Rank.


    As time passed and more people inherited thisw of destiny, Qin Feng''s ownprehension of the Law of Destiny increased. Even though he was the creator of this neww, he didn''t understand all itsponents.


    As he understood thisw more, Qin Feng modified it and made it even more powerful. However, he did ask the humans to keep a low profile. Since he was unofficially the ruler of all humans at this point, everyone listened to him.


    In reality, they were also quite scared of the Demons and Celestials. These two races had hunted humans for eons. It would be hard for the humans to let go of their fear of these two races.


    Even though the humans held power to resist, they didn''t possess the courage.


    But everything changed one fortunate day as Qin Feng broke through to the 9 Star Rank. He became a Transcendent Saint as he gained an unprecedented power.


    On that day, the humansunched a counterattack, and for the first time in their history, the Celestials and Demons were subjected to a horrible ughter at the hands of humanity.


    Not even the Celestial Gods or the Demon Gods were spared. Nearly all the Celestial Gods and the Demon Gods on Frascoia Continent were ughtered on that day as this new Transcendent Sage showed off his power!

 Chapter 542 Starforce Spark

    After Qin Feng showed off his prowess as a Transcendent Saint, the Primordial God immediately entered Frascoia Continent to attack him.


    "Stop hunting the Celestials, or else do not me me for being ruthless! You have barely reached the 9 Star Rank and aren''t my match. If we fight, countless beings will lose their lives," The Primordial God spoke rather somberly.


    In turn, Qin Feng responded with a disdainful sneer, "You will fight me? You should learn to find me first, Primordial God."


    Qin Feng''s body soon dispersed. It was as if he was fusing with the world. The Primordial God frowned as he failed to sense even the slightest bit of Qin Feng''s aura. It was as if Qin Feng was never really here.


    "Hmph! You can''t save yourself by using this kind of cheap trick," The Primordial God conjured his power and split apart the entire Frascoia Continent with his great Holy Ardor.


    The entire Frascoia Continent was bombarded with continuous Heavenly Lightning strikes, and countless lives were lost in the process.


    After these Heavenly Lightning strikes ended, the Primordial God heard a rather cold whisper in the wind, "I was nning to let you go peacefully. But if a war is what you desire, then war is what you will receive."


    In the next ten years, humanity witnessed their Transcendent Saint battle the Primordial God!


    Qin Feng had been preparing for this battle all his life. Thus, he was sufficiently prepared! Moreover, his Elemental Sparks belonged to Frascoia Continent, and he received a massive boost while fighting on these home groups.


    The same couldn''t be said about the Primordial God!


    Thews on Frascoia Continent were beginning to suppress the Primordial God''s power. This was because Qin Feng''s evolution to the 9 Star Rank had greatly boosted the power of thesews! They were now strong enough to even suppress the Primordial God''s power!


    Once the Primordial God felt as if he was losing, he immediately activated his escape n to retreat to Heavens.


    While he was retreating back to Heavens, Qin Feng yelled out, "Any Celestial God or Demon God that enters the Frascoia Continent will turn into ashes! This is my promise to you. You cane to fight me at any time, but the result will be different next time. You would escape with your life, Primordial God!"


    Qin Feng had a motive for solely ying Celestial Gods or Demon Gods. If he murdered all Celestials or Demons, humanity would lose their desire to grow stronger and battle Celestials or Demons.


    The Demon Venerable didn''t attack Qin Feng. He was already quite startled that Qin Feng fought the Primordial God and forced thetter to retreat!


    This indicated that Qin Feng''s power was a bit superior to the Primordial God on the Frascoia Continent. It further indicated that even the Demon Venerable would lose to Qin Feng on the Frascoia Continent!


    Moreover, the Demon Venerable was actually injured at this moment due to his battle against the Elven Kingdom. He hadn''t recovered from the wounds of those battles yet. It would be suicide for him to go and fight this new Transcendent Saint of the Human Race.


    Once Qin Feng had settled up the matters rted to the Primordial God and the Demon Venerable, he decided it was time to advance his cultivation. He could sense that this was still not the peak. He could be even stronger!


    Firstly, Qin Feng set up his kingdom and ruled it for a short period. During his long years of traveling, he experienced great things and used his experience to createw and order for this Great Qin Empire.


    After hundred years, Qin Feng disappeared and let his descendants rule over the kingdom. His descendants inherited Qin Feng''s high affinity with the Law of Destiny and very soon began to fight among themselves.


    Other than Qin Feng''s descendants, hisrades had also inherited a high affinity with the Law of Destiny! Qin Feng''srades created their own kingdoms and ruled over them.


    Qin Feng noticed everything that was going on and sighed. He knew that this was only inevitable. Since the Celestials and the Demons were no longer a great threat to the humans, the humans had begun to form forces to fight against each other. They couldn''t stay unified any longer!


    Qin Feng didn''t care about their personal conflicts. However, he visited the Great Qin Empire one day and constructed a Saint Stele in each kingdom''s Royal Pce. This could be used to directly contact Qin Feng. This Saint Stele was a special array created by Qin Feng that used the Law of Destiny to connect the ruler to the Saint Stele.


    Only the Ruler of a Kingdom could activate this Saint Stele. Not even the prince or his brother of the kingdom could activate it.


    Qin Feng dealt with these issues in this manner for nearly thousands of years when suddenly, a cmity struck the Frascoia Continent!


    The Demon Venerable unleashed the <strong>Cerberus, the Three-Headed Demonic Dog</strong>, in the Frascoia Continent, while the Primordial God released the <strong>Raiju, the Great Thunder Beast</strong>!


    These two beasts unleashed chaos on the Frascoia Continent. The Demon Venerable and the Primordial God unleashed these beasts to restrain Qin Feng''s hands.


    The Cerberus devoured the Heavenly Energy and the Spiritual Energy from the Frascoia Continent. At the same time, the Raiju rained down Heavenly Lightning and made the Heavenly Tribtion even more terrifying for humans.


    Qin Feng lured Cerberus and Raiju to the Silver Mountain Range. The Silver Mountain Peak was the highest peak on the Frascoia Continent. At that moment, a mysterious Elemental Spark was evolving deep within the Silver Mountain Range. It was evolving from the 8 Star Rank to the 9 Star Rank.


    This was the <strong>Starforce Elemental Spark</strong>! Starforce was considered the most powerful and mysterious power in the world. Its power could suppress even the Demonic and Holy Ardor put together.


    Thus, Qin Feng was sure that this Starforce Spark could retrain these two beasts. However, when he lured these two beasts to this location, an ident urred as the sh of these energies resulted in a <strong>terrifying explosion</strong>.


    <strong>This explosion was so strong that it could destroy the whole world three times over!</strong>


    Qin Feng gritted his teeth and used all his power to contain that explosion in that limited area. However, this prevented him from leaving the Silver Mountain Range. His Spiritual Energy waspletely stretched to contain that terrifying explosion.


    Thus, Qin Feng contacted the Emperor of the Great Qin Empire to send him amand token. Qin Feng would use thismand token to send the Great Qin Empire amand and have them deal with an issue.


    Qin Feng could still deal with a couple of Celestial Gods or the Demon Gods, but he couldn''t deal with a whole group of them. He had to request assistance in that case.


    The Primordial God and the Demon Venerable didn''t dare to enter the Frascoia Continent because they had received a warning from Qin Feng that if they entered the Frascoia Continent, Qin Feng would release that terrifying explosion.


    Even the Primordial God and the Demon Venerable weren''t sure whether they could endure that terrifying explosion. Even Spatial Laws would be destroyed uponing in contact with that explosion!


    Now that millions of years have passed, Qin Feng''s powers have greatly increased. However, the Cerberus and the Raiju kept bombarding their attacks at the Starforce Spark, making the explosion much stronger.


    Fortunately, Qin Feng''s growth rate was truly impressive as he gained insight into all sorts ofws that managed to keep this terrifying explosion contained!


    At this moment, Qin Feng heard Shun''s words, and his self-control nearly faltered as he realized that Azaroth was still alive!


    Azaroth''s survival worried him greatly that he immediately pulled out themand token to contact the <strong>Great Qin Empire''s Current Emperor</strong>, <strong>Qin Lei</strong>.


    "I will send a skilled <strong>God-Rank Expert</strong> to the Glerian Kingdom. He will handle Azaroth," Qin Feng spoke seriously to Shun.

 Chapter 543 Great Qin Emperor, Qin Leis Favor

    Qin Feng couldn''t sense Azaroth''s presence in the Glerian Kingdom. No¡­ It would be more urate to state that he couldn''t tell which one was his. In the Glerian Kingdom, he detected a vast amount of life essence belonging to Celestials, Humans, and Demons.


    It was hard to pick Azaroth out amongst them. For that reason, Qin Feng contacted the current emperor of the Great Qin Empire, Qin Lei.


    "Child, it''s me," Qin Feng spoke while using thatmand token with a rather calm tone.


    His voice traveled to the other end of the world and reached Qin Lei''s spirit. Qin Lei instantly activated his ownmand token and responded respectively, "Great Ancestor. It''s my great fortune that you have contacted me today. My great grandfather used to narrate lots of stories about you."


    Qin Feng had a loving smile on his face as he recalled Qin Jian. He responded to Qin Lei, "Child, I have a mission for you."


    "A terrifying Demon God has reincarnated into this world and has already reached the Demon King Rank. I want you to send a Saint to handle this Demon God," Qin Feng spoke authoritatively.


    Qin Lei, on the other side, shook a bit as he heard those words. He frowned and asked Qin Feng, "Great Ancestor, if the Demon God is merely a Demon King right now, sending an Emperor-Ranked Expert should suffice, right? You see, we are in the middle of a conflict against the Empire of Qian Guo, and sending a Saint would be a bit troublesome."


    Qin Feng scowled upon hearing those words and instantly chided him, "Child, this matter is of great importance, unlike your conflict with the Empire of Qian Guo. This Demon God is an extremely special existence."


    "This Demon God belongs to an era of almost two million years ago when the Ancient War between the two races was at its peak. And even in that era, this Demon God made his name as one of the most terrifying beings in the world. He possessed the potential to reach the 9 Star Rank! If you send an Emperor-Ranked Expert to kill him, you will be sending him to his death."


    Qin Lei was utterly shocked to see his Great Ancestor speaking so much about this Demon God.


    "¡­Alright, Great Ancestor. I will send a Saint to deal with this fellow. I assure you that I will utterly annihte this Demon God''s soul so he can''t reincarnate any longer!" Qin Lei solemnly spoke.


    Qin Feng added, "Good. Make sure to send someone who is extremely skilled in manipting Spiritual Energy. Someone who can sense all portions of this Demon God''s spirit and destroy them all."


    This condition made Qin Lei falter a bit. Only a single individual in the Great Qin Empire fit those conditions!


    Nine Yin Saintess!


    Nine Yin Saintess was the Sect Mistress of the Nine Yin Sect. This sect was exclusive to women with Yin Physique and Ice Element. In a sense, the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect that Azaroth created was a copy of this sect.


    This Nine Yin Sect was created by an expert titled Nine Yin Empress. She was one of the primary supporters of Qin Feng, who helped him rise to prominence. Nearly hundreds of generations had passed after the Ancient War ended, and one of her descendants finally managed to break through to the Saint Rank!


    This was the Nine Yin Saintess! She had been ruling the Nine Yin Sect ever since then!


    It had been nearly a million years since the Nine Yin Saintess grabbed hold of the Nine Yin Sect. She was wholeheartedly focused on cultivation.


    And this fateful day, she received a message that the Great Qin Empire''s Emperor hade to visit her.


    The Nine Yin Saintess was quite startled to hear those words. She invited the Emperor inside while wondering what he wanted from her. It had been many years since theyst met.


    After Qin Lei entered the main chamber, the Nine Yin Saintess greeted him with a calm expression.


    Qin Lei immediately got to the point and stated that his visit today was rted to the Great Ancestor. The Great Ancestor wanted to dispatch a Saint to the Glerian Kingdom to kill a reincarnated Demon God. Moreover, the individual had to be sufficiently skilled in Spiritual Energy.


    "What is the name and title of this Demon God?" Nine Yin Saintess asked a bit curiously.


    "Tyrannical Asura Devil God, Azaroth!" Qin Lei replied almost instantly.


    Nine Yin Saintess''s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing that title and name. She had heard of this Devil God through the Ancient Records left behind in the Nine Yin Sect.


    The founder of the Nine Yin Sect was a primary supporter of Qin Feng, so she was aware of Azaroth and had detailed information on his abilities.


    The Nine Yin Empress was greatly impressed by Azaroth''s usage of the Ice Element. It was through observing him that she managed to perfect her Nine Yin Saint Art near the end of her life.


    It was through this Nine Yin Saint Art that the Nine Yin Saintess could reach her current rank.


    "I need another favor from you, Nine Yin Saintess. As you must know, a Saint in the Empire of Qian Guo is preparing to break through the Transcendent Saint Rank."


    "What do you require from me, Emperor?" Nine Yin Saintess asked candidly. She further questioned, "Do you want me to kill that fellow?"


    Qin Lei shook his head and responded with a smile, "¡­No. I need you to do something else for me."


    Heid down a Heaven Concealment Array to prevent anyone else from finding out about his request.


    Nine Yin Saintess looked extremely shocked by his request and confirmed it by asking him, "You really want me to do that?"


    "Yes. The situation is just that urgent," Qin Lei responded with a somber expression. He departed from the Nine Yin Sect soon enough, leaving behind a rather worried Nine Yin Saintess.


    After some minutes, the Nine Yin Saintess reached a conclusion. She epted Qin Lei''s request before leaving for the Glerian Kingdom.


    ording to Qin Feng''s instruction, she will meet someone in the capital of the Glerian Kingdom who can identify Azaroth for her.


    At this moment, Shun was also moving towards the Glerian Kingdom at his fastest pace.


    Fortunately, the distance between the Glerian Kingdom and the Great Qin Empire was rather wide. Even a Saint required some time to traverse that massive distance!


    Shun reached the 6 Star Rank by absorbing the Earth Spark. And through that Earth Spark, he gained insight regarding one of the most mysterious elements as well. It was the Spatial Element.


    He could use the Spatial Element to boost his speed greatly. He could sense a massive entity in the sky, simr to that of stars which could connect him to the Spatial Laws. This was actually a massive ck Hole in the sky or known as the ck Star!


    However, Shun believed that connecting to that ck Star would destroy his body from the inside, so he didn''t try this at all.


    In the meantime, Azaroth was in a forest near the Glerian Kingdom''s capital. It was known as the Crarian Woods. This was also the location where Noah went through the Heavenly Dragon Battlegrounds Tournament.


    And at this moment, Azaroth was seated on a stone while sensing the Wood Ardor around him. He sensed the power of nature and gained some insight into it.


    It had been a few days since his meeting with the Radiant God. He was sure that the Archangels couldn''t find him in this forest since Azaroth hadpletely distributed his aura throughout the entire forest.


    Only a God-Ranked Expert could detect him at this point.

 Chapter 544 Seizing Twin Daggers

    The battle between the Archangels and the Glerian Kingdom''s experts continued for nearly two days. It had reached a rather weird stalemate as the Saber Emperor and Bryon held off the Archangels.


    The Archangels were also rather tired. They had overexerted their Spirit in thest two days and urgently required a long rest. However, rxing at this moment meant death, so they could only continue with their fight.


    Both parties ingested their heavenly pellets to recover their strength and managed to continue their fight for two whole days.


    The fight was so high-leveled that Azaroth didn''t find an opportunity to intervene. He noticed that Bryon left no openings for Azaroth to attack him. On the Archangels'' side, Esther remained alert for an unknown attack.


    Thus, Azaroth decided to stay in the forest and meditate. His affinity with Nature had greatly improved, and Azaroth could sense the mysterious power in the Elven Blood.


    He could sense a connection with a great entity. It didn''t take him long to figure out that this great entity could only be the World Tree, Yggdrasil.


    ''So, that''s how the elves know the location of the Elven Kingdom. It''s an instinctive feeling that originates from their blood. Their blood connects them to Yggdrasil and allows them to sense its location from any part of the world,'' Azaroth guessed.


    Suddenly, Azaroth sensed a rather dangerous presence in his range. He instinctively guessed the identity of this individual ''Inquisitor Fox?! He is here?''


    Azaroth unconsciously recalled that future vision he had seen when his Mystic Eyes of Perception evolved to another level.


    ''That God-Ranked Expert must not be far. If so, it''s time to activate thest resort,'' Azaroth closed his eyes and concentrated greatly.


    White streams of pure Spiritual Energy were released from his body and connected to all parts of his Spirit that had been imnted in other people or objects.


    It took nearly an hour for him to connect to all parts of his Spirit. He resolutely annihted all portions of his Spirit after he aplished that. Including the Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings.


    Now, his retainers couldn''t use those rings to talk to Azaroth or receive his Spirit''s support.


    All his retainers noticed that their Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings had gotten a bit dull. Everyone except for Noah and William was confused regarding this phenomenon.


    Azaroth opened his eyes and sensed the presence of a God-Ranked Expert. He wasn''t startled to sense that aura. It almost felt like a d¨¦j¨¤ vu to him.


    He could guess what wasing next. However, Azaroth still decided to run. He was flying at his quickest speed, and fortunately for him, the God-Ranked Expert didn''t seem to be after him.


    At this moment, Shun met up with hisrades who had infiltrated the Glerian Kingdom by following Tronte. They were the ones who could recognize Azaroth. It was crucial to meet with them and wait for the Saint to arrive.


    Qin Feng mentioned that the Saint would knowingly re his power after reaching the Glerian Kingdom''s capital. Shun had to quickly meet her and guide her to Azaroth''s location!


    Once Azaroth noticed that he had quite a bit of time since this God-Ranked Expert didn''t know his identity or location, another n formed in his head.


    He changed his direction and rushed towards the battlefield where the three Archangels were fighting the two human experts.


    Azaroth nned to acquire one of those God-Ranked Celestial Weapons to survive this troublesome situation! However, seizing a God-Ranked Celestial Weapon from an Archangel was easier said than done.


    He had to wait for a fitting moment to make his move and seize that weapon. But unfortunately, time was not on his side. Thus, he had to think of a way to seize that weapon quickly!


    ''It was a good thing that I waited for 2 days. Both sides are rather tired, and their attacks'' power can''t bepared to their peak. Even their concentration has fallen greatly.''


    Azaroth analyzed the battle calmly for nearly half an hour. On the surface, there were no weak points to be exploited in this battle, but Azaroth nned to create a weak point!


    He pulled out the Frozen Hell Longbow andunched a barrage of arrows at Esther and Mira. Those arrows couldn''t truly harm the Archangels, but they sessfully grabbed their attention.


    Azaroth seeded in his mission as the Saber Emperor''s attack suddenly struck Mira. The twin daggers fell out of her hands as the Saber Emperorunched another barrage of Saber Techniques on her.


    Esther kept her eyes focused on those twin daggers and nned to retrieve them as quickly as possible. But first, she had to restrain the Saber Emperor.


    She also sent a stream of Radiant Energy to grab hold of those twin daggers. However, Azaroth''s arrows struck those twin daggers and pushed them out of the way.


    Esther wanted to re at Azaroth, but she kept her eyes focused on the Saber Emperor, whose attacks were bing a bit ferocious.


    Esther was sure that this was thest moment of brilliance for the Saber Emperor. As long as they could endure these volley of attacks, they would be fine. Then, they would only have to deal with Bryon.


    Azaroth closed the gap by using Void Steps to get closer to the Twin Daggers quickly. And a couple of secondster, he grabbed hold of those daggers. He knew that he could utilize these daggers only by employing Holy Ardor.


    He grabbed hold of these twin daggers for two reasons. The first reason was to make the Archangels lose.


    The Saber Emperor wouldn''t find it too challenging to kill two Archangels now. Only Esther could escape if she decided to abandon herrades.


    Just as Azaroth was escaping, he sensed someone attacking him. When he looked back, he noticed an arrow approaching him at an unreal speed.


    Azaroth quickly turned his body and met that arrow with the twin daggers. Both daggers struck that arrow which resulted in a massive explosion. Azaroth was thrown far back due to the explosion''s shockwave, but he managed to preserve his life.


    In the distance, Bryon clicked his tongue in annoyance. He wanted to kill Azaroth with that attack, but he realized it wouldn''t be so easy to deal with him.


    Bryon focused on the Archangels ahead of him and nned to kill them all. After thinking for some time, Esther made up her mind to escape.


    She knew that it was hopeless to continue this battle. She might even lose her Judgement Trident to the humans. This would be a great loss for the Radiant Church.


    Esther searched for the Twin Daggers and was surprised that she could no longer sense them. She sensed the presence of a King-Ranked Expert and guessed that he must possess the Twin Daggers.


    However, if she pursued him, she would have to go even deeper into the Glerian Kingdom''s territory. That would be a bad idea for her since the Saber Emperor and Bryon could work together to trap her after dealing with herrades.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth tried to control his body tond on the ground. When hended on the ground, he noticed it was a rather familiar location.


    He was near the Crario City. He gazed in the west direction and noticed that multiple individuals were flying towards him, including the Inquisitor Fox and that God-Ranked Warrior.


    ''¡­They are heading in my direction. I guess a confrontation is natural,'' Azaroth thought while preparing himself.


    He was on his feet and prepared for the two to arrive.


    After a couple of minutes, the two arrived. They were very near to his position. The others probably identified Azaroth before Inquisitor Fox ordered them to stay away. Their task was over.


    Inquisitor Fox didn''t want Azaroth to use them in his scheme.


    Before long, the two flew right before him. Inquisitor Fox''s presence had be even more powerful, while the woman next to him gave him a rather horrifying feeling.


    "Greetings, Azaroth. It''s been a long time since we met," Inquisitor Fox started off with a rather polite greeting to Azaroth. An onlooker might have mistaken them as old friends.


    Azaroth smiled in response, "You finally managed to reach me, Inquisitor Fox. And it seems that you made sure to prevent me from escaping this time."


    "That is correct," Inquisitor Fox responded calmly.


    In the meantime, the Nine Yin Saintess nced at the twin daggers in Azaroth''s hands and used her powerful Ardor to pull them from Azaroth''s grasps.


    Azaroth hadn''t yet linked to these twin daggers, so it was impossible for him to make use of the Divine Energy within these daggers to resist the Nine Yin Saintess.

 Chapter 545 Azaroths Final Words

    After the Nine Yin Saintess arrived near the Crario City, she kept ring her Ardor to allow Shun to sense her.


    The Archangels and the Glerian Kingdom''s Emperor Ranked Experts sensed her presence. They instantly halted their battle and stared in her direction.


    Emperor-Ranked Experts were merely ants in front of a God-Ranked Experts! Bryon, the Saber Emperor, and the Archangels wanted to know why a God-Ranked Expert had arrived in this kingdom.


    The Archangels wondered whether the appearance of this God-Ranked Expert was rted to the Radiant God. This signified that, despite his diligence and precaution, the Radiant God''s presence was detected by human experts when he visited the Frascoia Continent.


    The Archangels let out a relieved sigh as they realized that this God-Ranked Expert wasn''t after them. However, the Archangels weren''t sure how long this God-Ranked Expert would ignore them.


    They fled from the battlefield while noticing that the Saber Emperor and Bryon were still bbergasted by the presence of a God-Ranked Expert in the Glerian Kingdom.


    Shun immediately met with the Nine Yin Saintess and notified her that he was the one who contacted Qin Feng.


    The Nine Yin Saintess readily epted his words as his appearance matched the description she received from Qin Lei, the Current Emperor of the Great Qin Empire.


    The Nine Yin Saintess sensed the pure power of stars from Shun. She was greatly astonished and wondered ''Is this a kid chosen by a star? But even they don''t have such pure star energy within them? Who is this kid?''


    In all her life, the Nine Yin Saintess had never encountered a Prince of Stars before. The Star Lineage had nearly vanished from the Frascoia Continent after the end of the Ancient Era.


    Nine Yin Saintess did encounter other members of the Star Lineage. But this was the first time someone from this lineage and given her such an unfathomable feeling.


    "These people recognize the Demon God we are hunting," Shun spoke calmly. His tworades felt extremely suppressed as they faced Nine Yin Saintess. Even speaking had be an arduous task for them.


    Nine Yin Saintess was rather familiar with this reaction. She coldly nodded before speaking, "How should we find him?"


    Shun immediately answered her, "Myrades witnessed his fight against another warrior. And he disyed the power of a 6 Star Warrior. So, I guess the first thing we should do is search for all the 6 Star Warriors in the area. There can''t be too many if we filter out the ones who are fighting at this moment."


    The Nine Yin Saintess nodded and responded calmly, "Alright. I will extend my senses to cover the Glerian Kingdom. We can widen the search range ordingly."


    Shun''s eyebrows twitched upon hearing those words. He found it unbelievable that this woman''s sensing range could cover the entire Glerian Kingdom and even more. And more so, she was speaking so casually as if this was a very normal thing.


    The Nine Yin Saintess enjoyed Shun''s look of surprise but kept her expression impassive.


    It didn''t take long for her to detect all the 6 Star Warriors in the Glerian Kingdom. Nine Yin Saintess ignored the Celestials and focused mainly on the humans.


    ording to the information she had received, Azaroth had reincarnated into a human body. So, it made sense that he was a human.


    However, as the Nine Yin Saintess focused on all the 6 Star Warriors, she frowned as she sensed the presence of Demonic Ardor from a human.


    It was extremely faint, and that trace was rapidly vanishing. Nine Yin Saintess could perceive that faint Demonic Ardor only because Azaroth had recently employed Demonic Ardor to trigger the Frozen Hell Longbow.


    "I have a guess. Come along and see if it''s our target or not," Nine Yin Saintess wasn''t asking them but rather stating it.


    She employed a Spatial Technique and warped to the location, just a few miles high in the air.


    Shun''srades saw Azaroth and immediately pointed in his direction, "That''s the guy! He was the one fighting Tronte! He was also the one who forced the Radiant God to return to Heaven!"


    The Nine Yin Saintess smiled a bit upon hearing those words. She cocked her head in Shun''s direction and spoke, "Looks like we have our target."


    "Yes," Shun nodded his head. He then turned to hisrades, "You both can go now. Make sure to not approach this location!"


    Hisrades lightly bowed in Nine Yin Saintess''s direction before fleeing in the opposite direction at their quickest speed.


    The Nine Yin Saintess raised her brow in confusion, "You are going to apany me to the target? I can handle it from here."


    "I know. I don''t doubt your ability. It''s just that I have been having an invisible battle against this guy for a very long time, and I want to have a short talk with him," Shun spoke with a rather pleading look.


    The Nine Yin Saintess thought for a bit before agreeing to his request and allowing him to apany her.


    Thus, they reached their current situation.


    Nine Yin Saintess and Shun gazed at Azaroth rather cautiously. Azaroth noticed their wariness and smiled, "You don''t dare to approach me even while possessing such a great advantage over me. Do I scare you that much, Inquisitor Fox?"


    Azaroth addressed Shun first, even in the presence of the Nine Yin Saintess. It demonstrated his high regard for him.


    Shun had managed to counter all his schemes in the Sinyalian Kingdom. Moreover, he did it so covertly that Azaroth couldn''t find his true identity even through Bianca and Josephine''s influence. This was no easy task!


    "...Yes, you truly do, Azaroth," Shun didn''t shy away from admitting that he was scared of Azaroth.


    At this moment, Azaroth had already activated his Mystic Eyes of Perception and noticed that just a few strands of the Golden Streams passed through his body. This indicated that the mysterious Fate Energy considered Shun as a typical human despite Shun''s Star Lineage.


    He turned to face the Nine Yin Saintess. Typically, a King-Ranked Warrior could never garner anything from a God-Ranked Expert. But Azaroth was no normal King-Ranked Warrior.


    His Mystic Eyes of Perception had already undergone a mutation and easily saw through the Nine Yin Saintess. She possessed a lot of strands of Golden Streams, even greater than Tryfon Res, who held millions of Golden Streams within his body.


    He whispered, "So, you are cultivating a modified version of the Nine Yin Cultivation Art? This seems even better than the one I know."


    Those whispers sent a shiver down the Nine Yin Saintess''s spine. She didn''t know how but Azaroth seemed to have analyzed her cultivation art! This was a terrifying skill to copy a cultivation art just by observing the other person!


    "You are rted to the Nine Yin Empress, right? I can sense a trace of her presence through you," Azaroth asked, a bit amused.


    Meanwhile, the Nine Yin Saintess soon responded while maintaining a cold expression, "Yes. She is my Ancestor and the founder of my Nine Yin Sect."


    "I see," Azaroth whispered softly.


    "As one of the guardians of humanity, I will y you here today! You are a respectable figure from the Ancient War. Do you have anyst words?" Nine Yin Saintess spoke those words filled with heroism and determination.


    Azaroth''s smile widened at those words. He looked at Shun and spoke, "I hope you are prepared for the future, Inquisitor Fox. This won''t be ourst meeting."


    Shun frowned underneath his mask upon hearing those words. He immediately asked Azaroth, "And what do you mean by that? Are you implying that you won''t die here today? Or is this merely a clone, and you are stalling to allow your main body to escape?"


    Azaroth merely smiled at that question and refused to speak.


    Nine Yin Saintess spoke up with a sneer, "Hmph. If that''s what you are counting on, then you are going to be disappointed. I was chosen for this mission precisely due to my high level in sensing Spiritual Energy."

 Chapter 546 Death

    The Nine Yin Saintess froze Azaroth''s entire body and encased him in a thick block of ice, preventing him from moving. She soon approached him and touched his forehead with her index finger.


    An unreal quantity of Spiritual Energy flowed through that index finger. And using her Spiritual Energy, she was trying to detect all parts of Azaroth''s spirit that connected to the main body.


    Through this, she could find out whether the body ahead of her was a clone or the main body. If this was a clone, it would be connected to another body. And if this was the main body, he would be receiving signals from his Spirits that he had split in the world.


    However, the Nine Yin Saintess frowned as she sensed nothing. Azaroth''s spirit received no signals.


    Moreover, the Nine Yin Saintess noticed Azaroth''s tremendous spirit he had concealed within his body.


    <strong>''Death Inducement!''</strong>


    Azaroth utilized this technique in thest-ditch effort to kill the Nine Yin Saintess. However, the Nine Yin Saintess noticed the movements of his Spirit and froze it instantly.


    Shun noticed that the Nine Yin Saintess had suddenly frozen Azaroth. He raised his brows, "He still hasn''tpletely given up."


    The Nine Yin Saintess spoke somberly, "If it was another Saint who couldn''t detect Spiritual Energy thoroughly, he might have been gravely injured."


    Shun let out a relieved sigh before speaking resolutely, "We should y him immediately. The longer he remains alive, the greater the chance that he can get out of this situation!"


    The Nine Yin Saintess nodded as he agreed with that statement. She spoke, "Correct, I nned to kill him immediately as well."


    She turned towards Azaroth and stared at him with eyes full of determination. The ice around Azaroth''s body started changing shape. The ice pierced his body from multiple directions and cut it apart into pieces.


    Shun seemed rather relieved as he saw Azaroth in pieces. His mind finally rxed, and he felt like copsing!


    Ever since he knew about a Demon God reincarnation in the Sinyalian Kingdom, he had never been able to restfortably. It was even more so because he knew that the intentions of this Demon God were pure evil.


    Wherever this Demon God went, he spread death like a gue! It wouldn''t take long for anyone to guess that this Demon God was responsible for the death in those areas.


    The Nine Yin Saintess informed Shun seriously, "I will be returning now, Inquisitor Fox. As proof, I will take his body parts and burn them in front of the Great Qin Empire''s Emperor!"


    "Thank you for all your assistance," Shun was truly grateful to the Nine Yin Saintess to have traversed such a great distance to deal with Azaroth.


    The Nine Yin Saintess was soon on her way back to the Great Qin Empire with Azaroth''s corpse in her Spatial Ring.


    Shun gathered hisrades in the Glerian Kingdom and was on his way back to the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The Archangels soon received information that the Nine Yin Saintess had already departed. They understood that the Nine Yin Saintess hadn''te for the Radiant God. She was most definitely here for that reincarnated Demon God!


    At the least, this was what the Radiant God had guessed. He sent these Archangels another order to defeat the Glerian Kingdom''s experts and take over this Kingdom!


    Actually, even after killing Glerian Kingdom''s experts, the Radiant God wasn''t nning to take over the Kingdom in a traditional sense.


    In fact, the Radiant God was nning to choose a ruler among humans and have him manage the Glerian Kingdom. However, that human would be tasked to create a Radiant Church and spread this religion in the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    It would greatly empower the Radiant God if even 20% of the Glerian Kingdom''s popce started following his religion.


    The average level of the warriors in the Glerian Kingdom was also much higher than in the Lamhilhan Theocracy. It would allow the Radiant Church to wield more power and influence.


    However, the Sinyalian Kingdom wasn''t nning to make it easy for the Radiant Church to gainplete control of the Glerian Kingdom.


    After what seemed to be a stalemate, the Archangels finally defeated Bryon and gravely injured the Saber Emperor.


    The Saber Emperor was so injured that he was forced to flee! Out of the three Archangels, one had already died. Only two remained, and they were gravely injured.


    Their injuries were filled with intense Saber Qi! Only the Radiant God could deal with that Saber Qi; thus, these Archangels returned to the Lamhilhan Theocracy, leaving everything to their subordinates.


    Since the two 7 Star Warriors were dead, the Angels could absolutely trample the Glerian Kingdom with sheer numbers.


    However, the situation turned rather interesting as David Valliadis suddenly charged into the Glerian Kingdom''s capital with a massive army. And this massive army actually contained Emissaries of Clyranis!


    David Valliadis had brought all the reputed 6 Star Warriors along to have a battle to the death against the Radiant Church''s Angels!


    The Emissaries of Clyranis also brought their top-grade experts and seemed prepared to fight an Archangel of the Radiant Church!


    Thus, the one to obtain a maximum advantage in this situation was the Sinyalian Kingdom! They managed to expand their territory considerably while keeping the Radiant Church contained in Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    The rtionship between the Emissaries of Clyranis and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family was deepened as David Valliadis married the Holy Apostle, Irene!


    Irene''s status was equal to that of a Holy Son. She innately possessed greatpatibility with the Holy Ardor and the Divine Cultivation Technique of the Celestial God Clyranis.


    Thus, her marriage to David Valliadis had permanently stabilized the bond between the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Emissaries of Clyranis.


    In the meantime, Shunpletely disappeared from the Sinyalian Kingdom. He was heading towards the Great Qin Empire.


    Qin Feng had advised Shun to head into the Great Qin Empire since he would experience a different world over there, and it would be better for his growth.


    Shun was also a bit curious about the Great Qin Empire. The Nine Yin Saintess belonged to this Kingdom, implying that there could be other Saints residing in the Empire.


    He wanted to be stronger to deal with threats on his own and felt that immigrating to the Great Qin Empire was the perfect way to do so.


    Shun possessed the token of the Nine Yin Sect. The Nine Yin Saintess personally handed him this special token and asked him to use it to enter the Great Qin Empire. No one would dare to trouble him after seeing this token.


    Moreover, Shun didn''t know that this was the dark violet token of the Nine Yin Sect. It was a special token that was granted by the Nine Yin Saintess personally. It held a great influence even in the Nine Yin Sect!


    Shun was traveling across the Glerian Kingdom to reach the Great Qin Empire. He came across many travelers heading in the same direction and conversed with them. It was a joyful ride to the Great Qin Empire.


    In the meantime, David Valliadis split up the Glerian Kingdom''s territory and assigned it to the Nobles who greatly contributed to this war against the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    He also stabilized the situation in the Glerian Kingdom by meeting with the various sects and gaining the support of one of them.


    It didn''t take long before the Glerian Kingdom permanently vanished from the map of the Frascoia Continent, and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory greatly expanded!


    However, arge kingdom wasn''t without its disadvantages. Managing such arge kingdom was a bit too much for David Valliadis and his ministers. Moreover, arge kingdom meant that its borders were shared with more kingdoms.


    Their enemies had also multiplied! And it definitely wouldn''t be simple to deal with these enemies!

 Chapter 547 Investigating The Glerian Kingdom

    The Archangels exined the entire situation to the Radiant God upon returning to the Central Cathedral in Zavega, Lamhilhan Theocracy''s Capital.


    The Radiant God fell in deep thought ''Not only did we lose our Holy Weapon to the Great Qin Empire, but also the Glerian Kingdom''s territory in one swoop. I must inform the council about these losses in the next assembly. They are far too huge to keep them concealed.''


    The Radiant God didn''t want to inform the whole story to the council. Once they find out that the Radiant God had concealed the information regarding a reincarnated Demon God, they would act against him.


    However, if he continued to conceal this information, the council members would soon investigate the disappearance of the God-Ranked Weapon. In fact, they would also investigate the death of so many Archangels working under the Radiant Church. Thus, it would lead them to investigate the Glerian Kingdom.


    Before long, they would realize that this all rted to a reincarnated Demon God. The council members would be greatly displeased to know that the Radiant God was trying to keep such a piece of big news to himself.


    They would start acting against the Radiant Church covertly. The Radiant God didn''t want such invisible threats, so he nned toe clean immediately.


    At the most, the council would ce sanctions on him. The Radiant God could handle the sanctions, but he didn''t want to be on the receiving end of some deadly scheme.


    In the council, the Radiant God''s hated enemy, the Clyranis God, would definitely take advantage of this situation. Thus, the Radiant God had to bepletely prepared before informing the council of the entire truth!


    To aplish that, the Radiant God had ordered all his subordinates to gather every bit of information regarding the Glerian Kingdom and inform him if they found anything amiss or strange.


    It would be an incredible achievement if he could present a full report on what the Demon God had executed in the Glerian Kingdom. How did he reincarnate, and what was his ambition?


    If he could get the answers to these questions, the Radiant God could state that he was analyzing the Demon God and receive the council''s favor. At the least, the majority''s favor in the council.


    This would greatly limit the damage to his reputation!


    The Radiant God wanted to keep the fact concealed that he infiltrated the Frascoia Continent through that risky method but still failed to kill Azaroth.


    Unfortunately, the Radiant God was bound to be disappointed in the next assembly since this was the first issue the Clyranis God would raise!


    The Clyranis God naturally received a full update from one of Tronte''s subordinates. The Radiant God''s clone hadn''t thought that Azaroth would make him assimte with his spirit in the clone. The aftermath created by Tronte''s subordinates was far too great for the Radiant God or even the entire Radiant Church.


    They were the ones to immediately inform Shun of the entire situation after Tronte''s death. Moreover, they were the ones to identify Azaroth and confirm his identity for Shun and the Nine Yin Saintess.


    And even more importantly, they spilled the beans to the Emissaries of Clyranis!


    The next assembly would certainly be adventurous for the Radiant God!


    But fortunately for the Radiant God, he wasn''t going to be empty-handed in the assembly. His subordinates infiltrated the Glerian Kingdom and gathered all information regarding the Glerian Kingdom.


    It took them nearly two months to acquire all of the information from the previous two years in the Glerian Kingdom.


    After analyzing it thoroughly, they realized that there was nothing strange regarding thest two years of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Some organizations rose from nothing, while others bit the dust. The overall power of the Glerian Kingdom remained the same.


    A soldier rose from the lowest rank to be the leader of one of the most influential ranks of the army. Some more organizations rose, and the Glerian Kingdom flourished greatly.


    The only organization they found a bit suspicious was the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. It was established just a year ago, but it had already be a top-grade sect. This rate of growth was a bit too quick.


    Rumors regarding it spread all over the Glerian Kingdom. People said that the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was supported by a powerful figure. There were all sorts of rare ice techniques avable in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Moreover, this sect had apanied the ck Lake Sect to ughter the Night Mountain Sect, which eventually led them to a conflict with the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom.


    This sect was strange that this newly established sect actually didn''t bow down to the Royal Family''s wishes. Instead, it actively engaged them in warfare.


    The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect also used strange mist arrays to conceal its precise location. Even a group led by two 6 Star Warriors failed to return.


    The Radiant Church''s followers felt that the Radiant God must know everything regarding this sect. Thus, they gathered all sorts of information regarding it. All the rumors were filed, and the pope personally wrote a detailed report.


    The Radiant God naturally received that detailed report from the pope of the Radiant Church within the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Holding the report, the Radiant God read the name of the organizations and the leader''s name, "Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, Tiana. That mist technique must be the array formation known as the <strong>Mist Confusion Path Array</strong>. This is a long-lost ancient array formation. Either this woman inherited an expert''s legacy and learned this array formation from it, or it was someone else who constructed that formation for her."


    The Radiant God knew that the Glerian Kingdom didn''t possess this ancient array formation since they had never executed it. The Royal Family couldn''t conceal an array formation like this if they did possess it.


    His followers didn''t find any of Azaroth''s other retainers.


    The Radiant Church''s followers didn''t find Sargan or his secret intelligence organization since Sargan dealt with all the loose ends before heading to the Eastern Mountain Range.


    At the least, the Radiant God''s followers needed to dig a lot deeper if they wanted to find a trace or evidence regarding Sargan''s presence or involvement.


    Noah''s Heretical Pdins was a general under the crown. He didn''t seem so suspicious to the King.


    Laura''s Noble Guardians had done nothing but resolved trouble for the civilians. Other groups like it did this kind of social work.


    Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion had local gangs in each city supporting it, so her organization could be considered rather influential, but at the end of the day, it was merely an entertainment center and bar. It didn''t cause much trouble for anyone other than the Dragon and Tiger Pce.


    Ralph''s Ancestral Tiger''s Gang wasn''t found since it wasn''t so impressivepared to the other organizations on the list.


    Meanwhile, William didn''t create an organization. He roamed around the Glerian Kingdom to gather experience so his notoriety couldn''t bepared to Azaroth''s other retainers.


    But still, analyzing nearly all organizations in the Glerian Kingdom within two months was no easy task! Even more so when they managed to single out the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect that truly had a connection with Azaroth.


    However, the Radiant God still wasn''t sure of his guess. He was aiming blindly and hoping that it struck the target. He wanted nothing more than to charge into the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect to capture the sect mistress.


    It was a pity that his followers in the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom were limited. And they had to do the Radiant God''s task covertly. This was all due to the Emissaries of Clyranis.


    The Emissaries would immediately kill as they find a follower of the Radiant Church!


    In the meantime, the Holy Apostle of the Clyranis God/ the Queen of the Sinyalian Kingdom, Irene, utilized the Sinyalian Kingdom''s resources to investigate all the organizations in the newly acquired Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory that could be a threat to them since most of the organizations in the Glerian Kingdom''s territory hadn''t submitted properly.


    In the past two months, her envoys met the leaders of each organization and threatened them ore to a settlement with them.


    As Irene kept dealing with the organizations on that list, she soon came across the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Her envoys visited that sect and returned to inform her that the Sect Master was no longer present. There was an Acting Sect Mistress who would represent the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Irene frowned slightly as she recalled that something simr was the case with the Misty Flower Pavilion. She wondered if these two cases were simr. The Misty Flower Pavilion could be ignored since its power was rather low, but the same couldn''t be spoken about the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Irene knew that her guess was a bit too wild, but she didn''t want to take any chances. David had assigned her this task while he handled the nobles of the Sinyalian Kingdom and split apart the newly acquired Glerian Kingdom''s territory.


    Sometimeter, she found out that the leaders of the Noble Guardians and Heretical Pdins were missing too. Her suspicion grew as her intuition told her that something was going on.


    She informed all her spies in the cities to find out the leaders of these organizations. She was worried that they were forming an evenrger organization to cause internal unrest within the new territory of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Irene nned to crush this organization before it could cause an uprising. After two weeks of asking in nearly every town or city, Irene found traces of their tracks. Those tracks led her to the Eastern Mountain Range.


    Even with all sorts of precautions, Azaroth''s retainers couldn''t cover their tracks entirely since they weren''t traveling alone. Each one moved with a group and not everyone in that group had the same talent or cultivation as Azaroth''s retainers. Thus, each one inevitably left behind some traces, except for Sargan. Some people witnessed a few of these groups heading East.


    Irene was a bit confused regarding this Eastern Mountain Range. Apparently, even though it was a part of the Glerian Kingdom, the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom didn''t directly control it.


    ording to the residents, independent tribes resided in the Eastern Mountain Range. These tribes maintained a cordial rtionship with the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom.


    They knew that confronting the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom would be disastrous for them, so they sent an annual tribute to the Royal Family to keep themselves out of danger.


    The Royal Family also didn''t bother with them since they received a rather generous annual tribute. King Tryfon Res figured that invading the Eastern Mountain Range would be extremely hazardous since they didn''t know about the enemy''s power or the geographic terrain.


    It wasn''t that King Tryfon Res hadn''t tried taking over the Eastern Mountain Range, but he couldn''t. The tribes in this mountain range managed to resist a party of five 6 Star Warriors!


    The King realized that he couldn''t take over the Eastern Mountain Range by force and happily epted that annual tribute to maintain a cordial rtionship with these tribes.


    This was a very beneficial deal for these tribes since it allowed them to trade the minerals and materials useless to them in exchange for some weapons.


    However, this peace was going toe to an end as Irene informed David Valliadis that some influential leaders were on the Eastern Mountain Range, and they could be nning a rebellion.


    David Valliadis frowned slightly as he didn''t want to deal with a rebellion. He first decided to parley with these tribes in the Eastern Mountain Range and find out more about the situation. If Irene''s suspicions turned out to be true, he would have to crush these organizations vigorously and swiftly.

 Chapter 548 Departing

    At this moment, Azaroth''s retainers were no longer on the Eastern Mountain Range. They had long since left the Eastern Mountain Range and moved to different locations.


    Noah took the Heretical Pdins and traveled to the Great Qin Empire.


    Sargan activated the long lost Spatial Power that Azaroth left behind in his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring to open a Spatial Portal to Purgatory. He was nning to take control of the Bach n in Purgatory!


    Ralph traveled to the Beast Kingdom in the west and nned to join them. He brought all the demi-beasts from his group along.


    Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion was working quite well in the Glerian Kingdom. She was confident that her subordinates could handle the branches in the Glerian Kingdom. It was time for her to expand to other countries.


    Yrellea''s next target was the Pinhian Republic. She brought all her close subordinates and traveled to that nation.


    Tiana was also confident that her subordinates could handle the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Branch in the Glerian Kingdom. The arrays were working perfectly, and there was no 7 Star Warrior in the Sinyalian Kingdom who could forcefully break that mist array.


    The only 7 Star Warrior in the Sinyalian Kingdom''s new territory was the Saber Emperor. But the Saber Emperor wouldn''t act against the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect since they had no conflict.


    Tiana''s next target was the Empire of Qian Guo. This Empire was constantly at war against the Great Qin Empire, so its strength and influence could be considered in the same category as the Great Qin Empire.


    Laura was going to head south. ording to the map, in the south was the Kingdom of Cemetia. She had to reach the southern boundary of this kingdom to find the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    She didn''t know how Azaroth knew but trusted him enough to know that he wouldn''t lie to her about this matter. After finding this herb, Laura nned to return to the Elf Kingdom immediately.


    It had been a long time since she returned, and her mother was definitely getting worried.


    William was heading towards the Woltensian Empire. This was a Great Empire in the West! It was said that this Empire ced great importance on auxiliary jobs along with the battle.


    For this reason, they had very advanced Array Formations, Alchemy Techniques, Battle Formations, cksmith Techniques, Refining Techniques, and Crafting Techniques.


    William''s task was to befriend all sorts of individuals possessing arge number of Golden Streams.


    However, before splitting up and departing for their respective location, they all gathered around and noticed that their Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring went dim.


    "Everyone, I want to have a talk. I need to inform you of something," Noah spoke seriously. He was the leader of their entire group, and this was the first meeting he organized with them.


    All of them went to an empty field. Laura and William ced Voice Suppression Arrays all around the area to prevent someone from eavesdropping on them.


    Once they were ready, Noah spoke seriously, "¡­Before master went, he told me a secret. He said that a Saint would enter the Glerian Kingdom to take his life. If the Saint truly entered the Glerian Kingdom, our master will annihte all portions of his spirit connecting to the main body. This is exactly what urred as master''s spirit within these rings have vanished now."


    "Master mentioned that he would try to deal with the Saint, but he would most likely lose. The Saint would kill him," Noah spoke those words while clenching his fists tightly. He was so angry at himself that words could no longer convey his emotions.


    Meanwhile, all other Azaroth''s retainers gasped loudly!


    Noah soon continued, "¡­However, master also added that death was not an end for him. He was sure that the Saint would only destroy his physical body while preserving his Spiritual Body. He wasn''t sure why the Saint would preserve his Spiritual Body, but he was sure it would happen."


    "Our true task is to form powerful and influential organizations to find our Master and save him!" Noah finished speaking.


    All of Azaroth''s retainers were shocked to hear those statements. Laura was extremely furious as she shouted, "Why did you tell us of this only now?! If you had told us earlier, we could have prevented our master from going out!"


    Noah red back at Laura and answered her coldly, "You think I didn''t try to stop our master?! He specifically ordered me to not tell you anything until our ring colors fade a bit and his spiritpletely vanishes from these rings!"


    "He couldn''t remain here with us or any other ce for that matter since the Saint would find him sooner orter. In fact, master wanted to get caught. He had his reasons for wanting to get captured by this Saint, but he never shared those reasons with me."


    Those words silenced everyone.


    After a few minutes, Sargan broke that silence by speaking, "Guessing master''s motive will lead us nowhere. It would be more productive to work harder and free our master."


    Laura soon responded, "¡­Alright. I will return to the Elven Kingdom and gainplete control of it. I can then use the influence of the Elven Kingdom to find our master''s location and free him out of there."


    "We need to obey our master''s final instructions! Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he decided to get himself captured," Yrellea spoke seriously.


    "Hmm. You are right," Tiana spoke softly.


    "Then we will split up from here! If anyone is in trouble, make sure to inform others about it. We will think of something to help you!" Noahid down this irond rule.


    Sargan jokingly spoke, "And how will you help me? I will be in Purgatory while you all will stay on Frascoia Continent."


    However, Noah seriously spoke, "I will find some demons on Frascoia Continent andpel them to help you!"


    Sargan was just slightly surprised, before he nodded with a bright smile on his face.


    "Very well. But the next time we meet, you might not be my opponent," Sargan spoke confidently.


    Meanwhile, Noah waved him off while adding, "I just hope you can withstand a strike from me."


    Now that Azaroth had been captured, Noah was even more determined to train even harder. However, suddenly, Noah recalled Azaroth''s second instruction that he had nearly forgotten, "Also, master told us to always keep an eye out on information regarding someone known as the Star Inheritor or the Prince of Stars. We will hear about him soon enough."


    "This will be easy! I will make sure to gather all information regarding this Prince of Stars," Yrellea spoke with a smile.


    "Alright, since everyone is clear of their objectives, it''s time to depart" Noah spoke with a smile. All of them split up at that moment and brought their groups before heading to their respective locations!


    Azaroth''s retainers had long left by the time David requested a parley with the Eastern Mountain Range tribes.


    David was a bit suspicious of the tribes as they informed him that there were no foreigners in their territory. Moreover, they readily agreed to an inspection.


    The inspection results came out and there was no suspicious individual present here. In fact, the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family had topensate the tribes for this suspicion.


    Thispensation was carried out by writing off all tributes for three years. David wanted to gain the support of these tribes and use their influence and power to suppress any sect or organization that acted unruly.


    Irene''s suspicions regarding those various organizations were put to rest since it seemed as though these leaders running away was a mere coincidence. Perhaps some of them thought that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family would kill all leaders loyal to the Glerian Kingdom.


    That would exin why the leaders of the Noble Guardians and the Heretical Pdins went missing. Meanwhile, some other leaders were concealing their location and inspecting the Royal Family''s actions against the various organizations.


    This would exin the disappearance of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s sect mistress. But in any case, the Sinyalian Kingdom had managed to stabilize their power in their newly acquired territory.


    The one who gained the most territory in this expedition was none other than the Rhodes Noble House! From Marquis, the Rhodes Noble House had been promoted to the Dukedom!


    Jonas Rhodes had acquired an exceptional mace and was confident that he could finally defeat Spencer Russel with this.


    For the next ten years, the Sinyalian Kingdom was embroiled in war against the kingdoms surrounding it. They lost much of their territory to the Republic of Raleroma, Alinginian Kingdom, and Principality of Aseca.


    It was a bit ironic that the Sinyalian Kingdom lost a bit of its ancestral territory right after acquiring new territory.


    But still, the Sinyalian Kingdom continued to flourish under David''s leadership! He was a generational talent and was showing off his worth under the pressure!


    ~~ The End~~


    ~~


    <strong>[A/N: And this book 1 of this serieses to an end. I will soon publish the sequel of this series that will continue in the same verse, but with a different main character. Azaroth and retainers will be present there and will be an integral part of the story. Azaroth will be the main character in that novel again, but not from the very beginning. Please make sure to support it. I will add an announcement chapter on this novel to inform you of the name of that novel. See ya!]</strong>

 Chapter 549 Side Story: Noah (1)

    After departing from the Eastern Glerian Mountain Range, Noah and his group walked toward the Qin Empire. They soon reached the border area through which they could enter the Qin Empire.


    However, they also noticed that this border area was a lot different aspared to the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s borders.


    A ck line on the ground seemed to indicate the boundaries of the two kingdoms. This ck line was irregr, which could be considered very normal. Moreover, Noah sensed a threatening feeling from that ck line.


    It felt as though this ck line possessed the strength to kill Noah.


    Noah was startled, but he felt it wouldn''t be too farfetched for his feeling to be right. He had witnessed many uses of the Array Formations and knew that if it was a high-level array, even Noah would be killed with no exception.


    "How do we cross the border?" Noah was slightly frustrated. His subordinates looked at him with a confused expression.


    "Isn''t the Qin Empire right past that borderline?"


    "We can''t cross this ck line," Noah spoke seriously.


    "Why not?" One of his subordinates asked. All members of the Heretical Pdins stared in Noah''s direction for an answer.


    Noah casually replied, "I don''t know, but I have a bad feeling about this. We cannot cross this ck Line without investigating it further. Anyway, let''s look around and see if it''s broken somewhere."


    They looked around for another way inside the Qin Empire but found nothing.


    ? Before long, the Heretical Pdins drifted into a vige. Noah booked an entire boarding house in the vige.


    Noah soon entered his room and contacted Sargan through the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring, "¡­How do I enter the Qin Empire? There is some weird ck Line that gives me a frightening feeling. I think it''s part of an array."


    Sargan answered Noah''s question almost immediately, "Your guess might be right. Where are you right now?"


    "In a vige near the borders. I think this vige''s name is Alballe vige," Noah spoke.


    "Alballe vige, huh? Never heard of this one," Sargan responded ndly.


    "Yeah. It''s pretty close to the borders. I found it while I was checking out a way to enter the Qin Empire without passing through that ck Line," Noah exined.


    "I see," Sargan spoke. He then suddenly spoke, "Ask your subordinates to question the vigers. They might know of some secret method to enter the Qin Empire."


    "Hmm. You are right," Noah agreed with this n.


    The next day, Noah gathered all his subordinates and ordered them to question the vigers. They were also ordered to ask politely and not disturb the vigers too much.


    Noah''s subordinates returned to the inn in the evening time with lots of information regarding that ck line.


    Firstly, that ck line was known as the Intruder Incineration Line. All intruders breaching that line would be instantly incinerated. Even a 6 Star Warrior was no exception!


    Only those who possessed a special medallion could pass that Intruder Incineration Line without any trouble.


    Secondly, this Intruder Incineration Line wouldn''t harm the Great Qin Empire''s citizens. It meant that the Great Qin Empire''s citizens could pass that line and remain safe. In fact, all those apanying the Great Qin Empire''s citizens would be fine if they passed the border line along with him.


    The Great Qin Empire purposely created such a loophole in this array. Through this method, they could secretly recruit more soldiers without showing them on the official record. Thus, the other nations would have no idea about this secret force, and it could act as an Ace for the Great Qin Empire.


    However, this loophole did greater harm than good since the rebellious groups in the Great Qin Empire used this loophole to bring more of their supporters into the Great Qin Empire and cause great destruction.


    The Great Qin Empire acted ording as it set up numerous outposts to monitor any intruders secretly entering the Great Qin Empire.


    The officials assigned by the Royal Family held special seals or wore unique clothing, and the soldiers didn''t bother them. Meanwhile, all the other individuals entering the Great Qin Empire secretly were ughtered.


    There had been some cases when these soldiers identally killed soldiers on the Royal Family''s secret mission. But still, the outposts remained standing.


    These outposts significantly decreased the number of outsiders entering the Great Qin Empire. Their benefits outweighed their drawbacks by a wide margin.


    "Did you find any Great Qin Empire citizens in this vige?" Noah asked his subordinates.


    "Yes. There is one who ims to be a Great Qin Empire citizen. However, he refuses to help us pass the border. He says that the soldiers of the Great Qin Empire will ughter us all if we go without a special medallion," Aria spoke seriously.


    "I heard that the soldiers assigned in these outposts had killed even a group of 6 Star Warriors," Luna spoke.


    Noah fell into deep thought. This meant that even if he passed the borders, the Heretical Pdins wouldn''t be safe. In fact, they would be in even greater danger.


    "Ask that Qin Empire citizen if another method exists to enter that Empire. He should know of another way even if it''s more dangerous than these methods," Noah ordered them.


    Three Heretical Pdins immediately left this meeting to question that man.


    Meanwhile, the other members showed a puzzled expression as a member asked Noah, "What is the point of knowing about another method if it''s even more dangerous than the one we know."


    All other members agreed to his words. Even Noah found himself agreeing with that statement, but he spoke seriously, "My Boss taught me to never remain ignorant about my options. Moreover, the danger is subjective. What''s more dangerous for others might not be as dangerous for us?"


    Only Aria and Luna understood the meaning behind his words, while all other subordinates just shrugged in response. Their IQ wasn''t great, and they couldn''t change Noah''s mind, so they stopped thinking.


    After a few hours, Noah received information that there was indeed another method of entering the Great Qin Empire. However, it was so dangerous that everyone would typically avoid that method.


    "The only other method to enter the Great Qin Empire is to pass through the forbidden Giant Eagle Forest. As the name suggests, there exists a Giant Eagle in this forest. This Giant Eagle possesses the bloodline of a Golden Roc and has reached the Emperor Rank."


    "¡­Even if we pass through this forest, wouldn''t the Great Qin Empire have set up that ck Line over there to prevent the intruders from entering their Empire? Or those outposts?" Aria asked.


    "No. It seems that the Great Eagle and other beasts of simr rank frequently attack any humans in those areas. That border line array can''t stop those beasts since they seemed to be considered the Great Qin Empire''s citizens."


    Moreover, the Great Qin Empire couldn''t eliminate this Eagle since it possessed very acute senses. This Eagle would instantly flee upon sensing the aura of an 8 Star Warrior. The Golden Roc bloodline gave ess to incredible speed and great talent in Spatial Movement. This prevented any 8 Star Warrior from dealing with this Eagle.


    In fact, the Great Qin Empire soon realized that there was no need to deal with this Eagle. This Great Eagle actually blocked the intruders for them.


    All the intruders trying to enter the Great Qin Empire would have to deal with this Eagle. And as of this moment, very few warriors have managed to dodge this Eagle''s might and entered the Great Qin Empire.


    Thus, the Great Qin Empire''s Royal Family practically ignored this entrance.


    However, Noah smiled upon hearing about this path.

 Chapter 550 Side-Story Noah (2)

    The next day, Noah used his Mystical Connection Spiritual Ring to contact Ralph.


    At this moment, Ralph was leading his group toward the Beast Empire to gain the inheritance of the Beast God. He was startled to know that Noah was trying to contact him.


    "What is it, Noah?" Ralph asked.


    "Send me Zena quickly. I want her assistance. I will have her return to you once the task ispleted," Noah spoke. He didn''t exin any further since there was no need to do so.


    Ralph was somewhat curious why Noah would require Zena, but he answered soon, "Alright. Where are you?"


    "I am in a vige somewhere southeast of the Eastern Glerian Mountain Range. Send Zena in this direction," Noah spoke. He exined his position a bit more before the two broke contact.


    Ralph soon informed Zena that Noah urgently required his assistance. He further exined Noah''s position to Zena, and she nodded before chirping in affirmation.


    Zena was very intelligent and had a rough guess of Noah''s position. She also possessed impressive eyesight and was confident in finding him after reaching that location.


    It took nearly three days for Zena to reach Noah''s location. This was an impressive speed considering that Ralph was on the other side of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Crossing the entire Glerian Kingdom in just three days was a truly impressive feat!


    Noah smiled as he saw Zena approaching the group. He spoke with a delighted look, "Zena is the key to crossing that dangerous forest and entering the Great Qin Empire secretly!"


    His words confused all the members of the Heretical Pdins, including Aria and Luna. It was only natural since none of them knew that Zena possessed a mutated bloodline of the Crimson Lightning Phoenix. This was a God-Ranked Bloodline that even the Emperor Ranked Beasts had to respect!


    "¡­Zena, I need you to convince the Great Eagle roaming over the forbidden forest to let us enter the Great Qin Empire," Noah spoke seriously.


    All the members of the Heretical Pdins wondered how this beast was going to aplish this colossal task. Zena was merely a Beast Lord, and even if it was much stronger than regr Beast Lords, it couldn''t contend against a Beast Emperor. Sending her to the Great Eagle was akin to delivering a deer to the lion!


    However, Zena squeaked upon hearing Noah''s request.


    Noah seemed to guess what she was talking about. She was asking about the cultivation realm of the Great Eagle.


    Noah responded, "It''s a Beast Emperor."


    Upon hearing that answer, Zena seemed to have a disdainful look on her face. As if she didn''t put this Beast Emperor in her eyes at all.


    Zena soon chirped in affirmation.


    Noah let out a relieved sigh. He then turned his head while speaking, "The Forbidden Forest is in that direction."


    Zena instantly shot off in that direction.


    Noah turned to gaze at his subordinates, "Let''s go. We need to be quick and enter the Forbidden Forest as well."


    The Heretical Pdins had some doubts about whether that tiny bird could indeed negotiate with the Great Eagle or not. But they held those doubts within and ran in the Forbidden Forest''s direction.


    By the nighttime, the Heretical Pdins had entered the edges of the Forbidden Forest. They set up a camp while Noah decided to stay aware for the night. He released his terrifying Sword Qi and scared all the beasts away from their camp.


    At the least, no random beast would dare to attack them.


    The next day, the Heretical Pdins traveled a bit deeper into the Forbidden Forest, but they were careful to not hunt any beast. This was Noah''s instruction. He didn''t want the Great Eagle to consider this as a reason for conflict!


    During the evening time, Noah saw Zena was returning. Moreover, arge Eagle was apanying her.


    The entire Heretical Pdins saw this scene, and they were utterly shocked. Zena had actually managed to convince the Giant Eagle?!


    Noah wasn''t that surprised since he recalled Azaroth''s words.


    "If you ever encounter a bird-type beast, call out for Zena. Her bloodline makes her the King of Birds. Nearly all the bird-type beasts will listen to hermands, including the Emperor Ranked Beasts."


    And today, Azaroth''s words were proven true.


    Zena soon approached Noah and squeaked a couple of times while making some gestures. It seemed to be talking about something.


    Noah somewhat understood what she was saying and asked her, "The Eagle wants to talk to me? Alright."


    He soon used his Sword Qi to fly in the air and meet up with the Eagle. He was also curious what this Eagle wanted to talk about.


    "¡­This little fledgling mentioned that you wanted to pass through this forest and enter the human empire on the other side," The Eagle spoke spiritually.


    Noah responded calmly, "That''s correct."


    "You see, I have a deal with the humans on the other side that I will prevent any intruders from entering their Empire," The Eagle spoke.


    Noah didn''t seem nervous as he heard those words. He knew that the Eagle wouldn''t havee to talk if he wouldn''t allow Noah''s group to walk through the Forbidden Forest. However, it must have a condition to let them pass.


    "I hope you can make an exception," Noah spoke.


    The Eagle sighed before speaking, "I will need to since the one to ask on your behalf is one of the only inheritors of the Godly Beast Bloodlines. My position is much inferiorpared to this fledgling. However, in return for letting you all pass safely, I have a request."


    "What is it? I will aplish it if I can," Noah solemnly promised. He made sure to give himself a way out while making that promise, as it would be a pity if he promised something he couldn''t do.


    "A group of humans stole my eggs a couple of years ago. The robbers definitely belong to this Qin Empire. Please find my children and return them to me," The Eagle spoke.


    Noah asked, "How strong are those robbers?"


    "I don''t know. They secretly stole my eggs while I was away fighting a fierce battle against another Beast," The Eagle responded.


    Noah thought for some time before speaking, "They should be inferior to you if they waited for such a moment to steal your eggs. This indicates that they are either King Ranked Experts or the Emperor Ranked Experts."


    Noah didn''t mention a 5 Star Warrior since he didn''t believe that a 5 Star Warrior would be courageous enough to steal the Great Eagle''s eggs.


    After all, to steal the Great Eagle''s eggs, a warrior would have to pass through numerous Beast Lords and Beast Kings. A 5 Star Warrior couldn''t aplish such a task.


    "Your children might have hatched by now? How will I find them?" Noah asked curiously.


    "¡­Take my feather. This will resonate when you are near my children. There are three of them," The Great Eagle plucked off three of its feathers before handing them to Noah.


    The Great Eagle then gazed in Zena''s direction, opened its mouth, and chirped. In reality, the Great Eagle was speaking, "Can he truly aplish this task? He seems a bit weak."


    Zena chirped back a bit aggressively!


    She spoke, "Are you doubting me?! Noah is my master''s most talented retainer! He can definitely aplish this mission!"


    "Who is your master?" The Great Eagle asked with some curiosity.


    A Beast with the God Ranked Bloodline couldn''t have a normal master. She was curious about this master''s identity.


    "¡­He was a God-Ranked Expert!" Zena responded after a momentary pause.


    The Great Eagle seemed convinced upon hearing those words. She then spoke to Noah spiritually, "I will leave this task in your hands."


    "You have my word that you will be reunited with your children," Noah solemnly promised.


    "Alright. Have your group follow me. I will take you all through a shortcut so that you won''t encounter any beast," The Great Eagle spoke.

 Chapter 551 Side Story - Noah (3)

    All members of the Heretical Pdins followed the Great Eagle''s lead. The Great Eagle led them through a shortcut where they didn''t encounter any beasts.


    In fact, on the way, they found many rare fruits and other eatables that increased the cultivation of a few members.


    Even Noah''s cultivation increased by eating a red fruit called the Crimson Melon. This fruit was filled with a rich quantity of Ardor and possessed a trace of me Laws.


    All the warriors who ate this Crimson Melon became stronger. Their Ardor''s quantity increased substantially. Those who possessed me Element gained even more benefits as their me Element became denser and fiercer.


    As they walked through the shortcut, one of Noah''s subordinates asked, "Just how did our Master convince this Great Eagle to let us pass through this forest?"


    "Don''t know. But I can guess that it''s rted to that tiny bird. I saw that bird with Master Azaroth before. It must have a unique identity," Another warrior spoke.


    "That''s natural. If not, how could that Great Eagle personallye to meet our Master?" Another warrior spoke.


    Meanwhile, Aria and Luna were more curious about Noah''s conversation with the Great Eagle. Aria asked him, "What did the Great Eagle say?"


    Noah didn''t have any reason to conceal that conversation from her, so he answered, "The Eagle informed me that it had lost its eggs due to a moment of carelessness. It wants us to recover those eggs or children for it. I have three feathers of this Great Eagle which will be useful in identifying or sensing its children."


    "Oh," Aria spoke while contemting deeply about this.


    "Isn''t the Great Qin Empire quiterge? It will be difficult to find this Eagle''s eggs or its children even with the help of these feathers," Lunamented.


    Aria found herself agreeing with Luna''s thoughts. However, Noah shook his head and spoke, "I have promised the Great Eagle that I will find her children and return them to her soon. And I will definitely do that."


    "But still, why would the Great Eagle let us pass through this forest? Just what did that tiny bird say to force the Great Eagle to personally escort us to the Great Qin Empire."


    Noah rolled his eyes and responded, "Well, that tiny bird''s identity isn''t as normal as you think it is."


    Aria and Luna didn''t receive their answer, but they knew this was the closest answer they would get from Noah.


    It took them nearly 35 days to pass that Forbidden Forest. This was how long the shortcut to the Great Qin Empire was.


    As they stepped into the Great Qin Empire''s territory, Noah suddenly flew in the air and asked the Great Eagle, "How do I contact you?"


    "Those feathers contained a trace of my Spirit. You just need to fill those feathers with your Ardor, and I will sense my Spirit and immediately head to your location," The Great Eagle responded calmly. It had naturally thought of such an issue.


    Noah nodded in eptance and spoke, "Very well. I thank you for personally escorting my group through the forest. Moreover, we found many precious herbs and rare fruits that greatly boosted the strength of my group. I will definitely repay this act of graciousness."


    The Great Eagle responded offhandedly while staring at Zena, "I couldn''t have disobeyed themand of a Beast God''s inheritor. Stay careful of the path ahead."


    "We will. Thank you once again," Noah spoke beforending on the ground again.


    The Great Eagle soon returned to its nest in the Forbidden Forest while Zena flew immediately flew back towards the Glerian Kingdom. It was heading towards Ralph''s position.


    Ralph had informed her of the direction he would be traveling so that Zena could find him on her way back.


    Ralph''s group had already crossed the Glerian Kingdom. They had entered the Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory. Since the two kingdoms had merged, the border area had disappeared.


    Thus, Ralph''s group had no problem crossing the borders between the Glerian Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Meanwhile, the Heretical Pdins were traveling deeper into the Great Qin Empire. They skipped the first few viges and towns since Noah believed they were dangerous.


    There was a small possibility that the Great Qin Empire had nted spies in these cities who were to eliminate any intruders entering from the forest.


    But then again, there was another possibility that they didn''t do that since no one had managed to enter the Great Qin Empire through the forest in thest couple of decades.


    However, Noah couldn''t ignore this possibility. He was in an unknown Empire and had no idea of the Emperor''s personality. Thetter possibility was more likely to be true if the Emperor had a cautious personality. Meanwhile, the former was more likely to be true if it was a careless Emperor.


    Leaving things up to fate wasn''t a good idea. So, Noah decided to skip the first few towns and enter the fifth town.


    All the Heretical Pdins noticed that the routes of the Great Qin Empire were much superior to the routes in the Glerian Kingdom.


    The path was made up of stones. It was clean and seemed perfect for the carriages.


    The second thing they noticed was the number of caravans on these routes. Nearly hundreds of caravans have passed the Heretical Pdins.


    Moreover, all these caravans seemed to belong to different businessmen. Trade was clearly flourishing in this Empire.


    Thirdly, there were many inns and restaurants on the way. Thus, the Heretical Pdins didn''t need to set up a camp on the road. They just had to travel a bit more and could stay in an inn by the road.


    The inn was rather luxurious and had afortable bed along with a bath. It could bepared to the best inns avable in the Glerian Kingdom''s capital.


    Moreover, the restaurant had unfamiliar-looking food, but all of them were absolutely delicious. Fortunately, the restaurant manager and the innkeeper epted the Glerian Kingdom''s currency.


    Noah was startled to notice that the Glerian Kingdom''s coins lost nearly ten times their value in the Great Qin Empire.


    This implied that ten coins of Qretas, the Glerian Kingdom''s currency, would be worth only one coin of Taka, the Great Qin Empire''s currency.


    Noah secretly exchanged all his Qretas with Taka. The first reason was to have plenty of local currency.


    Secondly, these coins seemed to scream that he was an intruder. Only someone from the Glerian Kingdom would possess so many Qretas and not a single coin of Taka.


    Noah possessed vast wealth, and the man who converted those Qretas guessed that Noah''s identity in the Glerian Kingdom wasn''t simple. Noah must be one of the fleeing nobles of the Glerian Kingdom.


    This would exin his vast wealth. The man didn''t charge extra because he wished to form contact with Noah.


    Noah understood the innkeeper''s desire and weed it. He had to ensure the innkeeper wouldn''t reveal the truth about him.


    He had to live in the Great Qin Empire for two years at least before he would be considered a Great Qin Empire citizen. This would allow Noah to pass through that Border Line without an issue.


    The Voice Transmission Array Stone was also a bit different, and all members of the Heretical Pdins were forced to buy one.


    It took the Heretical Pdins 16 days to reach Granca Town. This town seemed to ce a heavy focus on agriculture as it was filled with vegetable fields.

 Chapter 552 Side Story: Noah (4)

    The Heretical Pdins decided to stay in Granca Town for some time. This seemed like a peaceful town, and Noah wanted to gather information regarding the Qin Empire.


    Noah gathered all his subordinates and dered, "I am truly delighted to see you all here. After numerous challenges, we have finally entered the Great Qin Empire. We must build a name for ourselves in this Empire and be the strongest army in the world!


    "However, I know you have been through enough warfare, and it''s time for a break. So, I will give you this one month. Go and enjoy," Noah spoke.


    His subordinates were truly excited and cheered enthusiastically! Thest couple of months were filled with nothing but battle.


    There were nearly 2000 members of the Heretical Pdins. Most of them were originally soldiers, so their lives centered around warfare even before joining Noah''s faction.


    They all let out a relieved sigh as they received this well-deserved rest.


    Aria and Luna were very happy to hear this deration. Actually, Noah didn''t make this decision randomly.


    He received reports from the group captains that the soldiers were getting weary and were frequently losing focus.


    Noah decided that he would give them a long break after reaching a safe location in the Great Qin Empire.


    Granca Town fits that description perfectly.


    Only a small part of the Heretical Pdins remained behind with Noah while the rest split up and explored this town.


    This was a rtively medium-sized town. There was a market in the central region, while the cornered regions were residential areas.


    The market wasn''t veryrge, but it contained all the utilities required for a typical citizen. There were shops for clothing, fruits, vegetables, herbs, cksmiths, armory, weapons, alchemist, and so on.


    There was also a red-light district area next to the market. This area would be filled with men and some women during the nighttime.


    After receiving a break, most of the members of Heretical Pdins visited this area to satisfy their sexual desires.


    The women in the red-light district area were very experienced in their jobs. But they were surprised when a group of hot-blooded men suddenly flooded all the brothels in the town.


    All the managers and owners of these brothels understood that someone possessing a high rank or special identity had visited their town. Or something was urring in town that attracted many visitors.


    However, after investigating a bit, these people found out that no event was urring any time soon. The nearest event that would ur in Granca Town was nearly two months away. An Auction was going to be held, which would present two rare things. One of those two rare artifacts was the Heartless Devilwood Staff.


    The Heartless Devilwood Staff was created using the wood from the Heartless Devil Tree. This staff cuts off the user''s emotions and allows him to maintain a calm heart regardless of the situation. It boosts the user''s attacks by adding the Demonic Element to them. Moreover, an enemy struck by this staff''s attack would be temporarily blinded.


    Thus, this staff was considered an extremely rare and dangerous weapon.


    However, the value of this staff couldn''t bepared to the other thing put up in the auction. The second was an array formation known as Strike of the Mad Phoenix!


    This array formation was built by an extremely famous array master known as Xie Hai, also known as entric Infernal Emperor.


    The Strike of the Mad Phoenix was a me Elemental Array Formation. It had to be set up beforehand. This formation passively absorbed me Laws from the atmosphere and condensed it to create a single attack.


    The strength of this array formation greatly depended on its capacity to store the me Laws. And the capacity greatly depended on the materials that were used to construct this array.


    This implied that if 6 Tier resources were used to set up this array, it would hold the potential to kill an Emperor-Ranked Warrior. If 7 Tier resources were used, it would hold the potential to kill a Demi-God Ranked Warrior.


    The power of this array formation has already made it exceptional. However, its uses increased further as it could be scaled up and down ording to the user''s wishes.


    A user could set up this array formation by using 5 Tier resources! This array would still hold the potential of killing a King Ranked Warrior!


    [Demi-God is a cultivation rank for those warriors whose cultivation is fixated at the peak Emperor Rank with no hope of advancing further while their insights in Laws have already progressed to the God Rank. This reason for their cultivation base stagnation could be a wed Cultivation Technique, weak vitality, internal injuries, too much medicinal waste in their bodies, and so on.]


    Thus, this auction was considered a big event because of these two rare things.


    All the high-ranking people in Granca Town were investigating these people. They soon found out that this group had appeared in Granca Town recently. It would hardly take time since the Heretical Pdins booked an entire hotel after arriving in Granca Town.


    This showed that the leader of this group was not only influential but also financially strong!


    All the high-ranking people in Granca Town sent their envoys to the hotel Noah was staying to set up a meeting with him.


    Noah received meeting invitations from nearly 20 individuals. All of them seemed very reputable and influential within this town.


    Noah didn''t know what he should do about these invitations and decided to consult this matter with hisrades. He was sure that Sargan and others would give him good advice.


    Noah soon used his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring to contact Azaroth''s other retainers.


    All of their spirits connected through their rings, and they could hear their voices.


    "Heya, everyone! How is it going?" William spoke first.


    "It''s been good. I am climbing this really tall mountain. There are so many terrifying beasts around me, and if not for Zena''s assistance and my sharp senses, I would have died countless times," Ralph spoke with a bitter tone.


    "That seems adventurous. I am still in the old Glerian Kingdom''s territory and gathering all my wealth secretly. This new Royal Family has targeted some branches of the Misty Flower Pavilion, and I believe its time to shift my base," Yrellea spoke.


    "¡­I have a feeling that this new Royal Family in this kingdom will target me soon enough," Tiana added.


    The Glerian Kingdom''s original Royal Family had been entirely ughtered, and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family had taken over this Kingdom''s territory.


    After taking over the Kingdom''s territory, they decided to destroy all the rebellious factions in their new territory. Unfortunately, Tiana and Yrellea''s factions fit that category. They nned to restart everything from scratch, with their own men inside these factions.


    Tiana was a bit on the safer side since this new Royal Family had a lot on their hands, and the Mist Formation around the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect greatly confused the warriors scouting the base of the Arctic Summit!


    "That''s still exciting inparison to what I''m doing. I''m on a merchant wagon, hidden in one of therge baskets, trying to pass the borders and reach the Lamhilhan Theocracy. After that, I need to figure out a way to travel to the Kingdom of Cemetia in the south," Laura spoke softly.


    "¡­I will be shocked if you can cross borders through such a method. Be prepared for a battle," Sargan advised Laura.


    He then added, "It''s been somewhat tough for metely. The Spatial Portal threw me in Purgatory near the territory of the Shadow Hounds. I had to ughter a majority of these Shadow Hounds before they were intimidated and left me alone. Soon, I came across a group of demons who belonged to an unfamiliar n. We fought for some time before I created a smokescreen and escaped sessfully. I have been on the run ever since. My n is nearly three months away from my current location. I just hope I don''t encounter a Demon King or Demon Emperor on my way."


    "Hmm¡­Interesting. Meanwhile, I just participated in some Colosseum and won great prize money along with some cultivation resources," William spoke.


    And soon, Noah began to narrate his personal experiences and the reason why he used the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring to contact them all.

 Chapter 553 Side Story: Noah (5)

    "I have managed to somehow enter the Great Qin Empire. I skipped the first few towns. Currently, I have stopped in the third or fourth town from the borders. I gave my subordinates a month-long break to rx."


    "And today, I received twenty invitations from the higher-ups in this town. What do I do about them?" Noah asked.


    "Hmm. The sudden increase in so many warriors must have caught their attention. They investigated the location where these warriors were staying and found you," Sargan spoke while analyzing the information he had received.


    "We don''t know much about this empire, so antagonizing them wouldn''t be a good idea. They might hold a lot of influence in that area," Laura gave her input seriously.


    "But it would be bad if they think of Noah as a pushover," Ralph spoke.


    Laura was about to counter Ralph''s words, but Yrellea spoke up first, "I think Noah should focus on gathering information. He must ept the invitations of these influential people."


    William spoke up suddenly, "By that logic, Noah should reject the invitations of these influential people. What if some of them have a trap set up for him?"


    Laura and Yrellea were left speechless. This was indeed a good point.


    Tiana spoke up, "¡­How about meeting them all at the same time?"


    It was Sargan who quickly supported her suggestion, "That is a usible solution. Instead of letting some strangers choose the meeting location, we can meet them in a single ce of our choice. Inviting them all to a banquet would be a good idea. It would exhibit your financial strength."


    "Moreover, your men are on a break. They would love and enjoy a great banquet. It would also be a great opportunity for your men to interact with the peopleing with these influential individuals. You will gather information about them rapidly."


    Sargan finished his statement, having settled all doubts regarding this issue.


    "Alright. That''s a good idea. I will do that," Noah immediately spoke.


    He then asked seriously, "That was all from my side. Anyone need help with something?"


    "Nope. Nothing here," William spokezily.


    "It''s pretty easy for me. Just very tiring," Laura spoke out with a low voice.


    "Won''t need anyone''s help as long as I have Zena here," Ralph spoke confidently.


    "Need to remain in hiding, but other than that, nothing much," Yrellea spoke.


    "Won''t need any help for the time being," Tiana spoke out.


    Andstly, Sargan spoke, "Nah. Can handle the demons around me pretty easily once I use my Evil Eyes. I might need some help if I encounter a Demon King or Demon Emperor."


    "Okay. See ya all then," Noah spoke before cutting off the connection with everyone.


    Noah left his room and decided to set up a banquet. He then called out a subordinate who remained by Noah''s side.


    Noah handed him all the twenty invitations and ordered him, "Go to each location written on those envelopes and inform them that I am organizing a huge banquet and we should meet at that time."


    The subordinate left the room quickly to follow his order.


    Meanwhile, Noah went to the manager of the Inn and asked him to set up a huge banquet. He gave some advance payment to the manager and left the arrangements for the banquet to him.


    The manager was quite delighted to receive such an order. He immediately called out for his men toe and start the work.


    The proposed date of the banquet was on the weekend. And the weekend was just 4 days away from the current day.


    Four days passed by in the blink of an eye.


    The Inn manager arranged for everything within these four days. He set up a wide,rge canvas in an open field near his Inn. He called out for multiple musicians, singers, and some dancers. Some women from the brothels were here as well.


    The food was being prepared, and the best chefs were hired for this banquet today. All in all, this banquet arrangement was nearly perfect.


    Noah was the Host of this banquet, and he personally met everyone at the entrance. He led them to their respective seats with a smile on his face.


    Nearly everyone present in this banquet except for Noah''s subordinates was shocked to see that the leader of this group was so young.


    Their suspicions regarding Noah''s identity grew significantly. At this point, they wouldn''t believe it even if Noah refused to admit that he belonged to arge family.


    This was all because he held too much money and superior grade warriors at such a young age.


    All these influential people were nearly sure that Noah''s identity was extremely special. They all decided to stay on good terms with him. They didn''t want to be his enemies if they couldn''t be friends.


    Meanwhile, Noah gathered information from them and stored them in his mind.


    By talking to them, Noah found out that the Great Qin Empire was extremelyrge and it was the leading force of the human race.


    An ancestor of the Great Qin Empire had broken through to the 9 Star Rank. He was still alive and frequently guided the Empire. Naturally, these were mere legends, but many seemed to believe that it was true.


    Most of these influential individuals belonged to thetter category as they believed that the Great Qin Empire did hold a 9 Star Rank Warrior.


    There were four great forces in this Empire. The first was the Royal Family of the Great Qin Empire, the strongest force in the Empire. There were two 8 Star Warriors belonging to this force. One was the Emperor, while the other was a Protector.


    The second was known as the Nine Yin Sect. This sect held a great expert of the 8 Star Rank known as the Nine Yin Saintess.


    The third great force was the Array Association. It held an 8-Star Rank Expert as well.


    Andstly, it was the Alchemy Union. The President of the Alchemy Union was an 8 Star Rank Expert. The power of the President of the Alchemy Union couldn''t be considered very strong since he reached his current level by eating lots of pellets. His body held many pill poisons.


    However, no one dared to offend the leader of the Alchemy Union. He was the only person who could create an 8 Tier Pellet in the entire world! All those who wanted their factions to grow couldn''t offend him!


    Even the Royal Family had to give sufficient respect to the Alchemy Union''s President. In terms of martial strength, the Royal Family might be the greatest, but in terms of pure influence, the Alchemy Union''s President was miles ahead of everyone else.


    Other than these four primary factions of the Great Qin Empire, there were nearly 80 Noble Families that managed the Empire''s territory.


    The four primary factions could be considered supreme authorities in the Great Qin Empire. They were assigned a rough area, but that area was properly managed by the Noble Family.


    Other than the Royal Family, all the other factions had to inform the Noble Families presiding in that area before doing something that could drastically affect the region.


    It meant that the Alchemy Union couldn''t just suddenly concoct a poison anywhere in the Great Qin Empire without contacting the Noble Family''s head of that area.


    The same was the case with the Nine Yin Sect and the Array Association as well.

 Chapter 554 Side Story: Noah (6)

    The banquet was greatly helpful to Noah since he gained lots of information regarding the Great Qin Empire. He was also able to form connections with influential people in this town.


    He also found out that the towns and cities in the Great Qin Empire were divided by different grades. This grade was determined by multiple factors, such as sales, security, influence, and the town lord''s power.


    Granca Town was a Grade 5 City. It could be considered just a step above average in the Great Qin Empire.


    Noah didn''t n to approach the Capital of the Great Qin Empire any time soon. It would be disastrous if there was another security measure in the capital city to detect intruders.


    Granca Town was a safe ce for Noah and his group. There were thousands of such towns in the Great Qin Empire, and anything urring in this town wouldn''t attract the Royal Family''s attention.


    Noah could slowly strengthen the Heretical Pdins in this town while increasing their size steadily.


    Meanwhile, all the influential individuals in Granca Town were startled to find out that Noah was already a 5 Star Warrior. Most of his subordinates were at the 3-Star Rank, while some had reached the 4-Star Rank as well.


    The size of Noah''s forces was rather impressive. It made them think that Noah belonged to a military background.


    Only someone from the military could recruit so many people and form such arge force.


    Among these influential individuals that Noah met, most of them were merchants. Noah struck a deal with a few merchants and secured supplies for the Heretical Pdins.


    Noah could easily sustain the Heretical Pdins'' needs with the money he held. If he ever fell short, Noah could always ask Yrellea and Tiana.


    Azaroth had been very clear about dividing the tasks of his retainers. Noah''s task had never been to gather money.


    His task was to create a powerful force that could tear apart all enemies! He couldn''t be allowed to split his focus from his primary task.


    Thus, Yrellea had to support him with wealth whenever Noah required it. Fortunately, their Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring was connected using Spatial Laws. It allowed them to send objects to each other through a Spatial Tunnel.


    During the banquet, everyone sat in the big hall and drank quite a bit of alcohol. They heard a very melodious song sung by the singers while watching some beautiful women dance.


    After the banquet ended, nearly all these influential individuals were escorted to their rooms with a whore.


    The next day, all these individuals had a satisfied look on their faces. It seemed that they were pleased with the banquet.


    They met with Noah and expressed their desire to work with him. Noah nodded in response but kept a cold countenance.


    Everyone was used to his expressionless look, so they didn''t mind it much.


    After they all left the area, Noah sighed in relief. He thought ''That was a bit draining. Fortunately, Sargan''s n worked, and I managed to leave a good impression on them. Also, it was a good disy of my power, so they shouldn''t look down on me.''


    Sargan had exined his reasoning while informing Noah what he had to do during this banquet in great detail.


    Noah followed those instructions word by word, and he slowly understood the reason behind them.


    Everything remained normal for the next few days. Noah selected a training field and bought it with his wealth.


    He then bought another piece ofnd in Granca Town and began the construction of nearly a thousand houses.


    These houses belonged to the members of the Heretical Pdins.


    All these things were extremely costly, but with Yrellea''s assistance, Noah managed to acquire them with rtive ease.


    He sped up the construction by using more money as he wanted these houses to be built as quickly as possible.


    In reality, Noah''s decision to set up this entire colony had affected Granca Town as a whole.


    The prices of themodities had greatly changed, and the price of properties near Noah''s colony skyrocketed immediately!


    Moreover, Noah''s demands to speed up the construction process had caused the officials to summon more experts from the nearby cities.


    These experts were greatly proficient in either Wood or Earth Element. These two elements were crucial in building a house.


    Fortunately, the houses that Noah wanted them to build weren''tplicated. All were of a standard design, and it wouldn''t take these experts much time toplete this project.


    However, the news that someone of high status was creating a colony in Granca Town spread very quickly.


    Even a sect in the region heard about this information. This sect was known as the Silver Mountain Sect.


    This sect was constructed on Silver Mountain Peak, which held a variety of mines of different resources. All these mines were under the Silver Mountain Sect.


    They mined out these resources, storing a portion of them while selling the rest to the nearby cities at a reasonable rate.


    The Noble Families and the Royal Family would generally buy these resources before distributing them uniformly in these regions. This prevented the merchants from hiking the prices too much.


    Naturally, this happened with all the resources that were mined out across the Great Qin Empire.


    The Silver Mountain Sect mainly supplied the resources necessary to create weapons and armor. The elders of this sect heard that an influential individual had started living in Granca Town. His wealth was extremely great as he financed the creation of a new colony without coborating with anyone.


    The Silver Mountain Sect decided to send a scouting party to Granca Town. However, this group''s task wouldn''t just be to scout, but also act as an ambassador for the Silver Mountain Sect.


    They had to find out if this neer was interesting in acquiring the resources from the Silver Mountain Sect directly. If he was interested, this group had to strike a deal with him. At the least, the scout group had to return with this individual''s demands.


    Noah had no idea that he caught attention of a nearby sect. He was focused on his training for the past few days.


    Noah spent the first half of the day working on his sword techniques while the other half of the day was spent by working on his Ardor.


    He had already pulled out the Seven Colored Bodhi Tree that gave him great inspiration as he tried to improve his Sword Techniques.


    Noah''s insight into the Sword Domain increased tremendously. Previously, he could barely use his Sword Domain to suppress his enemies or boost his attacks. However, this wasn''t the true purpose of his Sword Domain.


    The Sword Domain was a region which was created by Noah''s Sword Laws. In a sense, Noah was the supreme ruler within his Sword Domain!


    He now possessed the ability tounch an attack from anywhere in his Sword Domain. It meant that Noah couldunch a sword technique to his left and it could attack someone on his right. He heldplete control of the Sword Laws in his Sword Domain!


    It also implied that whoever entered Noah''s Sword Domain would be as good as dead unless he was utilizing a Domain of his own.

 Chapter 555 Laura: Sneaking Into The Kingdom Of Cemetia

    Laura and all of Azaroth''s retainers split up in the Eastern Mountain Range of the Glerian Kingdom.


    Laura gave some instructions to her Noble Guardians group and started traveling towards the south.


    ording to the map she acquired from a trader, beyond the Lamhilhan Theocracy was the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    When Azaroth told Laura that she could acquire the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng in the south, he meant the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    Laura had no idea how Azaroth knew of this fact, but she didn''t care much about it.


    In reality, Azaroth found this information when his clone Nudar had snuck into the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    During that time, Nudar had gathered a great deal of information about the Lamhilhan Theocracy and even the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    There was a rumor in the Lamhilhan Theocracy that the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Cemetia had recently found a Mythical Herb. This mythical herb''s details matched what Azaroth knew of the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    However, he didn''t n to inform Laura about this information. He knew that Laura would split up from his group the moment she found out about the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    This mythical herb was the reason Laura even snuck out of the Elven Kingdom. Only this mythical herb could heal her younger brother''s chronic illness of Spiritual Overdose.


    However, Azaroth changed his mind when he saw that vision. The vision of his death. His entire n changed, and he decided it would be best if Laura returned to the Elven Kingdom. And it would be even better if she returned with this herb and healed her younger brother.


    Laura was on a merchant wagon, crossing the borders between the new Sinyalian Kingdom and the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    There were still some conflicts between the Lamhilhan Theocracy and the Sinyalian Kingdom, but the trade continued the same as before.


    The wagon that Laura was riding belonged to an extremely influential merchant in Crario. The merchant agreed to smuggle Laura across the borders in return for the Noble Guardians'' assistance.


    Laura readily agreed as she ordered her group to assist that merchant with whatever he wanted. However, she was a bit worried that this merchant would ask for something excessive, so Laura gave another order to her group.


    This order stated that the Noble Guardians had to assist the merchant only if it wasn''t too excessive and wouldn''t affect the Noble Guardians'' reputation.


    It took nearly three weeks for Laura to enter the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s territory. She left the wagon secretly and rushed in the southern direction.


    It was a good thing that she had bought apass earlier. Thispass showed her the southern direction, and with Laura''s speed, she managed to cross nearly three viges and reach a city in Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Laura decided to get some rest in Lamhilhan Theocracy. The city she stopped by was known as Poburg.


    This was a famous city known for its special wine. This city exported its wine to other cities in the Lamhilhan Theocracy as well as other neighboring kingdoms like the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Kingdom of Cemetia, and the Pinhian Republic.


    The Great Qin Empire hadn''t opened its borders to the Lamhilhan Theocracy. The reason was simple.


    The Lamhilhan Theocracy was best known for having extremely stupid people. All the people in the Lamhilhan Theocracy were crazy followers of the Radiant God.


    The Emperor of the Great Qin Empire was worried that the Celestials could use these followers to figure out the Great Qin Empire''s strengths and weaknesses.


    The Great Qin Empire was the strongest human empire on Frascoia Continent. It was a symbol of strength for humans.


    It would be disastrous if the Celestials managed to poison it from the inside. Thus, even when the heirs of the Great Qin Empire fight for the throne, they do so with certain limits.


    The Great Qin Empire''s Royal Family knew that they held a heavy responsibility on their shoulders. They would never y around with their nation''s future at any cost.


    This was one reason why the Great Qin Empire remained standing for such a long period.


    The other reason was that if the Great Qin Empire''s Royal Family showed signs of doing something that would greatly harm the human race, the various sects, including the Nine Yin Sect, would act against it immediately.


    Thus, the Great Qin Empire''s Royal Family was filled with a sense of responsibility and fear, which prevented them from doing something stupid that would damn the human race.


    Fortunately, the presence of Qin Feng also prevented the Celestial and the Demon Race from acting recklessly.


    The strange bnce between the three races continued for over a million years.


    As of this moment, Laura visited some merchants who exported wine to the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    She inquired them regarding the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    Only a few merchants had heard of this herb, but even they didn''t have any information about it. They weren''t sure whether this Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng was in the Kingdom of Cemetia or not.


    Laura was a bit depressed, but she didn''t give up hope. She nned to question all the merchants in this city before moving to the next city in the Kingdom of Cemetia''s direction.


    After staying in Poburg City for a few days, Laura resumed her journey toward the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    Just a few weekster, Laura reached the borders of the Kingdom of Cemetia and the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    After she reached the borders, Laura found out that she couldn''t sneak into the Kingdom of Cemetia in the same way she sneaked into the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    This was because the Kingdom of Cemetia''s border soldiers had a rather rigorous checking procedure before they allowed the merchant wagons to pass. Not even bribery seemed to work on those border soldiers.


    Laura then began to search for another way to sneak into the Kingdom of Cemetia. One method was to set up a business in the Lamhilhan Theocracy and use exporting resources as an excuse to enter the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    However, setting up a business and making it look extremely authentic would require time. At the least, she would require half a year to aplish this.


    Laura, though, didn''t want to wait for such a long period.


    She opened up her map while looking for another point of entrance into the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    As she lowered her eyes, Laura noticed something remarkable. She noticed that the Lamhilhan Theocracy and the Kingdom of Cemetia were connected to the ocean!


    She could use a ship to travel into the Kingdom of Cemetia. Unlike monitoring on the ground, it was much harder to aplish the same in the ocean.


    Moreover, with Laura''s Ancestral Skill, she could easily jump into the ocean during checking and conceal her presence and return to the ship after the checking wasplete.


    This would allow her to sneak into the Kingdom of Cemetia without any issue!


    Thus, Laura began her journey toward the ocean.

 Chapter 556 Sargan: The Purgatory

    It had been nearly two whole months since Sargan activated the Spatial Energy within the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring that Azaroth left for him and entered the Purgatory.


    The Purgatory hadn''t changed all that much since Sargan left it.


    Sargan lived on the Frascoia Continent for nearly two years, and his body had gotten used to the environment there.


    Thus, he felt somewhat ufortable as he returned to Purgatory.


    Sargan was somewhat d since he didn''t need to be careful in using his techniques. On the Frascoia Continent, Sargan had created an illusion to prevent anyone from figuring out that he was utilizing Demonic Ardor instead of Humanely Ardor.


    It was Azaroth who set up that illusion, while Sargan had to actively utilize his Demonic Ardor to maintain it.


    Now that Sargan had returned to Purgatory, he could use his techniques to their full potential.


    After returning, he had to deal with a horde of Shadow Hounds. It was somewhat challenging to kill so many Shadow Hounds, but the scent of their blood stuck with him.


    It caused most of the Demonic Monsters to maintain their distance from Sargan.


    However, Sargan found it extremely difficult to contain this thick killing intent. It basically alerted all the beings of his presence in the nearby area.


    Most of the weaker demons were intimidated by this thick killing intent and would flee as quickly as possible.


    However, Sargan had the misfortune of alerting multiple demon groups in the area. These demon groups judged that Sargan wasn''t very strong and immediately targeted him.


    Sargan used his Evil Eyes Abilities and managed to surprise these demons and flee quickly.


    These demon groups normally inhabited a location close to a demon settlement. If the demons in that settlement found out that a fight was going on, they would definitelye and try to gain some benefits.


    In fact, many bloodthirsty demons would attack Sargan just for the sake of fighting him.


    Fighting a demon was apletely different conceptpared to fighting a human. A demon''s techniques were all used to brutally destroy the target, while the humans were used to kill the target with the least force required.


    The humans would try to conserve as much energy as possible, while a Demon couldn''t be bothered to think about power consumption.


    This made the demons more fearsome at the beginning of the battle and simpler to deal withter in the battle. Thus, dealing with a group of demons was much more troublesome since their attacks would all be terrifying attacks that could destroy someone multiple times.


    In fact, the demons in the group didn''t care about friendly fire. They would rather strike a friend and the enemy along than not strike the enemy at all.


    Thus, Sargan used his Petrification ability to surprise the demon groups and quickly left by creating a smokescreen.


    However, these demon groups were just one of the many troubles he encountered as he was on his way to the Bach n.


    ording to his current location, Sargan had to pass through the Bach n''s sworn enemy to reach the Bach n. This was known as the Olmer n!


    Thus, Sargan couldn''t utilize the Evil Eyes in the Olmer n''s territory. The Olmer n was an Emperor-Grade n in the Purgatory, simr to the Bach n.


    They also had a single Demon Emperor expert in this n.


    Just as the Bach n''s bloodline passed on the ocr powers of the Evil Eyes, the Olmer n''s bloodline passed on a special Purple Blood.


    This Purple Blood had multiple abilities. It allowed the user to manipte their blood ording to their thoughts. All members of the Olmer n could use this ability. Just the density and control of their Purple Blood depended on the purity of their blood.


    In some rare instances, the Purple Blood possessed another element in contrast to the Olmer n''s descendant.


    This caused an Olmer n descendant to cultivate two elements at the same time. Most of the Olmer n descendants possessed Ice Element. And the second element possessed by the Purple Blood was generally the Green me element or the Water Element.


    Both these elements greatly assisted the user''s control over the Purple Blood. Moreover, these elements greatly increased the user''s arsenal of techniques. This gave the user a great advantage when fighting against other demons.


    Sargan recalled all the information he had about the Olmer n. He knew that the borders between the Olmer n and the Bach n were very secure. The borders of the Olmer and the Bach n were secured with an impressive bloodline array.


    That array required either a Demon King rank expert to cross it or two direct descendants of both the ns to infuse their energy in the array to unlock it.


    Using blood to create an array created one of the strongest arrays in Purgatory. Many ns utilized simr arrays to secure their borders.


    Sargan could use his Evil Eyes to unlock the border array from the Bach n''s side, but he required a direct descendant of the Olmer n to open it up from this side as well.


    The only other choice was to choose a longer route from either the left or the right side of the Olmer n''s territory.


    However, on the right side was the territory of many Demon Kings. While on the left side was the territory of a Demon God.


    No one dared to enter the Demon God''s territory. There were rumors that whoever entered the Demon God''s territory never returned.


    Thus, Sargan would never attempt to go through that route. The only option was to either go through the Olmer n''s territory or the territory of multiple Demon Kings.


    Sargan thought hard about this issue.


    He felt that going through the territories of multiple Demon Kings would be much riskier than going through the Olmer n''s territory.


    There was a simple reason for that.


    The Olmer n''s territory was at peace rtively to the territories of these Demon Kings.


    The Demon Kings to the right of the Olmer n''s territory was always at war with each other. Thus, they were much more attentive of their territory and wouldn''t miss a Demon Lord sneaking across their territory.


    By the process of elimination, Sargan chose to go through the Olmer n''s territory. He had a n on crossing the borders and reaching the Bach n''s territory!


    Fortunately, Sargan cultivated the Nether Devil God Scripture which greatly strengthened his Demonic Ardor. His killing intent was fading as it fused with his body.


    Sargan''s n was pretty simple.


    ''I should kidnap an Olmer n''s heir and use him to open the borders between the Olmer n and the Bach n.''


    Sargan was very confident of his power. He was sure of his victory as long as the opponent didn''t turn out to be a Demon King or a Demon Emperor.


    However, he had to be extremely quick and careful before taking action.


    If his timing was slightly off and he was a bit unlucky, Sargan would pay dearly as he would be forced to confront a Demon King or a Demon Emperor!


    This possibility didn''t discourage Sargan, though. Instead, it stimted him.


    ''If I can pull this off sessfully, I will make the entire Olmer n look like a fool. Even the Bach n will wee me with open arms, and I will instantly gain a tremendous influence in it.''


    This was the truth. The grievances between the Bach n and the Olmer n had been set generations ago.


    The Bach n would do anything to harm or humiliate the Olmer n and the opposite was true as well.


    The younger generation of both the ns didn''t care about the reason for this conflict. In fact, they further encouraged it as this became a great way for them to gain influence!

 Chapter 557 Yrelleas Oath

    It had been nearly a month since Yrellea split up from herrades. Her initial n was to gather her close subordinates from across the Glerian Kingdom and start moving towards the Pinhian Republic.


    However, she miscalcted the ruthlessness of the new Queen, Irene.


    Irene was using her position as the Queen and the Holy Saintess of the Emissaries of the Clyranis God to clean the entire Glerian Kingdom territory.


    And her method was to destroy an organization or at least the higher-ups of one and set up her own men inside them.


    This allowed the Royal Family to directly use those organizations immediately and effectively.


    David Vermillion wasn''t fond of this method, but he knew that quelling any possible rebellion was necessary. Or else, his soldiers and citizens would suffer from it.


    Moreover, this was merely the beginning of realizing his ambition. His ambition was to create an Empire of the same stature as the Great Qin Empire.


    He recalled that Shun had activated the Saint Stele by using his father''s lifeblood to kill a Demon God''s reincarnation.


    David did not want his Kingdom to be forced to go through such a choice again. Thus, he wanted to make his Kingdom much stronger.


    To do that, David had to stabilize his Kingdom before expanding it. And most importantly, David had to gather more of those Elemental Sparks if he wanted to quickly grow to Emperor Rank.


    David understood that these Elemental Sparks were a Kingdom''s secret. Since the Sinyalian Kingdom possessed them, chances were that the Glerian Kingdom held them as well.


    However, considering that they were a Royal Family''s secret, finding them was a bit too difficult.


    For now, David asked his Earth Elemental Warriors to search for secret tunnels or locations near the Royal Pce. All the warriors in this team were David''s closerades or subordinates.


    Other than the Royal Pce, he asked them to search the sects one by one. They began from the Red Crown Sect.


    Considering that this was the only sect close to the Royal Family and the sect that held 6 Star Warriors, it was the most suspicious.


    In any case, Irene was actively hunting different organizations possessing some power within the newly acquired territory of the Sinyalian Kingdom. She had received David''s approval regarding this matter.


    A few branches of the Misty Flower Pavilion had already been destroyed by Irene. Her subordinates captured Yrellea''s subordinates in those branches while destroying those buildings.


    Irene had already ordered her subordinates to find the secret behind this Misty Flower Pavilion. She felt that something was definitely strange regarding this pavilion. ording to the reports her officials found in the administrative offices of Crario City, it had gained poprity too rapidly.


    After discovering that Irene was hunting her Misty Flower Pavilion, Yrellea instantly notified all her subordinates across the entire Glerian Kingdom territory.


    Fortunately, only the branches near the capital werepromised, and the other branches of the Misty Flower Pavilion remainedrgely unaffected.


    Yrellea had ordered her subordinates to shut down the Misty Flower Pavilion in their respective cities and stay low for some months.


    It was a good thing that Yrellea had set up countermeasures for such a scenario. It was Azaroth''s instruction to have ast resort in case the Kingdom discovered his rtion to the Misty Flower Pavilion and started hunting it.


    Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion was the organization that Azaroth created to gather wealth for his other retainer''s organizations.


    It would be disastrous if Yrelleapletely lost her Misty Flower Pavilion. Losing buildings and resources was nothing much, but Yrellea couldn''t be allowed to lose her trained subordinates and associates.


    It took time and resources to train them. It would be challenging for Yrellea to set up everything from scratch.


    Thus, Yrellea had bought many mansions in the cities, towns, and viges for such a situation. Her subordinates and associates were ordered to stay there until the situation cooled down.


    The Royal Family couldn''t investigate everything all at once. They had to set up a hierarchy. And it would take too much time, resources, and manpower to search each house in a city or a town.


    Also, it would be strange if Irene used all her manpower and resources to search for Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion. She had bigger targets that required much greater importance.


    Yrellea slowly met up with her closerades, who were scattered in different towns and cities, before beginning her journey towards the Pinhian Republic.


    While she was leaving the Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory, Yrellea swore to make Irene pay for her actions.


    She knew that Irene was the Holy Saintess of the Emissaries of the Clyranis God. A ruthless smile appeared on Yrellea''s face as she nned topletely destroy that religion down to its roots in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, it was easier said than done. The Emissaries of Clyranis God Religion''s influence was at its very peak in the Sinyalian Kingdom as their Holy Saintess the Queen of this Kingdom.


    Yrellea would have to do something drastic to destroy this religionpletely!


    Her first step was to make David Vermillion believe that the Emissaries of the Clyranis were a threat to him and the Sinyalian Kingdom''s legacy.


    But this wasn''t going to be an easy job. She had to set up the entire situation and control it to guarantee that everything went as she wanted.


    Fortunately, Yrellea had time to set up this situation.


    However, staying focused on the Sinyalian Kingdom would also be wrong. She had to give priority to her master''s order and expand.


    And the path to expansion was the Pinhian Republic. This was another kingdom whose border touched the Great Qin Empire.


    The Pinhian Republic had Emperor Ranked Expert while it was ruled by a democratic government.


    She felt that controlling this country would be much easier as it was formed by people''s representatives.


    As long as she could control enough candidates in the Pinhian Republic, Yrellea would possess control over this Kingdom.


    Naturally, this wouldn''t be an easy task. In fact, Yrellea would need to spend quite some time and invest a lot before she could effectively control the Pinhian Republic, but she was prepared for it.


    Fortunately, Azaroth had guided her as she managed the Misty Flower Pavilion during its initial stages in the Glerian Kingdom.


    At the least, Yrellea won''t encounter those issues.


    Reaching the Lamhilhan Theocracy was much easier for Yrellea aspared to Laura. This was because she held enough wealth to bribe the soldiers. Before leaving, Yrellea activated the poison on those coins. This was a corrosive poison thatpletely broke down and destroyed the bodies of the soldiers. Thus, all the soldiers who held those coins with their hands were ughtered once Yrellea activated it.


    Yrellea knew that these soldiers were epting these coins and would soon inform their allies of the location of Yrellea''s group.


    They epted Yrellea''s bribe to prevent her group from escaping. They believed that Yrellea had nowhere to go now that she had entered their territory. Unfortunately, they had no idea that scheming against Yrellea would make them suffer an excruciating death.

 Chapter 558 Ralph: Beast Empire

    It had been nearly two months since Ralph split up from hisrades.


    Ralph''s Ancestral Tiger Group was moving through the extremely dangerous forests that had be the boundaries between nations.


    As of this moment, Ralph''s Ancestral Tiger Gang had already passed the Sinyalian Kingdom''s old territory and was going through the Principality of Aseca.


    Ralph''s destination was the Beast Empire. But this Empire had another name on the human maps. It was known as the Woltensian Empire.


    The Woltensian Empire was the Holy Land for the Beasts on Frascoia Continent. Not even the supreme experts of the Great Qin Empire could dare to venture into thisnd.


    Thisnd was guarded by the legacies of the four cardinal beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and the ck Tortoise.


    The presence of their aura greatly affected thews in this region. It was said that these four divine beasts sacrificed their lives to safeguard this region for the entire beast race.


    This urred during the Ancient Era when the human race gave birth to their first 9 Star Warrior, Qin Feng.


    Nearly all the locations crowded with beasts were slowly being cleared. The beasts were extremely worried about their survival and their future generations.


    Thus, the four cardinal beasts took action. They sacrificed their bodies for the entire Beast Race and safeguarded this region. Their Divine Power flooded the region and separated the Laws inside it from the Laws of the Frascoia Continent.


    The power of all warriors except that of beasts would be suppressed by a single rank. In other words, a Transcendent Saint would be suppressed to the Saint Rank. And the Saint Rank would be suppressed to the Emperor Rank.


    The beasts constructed a huge empire in this region, and the humans named it Woltensian Empire.


    The beasts were extremely grateful to cardinal beasts for sacrificing their bodies and assisting the entire Beast Race. Thus, the beasts would regrly uphold blood sacrificial ceremonies to pay their utmost respects to the four cardinal beasts.


    Four special tombs were constructed inside the Woltensian Empire at different locations. One for each cardinal beast.


    Legend said that each of these tombs possessed the Spirit of the Cardinal Beasts from the Ancient Era.


    The uracy of these legends had yet to be determined, but many beasts would regrly visit these tombs and conduct blood ceremonies in an attempt to please the respective cardinal beast.


    They believed that their lives would go extremely smoothly if a cardinal beast''s spirit would take not of them.


    The sacrifice of the cardinal beasts was considered extremely sacred. They had not only protected the rare species of the Beast Race but also gave a ce where the beasts could grow quickly. This was an extraordinary blessing since a beast would normally require hundreds or thousands of years to be an adult.


    Another reason that the Woltensian Empire was the Holy Land of the Beasts was that it contained nearly all the Ancient Legacies of the Beasts.


    It was said that if a Beast wanted to go past their potential, they had to mutate or visit the Woltensian Empire.


    There were so many Ancient Bloodline Legacies of the Beasts that numerous ns existed in the Woltensian Empire.


    Initially, a dozen of these Beast ns had Beast Gods as their leaders. However, those ns fought for some reason, and the number of Beast Gods dropped to three.


    The three that survived were the strongest of those Beast Gods. These three became the true rulers of the beasts.


    The Chaos Dragon.


    Heavenly Devouring Sparrow.


    Adamantine Shelled Tortoise.


    The Chaos Dragon possessed the strongest Ardor out of the three Beast Gods. The Heavenly Devouring Sparrow was the fastest in the air, while the Adamantine Shelled Tortoise possessed the strongest defense in the world.


    Each of these Beast Gods possessed a trace of the Cardinal Beasts'' Bloodlines. The Chaos Dragon possessed a trace of the Azure Dragon''s bloodline. However, the potential of the Chaos Dragon was considered even above the Azure Dragon.


    The Heavenly Devouring Sparrow possessed the bloodline of the Vermillion Bird, but its potential surpassed the Vermillion Bird.


    The Adamantine Shelled Tortoise shared a simr rtionship with the ck Tortoise.


    In fact, these three Beast Gods had already reached the cultivation level of the Cardinal Beasts. However, even then, none of them dared to be disrespectful towards the Cardinal Beasts.


    This was very extraordinary since the beast race acted ording to their instincts. The beasts typically respected those with either superior bloodline or power.


    This implied that the respect for the Cardinal Beasts had been deeply imprinted into their soul and bloodlines!


    Even Ralph, who had only inherited a Cougar King''s Bloodline and a drop of the Ancient Tiger, was branded with this stigma.


    As Ralph was traveling across the nations with his group, he decided to get some information from nearby cities. From those cities, he found out how difficult it was for humans to enter the Woltensian Empire.


    It meant he had to leave behind the Ancestral Tiger Gang and enter the Woltensian Empire with a small group of Demi-Beasts.


    Apparently, the Woltensian Empire epted the Demi-Beasts without much issue.


    Ralph decided to gather more information regarding the Woltensian Empire, but there was nothing he could find in the human cities.


    It was only natural that the humans wouldn''t have deep information regarding the Beast Empire.


    However, this did not imply that no one had the answers to Ralph''s queries. The beasts did.


    And the one to question them was none other than Zena.


    While Ralph was questioning humans, Zena questioned the beasts in the nearby area. The results were very optimistic as most of the beasts in the area had visited the Woltensian Empire once.


    They had sufficient information to answer Ralph''s questions.


    Through these beasts, Ralph discovered that there were multiple ns such as the Lion n, Tiger n, Dragon n, Phoenix n, Tortoise n, Hawk n, and many other ns in the Woltensian Empire.


    The Lion n, Tiger n, Dragon n, Phoenix n, Hawk n, and some other ns resided on the mountain peaks. The legacies of the respective n were on that mountain peak.


    Over each Mountain Peak were several other beast ns that had submitted to that great n. Each of these beast ns was assigned a specific region on a mountain peak.


    If they wanted to increase their territory, they had to fight other ns. Thus, battles between beast ns for territory or just to show their superiority were very normal.


    Meanwhile, the Sea Monsters like the Tortoise n resided in the ocean, and it was unclear how they lived.


    Ralph was satisfied with this information. He did wonder whether he could join the Tiger n after entering the Woltensian Empire.

 Chapter 559 Tiana: Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sects Blessing

    It had been nearly three months since Tiana split up from herrades. However, she had yet to leave the new Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory.


    In fact, she had yet to leave the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect Pce ever since she returned from the Eastern Mountain Range of the Glerian Kingdom.


    There was one specific reason behind this. The new policy of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s royal family.


    They hadn''t just targeted powerful organizations, but also sects. Three sects had already been destroyed by the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    When Tiana received this information, she was extremely dumbfounded. She never expected that the Royal Family would make such ruthless decisions.


    However, as the surprise from this information faded, Tiana''s eyes lit up as she whispered to herself, "¡­This is an opportunity."


    Perhaps to the other sects in the new territory of the Sinyalian Kingdom, it was a tragedy, but this was an unexpected blessing for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    There were many reasons for this to be considered a blessing for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Firstly, there were two sects of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. First was the main sect pce, in which only the women possessing Yin Physiques were epted. The second was the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Any woman with sufficient talent could join the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect, but she had to be branded with the sect seal.


    Originally, this seal contained a minuscule part of Azaroth''s spirit. However, before meeting Nine Yin Saintess, Azaroth destroyed these parts of spirits.


    This prevented him from passively hypnotizing the new disciples of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect, but he felt it was no longer necessary.


    Azaroth''s objective was already aplished as he turned the first generation of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect''s Leader and Elders into his loyal subordinates.


    A proper system with specificws and regtions was already operating in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Azaroth''s spirit acted as thest resort to prevent his subordinates in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect from ever betraying him.


    However, Azaroth had to pull out thisst resort because if Nine Yin Saintess found his spirit scattered across the entire Elemental Aurora Valley Sect''s warriors, she would get greatly suspicious and actively search the entire Glerian Kingdom for his subordinates.


    Azaroth wasn''t sure if Noah or others could stay hidden from her. Thus, he resorbed all portions of his scattered spirit to ensure that the Nine Yin Saintess would find nothing if she tried to search for his spirit in the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    This n worked as the Nine Yin Saintess truly found nothing as she searched for Azaroth''s spirit in the entire Glerian Kingdom.


    The stamp of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect wasn''t entirely useless. It still contained a trace of Demonic Ardor, which greatly boosted the physique, potential, and density of the Humanely Ardor.


    This Demonic Ardor was just light enough to prevent an ordinary warrior from sensing it. However, the warriors or the beasts with acute senses could sense this trace of Demonic Ardor.


    This became a huge allure for all kinds of warriors to enter the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. Moreover, people began to trust it quickly after it was revealed that the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect was actually the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s branch.


    Tiana was the one who revealed this fact since she wanted people to ept it quickly.


    In any case, the second reason for the current situation to be a blessing for the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was due to their impermeable defense.


    At this point, all the citizens knew of the impermeable defense mechanisms of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. The Mist Array, along with an impressive 7 Star Defensive Array, greatly boosted the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s reputation.


    In fact, it led many to assume that this was the only location they could travel to seek shelter from the Royal Family of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Even the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family couldn''t touch the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect! They had sent many teams, but none returned.


    This prevented the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family from pointlessly wasting their resources. In other words, the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect won that confrontation with the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family!


    ? Many people approached the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, including many reputed warriors, seeking refuge.


    A dayter, three veiled women arrived and met those people. These three women asked women to follow them and instructed everyone else to leave.


    Many men were dissatisfied upon hearing that order. They hade to this ce with their entire family. And these three women were actually saying that they would only allow women to enter?! Was this a joke?!


    How could they ept such an order?!


    Even the women found it difficult to ept this order. How could they leave behind their family? Many of them had a child, and it was extremely difficult to separate them from their family.


    Those three women didn''t seem impressed. Instead, they issued a deration, "All those willing women who wish to enter the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect Pce, follow us. The rest can leave immediately."


    After hearing this deration, a few warriors couldn''t hold back any longer. They instantly attacked these three women.


    However, this turned out to be a blunder. Because these three women weren''t some random experts.


    These three women were 5 Star Rank warriors possessing Seven Star Yin Physique. All those warriors who attacked them were frozen immediately.


    "Make your choice quickly," Those three women turned after saying those words.


    Many of the people gathered here were cultivators. Either from the sects or from other organizations in the Glerian Kingdom.


    All of them were left awe-struck as they saw those three women freeze so many warriors. It indicated just how powerful these three women were. This greatly motivated all warriors in the area.


    Very soon, many women made their choice and entered the Mist.


    Amelia Byrne smirked upon sensing so many possible sect disciples. There were nearly 900 women who entered the Mist.


    Amelia Byrne controlled the Mist and led them to the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect Pce. Naturally, several guys tried to follow these women, but they all found themselves back where they began.


    These new sect disciples were tested in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. The quality of their Ardor, their Ardor reserves, Elemental Attribute, Bloodline Test, and their insight into Laws was tested.


    Azaroth had left behind many special artifacts which could test these characteristics. He left behind the form of these artifacts so that the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect could create these artifacts on their own in case they were damaged, lost, or destroyed.


    All the new disciples possessing Ice Element were sent to the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. They definitely possessed a Yin Physique; it didn''t matter whether it was of low grade or a high grade.


    The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect''s size had tripled in these three months. Meanwhile, the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect''s size had increased by five times.


    Thus, the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect suddenly halted their recruitment.


    Recruiting so many new disciples had caused many issues to arise in both sects. Thus, Tiana halted recruitment until both the sects could deal with these issues.


    ~~


    [A/N: Heya everyone. I hope you all liked the story till now. As promised, I have the Frascoia Continent''s map for you all.


    This is the old map. (Check out the paragraphment)


    This is the new map. (Check out the paragraphment)]

 Chapter 560 Tiana: Disciple Supervising Branch

    The recruitment of so many disciples in both the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect had created issues.


    Many things had to be reorganized to amodate so many disciples. Fortunately, Azaroth had set up the entire Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, so Tiana''s task was to slowly assign these new disciples to those departments.


    However, Azaroth hadn''t spent that much thought when he created the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. Other than taking care of all the basic needs, he left everything in Amelia and Tiana''s hands.


    However, he left a lot of space in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect and set up a construction array that could help Amelia and Tiana to set up more buildings or departments easily.


    Amelia soon set up multiple departments. These departments were the Alchemy Division, Array Formation Division, and Craftsman Division.


    However, it took Amelia a week to understand that these departments were still insufficient to allocate the disciples properly. She had to create more departments.


    Thus, many new departments based on different elemental attributes were created in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. Basically, the Fire Attribute Warriors had their Fire Elemental Department. The Wind Attribute Warriors had their separate departments and so on.


    All the department heads were 5 Star Warriors and were the original members of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Amelia Byrne had recruited many strong warriors into the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect, but none of them were assigned important positions.


    All of them were given the status of a disciple. This was to prevent them from suddenly gaining ess to the entire Elemental Aurora Valley Sect and creating a ruckus.


    Another concept was added in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. The concept of the Contribution Points!


    To acquire something from the sect, the disciples or even the elders required the Contribution Points. These contribution points were acquired or earned by doing something for the sect.


    The disciples could earn contribution points by selling beast corpses to the sect.


    Joining the Alchemy division and producing pellets for the entire sect. Managing the herbal garden of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Devising, setting, or mending the array formations around the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Designing, manufacturing, or repairing weapons for the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    In fact, discovering or donating a new recipe, manual, or form to the sect would allow them to earn massive contribution points.


    However, there were things that the contribution points couldn''t buy. That was the position of the elders.


    All the elders were branded with a superior seal. Their abilities were greatly magnified because of the demonic seal.


    Amelia could make them elders at her own discretion. No one in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect could force her. Well, through the rules of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect, that is. However, influencing her decision through some other means like threatening her or extorting her was still possible.


    The elders were powerful, and they would naturally listen to Amelia''s orders, but the number of 5 Star disciples in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect more or less equaled the number of elders.


    This created a strange bnce in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. If these 5 Star disciples united, they could try to pressure Amelia and influence her decision.


    The power of a 5 Star Warrior couldn''t be underestimated.


    These warriors were currently obeying Amelia because their sense of threat from the Sinyalian Kingdom''s Royal Family had yet to fade. Once it did fade, Tiana was sure that these disciples would start demanding more rights. These disciples also didn''t possess the loyalty for Azaroth that Amelia and her group of elders did.


    Thus, Tiana wanted to prevent this situation from ever urring. This was why she had yet to leave the Sinyalian Kingdom for the Empire of Qian Guo.


    Tiana decided to set up another department in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect. This was known as the Disciple Supervising Branch. And this branch wasn''t under the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    The members of this branch were actually the disciples of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. And the head of this branch was an Elder of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    All the elders and the earlier disciples of Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect were very loyal to Azaroth and Tiana. Tiana was sure that they would never betray the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, or Azaroth.


    Thus, the task of this Disciple Supervising Branch was to monitor the 5 Star disciples of the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    ? At the end of each year, they would prepare a report about those 5 Star disciples. If those reports stated that these disciples were loyal, they would be promoted to the elder rank.


    Moreover, the members of the Disciple Supervising Branch would change every year. They would all be the disciples of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Even Amelia couldn''t order the members of the Disciple Supervising Branch, without the approval of the current sect mistress of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    It took nearly another month to set up this Disciple Supervising Branch and deal with some more issues before Tiana finally passed her position to Helena.


    It was time for Tiana to leave. She had to leave for the Empire of Qian Guo now.


    Tiana took her Frozen Spirit Fox Beast along with her and left the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Helena possessed a Mystical Transmission Amulet that allowed her to contact Tiana''s Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring directly.


    All of Azaroth''s retainers possessed this Mystical Transmission Amulet that was linked to their respective rings. He had created these so that his retainers could still stay in touch with the branch they had left behind.


    After Tiana left the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, she asked her fox to maintain a quick speed. Tiana believed that the Queen of the Sinyalian Kingdom might have sent some warriors to keep an eye on the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    If so, many warriors might approach her and try to capture her very soon.


    Moreover, the Frozen Spirit Fox''s body was very conspicuous now. It had a veryrge size and could easily carry Tiana on its back.


    Tiana''s guess turned out to be right. Irene soon received information that someone hade charging out of that strange mist on top of a Frozen Spirit Fox.


    Irene instantly guessed that the person who charged out must either be a disciple or an elder of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect. She could gain valuable information from this individual.


    At this moment, a special team was already pursuing Tiana. Unfortunately, none of them could catch up to Tiana because of the Frozen Spirit Fox''s quick pace.


    However, the warriors in this special team didn''t lose hope. They believed that this Frozen Spirit Fox would tire out soon enough. They could capture both of them at that time.


    Even Tiana knew about this issue. Thus, she asked the Frozen Spirit Fox to go through some forests along the way.


    The forests in her path were all dangerous woods that harbored Beast Lords. In reality, Tiana had chosen this path before she left the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.


    Tiana knew that it was very important for her to lose the warriors pursuing her if she wanted to get out of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    It would be disastrous if the warriors of the Sinyalian Kingdom somehow captured her. Thus, Tiana had nned her route well enough to lose the pursuit of these special teams.


    It took nearly one whole month for Tiana to reach the borders of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Unlike Yrellea, Tiana couldn''t pass through the borders by bribing the soldiers of the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Nearly five months had passed since the Sinyalian Kingdom gained control of the Glerian Kingdom''s territory. The security on both the borders was quite tight. The Lamhilhan Theocracy wouldn''t allow someone to barge into their territory so easily.


    However, Tiana was prepared for this possibility as well. Thus, she pulled out multiple blue stalks of grass from her Mystical Spiritual Communication Ring.


    If Azaroth was here, he would haveughed aloud upon seeing those blue grass stalks.


    This was none other than Spirit Core Grass. Due to its rich spiritual energy, this grass attracted beasts from the nearby area.


    This grass grew in the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, but no beasts dared to approach it because of the strange mist surrounding the sect.


    Azaroth would have definitely been happy to see Tiana''s growth. She was actually nning to set up a beast raid to breach the borders and reach the Lamhilhan Theocracy.

 Chapter 561 Tiana: Leading The Beast Horde

    Five months have passed since the dramatic war between the Glerian Kingdom, the Sinyalian Kingdom, and the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    The soldiers of the Glerian Kingdom had fought many different races. They fought angels, demons, and even other humans.


    The warriors and civilians were eagerly anticipating the end of this war. This war had taken their closest friends, family members, and made their lives very difficult. Prices skyrocketed, and most families couldn''t even afford food. They had to sell their house and other important heirlooms just to survive a bit longer.


    All of them were relieved as the war concluded and the Sinyalian Kingdom took over the Glerian Kingdom''s territory.


    After taking over the Glerian Kingdom''s territory, David Valliadis'' first order was to offer free food to all its residents.


    In reality, this was to obtain public support. Many citizens guessed David''s motive, but they were still very grateful to him.


    After a few months of taking over the Glerian Kingdom''s territory, the Sinyalian Kingdom lost most of its territory to the Principality of Aseca, Republic of Raleroma, and Alinginian Kingdom.


    However, David and his council had expected this. Thus, they had already relocated most of their valuables and artifacts from those sites.


    Well, they did lose a bit. They lost some mines. Fortunately, the mines they lost provided raw materials for somemon materials.


    In any case, the Sinyalian Kingdom''s new territory wasprised more of the old Glerian Kingdom rather than its original territory.


    But this didn''t matter much as the Sinyalian Kingdom offered up basic amenities at a cheap rate, while quickly restructuring the economy.


    In terms of handling economy and internal matters, the Sinyalian Kingdom was much superior to the Glerian Kingdom.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom''s borders with the Lamhilhan Theocracy were a little heated. This was because the Lamhilhan Theocracy was trying to secretly infiltrate the Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory.


    Three groups from the Lamhilhan Theocracy infiltrating the Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory had already been caught. This put the entire Sinyalian Kingdom on high alert as there was no way to know just how many people had sessfully infiltrated the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    However, this kind of situation was quite normal. In fact, the soldiers and even the citizens were used to it.


    Today was different, though.


    A group of soldiers were patrolling around the borders of the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Lamhilhan Theocracy with impassive looks.


    All of them were very attentive of their surroundings. Suddenly, they felt the ground shake.


    "¡­What is going is?" The group captain wondered as he tried to maintain his bnce. The soldiers of his group weren''t so lucky, though. They fell down, while staring in the northern direction.


    The Northern Direction meant that this strange tremor was originating from within the Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory.


    The group captain quickly contacted the soldiers on the watchtower through his Voice Transmission Stone Array and asked them, "What do you see?"


    "¡­Captain, it''s a massive dust cloud. And its headed for us at an incredible speed!" The soldier spoke while keeping his eyes on that dust cloud.


    The trees blocked his vision and prevented him from seeing just who was creating this dust cloud.


    Meanwhile, the group captain asked the soldier, "Is this an army from the capital?"


    Although he asked this question, the group captain felt that it was highly unlikely that the capital would send arge army without informing him.


    "¡­No¡­This isn''t an army. T-These are beasts! So many beasts!" The soldier cried out with a terrified expression.


    "What? Beasts? How many beasts are there? And what is their strength?" The group captain asked with a startled tone.


    The Voice Transmission Stone suddenly stopped working. The group captain tried to contact that soldier again but received no response.


    The group captain tried to contact other soldiers who were stationed near the watch tower. However, no one responded.


    The group captain had a bad feeling about this. He instantly contacted the border camp nearby, "Get everyone on the double. We need to fight beasts. Their numbers are unknown, but I believe there are hundreds of them, with a possibility of a Beast Lord among them. Request for reinforcements from the nearby camps."


    "Yes, sir!" The Lieutenant shouted in response.


    The group captain led his team back to the camp, while the Lieutenant organized all the troops and charged out of the camp.


    The Group Captain soon met up with the Lieutenant and the troops.


    "I received information from our soldiers on watchtowers that many beasts are heading towards us! There could be hundreds of beasts. Be ready to fight with your lives on the line!" The group captain shouted.


    His soldiers responded deafeningly, "Yes, sir!"


    At that moment, the Lieutenant spoke out, "Sir, we have already survived a dangerous battle against the Celestials and the Demons. We can definitely deal with these beasts."


    These words raised the morale of the troops while the group captain nodded affirmatively.


    "Still, do not bite more than you can chew. Leave the Beast Lord to me! Just make sure to deal with the other beasts!" The group captain ordered sternly.


    "Yes, sir!" All the soldiers spoke in unison.


    Soon, the ground beneath them began to shake. This was the same magnitude that the group captain and his team had felt when they were patrolling earlier.


    However, the tremors became more intense, and the troops who had earlier maintained high morale were now filled with misgivings.


    "H-Hundreds of beasts shouldn''t be able to create such a strong tremor¡­" A soldier spoke out with a feeble tone.


    Another soldier answered with a slightly confident tone, "¡­Maybe it''s the work of an Earth Elemental Beast."


    Even the group captain had his doubts about the situation. He felt that the situation was much more serious than he had earlier imagined.


    Soon, the beasts were in view. The group captain saw a white fox leading a horde of beasts. There was a young woman sat atop that white fox.


    The group captain focused his gaze on the horde of beasts and knitted his brows as he couldn''t see an end of these beasts.


    A soldier eximed with a terrified tone, "These are not hundreds, but thousands of beasts!"


    Morale of the entire battalion plummeted immediately.


    There were barely 700 soldiers including two 5 Star Warriors in this battalion. They were ill prepared to face thousands of monsters!


    The group captain had a stern expression, but he didn''t give up hope. He tried to raise the spirit of his troops by shouting, "We must not lose hope. The reinforcements from the nearby camps will arrive soon. We must ensure to hold our ground!"


    Just as the group captain was prepared to deal with this iing Beast Horde, the white fox in the front changed its path.


    The entire beast horde ignored the troops in front and followed after that white fox.


    The group captain and his entire battalion was relieved to see this. They naturally didn''t wish to fight this beast horde.


    The group captain kept his eyes on that woman seated atop the white fox. As he gazed ahead, the group captain understood that this woman wanted to breach the borders and enter the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    Trying to stop this woman here meant fighting these thousands of beasts. The group captain certainly didn''t want his personal battalion to be massacred here.


    Thus, the group captain decided to let Tiana pass through the border from his side and reach the Lamhilhan Theocracy.


    In any case, it was a good thing for the Sinyalian Kingdom that so many beasts were leaving the nearby forests. The Sinyalian Kingdom could now subjugate the remaining beasts in those forests and create more routes.


    This would greatly enhance the trade and provide mobility to the troops. Moreover, the forests were full of rare herbs and minerals. The Sinyalian Kingdom could acquire them without much effort.

 Chapter 562 Tiana And Yrellea

    The Beast Raid, led by Tiana, easily entered the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s territory as the soldiers refused to fight them. Soldiers from the Sinyalian Kingdom reacted quite wisely.


    However, the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s soldiers didn''t have such luxury. If they allowed this beast raid to pass, it could damage towns and cities in their way!


    This would greatly harm the entire Lamhilhan Theocracy! Thus, the beast raid had to be stopped at all costs.


    At this moment, the perpetrator of this Beast Raid, Tiana, was riding on her Frozen Spirit Fox with a delighted look. Her n had worked as she managed to gather thousands of beasts by using the Spirit Core Grass.


    In front of her, she saw multiple Lamhilhan Theocracy''s troops setting up battle formations.


    "Snow, it''s just onest stride. You need to use all your energy for thisst burst of speed. I will clear the way for you," Tiana gently instructed her Frozen Spirit Fox.


    "<strong>Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique</strong>," Tiana whispered the name of her technique.


    This was a technique Azaroth taught her. It was one of the strongest techniques of the Reckless Primeval Ice Emperor of ancient times. Thest time Tiana was forced to use this technique, she was merely a 4 Star Warrior.


    After reaching the 5 Star Rank, Tiana''s insight into this technique deepened immensely. Her eyes gave off a navy hue as the Ice Laws in her surroundings started to resonate with Tiana''s Ice Element. An illusory Avatar of Ice Element soon formed above Tiana''s head.


    "<strong>Pure cial Ray</strong>." Tiana started gathering a great amount of Ice Elemental Energy over her Avatar.


    Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Lamhilhan Theocracy attacked Tiana and her Frozen Spirit Fox with multiple attacks.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox quickly dodged most of those attacks, and the rest were blocked by Tiana''s Avatar.


    However, even though Tiana and her fox dodged those attacks, some of the beasts behind her weren''t so many.


    These attacks struck those beasts and infuriated them greatly!


    Earlier, they were merely following Tiana because she held Spirit Core Grass, but now, these humans had theirplete attention.


    A few beasts let out a roar. The other beasts responded with a howl or roar of their own. It was a deration of war!


    Tiana put away the Spirit Core Grass as she had achieved her objective. Once she was close enough, sheunched the Pure cial Ray!


    The Pure cial Ray was a thick ice beam, and anyone who came into contact with this beam was frozen.


    The Frozen Spirit Fox quickly jumped on those frozen humans and nned to get across the entire army.


    However, these troops couldn''t stay focused on the Frozen Spirit Fox and Tiana. They had more pressing concerns since those thousands of beasts were about to reach them!


    After passing the border force, Tiana quickly changed her direction as she believed that entering the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s territory any deeper would be dangerous.


    She guessed that no one among the border force should survive to inform the capital of the fact that Tiana had snuck across the borders.


    However, Tiana still had to stay careful. If someone does survive, the Lamhilhan Theocracy might start hunting for her any time soon.


    Thus, Tiana decided to not visit anyrge city or town and instead moved from one vige to another.


    From a vige, Tiana found the general map of the Lamhilhan Theocracy. She was extremely thankful to the merchant.


    Tiana followed that map and moved towards the Pinhian Republic''s territory.


    After she was near the Pinhian Republic''s territory, Tiana contacted Yrellea through the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    It had been nearly three months since Yrellea had entered the Pinhian Republic. Thus Misty Flower Pavilion was very sessful in this kingdom.


    Moreover, the people of the Pinhian Republic were much richer aspared to the Glerian Kingdom. They also ced a great focus on the literary arts and elegance.


    Fortunately, Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion wasn''tcking in these regards. In fact, multiple groups conducted this business.


    However, the women in the Misty Flower Pavilion were the most beautiful, and they all cultivated a very special technique that was like a drug to people. People were quickly addicted to the Misty Flower Pavilion, and at this time, Yrellea had already set up three branches in the Pinhian Republic.


    Actually, Yrellea could have opened up ten branches of the Misty Flower Pavilion in the Pinhian Republic with the profit she was earning. However, there were some very weird rules in the Pinhian Republic to prevent a business from expanding too quickly.


    There were also limits on the amount ofnd that an individual could acquire. A time limit before an organization can open a branch in other cities.


    Moreover, Yrellea had to bribe too many individuals to get approval regarding constructing the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    In thest three months, Yrellea had devoted herself to learning how to take advantage of thews in the Pinhian Republic.


    She met up with some solicitors and stuck a deal with them. In return for massive ie, these solicitors or advocates informed her of the loopholes in the Pinhian Republic''sws.


    This wasn''t all. Yrellea also found out that dealing with thews wouldn''t be much of an issue if she could gain a connection with someone of high authority. Someone who was a minister, at the very least.


    Thus, Yrellea used her best weapon she had under her hand. Beauty.


    However, she wasn''t going to personally involve herself with a man. Her heart, body, and soul belonged to Azaroth. She couldn''t even think of being with another man.


    Only one option remained. It was to use one of her subordinates and have her seduce a minister.


    Yrellea found out that the ministers in this country weren''t exceptionally powerful. They were humans with strong leadership skills ormunication skills, that''s all.


    The martial force of the Pinhian Republic lied with another department. This was the General with the title of the <strong>Vicious Lightning Paragon</strong>! He was an Emperor-Ranked Expert and one of the strongest experts in the entire Pinhian Republic.


    He was an extremely old fellow as he was already 800 years old. His prestige was the greatest in the Pinhian Republic.


    However, this man wasn''t interested in ruling the Pinhian Republic. His only focus was to preserve the Pinhian Republic''s strength.


    He didn''t care about how the parliament ruled over the Pinhian Republic. The majority of the people chose the members of the parliament, and they had to face the consequences of their choice.


    However, the Vicious Lightning Paragon wouldn''t sit idly if the members of the parliament made a choice that would destroy the Pinhian Republic in the near future.


    It had only happened once in the entire Pinhian Republic''s history.


    The time when a furious Vicious Lightning Paragon entered the parliament and massacred all the members with no exception!


    This reminded all political parties in the Pinhian Republic that no matter what they do, they must never harm the Pinhian Republic''s interests as there was no telling when the Vicious Lightning Paragon might snap.

 Chapter 563 Yrellea: Vicious Lightning Paragons History

    Nearly two hundred years ago, a majority of parliament''s members were actually selling useful intel of the Pinhian Republic to the other kingdoms. All this to increase their personal wealth and influence.


    Using that information, those other kingdoms actually managed to trap three disciples of Vicious Lightning Paragon and killed them ruthlessly!


    After finding this information and verifying it with someone trustworthy, the Vicious Lightning Paragon could no longer contain his fury.


    He ughtered all members of the parliament and then led the soldiers in the battle against the Kingdom of Beria. It was the battle where the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s insight into the Lightning Law deepened tremendously, and he reached the peak of Emperor Rank. It was also the same day that he killed two Emperor Rank Warriors.


    This greatly boosted the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s renown and forced the Kingdom of Beria to surrender. They had no way to counter the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    However, even though the Vicious Lightning Paragon was extremely powerful, the Kingdom of Beria had its countermeasures to deal with him.


    They possessed secret formations that could utilize the Ardor and power ofws from 2 Emperor Ranked Experts and 12 King Ranked Warriors, empowering their defensive formation to be strong enough to defeat the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    In fact, the defensive formation included a cannon that could be utilized to assault the enemy by gathering a tremendous amount of energy.


    Even the Vicious Lightning Paragon would be heavily injured if this cannon''s attack struck him. Thus, he didn''t dare to approach their capital city.


    However, the converse was also true. The two Emperor Ranked Warriors in the capital didn''t dare to leave and fight the Vicious Lightning Paragon without employing that secret array.


    Their fighting ability wasn''t strong enough to battle a monster like the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    Very soon, the Vicious Lightning Paragon left the frontlines and was focused on teaching his disciples regarding all forms of warfare.


    And right now, he had five disciples, all of them supremely skilled in the use of different weapons. Shockingly, these five warriors belonged to only two families.


    Three warriors belonged to one family, while the remaining belonged to the other. They were brothers.


    The three blood brothers were skilled in Spear, Sword, and Bow. Meanwhile, the remaining two were skilled in Mace and Daggers.


    All of them were King-Ranked experts and held the potential to reach the Emperor Rank. Thus, they possessed significant influence within the Pinhian Republic.


    These five warriors went through extremely grueling training that would have killed any other warrior. However, these five warriors survived this training through sheer determination!


    They understood why the Vicious Lightning Paragon had subjected them to such rigorous training. He wanted to pass his position to them in the near future. He wanted them to guard the Pinhian Republic from its adversaries.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon is already quite old. He can barely survive another century or so. And that''s only possible if he doesn''t fight a big battle in this century.


    However, the Lamhilhan Theocracy and the Kingdom of Beria were making some suspicious moves. It was expected from the Kingdom of Beria, but the actions of the Lamhilhan Theocracy were a bit unexpected.


    The Lamhilhan Theocracy had just been dealt a heavy blow by the Glerian Kingdom''s forces before thetter was swallowed by the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    For them to already start making a move against another kingdom was a bit unexpected.


    The threat from the Lamhilhan Theocracy was a bit greater because the Emperor Ranked Experts of this kingdom were Celestials. Dealing with Celestials was much more challenging aspared to dealing with humans.


    There was a simple reason for that.


    The Celestials had preserved their knowledge, ancient skills, array techniques, and alchemy methods. Thus, the surprise element was mostly on the side of the Celestials.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon was concerned that the Radiant Church would attempt to conquer the Pinhian Republic after his death. As a result, he was leaving behind sessors who would be more than capable of making the Pinhian Republic greater than ever.


    During his final years, the Vicious Lightning Paragon nned to protect them and act as their guide.


    The five had spent nearly decades together and were as close as blood brothers.


    They nned to act ording to the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s n and be the guardians of the Pinhian Republic.


    At this moment, they had separated and ventured into different battlefields to gain valuable experience. This experience didn''t mean thebat experience but the ability to deal with people.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon had informed them that even if they were the most skilled warriors, they couldn''t achieve by fighting alone. They must learn the art of reading the battlefield, politics, traps, and people.


    These skills couldn''t be taught. They had to be taught the old-fashioned way, via trial and error.


    They had to understand the thought process of people. Why the people thought that way? And figure out what they must do to put them on the right path.


    Some might argue that this was not a warrior''s job. A warrior''s job was to fight and protect its nation.


    Guiding the people was not necessary to truly be a great warrior. However, the Vicious Lightning Paragon didn''t just want to leave behind five warriors who could protect the Pinhian Republic.


    He wanted to leave behind five righteous men who could clean the corruption of the Pinhian Republic''s ministers and officials. He wanted them to finally deal with the sufferings of themon people.


    It took the Vicious Lightning Paragon a very long time to realize that the internal problems required as much attention as the external threats.


    The system of the parliament was certainly very fair on the surface. However, it couldn''t work practically in the Pinhian Republic.


    This was because of the distinction between the rich and the poor.


    The rich individual could buy their votes. And the sad reality was that the people would truly be bought. This was how bad their condition was.


    In fact, by the time the Vicious Lightning Paragon understood how far the corruption had permeated the popce''s psyche, he feared it was toote.


    These five individuals didn''t need to be prime minister or president or any other minister to make any chances in the Pinhian Republic.


    Even the ministers were tied down to the welfare of their respective parties. The Vicious Lightning Paragon didn''t want his disciples to be held down by such notions.


    Moreover, the Vicious Lightning Paragon knew a very simple truth. If his disciples were doing the right thing, influential and powerful enough, no one in the Pinhian Republic would dare to question their decision.


    People might grumble a bit, but that was only natural. No society would happily ept change. But it was absolutely necessary to change ording to time.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon did inform them that to achieve his objective of truly guiding the citizens on the right path, they had to remain united.


    If they started infighting, all his efforts would go down the drain. Perhaps, it might even be the trigger for an internal war!


    Fortunately, the five warriors were extremely close to each other. And no one could pit them against each other.

 Chapter 564 Yrellea: Church Of Mubesni

    Other than the Vicious Lightning Paragon and the ministers in the Parliament, Yrellea came to know of another force that possessed considerable influence within the Pinhian Republic.


    It is known as the Church of Mubesni. Mubesni is a Celestial God residing in the heavens.


    There were other religions in the Pinhian Republic, but none of them belonged to a Celestial God. The Church of Mubesni was the most widespread religion inside the Pinhian Republic.


    Yrellea came to know of this religion as she was gathering information about different ministers in the Pinhian Republic.


    She found out that many ministers were actually visiting the Church of Mubesni and were sworn followers. They had even donated much of their wealth to the Church of Mubesni, stating that this was all to help the people.


    However, when Yrellea tried to investigate how the Church of Mubesni used that money, she came up with nothing.


    The Church of Mubesni gathered nearly hundreds of billions of Duapi, the Pinhian Republic''s currency, every year. However, they barely utilized 10 million or so for the welfare of people.


    The Church of Mubesni was actually hoarding the rest of the humungous amount for themselves!


    This allowed the Church of Mubesni to prepare expensive offerings for their god. Through these offerings, the power of the Celestial God would increase tremendously. He would, in return, bless his followers for those sacrifices.


    In a certain sense, both sides benefited greatly.


    The ones who lost out were the general people. These huge donations to the Church of Mubesni were to help people, not to use for their god.


    However, their influence was far too great for anyone to go up against them.


    Even the Vicious Lightning Paragon didn''t dare to go up against them. It wasn''t their strength that worried him. It was the fact that nearly 70% of the general popce''s religion was the Church of Mubesni.


    If he did fight them, then all the citizens in this kingdom would revolt! This was what he didn''t want.


    However, the Church of Mubesni also didn''t dare to go against the Vicious Lightning Paragon since this man was a hero to his nation.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon had his own followers, and all of them were extremely strong. They knew that if they truly angered the Vicious Lightning Paragon, he might decide to destroy them all.


    No archangel in the Church of Mubesni could resist his fury if he was truly furious. Thus, they maintained their distance from the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s group.


    Yrellea gathered quite a bit of information regarding the Church of Mubesni. However, she didn''t know that the Church of Mubesni was also gathering information about her and the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Fortunately, the Pinhian Republic was too far away from the new Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory, so they didn''t know that this Misty Flower Pavilion belonged to that nation.


    The Misty Flower Pavilion caught the Church of Mubesni''s attention solely for one reason. The decrease in donations to the Church of Mubesni in three cities.


    During thest month, there was a massive decline in donations in three cities. When the Church of Mubesni investigated the reason for this decline in donations, the Misty Flower Pavilion''s name came up.


    It seemed that most of their followers were actually enthralled with such a ce. And instead of donating their ie to the Church of Mubesni, they were actually squandering it by going to the Misty Flower Pavilion regrly.


    The Misty Flower Pavilion was simr to a pub or tavern where people coulde to get some food or a drink. They also provided massage and other entertainment activities, like singing, dancing, telling stories, and even arm wrestling.


    All these activities required money. People happily expended that amount because they felt that the entertainment was truly worth it.


    Actually, the entertainment was part of the reason why people visited the Misty Flower Pavilion. The true reason people visited the Misty Flower Pavilion was that all members of this pavilion were exceptionally beautiful women.


    These women were so beautiful, graceful, and elegant that thoughts of admiration rose in the hearts of people.


    In reality, this was because all these women were cultivating an enchanting technique that belonged to the Heavenly Enchantress in the Ancient Era.


    Through this cultivation technique, these women passively released special energy that could captivate a person, regardless of their gender.


    This cultivation technique also boosted their beauty in the truest sense by getting rid of the impurities inside their bodies. It was said that whoever cultivated this technique to the peak would possess beauty on the same level as someone with the Absolute Beauty skill.


    Through this technique and their natural talents, the members of the Misty Flower Pavilion managed to gain tremendous wealth and information. Gathering information was extremely easy for them.


    The person just had to be a bit drunk, and a member of the Misty Flower Pavilion had to target him actively with her cultivation technique.


    People who possessed weak willpower would speak out everything they knew. While this process had to be repeated on someone with strong willpower.


    However, one thing wasmon. After getting enchanted, they would lose consciousness. This prevented people from even guessing that they had revealed some secret intel to someone in the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    The Church of Mubesni certainly didn''t like this Misty Flower Pavilion. Even though they didn''t understand what the Misty Flower Pavilion was doing, they believed thispany was stealing their followers and wealth.


    They used their influence to prevent Yrellea from expanding her business. The ministers in certain domains wouldn''t give permission to Yrellea no matter how much she tried to bribe them.


    Thus, Yrellea began thinking of using one of her subordinates to seduce a high-ranking minister in the parliament.


    The Minister that Yrellea chose was the head of the Industry and Businesses department. It was his approval that Yrellea required to expand the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    The Misty Flower Pavilion didn''tck beautiful women. All of them possessed a nation-toppling beauty and were very loyal to Yrellea.


    Yrellea chose the one with an advanced skillset and was proficient in persuasiveness and deceit. Her subordinate''s name was Edna Meir.


    Seducing the Minister wasn''t a very hard task for Edna. She just required an opportunity.


    To give her this opportunity, Yrellea sent Edna to secretly meet the Minister to bribe him. However, the contract was created in such a manner that it would require multiple meetings to resolve it.


    During those meetings, Edna would use her cultivation technique and try to enchant the Minister.


    Edna was sure that after the third meeting, the Minister would bepletely captivated as her proficiency in this enchanting cultivation technique was quite high.


    In reality, Edna was overestimating the Minister. She managed to captivate him in the very first meeting.


    Yrellea received the good news and was quite delighted about it. After ten or so days, Tiana contacted her as she required a passage into the Pinhian Republic. She informed Yrellea of the fact that she was atop her Frozen Spirit Fox.


    Yrellea soon contacted Edna and informed her of what she had to do.


    The Minister signed on a contract that specifically stated that a spy was returning from the Lamhilhan Theocracy with a secret resources and must be allowed to pass through borders.


    This was the letter that the Pinhian Republic''s soldiers on the borders received.


    Meanwhile, the Minister used his spies and connections in the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s territory and bribed the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s soldiers overseeing the borders near the Pinhian Republic.


    These efforts allowed Tiana to pass through the borders without any issue.

 Chapter 565 Tiana And Yrelleas Chat

    Tiana managed to enter the Pinhian Republic safely due to Yrellea''s efforts.


    Yrellea guided Tiana to the nearest city and soon met up with her. She had moved to this city earlier to meet Tiana.


    It had been nearly 5 months since the two saw each other.


    "Heya," Tiana greeted Yrellea with a warm smile.


    Yrellea responded with a nod while speaking, "So, you finally moved out of the Sinyalian Kingdom. I was worried that the Sinyalian Kingdom''s borders with the Lamhilhan Theocracy would be sealed tight. It seems there was scope to breach them."


    Tiana smiled upon hearing those words. She shook her head negatively, "Nope. There was no scope to breach them in the normal way. Even if I used my entire wealth, I would have failed to bribe those soldiers."


    "¡­Then how?" Yrellea showed a surprised expression.


    "Hehe¡­I instigated a beast raid and used them to enter the Lamhilhan Theocracy," Tiana spoke out with a proud expression.


    The pupils in Yrellea''s eyes widened instantly. She understood what Tiana meant. With a slight smile, she spoke, "¡­That was unexpected. I certainly wasn''t expecting you to use such a method."


    "I heard the news of the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s conflict with the Sinyalian Kingdom and knew that it would be very difficult to pass the borders unless I did something surprising. Aftering up with nothing, I thought how Master would likely deal with this issue and then came up with this idea."


    "Master would cause enough chaos to confuse both sides and slip through the borders during that time," Tiana spoke.


    She was certainly proud to have thought of this method.


    "¡­The Lamhilhan Theocracy''s forces didn''t pursue you?" Yrellea asked, a bit curious. She knew that the Radiant Church ruled over that territory. There was no way they would let Tiana leave unharmed.


    "I think most of the soldiers who saw me enter with the beast raid died. But I was cautious enough to not enter any towns or cities. I jumped from one vige to another," Tiana responded with a shrug.


    Meanwhile, Yrellea nced at the Frozen Spirit Fox that was happily ingesting its meal and asked, "Didn''t she gain any attention?"


    "I didn''t take her into the vige with me. I figured that even if a soldier saw me atop her, he couldn''t have seen my face clearly. As long as I am not seen together with Snow, they won''t associate me with her," Tiana responded.


    "¡­You are right," Yrellea spoke while staring at Tiana.


    "The path onwards will be much more dangerous," Yrellea added with a grave expression.


    Tiana nodded in understanding, "I know. To reach the Empire of Qian Guo, I have to pass through the borders of three to four kingdoms. We have no connections in those kingdoms, so it will be very difficult."


    Yrellea nodded and spoke, "That''s right. You can go through the sea, but I am afraid that you can''t bypass the strict checking of the Empire of Qian Guo. Its security is much differentpared to that of kingdoms. It''s guarded by a special array formation that would instantly alert the guards if an intruder entered their territory. I am sure they have already marked the entire border that touches the ocean."


    "¡­Is there no other way?" Tiana asked. She had to reach the Empire of Qian Guo to achieve her objective.


    "There might be one way. But it''s dangerous," Yrellea spoke with a serious expression.


    "What is it?" Tiana asked.


    "¡­Remember what Noah informed us. He managed to enter the Great Qin Empire''s territory through a forbidden forest. Even the Great Qin Empire hadn''t set up precautions for intruders entering through the forbidden forest because it was extremely difficult to set up those arrays in that area, and they believed no one could pass the forbidden forest safely."


    Yrellea stared into Tiana''s eyes and spoke seriously, "There is one such Forbidden Forest between the Pinhian Republic and the Empire of Qian Guo."


    "Really? Then I can use that. I can just contact Zena. She can talk to the Beast Emperor presiding over the area and let me pass through," Tiana quickly spoke with a hopeful tone.


    "¡­ It''s not so simple. The ruler of this forest isn''t a Beast Emperor but a powerful Demon Emperor. Moreover, multiple demonic tribes are residing in this forbidden forest who won''t let you pass through their territory," Yrellea spoke gravely.


    "I see," Tiana softly responded.


    "¡­However, I expected this situation to ur and have been making preparations to deal with it," Yrellea spoke, giving a bit of hope to Tiana.


    Tiana was puzzled and raised her brow in question, "Hmm?"


    "This Kingdom has a very powerful general known as the Vicious Lightning Paragon. He is a peak Emperor Rank Warrior. There is also a Church of Mubesni which is headed by a Celestial God. I n to manipte them so that they can deal with this Demon Emperor for us."


    "¡­And how will you achieve that? They won''t listen to us," Tiana spoke with a confused expression.


    "I just need to make them believe that the demons in this forbidden forest pose a great threat to the Pinhian Republic. If this urs, the Vicious Lightning Paragon and the Church of Mubesni will be motivated enough to attack the Demon Tribes."


    "...And how will you do that?" Tiana still didn''t understand how Yrellea nned to make the demon tribes target the Pinhian Republic in the first ce. The demons weren''t stupid.


    It was no luck that they managed to survive for so long. They wouldn''t rashly attack a kingdom.


    Yrellea merely smiled in response and spoke, "...Manipting humans and demons is easier than you believe. You need to settle down in Pinhian Republic for some time, though."


    "I see," Tiana decided to leave this matter to Yrellea.


    "Well, since you are here. Why don''t you set up a force and handle the security of my Misty Flower Pavilion''s branches? You must have brought a copy of those array formations that master used around the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect."


    "I have. But they all require tremendous energy to operate. Master told me that he connected those arrays to an Ice Vein to make sure they never run out of energy. Moreover, he also set up some auto-operating energy gathering arrays. Those arrays were tooplex, and I couldn''t copy them correctly," Tiana spoke seriously.


    Yrellea fell into deep thought as she heard Tiana''s words. The energy source for the array formations was truly a serious issue.


    "¡­I will use all branches of my Misty Flower Pavilion to search for an undiscovered elemental vein," Yrellea spoke. In reality, she wasn''t very hopeful about it.


    "I will create a group as you said. It will help me set up a base in the Empire of Qian Guo. I couldn''t bring my subordinates from the Sinyalian Kingdom since the situation in the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect is a bit too delicate," Tiana spoke while sighing out. It would have been nice if she could have brought her subordinates along like Yrellea.


    "Don''t worry about that. I will help you quickly find warriors who are suitable for your cultivation technique," Yrellea solemnly spoke.


    "My subordinates have already found several women possessing Yin Physique and Ice Element. I was waiting for you to arrive before approaching them," Yrellea spoke with a smile.


    "Woah! That''s great," Tiana was truly happy to have heard these words. It would certainly help her save the time looking for disciples


    "...Come. Let''s meet your first disciple in this nation," Yrellea spoke while heading towards her carriage.


    The two were soon on the move. They were heading towards a town.

 Chapter 566 Williams Adventure

    Among Azaroth''s retainers, William was the only one who headed north of the Sinyalian Kingdom''s territory. His target was the Alinginian Kingdom.


    William''s wives apanied him on this journey. The Alinginian Kingdom was one of the most prosperous kingdoms in the entire world.


    Although there was no Emperor Ranked Expert in this kingdom, it had plenty of King-Ranked Expert.


    The number of King-Ranked Experts in the Alinginian Kingdom even surpassed the Sinyalian Kingdom. This was very shocking since the Sinyalian Kingdom still possessed more than thirty King-Ranked Warriors in their kingdom.


    Many of them reached this rank by gaining insight from the Elemental Spark. But it was nheless the King Rank.


    The Alinginian Kingdom held so many King Ranked experts solely because they possessed rich resources and herbs that were useful for the breakthrough to the King Rank. After utilizing these resources and herbs, the Alinginian Kingdom exported those resources to other kingdoms and earned a massive profit.


    This kingdom was also connected to the ocean and had found many natural resources in the sea. There were also some marine races that conducted trade with the Alinginian Kingdom.


    At this moment, William and his wives were traveling around this kingdom. Unlike other kingdoms, this kingdom waspletely open to outsiders.


    The only requirement to enter the Alinginian Kingdom was to possess vast wealth.


    William was the son-inw of three tribes in the Eastern Mountain Range of the Glerian Kingdom. He didn''tck money or resources.


    After entering the Alinginian Kingdom, William wanted to look for the warriors that Azaroth had mentioned. The warriors connected to an incredible number of Golden Streams.


    However, finding such warriors was easier said than done. They could be anywhere!


    Also, William couldn''t keep his Abyss Eyes active at all times. His eyes would start bleeding if he activated them for more than an hour within a day.


    But other than that, it was alright.


    After researching a bit, William found out that there was a Colosseum. And a tournament was going to take ce soon. He felt that a warrior connected to the Golden Streams of Providence might participate in it.


    Besides, William wanted to test hisbat level. He hadn''t really fought someone ever since he received Azaroth''s training. At this moment, William''s hands were trembling with excitement at the thought of fighting someone powerful.


    And William wasn''t disappointed.


    During the semi-final round, William was matched up with an extremely strange warrior. William couldn''t sense the power of this warrior.


    William nned to go easy on him initially, but after enduring the opponent''s blow, he decided otherwise.


    William activated his Abyss Eyes and was startled to see so many Golden Streams of Providence connected to this man.


    Understanding that this guy was his target, William decided to use his entire power to defeat this fellow. It would be disappointing if he couldn''t defeat this fellow even after receiving Azaroth''s training and the Abyss Eyes.


    However, William soon understood that his opponent had a rather strange skillset. Firstly, his movement technique. It boosted his speed while concealing his presence.


    William couldn''t detect his opponent''s presence till thest second. And most of the time, it was due to his sharp intuition rather than through his senses.


    Secondly, William''s adversary possessed exceptional stamina. Additionally, his methods were rtively umon. William had the impression that the opponent attacked him using his own Ardor.


    This prolonged their battle by quite a bit. Well, until William decided to get serious, that is.


    The techniques he possessed included a technique known as the Golden Dragon''s w.


    After getting struck by this attack, William''s opponent didn''t get up. He vomited a mouthful of blood before losing consciousness.


    The next time he woke up, William''s opponent was in the infirmary, recovering from his serious injuries.


    William and his wives came to visit his opponent. It was only natural since even the opponent that William encountered in the final didn''t make him sweat as much as this warrior. Moreover, this warrior was blessed by a rich providence. It would be best to befriend him.


    The warrior was very surprised that William actually came to visit him. It seemed that he was genuinely worried about him. It touched him greatly as he started narrating his life story to William.


    In reality, he belonged to the branch family of the Kantor n. This was one of the wealthiest and most powerful ns in the Alinginian Kingdom.


    The Kantor n was very close to the Royal Family. They were assigned the rank of Marquis.


    Barak Kantor was the only descendent of the branch head of the Kantor n. He was one of that branch''s most talented warriors, and everyone respected him greatly. However, this changed when Barak offended the descendent of the main branch of the Kantor n.


    The main branch of the Kantor n immediately imprisoned Barak''s parents and appointed a new head of the branch.


    The new head of the Kantor n''s branch hunted Barak and nned to make him suffer just to please the main branch. However, Barak escaped before they could put their n into motion.


    A loyal servant held them long enough so that Barak could escape.


    While he was walking, Barak came across a rare inheritance that could allow him to regain all that he lost.


    He was participating in the tournament to gain some cultivation resources to achieve his ambition and to let his name resound in the world.


    William didn''t find this story that fascinating. He felt that this guy was really stupid. Firstly, why would he offend someone with a higher identity than his own? Did he not know any method of dealing with the person a bit more intelligently?


    Moreover, letting his name resound in the world? William couldn''t help but shake his head disapprovingly. If this guy had managed to win the tournament, he would reveal his identity. But wouldn''t that just let the Kantor n be aware of his presence?


    They might even target him once they realize that he is the same Barak Kantor from the branch n!


    However, this entire story allowed William to understand how he could gain this individual''spanionship. William wanted to make Barak owe him a favor.


    The best way to aplish that would be to assist Barak in destroying the Kantor n. However, a bit more intelligently, rather than this reckless method.


    Without even Barak mentioning it, William knew of his n. He knew that Barak nned to attack the Kantor n once his cultivation reached the 6 Star Rank.


    This was a stupid n in William''s eyes. As attacking a n that had more than five King Ranked Warriors alone was foolish and impulsive.


    William spoke to him, "¡­Let me help you in your ambition."


    "Huh?" Barak was certainly caught off guard. Actually, William''s wives were also caught off guard that their husband would help Barak achieve his ambition, but they remained silent.


    "¡­You don''t need to do anything. Just recover. I will gather information about the Kantor n and return. We will n on how to destroy the Kantor n in detail," William spoke before leaving the infirmary.


    His wives followed him quickly, leaving behind a shocked Barak.

 Chapter 567 Tianas Ice Maidens Faction

    While Yrellea and Tiana were nning to wage war between the Pinhian Republic and the Demon Tribes in the Forbidden Forest, the Church of Mubesni noticed the strange actions of the Industrial and Business Minister.


    The Church of Mubesni noticed that all the restrictions and obstacles they created for the Misty Flower Pavilion were turned invalid due to the intervention of the Industrial and Business Minister.


    The officials of the Misty Flower Pavilion came to the administrative departments with documents containing the minister''s signatures.


    Regarding setting up the businesses, the Industrial and Business Minister was the highest authority in the Pinhian Republic. No one could override his decision.


    And while the Church of Mubesni were investigating this minister, they came to hear very interesting news. The minister had seemingly sent a letter to the colonel stationed near the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s borders to request the passage of a very important individual.


    And for some reason, the Lamhilhan Theocracy''s soldiers also allowed this individual to pass through.


    There were some soldiers who witnessed this individual. It was a gorgeous woman atop a snow-white fox.


    The pope and the priests of the Church of Mubesni felt that the matter was bizarre. Some of them suspected that the minister was acting ording to someone''s demands.


    The Church of Mubesni didn''t immediately take action against the minister. If they so wanted, they could have the minister removed. But that wouldn''t resolve the core of this issue.


    They had to find out just who was controlling the minister and how?


    The entire Pinhian Republic was filled with the Church of Mubesni''s followers. It was impossible to stay concealed from the eyes and ears of the church.


    And pretty soon, the Church of Mubesni did hear the news. After following the minister for nearly two whole months, they finally found out that the minister was actually meeting with a beautiful woman secretly.


    The identity of this woman was a secret. Even with the resources that the Church of Mubesni possessed, they couldn''t find this woman''s identity. It was as if she appeared out of thin air.


    After further investigation, they found out this woman''s name. Edna.


    She was staying in a very luxurious inn within the capital. She met up with the minister twice a week. And sometimes even thrice. It mostly depended on the minister''s wishes.


    Edna and the minister spent a whole night in a private room. The minister woulde out with visible signs of weakness while Edna remained healthy and active as ever. At least, that''s what the minister''s bodyguards informed the Church of Mubesni.


    In reality, Edna would use her enchanting technique on the minister as soon as the two were alone. The minister would fall asleep and see wonderful dreams. He still didn''t know that those were merely dreams, and he had never done anything with Edna in reality.


    Edna maintained that illusion by being in half-stripped clothing or a robe by the time the minister woke up. She would wear her clothing in the bathroom while allowing the minister to wake up.


    The minister was undoubtedly very much in love with Edna. Part of it was because of Edna''s beauty, and the other reason was Edna''s cultivation technique.


    In fact, the minister was so much in love with Edna that he even proposed to her and asked her to marry him as his concubine.


    Naturally, Edna refused this proposal. She wasn''t nning to stay with this minister for her entire life.


    This ambiguous rtionship with the minister was temporary. She would leave him once the Misty Flower Pavilion had expanded enough. Actually, she would also leave this minister if he was removed from his post.


    However, the Church of Mubesni sent assassins after her.


    These assassins were loyal followers of the Church of Mubesni, and they were informed that this woman was a heretic. She was spreading deep hate about the Church of Mubesni and had to be silenced immediately.


    These followers didn''t need any further reason to eliminate Edna. The next day, four warriors attacked Edna.


    Edna managed to dodge their initial attack as she was a 4 Star Warrior. However, herbat power wasn''t very impressive.


    She noticed there were seven warriors. Out of which three were 4 Star Warriors, and the rest were 3 Star Warriors.


    Fortunately, Edna possessed a couple of smoke bombs. These smoke bombs were filled with a paralysis smoke specially created by Yrellea.


    Edna quickly swallowed a medicinal pellet and threw those smoke bombs around herself.


    These smoke bombs obscured the vision of all warriors attacking her and also paralyzed them. Edna remained safe because she had already ingested the antidote.


    By the time the warriors could move again, Edna was nowhere to be seen. Even with the Church of Mubesni''s influence, it was challenging to find her.


    In reality, Edna was very close to the site where these seven warriors ambushed her. She quietly observed this group.


    Edna wanted to find out just who was targeting her. It had to be someone rted to her deal with the minister.


    Was it the minister''s wife? Or someone else in the parliament?


    However, while hiding, Edna contacted Yrellea and informed her about this attack.


    Yrellea remained calm upon hearing about this attack. She had expected someone to figure out Edna''s ambiguous rtionship with the minister and start targeting her.


    Yrellea informed Edna to stay low. She would send some protectors soon.


    By protectors, Yrellea naturally meant Tiana and herrades.


    It had been two months since Tiana arrived in the Pinhian Republic. Using Yrellea''s subordinates, it wasn''t too difficult to find women possessing the Yin Physique.


    At this moment, Tiana''s group had already expanded to nearly seventy warriors.


    Nearly forty warriors were 2 Star Rank Warriors. Twenty warriors were at the 3-star rank. Ten warriors were at the 4-star rank. And five warriors were at the 5 Star Rank.


    Their cultivation was rising rapidly by utilizing the cultivation techniques that Tiana distributed among them.


    They weren''t very loyal to Tiana yet. But that was to be expected. It had barely been two months since this group started. And for some recent recruits, it had barely been fifteen days since they joined Tiana''s group.


    Tiana''s group was known as the Ice Maiden''s Faction. The Ice Maiden''s Faction''s primary task was to patrol the northern part of the Pinhian Republic which touched the Forbidden Forest of the Demonic Tribes.


    Her group gained valuable experience as they protected the citizens from these terrifying demons.


    Yrellea assigned this spot to Tiana for a specific reason. Firstly, it was close to the Forbidden Forest of the Demonic Tribes. Secondly, the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s disciple skilled in using bow was also protecting the citizens from the Demonic Tribes near this area.


    It was said that among the five disciples of the Vicious Lightning Paragon, this warrior was the strongest. He could defeat the other four put together.


    It was unknown whether this was merely a rumor or truth, but it didn''t matter to Yrellea. She wanted Tiana to do whatever possible to cause this man''s death by a demon''s hand.


    Yrellea was sure that this would infuriate the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    Naturally, Tiana was looking for an opportunity to achieve this objective. But she had yet to meet this disciple of the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    And today, Yrellea contacted Tiana. She requested for some of Tiana''s subordinates to guard her subordinate.


    Tiana sent three 5 Star Warriors and seven 4 Star Warriors to protect Yrellea''s subordinate.

 Chapter 568 Investigation Of Deacons

    The Church of Mubesni heard about their failed assassination attempt on Edna. They were shocked that this woman was actually a 4 Star Warrior!


    This alerted them and made them understand that whoever was trying to manipte the Industry and Business Minister was no simple individual.


    And they believed that it had something to do with this Misty Flower Pavilion.


    The Pope and the Misty Flower Pavilion priests felt that they needed to understand their enemies. Thus, they sent deacons to these three branches of the Misty Flower Pavilion to gather some valuable intel.


    However, the Church of Mubesni had no idea that this was a blunder on their part.


    After a week, seven deacons of the Church of Mubesni entered the Misty Flower Pavilion in the city nearest to them. Just as the priests had ordered them, the deacons were gathering intel regarding the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    The priests and even a bishop had specifically ordered them to remain discreet while gathering information.


    The deacons were determined to do their best to gather information about the Misty Flower Pavilion discreetly.


    However, their determination certainly didn''t improve their skill. The deacons didn''t know that they were gathering a lot of attention through their conspicuous actions.


    The branch head of the Misty Flower Pavilion was informed of these individuals. She ordered them, "Send the First-ss Enchantress and find out why they are here."


    She secretly nodded upon receiving that order and sent a First-ss Enchantress.


    The First-ss Enchantress was a title assigned to one of the most skilled women in entertainment and cultivation. She could actively use her cultivation technique to captivate multiple men at the same time.


    Edna was a First ss Enchantress as well.


    A First-ss Enchantress soon approached these deacons and spoke, "Respected customers, we have a special deal for your group since it''s your first visit to our Pavilion. It''s known as a luxurious package. We are willing to provide your group a private room where you can enjoy exquisite food while listening to a melodious song and gazing at the ssical dance famous in this area. After the food, we will also massage you to remove fatigue from your bodies."


    Her words were spoken so politely and softly that no man would get tired of listening to her. No man could ever refuse her.


    The deacons remained dumbfounded as they gazed at this woman''s gorgeous appearance and her elegant dress. She had a very dignified demeanor, indicating that she was a woman of noble birth.


    Noticing that these deacons seemed a bit lost, the woman asked, "Gentlemen, would you ept the offer?"


    All the deacons instantly jolted awoke from their stupor and responded, "¡­Yes! Yes. We wish to ept this luxurious package."


    "Thank you. I will talk to the manager and set up a private room for your group," the First-ss Enchantress smiled before leaving.


    All the deacons blushed upon seeing her smile. She was just too beautiful.


    These deacons were not very young. They were barely in their 20s and weren''t very experienced.


    While the First-ss Enchantress was gone, these deacons started talking among themselves.


    "¡­Was it right to ept that offer? It felt too good to be true," One of the deacons voiced out his concern.


    Another deacon immediately put down those worries as he spoke, "This must be how the Pavilion retains its customers. Once the customer has experienced the best things in this Pavilion, they are sure to visit again."


    "Yeah. Also, the priests ordered us to investigate this Pavilionpletely. We must try out everything before returning to the Church," a deacon spoke with a righteous look on his face.


    Hisrades scoffed upon hearing those words. They knew that this guy just wanted to spend some more time with that beauty.


    Well, it would be a lie if they didn''t feel the same, so nobody spoke anything. They waited for some time as the First-ss Enchantress returned.


    "Please follow me," The First-ss Enchantress spoke as she led the entire group towards a unique room.


    After entering the unique room, the entire group started getting drowsy.


    This was because the room was filled with a special fragrance thatpletely overwhelmed a human''s senses.


    The First-ss Enchantress remained unaffected as she had developed immunity towards it due to her cultivation technique.


    She quickly utilized her cultivation technique and targeted these seven deacons.


    "¡­Now, let''s start with your introduction. Who are you? Why have youe to the Misty Flower Pavilion?" The First-ss Enchantress closed the door as she started this interrogation.


    This interrogation revealed very crucial information. The First-ss Enchantress immediately informed the Branch Head of the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    The Branch Head was utterly started upon hearing this information. She wondered, ''Is the Church of Mubesni targeting my branch or the entire Misty Flower Pavilion?''


    She was confused about whether it would be a good idea to consult Yrellea about this. After contemting for some time, she decided to consult Yrellea.


    If it was thetter, Yrellea had to know this as early as possible.


    Even Yrellea was startled to hear that seven deacons were found in a branch of the Misty Flower Pavilion. They came to gather intel.


    ''I guessed they would act. But so soon? Am I already such a big threat to them? Is this rted to that failed assassination attempt on Edna?'' Yrellea frowned slightly.


    After thinking for some time, she sent clear instructions to her subordinates.


    "Give a bit of information to those deacons and let them return. Also, send messages to the other branch heads and inform them to stay alert."


    Yrellea fell into a deep thought ''If the Church of Mubesni really perceives the Misty Flower Pavilion as a threat, it will be hard to turn them against the demons. In fact, they might focus on dealing with me first rather than fighting demons.''


    Meanwhile, Tiana and her group continued to fight against the demons in the outer region. Her group managed to kill enough demons that three Demon Lords arrived with arge army.


    These demons surrounded Tiana''s group. Tiana naturally didn''t give up hope. She was prepared to call her Sacred Ice Manifestation Technique when suddenly, hundreds of arrows showered over the demons.


    Tiana lowered her head as she instinctively smiled. She finally managed to catch the attention of this warrior.


    Tiana regained herposure. She turned her head to stare at the warrior. She saw a warrior standing on a tree branch with a magnificent grey bow in his hands. He stretched the bowstring and spoke with a confident tone, "Leave this ce, demons. They are under my protection."


    The Demon Lords were extremely angry upon hearing this human''s tone. They could sense an unfathomable feeling from him, but this didn''t stop them from attacking him.


    The warrior released his bowstring, and all the demons around Tiana were struck with an extremely strong shockwave. It destroyed all the demons under the 4 Star Rank, while the Demon Lords barely survived with their lives.


    Tiana was shocked upon witnessing this attack. She never expected someone to have such great control. It had to be known that the demons werepletely surrounding Tiana''s group.


    This warrior managed to kill only the demons while not harming anyone from Tiana''s group.

 Chapter 569 Rueben Blake

    After ughtering the demons, the bow warrior approached Tiana''s group. Tiana noticed that he had a rather handsome appearance. Although this warrior couldn''tpare to Azaroth''s appearance, but he could be considered quite good looking.


    "¡­Hello, I am Rueben ke," Rueben spoke kindly.


    All the women in Tiana''s group gazed at Rueben with a dreamy look in their eyes. They belonged to the Pinhian Republic and had naturally heard of Rueben''s name. He was one of the five disciples of the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    Moreover, he was known as the Archer King. The Vicious Lightning Paragon had publicly stated that Rueben''s true potential surpassed even his own and hisbat strength was truly impressive.


    "I am Tiana. This is my group," Tiana stepped forward and shook Rueben''s hand calmly.


    Rueben was surprised to see Tiana remain so calm in his presence. Women would typically be quite excited to see him.


    "What are you doing so deep in the Forbidden Forest? It was a good thing that my squad was nearby, and we sensed multiple aura of human ardor. If not, your group could have been annihted!" Rueben spoke sternly. He wanted to make Tiana realize just how grave and dangerous that situation was.


    Tiana nodded in understanding, "Yes. I didn''t want to enter too deep as well. But the demons in the outer region of the Forbidden Forest were too weak. They were barely 3 Star Demons and weren''t good opponents for us. However, I never expected that I would catch the attention of 3 Demon Lords so suddenly."


    Rueben exined, "Yeah. This is the secondyer of the Forbidden Forest. We call it the Demon Lord''s territory. The thirdyer is known as the Demon King''s territory while the innermostyer is known as the Demon Emperor''s territory."


    "My teacher informed me that even he has no idea the number of Demon Kings and Demon Emperors in the Forbidden Forest. It would be prudent for you to stay away from those innermost areas."


    "Thank you," Tiana nodded. She further added, "In reality, I brought my group here to train them as well as to search for a flower known as the Majestic Wild Rose. I heard that it''s found in the Forbidden Forest."


    "Majestic Wild Rose?!" Rueben seemed startled upon hearing the name of this flower. Clearly, he had heard of it.


    "You know of it?" Tiana quickly asked.


    "¡­Yes. It has many uses. It''s nectar can cleanse a warrior''s physique and boost spiritual power. This flower can also be used in alchemy as it greatly increases the formation of pellets. And the pellets formed while using the Majestic Wild Rose contain a much more potent aura and are more productive aspared to others."


    "That''s correct. I need this flower to help my younger brother. He has a chronic disease which leaks his Spiritual Energy at all times. A kind doctor used a special skill to freeze his body and has given him ten years to find the Majestic Wild Rose. Only this flower can cure my brother''s chronic disease. Otherwise, after the skill loses its effect, my brother¡­He will¡­"


    Tiana''s eyes became watery, and Rueben instantly guessed that she was trying to hold back her tears.


    He was a gentlemen and naturally didn''t wish to make a woman cry.


    "I understand your reason for entering the Forbidden Forest. Don''t worry, I won''t report it to the authorities. However, I think you should know that this Majestic Wild Rose is found only in the thirdyer of the Forbidden Forest." Rueben spoke.


    In reality, Tiana knew of this information. Yrellea had researched everything about the Forbidden Forest and created a proper backstory before sending Tiana''s group to the north.


    She had to ensure Rueben''s death, otherwise, the Vicious Lightning Paragon would never be resolved to fight the demons. And Tiana entering the Empire of Qian Guo would be impossible.


    "¡­Thirdyer?!" Tiana acted as if she was utterly startled to know this information. Her entire group had a fearful look on their faces.


    They understood the danger presented by the thirdyer. They had merely entered the secondyer and they encountered so many Demon Lords.


    In the thirdyer, they might encounter a Demon King! Winning against a Demon King was impossible for the current Tiana''s group.


    "That''s correct. My teacher mentioned that he saw it once when he fought against a Demon King in his youth. There is a Demon King who maintains an herbal garden in his territory. All kinds of rare herbs or flowers can be found in that herbal garden," Rueben spoke seriously.


    "¡­I can''t find this flower anywhere else? Maybe I can find it in the secondyer," Tiana spoke a bit hopefully.


    "That''s impossible. I havepletely explored the secondyer. There is no Majestic Wild Rose in this region," Rueben spoke, pouring a bucket of cold water over Tiana''s hopes.


    "¡­I understand," Tiana spoke. She then turned towards her group, "I apologize for bringing you all to such a dangerous ce for a personal reason. I truly didn''t wish to harm any of you."


    These women were touched upon hearing that sincere apology. All of them reassured Tiana that they didn''t mind it in the slightest. No one died and they were just a bit injured since Rueben did save them at an appropriate moment.


    Moreover, they all gained valuablebat experience by fighting these terrifying demons.


    Rueben was also a bit surprised to see Tiana talking to her subordinates so politely. He believed that she was an extremelypassionate and fair individual. Normally, a leader wouldn''t apologize to his group for going through his selfish actions.


    The leader is allowed to act willful for a bit. But Tiana was different.


    "Would you like to join us for dinner? I wish to thank you sincerely for your help," Tiana spoke with a smile.


    "I shall gratefully ept this proposal," Rueben spoke. After deciding the time, he left the area to return back to his squad.


    Rueben''s squad was searching for him as they wondered where their leader had gone.


    Meanwhile, Tiana left the secondyer of the Forbidden Forest and her group returned to the firstyer. The demons in thisyer were no danger for them.


    Tiana''s group set up a camp in the firstyer. And as promised, Rueben arrived at the appointed time. He was alone.


    Tiana personally invited him inside the camp. Rueben was treated to many delicacies thatpleted sated his hunger.


    Tiana dispersed all her subordinates and was alone with Rueben. She spoke with a pleading tone, "¡­I want to ask for a favor, Sir Rueben."


    "And what might that be?" Rueben asked with a smile on his face. In reality, he had anticipated what Tiana would ask him.


    "Sir Rueben, I have heard a lot about you. It''s said that you are a King-Ranked Warrior and the strongest disciple of the Vicious Lightning Paragon. In fact, yourbat power is considered even greater than the Vicious Lightning Paragon when he was a King-Ranked Warrior," Tiana spoke calmly.


    "Perhaps. But what of it?" Rueben spoke.


    "¡­Would you apany me to the thirdyer of this Forbidden Forest. I only have a single brother and he will lose his life if I don''t bring the Majestic Wild Rose when I return to my hometown. Please help me," Tiana requested sincerely.


    "The Third Layer of the Forbidden Forest is dangerous. I can''t promise to protect your life," Rueben spoke seriously.


    "¡­Without taking this risk, my brother''s life is already lost. I would rather risk my life than regret it for the rest of my life!" Tiana spoke with a determined tone.


    "And what will I get for helping you?" Rueben asked.


    "¡­I will eternally be grateful to you. You can use my group for your own ns," Tiana spoke.


    Rueben''s pupils widened slightly as he stared at Tiana, "¡­You have an idea of what I am nning to do?"


    "No. But I believe that the Vicious Lightning Paragon assigned you these five spots for a specific reason. You must have a mission right now," Tiana spoke while shaking her head.

 Chapter 570 Yrelleas Messages

    Rueben was truly startled by Tiana''s reasoning. In reality, their teacher did assign them a mission. It was to gain sufficient renown while guiding the people near their location.


    Rueben frequently did this by giving speeches to the local people. He was teaching them how to live a better life.


    People in the Pinhian Republic were a bit too dependent on the blessings of the Church of Mubesni. Meanwhile, Rueben and his fellow brothers were guiding people to live autonomously.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon had informed his disciples that they had to take all the help they could get. Their power must be used to protect the citizens of the Pinhian Republic while guiding them on the right path.


    Rueben and his brothers constantly thought of how they could help out people. They didn''t use their authority to force people to follow their wishes. They merely provided knowledge.


    The choice still remained with the citizens. The Vicious Lightning Paragon and his disciples could only hope for the best.


    Rueben felt that if he had Tiana''s assistance, it would be easier to spread this knowledge. She was intelligent and clever, with amanding aura around her. If she talked, people would definitely listen.


    Moreover, Rueben didn''t want to admit it, but he had fallen for Tiana. It wasn''t just because of her beauty. It was her kindness and sincerity, which were very hard to find these days.


    "¡­I will help you. But not because of an ulterior motive," Rueben spoke with a gracious smile.


    "I understand," Tiana spoke out.


    "¡­ Let''s leave next week. I will be free for some time after that," Rueben spoke as he stood up and left the hall.


    Tiana nodded in response as she watched him leave. She soon contacted Yrellea and spoke, "¡­The target has fallen into our trap."


    Yrellea responded, "Got it. I guess it''s my turn then."


    ~~


    At this moment, Yrellea picked out a carrier bird. This was pure ck in color, and Yrellea tied a message to its limb. She filled that message with tremendous Demonic Ardor.


    The bird was clearly ufortable as it was exposed to such substantial Demonic Ardor. Yrellea gently patted its head while speaking, "Fly in that direction."


    The bird stared in the direction Yrellea was pointing and started flying immediately.


    Yrellea knew that this message would definitely reach the demons in the second or the thirdyer.


    The demons in the firstyer would ignore it since they can''t sense the Demonic Ardor that urately.


    However, the secondyer had many Demon Lords. They were bound to hunt this bird to check out the message.


    On the outside, Yrellea had mentioned that this message was for the Demon King. The Demon Lord could open this message at his own risk.


    A Demon King would naturally not like his subordinates reading some secret messages. Normally, a Demon Lord would leave it alone. But if it was an arrogant Demon Lord, he would still contact Yrellea soon.


    Yrellea''s Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring started buzzing.


    "¡­Who are you?" The other person spoke. His tone was a bit gruff.


    "Who might you be? The Demon Lord or the Demon King?" Yrellea asked.


    "¡­The Demon Lord," the other side responded coldly.


    "Merely a Demon Lord, huh? Go and pass this message to the Demon King," Yrellea coldly replied.


    "You mentioned that you have a method of gaining more renown quickly. What is it?" The Demon Lord, on the other side, asked.


    "¡­Go and pass this message to the Demon King," Yrellea responded coldly. She cut off the connection.


    It was only natural since this Demon Lord might be on his way to the Demon King, or he was probably too afraid to approach the Demon King''s territory.


    Yrellea decided to send another carrier bird with her message. She sent that bird in the same direction.


    Yrellea was sure that the Demon Lord, in her way, might have guessed that this carrier bird also belonged to her. He shouldn''t try to hunt this carrier bird any longer.


    The carrier bird soon entered the Demon King''s territory. The Demon King''s subordinates hunted this carrier bird and noticed that it was a message for the Demon King.


    The Demon King''s personal subordinates brought that message to him.


    Even the Demon King was startled upon reading the message. Fame was extremely important for a demon.


    Just like faith and devotion to a particr religion were helpful to a Celestial, fear and terror across amunity gave strength to a demon.


    There were many attributes that strengthened a demon. Azaroth typically used the strongest one of these. Death.


    This was why Azaroth didn''t need to spread his fame across the continent to increase his demonic prowess. His demonic powers were extremely strong because he cultivated them using deathlyws and souls.


    However, the other demons were different.


    Their cultivation speed increased dramatically if they spread their terror among the humans. Thus, all the demons wish to increase their fame.


    But the Demon Kings were also aware of the consequences of leaving the thirdyer. They knew that if the humans found out that the Demon Kings had started to leave the thirdyer, they would definitely send their top experts to kill them.


    Humans didn''t dare to venture into the thirdyer because it was extremely close to the heart of this Forbidden Forest.


    A terrifying Demon Emperor resided in the heart of this Forbidden Forest. However, this Demon Emperor didn''t terrify the human experts in these kingdoms or empires that greatly.


    In fact, this Forbidden Forest shared its borders with the Great Qin Empire and the Empire of Qian Guo. Both of them possessed God-Ranked Experts.


    If they were truly determined, they could definitely kill that Demon Emperor.


    However, this Demon Emperor held something that prevented these God-Ranked Experts from acting against him.


    The Demon Emperor possessed a special artifact that allowed him to curse his enemies. This curse''s ability was to suck the life force of its enemies.


    This was no simple ability because the rate of life force depletion was dependent on the opponent''s cultivation level.


    The higher the cultivation level, the faster the life force would be depleted. In other words, if an Emperor Ranked Expert and a God Ranked Expert was cursed at the same time. There was a high chance that the God-Ranked Expert would lose his life first despite the vast difference in life force between the two.


    The Demon Emperor could instantly curse his opponents as long as he could sense them.


    This terrifying artifact originally belonged to an ancient Demon God known as the <strong>Death Inducing Devil God</strong>. A part of his spirit lingered in this artifact, boosting the Demon Emperor''s ability to sense his opponents.


    Thus, not a single expert dared to attack this Demon Emperor in these thousands of years. He was now known as the <strong>Death Inducing Demon Emperor</strong>.

 Chapter 571 Convincing The Demon King

    The Demon King, deep within the thirdyer of the Forbidden Forest, received Yrellea''s message. He contacted Yrellea and asked her the same question as that Demon Lord before him.


    "The Vicious Lightning Paragon''s disciple, the Archer King will move into the Herbal Garden in the thirdyer. Kill him and you can spread your fame," Yrellea informed the demons on the other side.


    The Archer King''s prestige was incredibly high in the Pinhian Republic. A Demon King could indeed spread the terror of his name by killing him. In fact, the Archer King''s fame was so great that even the Demon King was a bit unsure of killing him.


    "Seek out allies and create a trap for him in the Herbal Garden. I want him to die," Yrellea spoke out with a resolute tone.


    The Demon King snorted in response and asked, "And who am I speaking to?"


    "You should have sessfully guessed that I am a demon from my Demonic Ardor on that letter," Yrellea spoke.


    The Demon King responded, "Yes. You are merely a Demon Lord. How did youe across this information?"


    "¡­You don''t need to know that. Just monitor the entrance of the herbal garden. You will see the Archer King entering it. Just make sure to gather your allies and attack him," Yrellea spoke.


    She then quickly added, "You will also see a human woman along with the Archer King exploring the herbal garden. Escort her out of the Forbidden Forest safely."


    "Why should I do that?" The Demon King inquired while ridiculing tone.


    Yrellea had expected that this Demon King would say something like this. She exined, "If you gather Demon Kings and kill the Archer King, people won''t experience much terror through your name. In fact, the Archer King''s prowess would be a legend. You will be weak demons who had to band together to kill him. However, I can change that!"


    The Demon King was a bit displeased as Yrellea put it like that, but he had to admit that she was indeed speaking the truth.


    "How?" He asked.


    Yrellea spoke, "I have an organization that can quickly gather or spread information in the Pinhian Republic. If I want, I can easily manipte the information of how the Archer King lost his life. The other two Demon Kings won''t ever be mentioned. What do you say?"


    She knew that this was an extremely lucrative deal for the Demon King. It had been years, if not decades since anyone fought these Demon Kings. People had even started to forget these Demon Kings'' names.


    Yrellea had presented a golden opportunity to gain prestige and terror in the human civilization. The terror gathered through this would be so great that the Demon King would be quickly strengthened.


    Once the Demon King digests that strength, he could truly reach the peak of the Demon King Rank and start to break through to the Demon Emperor rank.


    "¡­How can I trust you? How can I know that you have such an organization? How can I know that you will definitely spread only my name in the Pinhian Republic?" The Demon King inquired these three questions quickly.


    In response, Yrellea answered with her own questions, "How can I know that you will attack the Archer King? How can I know that you will win that battle? How can I know if you will let that woman next to the Archer King live?"


    "We both have something that the other want. I have my connections while you have your power. We need to trust each other to achieve our objectives. I know that trusting others isn''t easy for you. But we have no other choice," Yrellea further added.


    These words actually convinced the Demon King.


    "¡­Very well. You have a deal, human," The Demon King spoke.


    Yrellea cut off the connection after speaking those words.


    The Demon King felt that this mysterious human was speaking the truth. He sent one of his close subordinates to keep an eye on the entrance of the herbal garden. This subordinate was an extremely powerful Demon Lord. Moreover, his Bloodline Skill was to blend into shadows.


    Not even the Demon King could detect him after this Demon Lord used his Bloodline Skill. Thus, there was a low chance that the Archer King could discover this Demon Lord.


    Yrellea quickly contacted Tiana.


    "Listen, when the Demon Kings attack, quickly leave the area and return to your current location. There is no telling if the Demon Kings will abide by the deal. There is no contract binding him," Yrellea was quite worried about Tiana.


    Meanwhile, Tiana was actually calm about this entire scenario.


    "¡­Don''t worry, I will be careful," Tiana responded.


    "I did give the Demon King enough incentive to not harm you. But there is no telling about the other two," Yrellea spoke.


    "I see. I will ask Snow to be on standby. If I have her, I am confident of leaving the Forbidden Forest quickly. Besides, from what I noticed; Rueben''s strength is no joke. I believe he can handle them for a day or two," Tiana spoke.


    Yrellea was definitely relieved to hear those words. She knew that this was only natural. All the five disciples of Vicious Lightning Paragon were monsters. And the Archer King was a monster among them.


    However, she was also sure that Rueben''s death wouldpletely shake the Vicious Lightning Paragon and his other disciples.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon won''t be stupid enough to enter the thirdyer of the Forbidden Forest. If he entered the thirdyer, the Death Inducing Demon Emperor is sure to attack the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    At that time, Yrellea nned to present a deal to the Church of Mubesni. She nned to have them help the Vicious Lightning Paragon in dealing with the Death Inducing Demon Emperor.


    In return, Yrellea nned to help them spread the Church of Mubesni''s religion. By imnting suggestions into the people''s minds, Yrellea could easily manipte their actions.


    Through this, the Church of Mubesni will actually help her expand the business. The Misty Flower Pavilion would soon be in the entire Pinhian Republic.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon''s battle with the Death Inducing Demon Emperor was found to attract all the leaders of their territories. In fact, even the Demon Lords from the secondyer were bound toe.


    These Demon Lords or even the Demon Kings would be helpless while the Emperor Ranked Experts found against each other, but this would be a great opportunity to witness the battle of a Demon Emperor. They were definitely not going to miss that.


    In the meantime, Tiana would also take her group and cross the borders to reach the Empire of Qian Guo.


    A dayter, Tiana and Rueben were heading into the thirdyer of the Forbidden Forest. Rueben informed his master about his journey into the thirdyer.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon''s reaction was rather mild. He asked Rueben to not head into the thirdyer, but Rueben remained adamant. Upon learning the reason that it was to help someone in need, the Vicious Lightning Paragon gave his approval.


    It was only natural since the Vicious Lightning Paragon had visited the thirdyer when he was a King Ranked Expert. It was definitely dangerous, but he believed that Rueben could handle it.


    It took more than a week for Tiana and Rueben to reach the entrance of the herbal garden in the thirdyer.


    The Demon King soon heard from his subordinate that two humans have entered the herbal garden.


    The Demon King immediately understood that Yrellea was speaking the truth. He quickly visited the nearby territories of the Demon Kings.


    The Archer King had entered the herbal garden! It was time to make their names resound in the world again!


    ~~~~~~~~~~


    A/N: I wish to inform you of a wonderful news. My new novel and this novel''s sequel ''A Regressor''s Journey'' is out on Webnovel. Please check it out! I promise you all that you won''t be disappointed.


    Link: https://.webnovel/book/a-regressor''s-journey_24530515005838205

 Chapter 572 The Invincible Legend

    Soon after the Archer King entered the herbal garden, all the Demon Kings from the nearby regions gathered and nned an ambush.


    All of them were aware of the Archer King''s great prestige. It didn''t take them long to realize that the one who kills this Archer King would gain a fantastic reputation. The Demon Kings required this reputation if they wanted to advance further in their cultivation.


    Moreover, all of them were also aware of their limits. They couldn''t actually defeat the Archer King in a one-on-one battle. They had to ambush him collectively, or else they might even lose their lives.


    Thest time the Demon Kings underestimated a King-Ranked Warrior was when the Vicious Lightning Paragon entered the thirdyer and ughtered several Demon Kings.


    The Demon Kings even set up some arrays. They included formations associated with spatialws.


    This was the onlyw that the Archer King couldn''t counter with his current arsenal. In fact, very few human 6-Star Warriors had gained insight into the spatialws. Meanwhile, it was rather instinctive for the Demon Kings.


    Using their spatialws, they set up a trap for the Archer King. As long as the Archer King fell into this location, he couldn''t leave.


    The Demon King, who had struck a deal with Yrellea, tried to leave behind a loophole he could exploitter. He nned to use that loophole to let Tiana leave secretly.


    The Archer King and Tiana travelled deeper into the herbal garden for nearly six days. They still didn''t find the herb that Tiana required. Slowly, the two began thinking that maybe there was no such herb in this herbal garden.


    However, the Demon Kings had already set up a trap in this time.


    During the evening time of the seventh day, the two were getting some rest. The Archer King Rueben continued to observe his surroundings while Tiana slept peacefully.


    Rueben suddenly noticed a strange energy approaching his spot. He recognized this strange energy to be Demonic Ardor.


    "¡­They are here, huh?" Rueben instantly jumped down and stood next to Tiana.


    "Wake up, Miss Tiana. The Demons are approaching our spot! We need to leave!" He spoke, his toneced with urgency.


    Tiana''s eyes instantly snapped open. She stared at Rueben and asked him, "W-What? The Demons are approaching?!"


    "That''s correct. Follow me, I will create a way for us to return. Just stay behind me and when I say, run with all your strength," Rueben spoke with a determined tone.


    "¡­W-What about you? I can''t leave you behind to deal with these demons?! It would be extremely wrong of me to do so. I am the one who brought you here," Tiana spoke with a distressed tone.


    Rueben appeared touched by her words. Even when the situation was so grave and dangerous, this woman was actually thinking about his health as well. This greatly boosted his desire to safeguard her life from these demons.


    "Don''t worry about that, Miss Tiana. I am the one who decided to apany you on this journey. Besides, I can fight freely if I don''t need to protect someone. So please, just run at the first chance," Rueben spoke confidently.


    Rueben checked out the area with his divine sense.


    "¡­two from the north, one from the east, and two from the west. In total, five Demon Kings areing to attack us," Rueben whispered. Even Tiana didn''t hear these words.


    "¡­Can I defeat them all? If they all meet up and attack me collectively, it might be impossible to defeat them," Rueben continued with his whispers.


    After some seconds, he decided to do something bold. Rueben pulled out his Sacred Bow that he had received from his master. This bow was known as Meteor, Recurve of the Storm.


    Rueben pulled its bowstring to full stretch. He started whispering some words in an ancientnguage.


    An arrow soon formed that appeared on Rueben''s bowstring. The arrowhead was in the shape of a waxing-crescent moon.


    With a determined expression, Rueben shot that arrow towards the Demon King approaching him from the east.


    This was one of Rueben''s strongest arrows. He was sure that a lone Demon King couldn''t counter this arrow.


    At the least, two Demon Kings had tobine their powers and then attempt to stop this arrow. Unfortunately, the Demon King heading from the east was alone.


    He couldn''t seek assistance from his allies to deal with this arrow.


    The arrow soon struck the Demon King heading from the east and just as Rueben expected, it pierced his chest!


    Once it reached his heart, the arrow instantly exploded. The explosion was so great that the shockwaves reached the Demon Kings heading from other directions!


    They were instantly alert as they understood that Rueben had already begun his assault!


    They were startled to notice that one of theirrades had already bit the dust! Even though this Demon King was the weakest among them, his death did affect them quite a bit.


    When the Demon Kings gazed upwards, they saw a rain of arrows. These arrows were greatly boosted with Lightning Ardor.


    The Demon Kings immediately set up their respective defensive measures to block this rain of arrows.


    They were now sure that Rueben was actively attacking them to reduce their numbers. Unfortunately, they possessed artifacts that could easily block Rueben''s attacks.


    Out of the four demon kings, two possessed a powerful armor, while the other two possessed a cape.


    The cape was very much flexible and soaked the power from Rueben''s arrows.


    It didn''t take long before the Demon Kings were standing before Rueben.


    Rueben and Tiana were standing on one end, while the Demon Kings stood on the other. The Demon Kings were standing in the norther direction while Rueben and Tiana stood on the southern end.


    The way out of thisyer was to keep running in the southern direction.


    "Keep going! I will hold them back!" Rueben ordered Tiana with a determined look on his face.


    The Demon Kings were internally delighted to see Rueben taking this decision. They could lead him into their trap.


    Tiana nodded and quickly ran out of the thirdyer of this Forbidden Forest. Meanwhile, Rueben''s battle against the Demon Kings began.


    It was a fearsome battle that caused many explosions. Rueben and the Demon Kings used their supreme weapons which created destruction that caused the shockwaves to reach the central region of the Forbidden Forest.


    Even the Demon Emperor woke up from his slumber upon sensing those repetitive shockwaves.


    Rueben''s battle against the four Demon Kings was slowlying to a conclusion. The conclusion was none other than Rueben''s victory!


    His weapons tore apart his enemy''s defenses and ughtered them. Even a divine cloak or armor couldn''t save from them from Rueben''s fierce weapons.


    Once the battle ended, Rueben was extremely tired, and he started walking towards the Pinhian Republic''s region.


    This battle created an invincible legend about Rueben. His feats surpassed all the warriors of his rank, creating something simr to a myth.


    Yrellea and Tiana were extremely frustrated. They hadn''t expected that Rueben would actually win in this battle. Their n failed and they had to use another method to pass the Forbidden Forest!


    ~~


    (A/N: Heya everyone. I hope you have loved this chapter.


    I wish to inform you of a wonderful news. My new novel and this novel''s sequel ''Reincarnator vs. Demon God'' is out on Webnovel. Please check it out! I promise you all that you won''t be disappointed.


    Link: https://.webnovel/book/reincarnator-vs.-devil-god_24530515005838205


    )

 Chapter 573 Plot Against Rueben

    Rueben''s battle against five Demon Kings had created many legends about him in the entire world.


    This greatly increased Rueben''s reputation and even the Pinhian Republic''s prestige.


    However, these legends also spread a deep sense of fear of Rueben in other nations.


    All the nations neighboring the Pinhian Republic knew that they would have to fight Rueben eventually.


    And if he appeared, the Pinhian Republic would win every war without the presence of an Emperor-Ranked Expert.


    They shuddered in dejection that such a great talent belonged to an enemy. It would have been wonderful if Rueben belonged to their respective nations.


    Unfortunately, there was no use thinking much in this direction. They had to prepare a countermeasure.


    Thus, all the kingdoms around the Pinhian Republic conducted a secret meeting. The topic of this meeting centered around Rueben. More precisely, plotting Rueben''s death!


    The strategists and the generals in these kingdoms knew that killing Rueben by themselves was impossible. After all, Rueben wasn''t the only talented warrior in the Pinhian Republic.


    His master''s reputation wasn''t any less. And this man is a terrifying Emperor-Ranked Warrior!


    To handle him required multiple Emperor-Ranked Warriors. Thus, the strength of multiple kingdoms was necessary.


    However, the humans weren''t the only ones who were terrified by the disy of Rueben''s power.


    The remaining demon kings deep within the Forbidden Forest were also conducting a meeting. They never could have imagined that a single king-ranked warrior could kill four Demon Kings in a battle!


    Most demons looked down on humans because of their weak physique and spirit. It was only natural because not all humans are blessed with impressiveprehension or talent.


    Thus, it was very surprising for these demons to believe that a human was so terrifying.


    The discussion of these demon kings centered around a rather simple point.


    They were discussing whether it would be wise to conduct a demon raid on the Pinhian Republic or not.


    Only twenty-nine Demon Kings are left in the Forbidden Forest. Each possesses a private faction that equaled the Pinhian Republic''s poption. If their motive was to destroy the kingdom, this matter would have received a unanimous vote in favor of attacking the Pinhian Republic.


    However, their focus was something else. Thus, only nine of these twenty-nine Demon Kings encourage the attack of the Pinhian Republic. The other twenty Demons Kings didn''t wish to attack the Pinhian Republic because it would spark the end of their forces and most likely even their lives.


    If such arge demon faction destroys an entire nation, the Qin Empire and the Empire of Qian Guo won''t ignore it.


    They will likely send their personal warriors to clean up the demon forces. There was a chance that the Qin Empire will send a God-Ranked Warrior.


    This was what the Demon Kings feared the most!


    However, there was another possibility that terrified the Demon Kings and even the Death-Inducing Demon Emperor to some extent.


    The possibility of Rueben advancing to the 7 Star Rank.


    In fact, the kingdoms around the Pinhian Republic also shared this worry.


    This is the terrifying concern that has forced them to join hands.


    If Rueben ever reaches the Emperor-Ranked, it will be very difficult to kill him. Even a group of 7 Star Warriors will find themselves hard-pressed to kill him.


    No individual in these kingdoms was silly enough to believe that Rueben''s talent won''t shine as brightly after advancing to the Emperor Rank.


    The Emperor Rank was extremely wide, and the power of a warrior greatly varied.


    However, Rueben had exhibited an unprecedented talent that surpassed even the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s. If the two joined forces, all the kingdoms around the Pinhian Republic, excluding the Qin Empire, would be forced to submit.


    In fact, many of these kingdoms cursed their spies and informants in the Pinhian Republic. What the heck was these guys doing in the Pinhian Republic?!


    How could they not mention such a huge threat in their messages?! Most of the countries felt as if they had wasted their resources on their spywork.


    These idiots were useless!


    They wondered whether the other disciples of the Vicious Lightning Paragon were also such monsters.


    All the countries nned to focus on these warriors. They had to test their potential as well. Was it on the same level as Rueben or lower?


    They didn''t even think that their potential could be greater than Rueben''s because this was impossible!


    In the meantime, the Vicious Lightning Paragon visited Rueben.


    He was proud of his disciple to have won against five Demon Kings. Not just winning but killing five Demon Kings.


    However, he knew that the tallest tree experiences the strongest wind.


    Rueben''s legend as an Invincible Archer King had put him in the limelight. It was to an extent that even the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s reputation and terror wouldn''t prevent Rueben''s enemies from acting against him.


    However, everyone in the world wasn''t Rueben''s enemy. The Vicious Lightning Paragon received assistance from a shocking faction. The Church of Mubesni.


    The Church of Mubesni stated three reasons for helping Rueben.


    Firstly, Rueben''s act of ughtering five Demon Kings pleased them greatly. As they were followers of Celestials who were hateful enemies of the demons, it was only natural for them to help Rueben.


    Secondly, the Church of Mubesni wished to use Rueben as bait and trap arge number of demons. It would be best if they could kill the Demon Emperor. But they knew that it was impossible that the Demon Emperor would leave the Forbidden Forest for this matter.


    Thirdly, the Church of Mubesni required the Vicious Lightning Paragon to send someone to the Empire of Qian Guo.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon felt that the first two reasons were very natural. He was, however, shocked to hear the third reason.


    But when he thought deeply, the Vicious Lightning Paragon felt that the Church of Mubesni might be sending a member to establish their religion in the Empire of Qian Guo.


    This task required crossing the borders of multiple kingdoms and not even a King-Ranked Warrior could aplish this.


    However, this task wasn''t actually a big deal for the Vicious Lightning Paragon. His strength, speed, and his reputation allowed him to freely roam in the world, excluding the Qin Empire.


    (A/N: Heya everyone. I hope you have loved this chapter.


    I wish to inform you of a wonderful news. My new novel and this novel''s sequel ''Reincarnator vs. Demon God'' is out on Webnovel. Please check it out! I promise you all that you won''t be disappointed.


    Link: https://.webnovel/book/reincarnator-vs.-devil-god_24530515005838205


    )

 Chapter 574 Side Story: Laura (2)

    While all these events were urring, Laura reached the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    Her aim for entering this kingdom was rtively simple. She wanted to find the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    Apparently, the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Cemetia possessed this legendary herb.


    Upon drifting to the shore, Laura walked into the nearest city. She wanted to gather basic information about this city and the entire Kingdom.


    Her stunning looks automatically drew the attention of nearby guys. They thought she was a fairy taking a walk in the human realm.


    Several men had witnessed her walking out of the ocean and thought she was a sea fairy.


    Laura had utilized the illusionary powers of her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring to conceal herrge pointy ears that would reveal her identity as an elf.


    Laura was a bit disgusted as she noticed the wretched expressions of these men.


    She soon came across a group of seven women. They were wearing skimpy outfits that significantly highlighted their figures. Some had a modest figure, while some were rather plump. Their youthful and seductive figures also drew the attention of nearby guys.


    Walking over to them, Laura politely requests, "Can you please lead me to the nearest tavern?"


    This group of women was startled as they heard Laura''s request.


    A woman in that group instinctively replied, "Sure. It would be our pleasure."


    The group of women instantly stopped whatever they were doing. They seemed to be rxing. They immediately picked up their shirts or jackets and wrapped their upper body with them.


    While they were on the way to the nearest tavern, these women started conversing with Laura.


    "What is your name?"


    "Laura. And what about you?"


    "Cami."


    "Nydia."


    "Ang."


    "Zoe."


    "Sirena."


    "Mnie."


    "And my name is Fiona."


    "From where are you? I saw you drifting ashore," Cami couldn''t restrain her curiosity and ask.


    Laura instantly responded while making some gestures, "I was searching for an herb and fell from a cliff. Very soon, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I felt the sandy ground underneath my feet. And here I am."


    "Ooh," Cami, Nydia, and Ang chorused.


    Before they could question her further, Laura asked, "What about you? Do you all belong to this city?"


    "Yes," Sirena responded to this question.


    "Our summer vacations are going on, so today is our reunion day. We thought it would be best to rx," Fiona spoke.


    "Hmm. I see," Laura spoke.


    They continued conversing about random topics on their way to the nearest tavern.


    Laura found some interesting information from these women.


    These women are in the ending phase of their teenage. They are studying in a local school and n to apply for an administrative position.


    Only Zoe and Sirena were nning on applying for the position of military officer. In this group, only these two possessed any real Ardor.


    The two are barely 3 Star Warriors. Laura could beat them with her hands tied to her back.


    However, she discovered that Sirena''s parents are rather talented warriors. They handle the safety and security of this entire region.


    Meanwhile, Zoe''s father is a military academy instructor. He began to teach Zoe martial arts from a very young age.


    By Laura''s guess, Zoe''s father is most likely a 4 Star Warrior, while Sirena''s parents are 5 Star Warriors.


    Naturally, these women also questioned Laura about her background.


    Laura gave them a fake name of a city and informed them that it was somewhere in the northern regions of the Cemetia Kingdom.


    Before they could further inquire about her whereabouts, Laura asked curiously, "Do you know anything about the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng?"


    Suddenly, the entire group turned silent. Zoe asked, "Why do you need that mythical herb?"


    Laura responded with a doleful smile, "My brother is suffering from a chronic illness. The doctor informed us that only this Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng can save him."


    "This chronic illness must be rted to spiritual energy, right?" Sirena asked.


    This was indeed the case, so Laura nodded, "Yes."


    Zoe spoke, "The doctor might be right as the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng indeed possesses strange abilities rting to the Spirit. However, the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng is in the hands of the Royal Family."


    "What?!" Laura was startled upon hearing this news.


    Fiona seemed surprised andmented, "It seems this news didn''t reach your vige."


    Nydia added, "Maybe she was drifting in the ocean at that time."


    "Hmm. True. That might be possible," Ang added her two cents to this discussion.


    Cami then stared in Laura''s direction and spoke, "The Royal Family holds the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng, and there are rumors that the Monarch is already nning on utilizing it."


    Mnie spoke, "I heard that the individual who eats the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng would possess an immortal spirit. Not even a God-Ranked Warrior can easily destroy that Spirit."


    Ang spoke, "Hmph. What do you know? Do you think that a mythical herb like the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng can be consumed so easily? Even the Monarch''s body will explode if he directly ingests this herb. He still needs three other herbs to ensure that the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng''s energy entirely fuses with his Spirit."


    Cami added, "Yeah. But I heard that he has already acquired one of those three herbs. Only two of those herbs remain. How long do you think it will take him to acquire them? I assume not even two months."


    Laura was startled upon hearing these words.


    She knew a bit more about the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng than these women. This fabled herb was unique in the entire world. Only a single one exists in the world at a particr moment.


    Once a warrior ingests this herb, only after he dies does a new Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng appear in the world. This herb buds out from the ground where the warrior is buried.


    Laura was quite scared. If the Monarch truly ingests this Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng. It would be impossible for her to acquire this legendary herb for the next hundred years, even if she managed to kill the Monarch.


    This was because this herb required hundred years to sprout. Her brother would be long gone then, and this herb would be useless to Laura.


    However, all was not lost.


    The Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom had yet to utilize this herb.


    However, Laura couldn''t think of any idea through which she could acquire this herb. Stealing such an herb was impossible.


    The Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom must take care of this herb more than his life. Not even his children could snatch it, let alone Laura.


    The power of the Royal Family was significant enough that even an Emperor-Ranked Warrior might have to return empty-handed. Meanwhile, Laura was merely a 5 Star Warrior.


    Laura wanted to seek help from herrades, but she stopped herself. She knew that the assistance they could provide her would be limited.


    She also didn''t wish to trouble them with this matter.


    After thinking for some time, Laura finally thought of a thrilling idea.


    Since she couldn''t defeat the Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom, she just needed to request help from someone who could.


    The Elven Kingdom naturally possessed experts who could deal with the Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom.


    ''This is myst resort. If I do this, I will be forced to remain in the Elven Kingdom until I am strong enough to escape.''


    Laura is the princess of the Elven Kingdom who can instinctively sense the position of the Elven Kingdom.


    At this moment, the Elven Kingdom didn''t seem far away. It was just across the borders in the north.


    ''I need to create a solid hold over this kingdom before leaving,'' Laura thought.


    ~~


    <strong>(A/N: Heya everyone. I hope you have loved this chapter.</strong>


    <strong>I wish to inform you of a wonderful news. My new novel and this novel''s sequel ''Reincarnator vs. Demon God'' is out on Webnovel. Please check it out! I promise you all that you won''t be disappointed.</strong>


    <strong>Link: https://.webnovel/book/reincarnator-vs.-devil-god_24530515005838205</strong>


    )

 Chapter 575 A Shocking Helper For Rueben (Yrellea)

    After Tiana left along with the Vicious Lightning King, the situation in the Pinhian Republic turned rather precarious.


    The reason was quite simple.


    The Pinhian Republic''s neighboring nations discovered that the Vicious Lightning King had left the kingdom for some time.


    It was unknown who leaked the information, but it led to pure chaos within the Pinhian Republic.


    All of the Pinhian Republic''s neighboring nations suddenlyunched a series of attacks on the Pinhian Republic''s borders.


    They knew that this was once in a lifetime opportunity.


    Their motive wasn''t the territory.


    They know that once the Vicious Lightning King returns, they will be forced to return that territory. It would be dreadful if they truly drove that man insane.


    With no morals binding him, the Vicious Lightning King would be a terror on the battlefield.


    Thus, the Pinhian Republic''s neighboring nations nned to utilize this opportunity to send hordes of their men into the country.


    Their task would be very simple.


    To establish an identity in the kingdom so that the Pinhian Republic can''t identify them as illegal immigrants.


    These illegal immigrants are all loyalists of their respective nations. They had a single task. To take down Rueben ke while the Vicious Lightning Paragon is away.


    Since the entire country was under attack from different directions, the Pinhian Republic couldn''t assign skilled guards to protect Rueben.


    Even Rueben''s brothers or closerades couldn''t stay by his side.


    Rueben was forced to escape from his hideout. Even in his injured state, he killed a Lord-Ranked Expert. However, his injuries worsened due to his battle.


    After a few seconds, he lost consciousness.


    Thest thought in his head was whether Tiana survived after fleeing that day.


    He naturally remained oblivious that his master was escorting Tiana into the Empire of Qian Guo at this very moment.


    Rueben felt that he would never wake up.


    However, a few hourster, Rueben felt the urge to open his eyes. When he did, he was shocked to find himself in apletely unfamiliar location. He looked around and thought that it was an infirmary.


    Rueben tried to get up but experienced a sharp pain in his arms and legs.


    "Where am I?" He muttered in that empty room.


    Half an hourter, a couple of women entered his room. They wore long white robes with a blue insignia on them.


    Rueben instantly recognized that insignia. It belonged to the Church of Mubesni.


    "W-What?! He is awake?!"


    "No way! With those injuries, he should have remained unconscious for a week! How can he open his eyes?!"


    The two women seemed bbergasted by this development.


    "Why am I here? What are you doing to me?!" Rueben spoke bristly.


    His irritation could be imagined. Rueben had no idea about the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s secret deal with the Church of Mubesni.


    All he knew was that the Church of Mubesni had always contended against the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    The two women seemed to have calmed down from their initial shock. One of them spoke, "Rx. You are safe here. It''s the Church of Mubesni that saved you from those assants. Though I don''t understand why High Pontiff would decide to save a heretical soul like you, it is hismand, and we shall follow it."


    "We are even healing your injuries," The second woman spoke as if trying to make Rueben understand that he owed them a great favor.


    Rueben looked at his body and noticed that his wounds were truly recovering. He could feel his Ardor much better.


    "¡­Thank you. I apologize for suspecting you like that," Rueben spoke.


    "Hmph. I would never ept regards from a heretical soul. It will be different if you swear to follow Divine Lord Mubesni all your life."


    Rueben replied calmly, "I apologize, but I have sworn my life to this nation."


    "Hmph. You just wasted a good chance. Whatever. I don''t feel like healing you today," One of those women spat.


    With that, those couple of women left.


    Rueben was left alone in thatrge room with only white walls. He only held the strength to turn his head and look outside the window.


    ''I better use this time to cultivate my Ardor.''


    With that, he entered a meditative state and began cultivating.


    Rueben had no idea that the High Pontiff was observing his condition closely.


    Upon noticing him falling into a meditative state, the High Pontiff admitted, "He is truly a hard-working genius. It''s a pity that he will never join the Church of Mubesni. But I wonder why the Divine Lord Mubesni is interested in him if he will never join the Church?"


    This was the truth behind the Church of Mubesni''s interference.


    They had received orders from the Celestial God Mubesni to protect Rueben at all costs! Five Archangels had been deployed from the Heavens to protect Rueben!


    Except for the High Pontiff, everyone else in the Church remained oblivious to this fact.


    The High Pontiff was also focused on another task. He was working with the Pinhian Republic''s government to capture illegal immigrants.


    Naturally, this wasn''t because the High Pontiff suddenly felt a deep love for his nation. His devotion to the Church of Mubesni was much deeper whenpared to his love for the nation.


    He chose to help the Pinhian Republic''s government because all the illegal immigrants captured by the Church of Mubesni were forcefully converted into their followers.


    Actually, the captured illegal immigrants had two choices. Either be a sacrifice to the Church of Mubesni or officially be a follower of the Church of Mubesni.


    It was pretty strange that most of these warriors actually chose death rather than submitting and bing the Church of Mubesni''s followers!


    This was strange because humans tried their best to survive even in the worst conditions. Their survival instincts force them to keep on thinking of ways to survive. Thus, when they have the option to choose to live or to die. Most of them would instinctively select the option to live.


    However, the situation in the Pinhian Republic was the exact opposite of this thinking.


    This was all because these illegal immigrants were all loyalists of their respective nations. They were proud of their nations and were on a mission. Once they were captured, they resigned themselves to death.


    They would never choose to live and be a part of their nation''s enemy. Such is one''s pride for his nation.

 Chapter 576 Kingdom Of Beria (Yrelleas Side Story)

    The entire Pinhian Republic was in chaos due to attacks and multiple secret schemes of other countries.


    However, there was something these neighboring countries never imagined. Actually, they might have thought about it, but it was so preposterous that no one paid it any heed.


    They never imagined that someone in the Pinhian Republic would utilize this opportunity to scheme against them.


    While these neighboring countries attacked the Pinhian Republic, they essentially opened their borders to ease their loyal subordinates to enter the Pinhian Republic.


    Themon popce in their nations made sure to stay away from the borders. Thus, only the volunteers would choose to enter the Pinhian Republic''s borders.


    However, they didn''t think that during this chaos, the secret intelligence force in the Pinhian Republic would send their loyal warriors to those countries.


    It was the Minister of Business and Industry who proposed this n.


    In reality, Edna subtly suggested this n to the Minister of Business and Industry, who further passed this strategy to the defense minister.


    ? The defense minister seemed quite satisfied with this strategy and immediately began preparations to employ it.


    Once Yrellea discovered that the Pinhian Republic''s government would utilize her strategy, she ordered her subordinates to recruit subordinates aggressively.


    In order to expedite the procedure, she even supplied them with certain drugs capable of manipting a person''s emotions.


    Yrellea personally created the coreponent required to create this drug. This is the ability of her cultivation technique: The Heavenly Poison Scripture.


    Since no one else can ever duplicate this coreponent, Yrellea could easily control the quantity of these drugs.


    Thus, these drugs were only created when a demand was generated instead of being usedmercially.


    Yrellea knew that if these drugs were leaked, her entire organization would be painted in a bad light. The Misty Flower Pavilion will be reduced to a group that can only lurk in the shadows.


    To prevent anyone from leaking this drug''s secrets, Yrellea hired local mercenaries to monitor her subordinates.


    Yrellea was forced to kill many of her subordinates who tried to sell this drug or reveal its information to the general popce.


    However, Yrellea didn''t falter. She was prepared for this scenario before ordering her subordinates to recruit subordinates aggressively.


    The number of employees in Misty Flower Pavilion sharply soared.


    After they passed a certain threshold, Yrellea ordered a few of her loyal subordinates to leave the Pinhian Republic and establish the Misty Flower Pavilion in the neighboring countries.


    Initially, this was a pilot project, so Yrellea only sent a single subordinate. This subordinate was a First-Rate Enchantress and possessed various skills required for this operation. She was indisputably devoted to Yrellea.


    This woman was sent to the Kingdom of Beria in the East. The Kingdom of Beria is a bitter rival of the Pinhian Republic and could be considered as powerful as the Pinhian Republic.


    They also held an entity that could rival the Vicious Lightning Paragon. In fact, his reputation and powers were so mysterious that even the Vicious Lightning Paragon didn''t wish to face him.


    The man is known as the <strong>Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster</strong>. It''s not his fighting prowess that the Vicious Lightning Paragon is scared of. It''s his mind. The Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster is older and more resourceful whenpared to the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    The man is considered absolutely terrifying because of his deep tactical n thatpletely gobbles his prey. The Vicious Lightning Paragon has to stay on his toes to prevent himself from falling for his schemes.


    Just as the Vicious Lightning Paragon, the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster had epted many disciples across his life. However, only four of them shone as brightly as the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s disciples.


    Among them, there was a warrior whose talent could bepared to Rueben. This was something the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster had spoken as he had witnessed Rueben''s ability.


    His name is Aurelio Vulso. He is a King-Ranked Expert with the skill to utilize all kinds of weapons. Simr to Rueben, though, his primary weapon is a bow.


    This was also why Aurelio waspared to Rueben, as both are most skilled in archery.


    Rueben''stest feat of ughtering five Demon Kings had terrified most talents and even Emperor-Ranked Expert. Even the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster sweated a bit as he never expected Rueben to be even more monstrous than he imagined.


    However, for some reason, Aurelio never felt terrified upon hearing about Rueben''s achievement.


    He wondered, ''Is that such a big deal? I feel like I can do it too.''


    If his master hade to know of his thoughts, he would have scolded Aurelio for being too arrogant. However, this was no mere boast.


    Not many people knew this, but Aurelio had fought against a Demon Emperor.


    There came a time when an ancient seal was undone in a remote vige, and many demons were released in the Kingdom of Beria.


    The news quickly spread, and warriors across the Kingdom of Beria were ordered to join this battle. Their task was to ughter these demons and reduce them to dust.


    The Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster only sent Aurelio from his faction.


    Many people questioned his decision. They thought that the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster was getting too arrogant. He wanted to preserve his personal strength while weakening the kingdom and so on.


    However, the results of the battle were evident very quickly.


    Aurelio ughtered more than seventy percent of the demons within a single day.


    Due to this feat, he was titled "<strong>Generous zing Archer</strong>." Before this battle, he was called Generous Archer. This was because of his feats of donating his wealth to the needy.


    Moreover, he possessed a fantastic personality, and anyone who met him couldn''t help but praise him from the bottom of his heart.


    While the people knew of Aurelio''s battle against the demons, they didn''t know that this demon army contained a weakened Demon Emperor.


    Aurelio repelled the Demon Emperor and forced him to return to Purgatory.


    Aurelio never mentioned his battle against the Demon Emperor since he failed to kill his opponent. This battle against the Demon Emperor urred deep within the Demon Nest. It demolished the entire nest, leaving no evidence behind.


    The bodies of three Demon Kings were left behind, so it was attributed that Aurelio killed them. However, the people didn''t know that these three Demon Kings were merely idental casualties that tried to interfere in Aurelio''s battle against the Demon Emperor.


    Naturally, Aurelio couldn''t takeplete credit for massacring them. It was mainly the Demon Emperor''s power that ughtered them.


    Aurelio kept the truth concealed. He didn''t possess any materialistic desires like acquiring wealth or fame. All he wanted was a good opponent. Thus, even the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster never knew of this incredible feat of his disciple.


    After hearing of Rueben''s recent feat, Aurelio wanted to fight Rueben and test his ability against an acimed genius in archery.


    ~~


    <strong>A/N: I am sure you are all curious why I am focusing on these characters so much. Firstly, just to give you some basic info.</strong>


    <strong>1. I created these characters by taking inspiration from the Mahabharata. Naturally, their background story, abilities, and even character will be different, but the basic essence will be the same.</strong>


    <strong>2. Secondly, these characters will be crucial for Azaroth''s liberation. Thus, it''s only natural I focus on them.</strong>

 Chapter 577 Misty Flower Pavilions Expansion In The Berian Kingdom

    A week passed after Yrellea''s subordinate Nancy established a branch in the Kingdom of Beria. She came across many challenges.


    Firstly, the system of the Kingdom of Beria is quite differentpared to the Pinhian Republic. Nancy has lived her entire life in the Pinhian Republic and found adapting to the Berian Kingdom''s culture challenging.


    Secondly, the general popce of the Berian Kingdom is weak economically. They are brash and fiery. These people would instead take a beating than pay.


    Thirdly, someone has started spreading rumors that the Misty Flower Pavilion belongs to the Pinhian Republic. As a result, people have begun to stare aggressively at the Misty Flower Pavilion. The sad part of this rumor is that it''s absolutely true.


    It won''t take the Berian Kingdom''s citizens long to figure out the truth. So, Nancy has to find a solution quickly.


    Nancy gave this situation a lot of thought, but she was still unsure of her best course of action. There seemed to be nothing she could aplish with her existing strength and resources.


    Thus, Nancy decides to consult Yrellea.


    "Madam. How should I cope with these challenges?" Nancy asked.


    Yrellea didn''t even bat her eyes upon hearing these challenges. Her experience increased tremendously after establishing the Misty Flower Pavilion in the Glerian Kingdom and the Pinhian Republic.


    In fact, the situation in the Berian Kingdom seemed awfully simr to the Glerian Kingdom.


    Thus, Yrellea replied immediately, "You overlooked something while establishing the Misty Flower Pavilion in the Berian Kingdom. Before the debut of this organization, you should have tried to gather the support of the local overlords."


    Nancy was naturally intelligent and understood what her mistress was implying.


    "Please forgive me for this blunder, Madam. But how do I correct it? You must have a way. Please help me," Nancy requested earnestly.


    Yrellea cheered upon hearing Nancy''s tone and divulged, "The solution to your issue is simple. Provide free services to everyone in the Berian Kingdom. Do that for the next three months and make them addicted. Once they are addicted, start charging them money. Make it minimal, so they have no trouble epting the price. Once they are used to the price, start increasing it. You will reap great profits utilizing this scheme."


    "¡­B-But how will I pay my subordinates until then?" Nancy questioned with an uncertain look.


    "I will help you with that," Yrellea casually stated.


    "N-No! I-I¡­I apologize, Madam. I never wished to disappoint you like that. I am so stupid," groaned Nancy.


    "I am not disappointed, Nancy," Yrellea dered. She further asserted, "This is the first time you are doing something like this. Moreover, it is in a foreign country. I know how challenging it is. I would never be disappointed in you for giving your best."


    Nancy settled down after hearing those remarks. In fact, she was touched.


    "¡­Also, don''t expect me to assist you for free. I will provide you with more resources than the specified allocation, but they will be treated as loans. You can gradually repay me after three months after you start to make revenue," Yrellea uttered calmly.


    "I ept, Madam. I will definitely return this loan quickly," Nancy promised.


    "Take care of yourself. It doesn''t matter if this scheme fails, but I don''t want to lose a talent of your caliber," Yrellea ordered.


    "I shall keep this in mind, Madam," Nancy blurted. She was internally delighted. She didn''t think her value was so great in Yrellea''s heart.


    ''I can''t disappoint, Madam,'' Nancy thought.


    She started thinking more passionately about how she should expand the Misty Flower Pavilion in the Berian Kingdom.


    The next day, Nancy publicized this free scheme in the entire Berian Kingdom. She chose the services to be provided for free. Massage, Concert Dance, Singing Show, and Dramatic y.


    This news actually created a slight tremor in the Berian Kingdom.


    Few people had visited the Misty Flower Pavilion in the Berian Kingdom, but everyone who had raved about it.


    The price to enjoy these services was rtively high, so people could only look at them from afar. However, the situation had changed!


    The Misty Flower Pavilion will allow them to enjoy those services for free!


    Everyone in the Berian Kingdom knew that the employees of the Misty Flower Pavilion were all ethereal beauties. They were ecstatic at the prospect of receiving a massage from them, watching their exquisite dance, hearing their soothing voice or witnessing a y.


    The people spreading nasty rumors about the Misty Flower Pavilion were speechless upon witnessing this change in public opinion.


    Everyone who previously opposed the Misty Flower Pavilion has be a fervent supporter.


    When someone tried to publicly badmouth the Misty Flower Pavilion, he would be given a beating.


    "The Misty Flower Pavilion is just a business enterprise! Are you saying that someone should restrict this business to only one country?! What bullshit is this?!"


    "That''s right. Wouldn''t it be disastrous if the Misty Flower Pavilion''s owner doesn''t expand into our kingdom?! Why should the Pinhian Republic''s citizens enjoy the privilege of possessing such a wonderful business enterprise?!"


    "We should help the Misty Flower Pavilion to expand in our kingdom. My friend''s father is a Mayor of Nuxvar. I will request him to approach the owner of this Pavilion and establish this Misty Flower Pavilion in Nuxvar as well."


    ¡­


    The poprity of the Misty Flower Pavilion exceeded Yrellea and Nancy''s expectations.


    Each day, Nancy received invitations from reputed noble family heads who requested her to set up the Misty Flower Pavilion in their territories.


    They even funded the Misty Flower Pavilion enormously.


    As the Misty Flower Pavilion expanded rapidly, Nancy encountered another major problem. She realized that her workforce was falling short.


    Training new subordinates required a specific period that couldn''t be skipped.


    Thus, Nancy halted the establishment of new Misty Flower Pavilion branches in the Berian Kingdom.


    The Misty Flower Pavilion had already expanded into 30% of the main cities of the Berian Kingdom.


    Nancy rejected the invitations and requests of other Noble Families. She informed them that the Misty Flower Pavilion had halted advancement for a certain period.


    They will begin their expansion after six months.


    The Noble Families were disappointed. They used all sorts of methods to persuade Nancy.


    They used the softer approach and the more rigid approach. However, both were useless.


    The softer approach wouldn''t work since Nancy didn''t care about their requests. At the same time, the more rigid approach didn''t work because if these Noble Families attacked a single branch of the Misty Flower Pavilion, they would be lifelong enemies.


    Just the Misty Flower Pavilion''s anger wouldn''t affect the Noble Families in the Berian Kingdom. However, it will make them enemies of many Noble Families in the Berian Kingdom. And that would be absolutely horrific.


    By the time these Noble Families realized the Misty Flower Pavilion''s power, it was all toote. The Misty Flower Pavilion had already expanded explosively within the Berian Kingdom.

 Chapter 578 Nancy Meets Aurelio

    As the Misty Flower Pavilion expanded rapidly in the Berian Kingdom, Nancy decided it was time to aplish their true objective.


    The Misty Flower Pavilion''s true objective was to gather information and manipte people.


    To aplish this, the Misty Flower Pavilionunched another service. Midnight Party.


    Midnight Party urred regrly. The food is absolutely free at this party, while people have to pay for their drinks.


    Nancy ordered her subordinates to engage men in casual conversation and acquire information about them.


    After the party, her subordinates would write that information and create a detailed file about each individual.


    Through this method, the Misty Flower Pavilion could acquire information about everyone in the Berian Kingdom. They could utilize this information to manipte the Berian Kingdompletely.


    These files are stored in the Spatial Ring of the respective branch heads, and every effort is made to prevent this information from leaking.


    The Misty Flower Pavilion began to acquire all sorts of information. And after three days of employing this scheme, Nancy came across shocking information.


    "Generous zing Archer wishes to enter the Pinhian Republic. He is seeking assistance to aplish his objective," One of Misty Flower Pavilion''s employees informed Nancy of this information.


    Nancy naturally knew the identity of the Generous zing Archer. His name is Aurelio. He belongs to an ordinary family that barely survived.


    However, Aurelio''s tremendous talent in utilizing weapons caused him to be famous very early. He even managed to kill a warrior who tried to harm his family without possessing Ardor.


    This feat naturally shocked everyone in the region.


    One of the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster''s disciples was passing through that area, and he heard this news. He decided to meet Aurelio and check his talent.


    Aurelio''s talent is much higher than his anticipation, and the man immediately decides to bring Aurelio to the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster''s camp.


    The Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster was shocked as he tested Aurelio''s talent. However, this wasn''t enough to convince the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster to take Aurelio as his disciple.


    He set up three trials to further test Aurelio''s ability and intelligence.


    These trials were tricky, and if Aurelio didn''t possess impressive skill or ingenuity, he would fail.


    Aurelio passed those trials stunningly. His outside-box thinking and extraordinary skill convinced the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster to ept him as his disciple.


    From there, Aurelio became the most talented disciple of the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster.


    "Why would he want to enter the Pinhian Republic?" Nancy pondered aloud.


    A few secondster, she murmured, "Is it because of Rueben ke? Does he also want to kill Rueben?"


    "Madam Yrellea informed me that Rueben has nearly recovered from his injuries. The assassins who targeted him have already been killed by either the Church of Mubesni or hisrades. Moreover, the Vicious Lightning Paragon is going to return soon. Perhaps a monthter, he will be back in the Pinhian Republic. So, why is Aurelio targeting Rueben?" Nancy wondered.


    Actually, the reason was quite simple. Aurelio knew Rueben was gravely injured after his battle against five Demon Kings.


    He just didn''t wish to fight an injured Rueben. He recently heard the news that Rueben has recoveredpletely and is massacring his assassins.


    This news delighted Aurelio. He now felt like entering the Pinhian Republic and fighting Rueben.


    Unfortunately for Aurelio, both countries have already closed their borders at this moment.


    It was impossible to enter the Pinhian Republic without raising huge chaos. And Aurelio didn''t wish to do that. Thus, he was looking for another way to enter the Pinhian Republic.


    After Nancy received this news, she thought deeply about this matter but couldn''t make up her mind.


    She felt that having Aurelio as an ally would be extremely beneficial. Even the Monarch of the Berian Kingdom wouldn''t wish to offend Aurelio.


    This was because the Monarch deeply feared Aurelio''s power and background. Aurelio held a unique rtionship with the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster.


    It is to the point that people specte Aurelio to be Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster''s illegitimate son.


    He is the favorite disciple of the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster, and if someone happened to him, the old man would certainly go crazy.


    Nancy consulted Yrellea regarding this issue.


    "Madam, please guide me. What should I do?" Nancy queried.


    This problem troubled Yrellea as well. This could be an opportunity or a disaster for the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    "Tell me more about this man," Yrellea uttered.


    "¡­" Nancy narrated every bit of information she had about Aurelio.


    After hearing the entire information about Aurelio, Yrellea repeated, "You are sure that this man is generous and kind?"


    "I am sure, Madam. After hearing this news, I naturally ordered my subordinates to find out everything about him. And till now, I have received no nasty news about him," Nancy reported calmly and confidently.


    "Okay. Meet this man and inform him that you can secretly make him enter the Pinhian Republic. Meanwhile, employ some reputable 5 Star Array Masters to establish the Teleportation Array. Make sure to have these Array Masters sign a rigorous contract to prevent them from leaking this array."


    "As youmand, Madam," Nancy responded.


    After three long days, Nancy approached Aurelio in a restaurant while he was seated with his friends.


    "Hello, Sir Aurelio. Can I talk to you for a moment?" Nancy spoke.


    Aurelio''s friends were instantly charmed as they nced at Nancy. They immediately started moring, "Please. Please. We would be pleased to have you join us."


    Unlike his friends, though, Aurelio wasn''t charmed and asked calmly, "Who are you? And what is this about?"


    Upon hearing that tone, Nancy understood that Aurelio wasn''t affected by her beauty or even that perfume which made most people lose their minds.


    Considering that Aurelio didn''t even react after smelling that perfume, it implies that he has strong willpower.


    This further meant that Nancy couldn''t use her cheap tricks to manipte Aurelio. Thus, she spoke, "I wished to talk to you regarding something important. I hope you will be kind enough to join me in my suiteter. You can ask for my room number at the reception."


    Nancy soon left the restaurant and headed to her suite.


    After two hours, Aurelio visited her.


    Nancy was sure he would visit her because Aurelio had nothing to fear from Nancy. He could sense that she was only a 5-Star Warrior, so that she couldn''t harm him. Moreover, he was curious about what she wanted to talk.


    "A bird told me that Sir Aurelio wishes to enter the Pinhian Republic secretly. Is this rumor correct?" Nancy asked.


    "What if it is?" Aurelio responded with a question.


    Nancy spoke, "No need to be so defensive, Sir Aurelio. I am a friend. I am visiting you to inform you that I have a way for you to enter the Pinhian Republic secretly. Naturally, I have two conditions."


    Aurelio seemed surprised to hear those words. He calmly asks, "I don''t know how you got this information. But that''s right. I do wish to enter the Pinhian Republic. So speak. What are your conditions."


    Nancy states, "The conditions are actually very simple, Sir Aurelio. You must be the Ambassador of the Misty Flower Pavilion. Naturally, this post won''t restrict you in any manner. You just have to publicly dere that you are tied to the Misty Flower Pavilion."


    "Hmph. You just want to take advantage of my poprity," Aurelio jeered.


    "That''s correct," Nancy agreed. She further added, "This is my first condition. My second condition is that you must not kill Rueben ke after entering the Pinhian Republic."


    Upon hearing those words, Aurelio unconsciously red his Ardor. His unfathomable Ardor instantly crushed Nancy and brought her to her knees. He asked domineeringly, "How do you know I am nning to fight Rueben?!"

 Chapter 579 Side Story: Noah (7)

    As months passed, Noah''s Heretical Pdins got used to the culture of the Great Qin Empire. They had changed their ent considerably, and it would be difficult to distinguish them from a local of Granca Town.


    The initial hype about Noah''s Heretical Pdins settled down as well.


    During this time, Noah''s men focused on gathering information about the region of Granca Town.


    This region is assigned to the Noble Family Balgett. This is a Sixth Grade Noble Family with close connections to a Seventh Grade Noble Family named Rothsbert.


    Apparently, the Noble Heiress of Rothsbert fell in love with the Noble Heir of Balgett during their time in Academy. They expressed their desires to their respective family and got married.


    Naturally, the process wasn''t as straightforward.


    The Balgett family didn''t have an issue with the marriage, but the Rothsbert family was split with many opinions.


    Some group members praised the union and offeredpelling justifications. There were, however, many who opposed this union as well. They were opposed to this union for good reasons. It would have been more desirable for the Rothsbert Family to conduct this marriage with another Seventh Grade Noble Family.


    The Noble Heiress of Rothsbert is a beauty that is rarely seen, even in a high-ranking Noble Family. Her lovely looks, elegant temperament, and powerful bloodline were considered very precious.


    However, the Balgett Family didn''t stay silent during this period. The heir of the Balgett family decided to prove his talent by challenging all Noble Family students in Academy.


    He destroyed them all in battle!


    Well, all those who participated. There were some Noble Family Heirs who disdained participating in this battle. They knew the purpose of this battle and didn''t wish to interfere.


    The Balgett Family Heir held a good rtionship with all other academy students. So, no one actually sabotaged him at this moment.


    There were even some Noble Family Heirs who didn''t fight earnestly and gave him an easy win.


    Rothsbert observed these battles closely and was convinced by the martial prowess of the Balgett Family''s Heir.


    It wasn''t actually his power that convinced the Rothsbert Family, but his level of insight in me Element.


    Even though the Balgett Family Heir is just a 4 Star Warrior, he shows spectacrprehension.


    This level ofprehension implied that he would definitely reach the King Rank and have a chance of advancing to the Emperor Rank.


    This news pleased the Rothsbert Family, but other Sixth Grade Noble Families felt threatened.


    Firstly, the Balgett Family''s Heir''s talent andprehension rmed them. Secondly, this union of the Balgett Family and the Rothsbert Family would definitely change the rankings of the Noble Families. It would significantly affect the interests of the other Noble Families.


    These Noble Families were holding secret meetings to prepare a countermeasure.


    Meanwhile, Noah shared this information with Sargan and others.


    Upon hearing this information, Yrellea said, "Joining this family has few merits. They won''t allow Noah to keep his army or increase it."


    Laura agreed with that statement, "Yeah, Noah. You should roam around and try your luck in sects. Recruit the outer sect disciples from different sects and put them through your training. I am sure they will be very powerful."


    "I will provide you with pellets. Although the quality of these pellets won''t be as high as what Master used to concoct, it should be passable," Ralph dered.


    "¡­I think you should join this Noble Family, Noah. There is one benefit to joining this Noble Family, and that is their political power. We need the support of a Noble Family within the Great Qin Empire if we are to find any information regarding our Master," Sargan spoke seriously.


    Tiana added, "I concur with this statement. The Noble Family must have taken note of Noah and his Heretical Pdins group. They will send an official delegate soon."<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "¡­Moreover, there is a chance that the Noble Families will realize you are a foreigner. It would be best to join a Noble Family that would shelter you and obscure you from other forces," William spoke.


    These words actually convinced Yrellea and Laura as well.


    "So, I should wait for the Noble Family''s delegates to arrive?" Noah inquired with a puzzled look.


    Sargan spoke, "No. It would be best to take the initiative. Just head to the family estate of this Noble House and express your desire to work for them."


    Yrellea suddenly spoke, "What if they inquire about his origins?"


    Sargan responded casually, "I will naturally help him with the cover story."


    He then grew a bit serious and added, "Noah, you must never reveal any information about our master."


    "Got it," Noah spoke.


    Sargan seemed satisfied upon hearing Noah''s response. He began, "The cover story is that you belonged to an aristocratic family in the Glerian Kingdom. You unlocked your talents very early, and the whole family focused on you and tried their best to increase your cultivation. After the Lamhilhan Theocracy and the Sinyalian Kingdom waged war on the Glerian Kingdom, you created the Heretical Pdins and fought for the Glerian Kingdom as best as you could."


    "Alright, I will keep that in mind," Noah uttered.


    "Take Aria and Luna along. Their cover identity will be that of your maid. They won''t have any issue acting ording to this role, right?" Yrellea asked.


    "They won''t disobey my orders," Noah assured her.


    After settling a couple more details, the meeting ended.


    In this meeting, Sargan never actually stated the true reason why he wanted Noah to enter the Noble Family.


    He knew that once Noah entered this Noble Family, they would discover his exceptional talent. It wouldn''t be far-fetched to say that Noah''s talent could be ranked in the top ten of the entire world.


    As a 5-Star Warrior, Noah had already unlocked the True Sword Domain. He could even target a warrior''s spirit with his Sword Qi. And even more importantly, Noah''s Sword Qi had grown strong enough that it could even pass through a Spatial Tunnel without losing much of its power.


    Thus, Noah had already shared much of his Sword Qi with Azaroth''s other retainers through the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    This Sword Qi was so powerful that it could even affect a 6-Star Warrior. This was anotheryer of defense for them.


    Anyway, after the Noble Family discovers Noah''s outstanding talent, they will try their best to conceal Noah and connect him to their family.


    There is a huge possibility that the Balgett House would betroth Noah to an heiress from the main family.


    Sargan also had an exnation for choosing Balgett Housoveran Rothsbert House even though it was one rank lower.


    This was because the Rothsbert Houswasis was already at the top of the hierarchy in the Great Qin Empire. There only ones above it are the great sects, associations, and the Royal Family.


    They don''t possess that many rivals or even the ambition to grow.


    However, the Balgett House is different. Their ambition to reach the Seventh Grade Noble Family willpel them to take risks.


    And these decisions will only be favorable for Noah.

 Chapter 580 Side-Story: Noah(8)

    Noah selected aesthetic clothing and headed towards the family estate of the Balgett House. Aria and Luna apanied him while dressed in maid outfits.


    They were hesitant to dress as a maid when Noah initially ordered them. However, they immediately agreed as they discovered the reason behind this order.


    They even practiced a bit to ensure they wouldn''t mess it up.


    At the gate, the guards stopped Noah''s group. Even though he guessed this guest wasn''t so simple, the guard''s attitude remained firm. He had gotten used to many reputed peopleing to the Balgett House.


    In fact, Noah''s group seemed simple inparison.


    "Who are you? Show us the seal of invitation. Only then can you be allowed to enter," The guard spoke sternly.


    "I am here to meet the family head of the Balgett House. Inform him that Noah from Granca Town wishes to meet him," Noah spoke a bit proudly.


    Noah''s tone suggested he was doing the Balgett House a favor by visiting them.


    The guard was annoyed by Noah''s tone. But he remained vignt as he didn''t wish to anger an esteemed guest of the Balgett House.


    "Very well. I will inform the Master of your arrival. Please wait here for a short period," A guard quickly responded.


    "That''s no problem," Noah replied calmly. He dismounted from his horse and waited for the guard to return.


    After ten minutes or so, the guard returned. Apanying this guard was an elderly man with many wrinkle clearly visible on his face. His silver hair, which gave away his great experience, shines brightly as the sun''s rays fall over them.


    "Greetings, I am Lin Weimin, the third elder of the Balgett House."


    Noah responded with his own introduction, "I am Noah, a mercenary leader in Granca Town. My group''s name is Heretical Pdins. I am sure you have heard of us."


    Lin Weimin needed to think for a few seconds to recall the information about the Heretical Pdins.


    He spoke, "...Yes¡­Yes¡­ The one that has handled all the bandits near Granca Town and even supported the local authorities. You even developed an entirely new colony that has greatly enhanced trade in Granca Town."


    Noah was pleased with this response andmented, "Today, I havee here to join the Balgett House. I heard that you are epting mercenary groups."


    With a clever smile, Lin Weimin nodded, "That''s correct. We ept all mercenary groups. There are many benefits to joining our House. We will never try to interfere in the internal matters of your group. This implies you will retain your autonomy while gaining the advantages of being a part of a Noble House. You just need to help us deal with some troublesome matters."


    Noah knew there was something amiss with how Lin Weimin phrased those words. He will definitely discover something wrong if he discusses this with Sargan, but Noah doesn''t care.


    In fact, these tricks mattered little to Noah. He knew his talent and ability. If the Balgett House really tries something stupid, Noah could dere war on them. Many enemies of the Balgett House could offer assistance to Noah and the Heretical Pdins.


    "These conditions are eptable," Noah answered calmly.


    Lin Weimin was prepared to negotiate, but Noah''s calm response startled him slightly. However, he soon realized Noah''s young age.


    ''He is just an inexperienced brat.''


    Lin Weimin was aware that Noah possessed a rich treasury and significant manpower. It might be possible to cheat him of this wealth under the guise of guarding it.


    Lin Weimin, too, had no idea that the seed of greed in his heart had blossomed into a giant tree in a couple of moments.


    "Can we talk inside? I need to inform the Balgett House of an important matter," Noah spoke seriously.


    "Sure, sure. Come right in," Lin Weimin happily invited Noah inside the mansion. He was actually more worried that Noah would leave right away.


    As Noah entered the mansion, Aria and Luna followed him quickly.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Check their bodies," Lin Weimin ordered his guards.


    Upon hearing this order, Noah raised his brow. He suddenly red at Lin Weimin and said, "I won''t allow these men to touch them."


    Lin Weimin was about to retort, but tremendous Ardor was leaked out of Noah''s body as if to empower his words.


    Lin Weimin was baffled by this immense Ardor. This was actually the 5-Star Ardor, the same rank as himself!


    "Y-You are a 5-Star Warrior?!" Lin Weimin spoke in disbelief.


    "Yes," Noah replied curtly.


    Lin Weimin didn''t take note of Noah''s rudeness. Instead, he focused on that quick answer.


    "W-What''s your age?" Lin Weimin asked, his voice trembling with shock and excitement.


    "I will be 12 years old after two months," Noah answered.


    Lin Weimin felt his entire world overturning upon hearing that answer. He stared at those two maids apanying Noah and spoke, "No need to check them. Let them enter."


    Lin Weimin changed his attitude for a simple reason. He wanted to leave a good impression in Noah''s mind.


    Knowing that Noah is only an 11-year-old Lord Ranked Expert means that his background cannot be simple.


    Lin Weimin understood that he had to inform the Family Head of this news immediately. They couldn''t let go of such a talent.


    Firstly, Lin Weimin wanted to check Noah''s bone age. If Noah is lying, he will be caught immediately.


    Lin Weimin led Noah, Luna, and Aria to the living hall.


    "Please take your seats. I will inform the family head of your arrival and urge him to meet you immediately. Moreover, my physician will soon arrive and inspect your physique to ensure your health," Lin Weimin informed Noah.


    "Very well," Noah nodded in eptance.


    Sargan had already informed Noah that the Balgett Family might use this trick to confirm his age. Well, Noah didn''t need to fear this inspection. He was speaking the truth.


    After Lin Weimin left, Aria and Luna couldn''t restrain themselves any longer and started chuckling.


    "Hehe¡­That old man''s face was hrious after he discovered the leader''s cultivation," Aria giggled.


    Luna agreed with Aria''s words and added, "Yep. He might have had a heart attack if he knew of the leader''s true strength."


    "Shhh¡­Don''t talk so loudly. Someone might be listening," Noah immediately urged them to remain quiet.


    "Yes, leader," the two immediately shut their mouths. However, the teasing smile on their face remained.


    A few minutester, a physician arrived and checked Noah''s physique. The physician was shocked as Noah''s bone age confirmed his age. He is genuinely 11 years old.


    The physician informed Lin Weimin of this news, and thetter thanked him while heading towards the family head''s chambers.


    The family head of Balgett House was in seclusion, but Lin Weimin didn''t care. He felt that it was an urgent matter that required the family head''s presence.

 Chapter 581 Side Story: Noah(9)

    Lin Peizhi, the Balgett House''s Head, immediately rushed to meet Noah upon hearing of his monstrous talent. He wanted to examine this fantastic talent personally.


    He didn''t want to doubt Lin Weimin, but the information was just far too shocking. Not just him, but any person in the Great Qin Empire would be astonished to hear of a 12-year-old 5-Star Warrior.


    Noah and his subordinates had expected the Balgett House''s Head to react in this manner. Thus, they remained calm as an old man suddenly rushed towards Noah and touched his forehead.


    In a matter of seconds, the old man''s expression of incredulity morphed into one ofughter.


    Aria and Luna were a bit terrified when they saw the old manughing. They backed away in fear.


    Meanwhile, Noah remained calm as he wiggled his way out of the old man''s grasp, "Who are you?"


    "I am Lin Peizhi, the Head of the Balgett Family!" The man proudly responded.


    Noah nodded and spoke, "I wanted to meet you, Lin Peizhi. I am Noah, the Commander of Heretical Pdins. You might not have heard of this name since we originate from the Glerian Kingdom."


    Lin Peizhi was bewildered as he listened to Noah''s words. He muttered while his pupils narrowed, "The Glerian Kingdom? How did you get across the border? Not even the King of the Glerian Kingdom could have entered the Great Qin Empire''s borders."


    This was indeed true.


    However, Noah was prepared for this question and instantly answered, "I led my group through the forbidden forest to enter the Great Qin Empire."


    Lin Peizhi was puzzled as he heard this statement and remarked instinctively, "But that area is ruled by the Giant Eagle that holds immense resentment for humans."


    Noah merely smiled in response.


    Lin Peizhi was bright, and this hint allowed him to understand the whole story. He guessed, ''This kid must be supported by a powerful warrior. Maybe he has a godly master.''


    "What are you doing here?" Lin Peizhi asked a bit seriously. He now realized that Noah wasn''t a simple talent sent to his door. This kid could be a disaster for the Balgett Family.


    "No need to be so rmed. My purpose for visiting your Noble House is very simple. I hope you will consider coborating with me."


    Lin Peizhi seemed interested in this conversation as he spoke, "Continue speaking."


    Noah seemed relieved as he added, "As I previously mentioned, my group belongs to the Glerian Kingdom, so we require a patron in the Great Qin Empire. I believed that the Balgett House fit this description."


    "What will you offer us in return?" Lin Peizhi rolled his eyes as he asked this question.


    "There are a few 5-Star Warriors in my group while most are 3-Star Warriors or 4-Star Warriors. Moreover, we number in thousands. I am sure we can help you out," Noah spoke seriously.


    Lin Peizhi fell into deep thought upon hearing this proposal.


    Aria and Luna were slightly worried as they wondered, ''Leader has taken a huge risk. If he rejects our proposal, we are dead meat.''


    Noah was also aware of this fact.


    However, this suggestion came from Sargan. Sargan knew that revealing the truth would put Noah in a precarious position, but he still suggested this tactic.


    The reason is quite simple.


    He was presenting Noah a delicious bait in front of Lin Peizhi. The Balgett Family wasn''t powerful or influential enough that it could ignore this luscious bait.


    This strategy might not have worked if it was a Seven Star Noble House. But the Balgett Family is just a Six Star Noble House.


    They couldn''t easily ignore the strength of some 5 Star Warriors. Moreover, this deal also included Noah.


    As far as Sargan was concerned, the Head of the Balgett Family would never pass up such a fantastic opportunity.


    Sure enough, Lin Peizhi responded after dozens of seconds, "¡­Very well. But I have my conditions as well."


    "What might they be?"


    "The Heretical Pdins will act as a secret force of the Balgett House. Your troops can reside in Granca Town, but you must live in our mansion and pass our probation period. In return, the Balgett Family will support your group with food, resources, weapons, and armor. We will also provide you an identity badge that proves you work for the Balgett House," Lin Peizhi exined.


    If Sargan had been here, he could have negotiated to remove the conditions constraining him. Unfortunately, Sargan wasn''t here, and he hadn''t anticipated this set of conditions, so Noah remained rooted with a bewildered look.


    Noah felt that these conditions were eptable. He nodded and epted them readily.


    A smile blossomed on Lin Peizhi''s face as he saw that nod. This proved that Noah was just a little kid. He could be easily swayed!


    Aria and Luna were a bit worried as they saw Noah''s gullible appearance. They wished to warn him but ultimately remained quiet as speaking in front of Lin Peizhi would be a horrible decision.


    "Hehe¡­You have made a wise decision, Noah. Follow me to the banquet hall. Today, we shall drink to celebrate this asion!" Lin Peizhi chattered merrily.


    "That sounds like a good idea," Noah epted the invitation.


    Aria and Luna followed Noah to the banquet hall.


    Lin Peizhi led Noah to the front row of the banquet hall and asked him to take his seat.


    Noah sat down. Aria and Luna sat adjacent to his seat. They seemed afraid that someone would steal their ces.


    Lin Peizhi grinned upon observing their antics. The more he saw, the surer he became of manipting Noah and his group.


    He noticed that these two young girls seemed quite attached to Noah.


    Initially, Lin Peizhi was nning to assign them as maids for the heirs of the Balgett Family. But he changed his mind as he guessed that these girls must be in a romantic rtionship with Noah.


    ''I must tie this boy with the Balgett Family,'' Lin Peizhi thought.


    The best method would be to have someone from the Balgett Family befriend Noah. It would be even better if that someone was of Noah''s age.


    Fortunately, there was no shortage of heirs in Balgett Family. This was especially the case for female heiresses.


    Currently, there are three female heiresses of the direct family line around Noah''s age.


    Lin Peizhi ordered the chefs to cook their most exquisite dishes while ordering his servants to summon his daughters, Lin Xin, Lin Qing, and Lin Yingtai.


    These three girls were born to different mothers. Their mothers were still just teenagers when they gave birth to their daughters, so they were also rtively young.


    Lin Peizhi thought while caressing his long white beard with a proud look, ''It''s a good thing I didn''t stop working hard even after securing the family line. Who would have thought that a daughter could greatly help the family?''


    Lin Peizhi''s true n was to make Noah marry into the Balgett Family. If this urs, the Great Qin Empire will be in for a major surprise at the next Noble House Talent Conference when Noah presents his extraordinary talents.


    Just this thought made Lin Peizhi''s eyes darken with ambition.


    He had no idea that this decision would turn to bite him one day as Noah seizes control of the Balgett House from Lin Peizhi.

 Chapter 582 Mutual Benefits

    It was a rather stressful day for Yrellea. She had organized multiple meetings with the delegates from the Church of Mubesni.


    She required their assistance to help Aurelio, Generous zing Archer, sneak into the Pinhian Republic.


    The borders of both countries were extremely tense. In thest month, they had engaged in multiple skirmishes, and the Kingdom of Beria came out on top.


    To prevent the Berian Kingdom from advancing further, a senior general was forced out of retirement. This senior general used multiple schemes and tactics, which caused significant losses to the Berian Kingdom''s forces.


    The Berian Kingdom''s forces understood that the situation had changed. It would be detrimental if they continued to attack.


    They still asionally sent a force and gauged the response of the Pinhian Republic''s forces.


    Unfortunately for the Berian Kingdom, the Pinhian Republic''s force''s response was extremely quick and decisive. They disyed no openings when they countered. And they swiftly retreated to fortify their defense.


    The credit for this swift response belonged to this senior general who came out of retirement. Perhaps it is his experience that allowed him to look past these schemes. If it was any other general, he might have been caught up in the enemy''s stratagems and attacked the enemy''s army. This would have been a blunder.


    Fortunately, time had taught patience and maturity to this senior general.


    The Pinhian Republic''s border forces certainly required someone like him.


    On the other hand, his rigidity made it extremely challenging to assist Aurelio in his attempt to enter the Pinhian Republic surreptitiously.


    Thus, Yrellea required the Church of Mubesni''s assistance for this task.


    She knew that the Church of Mubesni possessed the influence to aplish this task. It was because the senior general that had be themander of the border''s forces fighting the Berian Kingdom was an avid follower of the Church of Mubesni.


    Apparently, the Church of Mubesni had sheltered him when he was young and even endorsed him a bit so that he could study in the national academy.


    This general is a great friend of the High Pontiff of the Church of Mubesni. If the High Pontiff makes a request, this senior general won''t deny him, no matter what it is.


    Yrellea''s idea of using the Church of Mubesni to help Aurelio sneak into the Pinhian Republic could work. However, therees a big question.


    Just why would the Church of Mubesni help Yrellea?


    The Church of Mubesni has helped Yrellea quite a bit. Only through their assistance did the Vicious Lightning Paragon agree to escort Tiana to the Empire of Qian Guo.


    To persuade the Church of Mubesni, Yrellea informed them that the Church of Mubesni had already extended its branches to the neighboring kingdoms.


    The Church of Mubesni utilized their contacts and was shocked to discover that Yrellea was telling the truth.


    Even the High Pontiff was left speechless as he didn''t understand how Yrellea was developing the Misty Flower Pavilion so quickly.


    Even religion couldn''t expand so rapidly.


    When his delegates asked this question, Yrellea answered, "To expand a religion, you require faith and time. But to expand my business, I just require wealth. And not to brag or anything, I have plenty of that."


    The High Pope was both amazed and terrified by the Misty Flower Pavilion''s meteoric expansion. He predicted that within a decade, the Misty Flower Pavilion''s influence would eclipse that of the Church of Mubesni.


    This was a significant threat to the Church of Mubesni. However, the High Pontiff believed that he could contain this threat for now. And since he could prevent this threat, he wanted to benefit from the Misty Flower Pavilion''s meteoric expansion.


    It would be wonderful if he could use the Misty Flower Pavilion to boost the Church of Mubesni''s growth.


    Thus, the High Pontiff agreed to Yrellea''s request in return for his conditions.


    The Misty Flower Pavilion must actively convert people to ept the Church of Mubesni. They must sell Mubesni Idols, Books, Rings, and other forms of merchandise.


    Naturally, this will be distributed by the Church of Mubesni and the Misty Flower Pavilion will act as a retail outlet.


    Moreover, the Misty Flower Pavilion will pay 10% of its ie annually to the Church of Mubesni.


    These conditions were rather excessive. But surprisingly, Yrellea epted them without even negotiating.


    It was as if she was satisfied with these conditions.


    Well, Yrellea had her own ns regarding this partnership with the Church of Mubesni.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Just as the High Pontiff had guessed, Yrellea also predicted that it would take her Misty Flower Pavilion an entire decade to surpass the Church of Mubesni''s influence.


    Yrellea felt that the period was too long and wished to shorten it.


    The only way she could do so was through a coboration with the Church of Mubesni.


    She knew that going down this path meant bing the Church of Mubesni''s enemies in the uing future.


    Yrellea predicts that she had three years before the Church of Mubesni confronts the Misty Flower Pavilion, which further leads to a massive battle.


    Thus, Yrellea had to make the Misty Flower Pavilion strong enough to safeguard it from the Seven Star Archangels of the Church of Mubesni.


    And this is where monstrous talents like Aurelio and Ruebene in.


    Yrellea''s ultimate objective was to acquire the allegiance of these two warriors and boost their growth.


    After four days, Aurelio reached the border town of the Berian Kingdom as per Nancy''s instructions.


    Nancy informed him that someone would guide him into the Pinhian Republic.


    This guide turned out to be an old man wearing clerical clothes.


    He handed Aurelio a set of clerical clothing and informed him, "Changed into these."


    Aurelio remained dumbfounded for a few seconds before nodding.


    He donned the clerical outfit and followed the old man toward the Pinhian Republic''s borders.


    The Berian Kingdom''s army stopped them and asked them what they were doing.


    Aurelio frowned slightly as he wondered if he should reveal his identity. This matter will quickly be resolved if he reveals his identity.


    Fortunately, Aurelio didn''t need to do anything. The old man pulled out a crimson badge from his sleeve.


    Aurelio raised his brow in astonishment as he noticed this was the prime minister''s crimson decree.


    Anyone possessing this edict may use it once, and the recipient must act as if the words came directly from the prime minister.


    The old man spoke, "Let us pass without any restrictions."


    Those words were all the old man had to say before the army created a way for the two.


    Aurelio felt rather giddy as he left the Berian Kingdom''s borders. He was somewhat curious about the Pinhian Republic''s force''s response.


    He knew that things wouldn''t be as straightforward with them.


    Only when Aurelio was about to enter the Pinhian Republic did he understand just how wrong he was.


    The Pinhian Republic''s border army''smander personally appeared and led the two into the borders.


    The seniormander only talked to the old man with a respectful gaze in his eyes, "Did your pilgrimage go well, High Priest?"


    "Hmm. It was okay. I did find an apprentice in the foreignnds. This is Aur from the Berian Kingdom. He has catered to my needs in the Berian Kingdom and expressed his desire to follow me into the Pinhian Republic. I hope it won''t be an issue for you, general."


    The seniormander gauged Aurelio for a brief moment before responding merrily, "Please don''t be worried, High Priest. The High Pontiff already informed me of this situation."


    "Good," the old man nodded in satisfaction. Even Aurelio took a breath of relief. He didn''t want to fight right now.


    It wasn''t the Pinhian Republic forces that scared him. Aurelio felt that fleeing shouldn''t be an issue if he fought at full strength.


    However, it would be a significant issue if someone finds Aurelio''s identity here and broadcasts it. His master will definitelye and take him back to the Berian Kingdom. That would be disastrous.

 Chapter 583 Aurelio In Amton

    After passing the army camp, Aurelio didn''t run into any other checkpoints. He arrived in the city with no difficulty, and was warmly weed by the Misty Flower Pavilion residents.


    Yrellea had settled in Torrine City because it was here that she intended to meet Aurelio.


    Aurelio went to the Glorious Lavender Bar with the members of the Misty Flower Pavilion. From the outside, it appeared to be just another tavern, but as Aurelio went inside, he was astounded by the atmosphere of exquisite grandeur that was prevalent. Additionally, it was approximately twice as big as a typical tavern.


    Aurelio, however, was startled awake as he followed the members of the Misty Flower Pavilion to arge area in the basement.


    One might not even realise that they were in a basement room because of how brightly illuminated it was.


    To Aurelio''s eye, the owner clearly spent a fortune on the illumination. He met Yrellea fairly soon.


    Yrellea was dressed to the nines in a ssy blue gown that concealed every inch of her figure. Yrellea''s fiery figure made the dress, despite its sophistication, feel immensely alluring.


    Her face was hidden by a thick veil, but Aurelio could make out the radiance of her features through the shadows.


    He sighed, thinking, ''She seems even prettier than the King''s wives. If the King spotted her, he would pursue her relentlessly until he seeded in capturing her.''


    Aurelio was well aware of the Berian King''s licentious nature.


    "Okay, so you own the Misty Flower Pavilion. To be honest, that caught me off guard. Even in such a high-stakes situation, you could still smuggle me into the Pinhian Republic. Aurelio remarked, "Your influence upon our nation is phenomenal."


    The coollyposed Yrellea replied, "It''s nothing remarkable inparison to your identity, Aurelio. The Berian Kingdom has elevated you to the role of Generous zing Archer. As far as I''m concerned, you''re on par with Rueben ke. Your vibe ispletely uniquepared to that of other King-Tier Warriors. Only a trusted teammate with unparalleled skill has ever made me feel their maic pull."


    Hearing those words, Aurelio couldn''t help but wonder, "...Is that person Rueben?"


    A scornful Yrellea replied, "No. His abilities surpass those of even Rueben ke."


    "What?!" After hearing this, Aurelio was taken aback. The way Yrellea had talked made it hard for him to ept what she said.


    "Enough with the rambling. It''s important that I understand your motivations. After meeting Rueben ke, what are your next steps?" Asked Yrellea.


    "I believe I''ve already exined it to the leader of the Berian Kingdom''s Misty Flower Pavilion. It is my intention to engage inbat with Rueben ke. I have no intention of fighting him when he is hurt. I shall wait for him to heal so that we can engage in a worthy duel." To be entirely honest, Aurelio''s statement about wanting to know who is the better archer between them and him was sincere.


    "You want to get in a fight with Rueben? You aren''t intimidated by his expertise and talent, are you? You want to challenge him despite the fact that he just in five Demon Kings." Inferring from this, Yrellea said, "you also believe you can kill five Demon Kings."


    "I get what that means, and I still maintain my original stance. Even now, I can''t see how his talent could ever surpass mine. I do not consider myself overconfident." Aurelio said coolly, "If you want me to show my talent, I can."


    "Hmm. Competence evaluation is crucial. But how do I put your abilities to the test? To attack a 6 Star Warrior in the Pinhian Republic would be unreasonable of me. That would lead to anarchy, and in these uncertain times, that''s not a good thing," Yrellea chimed in.


    Aurelio was lost in contemtion when inspiration finally hit, " How about I go into the second section of the Forbidden Forest and bring back five heads of the Demon Kings?" he proposed.


    "That ought to be sufficient evidence of mypetence, right?"


    Yrellea drew a cold sweat at the thought. She could not decide whether Aurelio was extremely brave or dreadfully idiotic.


    Five Demon Kings have fallen at the hands of a human, and the demons are reeling. They probably adjusted their tactics and set a trap for any would-be intruders who dared try again.


    "¡­


    "Don''t waste your time or energy. I''ll have to take your word for it," Yrellea said.


    She was confident that Aurelio had genuine talent if he could offer such advice. It seemed as though he didn''t think of regr Demon Kings as adversaries. Someone like Aurelio or Rueben would face a formidable opponent only in a brilliant Demon King who has awoken its bloodline, like Sargan.


    "Eh¡­ I was just getting pumped up to battle some Demon Kings," Aurelio sighed helplessly.<novelnext></novelnext>


    When Yrellea heard those words, she felt a cold sweat start to form on the inside of her body. As if a Demon King were nothing more than target practise for Aurelio.


    Since Rueben had taken out the Forbidden Forest''s Demon Kings, the surviving Demon Kings had formed a coalition to protect themselves from human ambushes.


    After a few drinks, Yrellea said to Aurelio, "Follow me," and she led him out of the pub.


    Yrellea exited the carriage and gave Aurelio a noble grey horse before stepping into another drawn by three ck horses and a magnificent white one.


    Two people were riding in a carriage being carried by horses in the direction of Amton City.


    Since a person of Yrellea''s standing would often have a small force near by, Aurelio was shocked that none was following them.


    During a brief break, Aurelio questioned, "Why don''t you have any security?""


    "No safety? The majority of the country''s warriors are no match for me, as I am a 5 Star Warrior. Because my guards are no match for fighters stronger than me, there is no purpose in having them apany me," Yrellea replied nonchntly.


    "What about safety from a person who is expert enough to be called a king? Imagine you run a globalpany. As your personal bodyguards, you should engage a couple of King-Ranked Experts," Aurelio said.


    "Haven''t found any King-Ranked Warrior willing to work as a bodyguard for me. I mean, it''s not like I''m defenceless against a King-ranked Expert." Yrellea said with certainty, "If a King-Ranked Expert does attack me, I won''t be the one who suffers."


    Aurelio''s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He couldn''t fathom where Yrellea''s assurance wasing from. Even though she showed no fear toward him or his position, he sensed that her support was phenomenal.


    Though he was intrigued by her history, Aurelio chose to keep his mouth shut.


    The trip took three days, but the two finally made it to Amton City.


    The pair skipped the downtown area and made a beeline towards the northern part of Amton City, where the city''s cathedral can be found.


    The Church of Mubesni owned this magnificent cathedral.


    Aurelio wasn''t too shocked to learn that the man who had brought him to the Pinhian Republic was a prominent member of this church.


    Aurelio looked at Yrellea as she led him to the Church of Mubesni and wondered, "Does this Misty Flower Pavilion belong to the Church of Mubesni?"


    Roughly at this time, Rueben ke had made a full recovery from his numerous wounds. Healing came quickly thanks to the Church of Mubesni and the priceless medical herbs supplied by his pals.


    Besides some muscle fatigue, Rueben was in good health.


    As he was getting well, Rueben began volunteering in the Church of Mubesni''s infirmary. He had a hard time sitting quiet and constantly bugged the priestess and the sisters to keep him busy.


    Deacons and nuns at the Church of Mubesni forced Rueben to take care of the sick.


    Rueben was pleased to maintain this routine since he knew it will eventually help someone get better.


    His hands, which had previously only known killing, were now saving a life.


    No victim in infirmary ever found out who he really was. High Pontiff had made sure that only the most trusted members of the Church of Mubesni knew and would not reveal his true identity.


    Therefore, these victims viewed him as merely another errand guy.


    As a result of his new routine, Rueben was able to see the world in a new light, and he felt a sense of fulfillment. He had the patience of a saint and could listen to his victims ramble for hours.

 Chapter 584 The Two Archers Meet

    Rueben perceived a formidable aura emanating from the vicinity of the Church of Mubesni, its intensity and brilliance prompting him to shift his focus in its direction. Simultaneously, he detected another aura, shrouded in enigma and that of a five-star warrior, whose precise origin eluded his keen senses.


    It didn''t take long for the two individuals to enter the boundary of the Church of Mubesni. A few sentries stopped them for questioning.


    However, Yrellea instantly pulled out amand token that stunned the sentries. They lowered their heads in respect and backed away.


    Aurelio''sposure held fast while Yrellea made the sentries retreat, not because he had foreseen her actions, but because his attention was fully consumed by a tremendously potent aura.


    Rueben exited the building to examine these mysterious strangers.


    Yrellea spoke while gesturing, "This is Rueben ke."


    "I see," Aureliomented as an exciting look appeared on his face.


    "¡­And who are you?" Rueben asked in return. He gazed at these enigmatic strangers. The King-Ranked Warrior was a guy while the Lord Ranked Warrior was the woman next to him.


    Aurelio responded quickly, "I am Aurelio Vulso from the Berian Kingdom."


    It took a moment for Rueben to recall a warrior of this name and he eximed, "You are the Generous zing Archer?!"


    "I am indeed called by this title," Aurelio spoke proudly.


    "Are you also here to kill me?" Rueben inquired while ncing at him coldly.


    "Eh?" Aurelio seemed surprised by this statement.


    "No, Rueben. Aurelio isn''t here to kill you. However, he does want a spar with you and test your skills," Yrellea spoke suddenly.


    "What?" Rueben had a dumbfounded look as he heard Yrellea''s words.


    "Let''s get something to eat. I am starving," Aurelio spoke.


    Meanwhile, Rueben retained that puzzled expression as he failed to understand the motive of these strangers. They were too casual in front of him.


    At this moment, a deacon arrived and spoke, "High Pontiff sends his greetings to Miss Yrellea. He invites you to the prayer hall as he wishes to talk to you."


    Yrellea had expected this and spoke, "Alright."


    She turned towards Aurelio and added, "Don''t start a battle before I return or else the result won''t be pretty."


    "Yeah, yeah. I know," Aurelio waved off her threat while staring at Rueben.


    Meanwhile, Rueben found it odd how this woman threatened Aurelio. It had to be known that Aurelio possessed an impressive reputation in the world due to his terrifying power and monstrous talent.


    This made Rueben very curious about Yrellea''s status.


    After Yrellea was gone, Aurelio spoke, "So, where do we get food? My hunger is only increasing."


    Rueben was still puzzled by the intentions of this man, but he didn''t sense a wicked feeling from Aurelio. He felt it would be alright to trust this man.


    "Follow me," Rueben spoke.


    Rueben led Aurelio to a nearby tavern and ordered some local dishes and a drink. They began to chat while waiting for their food.


    Rueben inquired, "What is the reason behind your arrival here?" Curiously, he added, "Also may I know who the woman apanying you is?"


    For some reason, Rueben felt he would receive a straightforward answer from Aurelio.


    And sure enough, Aurelio responded candidly, "Her name is Yrellea, and she was telling the truth. I came here to have a spar with you. Actually, I heard of your battle against five Demon Kings, so I became curious about your strength. As we are both archers, I wanted topare my abilities against yours. Aren''t you curious who is more skilled between us?"


    Rueben''s surprise was evident as he asked, "You aren''t afraid of my strength?"


    In thest few weeks, many warriors had arrived to kill him because they were terrified of his talent. However, Aurelio seemed different.


    "Afraid? I am excited! It''s the first time I am meeting someone as talented as myself," Aurelio stated proudly.


    With a roll of his eyes, Rueben sneered and asked, "As talented as yourself? Do you think you can defeat five Demon Kings too?"


    "Although I have never fought them in reality, it shouldn''t be a problem," Aurelio replied with a straight face.


    Rueben''s pupils widened in surprise at the seriousness of Aurelio''s answer. He had not expected such a confident and sincere response and could sense no deceit in his words.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "¡­Let''s see. I am also curious about your strength now," Rueben spoke with apetitive look.


    Rueben was a modest person who refrained from boasting about his aplishments, but he was also fiercelypetitive and relished opportunities to showcase his exceptional skills.


    "Have you recoveredpletely? I don''t wish to take advantage of your injuries," Aurelio spoke sincerely.


    "Don''t worry, I can fight at my best," Rueben promised solemnly. This was the truth.


    "Well, I will trust you on that," Aurelio spoke. His mouth suddenly started watering as he noticed the waiter bringing the dishes.


    As soon as the waiter ced the food on their table, Aurelio dove in, devouring the dish with such speed that it left Rueben wondering if the woman he had arrived with had left him famished for the entire journey.


    "Slow down. The food won''t go anywhere," Rueben spoke.


    "Don''t worry. It''s just my usual style," Aurelio spoke while chewing roasted fish pieces.


    A sweat-drop appeared on Rueben''s head as he responded, "Oh yeah¡­"


    After a few minutes, Aurelio''s stomach started filling, and his speed of eating slowed down.


    Rueben felt that this would be the appropriate time to ask, "So, what is the identity of that woman? You didn''t mention it earlier or do you not know anything other than her name?"


    Aurelio swallowed the food in his mouth and answered, "She is the head of the Misty Flower Pavilion of all the branches including the ones in the Berian Kingdom."


    Rueben''s pupils narrowed upon hearing those words as whispered, "The Misty Flower Pavilion has branches in the Berian Kingdom as well? This is surprising."


    Aurelio ignored his words and focused on ingesting the food and downing that drink. It didn''t take long before Aurelio was done with his meal.


    "Let''s return to the church. We need to wait for Yrellea to return beforemencing our spar," Aurelio spoke.


    "Why are you scared of her? It''s not like she can beat you," Rueben asked a bit curiously.


    Aurelio responded light-heartedly, "I promised to listen to her when we met, and I don''t break my promises."


    He added with a sombre tone, "Also, I have a feeling she has a trump card with which she can defeat or kill me."


    "Somehow, I don''t doubt that," Rueben had felt likewise when he observed Yrellea earlier.


    After some time, the two archers returned to the church.


    Meanwhile, inside the church, Yrellea was having a rather serious discussion with High Pontiff.


    "Why would you bring the Generous zing Archer here, Miss Yrellea? Are you nning something?" The High Pontiff asked.


    Yrellea replied straightforwardly, "Aurelio and Rueben will have a spar soon. I wish to observe the potential of this warrior and if he passes the threshold, turn him into our ally."


    "Our ally? I don''t understand. How can he help the Church of Mubesni?" The High Pontiff asked.


    "He can help you gain fame in the Berian Kingdom. Don''t forget that the Berian Kingdom has three famous religions while also possessing more Demon Nests aspared to the Pinhian Republic," Yrellea spoke.


    The High Pontiff was indeed aware of this fact, and he spoke, "¡­That is indeed true. However, those religions are supported by the king and someone from the Royal Family. Just the support from the Generous zing Archer will be insufficient to deal with them."


    "Yeah. But what if the King is dead? Will the public still trust the Royal Family that greatly?" Yrellea asked these questions with a smile.


    The High Pontiff stifled upon hearing those words. He somewhat understood Yrellea''s n, but as he thought deeply in that direction, he couldn''t help but stare at Yrellea with a hint of dread.


    ''She is truly terrifying.''


    After a few seconds, the High Pontiff chuckled and spoke, "¡­Miss Yrellea, you are truly remarkable. Despite being a demon, you are making two kingdoms dance in your palm."


    Upon hearing those words, Yrellea''s pupils widened due to shock. She didn''t think the High Pontiff would figure out her true identity!


    "Now, I wonder why I shouldn''t kill you right now and offer your soul to Mubesni God?"


    Yrellea''s Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring sparkled with purple demonic light as she boldly replied, "Why don''t you give it a try?"

 Chapter 585 Yrellea Vs The High Pontiff

    ? "I never expected that a demon would stand before me in this church so fearlessly," The High Pontiff spoke while raising his wooden staff.


    Holy Ardor leaked from that wooden staff and transformed into the shape of arrows. After creating dozens of arrows, the High Pontiffunched them at Yrellea.


    Yrellea acrobatically dodged all these Holy Arrows and closed the distance between them. There was a murderous look on her face as she realized that she must prevent the High Pontiff from leaking this secret.


    Fortunately, the prayer hall would remain isted for a few more minutes.


    "Aqua Bomb!"


    Yrelleaunched arge bubble of pure water to attack the High Pontiff.


    The High Pontiff sneered in response, "Hmph. Too weak."


    "Luminous Barrier!"


    Arge barrier of pure light appeared in the High Pontiff''s forefront as it easily blocked the Aqua Bomb. However, the Aqua Bomb burst upon contact,pletely blinding the High Pontiff''s vision.


    The High Pontiff realized that Yrellea had set up a scheme and lifted the Luminous Barrier while utilizing another attack to swiftly deal with this much water.


    "Sr re Burst!"


    As the High Pontiff hastily unleashed his attack, he failed to urately assess Yrellea''s position. Seizing the opportunity, Yrellea deftly manoeuvred toward the High Pontiff''s location, cloaked by her Heavenly Poison Scripture cultivation technique. The passive poison she released had the power to dull the senses to some extent, rendering the High Pontiff unaware of her approach.


    Under normal circumstances, the High Pontiff would have noticed a disruption in his senses. Still, the explosive sound of the Aqua Bomb''s detonation had jostled him, leaving him vulnerable to Yrellea''s stealthy advance. In the scant moments it took for the High Pontiff to recover his bearings, Yrellea had closed the distance between them, ready to strike.


    The nail on Yrellea''s index finger turned purple as she stabbed the High Pontiff''s gut. She quickly pulled her finger and created some distance between them.


    "Y-You filthy demon! I will kill you!" The High Pontiff shouted as his staff shone brightly.


    "Radiant Vortex!"


    A swirling vortex of light appeared around Yrellea, drawing her close to the center. The light of this vortex was actually harming her body. She had a feeling that the consequences would be dire if her body touched this vortex''s center powered by intense Holy Ardor.


    Utilizing Demonic Ardor to deal with it would be pointless.


    "Oceanic Tempest!"


    Yrellea unleashed a powerful burst of water that crashed into the Radiant Vortex''s center. It caused the center to go erratic and the Holy Ardor started dispersing.


    "Radiant Fist!"


    As Yrellea was busy dealing with the Radiant Vortex, the High Pontiff decided to approach her. His right hand was congealed with pure Holy Energy that would definitely damage if struck squarely.


    Unfortunately for him, Yrellea''s senses were working normally. She saw himing and was prepared.


    Misty Blossom Dance!


    Yrellea utilized this movement technique to narrowly dodge the High Pontiff''s punch by side-stepping gracefully and created some distance once again.


    Noticing that his attack was unsessful, the High Pontiff raised his staff and quicklyunched another attack.


    "Aetheric des!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Dozens of Holy des wereunched at Yrellea. They were much more powerful aspared to the Holy Arrows he had used previously.


    Yrellea easily dodged them by utilizing her Misty Blossom Dance as she hopped from one ce to another.


    The High Pontiff began to grow frustrated as his attacks missed. He quickly decided tounch a powerful attack that would cover the entire area, preventing Yrellea from dodging it.


    "Celestial Shockwa-"


    In the midst ofunching his spell, the High Pontiff felt his body growing increasingly numb. He was actually losing control over his body.


    "It finally worked, huh? And here I thought that poison wasn''t effective on you," Yrelleamented with a smug expression.


    "W-What did you do to me?" The High Pontiff questioned with a terrified look on his face.


    "I injected poison in your veins. This poison slowly cuts off the connection of your veins with your brain,pletely paralyzing you."


    "Hmph. Do you think such a profane thing can paralyze me?! You underestimate me, demon!" The High Pontiff shouted. He instantly red his Holy Ardor to remove this poison, but unfortunately, it didn''t work.


    "You don''t get it, do you? This is not Demonic Ardor that you can purge through the Holy Ardor. This is poison. And to remove poison, you need its antidote. Although the Holy Ardor can treat the majority of poisons, this isn''t one of them," Yrellea spoke nonchntly.


    "If you want to survive, you should give up now. It will be much better if we cooperate rather than fighting each other to death like this," Yrellea spoke solemnly.


    "No way! I will never cooperate with a demon!" The High Pontiff stubbornly replied.


    He started chanting, "From the heavens high and bright-"


    This chant was to summon an angel, but unfortunately, before he could even shout the first verse, Yrellea lost her patience and decided to take him out.


    She pulled out a spear from her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring and threw it towards him. The spear impaled the High Pontiff, interrupting his chants.


    After killing the High Pontiff, Yrellea let out a breath of relief, ''Fortunately, I didn''t need to use my trump card.''


    ''Howe no one is charging into this hall even after the two of us were locked in an intense battle? Just our Ardor ring should have alerted everyone in the church of this battle.''


    It was only then she noticed that the gates of the prayer hall werepletely shut and there was Holy Ardor surrounding the entire room.


    "A high-level array created of Holy Ardor seems to be put in this room that prevents Ardor and sound from leaking," Yrellea muttered.


    "I need to do something about this scene," Yrellea spoke while gazing at the murdered High Pontiff.


    Actually, he wasn''t her only problem. The residuals of her battle were scattered throughout the entire prayer hall.


    Yrellea utilized her Water Ardor to clean up the floor over which the High Pontiff had died. There was no blood stain visible on the ground.


    Yrellea picked up the High Pontiff''s corpse and threw it into one of her Spatial Rings. She picked up his staff and threw it into her Spatial Ring.


    Fortunately, the remaining signs of the battle were her scattered Demonic Ardor and the water puddles. The floor remained safe, while nothing, in particr, was destroyed within the prayer hall.


    However, just to remain safe, Yrellea threw multiple spoke bombs and flooded the prayer hall with sleep powder to ensure that any person who opened the gate would inhale this powder and fall unconscious.


    During this time, Yrellea absorbed the water puddles and the demonic ardor into her body. Just as Yrellea was done cleaning up, someone opened the door to the prayer hall.

 Chapter 586 Emperor Ranked Bows

    As soon as the gate creaked open, a cloud of pink powder burst forth, filling the air with a sweet yet pungent scent. The man who had utched the gate stumbled back, coughing and sputtering, as the fine powder coated his face and clothes. Despite his attempts to resist its effects, he felt his eyelids growing heavy and his muscles weakening.


    With a heavy sigh, Yrellea rushed over to the man and pulled him into the prayer hall. Carefully, she ced his body against the wall before turning to attend to the aftermath of her Demonic Ardor or Water Ardor.


    Once she was done, Yrellea decided to focus on this man.


    ''What should I do about him? It will be bad if he wakes up somewhere else and creates a scene.''


    ''Previously, I could have easily left without causing any attention to myself and acted as though the High Pontiff''s disappearance had nothing to do with me. It wouldn''t have raised suspicion immediately, and even if they discovered the truth after a few days, locating me would have been an insurmountable challenge.''


    As Yrellea pondered a solution, she decided to open the windows and allow the sleeping powder to dissipate into the air.


    ''Should I kill him?''


    However, she shook her head off this n and thought, ''No. His disappearance will make the Church of Mubesni realize much faster that something is fishy. I must dy their reaction somehow.''


    "¡­Wait¡­How about I use him to dy their reaction?" Yrellea whispered as she thought of a wonderful n.


    Yrellea gazed at the man before her, her eyes fixed on him as she released a purplish miasma into the air. This hypnotic mist was a core technique of the Misty Flower Pavilion, known to nearly everyone who practiced there.


    Its purpose was simple: to hypnotize the target so thoroughly that it could change their thinking from a subconscious level.


    Once the man smelled that purple miasma, his body unknowingly rxed. Yrellea pped him a couple of times and noticed his eyes opening, but just barely. She understood that he had regained a bit of his consciousness while under the influence of the purple miasma.


    "¡­After entering the prayer hall, you met the High Pontiff and he informed you that the Mubesni God has assigned him a particr task. He will be gone for an entire month. His orders are that the highest rank after him will be the de facto leader of the entire Church of Mubesni. Everyone must listen to his words."


    Yrellea''s target for hypnotization was a low-ranking deacon, with a cultivation level of only 2 Star Rank. His mind proved no match for her maniptions, and he quickly constructed an entire scene in ordance with her words.


    Yrellea slowly ced the deacon on the floor while heading towards the open window. As she left the prayer hall through that open window, she closed it just enough to leave a small opening.


    Through this small opening, Yrellea instilled her awakening powder and controlled it to ensure that it would reach the deacon.


    Gradually, the deacon started waking up. He seemed rattled by the sudden situation as he recalled a particr set of memories.


    "High Pontiff is gone¡­God Mubesni''s mission¡­Bringing Celestial Mushroom as quickly as possible¡­One whole month to return¡­Cardinal Pope Lucius Maximus¡­"


    Yrellea was relieved to hear the entire sequence. This deacon had truly created a scene in his mind and even spected the High Pontiff''s task. That was to bring the Celestial Mushroom for God Mubesni as soon as possible.


    It''s a good thing that the Celestial Mushroom is a Rank Seven Herb that is found in the Forbidden Forest.


    After dealing with this scenario, Yrellea closed the window properly and fled.


    As she made her way back to the entrance of the church, Yrellea patiently waited for the return of Aurelio and Rueben, who had briefly ventured out to a nearby tavern and had already made their way back.


    "¡­And that was when my senior brother beat the living crap out of that bully," Aurelio''s excited voice made its way in Yrellea''s ears.


    "Oh really. It seems that your senior brother is pretty nice," Ruebenmented.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aurelio couldn''t help but nod happily as he added, "Yep. Actually, all my senior brothers are really nice. They would always listen to me and spoil me. It''s only after I separated did I realize just how much they took care of me."


    "So, what are you going to do after the battle with me?" Rueben asked curiously.


    "No particr ns yet," Aurelio responded informally.


    Yrellea gazed at them with a cool look and interrupted their chat, "¡­Alright, enough talking. Let''s go to the arena and fulfil the motive of this journey."


    "That is a great idea," Aurelio spoke.


    Even Rueben agreed.


    Without dy, the trio proceeded towards an arena preselected by Yrellea for their impending showdown.


    After reaching the preselected arena, the trio took their respective positions.


    Rueben stood on the eastern end of the arena while Aurelio stood in his forefront nearly a mile away.


    Yrellea stood in middle and spoke while infusing her voice with Ardor to ensure it would reach both of them, "Alright. Before beginning this sparring match, let''s set a couple of rules. As this is strictly a skill testing match, refrain from using killing blows. The spar must stop when I shout ''Stop''. The individual who surrenders or doesn''t stop even after my order will be considered the loser of this battle."


    "Are these rules okay?" Yrellea asked.


    "Yep. Let''s get this thing started quickly," Aurelio stated excitedly.


    Both of them pulled out their respective bows.


    Rueben''s bow was known as the Azure Sky Bow. He had received it from his master who had further acquired this bow from a ruin.


    The Azure Sky Bow is a legendary weapon that glows with a bright blue hue. It is said to have been crafted from the ice of the heavens and imbued with the power of the storm. The bow is light and quick, making it perfect for archers who rely on speed and agility in battle. It is also incredibly urate, with arrows that seem to seek out their targets with unerring precision. This bow is capable of firing arrows with enough force to pierce even the thickest armor and can summon bolts of lightning to strike down enemies from a distance.


    Meanwhile, Aurelio''s bow was pure red in color. Its name is Crimson ze Bow. He acquired this bow from the Sovereign of the Berian Kingdom that had long been stored in the royal treasury.


    The Crimson ze Bow is a weapon of destruction, crafted from the mes of the underworld and tempered in the blood of fallen warriors. It glows with a fierce red light, and its arrows are said to be as hot as the sun. The bow is heavy and powerful, requiring a great deal of strength to wield. Its arrows can set enemies aze with a single shot, burning them to ash in seconds.


    Aurelio and Rueben carefully observed each other''s bows. These bows are of the Seventh Rank and their aura was overwhelmingly powerful.


    However, this wasn''t what the two focused on.


    ''¡­His aura haspletely transformed. It is as if the power of his bow haspletely fused with his aura and received a qualitative boost. Fighting him will be really fun,'' These were Aurelio''s thoughts before battle.


    Meanwhile, Rueben was utterly shaken as he observed Aurelio''s aura, ''J-just what is that overwhelming aura he is radiating?! Even though his bow appears to be a Seven Star Weapon, his aura is actually more intense than his weapon! It''s as if he is forcing the best out of his bow through this method.''

 Chapter 587 Battle Of Two Archer Kings

    Aurelio and Rueben stood at opposite ends of a secluded arena, surrounded by dense forest. The air was tense with anticipation as the two archers prepared for their sparring match.


    Aurelio''s eyes zed with an intense fire, while Rueben''s gaze was sharp and focused. They each drew their arrows and took aim.


    "Begin!"


    Yrellea''s voice boomed across the secluded arena, signaling the start of the sh between two divine archers. She swiftly took a few steps back, knowing all too well the perilous consequences of standing in the crossfire of these King-Ranked Warriors.


    Aurelio unleashed his first attack, "Celestial Rush Arrow!" A burst of energy flew from his bow, creating a trail of zing light. Rueben countered with a swift shot of his own, "Silent Shadow Pierce!" A wave of shadowy energy swirled around his arrow as it shot towards Aurelio.


    The two arrows collided with a loud sh, causing a shockwave to ripple through the arena. The force of their attacks was so powerful that it seemed like the very air around them was trembling.


    Aureliounched his second attack, "Thunderous Serpent Strike!" A bolt of lightning crackled along his arrow as it soared towards Rueben. The Azure Sky Bow wielding archer countered with a swift shot, "Icy Moonlight Arrow!" An icy st surrounded his arrow, freezing the air around it.


    The two arrows collided again, this time with a loud explosion that echoed through the forest. But their bows remained intact, as they were both imbued with divine power.


    Rueben moved quickly, unleashing a flurry of quick shots. "Blossoming Cherry Strike! Whistling Wind de! Fiery Dragon Strike!" His arrows were swift and precise, each one leaving a trail of energy in its wake.


    Aurelio responded with a series of powerful attacks, each one more explosive than thest. "zing Phoenix Bolt! Celestial Starfall Shot! Crimson Dragon Piercer!" His arrows zed with fiery light, leaving a trail of smoke in their wake.


    As the Blossoming Cherry Strike and zing Phoenix Bolt collided, an explosion of vibrant colors erupted in the air, showering the battleground with cherry blossoms and phoenix feathers. The force of the collision sent a shockwave that blew away the nearby trees and shook the ground.


    Meanwhile, the sharp and swift Whistling Wind de shed with the raining down Celestial Starfall Shot, creating a fierce gust of wind that swept across the battlefield. The whistling sound of the de echoed throughout the forest as it sliced through the falling stars, scattering them in all directions.


    The Fiery Dragon Strike and the Crimson Dragon Piercer shed with an ear-splitting roar. The fiery dragon and the crimson dragon collided with each other, creating a shower of sparks and mes that illuminated the forest. The impact of their collision shook the entire battleground, and the heat generated from their sh was intense enough to cause nearby trees to catch on fire.


    Despite the massive damage that urred in their surroundings, the two archers didn''t let up for a single moment. They continue to move with incredible speed and agility, dodging and weaving as their arrows collided in mid-air. The forest was alive with the sound of their battle, each shot causing a loud explosion that echoed through the trees.


    As Rueben and Aurelio continued their intense battle, they both felt a surge of energy within them. The sounds of their arrows colliding with each other and the sheer force of their shots reverberated through the arena, but both archers remained focused on their opponent.


    In the midst of the battle, Aurelio suddenly felt a new level of power coursing through his veins. His movements became faster, and his shots became even more precise. As he concentrated on his opponent, he felt as if he was seeing the world in slow motion, and his reflexes reacted faster than he thought possible.


    Simrly, Rueben also experienced a simr surge of power. His fluid movements became more graceful and effortless, and he was able to anticipate Aurelio''s attacks before they even happened. He could feel the energy flowing through him, making him stronger and more agile than ever before.


    As they continued to sh, it became apparent that both archers had broken past their previous limits and reached a new level of power. The intensity of their battle only increased, and both warriors pushed each other to their limits as they fought for dominance.


    As the sparring match continued, the attacks became more intense andplex. Aureliounched a powerful "Radiant Blossom Strike" that exploded into a shower of energy on impact. Rueben countered with a "Deadly Willow Shot" that split into multiple arrows in mid-air, homing in on Aurelio''s position.


    Their attacks continued to collide, each one sending shockwaves through the arena. But neither of them gave an inch, their skills and divine abilities evenly matched.


    As the sun began to set on the forest, the two archers knew they had to end this soon. Aurelio drew back his bow, channeling all of his power into one final attack. "Radiant Light Arrow!" The arrow glowed with a bright, blinding light as it shot towards Rueben.


    Rueben met the attack head-on, unleashing a quick and fluid shot, "Lightning Cataclysm Shot!" His arrow was quick as lightning, soaring through the air and colliding with Aurelio''s attack.


    The two arrows collided with such force that the very ground beneath them shook. But their bows remained unbroken, as the divine power within them kept them from shattering.<novelnext></novelnext>


    As the echoes of their battle faded into the stillness of the forest, the two archers stood facing each other, exhausted but unbroken.


    Aurelio and Rueben looked at each other, each one nodding in mutual respect. They had pushed each other to their limits and hade out the other side stronger and more skilled than ever before.


    Rueben sheathed his bow and turned to Aurelio. "Your power and strength are truly impressive, Aurelio. Your divine abilities are awe-inspiring, and your arrow attacks are unlike anything I''ve ever seen."


    Aurelio smiled, a look of respect and admiration in his eyes. "And you, Rueben, are an amazing archer. Your quick and fluid style is something to behold, and your Ardor control is impressive. You are a master of your craft."


    "This will be my final attack. If you can survive this, then I will admit my defeat," Rueben spoke solemnly.


    "Pretty strange but I was about to say the same," Aurelio responded with a grin.


    Rueben and Aurelio locked eyes, their expressions intense and focused. They knew that the time hade to unleash their most powerful attacks, but first, they needed to concentrate and summon the full potential of their divine bows.


    Rueben closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attuning himself to the winds of the divine realm. He could feel the power of the storm building within him, the energy coursing through his veins like electricity. He drew back the bowstring of his divine bow, feeling the tension build until it was almost too much to bear. But he held firm, maintaining his focus as he summoned the full power of the Celestial Storm Arrow. The arrow crackled with blue lightning as it gave off a dangerous feeling.


    Meanwhile, Aurelio attuned himself to the mes of the divine realm. He focused on the sensation of the heat, feeling the fire building within him, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. He pulled back the bowstring of his divine bow, feeling the tension build until it was ready to burst forth. The Divine Inferno Arrow crackled with crimson mes, ready to annihte anything in its path.


    Both archers held their positions, refraining from shooting their arrows as they continued to concentrate and build the power within them.


    As Rueben and Aurelio concentrated intensely, ready to unleash their most powerful attacks, Yrellea''s voice suddenly cut through the tension in the air. "Stop!" shemanded, her voice urgent and authoritative.


    Rueben and Aurelio both turned to face her, startled by her sudden appearance. They had not realized that anyone else was present in the secluded arena. Yrellea stood at the edge of the clearing, her expression serious and determined.


    Rueben''s expression hardened as he turned to face Yrellea. "Why are you stopping our battle at this point?! This attack can decide who is the better one between us!"


    Aurelio nodded in agreement, his own frustration evident on his face.


    "This battle must end now," Yrellea said, her voice firm. "You are both skilled archers, but this is not a battle to the death."


    Rueben and Aurelio exchanged a skeptical nce, still feeling frustrated by Yrellea''s intervention. But as they thought about her words, they realized the truth in them. They had been so focused on their own victory that they had lost sight of the bigger picture.


    With a deep breath, Rueben sheathed his bow and turned to face Aurelio. "I understand now," he said, his voice low and contrite. "We were too focused on winning that we forgot why we were fighting in the first ce."


    "Yeah. I was too engrossed in battle and lost control of my emotions," Aureliomented.


    After their initial frustration at Yrellea''s intervention had faded, Rueben and Aurelio turned their attention back to each other. The question of which of them was the better archer still lingered, and they were both eager to find an answer.


    "I still don''t know who is the better archer," Rueben said, his voice tinged with frustration. "We were so close to unleashing our strongest attacks, and then we were interrupted."


    Aurelio nodded in agreement, his own frustration evident on his face. "I know what you mean," he said. "It''s like we were denied the chance to truly test our abilities."

 Chapter 588 Trip To Valcour City, The Capital Of Pinhian Republic

    Yrellea gazed at the two archers as she noted their frustration and excitement.


    "If you want to fight to the death against one another, then wait for the Berian Kingdom to wage war on the Pinhian Republic. Show off your true skills at that moment," Yrellea spoke sternly.


    "Yeah, yeah," Aurelio responded while cing his bow back in his interspatial ring.


    Meanwhile, Rueben did the same while speaking, "So, what do you n to do?"


    "I guess I will return to the Berian Kingdom, but not before I check out this nation. It''s my first time travelling to another nation, and I want to return with some souvenirs for everyone dear to me," Aurelio responded casually.


    "That is a good idea," Rueben spoke. A soft smile appeared on his face as he proposed, "How about I show you around this nation? I have travelled across the entire nation and know lots of good ces. You can even meet my brothers andrades."


    Aurelio raised his brow and asked, "Wouldn''t that be inappropriate? We belong to rival nations."


    Rueben rolled his eyes and responded, "I don''t care much about this. My brothers and I aren''t strictly part of the Pinhian Republic''s army as we are disciples of the Vicious Lightning Paragon."


    "¡­ That''s the same for me. But what if your masteres back and learns my identity? Will he try to kill me?" Aurelio asked curiously.


    As powerful as he was, he wasn''t arrogant enough to assume that he could defend against the Vicious Lightning Paragon.


    In pure strength, the Vicious Lightning Paragon was considered superior to his master, the Dreadful Whirlwind Grandmaster. Aurelio had yet to defeat his master even once, so there was no chance he could defeat an even superior warrior.


    Rueben confidently replied, "He won''t attack you if I vouch for you."


    "That''s great then," Aurelio responded happily.


    "I can''t travel along, though," Yrellea suddenly spoke. She noticed Aurelio and Rueben inquiring gaze.


    Aurelio spoke, "How can I return to the Berian Kingdom without causing a huge scene?"


    "¡­I think you will cause enough scene when you meet the Vicious Lightning Paragon," Yrellea muttered.


    Obviously, both archers heard her words and internally agreed with her assessment.


    Yrellea added thoughtfully, "Let''s stay in touch with the Voice Transmission Array Jade. Contact me once you decide to return. Also, inform your senior brothers back in the Berian Kingdom and inform them of the situation. They are bound to get worried once they realize that you are in the Pinhian Republic. Ask them not to cause any trouble for the Misty Flower Pavilion."


    "¡­ That''s a good idea. I will talk to my senior brothers and request his help. You can rest assured no one in the Berian Kingdom will dare to mess around with your Misty Flower Pavilion," Aurelio patted his chest with absolute confidence.


    "Alright," Yrellea did believe him quite a bit.


    The confrontation between Aurelio and Rueben made Yrellea realize their power and talent. It was probably equal to or just below Sargan, William, and Ralph''s talents. She didn''t dare topare the two with Noah, Tiana, or Laura because these three possess monstrous power and ability.


    Especially Tiana. Among his retainers, Azaroth had spent most of his time grooming her and improving her physique. Her Sacred Ice Sovereign Manifestation Technique could change the entire battlefield''s fate.


    Yrellea had a feeling that after Aurelio and Rueben advance to the Emperor-Rank, they will even surpass the Vicious Lightning Paragon''s strength. This meant theirbat prowess would advance into the territory of Gods and Saints.


    ''We might need their assistance when we attack the Great Qin Empire,'' Yrellea thought.


    At this moment, Yrellea was using the expansion of Misty Flower Pavilion in the Berian Kingdom as an excuse to form a connection with Aurelio.


    She had observed his character and knew he had a straightforward and fearless personality.


    Meanwhile, Yrellea felt that Rueben was a bit trickier to deal with. He was calm and seemed to think before acting.


    However, this wasn''t a huge issue. She had time to find his weakness and a method with which she could control him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Yrellea swiftly exchanged contact with the two warriors before urgently departing the city. She was keenly aware of the danger that arose from anyone linking her to the sudden disappearance of the High Pontiff and thus was eager to put as much distance between herself and the city as possible.


    Meanwhile, Aurelio and Rueben embarked on a journey across the Pinhian Republic.


    Simultaneously, the news of their battle near Amton City spread throughout the Pinhian Republic. Well, it was only natural for the word to spread as the entire area was transformed into something else.


    Cracks ran through the earth, and rocks and debris were scattered everywhere. Trees and nts were uprooted, and the surroundingndscape was scarred with deep trenches.


    The once-tranquil scenery was now a picture of utter destruction. The very air seemed to crackle with the power that had been unleashed in the battle. Clouds of dust and smoke hung in the air, obscuring the view of the surrounding terrain.


    Many individuals in Amton City were questioned, and it was soon revealed that the monstrous talent Rueben ke lived in this city. They spected that Rueben must have fought some mighty warriors in this area.


    Many of Rueben''s allies were worried as they caught wind of this rumour. Those who could contact Rueben immediately picked up their Voice Transmission Array Jade and contacted him.


    It was only after talking to Rueben that they were relieved. However, Rueben''s following statement shocked them.


    "¡­The reason for that destruction is because I was sparring with an archer, who is just as skilled and powerful as me," Rueben spoke seriously.


    After the shock faded, Rueben''sradesughed as they thought he had cracked a joke. It was utterly impossible for them to believe there was a warrior as skilled as him in archery.


    Rueben remained stubborn about his point and made hisrades reluctantly ept it. However, he wasn''t satisfied with this answer and decided to have them meet Aurelio.


    Aurelio weed the idea, thinking that it would be enjoyable to meet new people.


    However, there was something they didn''t expect. Rueben''s fame had risen considerably ever since he fought and defeated five Demon Kings.


    At times, Rueben would draw attention and gather arge crowd around himself and Aurelio.


    Initially, the two would stop as they attended to the crowd peacefully, but they soon found it to be a hassle.


    To avoid the constant stares and inquiries, the two decided to travel incognito, concealing their identity with cloaks and hats that hid their faces from the public. They took less-travelled roads and avoided the major towns and cities, sticking to small viges where they could blend in more easily.


    At times, they encountered groups of people who recognized Rueben despite his disguise, but he deftly deflected their attention, pretending to be someone else entirely.


    Aurelio found this journey rather refreshing. Rueben had shown him the capital city of the Pinhian Republic, Valcour.


    Valcour, the capital city of the Pinhian Republic, was a bustling hub of activity, filled with colourful market stalls, tall towers, and exquisite architecture. Aurelio walked through the cobblestone streets, marvelling at the sights and sounds of this vibrant city.


    The marketce was the heart of the city, where vendors sold a wide range of exotic goods, from fragrant spices to intricate jewellery and from rare books to exquisite art pieces. The food stalls served an array of mouth-watering dishes, including grilled meats, savoury soups, and sweet desserts.


    Aurelio walked through the bustling streets of Valcour, searching for the perfect souvenirs for his three senior brothers. He wanted to make sure that each gift was unique and special, just like his brothers.


    First, he went to a local armoury and found a rare sword.


    Sword of Midnight Sun: This sword was forged from a rare metal that can only be found in the deepest mines of Valcour. Its inner gem is made of the essence of a powerful sun spirit, granting it the ability to unleash devastating sr strikes that can obliterate even the most resilient of foes. He knew that his eldest brother would appreciate the craftsmanship and power of the weapon.


    Next, he visited a shop filled with rare treasures and found a stunning piece of jewelry - a pendant made of rare, iridescent stone.


    Amulet of the Mystic Tide: This amulet is made of a rare crystal that can only be found in the deepest ocean caves of the Pinhian Republic. Its inner gem is made of the inner core of a sea serpent, which grants the wearer the power to breathe underwater and control the element of water. He knew that his second brother, who had an eye for beauty and elegance, would love it.


    For his third brother, Aurelio searched high and low for a rare piece of equipment that would be both practical and unique. He finally found a set of leather armor that was both lightweight and durable, with intricate designs etched into the chest te.


    Armor of the Iron Rhino: This armor is made of a rare metal that is said to be as strong as a rhino''s hide. Its inner core is made of the inner core of an iron golem, which grants the wearer enhanced strength and defense.

 Chapter 589 Mission To Destroy Demon Nest

    As Aurelio and Rueben continued their journey across the Pinhian Republic, they visited several cities, each with its unique architecture and culture.


    They had reached the Rondor City and were busy exploring it when suddenly, the two came across the city lord, a man with a stern expression on his face.


    "Sir Rueben, I havee to request help from you," the city lord spoke a bit anxiously. Rueben and Aurelio wondered the reason behind his distress.


    "What is it, city lord?" Rueben asked.


    "¡­Sir, a few days ago, something strange urred as we heard a loudmotion from the Ironspine Peak. Yin Ardor has been overflowed and I sent a team of scouts to investigate thismotion. I received a report that a Demon Nest has emerged on this mountain. This nest has thousands of demons led by a Demon King. It''s likely that they had just emerged from the Underground Labyrinth of Demons."


    "A Demon Nest emerging from the Underground Labyrinth of Demons?!" Rueben was shocked to hear that statement.


    "¡­This implies the demons have lived past millions of years. But that should be impossible even for them¡­ Did they use a special technique to slow their body''s age?" Aurelio couldn''t help but ponder aloud.


    The city lord ignored him and focused on Rueben, "That''s not all, sir. After emerging from the Underground Labyrinth, these demons abducted many humans from the nearby towns and cities. ording to their pattern, Rondor City will be next."


    "¡­I have already requested for a 6 Star Warrior''s assistance but haven''t really received a response from the minister. I beg you to destroy that Demon Nest, Sir Rueben," The city lord lowered his head as he sincerely requested Rueben.


    "Please lift your head, city lord. I naturally won''t reject such an earnest request. As a citizen of the Pinhian Republic, it is my responsibility to protect the citizens from any harm," Rueben spoke.


    "Yeah. The demons are going to regret emerging from the Underground Labyrinth," Aurelio added confidently.


    The city lord couldn''t help but gaze at Aurelio and wondered his identity. He asked curiously, "What is your name, Sir?"


    Since Aurelio was apanying Rueben, it was right for the city lord to refer to him as sir.


    "You can call me Aurelio."


    The city lord had expected Aurelio to introduce himself further, but he soon realized that Aurelio had no such inclination.


    "Sir Aurelio, this is an incredibly dangerous mission. I don''t wish for you to endanger your life," the city lord spoke generously.


    Despite the city lord''s apparent magnanimity, his true motive was to ensure that Aurelio did not impede Rueben''s progress.


    Rueben naturally noticed the city lord''s apprehensiveness and spoke candidly, "You don''t need to be worried about him, city lord. He will be of great help to me on this mission."


    The city lord was startled to hear those words and couldn''t help but gaze at Aurelio curiously. Rueben''s words implied that hispanion wasn''t a normal warrior, but someone who had reached King Rank.


    "¡­We will be on our way then. We must not waste any more time and rescue those people as quickly as possible," Aurelio spoke as he immediately flew towards the Ironspine Peak.


    His flying speed was extremely high, but the city lord noticed another white ray pursuing it just as quickly. This ray was none other than Rueben.


    It took them barely fifteen minutes to reach the Ironspine Peak at their top speed.


    Once they were close to the Ironspine Peak, they immediately sensed intense aura of the demonsing from the summit.


    The two realized that the demon nest might be situated near the summit and headed in that direction.<novelnext></novelnext>


    As Aurelio and Rueben approached the Ironspine Peak''s summit, they could see a massive Demon Nest in the distance. The nest was surrounded by jagged rocks and spires that stretched upwards into the dark sky. The air around them grew colder as they approached the nest, sending shivers down their spines.


    As they got closer, they could see the full extent of the nest''s size. It was enormous, sprawling over acres ofnd and built into the mountainside. The nest was filled with thousands of demons, all of them scurrying around, preparing for something ominous.


    In the center of the nest, Aurelio and Rueben could see a powerful and rare altar made of dark obsidian. The altar was unlike anything they had ever seen before. It radiated a dark and powerful energy that pulsed through the air.


    "That altar is radiating the power of spatialws. Just what are these demons summoning?" Aurelio frowned as he wondered aloud.


    "No idea. But it can''t be anything good," Rueben responded coldly.


    At this time, the two turned their gaze away from the altar and noticed three Demon Kings around it. The Demon Kings were massive, towering over the other demons with their fearsome and twisted forms. They were surrounded by hundreds of captured humans, all of whom looked tired, scared, and hungry.


    "Fortunately, the people are still alive. We can save them if we act quickly," Aureliomented while heaving a relieved sigh.


    Meanwhile, Rueben continued to observe the markings on the altar andmented, "¡­The summoning array of the demons is a bit different. This feels more like they are trying to break a seal using the spatialws."


    The altar glowed with a pulsing red light, and the ground trembled with each beat.


    "¡­The altar doesn''t seem mature. I imagine it will demand for more sacrifices," Rueben guessed.


    He then gazed at Aurelio and asked with a smile, "Do you want to attack now or prepare a n first?"


    Aurelio responded with a tone of incredulity, "What manner of question is that?" He stated while gazing at the demon nest and bellowed, "We should attack now!"


    Meanwhile, the three demon kings were discussing a serious matter.


    Zorath the Soul-Eater: He has the ability to devour the souls of his victims, granting him immense strength and regenerative abilities. His heavy weapon of choice is a massive mace, which he wields with brutal efficiency. He has crimson skin and is adorned with various bone ornaments.


    Sylphida the Stormcaller: Shemands the power of the elements, particrly wind and lightning. She wields a heavy halberd those crackles with electricity. She has pale blue skin and hair that seems to constantly shift and flow like the wind.


    Valtor the Shadow Wraith: He who wields a powerful heavy axe that can slice pulverize solid rock with ease. He has the ability to teleport through shadows and move at incredible speeds, making him nearly impossible to hit.


    Sylphida was speaking at this moment, "We need to capture more humans if we want to break the seal of the Underground Labyrinth that has sealed our master."


    "How many more humans do we need?" Valtor asked. His speed was the quickest among them and he could go to the nearest city and capture more humans.


    Before he could speak, Zorath suddenly sensed something strange and lifted his head. He was shocked to discover two humans flying towards the demon nest.


    "Humans!" His shout resounded in the entire demon nest and alerted everyone.


    Instantly, the demons nced in the direction Zorath and mentioned and sure enough found two stinky humans spying on them..


    Two archers flying in the sky while looking down at them.


    Aurelio shouted, "Filthy demons. You made a huge mistake capturing these humans and you are going to pay the price for that."

 Chapter 590 Two Divine Archers Vs Three Ancient Demons

    With a nod to each other, the archers knew what they had to do first. Both of them utilized their strongest defensive arrows to set up a wall of protection for the humans.


    Aurelio utilized arrow named Holy Infernal Barrier, while Rueben utilized arrow named Darkmoon Eclipse Shield to set up twoyered defensive barriers around the ground of humans. It was nice of demons to have ced the humans so close to each other as it made it easier to defend them with their barriers.


    Individually, these barriers are extremely strong as one possesses holy powers while the other possesses dark powers. However, collectively, these barriers were unbreakable unless the power of these demons far surpassed thebined power of Rueben and Aurelio.


    "Good. This should safeguard their lives from the battle," Aurelio sighed in relief.


    "Let''s deal with the lesser demons first," Rueben spoke as he gazed at the demons charging towards them.


    Hisrade agreed with his assertion as the archersmenced their attack.


    Aurelio utilized his powerful and forceful style, and fired the Piercing Thunderbolt Arrow, which created a massive explosion upon impact, taking out a group of lesser demons.


    Meanwhile, Rueben followed up with his swift and urate approach as he fired the Silent Death Arrow, which struck down a group of demons with a single shot.


    Zorath, the Soul-Eater, charged towards Aurelio with his heavy mace in hand.


    Aurelio dodged the first swing, firing the Whirlwind Tempest Arrow, which summoned a tornado that sent Zorath flying. But the demon quickly recovered and swung his mace with such force that it caused the ground to shake.


    Rueben faced Valtor, the Shadow Wraith, who wielded a heavy axe. Valtor''s ability to manipte shadows made him a formidable opponent.


    Rueben shot zing Sun Arrow, which produced a bright light that dispelled the shadows, leaving Valtor temporarily exposed. Rueben followed with the Thousand Cuts Arrow, which split into numerous projectiles, striking Valtor multiple times.


    Sylphida, the Stormcaller, confronted both archers at once, wielding a deadly halberd. She unleashed a powerful storm that sent the archers flying.


    Aurelio fired his Divine Shield Arrow, which created a barrier that protected him and Rueben from the storm''s wrath.


    The archers regrouped, and Aurelio narrowed his eyes as he spoke with a wrinkled forehead, "Aren''t these demons too strong? It doesn''t feel like I am fighting typical Demon Kings."


    Rueben grunted as he fired off another arrow, "You''re right. These are much stronger than the Demon Kings I defeated a month ago."


    "Is it because they are ancient demons? Were demon kings this powerful in ancient times?" Aurelio couldn''t help but wonder as he dodged another attack andunched his arrow.


    Rueben remained silent for a short period as he analyzed the battlefield carefully. He soon noticed the altar in the middle and a thin stream of red ardor connecting it to the three Demon Kings.


    "I can sense a strong demonic energying from that altar behind them. It''s probably what''s powering them up."


    Aurelio raised his brows and spoke, "That''s interesting. The altar can actually empower them that greatly. We should try to destroy it, or else things will get bad for us."


    Rueben groaned in agreement.


    As they fought, Aurelio and Rueben kept a watchful eye on the altar, searching for an opening to attack it. But the demon kings were skilled warriors, and they were not going to make it easy for the archers.


    As they shed once more, Valtor the Shadow Wraith smirked wickedly, "You humans are like ants before us. You think you can defeat us and destroy our source of power? You are fools."


    Zorath the Soul-Eater snarled, "Their arrogance will be their downfall."


    With a cackling cry, Sylphida spoke, "Kekeke¡­After sacrificing you, the altar will definitely possess enough power to activate."


    Both the archers didn''t like the sound of that. They fired their arrows simultaneously. Aurelio unleashed the Inferno Rain, which rained down a shower of mes on the demon horde. Rueben used the Thunderp Shot, which split into multiple bolts of lightning that struck the demons with deadly precision.


    The three Demon Kings, who had been holding back until now, unleashed their full power. Zorath charged at Aurelio with a roar, swinging his mace with ferocity.


    Aurelio dodged and fired Infernal Strike Arrow, which summoned a beam of me that struck Zorath, causing the demon to howl in pain.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Valtor unleashed his shadows, which swarmed around Rueben, ready to consume him.


    Rueben fired the Radiant Beacon Arrow, which produced a blinding light that shattered the shadows. He then followed with his fifth arrow, the Arcane Frost, which froze Valtor''s feet to the ground.


    The battle raged on, with both sides unleashing devastating attacks at each other. The three Demon Kings were relentless, using their powerful abilities to try and overwhelm the human archers.


    However, Aurelio and Rueben were skilled and determined, firing arrow after arrow with incredible uracy and speed.


    Zorath the Soul-Eater, Valtor the Shadow Wraith, and Sylphida the Stormcaller continued tounch fierce attacks, but the human archers managed to dodge and weave their way around the powerful blows.


    Aurelio and Rueben kept their distance, using their bows and arrows to deal precise and deadly damage to their demon foes.


    Zorath unleashed his fearsome ability known as "Soul Devourer," which allowed him to steal the life force of his opponents with a single touch.


    But Aurelio was ready with his attack, the Celestial Arrow Strike. The arrow glowed with a brilliant white light as it struck Zorath, disrupting his technique and pushing him back.


    Valtor utilized his own unique power, "Shadowmeld," to disappear into the shadows and reappear behind his enemies for a surprise attack.


    However, Rueben anticipated this move and was ready with his Darklight Arrow Barrage, which illuminated the surrounding area and forced Valtor to retreat.


    Sylphida summoned powerful lightning strikes with her ability "Thundercall," which could strike multiple targets at once.


    Aurelio and Rueben responded with their Galeforce Arrow Shower, a technique that sent a barrage of arrows flying towards the demon king, disrupting her concentration, and forcing her to dispel the storm.


    As the battle between the demon kings and the human archers raged on, Zorath, Valtor, and Sylphida began to call upon their most powerful attacks.


    Zorath''s Soul Devourer was now apanied by a new move, Void Implosion, which caused the very fabric of reality to copse in on itself.


    As Zorath unleashed his new move, Aurelio remained alert and vignt. The demon king created a powerful ck hole that threatened to consume everything in its path, including the human archers. However, Aurelio was not one to be easily intimidated. He quickly raised his bow and took aim.


    The arrow he used was named Celestial Piercer, a powerful arrow that began to glow with a brilliant light. He let go of the string, and the arrow shot through the air like a streak of lightning.


    The Celestial Piercer collided with the Void Implosion, causing a massive explosion that shook the entire mountain. The force of the st sent Zorath flying backward, his body crashing into the rocks.


    Meanwhile, Valtor unleashed his Nightfall attack, the sky darkened, and the temperature around them dropped suddenly. Shadows began to form around the demon king, coalescing into a massive wave that threatened to engulf Rueben and Aurelio.


    Thinking quickly, Rueben drew his bow and created an arrow. He focused his energy and released his powerful Triple Shot technique, firing three arrows at once. The first arrow, named Starlight Cascade, exploded in a burst of bright light, illuminating the darkness, and weakening the shadows that Valtor had conjured. The second arrow, called Flickering Ember, was imbued with me magic, burning away the remaining shadows and dealing significant damage to Valtor. The third and final arrow, known as Thundering Gale, was infused with the power of the wind, striking Valtor with a powerful gust that sent him reeling backwards.


    Lastly, Sylphida unleashed her Tempest Surge attack, the wind and lightning raged out of control, threatening to overwhelm the human archers. Aurelio and Rueben quickly sprang into action, drawing their bows in unison and selecting their arrows carefully.


    Aurelio''s arrow was named Stormbreaker Strike, a rare arrow imbued with the power of the storm itself. He loosened the arrow, and it flew straight into the heart of the tempest, tearing apart the wind and lightning with a brilliant explosion of lightning and thunder.


    Rueben''s arrow, named Shadowbane Shot, was a dark arrow that could destroy the very essence of the wind demon. He fired his arrow, and it struck Sylphida directly, causing her to shriek in agony as the dark energy burned her from within.


    Aurelio and Rueben knew they should focus on finishing this battle quickly, and so they drew upon one of their strongest techniques.


    Aurelio''s Starfall Arrow, a gleaming bolt of pure light, exploded in a shower of radiant energy as it struck the ground, sting the demons back with its holy power.


    Rueben''s Shadow Piercer, a jet-ck arrow that seemed to draw in all light, punctured through the darkness of Nightfall and embedded itself in Valtor''s chest, leaving a gaping wound.


    The archers weren''t out of the woods yet, however, as the demon kings continued to assault them with increasingly powerful andplex attacks.

 Chapter 591 Hero Of The Battle

    Zorath unleashed Demonic Onught, a barrage of hundreds of shadowy demons that swarmed over the archers, wing and biting at their flesh.


    Aurelio gritted his teeth and shot his "zing Phoenix Arrow," unleashing a powerful me that engulfed the swarm of demons, turning them into ashes.


    Valtor''s Shadow Prison ensnared Rueben, trapping him in a cage of inky ckness that seemed to sap his very will to fight.


    Rueben used his "Galeforce Arrow" to create a gust of wind that pushed the demons away, giving him enough space to break free from Valtor''s "Shadow Prison" technique.


    Just as the two thought they had caught a break, Sylphida unleashed her "Cyclone Fury" attack, which sent Aurelio flying like a rag doll. However, he quickly regained hisposure and shot his "Thunderous Hammer Arrow," a lightning-infused projectile that shattered the cyclone and sent Sylphida reeling back.


    The demon kings were taken aback by the archers'' swift and precise counterattacks. The battle continued, each side using their strongest attacks, neither giving an inch. The sky turned dark as the sun set, and the moon rose high into the sky. The sounds of battle echoed through the hill as the archers and demon kings shed.


    The three Demon Kings, Zorath, Sylphida, and Valtor, soon realized they couldn''t defeat Aurelio and Rueben with their attacks alone. They needed toe up with a new strategy to win the battle. After observing the situation for a few moments, they decided to attack the barrier around the captured humans.


    With a sudden burst of power, Zorath unleashed a barrage of ck fireballs that rained down on the barrier. Sylphida summoned a massive tornado that battered the barrier with powerful winds, while Valtor conjured a dark sphere that exploded on impact, cracking the barrier in several ces.


    As the demon kings closed in on the human captives, they unleashed a flurry of powerful attacks, each designed to shatter the barriers protecting the humans. Zorath called forth his Shadowstorm technique, summoning a swirling vortex of darkness that battered against the barrier. Valtor unleashed his Abyssal Torrent, a massive surge of ck energy that crackled with dark power. Sylphida chanted an ancient incantation, summoning a raging tempest of wind and lightning that tore at the edges of the barrier.


    Aurelio and Rueben quickly worked together to erect new barriers around the humans, but the demon kings were relentless. With a final surge of power, they shattered the barriers and closed in on the helpless captives.


    Aurelio sprang into action, charging forward to intercept the demon kings. He deftly avoided Zorath''s Shadow Strike, but was caught off guard by Valtor''s Dark Hand, which wrapped around his throat, choking off his air supply.


    Despite the pressure, Aurelio managed to channel his own power, summoning a wave of me energy that forced Valtor to release him.


    As Sylphidaunched a barrage of razor-sharp winds at him, Aurelio called upon his Divine Spear technique, summoning a shaft of radiant energy that impaled the oing winds, scattering them like leaves in the wind. But even as he battled the demon kings, Aurelio knew he couldn''t hold them off forever.


    Seeing an opening, Rueben took aim with his bow, unleashing a trio of arrows in quick session. The first was named Thunderbolt, crackling with electricity as it soared towards Sylphida. The second was named Shadow Piercer, a pitch-ck arrow that cut through the darkness and aimed straight for Zorath. The third was named Wind Shear, a razor-sharp arrow that cut through the air like a de and struck at Valtor.


    The demon kings were caught off guard by Rueben''s sudden assault, and they scrambled to avoid the deadly barrage of arrows. Sylphida dodged the Thunderbolt, but was caught off guard by the Shadow Piercer, which lodged itself deep in her chest. Zorath managed to avoid the Shadow Piercer, but was struck by the Wind Shear, which tore through his wing and sent him tumbling to the ground.


    As the Wind Shear narrowly missed Valtor, Aurelio decided to take matter into his hands as he swiftly created a special arrow, the "Heavenly Thunderp Arrow". This arrow possessed the power of thunder and lightning.


    Aurelio drew the bowstring back, his eyes focused on Valtor as he let the arrow fly. The Heavenly Thunderp Arrow surged forward, leaving a trail of crackling energy behind it as it hurtled towards its target.


    Valtor tried to move out of the way, but it was toote. The arrow struck Valtor directly in the chest, causing a thunderous explosion. The st knocked Valtor off his feet and sent him flying backwards, crashing into a nearby tree.


    Aurelio quickly turned back and gazed at the area around the human captives. Heunched a flurry of arrows, each one imbued with pure me energy, creating a powerful threeyered barrier around the human captives.


    The first arrow Aurelio used to construct the outermostyer of the barrier was called "zing Phoenix Wing," which created a fiery wall around the captives. The second arrow was called "Heavenly Fire Bloom," which added an additionalyer of intense mes to the barrier. The final arrow used to create the innermostyer was named "Eternal me Enchantment," which sealed the captives within a powerful, unbreakable inferno.


    He then turned to Rueben and spoke firmly, "This is it. We''ll end it now with our strongest arrows. Are you ready, Rueben?"


    Rueben nodded, his eyes fierce as he readied his bow. "Let''s do this, Aurelio."


    Aurelio took a deep breath and pulled out his strongest arrow, the Divine Inferno Arrow, from his quiver. The arrow glowed with an intense golden light as it was imbued with his own me energy, radiating with immense power.


    Meanwhile, Rueben drew his own bow and pulled back his strongest arrow, the Celestial Storm Arrow. The arrow was surrounded by a vortex of lightning, crackling with powerful energy that threatened to tear apart the very air around it.


    With a deep breath, Aurelio drew back his bowstring and let the arrow fly. It streaked through the air like aet, leaving a trail of zing mes in its wake. At the same time, Rueben released his arrow, and it shot through the sky like a bolt of lightning.


    The two arrows collided in mid-air with a deafening explosion, sending shockwaves rippling through the ground. mes and lightning shed, their energies spiraling out of control as they fought for dominance.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aurelio and Rueben watched in awe as the explosion grew, engulfing the entire battlefield in a blinding light. When it finally subsided, the demon kingsy dead, their twisted forms charred and lifeless. The altar that had been the source of their powery shattered and broken.


    The humans, safe behind Aurelio''s barrier, watched in wonder as the archers emerged from the smoke and debris, victorious. Aurelio and Rueben shared a smile of triumph before turning to the people.


    Aurelio copsed on the ground, his body battered and bruised from the intense battle. Rueben rushed over to his friend''s side, concern etched on his face.


    "Aurelio, are you okay?" Rueben asked, helping him up.


    "I''ll be fine," Aurelio replied weakly. "I just need a moment to catch my breath."


    Rueben internally marveled at Aurelio''s tenacity. He was so battered and injured, but he still managed to fight at his peak and maintain his consciousness at this moment. He was sure he couldn''t have aplished the same.


    You were incredible out there," Rueben said, admiration in his voice.


    Aurelio smiled weakly. "I couldn''t have done it without you. We make a good team."


    Rueben helped Aurelio up and they walked towards the human captives that were still protected by Aurelio''s barrier.


    Aurelio utilized his Ardor and dispersed the barrier. Behind that barrier were hundreds of humans who noticed the destruction that had urred in the entire battlefield.


    All the demons weaker than Demon King Rank were ughtered as they were caught in between this explosive battle.


    The humans finally got a clear look at the archers who had saved their lives. They recognized Rueben as the famous archer who had recently killed five demon kings alone and they started cheering his name.


    "Rueben! Rueben! Rueben!" they chanted, their voices echoing throughout the forest.


    As the captive humans begin to cheer for Rueben''s name, he quickly raises his hands and motions for them to quiet down. When they be silent, he addresses them with a serious expression.


    "Listen to me, my fellow brothers," Rueben begins. "I know that you are grateful to me for what I have done, but I must tell you that the true hero of this battle is Aurelio."


    Some of the humans look confused and others start to murmur among themselves. Rueben continues to speak in a loud and clear voice.


    "He was the one who erected the barriers that kept you safe from harm. He was the one who took the brunt of the demon kings'' attacks to protect you. Yet despite those injuries, he continued to fight valiantly and helped me kill those demons."


    As Rueben speaks, the humans begin to understand the gravity of Aurelio''s actions. Some of them even start to apud and cheer for Aurelio''s name, calling out their thanks to him. Others turn to look at Aurelio with new respect and admiration.


    Rueben, satisfied that he has made his point, nods his head in agreement with the humans.


    Rueben turned to face Aurelio, who was sitting with his back against a nearby rock, breathing heavily. The captive humans were cheering his name loudly, making him a bit embarrassed.


    Rueben smiled at Aurelio and said, "As I said earlier, you are the hero of this battle."


    Aurelio looked slightly embarrassed at the praise and said, "I only did what was necessary to protect them."


    "Necessary or not, you still risked your life to save others," Rueben said. "That''s a true hero in my book. And it doesn''t matter which nation you belong to. Credit must be given where it''s due."


    Aurelio looked up at Rueben, a small smile on his lips. "Thank you. It means a loting from you."

 Chapter 592 Recovering From Injuries

    Rueben and Aurelio carefully descended the mountain, still feeling the weight of the battle they had just fought against the Demon Kings. Aurelio''s injuries were severe, and he was barely able to walk.


    Thus, Rueben utilized his Ardor to help Aurelio to fly in air and soon took him to Rondor City. He immediately looked for the best physician avable in the city.


    It didn''t take long for them to be directed to a skilled physician who had treated many wounded warriors before.


    As Aurelio and Rueben entered the physician''s clinic in Rondor City, the physician immediately noticed the severity of their injuries, especially Aurelio''s. She could see that both of them had several broken bones and deepcerations that needed immediate attention. Aurelio''s body even had a gaping hole that allowed her to see the other side of his body.


    "Please lie down on the bed, and let me examine your injuries," she said in a calm voice as she gestured towards the bed.


    As Aurelio and Ruebeny down, the physician began examining them. She gently probed their limbs and noted the several fractures and dislocations in their bones. She also noticed that they had suffered from several cuts, bruises, and deadly burns all over their bodies.


    "You both have suffered from several fractures and dislocations in your bones," the physician said, "and I can see that you have also sustained many cuts, bruises, andrge burns. I need to set the bones back in their proper ce before they can heal properly."


    The physician gave Aurelio and Rueben a concoction of several rare healing herbs to help them recover quickly. These herbs include:


    Radiant Starflower- a red and yellow flower with potent healing properties.


    Ocean Foam Grass - a rare blue nt that has powerful regenerative abilities.


    Golden Sun Root - a yellow root that can heal both physical and spiritual wounds.


    Moonshadow Leaf - a silvery leaf that has pain-relieving and anti-inmmatory effects.


    Thunderbolt Grass - a green grass with electric properties that can help stimte the body''s natural healing process.


    After giving them medications to help with the pain and inmmation, she began working on setting the bones. Aurelio and Rueben grimaced as the physician worked on their injuries, but they knew it was necessary to heal quickly.


    She instructed them rest for several days before engaging in a physical activity. Aurelio and Rueben weakly nodded upon hearing her forceful tone.


    After she was done instructing them, the aura around her changed as she brought out a sheet and a pen. She moved towards Rueben and asked, "¡­Would you please give me an autograph? My daughter is a huge fan of you, Sir Rueben."


    Aurelio smiled upon hearing her words and added, "Why are you thinking so deeply? Just sign it."


    Apparently, Rueben still wasn''t used to his newfound fame, but he grabbed the pen and signed the sheet. He asked her daughter''s name and wrote it on the sheet.


    The physician was delighted and thanked him excitedly.


    The two rested in the infirmary and healing herbs started to work as they began recovering much of their strength.


    Aurelio''s body radiated me energy as his injuries started healing rapidly. Rueben was shocked to witness that quick healing speed. He didn''t expect Aurelio to possess another rare skill.


    However, even with his elerated healing, Aurelio needed to stay in the infirmary for the next three days before being given the permission to leave and move around.


    After regaining his mobility, Aurelio said, "Let''s check out this city."


    "Hmm," Rueben agreed with his statement. Due to city lord''s mission, they couldn''t visit the popr destinations in Rondor City.


    By this time, the city lord had heard about the mission''s sess.


    After Rueben and Aurelio were sighted in the streets of Rondo City, he immediately left all his work to meet them.


    As he met them, the city lord earnestly thanked them while giving them amand seal that granted them privileges within Rondor City. With thismand seal, the two possessed nearly equal influence in the city as the city lord. They could each take one item from city lord''s pce.


    Although the two received thismand seal, they didn''t care much. At this point, the status of these two archers was so high that even the kings of their respective nations had to be polite to them let alone a city lord.


    Aurelio and Rueben decided to spend the next three days roaming in the Rondor City. This city was known as the city ofkes and thesekes were certainly quite gorgeous.


    By this time, the information that Aurelio and Rueben were visiting the popr destinations in Rondor City had spread and reached the nearby cities.


    In Luminara city, a beautiful woman named Serena was sitting with her friends at a small caf¨¦, sipping on her tea and gushing over her recent experience of being saved from the Demon Kings by the two archers, Aurelio and Rueben.


    "What?! You met Sir Rueben, and he saved you?! I wish I had been captured in your ce," Emily spoke while showing stunned expression.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "¡­It was the most terrifying experience of my life," Serena responded. "Those demons were so strong, and I thought we were done for. But then, Aurelio and Rueben appeared out of nowhere, and they were amazing! They took down the Demon Kings with their arrows, and they even built a barrier to protect us."


    As she spoke, Serena''s eyes seemed to sparkle, and her voice grew softer when she mentioned Aurelio. "Aurelio was so brave," she continued. "He charged straight into the battle and took on the demon''s attacks just to protect us. And his arrows were so powerful!"


    Her friends listened intently as Serena went on about how Aurelio and Rueben had protected the human captives and how they had fought against the Demon Kings. She described the battles in vivid detail, painting a picture of the fierce struggle between the two sides.


    As she spoke, her friends couldn''t help but notice the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about Aurelio. It was clear to them that she had a crush on him. One of her friends, Emily, couldn''t resist teasing her.


    "Sounds like you have a bit of a crush on Aurelio," Emily said with a grin.


    Serena blushed and looked away. "I don''t know what you''re talking about," she mumbled, taking a sip of her tea.


    Her other friend, Lily, chimed in. "Oh,e on, we can tell! The way you talk about him is so adorable."


    Serena rolled her eyes but couldn''t help but smile. "Fine, maybe I do like him a little bit," she admitted. "But it''s not like anything cane of it. I doubt he even knows I exist."


    Emily and Lily exchanged knowing looks. "Don''t be so sure about that," Emily said. "You never know what could happen."


    "Yeah. I heard that the two are in Rondor City. If you try your best, you can meet them. It''s a good thing that Rondor City is just a day''s distance away from here," Lily added.


    This information made Serena think a bit optimistically. She stammered, "B-but how do I talk to him?"


    "Aren''t you going to thank him for saving your life?" Emily gave her a knowing smile.


    "Yeah. You should invite him on a meal as thanks," Lily gave another idea.


    "¡­I can do that," Serena murmured.


    Hearing her words, Emily quickly said, "Alright. Let''s go and book a carriage for Rondor City. If we start now, we can reach the city by evening."


    "You are going toe along?" Serena couldn''t help but instinctively ask.


    "Duh. Obviously, we will. While you have that date with Aurelio, we can meet Sir Rueben. I always wanted to meet him and see if the rumors about his good looks are true or not," Lily spoke excitedly.


    Serena rolled her eyes as she absent-mindedly responded, "I found Aurelio was much more handsome."


    Emily and Lily shared a look. "I heard that love-struck people be fools and today I have seen it," Lily spoke.


    Thus, the three women returned to their houses and informed their families of their decision to travel to Rondor City. Their families were naturally startled to hear this decision so suddenly and opposed it greatly, but each one ignored their family and returned to their meeting spot and booked a carriage to Rondor City.


    Serena, Emily, and Lily were all dressed in their finest clothing as they embarked on their journey to Rondor City. They had hired a luxurious carriage with soft, plush seats and a covered roof to protect them from the sun. As they set out near noon, the sun was high in the sky and the day was warm, but the gentle breeze made the ride pleasant.


    As the carriage traveled along the winding roads, they passed by lush green fields, rolling hills, and picturesque viges. The women chatted andughed, enjoying the beautiful scenery as they made their way to the city.


    Serena was blessed with long, lustrous blonde hair, which cascaded down her back in soft waves. Her bright, blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked forward to meeting Aurelio again.


    Emily, with her fiery red hair and emerald green eyes that shone with intelligence, told them stories of her travels to distantnds, while Lily, with her flowing silver hair and warm brown eyes, sang songs and yed the lute.


    As the day progressed, the sun began to set, and the sky turned to shades of pink and orange. The carriage rolled into the bustling streets of Rondor City, and the women were excited as they reached for the nearest inn. The day was nearly over so they had to begin their search from the next day.


    They were all starving and decided to stop at a tavern to grab some dinner. As they enjoyed their meals, they overheard some locals talking about Rueben and Aurelio. Serena''s heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name, and she leaned in to listen more closely.


    The locals were discussing how these warriors had recently fought against the demon kings and had saved many human captives, including women and children. They spoke of how brave and skilled these men were, and how they were the talk of the town.


    Serena''s eyes sparkled as she heard more about Aurelio''s heroism. She couldn''t resist asking the locals for more information, and they eagerly obliged. They told her that Aurelio and Rueben were both staying at an inn nearby, and that they were often seen around the city.


    Emily and Lily noticed Serena''s sudden interest in these two men and started teasing her. They yfully encouraged her to pursue Aurelio, and Serena couldn''t help but blush at the thought.


    As they finished their meal, the three women decided to take a stroll around the city and maybe catch a glimpse of these two heroes. Serena''s heart was pounding with excitement as she wondered if she would finally get to meet the man she had admired from afar.

 Chapter 593 The Trio Of Women Meets The Divine Archers

    After hearing the conversation about Aurelio and Rueben, the three women were filled with excitement and curiosity. They decided to head towards the inn where the two warriors were staying.


    As they entered the inn, they were greeted by a cozy interior, with a warm firece crackling in the corner. The innkeeper greeted them with a friendly smile.


    Serena couldn''t help but ask the innkeeper, "Sir, we heard that Sir Rueben and Aurelio are staying in this inn. Is this true?"


    "That is indeed true," the innkeeper candidly replied.


    "Can we meet them?" Serena asked a bit hopefully.


    "¡­I am afraid I can''t let you disrupt our customer''s peace," the innkeeper responded.


    Emily decided to take matters into her hands and stepped forward, "We won''t disturb them. We just wish to thank them for saving us from those demons."


    As she spoke, she ced a rather precious jewel on the table and slid it towards the innkeeper.


    The innkeeper remain calm as he epted that jewel and spoke, "They are sitting in the dinning hall. You can meet them there."


    "Thank you!" Serena shouted word of thanks as she rushed towards the dining hall. Meanwhile, her friends remained behind as they negotiated with the innkeeper for a room in this inn.


    After concluding their negotiations, the two women headed towards the dining hall. As they approached the dining hall, they noticed Serena standing outside it.


    "Why are you standing outside?" Emily couldn''t help but ask.


    Serena responded excitedly, "He is here! Aurelio is here! Oh my god, I am so nervous! I have never been this nervous in my life! He won''t think of me as a weird woman, right? Lily, is my appearance good? Do you think I should have chosen another dress for today? I never thought I would meet him so soon aftering to this city."


    Her friends, Emily and Lily, noticed her nervousness and tried to calm her down. "Serena, you look beautiful. Your dress and hair are perfect," said Emily.


    Lily chimed in, "Yes, and your personality shines through, Serena. Aurelio would be lucky to have someone like you."


    "Yeah. If I was a guy, I would have definitely fallen for you," Emily added.


    Serena blushed at theirpliments, grateful for their support. "Thank you, you both look amazing too. I just want everything to be perfect," she replied.


    "Don''t worry about it, Serena," Emily said. "Just be yourself and let your charm shine through. We''ll be right here cheering you on.


    They entered the dining hall.


    Instantly, two pairs of eyes gazed at them. These eyes belonged to the most powerful archers in the entire Pinhian Republic.


    Serena walked in front led her group to Rueben and Aurelio''s seats.


    Aurelio noticed the group and nudged Rueben with a teasing smile, "Looks like you need to sign more autographs. Well, at least they are pretty women this time."


    Rueben rolled his eyes and disdained toment. He was getting drained of this fame. He observed the three women noticed their excitement.


    To not disappoint them too greatly, Rueben knew he had to act with the best of his ability.


    "¡­Greetings, Sir Rueben, Sir Aurelio. My name is Serena. I am one of those people whom you saved from the hands of the Demon Kings. I wished to thank you for protecting us," Serena spoke nervously.


    Both archers were caught off-guard as they never expected to meet one of the survivors here.


    Aurelio kindly smiled at her, "It was our duty to protect you all."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Serena blushed madly upon seeing that kind smile. As she drew nearer to him, she couldn''t help but notice that he looked even more handsome than she had initially thought.


    Reuben paid close attention to Serena and noticed that, unlike her friends who were staring at him, Serena''s gaze had been fixed on Aurelio from the very beginning.


    ''Is she infatuated with Aurelio?''


    Rueben suddenly proposed, "Why don''t you join us?"


    "Really? We can. Thank you, Sir Rueben," Emily and Lily cheered at the chance as they quickly sat next to Rueben.


    Serena now realized that the only open spot was next to Aurelio and couldn''t help but mentally thank her friends for their quick thinking.


    Actually, Emily and Lily were more worried that Serena would upy a seat next to Rueben due to her embarrassment. Thus, they moved quickly to prevent this possibility from bing a reality.


    Meanwhile, Rueben was a little ufortable as these two women sat next to him, however, he didn''t dare to let it show on his face. He was actually also hoping for this situation.


    From the start, Rueben had noticed that Aurelio''s eyes seemed to linger on Serena for much longer than Emily and Lily.


    "So, tell us a bit about yourself. Do you live in Rondor City?" Rueben asked.


    Serenaes from a wealthy family in Luminara City. Her parents, Marcus and Julia, are prominent members of the city''s aristocracy and have significant influence over the city''s politics andmerce. She has always lived a privileged life, with the finest clothes and education money can buy. However, she never feltpletely content with her life, feeling as though something was missing.


    Emilyes from a family of merchants in Luminara City. Her father owns a sessful tradingpany that deals in exotic spices and textiles from the far east. She has always been a hard worker, helping her father manage the family business since she was a child. She is a shrewd businesswoman and has a natural talent for negotiation.


    Lilyes from a family of artisans in Luminara City. Her parents, ra and Thomas, are both skilled craftsmen who specialize in creating intricate metalwork and jewelry. She inherited their artistic talent and has been creating her own pieces since she was a child. She is a free spirit, always looking for new ways to express herself through her art.


    As they finished giving a detailed description of each other, Serena suddenly spoke, "I would like to thank you for saving me. Would you give me the chance to invite you on lunch tomorrow?"


    Aurelio responded casually, "Sure. Rueben nned to show me theke and a historical site in this city. You all can join us."


    Upon hearing his words, Rueben suddenly spoke, "Actually, Aurelio, I am afraid I can''t join you tomorrow. A friend of mine contacted me yesterday and he mentioned he wanted to talk to me regarding something important."


    "Oh. Then we can dy the n," Aurelio nonchntly stated.


    However, Rueben shook his head and responded, "No. That won''t be a good idea. You should know that we have limited time so we should make the most of it." He suddenly stared at Serena and asked her, "Since you grew up in Luminara City, you must have explored Rondor City at some point, right?"


    His question was phrased in such a manner that it forced Serena to respond immediately, "Y-yes."


    "Great. Then how about you all show him theke and the historical sites in this city while I go meet my friend? Will that be alright?" Rueben asked yfully.


    Aurelio frowned and spoke, "I don''t think it would be appropriate to trouble them."


    Hearing his words, Emily spoke quickly, "No, no. It wouldn''t be any trouble at all. Serena would be happy to show you around Rondor City."


    "Yes. Please give me this opportunity to help you," Serena pleaded.


    Aurelio thought for a bit and agreed, "Alright. We will meet outside the inn tomorrow morning around 10 o''clock."


    "Got it," Serena spoke.


    The five continued to chat for some more time before returning to their rooms respectively.

 Chapter 594 Aurelios Date

    After returning their room, the trio of women started doing a celebratory dance initiated by none other than Serena. They didn''t think that the meeting with these famed warriors would go so well.


    Emily spoke in the midst of their dance, "Me and Lily have decided to stay back and let you enjoy your date with Aurelio."


    "¡­W-What? Wouldn''t he find it weird if you both also don''te? He might cancel the n altogether," Serena sounded a bit worried.


    At this moment, Lily spoke, "Then just convince him. Don''t forget that you only have this one opportunity to allure him with your charms. I will do your makeover and select your dress, alright?"


    "I wouldn''t have it any other way," Serena spoke.


    While they were chatting, Emily wondered aloud, "¡­From what I saw, Sir Rueben seems to treat Aurelio equally. And you mentioned that Aurelio is an archer who is as good as Sir Rueben when they fought the Demon Kings. So howe I have never heard of such an archer before?"


    "That''s indeed strange. Someone of his talent shouldn''t have stayed hidden for so long," Lily added.


    "I don''t know, and I can hardly care about this fact," Serena rolled her eyes. She added, "He might have had his difficulties."


    "Whatever you say," Emily responded while shrugging and sharing a look with Lily.


    "It''s a pity that Sir Rueben is busy or else we could have spent the day with him," Lily murmured with a disappointed expression.


    "Yeah," Emily shared her look of disappointment.


    Unbeknownst to the trio, Rueben had extended his Ardor and was eavesdropping on their conversation.


    His reason for eavesdropping on them was quite straightforward. He was slightly suspicious of them and wanted to know if they had any ns of harming them.


    However, upon hearing their conversation, a smile appeared on his face as he realized they were innocent and harmless.


    His reason for helping Serena build up romance with Aurelio was somewhat selfish. Rueben wanted Aurelio to build a strong connection with someone in the Pinhian Republic.


    He had witnessed Aurelio''s strength in that spar against him and the battle against the Demon Kings. And frankly, Rueben felt it would be disastrous if Aurelio ever decided to fight for the Berian Kingdom against the Pinhian Republic.


    And ording to what he has observed, Rueben felt that Aurelio would never attack the home nation of his lover. In fact, he would prevent a war from urring.


    The Pinhian Republic was in dire need of this temporary peace, which implied that they could not afford to initiate a conflict with the Berian Kingdom.


    ~~


    The next day.


    Serena was excited to show Aurelio around Rondor City, and she wanted to make it a memorable day for him. She met Aurelio outside the inn they were staying in, wearing a beautiful emerald green dress that entuated her curves and a matching headband with her blonde hair tied in a loose bun.


    He was surprised to only see her and asked her, "Where are you friends?"


    "They mentioned that they wanted to do some shopping today," Serena gave a weak excuse.


    "Won''t you be ufortable without them?" Aurelio asked.


    Serena was really nervous and summoned her courage before speaking, "No, Sir Aurelio. I would never consider it ufortable to roam around with my hero."


    "Your hero?" Aurelio murmured and a bright smile appeared on his face. "And here I thought people only liked Rueben here."


    "N-No. Actually, I think you were much more amazing in that battle than Sir Rueben. You even endured the attacks of those demons and set up those barriers to protect us," Serena spoke up rather strongly.


    Aurelio was taken aback by her enthusiasm and smiled, "Nice, nice. I am liking you more and more now."


    Serena''s heartbeat quickened upon hearing how Aurelio was liking her more and more. She had to console her excited heart by thinking, ''He doesn''t meant it that way¡­yet!''


    "So, what do you have nned out for today?" Aurelio asked curiously.


    "Well, I thought we could start by checking out the beautifulke near the city. It has a really interesting history," Serena said, grabbing his arm and leading him towards theke.


    As they walked, Serena pointed out various buildings andndmarks, describing their historical and cultural significance. When they finally arrived at theke, Serena rented a small boat, and they started rowing.


    Aurelio looked around, mesmerized by the natural beauty of theke. Serena, on the other hand, couldn''t stop ncing at him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "This is beautiful, Serena," Aurelio said, taking in the scenery around them. "Thank you for bringing me here."


    "I''m d you like it, Sir Aurelio," Serena said a little shyly. "It''s one of my favorite ces in the city. Theke is known for its legends, too. They say it was created by the tears of a goddess who wept for her lost love."


    Aurelio looked at Serena with a hint of curiosity. "Really? That''s quite a story. Do you believe in it?"


    "I''m not sure," Serena said, a smile ying at the corners of her lips. "But it''s a nice thought, isn''t it? That someone can love so deeply that it moves the heavens and the earth."


    Aurelio nodded, the hint of a smile on his lips. "It is a nice thought."


    Serena felt a shiver run down her spine as she noticed Aurelio''s deep, thoughtful eyes. They looked so beautiful in the sunlight.


    They spent a peaceful hour in the middle of theke, enjoying each other''spany, and Aurelio felt his guard drop around her. Theyughed, shared stories, and enjoyed each other''s presence.


    Suddenly, Aurelio spoke, "We are already familiar with each other, so you should stop adding Sir and just call me by my name."


    "O-okay, Aurelio," muttered Serena nervously.


    After they returned the boat, Serena suggested they head to the historical ruins of Rondor City. They walked through the remnants of an old fort that had been destroyed years ago.


    As Aurelio and Serena made their way towards the old fort, she narrated the history of the fort, its grandeur and its downfall. They walked up a steep hill to reach the fort''s entrance, the ruins of the fort towering over them.


    "Yes, it was," Serena said, "This fort was built during the reign of King Valtair, who was known for his love of architecture and art. He spared no expense in making this fort a symbol of his power and wealth. But it waster abandoned and forgotten, like many other structures of that time."


    Aurelio listened intently to Serena''s stories, amazed by her knowledge of history and culture. As they explored the fort, Serena pointed out the unique features of the fort and described how they were constructed.


    "This is an old armory, and the roof was made of rare hardwood that could deflect arrows and was fire-resistant. The walls were coated with a special type of ster that made them imprable," Serena exined, pointing to a structure inside the fort.


    Aurelio nodded in appreciation, impressed by the advanced technology of the time. "It''s fascinating to see how they used to build things back then," he said.


    As they made their way to the highest point of the fort, Aurelio marveled at the breathtaking view of the city from up high. "It''s beautiful," he said.


    As they walked around, Serena noticed Aurelio looking at her more often. She started to feel nervous, wondering if her feelings were as transparent as she thought they were.


    "It''s incredible how well you know the history of this city. You''re quite the tour guide," Aurelio said, smiling at her.


    "I''m d you think so," Serena said, returning his smile. "I''ve always loved history and the stories behind everything."


    As the sun began to set, they made their way back to the heart of the city. Aurelio turned to Serena and said, "I had an amazing time today, thank you for showing me around."


    As they walked towards the restaurant they were going to have dinner in, Serena''s heart was pounding. She had been waiting for this moment for so long. She took a deep breath and said, "Aurelio, I hope it''s not too forward of me to say this, but I really enjoy yourpany. Spending time with you today felt like a dreame true. And I might have developed feelings for you."


    Aurelio''s eyes widened, realizing the romantic hints Serena had been giving him all day. He smiled at her, his heart feeling full. "I admit that I find you an attractive and intelligent woman. In fact, I would have loved to ept you, but there is a certain reason I can''t," he said.


    Serena''s eyes dropped upon hearing those words as she did her best to control her tears, "¡­I-is it because you have feelings for someone else?"


    Seeing her distressed appearance truly troubled Aurelio as he quickly exined, "Nothing of that sort. In fact, you are the closest a woman has been to me emotionally. My master forbid any contact with a woman until my training was over."


    "¡­T-then what is it?" Serena asked.


    Aurelio remained hesitant after some time as he didn''t know whether he should tell her the truth or not.


    However, as he gazed into her innocent yet curious eyes, Aurelio decided to act ording to his intuition and spoke, "I am Aurelio Vulso, the Generous zing Archer of the Berian Kingdom."


    "W-what?!" Serena was startled to hear that statement.


    "I truly enjoyed our time together, Serena. But the national borders¡­I can''t make light of them," Aurelio spoke seriously.


    Serena remained silent as she heard his words. She continued to think for some time and then asked softly, "¡­Do you mean you would have dated me if we were from the Berian Kingdom?"


    Aurelio''s eyes widened in shock as he realized the implication of that statement.

 Chapter 595 Yrellea Blows Her Cover

    "No, no. I understand what you are thinking, but you can''t do that," Aurelio spoke seriously.


    "But I want to be with you, Aurelio. Even if it means leaving the Pinhian Republic, I will do it," Serena deres.


    Aurelio gazed at Serena, his expression softening. "I''m touched by your devotion, Serena. But leaving your home and everything you''ve ever known behind for me? That''s a burden no one should bear. It''s too much for me to ask and too much for you to give. Do you truly understand the implications of what you''re suggesting? You''d be uprooting your entire life and venturing into the unknown. I couldn''t live with myself if I allowed that to happen."


    However, Serena didn''t give up as she tried her best to convince him, "¡­Aurelio, all my life, I have always felt something was missing from my life. And that feeling has faded ever since you appeared before me."


    "If you feel guilty that I will be leaving my home, then I can convince my family to shift to the Berian Kingdom," Serena spoke.


    Just as Aurelio was about to answer, his Voice Transmission Array Stone started beeping. Upon noticing it was Yrellea contacting him, he picked it up.


    From the Voice Transmission Array Stone came a voice, "I have a solution for your problem, Sir Aurelio."


    Hearing a woman''s voice, Serena''s expression darkened slightly.


    A frown appeared on Aurelio''s face as he spoke, "You are spying on me, Miss Yrellea?!"


    Yrellea responded calmly, her voiceposed, "That''s natural, Sir Aurelio. It would have been disastrous for me if you suddenly started causing ruckus in the Pinhian Republic. Or if Sir Rueben acts against you. This was just a precaution to protect your life."


    Aurelio''s voice was tinged with anger, "And what gave you the right to make that decision for me?"


    Yrellea''s tone remained level, "With all due respect, Sir Aurelio, we are in the middle of a dangerous political climate. I am simply trying to keep you safe."


    Aurelio''s expression turned dark, "I am more terrified of you, who has been spying on me all the way."


    Yrellea''s voice was still even, "I understand. But you should also realize that if I had any bad intentions, I wouldn''t have blown my cover like this."


    Aurelio was taken aback by Yrellea''s words, and he paused for a moment before asking, "What is your solution?"


    "Sir Aurelio, I can construct a teleportation array especially for you and this lovely woman named Serena. It will allow you to travel between the Berian Kingdom and the Pinhian Republic at will. Naturally, it will cost some resources, but I am sure you can afford them with your status."


    Serena''s dark expression vanished upon hearing those words. In fact, she mentally thanked this woman named Yrellea and quickly added, "¡­That is perfect then. I can return home if I feel bored in the Berian Kingdom."


    Noticing that Aurelio was still unsettled, Serena asked, "Aurelio, what is stopping you from making a decision?"


    "¡­It''s still too soon. I don''t want you to make an impulsive decision and regret itter. I¡­I am not perfect. You might not even like me after you spend more time with me."


    Serena spoke forcefully and confidently, "I definitely won''t!"


    "¡­Alright then, if you are ready to take this risk, then I won''t shrink anymore," Aurelio responded while sighing.


    "It''s good to hear that you have made up your mind. Now, there is one condition you must agree to before I construct this teleportation array for you and your little girlfriend," Yrellea spoke.


    "What is it?" Serena asked slightly defensively. She hoped that this woman wouldn''t ask for something outrageous as her condition.


    "You both have to sign a confidential agreement that you will never reveal the secret of this teleportation array to a third person. This confidential agreement will be a blood contract, so make your mind beforemitting to it. And if you do agree, then go to the Misty Flower Pavilion''s branch in Rondor City. They will have a contract ready for you," Yrellea spoke.


    After speaking all she had to say, Yrellea cut off the connection leaving Serena and Aurelio in deep thought.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "¡­S-should we go?" Serena asked nervously.


    Aurelio couldn''t help but think he was making an impulsive decision, but his intuition told him that everything would work out.


    Thus, he nodded, and the two started walking towards the Misty Flower Pavilion''s branch in Rondor City. This time, the two were walking very closely.


    Aurelio noticed Serena''s hands extending towards his own, before she retracted it. The bright blush and her nervous expression gave away her intentions.


    He understood she was still too shy so he spoke, "Let''s hold hands, shall we?"


    "Yes!" He received an immediate affirmative.


    Without hesitation, he gently took her hand and held it tightly to warm her up.


    As he felt the warmth of her hand, he couldn''t help but notice how soft and delicate it felt. He praised the smoothness of her skin and the gentle curves of her fingers in his thoughts, admiring the beauty and elegance of her hand.


    Aurelio looked over at Serena and saw a faint blush on her cheeks. He couldn''t help but smile to himself, feeling a flutter in his chest. He felt a connection with her, and the touch of her hand made him feel closer to her than ever before.


    ''I never realized that I could feel such excitement without being in a fight.''


    He gazed at Serena and wondered, ''Her feelings for me are so deep despite knowing so little of me. She gives such a kind and innocent feeling that it truly warms my soul.''


    ''Master will probably scold me for falling for a woman like her who isn''t even a cultivator,'' Aurelio thought.


    However, since he had made up his mind, he was going to protect her.


    ''I hope I am worthy for her.''


    Aurelio wasn''t short on confidence in his abilities and achievements, yet when it came to matters of the heart, hisck of romantic experience made him feel inadequate.


    Regarding romance, he had only heard wonderful stories from his senior brothers who had described love to be an enigma, a mystery that no one can fully understand or unravel.


    While Aurelio continued to think deeply about the matters of heart, Yrellea was smiling brightly as she drank her tea in her mansion.


    ''¡­It was a good decision to stick an Invisible Overhearing Array Talisman to his ring,'' Yrellea murmured to herself.


    ''He truly fell in love with that woman named Serena. Manipting him will be even easier now that he has such a huge weakness,'' Yrellea thought.


    This was Yrellea''s true motive in revealing her secret cover. She felt that manipting Serena would be easier and much more worthwhile than merely eavesdropping on Aurelio''s conversation.


    After reaching the Misty Flower Pavilion, Aurelio and Serena met the women working there regarding the blood contract.


    However, before signing the blood contract, he questioned them how their mistress is spying on him.


    Yrellea had already given the instructions to her subordinates in the Misty Flower Pavilion branch. Once Aurelio asked this question, they quickly removed that Invisible Overhearing Array Talisman from the ring and threw it.


    Although Aurelio was still a bit doubtful, he decided to believe them for now and signed the contract.

 Chapter 596 Blood Contract With The Pope

    After dealing with Aurelio, Yrellea felt it was time to deal with an influential faction of the Pinhian Republic. The Church of Mubesni.


    The Church of Mubesni still hadn''t realized that their High Pontiff had died. She felt it was rather strange as the Church of Mubesni should have realized the truth by now if they could truly contact their God.


    To unravel this mystery, Yrellea ordered her subordinates to capture a couple of priests and interrogate them.


    One of them managed to clear her doubts. It seemed that there were only selected methods to contact the Celestials of a particr religion.


    The primary means of invoking divine intervention involves the establishment of a sacrificial ritual on a holy altar. However, this approach demands a significant expenditure of both precious Holy Ardor and valuable resources belonging to the church, thus rendering it a sparingly employed method.


    As a secondary approach, a specialized orb can be utilized to establish directmunication with certain celestial entities venerated within the religion. This method provides an alternative means of invoking their divine aid, circumventing the need for costly ritual sacrifices on holy altars.


    And apparently, this orb is attached to the staff of the Holy Pontiff. Thus, without the use of rituals, only he can directly initiate contact with the Celestials.


    Upon gaining this knowledge, a nefarious scheme swiftly sprang into Yrellea''s thoughts, and she proceeded to set it into motion with all due haste.


    With celerity and precision, she arranged a specialized site, carefully constructing an assortment of esoteric arrays to guarantee sess. Furthermore, she assembled two squads of elite mercenaries, positioning them strategically in close proximity to the site.


    Once she was done setting up the location, Yrellea initiated contact with the Pope and sent him letter with the following wording.


    "Dear Holiness,


    I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to request an audience with you regarding a matter of utmost importance. As you may recall, High Pontiff Gregory had entrusted me with a secret mission. I am now in possession of crucial information that I believe only you, as acting head of the church, should be privy to.


    I humbly invite you to meet me at the secluded location enclosed in this letter, where we can discuss the matter in private. The site has been secured and is inessible to anyone except ourselves and a select few of my trusted associates. I assure you that your safety and security will be of the utmost concern to me during our meeting.


    I await your response eagerly and with great reverence.


    Yours in faith,


    Yrellea."


    The pope was truly surprised as he received this letter. He recalled that this woman did meet the High Pontiff before thetter received the Mubesni God''smands and he went away.


    The pope was very curious about the mission that the High Pontiff assigned to Yrellea before he left.


    However, he was still somewhat doubtful of Yrellea as an individual so he brought a team of guards alongside as he came to meet her.


    "¡­I believe I mentioned that you muste alone, Your Holiness," Yrellea remained seated on the chair even as she gazed at the pope. There was an undeniable look of disdain in her eyes.


    "I am afraid that would not be appropriate, Miss Yrellea. Before High Pontiff left, he assigned me all his duties so I am afraid I cannot make light of my life," The Pope spoke.


    Yrellea seemed impressed by his response as she smiled. She spoke, "I understand. But now that you are here, please dismiss your guards. They cannot hear what I will tell you."


    "¡­I am afraid that is impossible," The Pope said. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he heard a sharp whistle.


    This was the sound of an arrow piercing the air, the feathers of its tail rustling in the wind. Suddenly, the pope heard multiple sickening thuds, tearing through flesh and bone alike. The victims let out a strangled cry as the arrowhead plunged deep into their body, followed by wet sounds as it ripped through their internal organs.


    The pope''s voice trembled with a mix of bewilderment and authority as he demanded an exnation, "What manner of madness is this?"


    The group of skilled fighters whom he had entrusted with his protection were now strewn about the ground, their bodies pierced with deadly arrows.


    Meanwhile, Yrellea remained calm as she responded, "Don''t worry. They aren''t dead. The arrows with which they are stabbed is mixed with an intense sleeping and healing drug. By the time they wake up, they won''t even realize they have been stabbed."


    "That does not answer my question!" The pope''s voice thundered with fury as he confronted the assant. "Why have you assaulted these loyal guardians? Do you seek to make enemies of the Church of Mubesni? Remember that I am the highest authority of our church, and I demand an exnation for this brazen act!"


    "Rein in your emotions, Your Holiness. Thest individual with the highest authority of your church who dared to speak to me in such a manner learned the consequences of their insolence," Yrellea replied in a chillingly calm tone, her voice carrying an unmistakable undercurrent of menace.


    Before the pope could shout aloud, he realized something wrong.


    "What did you say?! Thest person with the highest authority of my church¡­Y-You don''t mean¡­?!" The pope let out a startled shout.


    Just to prove her words, Yrellea released the staff from her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The pope naturally remembered the staff and knew instinctively it was the same one that the High Pontiff held. Actually, his sharp instincts weren''t the only reason why he recognized the staff so quickly. It also had to do with the fact that this staff was radiating an intense Holy Ardor.


    "¡­Y-You stinky witch?! You actually harmed our High Pontiff?! You will pay the price for your actions!" The pope spoke.


    Yrellea rolled her eyes and spoke, "There is no one here other than us so you can cut out the act of this fake anger."


    "H-How dare you use me of something so preposterous?!" The pope seemed shaken upon hearing her words.


    "Your act of righteousness won''t work with me. I know all about the immoral acts you havemitted behind closed doors, including but you''re openly flouting the teachings of the church, breaking vows of celibacy and engaging in acts of debauchery with abandon. You have even secretly amassed great wealth and power for yourself, siphoning off resources meant for the needy and downtrodden. I have all the evidence I need in these files," Yrellea spoke as stacks of files suddenly appeared.


    At this point, the pope realized that the gig is up. Someone must have betrayed him.


    "The extent of your research is impressive," spoke the pope in a menacing tone, his voice bearing an ominous weight.


    "I had done this research long ago. Why do you think you were chosen to manage the entire Church of Mubesni in the High Pontiff''s absence? Did you think it was because you were his favorite?" Yrellea sneered in disdain.


    "Oh please. It was me who chose you."


    "Now, let''s get to business," Yrellea smiled. The files were ced back in her ring and she continued, "After killing the High Pontiff, I learned the true value of this staff to the Church of Mubesni. It is the only artifact in the Church of Mubesni that can allow you to contact your religion''s celestials unless you are ready to part with precious resources and set up a ritual."


    "That is correct. Whoever possesses this staff and controls it is the true leader of the Church of Mubesni," spoke the pope.


    Yrellea''s words wereced with a sly undertone as she gazed at Pope Andrew. "Fortunate are you, Pope, that I am willing to relinquish this staff and grant you the position of High Pontiff of the Church of Mubesni," she said, her voice tinged with a chilling confidence. However, her offer came with a catch, as she continued, "But know that there are conditions that must be met."


    A wicked grin spread across Yrellea''s face, betraying the true nature of her intentions. She leaned forward, her eyes piercing into the Pope''s, as she spoke in a low, threatening tone, "Fail to meet them, and you will find that the consequences will be dire."


    Pope Andrew gulped a mouthful of saliva nervously as he asked the obvious question, "What are those conditions?"


    The grin on Yrellea''s face widened as a cream paper appeared in her hand and she flung it towards the pope.


    "Read it. These are the conditions."


    Pope Andrew reached out to take the piece of paper. The words on it were written in a neat and precise hand, and he read them carefully, his face growing more and more troubled as he did so.


    "Firstly," the paper read, "you must maintain absolute secrecy about our deal. If anyone were to discover what has passed between us, it would not go well for you, or for me."


    Pope Andrew nodded slowly, understanding the gravity of the situation.


    "Secondly," he read on, "you must agree to follow all of my orders from this day forward. You are now in my debt, and you will do as I say."


    He swallowed hard, feeling a knot form in his stomach. The thought of being at Yrellea''s beck and call was not a pleasant one, but he knew that he had little choice.


    "T-This is a Blood Contract," Pope Andrew was bbergasted as he discovered this.


    "Yes," Yrellea epted it without even batting her eyes. "Now, sign the contract with your blood."


    Pope Andrew''s face twisted with anger as he read through the conditions written on the piece of paper. "This is preposterous!" he eximed, mming his fist on the table. "I will not be anyone''s puppet!"


    Yrellea merely smiled, unperturbed by the pope''s outburst. "These are my conditions, Pope Andrew," she said calmly. "If you want the staff and the title of High Pontiff, you will have to agree to them."


    For a few moments, the pope stared at the piece of paper, his mind racing. He knew that agreeing to these conditions would mean giving up his autonomy, but at the same time, the allure of power was too great to ignore.


    Finally, with a heavy sigh, he nodded his head in agreement. "Fine," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I agree to your conditions."


    He bit his finger and signed the contract with his blood.


    As the blood contract was signed, Yrellea''s smile widened. "Excellent," she said, standing up from her seat. "You won''t regret this, Pope Andrew."


    She grabbed hold of the blood contract and ced it in her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring while handing him the staff.


    As soon as Pope Andrew received the staff, Yrellea failed to notice the clever gleam in his eyes.

 Chapter 597 Noahs Deadly Sword Qi

    As Pope Andrew tightly gripped the staff given to him by Yrellea, a sinister grin slowly spread across his face, his eyes gleaming with a newfound sense of power. He began to mutter in an inaudible voice, careful not to let Yrellea detect what he was doing. His hands trembled slightly as he focused his energy, channeling the holy magic of the staff.


    Yrellea had her back turned towards Pope Andrew and initially didn''t sense anything. However, an intense Holy Ardor suddenly flooded the site, and she was caught off-guard.


    She turned around to see the Pope Andrew with a sinister grin and the staff shining with Holy Ardor.


    The Holy Ardor moved and created something akin to a portal above the Pope Andrew''s head.


    "Ha ha ha! How naive you are, Yrellea. Your conditions didn''t mention that I cannot harm you," Pope Andrew sneered with a twisted grin on his face.


    Yrellea''s heart sank as she realized her mistake. This was a huge blunder on her part. She was far too arrogant and had lowered her guard after he signed the Blood Contract.


    Pope Andrew''s grin grew even wider as he revealed his n. "I have already recited the chant to summon a Celestial Angel. And when she arrives, I willmand her to kill you!" he dered, his voice dripping with malice.


    He took a step closer to Yrellea, his eyes glowing with wicked glee. "And don''t worry, I won''t let your death be in vain. Due to you, I have already discovered several traitors in my midst, and they will pay dearly for their disloyalty."


    "...Do you really believe this to be your victory?" Yrellea asked with a frighteningly calm voice.


    "Well then, let me break this illusion for you. Your first order is that you can never harm me," Yrellea spat while ring at Pope Andrew.


    "Themand you''ve given is utterly meaningless now. As soon as the Celestial Angel descends upon us, she''ll extinguish your life, and it''ll have nothing to do with me. Even if you were tomand me to halt the portal''s opening, it would be a futile attempt. Once the ritualmences, there is no going back," Pope Andrew scoffed, relishing in Yrellea''s despair.


    Yrellea rolled her eyes as she responded, "You shouldn''t be so overconfident. Even the Celestial Angels are not invincible."


    Just as Pope Andrew was about to respond to her words, an intense Holy Ardor emerged from the portal.


    Yrellea realized that the Celestial Angel was about to emerge. And sure enough, a beautiful figure heading towards the portal was seen.


    Yrellea raised her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring and pointed it towards the portal. This ring was shing with a bright violet shade.


    "I wonder what happens after an Angel''s death, but the result should be entertaining, right?" Yrellea inquired with a disdainful grin.


    "W-What are you saying?" Pope Andrew stared at Yrellea in horror.


    With a scoff, Yrellea responded, "You will see soon enough."


    Once the Celestial Angel was close enough, Yrellea activated her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.


    As if a divine force had been unleashed, a brilliant white de of pure sword qi materialized from Yrellea''s ring. The very presence of this otherworldly qi caused the Holy Ardor in the surrounding area to be subdued, reced by an overwhelming surge of power and sharpness.


    The sword qi seemed to emanate an aura of unmatched intensity, as if it could slice through the very fabric of reality itself. Its edges glimmered with a radiant light that seemed to pierce through the darkness like a beacon of hope, inspiring a sense of awe and fear in all who beheld it.


    With a fierce cry, sheunched the white de of pure sword qi towards the Celestial Angel with all her might.


    As the de flew through the air, it left behind a trail of sparkling white light that illuminated the entire area. The power of the sword qi was so great that it sliced through the air like butter, leaving a sonic boom in its wake.


    The de collided with the Celestial Angel in a burst of blinding light.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Celestial Angel''s eyes widened in shock as the de of pure sword qi sliced through her effortlessly. The force of the blow shattered her insides, rupturing her organs and celestial core, leaving her gasping for breath as she clutched at her wounds.


    As the portal began to close, Yrellea summoned the white de back to her ring, dragging the Celestial Angel''s corpse along with it. The impact of the lifeless body hitting the ground echoed through the site, sending chills down Pope Andrew''s spine.


    He stared in disbelief at the corpse, his mind reeling from the gruesome disy of power before him. When he finally looked up at Yrellea, he saw a glint of something in her eyes that chilled him to the bone - a sense of otherworldly strength and confidence that made him realize he had severely underestimated her.


    "Now then, I should first give educate you properly to prevent such a thing from urring again," Yrellea spoke, her eyes gleaming with rage.


    Pope Andrew knew that he was done for now and earnestly surrendered. This was a wise decision on his part.


    After a day of torture, Yrellea allowed Pope Andrew to return.


    Pope Andrew''s guardians had awoken and were fed with a big fat lie that stated they were given rest in the Misty Flower Pavilion''s estate and were given a change of clothing to prevent them from figuring out that they were ambushed and stabbed with arrows.


    Naturally, the guardians had no choice but to ept this lie as Pope Andrew personally testified it.


    Once Pope Andrew was gone, Yrellea recollected her thoughts and analyzed her gains.


    ''Alright. The Church of Mubesni is under me, and I can use them to mobilize the entire Pinhian Republic whenever I want. The step one of expanding the Misty Flower Pavilion isplete. I should shift my focus to searching for talents and recruiting them. I need talented array masters, alchemists, cksmiths, armoursmiths, explorers, and a team of powerful warriors.''


    Before this deal with Pope Andrew and having the entire Church of Mubesni under her, Yrellea couldn''t work on these objectives openly.


    The Church of Mubesni would have never tolerated Yrellea''s ambitious expansion and the establishment of such a formidable and influential organization.


    They would have used their own influence and the authority of the parliament to prevent Yrellea from seeding her ambitions.


    However, the situation has transformed now. The majority of the parliament''s power rested in Yrellea''s hands. She could easily acquire permissions for all sorts of illegal matters without any issue.


    In fact, the government of the Pinhian Republic itself would provide her with resources and manpower to realize her ambitions.


    Naturally, Yrellea had to restrain herself from tantly harming the public''s interests, as there was still one person who could change the entire situation singlehandedly.


    The Vicious Lightning Paragon. His supreme power and prestige could easily put all her schemes to rest.


    But this was manageable. ording to what Yrellea had observed and heard of, the Vicious Lightning Paragon wouldn''t interfere in the politics or the decisions of the parliament unless they threatened to destroy the Pinhian Republic entirely.


    And this was something Yrellea could handle.


    Once she had reorganized her thoughts, Yrellea decided to take a hot steamy bath to calm down.


    As Yrellea slipped into the hot pool, she couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief. The warm water enveloped her body, rxing her muscles and soothing her mind. It was the perfect way to unwind after a long day of scheming and plotting.


    As she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, Yrellea allowed herself to sink deeper into the water, feeling the tension slowly seep out of her body. The steam rising from the pool filled her senses, and she couldn''t help but sigh.


    Her gaze fixed on the ceiling, sorrowful tears streamed down her face as she whispered, ''If only Master Azaroth were here...''

 Chapter 598 Olmer Clans Territory (Sargans Story)

    It had been a week since Sargan began to live in Olmer n''s territory. The Olmer n has aplex hierarchy, with the strongest and most skilled members upying the highest positions. They are highlypetitive and constantly vying for power and influence within the n.


    The Olmer n has four heirs who are next in line to lead the n. Each heir has their own faction within the n, and they are constantly vying for power and influence over each other. Here are detailed descriptions of each of the four heirs:


    Zara Olmer - She is known for her exceptionalbat skills and is the leader of the Olmer n''s warrior faction. She is a master of close-rangebat and is feared by many of her enemies. Her striking feature is her ability to imbue her weapons with demonic energy, making them more powerful and deadly. Her weakness, however, is herck of subtlety - she prefers to confront her enemies head-on, which can sometimes lead to her being outmaneuvered by more cunning opponents.


    Rhea Olmer - She is the leader of the Olmer n''s sorcerer faction and is known for her exceptional magical abilities. She is able to harness powerful spells and manipte demonic energies to her will. Her striking feature is her ability to perceive the underlying magical forces that permeate reality, allowing her to anticipate and counteract enemy magic. Her weakness, however, is her physical fragility - she is vulnerable in closebat and relies heavily on her spells to protect her.


    Xander Olmer - He is the leader of the Olmer n''s espionage faction and is known for his exceptional skills in maniption and deception. He is a master of disguise and is able to infiltrate enemy strongholds undetected. His striking feature is his ability to read people''s emotions - he is able to tell when someone is lying or hiding something. His weakness, however, is hisck ofbat skills - he relies on his ability to manipte others to gain an advantage.


    Dante Olmer - He is the leader of the Olmer n''s assassin faction and is known for his exceptional stealth and lethality. He is able to move silently and strike quickly, often taking out his enemies before they even realize he is there. His striking feature is his ability to manipte shadows - he is able to blend in with the darkness and disappear from sight. His weakness, however, is hisck of leadership skills - he prefers to work alone and can sometimes be difficult to work with.


    Each of the four heirs has their own strengths and weaknesses, and they are constantly trying to outmaneuver each other to gain more power within the n. Zara is the strongest in directbat, Rhea is the strongest in magical abilities, Xander is the strongest in maniption and deception, and Dante is the strongest in stealth and assassination. However, their weaknesses can also be exploited by their rivals, which means that none of them are invincible. Overall, thepetition between the four heirs is fierce, and the future of the Olmer n rests on who emerges as the ultimate leader.


    Sargan gathered these bits of information by talking or interrogating local demons. It depended more on the person whether he would break the hard way or the soft way.


    Sargan is a member of the Bach n, and majority of his abilities originated from his Bloodline Ability known as the Evil Eyes.


    However, Azaroth had forced Sargan''s Evil Eyes to fuse with the Abyss Eyes, causing an unprecedented mutation.


    These Evil Abyss Pupils possessed the abilities of the Evil Eyes as well as the Abyss Eyes.


    At this moment, Sargan possessed the abilities of the Evil Eyes, such as Petrification, Hypnosis, Mirage Control, Adoptive Muscle Memory. Unlocking four abilities of the Evil Eyes only at the Demon Lord Rank was unprecedented in the history of Bach n.


    Once Sargan returns to Bach n, he will definitely be considered the greatest genius of the n since the founder.


    However, these weren''t all his eye abilities. Additionally, he possessed the abilities of the Abyss Eyes that gave him Eidetic Memory, Night Vision, and Advanced Aura Control.


    Moreover, Sargan unlocked a unique ability of the Evil Abyss Pupils known as the Precognition Ability. This allowed him to foresee a few seconds in future.


    Sargan''s ability to anticipate his opponents'' attacks proved to be immensely advantageous in battle. With his acute sense of perception, he was able to urately predict not only which attack his opponent would use, but also the manner in which it would be executed, enabling him to prepare an effective defense or counter-attack beforehand.


    This precognitive skill gave Sargan a significant advantage over his foes, allowing him to stay one step ahead inbat and emerge victorious.


    Naturally, there was a significant demerit to gaining the Evil Abyss Pupils. The expenditure of Ardor was far too great.


    Although the power of his abilities had greatly strengthened, Sargan still couldn''t exertplete control over them, causing him to waste a lot of his Ardor each time he used these abilities.


    Other than these abilities, though, Sargan also possessed the ck Lightning that possessed intense demonicws of destruction, and he could control it at will.


    These abilities certainly made him a terrifying demon.


    (A/N: I rewrote these abilities here to make it easier for all of you to know Sargan''s current abilities. It has been long since hest fought, so some might have slipped off your mind. Tell me inments if I forgot any. xD)<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''Returning to Bach n empty handed wouldn''t be a good idea. Maybe I should cause chaos in Olmer n territory first,'' Sargan thought.


    ''The Olmer n in an Emperor-Ranked n. It will be wonderful if I can kill a few of their Demon Kings and cause great damage to their n before fleeing to Bach n.''


    Killing a Demon King as a Demon Lord was an almost impossible task. Well, it would have been possible if Sargan had gained insight into aw and cultivated its domain.


    But unfortunately, his talent isn''t as monstrous as Noah''s, so he can''t brute force it. The other method would be to manipte them and make them fight each other.


    This was certainly possible as each faction of the heirs is supported by respective Demon Kings.


    The Olmer n isprised of thirty-one powerful Demon Kings, each with their own distinct abilities and personalities. These Demon Kings are divided in their support towards the heirs of the n, aligning themselves with one of the four factions led by Zara, Rhea, Xander, and Dante.


    Zara''s faction has the support of twelve Demon Kings, who are drawn to her fierce warrior spirit and her ability to lead them into battle with unmatched ferocity. These Demon Kings are all renowned for their physical strength andbat prowess, making them invaluable assets in any conflict.


    Rhea''s faction, on the other hand, isposed of six Demon Kings who are drawn to her exceptional magical abilities. These Demon Kings recognize Rhea''s skill as a sorceress and appreciate the strategic advantage that her mastery of magic brings to the table.


    Xander''s faction has the support of five Demon Kings, who value his cunning and strategic thinking. These Demon Kings recognize Xander''s skill in manipting others and appreciate his ability to outthink and outmaneuver his opponents.


    Dante''s faction, though the smallest, is still highly regarded by the Demon Kings who support him. The four Demon Kings aligned with Dante are drawn to his ferocious nature and the primal power he exudes. They respect hisbat prowess and see him as a formidable warrior who can lead them to victory.


    Finally, there are four Demon Kings who remain unaligned, preferring to stay out of the political maneuverings of the factions. These Demon Kings are highly independent and do not take orders from any of the heirs or their factions, instead choosing to operate on their own terms.


    Sargan knew better than to take the surface news at face value. He was all too familiar with the cunning nature of demons and their tendency to switch allegiances at a moment''s notice.


    At first nce, it seemed that Zara''s faction held a significant edge over the other three factions in terms of the Demon Kings supporting them. This indicated it would be impossible to strike a deal with her.


    Thus, Sargan thought about the other heirs, ''I need to choose someone from these three. The number of Demon Kings supporting them is nearly the same, so that can''t be the deciding factor. I need to choose them based on their personalities and abilities.''


    After a long thought, Sargan made his choice. His choice was Rhea Olmer.


    Well, he chose her by the process of elimination.


    Sargan couldn''t choose Xander as he was a leader of espionage faction and considered skilled in deception and maniption. His bloodline allowed him to perceive lies. This would make it very challenging for Sargan to manipte him. Additionally, his Earth Ardor would form a badbo for his ck Lightning.


    In the meantime, Sargan couldn''t choose Dante''s faction because it was too small. It would take too much effort to upgrade his faction to a level that he could take on his siblings.


    Thus, Sargan chose Rhea Olmer as his target.


    It was unfortunate that the direct heirs of Olmer n were resistant to Bach n''s eye abilities, or else Sargan could have chosen the easiest option and hypnotized Zara and caused chaos in the Olmer n''s territory.

 Chapter 599 Fifth Level Of Nether Devil Gods Mantra

    The lifestyle of demons living in in purgatory is vastly different from that of humans. As creatures of darkness and chaos, demons do not adhere to the same social constructs and moral codes that humans do.


    The demons of the Olmer n live in a realm of perpetual twilight, where the boundaries between reality and the surreal blur together. They do not have houses or buildings in the traditional sense, as they are able to manipte the very fabric of the world around them to suit their needs. Some may reside in grand pces of obsidian and bone, while others may dwell in shadowy caves or forests of thorns and brambles.


    Demon society is highly hierarchical, with power and influence often determined by one''s strength inbat and ability to control the elements.


    Unlike humans, demons do not require sustenance in the traditional sense. Instead, they may feed on the energy of living beings or the essence of emotions such as fear and despair. This gives them a unique perspective on the world and allows them to experience sensations and emotions in a way that humans cannot.


    The Olmer n does not have a fixed residence or a single location where they live. As demonic beings, they do not have a need for traditional homes or buildings, and instead rely on their mastery of the elements to create dwellings that are as unique and varied as they are.


    The Olmer n''s territory in the Purgatory is vast and varied, with different factions staking out their own territories and iming them as their own. Thendscape of their territory is shaped by their mastery of the elements, with ck ice formations, violet mes, and other demonic energies serving as naturalndmarks and barriers.


    The members of the Olmer n are able to manipte their environment to suit their needs, creating borate dwellings and fortifications out of the elements around them. These dwellings can range from towering citadels to subterraneanirs and can be as ornate or utilitarian as their creator''s desire.


    Overall, the Olmer n''s residence is not a fixed location, but rather a sprawlingwork of territories and dwellings that are constantly changing and evolving as the members of the n vie for power and control over each other.


    Each of the four heirs of Olmer n is the leader of their respective faction,manding loyalty and respect from their followers.


    Zara, the ruler of the Bone Pce, leads a powerful faction that values strength and fearlessness above all else. Her followers are known for their brutal tactics and unwavering loyalty to their leader.


    Rhea, the queen of Obsidian Pce, is a master magician with a keen intellect and a strategic mind. She may not have much physical strength, but her magical abilities are unparalleled. She can manipte the elements with ease and can summon powerful familiars to aid her in battle. Her residence is a towering spire of obsidian that seems to shimmer and glimmer in the light of the purgatory sun. The spire is home to a vast library filled with arcane tomes and scrolls, where Rhea spends most of her time studying and expanding her knowledge of the magical arts.


    Xander, the king of the Forest, leads his faction from the sprawling fortress located deep within the dense forests of the n''s territory. The fortress is hidden from view, with thick vines and foliage obscuring its entrance. The structure is made primarily of wood and stone, with sturdy ramparts and fortified walls.


    Dante, the lord of the Dark Mountain, is the leader of the small but powerful assassin group that operates from the shadowy corners of the n''s territory. His headquarters is located on the dark mountain, a treacherous and unforgiving terrain that only the bravest demons dare to venture into.


    Each of their residences is so heavily guarded that even Sargan will require great effort to sneak into them.


    However, it was necessary for Sargan to meet Rhea if he wanted to join her faction.


    Thus, he did the next best thing.


    The following day, Sargan journeyed to the pce made of bones and engaged in a fierce battle with numerous demons, emerging victorious.


    Sargan utilized ck Lightning to quickly kill his opponents and left before the experts of the Bone Pce could lock him down.


    However, Sargan didn''t stop after hunting the demons of the Bone Pce, he immediately headed towards his next target. Xander''s faction!


    As Sargan reached the forest, he abilities his Abyss Evil Pupils to take a quick nce of the forest and deactivated his eyes.


    His Advanced Aura Control ability along with enhanced Night Vision allowed him to perceive the aura in his surroundings.


    "There they are¡­" Sargan whispered with a diabolic grin and vanished from his spot with a sh of ck lightning.


    He assassinated a bunch of demons of Xander''s faction and thought, ''I won''t make any name if I continue to act so secretly. I should make a little noise.''


    However, Sargan had infiltrated a bit too inside the forest by this time. He quickly headed towards the western outskirts of the forest andunched arge attack.


    "Shadowbolt Barrage!"


    This is a powerful attack that unleashes a barrage of ck lightning bolts that rain down on enemies, covering a wide area and capable of taking out an entire group.


    Most of the demons caught in this attack were instantly ughtered. And the ones that did survive were gravely injured.


    Uponunching this attack, Sargan immediately fled for his life. And this time, he was heading towards Rhea''s Obsidian Pce.


    However, Sargan was utterly shocked as he felt the keen senses of a Demon King locking onto him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''¡­No¡­I must not draw any suspicion. If the Demon King realizes that the perpetrator is me, it will instantly teleport to my position,'' Sargan thought.


    He instantly stopped and took position near a tree. He knew that even a Demon King couldn''t remember the aura of every single demon within its territory.


    ''I should conceal my aura as best as I can using the Abyss Evil Pupils.''


    Fortunately, Sargan''s Advanced Aura Control allowed him to gainplete mastery over his Ardor. Even a Demon King could never assess his true rank if Sargan was intent on concealing it.


    Sargan only disyed his cultivation as a High-Rank Demon which was equivalent to a 3 Star Warrior for humans. Demonstrating this strength shouldn''t incur the Demon King''s suspicions.


    Very soon, the Demon King withdrew his senses. Once that urred, Sargan let out a relieved sigh, but he still remained vignt as he began walking while maintaining that cultivation base.


    And very soon, Sargan sensed the Demon King spreading his Ardor again and trying to sense his cultivation base.


    He sneered and thought in his mind, ''This Demon King is really clever. He quickly withdrew his senses to force a mistake out of the perpetrator. Fortunately, I was cautious enough or he would have caught me.''


    Once Sargan realized that the Demon King couldn''t ascertain his identity, he calmed down and headed towards Rhea''s Obsidian Pce.


    After travelling for nearly an hour, Sargan came across a cave. A trio of demons were residing in this cave and had seemingly decorated it with bones.


    Pulling out a de from his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring, Sargan headed towards them with a murderous look.


    These three demons are all of Elite-Demon Rank. Sargan wanted to kill them while they slept as he didn''t want them to cause a loudmotion.


    After killing these demons and looting their weapons, Sargan sat down and decided to get some rest.


    In fact, he wasn''t really resting but cultivating the Nether Devil God''s Mantra. In Purgatory, Sargan''s cultivation technique disyed its true speed as he rapidly absorbed the Yin Ardor from his surroundings.


    After cultivating for quite some time, Sargan''s Nether Devil God''s Mantra advanced to the fifth level.


    His soul was significantly empowered as he crossed this threshold. His control over the Demonic Ardor had also improved qualitatively. He had also received a huge boost to his regeneration speed.


    Sargan''s regeneration abilities had be so astounding that even his severed part of his body could be revitalized.


    However, these were all just standard abilities. The true ability that Sargan gained by advancing to the fifth level of the Nether Devil God''s Mantra is controlling souls.


    Sargan could now remove a soul from an individual''s body. He could gain information within this soul and also use it to attack his enemies.


    The explosion of an Elite-Demon''s soul would significantly injure even a Demon Lord.


    A blue hue appeared over Sargan''s palm as he walks over and touches a demon''s corpse.


    A spherical entity that emitted a soft, ethereal light in shades of pale blue. Its surface was smooth and seemed to ripple like water, but to the touch, it felt weightless and insubstantial.


    Sargan realized a new ability of the Nether Devil God''s Mantra. After activating his cultivation technique and holding onto the soul, he could absorb Spiritual Energy directly from the soul.


    It would act as nourishment for Sargan''s soul and make it much stronger. Even the Nether Devil God''s Mantra advanced by a bit.


    ''So, this is the true method of cultivating this technique. I was right. I could never have mastered this cultivation technique through the normal means.''


    There was a wide grin on his face as he thought, ''I need to devour souls to advance the Nether Devil God''s Mantra.''


    "¡­Well, well, you three can act as my nourishment then," Sargan raised his arm as two more pale blue spherical souls were pulled out of the demons'' corpses.


    Sargan widened his jaws to receive the three light blue souls, which entered his mouth and merged with his own soul, instantly filling him with a powerful surge of spiritual energy. He found a spot to sit down and began to meditate, focusing on absorbing and harnessing the newfound spiritual energy flowing through him.

 Chapter 600 Recruiting Sargan

    The newfound spiritual energy was far too rewarding for Sargan. Not only did it strengthen his cultivation base, but also his soul.


    After nearly a hundred hours, Sargan left the cave. He felt that the news of his exploits should have spread to Rhea''s Obsidian Pce.


    Sargan crept silently towards Rhea''s pce, his eyes darting from side to side as he scanned the surrounding area.


    As he neared the pce, he noticed three guards stationed outside. Sargan quickly assessed their positions and movements, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With a swift and silent motion, he darted past them and entered the pce undetected.


    He breathed a small sigh of relief as he entered the pce grounds, knowing that the hardest part of his mission was now behind him.


    The interior of the pce was ornate and luxurious, with tapestries and chandeliers adorning the walls and ceilings. Sargan moved quickly and quietly through the halls, searching for his target.


    Finally, he came upon Rhea''s chamber. The door was slightly ajar, and he could hear her moving inside. As he peered through the opening, he caught his first glimpse of the mistress herself.


    Rhea was stunningly beautiful, with long, flowing hair the colour of blood and eyes that shone like polished obsidian. Her physique was that of a human, a testament to her high-ranking demon bloodline.


    Silently, Sargan crept into the room, careful not to make a sound. However, Rhea''s keen instincts immediately kicked in, and she erected a powerful barrier around herself.


    Sargan raised his hands in surrender and calmly spoke, "Your instincts are truly impressive."


    Cautiously, Rhea scanned the intruder with her eyes and demanded, "Who are you?"


    As ck lightning crackled around Sargan''s body, he responded coolly, "This should be enough to state my identity, don''t you think?"


    Realization dawned on Rhea as she eximed, "ck Lightning? You''re the one running around causing damage to my brothers'' factions!"


    "Indeed," Sargan confirmed, adding, "And today, I havee to offer my allegiance to you, Miss Rhea."


    "What makes you think I will ept the allegiance of someone so suspicious like you?" Rhea snorted.


    Sargan responded in a low, steady voice, "My abilities speak for themselves, mistress Rhea. Your guards were no match for me. But if you prefer to ignore the value I can bring to your faction, then I can just as easily take my skills elsewhere."


    "You think you can escape? My elders have locked onto your spirit by now," Rhea dered with a disdainful tone.


    With a conceited look on his face, Sargan responded, "Sure. They are wee to try."


    Rhea''s eyes narrowed as she heard those words. She understood that this wasn''t a random demon. He must have some backing since he dared to speak so arrogantly.


    She considered his words carefully. She knew he had a point. If an enemy could slip past her guards so easily, then her security was indeed inadequate.


    "You im to have high skills, but what do I know of your background? What demon bloodline do you hail from to possess such power despite your human form?" Rhea probed, trying to uncover any possible weakness.


    Sargan simply smiled, his eyes glinting with a hint of mischief. "I have no need to prove my lineage to you, mistress Rhea. My loyalty and my abilities are all that matter. Take me in, and I will prove my worth to you."


    "Why did you choose me? If you are as skilled as you im, you have an even better option. So, why me?" Rhea asked.


    Sargan smirked upon hearing this question. He knew that the answer to this question would be the decider of whether Rhea would ept his proposal or not.


    Fortunately, he had anticipated this question and answered fluently, "I chose your faction because it needs me the most. Your elder sister Zara''s faction is so powerful that she would never enlist me or provide me with an important role. Meanwhile, your younger brothers Xander and Dante are heads of the Espionage and Assassin Associations. My role in those factions would be limited. I would probably be working under an individual who is more trusted by the faction leaders."


    "Are you satisfied with my answer?" Sargan asked.


    "Why did you attack my brothers'' factions?" Rhea asked.


    Sargan responded curtly, "To prove my strength and boldness."


    Rhea remained silent for a moment, weighing Sargan''s words carefully. After a few seconds, she finally spoke, "Very well, I will ept you into my faction. But you must understand that I will be watching you closely."


    Sargan nodded, "Ipletely understand, and I wee your scrutiny."


    Rhea gave him a small smile before asking, "What do you want in return for your services?"


    Sargan''s response was direct and to the point. "I want Soul Gems and lots of them," he stated.


    Soul Gems were highly valuable objects possessing a trace of a demon''s soul. They were extremely useful to cultivators, greatly strengthening their spiritual energy, and were essential in setting up powerful arrays.


    Upon hearing Sargan''s demand, Rhea''s internal delight was palpable. If Sargan had stated that he didn''t require anything in return for his services, she would have been suspicious of his intentions. However, his straightforward request gave her a sense of relief, knowing that he was being honest about his goals.


    "Very well. As long as you do well, you will be rewarded with a great number of Soul Gems," Rhea solemnly promised.


    "I will do my best," Sargan responded.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Rhea lowered the barrier she had erected earlier, and a glint of light emanated from a ring on her finger. In her palm, a small, shimmering pouch materialized, containing a hundred Soul Gems.


    "Take these as a token of our agreement and tomemorate your recruitment," she offered with a small smile.


    "Allow me to show you to your quarters," Rhea said, gesturing towards the door. Sargan followed her out of the room and down a long corridor, the walls adorned with intricate carvings and lit by softly glowing orbs.


    As they walked, Rhea exined, "Your room is located on the third floor, which is reserved for our most valuable allies. It is a spacious andfortable chamber with a view of the gardens below."


    They arrived at a set of ornate doors, and Rhea opened it.


    The room was indeed spacious, with high ceilings and plush furnishings in shades of deep red and ck. The walls were made of polished obsidian, which gleamed in the soft light of the hangingnterns. Arge bed with soft silk sheets dominated one corner of the spacious room, leaving ample open space for movement and rxation.


    "I am sure you are confused by the room''s design. I had them modelled after the rooms, simr to the rooms of pces in the human world. They feel more aesthetic," Rhea spoke.


    "¡­Since when did demons began to care about aesthetics?" Sargan wondered aloud.


    Rhea chuckled at Sargan''s question before responding, "We may be demons, but we still appreciate beauty and elegance. It''s just that we don''t value it as highly as humans do."


    Sargan nodded in understanding.


    "I helped set up this design. I am sure it must be even better than the pce rooms in the human world," Rhea boasted.


    Upon hearing her words, Sargan resisted the urge to roll his eyes disdainfully. The room of her pce was indeed quite impressive, but only when considering the demon''s standards.


    As Sargan had lived on Frascoia Continent for thest two years, he had a deep understanding and even admiration of the way humans lived.


    "¡­Thank you for the room. I will get some rest now," Sargan spoke as he approached the bed.


    Rhea nodded and left the room, leaving Sargan alone.


    Once Rhea departed, Sargan deftly withdrew the Soul Gems from the pouch and began to arrange them in the room meticulously. With practised ease, he set up an intricate array of istion that would effectively shield the room from the outside world.


    This meant that Sargan could unleash his full power without fear of alerting anyone within the pce to his presence. With the array now in ce, Sargan felt confident that he could safely train and refine his abilities in his new surroundings.


    "Now, it''s time to begin training the Nether Devil God Scripture," Sargan whispered with a grin.


    This was indeed his true purpose of acquiring these Soul Gems.


    Although it was much better for Sargan to absorb the soul of a demon, he couldn''t kill so readily just yet. So, it was better to use these Soul Gems as substitutes.


    While Sargan began his training, Rhea walked through the halls of the obsidian pce, heading towards the chambers of the Demon King elders. As she arrived, she greeted them with a deep bow.


    "Greetings, honoured elders. I have a matter of great importance to discuss with you," Rhea said, her voice formal and respectful.


    The Demon King elders acknowledged her with a nod and gestured for her to continue.


    "I have recently recruited a demon named Sargan to our faction. He is highly skilled in stealth as he managed to reach my room undetected. He is also powerful as he is the demon running around attacking my siblings'' factions."


    The elders exchanged nces, clearly skeptical of Rhea''s decision.


    "Rhea, have you thoroughly tested his abilities?" one of the elders asked.


    "Not yet," Rhea responded.


    "Then how can we be sure?" Another elder asked.


    "But how can we be sure?" another elder chimed in.


    "We do not have the luxury of time to test his abilities extensively. We need all the help we can get," Rhea argued.


    The elders murmured amongst themselves, but eventually, they came to a consensus.


    "Very well, Rhea. We will trust your judgment. But keep a close eye on Sargan and ensure he does not be a liability," an elder spoke.


    Rhea bowed deeply again, showing her gratitude to the elders.


    "Thank you, esteemed elders. I will not disappoint you," Rhea said before leaving.

 Chapter 601 Weeding Out Spies

    Sargan absorbed half of the soul jewels over the course of dozens of hours. Around half were left, so he would have a backup in case he needed to set up an array instantly.


    After advancing his cultivation to some extent, Sargan felt it was time to leave. He knew that it was necessary to prove his value to Rhea, or else, he won''t be able to do anything.


    Thus, Sargan left his room and headed straight to see her. At this moment, Rhea was training.


    "I wish to meet Her Highness," Sargan informed the guards outside her chambers.


    "No. Her Highness instructed us to ensure no one disturbs her cultivation," the guards responded tly.


    Sargan rolled his eyes in response, "Yeah, yeah. Tell her it''s Sargan."


    The demons naturally didn''t pay any heed to his words. Instead, they nced at each other and nodded.


    Before long, the demon with that robust body moved his arm and attempted to slice Sargan with hisnce.


    Sargan easily dodged that strike while muttering, "¡­You shouldn''t have done that." His ruby eyes glinted murderously as he stared at these demons.


    He tightened his fist and strongly struck the demoning to strike him.


    The punch was exceptionally powerful as the demon collided with the door to Rhea''s chambers, and it crashed open.


    However, before the demon could collide with the wall within Rhea''s chambers, it was suddenly attacked with purple mes before it turned into ashes.


    This was naturally Rhea''s amazing elemental prowess.


    Sargan had noticed it with his trained eyes that it was an instinctive reaction.


    ''Interesting. So, if I had entered her chambers unannounced, she would have attacked me in the same manner?''


    "Who dares to attack me?" Rhea''s cold voice resounded in her chambers.


    The other demon guards entered her chambers while shivering uncontrobly, "¡­It was this demon, Your Highness. This demon attacked us suddenly."


    These guards pointed towards Sargan.


    Sargan entered Rhea''s chambers with a calm expression.


    "I asked them nicely to let me meet you. But they insisted on being rude and stubborn. Also, I merely attacked the one who came forward to strike me," Sargan responded coolly.


    "That''s not true, Your Highness. This guy is simply twisting the right from the wrong!" A guard shouted.


    The other guards supported his statement as they did their best to make Rhea punish Sargan.


    "Silence!" Rhea red her demonic ardor as she calmed down thismotion.


    Once these guards quietened down, Rhea red at Sargan, "And why have youe looking for me at this moment? Couldn''t you have waited for some time? You better have a good reason or else¡­"


    Sargan''s demeanour remained indifferent as he informed Rhea, "I have a strategy to eliminate spies and informers within your pce." The prospect of unearthing potential traitors immediately caught Rhea''s attention, and she asked, "How do you n to aplish this?"


    With absolute confidence, Sargan replied, "Give me twenty hours, and I will deliver results. If I fail, you have my permission to kill me." After some contemtion, Rhea agreed to the proposal.


    As Sargan left her chambers, he knew that finding the spies would not be a daunting task for him. He began his search by stealthily investigating every demon''s room. Sargan knew that not all demons were in possession of spatial rings, and thus, their private items would be stored in their rooms.


    In just seven hours, Sargan had already identified seven demons with incriminating items. These seven individuals held prominent positions in Rhea''s faction, all holding the rank of captain or major. This was a considerable rank, neither too low nor too high.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Sargan realized that the spies had acquired knowledge about thebat capabilities of Rhea''s faction, which was concerning.


    He immediately formted a n and approached Rhea while she was conducting a training session with her demons. She seemed to be instructing them over something.


    Rhea noticed his presence and inquired, "Have youpleted your task?"


    "¡­Almost. I need to speak to you about that in private," Sargan spoke.


    "Very well. You have five minutes," Rhea spoke nonchntly. She was curious about what he wanted to talk to her about.


    The demon guards were surprised as they saw Rhea head to a secluded location with Sargan. They wondered who this new demon was.


    As they noticed his humane physique, they guessed that he also possessed a high-ranking bloodline like Rhea.


    Sargan''s expression remained calm as he spoke, "I conducted a thorough investigation of all your subordinates and found seven spies. Though there are definitely more than seven spies in your faction, these individuals are the most prolific as they possess a rank."


    Rhea looked at him sceptically. It seemed impossible for him to have found so many spies in just seven hours. "How can you be sure they are spies?" she asked.


    Sargan responded confidently, "Do you believe a mere captain in your faction has the financial means to possess aplete bottle of Extreme Yin Pellets, or Nightshade de, Dark Ghostly Lotus, Bloodvine Whip, Moonshadow Boots, Hellfire ws, and the ultimate of them all, Evil Dragon''s Nectar?"


    Rhea was shaken by his words. "Where are these items?" she demanded.


    "I didn''t bring them," Sargan replied in a casual tone.


    Rhea was infuriated. She couldn''t believe he had left behind such valuable items.


    "Are you ying games with me? Do you want to die?" she asked, her re piercing into him.


    She even raised her hand to make it seem as if she was going to attack him soon.


    Sargan let out a deep sigh while contemting, ''How foolish. I must admit, I somewhat miss dealing with humans now.''


    "I knew you would say that. That''s why I brought you something," Sargan said, reaching behind his back and presenting a small, magically appearing bottle.


    Rhea thought nothing of it, assuming he had hidden it in his clothes. It was a tiny bottle, so it was natural to assume it could have been concealed easily.


    Sargan continued, "This is a small amount of the Evil Dragon''s Nectar. I didn''t take much to avoid arousing suspicion from its owner."


    Rhea opened the bottle, and a pungent aroma filled the air, unlike anything she had smelled before.


    "Is this really the Evil Dragon''s Nectar?" Rhea asked incredulously.


    "You can even drink it to verify its effects," Sargan suggested, rolling his eyes.


    "No, I can sense that it''s genuine. You can keep it," Rhea replied, closing the bottle and handing it back to Sargan.


    "Very well," Sargan said, putting the bottle in his pocket.


    After a brief pause, he added, "Now, about the spies. Instead of merely killing them, I have another idea."


    "Pray tell," Rhea asked, intrigued.


    "Let''s use them," Sargan said with a mischievous grin.

 Chapter 602 Using The Spies

    Sargan proposed a n to Rhea. "We need to make use of these spies and their knowledge," he said. "Let''s inform them of our target and use them."


    Rhea raised her brows as he asked, "How?"


    Sargan responded rather calmly, "Just tell your spies that you will be targeting the ck Stone Grotto in the forest. They will do the rest."


    Rhea''s eyes soon widened in surprise as she eximed, "I see. They will inform their factions about it while we will be prepared with a trap to defeat them."


    Sargan smiled at her enthusiasm. "Exactly," he said. "However, remember that it won''t just be a single faction thates. There is a chance that all three of the factions will convene."


    Rhea nodded in agreement, and they gave the order to their teams. The spies were informed of the target.


    The spies wasted no time in reporting the information to their respective factions.


    As news of Rhea''s n to attack the ck Stone Grotto in the forest spread, Xander''s faction immediately went on high alert.


    This was their territory, and they were not going to let anyone take what was rightfully theirs.


    Meanwhile, Dante''s faction, known for its exceptional assassination skills, began to move quietly through the forest.


    They knew the terrain like the back of their hand and were able to make their way towards the grotto without being detected.


    Once they arrived, they hid among the trees, waiting patiently for Rhea''s faction to arrive and the battle between Xander and Rhea''s factions to begin.


    Each faction had brought a single Demon King with them, who had hidden themselves deeply while making sure their Ardor wouldn''t leak in the slightest.


    Xander and Dante had sent a small part of their faction near the ck Stone Grotto, with the former having sent hundred demons and thetter sending nearly fifty demons.


    They hadn''te in person as they were sure that their subordinates would be more than enough to handle it.


    Meanwhile, only Sargan had entered the forest from Rhea''s faction.


    Rhea''s faction was stationed a bit farther away from the forest and was hidden inside a cave as they awaited his signal.


    She had brought two Demon Kings along with her.


    These Demon Kings were slightly suspicious of Sargan''s n and were disappointed in Rhea that she would actually listen to the strategies of an outsider.


    They had no choice but to listen to her as she remained adamant in utilizing this strategy.


    However, Rhea was no fool. She wasn''t going to risk the lives of members of her faction.


    Sargan left her faction at this particr moment and headed straight towards the forest. He was moving at a rtively slow pace, but this was all to ensure that his Ardor wouldn''t be detected by the Demon Kings in this region.


    Once he was inside, Sargan moved around while keeping his eyes on the ck Stone Grotto. He activated his Evil Abyss Pupils while taking a quick nce at his surroundings and deactivating it.


    During this swift moment, Sargan managed to glimpse several figures hidden in the trees some distance away from the ck Stone Grotto.


    He guessed that they were utilizing an illusion art to ensure that their auras would remain undetectable.


    With a grin stered on his face, Sargan headed towards them while circling around the ck Stone Grotto.


    After moving for some time, he halted. He was at the perfect distance from them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He quickly dug a hole near his position that wasrge enough to hide him.


    Pulling out a spear from his spatial ring, Sargan infused it with his Ardor beforeunching it towards the trees where members of Dante''s faction were hiding!


    The spear didn''t actually hit any tree. It just kept on flying at a swift speed.


    Sargan immediately jumped inside the hole while creating a hand seal while whispering, "Unseal!"


    The spear suddenly halted in mid-air as it released an exceptionally loud and sharp noise.


    At this moment, all the figures that were utilizing illusion to conceal their bodies felt a sharp noise directly targeting their spirit.


    This attack on their spirit caused their concentration to break and the illusion art was dispelled.


    The Xander''s faction''s group that was guarding the ck Stone Grotto heard that sound as well and were immediately alerted.


    They sensed the presence of multiple figures in the north.


    Without wasting any moment, the entire group rushed towards the site to deal with these interlopers.


    The Demon King of Dante''s faction was startled as that spear released such an erratic noise that it dispelled the illusion of members under him.


    He instinctively released his massive Ardor and swept it across the region.


    Sargan was concealing his Ardor as best as he could and managed to save himself from the Demon King''s senses.


    However, the Demon King made a costly error as this action revealed his location to the Demon King of Xander''s faction.


    The Xander faction''s Demon King immediately rushed towards the Dante faction''s Demon King and a massive battle soon began.


    The shockwaves of this battle could reach even Rhea''s location.


    The two Demon Kings apanying her were shocked as they felt these shockwaves.


    "T-That demon actually did it! He actually made the two factions fight each other!"


    This was the signal that Sargan informed them. He wanted them to wait for an hour before rushing towards the ck Stone Grotto.


    This hour was to ensure that both faction groups would have weakened each other sufficiently so that Rhea''s faction could instantly gain victory over thebined might of the two.


    And sure enough, Rhea''s group advanced into the forest after an hour.


    By this time, the battle in the ck Stone Grotto had already turned in Xander faction''s favor.


    Although the Dante faction''s group had utilized many unique skills and illusionary powers, their numbers proved too little to gain decisive advantage over the Xander faction''s group.


    Even the battle between the Demon Kings wasing to an end. Even though both were greatly injured, the Demon King belonging to the Xander faction wasing out victorious.


    However, it was at this moment that Rhea''s faction arrived andpletely transformed the state of the battlefield!

 Chapter 603 The Special Spatial Altar

    The sound of shing weapons echoed through the forest as Rhea''s faction pressed forward, determined to dominate the battlefield.


    The few remaining members of Xander and Dante''s teams stood no chance against Rhea''s superior numbers and strategic nning.


    They fought fiercely, but it was clear that their defeat was inevitable.


    Rhea herself led the charge, her crimson eyes gleaming with a deadly intent as she swung her de with precision and skill.


    Her subordinates followed her lead, their weapons shing in the sunlight as they pushed forward.


    The few remaining survivors of Xander and Dante''s teams tried to hold their ground, but they were quickly overwhelmed.


    "Is that all you''ve got?" Rhea taunted, her voice ringing out over the chaos.


    "You thought you could challenge us? You should have known better than to stand in our way."


    One by one, the members of Xander and Dante''s teams fell to Rhea''s faction.


    As the battle raged on, the two Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction faced off against the Demon Kings from Xander''s and Dante''s factions.


    The air around them crackled with energy, and the ground shook beneath their feet as they shed in a fierce, brutal fight.


    The Demon Kings from Xander''s and Dante''s factions were fierce fighters, but they had already been weakened from their previous battle.


    Despite their injuries, they fought valiantly, their demonic powers surging forth as they battled their opponents.


    The Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction were a force to be reckoned with.


    They moved with a grace and fluidity that was almost hypnotic, their movements precise and deadly. Their eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, and their powers were formidable.


    As the battle raged on, it became clear that the Demon Kings from Xander''s and Dante''s factions were outmatched.


    The two demons were tiring quickly, and their opponents seemed to be only growing stronger.


    With a final burst of energy, the Demon Kings from Xander''s and Dante''s factions joined hands and charged at their opponents, their powers merging in a blinding burst of light.


    But it was not enough. The Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction were simply too powerful, and with a final, devastating attack, they sent their opponents crashing to the ground.


    The air was still, the only sound was the ragged breathing of the wounded and the dying. The Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction stood victorious, their powers still zing brightly.


    As thest of Xander''s and Dante''s faction''s subordinates were defeated, Rhea''s faction approached the ck Stone Grotto, now under their control.


    They searched through the warehouses, taking all the ck Stone they could find, and quickly retreated to their quarters, leaving behind the battered bodies of their fallen enemies.


    Some were killed outright, while others were taken captive to be used as bargaining chips in future battles.


    But through it all, Rhea remained focused on her ultimate goal: to gain control of the ck Stone Grotto.


    With thest of their enemies defeated, Rhea and her subordinates moved quickly to secure the grotto.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They searched for every nook and cranny, taking care to remove any remaining resistance.


    And when they finally had the grotto under their control, Rhea ordered her team to gather up all the ck Stone and return to their faction quarters.


    "Let this be a lesson for anyone who dares to challenge us," Rhea said as she watched her team collect the ck Stone. "We are not to be trifled with. And we will stop at nothing to achieve our goals."


    All her subordinates roared aloud and cheered at her deration. As demons, they loved to battle and destroy their opponents!


    After returning to her castle, Rhea''s subordinates were given a brief respite to recover from the fierce battle. Even Sargan, who had yed a key role in their victory, was asked to return to his quarters and rest. Rhea, however, had no time to waste.


    She walked towards the altar where the Demon Kings of Dante and Xander''s factions were ced. All the Demon Kings of her faction stood in a circle around them, watching with bated breath.


    Rhea stood tall and proud in front of the altar, facing the injured and battered Demon Kings of the opposing factions.


    "This will be your final opportunity!" Rhea shouted with fierce determination. "Will you ept me as your Lord or not?!"


    The Demon Kings growled in response, their eyes filled with rage and defiance. "We will tear you apart!" they shouted back.


    As the Demon Kings of Dante and Xander''s factions growled and shouted their defiance, Rhea''s expression hardened, and her eyes narrowed in response.


    She spoke coldly, "Very well. If that is your decision, then prepare to meet your doom."


    The ground beneath the altar began to tremble and shake, causing the Demon Kings to struggle against their restraints.


    But their efforts were in vain as ck tendrils burst forth from the ground, tightly wrapping around them.


    As the tendrils tightened their grip, the ground beneath the altar cracked open, revealing a fiery abyss. The Demon Kings screamed in agony as they were consumed by the abyss.


    Rhea''s subordinates watched in awe as the air in the throne room became dense and tense. The ground shook beneath their feet, creating a low rumble that grew into a violent quake.


    Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the air, drowning out all other sounds. As the echoes died down, a mysterious purple hue emanated from the abyss, enveloping the room in a soft, purple glow.


    All present could feel the power of the Purple Ardor surging through their veins, invigorating their bodies and strengthening their muscles.


    The Demon Kings felt their physical forms bing more resilient and their reflexes more agile.


    As for Rhea, the Purple Ardor stimted her bloodline, making her attacks more deadly and increasing her stamina greatly.


    It was as if they were all imbued with a supernatural force that made them more powerful than ever before.


    This was a special altar that Rhea had constructed after reading some ancient scriptures left behind in her n.


    ording to legend, this altar was created by the founder of the Olmer n, who had created it after he found a special beast while he was exploring different small worlds within the Purgatory.


    The beast formed a deal with the founder, promising to grant its vital qi and empower a demon''s physique and bloodline if it was fed with a powerful demon.


    This altar was a special spatial array that allowed the user to sacrifice a demon. Naturally, the altar was extremely small to ensure that the beast would never be able to reach the other side and escape that dimension.

 Chapter 604 News Of Zaras Movements

    As time passed, Sargan proved to be a valuable asset to Rhea''s cause, constantly employing his tactical prowess to help her gain more resources and weaken the factions of her brothers.


    Through the use of spies within her faction, Sargan had managed to gather crucial information about the movements and whereabouts of her enemies. In fact, he had even managed to differentiate the spies that belonged to which faction.


    He used this information to great effect,unching surprise attacks against them and exploiting their weaknesses.


    Sargan''s efforts paid off handsomely as his tactics allowed Rhea''s faction to kill three Demon Kings from Xander''s faction and two from Dante''s faction.


    It was a significant achievement, one that greatly weakened the forces of her brothers.


    Rhea was pleased with Sargan''s strategies and rewarded him handsomely for his service in the form of Soul Gems.


    She knew that his expertise would be vital in theing battles, and she made sure that he was well taken care of.


    As the Soul Gems were precious and powerful, Sargan wasted no time in utilizing them to rapidly advance his cultivation.


    Within a short span of time, he had reached the pinnacle of the Demon Lord Rank, making him one of the most formidable warriors in Rhea''s faction.


    However, Sargan understood that the spies within Rhea''s faction had outlived their usefulness.


    Xander and Dante were bound to discover that Rhea had been employing these spies to destabilize their factions, and as a result, they would likely sever ties with them.


    There was even a possibility that they would form an alliance andunch a coordinated assault on Rhea''s stronghold.


    Fortunately, Rhea was in possession of vast resources and had implemented aprehensive spirit detection array that would alert her to the presence of anyone entering or leaving her territory.


    Additionally, she had established a killing array capable of siphoning the demonic ardor output of anyone she chose, redirecting that energy to empower her ownrades.


    By doing so, Rhea''s allies would grow exponentially stronger while her adversaries would be severely weakened, making their defeat all but assured.


    As time went by, the factions appeared to have settled down, while their respective subordinates engaged in minor skirmishes along their borders.


    It had bemonce for even Elite-Ranked Demons to perish in these skirmishes.


    However, news of Zara, the powerful and eldest heir of the Olmer n, quickly spread throughout the Purgatory realm.


    It was rumored that she and her elite subordinates were making their way towards the Nightshade Forest to obtain a newly discovered Dark Ice Elemental Spark.


    Zara was known for her mastery of close-rangedbat and her affinity for the ice element. She believed that this rare spark would be the perfect match for her physique and bloodline.


    The Olmer n had a unique bloodline trait that allowed them to absorb elemental sparks of either the Ice or me Element without experiencing any downgrade in their cultivation.


    This made the discovery of the Dark Ice Elemental Spark all the more valuable to Zara.


    In fact, it wasn''t just Zara who felt enticed by the Dark Ice Elemental Spark. All the Olmer n members who had yet to ascend to the Demon King Rank, including Rhea, Xander, and Dante, were intrigued by its potential.


    However, the three siblings knew better than to attempt to seize the spark from Zara, who was more than capable of defeating them all despite her siblings''bined power.


    Therefore, Rhea had initially decided to disregard the news and focus on recruiting neutral Demon Kings from the Olmer n to her faction.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    But Sargan had a different approach in mind.


    "Announce that you intend to challenge Zara for the Elemental Spark," Sargan suggested with a sly grin.


    "Are you crazy?! My faction isn''t strong enough to survive an onught by Zara!" Rhea eximed, her frustration evident in her voice.


    Sargan remainedposed and responded with a smile, "I know. But if you remain passive like this, nothing will ever change. Zara will continue to remain the strongest and you will never be able to bridge the gap and be the true heir to the Olmer n."


    Rhea stopped her pacing and turned to face Sargan, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "...I n to fight Zara, but not now. Our factions'' strength is just too far apart!" she dered firmly.


    Sargan nodded understandingly and replied, "I know that. And the method I am suggesting doesn''t pit your faction against hers."


    Rhea''s interest was piqued as she asked, "What do you mean?"


    "We will fight Zara in Nightshade Forest. If you defeat her and inflict an injury or maybe even kill her, you will be the heir to the Olmer n," Sargan suggested with a sly smirk.


    With a deadpan look, Rhea responded, "¡­Were you not listening when I mentioned that she was the strongest member of Olmer n of my generation. There is no way I can defeat her in a battle."


    "Not even if I assist you?" Sargan asked with an amused smile.


    "¡­You haven''t witnessed her power, so you don''t realize just how much of a monster she is," Rhea spoke.


    Sargan rolled his eyes in disdain, "Is she strong enough to kill a Demon King?"


    Rhea''s pupils narrowed upon hearing those words, but she responded quickly, "No. But she will have Demon King protectors who will make sure to prevent any attack of such caliber to get near her."


    Sargan waved off her worries while speaking, "Don''t worry about those protectors. I have a strategy to deal with them."


    "¡­What would that be?" Rhea asked curiously.


    "I have heard there are three Demon King beasts in Nightshade Forest. I am sure they will be very useful," Sargan spoke with a grin.


    "¡­Shadowfang Ravager, Bloodfire Leviathan, Voidwing Harbinger..." Rhea muttered the names of the Demon King Beasts in Nightshade Forest.


    Each of these was a terrifying beast that could ughter thousands of Demon-Lords effortlessly.


    Shadowfang Ravager is a massive wolf-like creature covered in pitch-ck fur with razor-sharp teeth and ws. Its eyes glow with an eerie red light, and it moves with incredible speed and agility.


    Its unique ability is Shadowstep, which allows it to teleport short distances through shadows, making it nearly impossible to catch or outrun.


    Bloodfire Leviathan is a giant, serpent-like creature with blood-red scales and fiery eyes. Its body is covered in mes that never seem to burn out, and it can breathe fire with devastating force.


    Its unique ability is Bloodrage, which causes its attacks to be more powerful as it takes damage, making it an incredibly dangerous opponent.


    Voidwing Harbinger is a bat-like creature with jet-ck wings and razor-sharp talons. Its eyes are a deep, soulless void, and it emits an aura of pure darkness that can extinguish light sources.


    Its unique ability is Voidflight, which allows it to teleport through shadows and emerge from the darkness to attack its enemies, making it a formidable opponent in both close and rangedbat.

 Chapter 605 Battle In Nightshade Forest

    With a resolute determination, Rhea rallied a formidable force and set out towards the Nightshade Forest in pursuit of the elusive Dark Ice Elemental Spark.


    Word of her mission quickly spread throughout the Olmer n''s territory, spreading like wildfire through the ranks of both allies and foes alike.


    Whispers of Rhea''s impressivepany began to circte, as rumors of her four powerful Demon Kings reached even the most remote corners of thend.


    It was clear that she would stop at nothing to acquire the spark, even if it meanting face to face with her longtime rival, Zara.


    Meanwhile, Xander and Dante couldn''t help but scoff at Rhea''s overconfidence, convinced that her recent victories had gone to her head.


    Though they acknowledged her strength, they knew all too well that she paled inparison to Zara''s power.


    Despite their disdain, however, the two could not resist the lure of the elemental spark.


    Their eyes glittered with avarice and excitement as they saw an opportunity to take Rhea down a peg and, if fate allowed it, even defeat Zara herself.


    With that, they hastily gathered small teams of their own, each apanied by two powerful Demon Kings, and set out on a parallel path towards the Nightshade Forest, where the Dark Ice Elemental Sparky hidden in the depths.


    The prize they sought was tucked away in the deepest part of the forest, under the watchful eye of the Bloodfire Leviathan, the forest''s regal ruler. Meanwhile, Zara was already on her way to the same destination with her own strategy.


    As for Rhea, her army had split up into two teams after entering the forest. Sargan and one of the Demon Kings had branched off to form a separate group.


    As Rhea''s team trudged deeper into the forest, their senses were heightened by the eerie stillness that surrounded them. The twisted branches of the trees seemed to w at them as they pushed forward, the thick fog making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead.


    After what felt like an eternity of navigating thebyrinthine forest, the sound of shing metal and the roar of a mighty beast echoed through the trees, sending shivers down their spines. They quickened their pace, their hearts pounding with anticipation and fear.


    Finally, they burst through a clearing, their eyes widening as they beheld the scene before them. A fierce battle was underway between a group of demons and a massive creature, its scales glinting in the dim light.


    Suddenly, they heard the Bloodfire Leviathan''s agonizing screams - the guardian of the Dark Ice Elemental Spark.


    As they approached the scene, they saw that the Bloodfire Leviathan had been severely wounded, and Zara was standing before it with a cold expression on her face.


    "This is the end. Give up and be my mount!" shemanded, her voice dripping with arrogance.


    But the Bloodfire Leviathan was not ready to give up without a fight.


    "You think I will be a mount of a scrawnydy like you?! Fuck off!" it roared back, spitting mes at Zara.


    Rhea''s team crept silently through the dense foliage, eyes scanning for any sign of their enemies. Suddenly, the Demon Kings apanying Rhea picked up something on their senses.


    "Mdy," one of them whispered urgently, "Young Miss Zara has brought five Demon Kings with her."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Rhea''s eyes widened in surprise. "Five Demon Kings? That''s an unusually high number considering she had no idea we wereing."


    But there was no time to ponder this. Rhea knew that the only way to secure the Dark Ice Elemental Spark was to engage Zara''s forces in battle.


    "The n remains unchanged. We engage them in battle now!" Rheamanded her team.


    She turned to the Demon Kings and gave them their orders. "As nned, just fight defensively until Sarganes."


    The Demon Kings nodded in eptance, their eyes zing with battle lust.


    Rhea''s force charged towards Zara''s team with a fierce look in their eyes, ready to show their superiority.


    Zara spotted them from afar and let out a sneer, her Demon Kings quickly catching sight of the three apanying Rhea.


    "Ah, it seems we have uninvited guests," Zara said, raising her heavy mace. "You should have known better than to try and take something from me, Rhea."


    Rhea remained undaunted, standing tall and proud as she dered, "We are not afraid of you, Zara."


    The two factions shed, their weapons colliding with a deafening sound. The Demon Kings of both sides engaged in fiercebat, their power and speed on full disy as they shed with one another. The battle was intense, with neither side giving an inch.


    As they fought, Rhea''s Demon Kings kept their focus on defense, waiting patiently for Sargan to arrive. They knew that their chances of sess would greatly increase with his assistance.


    Despite Rhea''s initial enthusiasm, Zara''s faction seemed to have the upper hand. Zara was ruthless in her attacks, and her team followed suit. The sounds of shing weapons and the screams of the injured filled the air.


    Zara sneered as she struck another blow, "Is this all you''ve got, Rhea? I expected more from someone who dares challenge me."


    But Rhea remained unfazed, her eyes zing with determination, "I''m not done yet, Zara. We''ll see whoes out on top."


    As the battle raged on, the Bloodfire Leviathan managed to slip away unnoticed, intent on healing its injuries in the nearby blood spring. It was determined to make these intruders pay for daring to enter its territory.


    Meanwhile, Sargan and the Demon King apanying him trekked through the other regions of the Nightshade Forest, they hunted wave after wave of savage beasts.


    The two demons had a dual purpose for their relentless pursuit: to stimte the Beast Kings of the region to emerge by radiating their Ardor, and to feed Sargan''s personal ambition.


    With each kill, Sargan invoked the Nether Devil God Mantra, a highly advanced cultivation method, to absorb the soul of the in beast.


    The Nether Devil God Mantra was an immensely powerful cultivation method, so advanced that not even Sargan''s apanying Demon King was aware of him absorbing the souls of the beasts they hunted.


    However, with each soul he consumed, Sargan''s mastery of the technique skyrocketed, rapidly enhancing his proficiency in the dark art.

 Chapter 606 Sargan Enters The Battlefield

    Sargan''s n had finally seeded as the Beast King of the region, the fearsome Voidwing Harbinger, had emerged from its hiding ce.


    Without hesitation, the Demon King apanying Sargan swiftly took hold of him and used his spatial movement technique to flee towards the heart of the Nightshade Forest.


    They knew that they had to escape quickly, for the Voidwing Harbinger was known for its unparalleled speed and could utilize Voidflight technique, which was essentially Spatial Teleportation with ease, making it nearly impossible to outrun.


    As they fled from the wrath of the Voidwing Harbinger, the Demon King holding Sargan pushed his abilities to the limit.


    His heart pounding in his chest, he felt the hot breath of the Beast King on his heels, and he knew that one wrong move would be their undoing.


    They dashed through the Nightshade Forest with reckless abandon, their surroundings blurring past them in a frenzy of motion.


    The Voidwing Harbinger, its eyes fixed on its prey, pursued them with unrelenting ferocity.


    As they hurtled towards the edge of the forest, they suddenly realized that they had entered the territory of the Bloodfire Leviathan.


    The trio arrived at the battlefield where Zara and Rhea''s forces were locked in an intense fight.


    However, to their surprise, they found only the Demon Kings were fighting while Rhea was lying on the ground, wounded, and her subordinates had surrendered, their weapons thrown aside.


    Sargan was taken aback by the sight.


    He had underestimated Zara''s strength, as she had managed to take down Rhea and her team with such ease in a short amount of time.


    His eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him.


    As Zara focused on the battle at hand, she suddenly caught sight of a new arrival. Another Demon King and a Voidwing Harbinger had joined the fray!


    "Attack that beast!" one of Zara''s Demon Kings shouted, recognizing the danger posed by the Voidwing Harbinger.


    The Voidwing Harbinger''s Voidflight ability was a marvel to behold, allowing it to teleport instantly and without effort.


    In battle, this ability made it an incredibly fearsome adversary, as it could appear and disappear at will, confounding even the most skilled fighters.


    Its swift and unpredictable movements were enough to unsettle an entire group of demons, making them easy prey for the powerful demon beast.


    At that crucial moment, Zara''s faction made a grave mistake.


    Their attacks struck the Voidwing Harbinger, a grave error that only served to further enrage the beast. The Voidwing Harbinger, with all its speed and agility, honed in on its primary target: the demon who had dared to strike it.


    Sargan and the Demon King apanying him were momentarily forgotten as the Voidwing Harbinger set its sights on the Demon King, its razor-sharp fangs glistening with Demonic Ardor.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The Voidwing Harbinger''s sonic waves caused chaos and destruction, rattling the demons in the area and killing some of the weaker ones.


    However, Rhea''s faction had been warned of the Voidwing Harbinger''s potential arrival, and Sargan had already shared his n with them.


    As a result, they were able to brace themselves and put up a formidable defense by utilizing some demonic talismans that Rhea had shared with them, shielding themselves expertly against the Harbinger''s attack.


    After the Voidwing Harbinger''s attack had disoriented Zara''s faction, the Demon Kings of Rhea''s faction wasted no time andunched an intense counterattack.


    The onught was so powerful that it left three Demon Kings from Zara''s faction critically wounded.


    Sargan, on the other hand, engaged in a ferocious battle against Zara''s faction, unleashing his ck Lightning with deadly precision and taking down as many enemies as possible.


    His attacks were quick and urate, leaving his opponents little time to react.


    Sargan realized that he had a fleeting moment to inflict maximum damage while the Voidwing Harbinger had diverted the attention of Zara''s faction.


    Zara''s attention was drawn back to the battle, and she scowled at the sight of Sargan mercilessly killing her fellow demons.


    With a fierce determination, she urged her faction, "Consume those blood pills and join the battle!" Her voice bellowed in the clearing, "ughter them all! We must emerge victorious!"


    Zara charged towards Sargan with a fiery rage, her heavy mace at the ready. She was intent on crushing him and his faction to avenge her fallenrades.


    As Zara approached Sargan with a heated look, he noticed her movements and instantly realized that she was about to strike with her heavy mace. In that split second, Sargan utilized his ck Lightning ability to boost his speed and deftly dodged Zara''s attack.


    With his lightning-fast reflexes, Sargan swiftly retaliated with a powerful punch that caught Zara off guard. The impact was so strong that it sent her flying through the air, crashing to the ground several dozens of meters away. The force of the impact left a deep crater on the ground.


    The sound of the punch echoed throughout the battlefield, causing the other demons to pause and watch in awe as Sargan actually sent Zara flying away!


    As Zara got up from the ground, her eyes shed with rage. She couldn''t believe that Rhea had such a skilled demon on her team!


    The intensity of Zara''s Purple Blood surged through her veins, causing Demonic Ardor to seep out from her. Her heavy mace now glinted with icy shards of Back Ice, making it an even more deadly weapon.


    Sargan understood that he was facing a much more challenging opponent now. He had to act quickly and smartly.


    Amid the chaos of the battle, while Sargan had diverted everyone''s attention towards him, two of Rhea''s trusted subordinates sprang into action.


    With swift and calcted movements, they rushed towards Rhea, grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away from the battlefield.


    Rhea struggled to break free, her eyes fixed on the intense fight between Sargan and Zara. She wanted to fight Zara but was in no condition to do so. Her loyal subordinates soon dragged her to a safe distance from the battle.

 Chapter 607 Sargan Vs Zara

    The battlefield was chaotic as two factions shed in a deadly battle.


    Zara, the leader of her faction, and Sargan, a powerful demon from Rhea''s faction, were locked in an intense fight.


    Zara''s heavy mace swung wildly through the air, and Sargan moved with incredible speed, dodging her attacks.


    Sargan had activated his ck Lightning to boost his speed, but Zara was not to be underestimated.


    She had a few unconventional tricks up her sleeve, and Sargan was caught off guard by them at times.


    As he dodged one of Zara''s swings, she suddenly kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backward.


    Sargan quickly regained his footing and was impressed by Zara''s cunning.


    Zara''s eyes zed with anger as she saw Sargan stand back up. Her Demonic Ardor oozed out, and she swung her heavy mace with even more ferocity.


    Sargan focused on dodging her attacks, weaving in and out of her strikes.


    His ck Lightning had made him faster than ever before, and he used his enhanced speed to his advantage.


    The battle between the Demon Kings was equally intense. Four Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction were fighting against five Demon Kings from Zara''s faction.


    The Demon Kings were evenly matched, and neither side was willing to back down. The battlefield was littered with the bodies of fallen demons, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.


    The Voidwing Harbinger also added to the chaos, attacking Zara''s faction with powerful sonic waves.


    The demons of Zara''s faction were struggling to defend themselves against the relentless assault, and some weaker demons were instantly killed by the shockwaves.


    Despite the chaos around them, Zara and Sargan remained locked in their deadly dance. Zara''s heavy mace mmed into the ground, sending shockwaves through the earth.


    Sargan leaped into the air, dodging the impact, andnded behind Zara. He punched her in the back with all his strength, sending her flying several dozen meters away.


    Zara crashed to the ground, but her Demonic Ardor had protected her from the worst of the impact. She quickly got back to her feet, her eyes zing with fury.


    She decided to do something different and began to chant, and the ground beneath her feet started to rumble.


    Suddenly, a massive stone hand burst out of the earth and grabbed Sargan, squeezing him tightly.


    Sargan gritted his teeth, feeling the pressure on his body. He knew he had to act fast if he wanted to escape.


    Sargan focused his energy, and his ck Lightning intensified. The lightning surged through his body, and he used the surge of power to break free of the stone hand''s grasp.


    Zara was surprised by Sargan''s sudden burst of energy, and he took advantage of her hesitation to strike back.


    Sargan charged at Zara with incredible speed, his fists crackling with ck Lightning. Zara tried to block his attack with her heavy mace, but Sargan''s punch was too strong.


    His punch crashed into Zara''s mace, shattering it into pieces, and continued on to strike Zara in the chest.


    Zara gasped in pain as the force of Sargan''s punch sent her flying through the air. She crashed to the ground, her body bouncing several times beforeing to a stop.


    But Zara was not defeated yet. She slowly stood back up, her eyes still filled with fury.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    But just as she was about tounch her next attack, an unexpected sight unfolded on the horizon.


    A new faction appeared, led by none other than her brother Xander.


    "Well, well, well, it seems everyone wants to die by my hands today," Zara sneered. "Fine. Just wait for your turn while I deal with this one here."


    However, as she turned her head to face Sargan, she realized he had vanished. Zara knew that he must have used the distraction to slip away, and she gritted her teeth in frustration.


    Zara had no other option but to divert her attention back to Xander and beckon him, "Come!"


    Xander had two unscathed Demon Kings by his side, eager to join the fray.


    The situation on the battlefield became increasingly intricate as Rhea''s, Zara''s, and Xander''s factions were now adversaries of one another, with each group trying to overpower the other.


    The sh of demonic energies echoed throughout the battleground, and the sky overhead turned into an eerie shade of crimson as the intensity of the fight escted.


    As the injuries of the Demon Kings on Rhea''s side grew worse, they quickly retreated from the battlefield.


    Though the Demon Kings on Zara''s and Xander''s side noticed their retreat, they were too consumed by the ongoing conflict to give chase.


    The Demon Kings on the field were now locked in a brutal struggle: five of Zara''s Demon Kings pitted against two from Rhea''s faction and two from Xander''s.


    Meanwhile, they also had to fend off the relentless attacks of the Voidwing Harbinger, adding anotheryer of chaos to an already vtile situation.


    As the situation on the battlefield remained grim, Zara suddenly gained the upper hand against Xander.


    She grabbed him by his cor and lifted him off the ground, her voice ringing out loud and clear, "Surrender now, or you shall lose your lord!"


    Her words were like a bolt from the blue, causing everyone to stop in their tracks and stare at her with expressions of disbelief etched on their faces.


    The intense energy of the fight subsided for a moment.


    "Young Miss, second miss Rhea''s faction is making a run for it. We have already forced them to withdraw," A Demon King spoke aloud with a proud grin.


    Another Demon King spoke aloud, "This was the natural result as our Young Mistress is the most talented demon of the Olmer n! Even thebined might of young miss Rhea and young master Xander couldn''t defeat her."


    Since the two Demon Kings of Xander''s faction had stopped resisting, the other three Demon Kings of Zara''s faction were now focusing on defeating the two Demon Kings of Rhea''s faction and that Voidwing Harbinger.


    Looking at the current morale though, the situation seemedpletely under control of Zara''s faction.


    Zara''s face contorted into a smirk as she lifted her arm, rallying herrades with a confident deration, "This battle is ours!"


    But in a sudden turn of events, the Bloodfire Leviathan, previously tending to its wounds, returned to the fray.


    The appearance of the massive beast forced all the Demon Kings to shift their focus to it.


    The Bloodfire Leviathan and the Voidwing Harbingermunicated with each other telepathically, forging an unexpected alliance.


    They agreed to join forces and eliminate the demon threat before settling their own score.

 Chapter 608 The Third Demon King Beast Appears

    The arrival of the Bloodfire Leviathan marked a turning point in the battlefield as its immense power disrupted the ongoing battle between the Demon Kings.


    The shockwaves emanating from their sh were so strong that even Zara and Xander were knocked back, and the demons were sent flying in all directions.


    A Demon King belonging to Zara''s faction quickly sprang into action, rushing to her aid, and shielding her from any possible attacks.


    Meanwhile, a Demon King from Xander''s faction rushed towards Xander to do the same.


    The ground beneath them shook with the sheer power of the Bloodfire Leviathan as it attacked with its fiery breath and razor-sharp ws, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.


    The Voidwing Harbinger also joined in the fray, unleashing its dark powers to wreak havoc on the battlefield.


    The Demon Kings were forced to work together,bining their strengths, and using their unique abilities to fend off the beasts.


    While Zara swallowed the pellets, she felt the energy coursing through her veins, reinvigorating her battered body.


    She gritted her teeth and stood up, her eyes fixed on Xander. Despite being battered, her demon aura still radiated with an intense ardor.


    Xander too had eaten the pellets, but the fear in his eyes betrayed his thoughts.


    He had previously witnessed her duel with Sargan and thought she was losing her edge.


    But it was now clear that Sargan was simply making it appear easy, masking the actual ferocity of Zara''s strength.


    Zara realized that fighting Xander was a futile effort as the real battle was between the Demon Kings.


    She watched with intensity as the demonic energies shed with one another, causing shockwaves that could be felt for miles.


    It was a chaotic sight to behold, and Zara felt the ground shake beneath her feet.


    After what felt like an eternity of stalemate, Zara''s side finally gained the upper hand.


    They had employed their unique weapons and unleashed their elemental domains, amplifying the power of their attacks.


    The Demon Beasts on the opposing side were taken aback by the sudden surge of power, and their defenses were quickly overwhelmed.


    Zara felt a thrill of excitement surge through her as she watched herrades'' sesses, knowing that they were one step closer to victory.


    Despite the impressive bloodline abilities of the Demon Beasts, they were no match for the Demon Kings on Zara''s side who possessed superior strength and strategic prowess.


    After half an hour of intense battle, the situation had drastically shifted in favor of Zara''s forces. The Demon Beasts were now lying on the ground, writhing in pain and agony, each having incurred a devastating injury that would undoubtedly leave a permanent mark.


    However, their immediate concern was the looming threat of the approaching Demon Kings, who were ready to deliver the final, fatal blow and seal their victory.


    Suddenly, a fourth faction appeared on the battlefield, causing Zara to narrow her eyes in suspicion.


    It was Dante''s faction, charging in with the intent to take advantage of the Demon Kings'' distraction and assassinate them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    However, Zara was quick to react and issued amand to herrades.


    "Unleash a powerful shockwave and send everything flying away!" Zara shouted, her voice echoing throughout the clearing with amanding tone.


    Her Demon Kings quicklyplied, unleashing a powerful wave of energy that sent everything in its path flying away, including Dante''s faction.


    Dante''s team was caught off guard by Zara''s suddenmand, and before they could react, Zara''s Demon Kings had unleashed a devastating shockwave, sending them all flying.


    Dante, along with one of his Demon Kings and the rest of his subordinates, crashed to the ground. He red in Zara''s direction with a mixture of anger and surprise.


    His frustration only grew as he saw the Demon King he had sent to assassinate Zara locked in a fierce battle with the Demon King protecting her.


    "Damn it! We missed our chance!" Dante muttered in frustration, knowing that they had failed in their attempt to take out Zara and her powerful Demon Kings.


    Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the battlefield, causing every demon to tremble with fear. It was the mighty bellow of a Demon Beast King.


    Even Zara couldn''t hide her surprise, sensing the impending danger.


    In the distance, a Demon King emerged in the sky, carrying a familiar figure in his arms.


    Zara gnashed her teeth in frustration as she recognized him as the same opponent who had gained the upper hand in their previous battle.


    All eyes turned towards the source of the roar as a colossal figure emerged from the shadows.


    It was the Shadowfang Ravager, the third Demon King of the Nightshade Forest, whose sheer size made everyone feel small inparison.


    The Shadowfang Ravager red at the battered forms of the Bloodfire Leviathan and the Voidwing Harbinger, its glowing eyes filled with malice.


    Itmunicated telepathically with the two Demon Beasts, and they quickly came to a decision.


    The Shadowfang Ravager disappeared into the shadows, its movements so swift that even the other Demon Kings couldn''t track it.


    Then, in a sh of dark energy, the Shadowfang Ravager reappeared next to the two Demon Beasts and unleashed a vicious attack on all the nearby Demon Kings with its razor-sharp ws, infused with shadow energy.


    The already exhausted Demon Kings recoiled, too frightened to engage in a direct confrontation with the monstrous Demon Beast.


    However, the Demon Kings on Zara''s side were relieved to see that the other two Demon Beasts were still down and out. But their relief was short-lived when the Shadowfang Ravager did somethingpletely unexpected.


    The Demon King infused the two injured beasts with a potent blend of dark energy and demonic ardor, effectively healing their wounds and revitalizing their spirits.


    Before long, the Bloodfire Leviathan and the Voidwing Harbinger stood up with renewed vigor, their eyes zing with fury and determination.


    It was at this moment that all the Demon Kings in the area couldn''t help but mutter some curse words underneath their breaths.

 Chapter 609 Sargans True Plan

    After several grueling hours of intense battle, all of the Demon Kings on Zara''s side were left exhausted and depleted.


    Their bloodline abilities were drained to the point of being nearly unusable.


    The two Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction that remained were simrly fatigued, barely standing as they struggled to catch their breath.


    The only ones that seemed to be rtively unscathed were the two Demon Kings on Xander''s side.


    Though they had suffered injuries, it did little to diminish their imposing aura andbat prowess.


    Their eyes glinted with a fierce determination to win the ongoing conflict, undeterred by the injuries they had sustained.


    Meanwhile, the two Demon Kings on Dante''s side were still brimming with energy, unlike their counterparts who were battered and weary from hours of fighting.


    As the Demon Beast Kings rose up, preparing for another round of battle, Dante''s faction tried to make a run for it.


    But their n was foiled when the Voidwing Harbinger teleported right in front of them, blocking their escape.


    Without any other options, Dante''s faction was forced to engage in a brutal fight with the powerful Demon Beast.


    The sh of swords, the sound of techniques, and the roar of the Demon Beast filled the air, making it clear that this was a fight to the death.


    Meanwhile, the Demon Kings on Zara''s side decided to target the already tired Bloodfire Leviathan.


    Amidst the chaos, the four remaining Demon Kings, including the two from Rhea''s faction and two from Xander''s faction, formed an uneasy alliance to deal with the powerful Shadowfang Ravager.


    Meanwhile, Zara remained at the edge of the battlefield, observing the fierce battle that raged on.


    The fight was brutal and intense,sting for several hours.


    The Olmer n suffered heavy casualties, and three Demon Kings lost their lives, one from Zara''s, Rhea''s, and Xander''s faction.


    Even the Demon King who had previously protected Zara from Dante''s assassination attempt joined the fray against the Demon Beast Kings.


    Despite the losses, their efforts were not in vain.


    The Demon Beast Kings were slowly losing their strength and stamina, bing more vulnerable with each passing moment.


    As the battle raged on, an unexpected turn of events took ce.


    Suddenly, two Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction appeared out of nowhere, fresh and rejuvenated, as if they had not been a part of the earlier fight.


    It turned out that they had taken some elixirs and pellets, which had reinvigorated them and helped them regain their strength.


    Their sudden appearance on the battlefield caught everyone off guard and injected a new wave of energy into the fight.


    The other Demon Kings looked at them in awe as they realized that Rhea''s faction had been nning this move all along.


    Zara''s face contorted in anger and frustration as she realized she had fallen right into Rhea''s trap.


    Without wasting a single moment, the Demon Kings from Rhea''s factionunched themselves into the fray, determined to subdue the three beasts.


    It soon became clear that Sargan''s n all along was to capture the Demon Kings from rival factions while taming the mighty Demon Beast Kings.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With the other factions and beasts worn out from hours of fighting, the time hade to put this n into action.


    In a swift and calcted move, the two Demon Kings from Rhea''s faction had managed to capture the Demon Beast Kings within a mere two hours. The exhausted Demon Kings from other factions were quick to surrender, knowing that their defeat was inevitable.


    However, amidst the chaos, Zara was nowhere to be found. It had been a whole hour since she hadst been seen on the battlefield, and her absence was starting to raise suspicions among the Demon Kings.


    It wasn''t until Rhea''s faction regrouped that the shocking news broke out: Zara had been murdered! Her lifeless body was discovered near the site of the battle, covered in multiple stab wounds.


    It was a little shocking that there was no blood in Zara''s body as if all of it had been squeezed out of her.


    The Demon Kings were in disbelief and confusion. Who could have done this?


    However, although shocked, Rhea''s entire faction cheered happily.


    The greatest contender to Rhea was now dead. Meanwhile, she had captured all her contenders.


    With no rivals, Rhea was set on bing the next n head of the Olmer n.


    Her entire faction soon proceeded to move towards the Dark Ice Elemental Spark.


    Meanwhile, Sargan walked beside Rhea and couldn''t help but think of the events that led to this.


    In reality, when the Demon Kings were fighting, Sargan hadunched a sneak attack at Zara and threw her powerfully in the forest.


    He had timed it perfectly and masked the sound of his actions with the sounds of the battle techniques that were urring on the battlefield.


    Once Zara was away from the battlefield, Sargan had a fierce fight with her. And this time, he didn''t simply dodge her attacks.


    He utilized his true power, including the Evil Abyss Pupils. Seeing those pupils, Zara instantly realized that she was fighting a member of the Bach n.


    She stimted her Purple Bloodline and fought fervently, but unfortunately for her, Sargan wasn''t a normal demon.


    He had been trained by a Devil God and cultivated a genuine Devil God''s cultivation technique.


    Sargan''s physique, spirit, and even his Ardor were extremely special.


    It became even truer once he unlocked the sixth level of the Nether Devil God''s Mantra after absorbing the souls of all those Demon Beasts.


    Sargan now possessed the ability to directly harm the soul and even control the soul of someone who had lost its body.


    If Sargan was fighting against Zara andparing his physique against Zara, there was a chance he would have lost. There was also the fact that the battle would have alerted the Demon Kings nearby.


    However, the battle ended rather swiftly as Sargan targeted Zara''s soul from the very start.


    He harmed her soul and rattled her badly. Once she had lost her consciousness, Sargan began to stab her body while utilizing his fine control over Demonic Ardor to suck in all her blood into his Mystic Spiritual Connection Ring.


    Once her body had lost all its body, Zara''s soul was detached to it.


    Sargan noticed he could exert his control over Zara''s soul.


    Another sinister scheme appeared in his head so instead of annihting Zara''s soul or absorbing it, Sargan retrieved it into his Mystic Spiritual Connection Ring.

 Chapter 610 Decision To Leave

    After returning to the obsidian pce, Rhea''s faction was brimming with joy and celebration. The victory was momentous for them, and Rhea made sure to express her gratitude to Sargan repeatedly.


    "Your contributions to this victory were invaluable," she said. "I am forever grateful to you. Tell me, what can I do to repay you?"


    Rhea''s words were filled with genuine appreciation and respect for Sargan. She was eager to hear what he had to say, recognizing that his efforts had been instrumental in their sess.


    "Soul Gems," This was Sargan''s response as he remained calm and collected.


    Rhea had expected this, but a smile still broke out on her face. She soon hugged him and continued to drink more alcohol.


    While the celebrations continued, Sargan quietly returned to his room and began to cultivate.


    Nearly a hundred hourster, the celebrations were now over as Rhea was managing her faction resources properly.


    During this time, a few demons knocked on Sargan''s room and delivered him the Soul Gems.


    Sargan thanked them before returning to the room. He set up arrays to prevent anyone from sensing what he was doing within the room and soon began to absorb the Soul Gems utilizing the Nether Devil God Mantra.


    Fortunately, now that the Nether Devil God Mantra had broken through to the sixth stage, his speed of absorption of soul energy had increased tremendously.


    Even the hundreds of thousands of soul gems that Rhea had sent him were exhausted in just seventy hours.


    Once these soul gems were exhausted, Sargan knew it was time to inform Rhea of his decision.


    "¡­I wish to leave," Sargan spoke. He was currently standing in Rhea''s private room.


    Rhea showed an astonished expression while approaching him, "W-what?! Why are you leaving now?! I have already defeated my rival and its finally time for me to take over the position of the next head of the Olmer n."


    "That was my only objective, Rhea. I wanted to help you seed in triumphing over your rivals. And now that you have, there is no longer any reason for me to stay," Sargan responded calmly.


    "What? But where are you going?" Rhea asked.


    Sargan shook his head, "I can''t tell you that."


    "¡­Why?" Rhea asked as she suddenly stepped up and hugged him.


    Sargan ced his hands around her body while speaking slowly, "You will realize the reason behind my decision soon. So, don''t worry, it''s not as if I am parting forever. We will meet each other shortly after this."


    "¡­My father has summoned me to the Olmer n''s primary hideout. I wanted you to apany me," Rhea spoke as her hold over Sargan tightened.


    Sargan let out a sigh internally as he thought, ''I definitely can''t enter the Olmer n''s hideout. I will be ughtered the moment I step inside. The Olmer n''s Patriarch knows of me. I am sure he will recognize me instantly.''


    "This will be your crowning ceremony," Sargan whispered to Rhea. "I wish I could stay and witness it, but I really need to leave."


    Rhea understood the gravity of the situation and reluctantly bid farewell to Sargan. "I understand," she said, "but before you go, there''s something I need to do."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Sargan was taken aback as Rhea suddenly leaned in and pressed her lips against his. The kiss was at first hesitant, but quickly became more intense and passionate, as if the two had been longing for this moment for a long time.


    As the kiss deepened, Rhea wrapped her arms around Sargan''s neck, pulling him closer to her. She could feel his body responding to hers, his breath growing more ragged with desire. They broke apart for a moment, panting heavily, before their lips met again in a frenzy of desire.


    Sargan felt himself bing increasingly lost in the moment as they continued to kiss. His hands roamed over Rhea''s body, tracing the curves of her hips and waist.


    He could feel her soft skin under his fingertips, and he yearned to explore every inch of her.


    Suddenly, Rhea tore off her clothing, Sargan watched in awe as her wless skin was revealed.


    Her curves were entuated by the soft candlelight, and her breasts bounced tantalizingly as she moved. Sargan could feel himself getting harder with each passing moment.


    With a primal growl, Sargan grabbed Rhea and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.


    He could feel the slickness between her thighs as he positioned himself, and with a thrust, he entered her deeply.


    Rhea moaned loudly, her head thrown back in ecstasy.


    As they moved together, Sargan could feel the intense pleasure building within him.


    He gripped Rhea''s hips tightly, driving himself deeper and harder into her. Rhea matched his every move, her body writhing with pleasure beneath him.


    Their breathing became ragged and urgent as they neared the peak of their passion.


    Sargan could feel the heat building within him, and with one final thrust, he exploded into Rhea, his body shuddering with pleasure.


    Rhea cried out as she reached her own climax, her body convulsing with ecstasy. They clung to each other, panting heavily as they came down from their shared release.


    Their activities continued for the next four hours before Rhea''s body finally gave out.


    Sargan stood up and spoke with a grin while ncing at Rhea, "That was a good method to try and stop me from leaving. But unfortunately, I really have to go."


    "See ya," he soon left the obsidian pce and was heading straight towards the seal between the Olmer n and Bach n''s territories.


    He had a way to break the bloodline barrier. It was for one of the reasons he had kept Zara''s soul in his ring and also stored her blood.


    Since Zara was a genuine n heiress of the Olmer n, her bloodline ought to work in opening up the barrier.


    Actually, merely bloodline was still insufficient to open the barrier. This barrier also required the will of the bloodline holder in the blood as well. This meant that only if Zara truly wanted to open the barrier with her blood would the barrier open.


    It would be useless if someone acquired her blood and tried to open the barrier with him.


    This is where Sargan nned to use her soul to add the will within that blood.

 Chapter 611 Sargan Returns To Bach Clan

    Sargan''s released a bit of Zara''s blood and her soul.


    Zara''s soul appeared before him, a whisp of purple mes flickering in the air. As he watched, the mes coalesced into a shape that he recognized as Zara''s spirit.


    With amanding tone, he barked out, "Use your blood and open this barrier."


    Unexpectedly, the spirit let out a loud cackle ofughter that echoed in Sargan''s mind. It was an unsettling sound, but Sargan remained entirely calm as he held the vial of blood out to the spirit.


    "Open the barrier," he repeated, his voice firm and unwavering.


    Zara''s spirit floated before Sargan, her essence appearing as a whisp of purple mes that flickered in the air.


    Sargan could sense her hesitation, as if she was contemting his request. But then, her voice echoed in his mind, full of bitterness and anger.


    "To think that the demon who killed me is a member of the lowly Bach n," Zara said, her words dripping with disdain.


    Sargan''s expression remained impassive as he extended his hand towards her.


    Pure Demonic Ardor surged from his fingertips, enveloping Zara''s soul in a relentless wave of pain. The sensation was like being stabbed with a thousand des all at once.


    Zara cried out, her voice echoing in Sargan''s mind. But he didn''t relent. He continued to apply the pressure, forcing her toply with his demand.


    "Do as I say, or I can remove your consciousness," Sargan threatened, his voice as cold as ice.


    Zara''s willpower faltered under the relentless assault of his Demonic Ardor. Soon, her blood began to glow with a faint light, indicating that she hadplied with his request.


    Sargan ceased his torture and ced her back inside the ring.


    His calm demeanor remained unfaltering as he retrieved a jade knife from his Mystic Spiritual Connection Ring and drew it across his finger. Blood welled up from the wound, dripping steadily onto the ground.


    Sargan then took control of both his own blood and Zara''s, channeling them towards the barrier. With a wave of his hand, the blood began to swirl and coalesce into a pulsing crimson glow that surrounded the barrier.


    As the transformation of the barrier began, Sargan remained calm and focused, directing the flow of blood with precision. The barrier soon gave way, creating a path for Sargan to continue his mission.


    However, the tranquility of the moment was shattered by a piercing rm that reverberated across the vast territory of the Olmer n.


    The rm signaled that the barrier had been breached, and the experts of the Demon Emperor quickly mobilized to respond to the intrusion.


    Sargan remainedposed even as he noticed the arrival of the powerful patriarch of the Olmer n, Jovic Olmer, who was likely leading the charge.


    His calmness was unsurprising given that he had already breached the barrier and was on his way to achieve his objective.


    To add to the chaos, the rm had also sounded in the Bach n''s territory, signaling that the barrier had beenpromised.


    Notably, the Demon Emperors of the Bach n, including Sargan''s own father, Zoltan Bach, had arrived at the scene, their presence furtherplicating matters.


    Zoltan was astonished to see his son, Sargan. If he remembered correctly, Sargan had been thrown in Frascoia Continent and he had already prepared himself for his death.


    However, it appeared that his spection was untrue as Sargan had now returned. Moreover, Sargan''s demonic ardor was much more powerful and mysteriouspared to before.


    It made Zoltan wonder just what Sargan had experienced on the Frascoia Continent in those ten thousand hours he had spent on the Frascoia Continent.


    "Zoltan! Your brat just passed through the barrier. How did he do that?!" Jovic asked with a resounding shout.


    "Shut it, Jovic! It was most definitely one of the foolish members of your n. Someone who can''t even control his n has no right to poke his stick in my n. So, fuck off!" Zoltan was not the slightest bit polite.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Oh really! Why don''t you help me open this barrier and I will show you whether I have any right or not!" Jovic bellowed angrily. A purple aura began to leak from his body as even the Demon Emperors on his side were startled and somewhat cautious.


    Meanwhile, Zoltan''s eyes changed color as they turned pure crimson as he red at Jovic, "I won''t be the one who regrets opening this barrier!"


    And at this moment, something surprising urred. The barrier between them suddenly opened.


    This was such a shocking event that neither Zoltan''s nor Jovic''s side moved for the next five seconds. They hadn''t yet thrown their blood at the barrier.


    However, once these five seconds psed, all the Demon Emperors disappeared from view as they began to battle.


    Shockwaves could be felt across both territories which resulted in massive craters and tremors.


    Sargan had already backed away by this time while utilizing his Evil Abyss Pupils to conceal his spiritual aura.


    He was waiting for the battle to end.


    At this moment, Sargan noticed thend in Bach n''s territory began to radiate a crimson glow.


    It made Sargan understand that this was probably one of the defensive arrays of the Bach n.


    This made Sargan understand that the battle was urring over the Bach n''s territory!


    Zoltan must have felt suppressed at Jovic''s hands and had utilized this array to strengthen his Ardor.


    Sargan''s guess was soon proven right as Jovic soon appeared on the other side of the barrier before it closed quickly. He seemed rather injured as his purple blood leaked over from injuries all over his body.


    Sargan''s own father wasn''t in perfect condition as well. There was a massive hole in his stomach. However, he still stood tall and radiated an imposing aura.


    "We need to have a long talk," Zoltan spoke as he red at Sargan.


    He knew fully well that it was Sargan who had opened that barrier. He had no idea how his son had convinced a member of the Olmer n to take part in this madness.


    "Sure. I have a lot to tell you," Sargan spoke with a conniving smile.


    As he returned to the Bach n, he exined the details to council members of the n.


    Naturally, these details exined the breakthrough and the mutation of his Evil Eyes to the Evil Abyss Pupils.


    This startled the members of the Bach n.


    Although there had been many mutations of Evil Eyes in the family, it was the first time they had witnessed a mutation with pupils that actually possessed such rare ocr abilities as the Abyss Eyes.


    Lastly, Sargan revealed that he had stumbled across ruins that held a totem with a trace of soul of Nether Devil God. With his good luck, he had be the legacy inheritor of the Nether Devil God.


    As proof, Sargan revealed Zara''s soul and blood to his n members and also informed them this was how he opened the barrier.


    All members of his n were startled as they heard this information! They never anticipated that Sargan would have the fortune of entering ruins contained the Nether Devil God''s soul.


    And as expected, all members of the Bach n asked for the Nether Devil God Mantra.


    This caused a sinister smile to break out on Sargan''s face as he handed them the cultivation technique. However, it wasn''t the Nether Devil God Mantra, but the Nether Devil ve Mantra.

 Chapter 612 Lauras Trade Union

    ?


    Laura had journeyed to the Kingdom of Cemetia with the intent of obtaining the enigmatic Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng, a rare and precious herb known to possess unparalleled properties that could elevate the strength of a cultivator''s spirit to unfathomable heights.


    However, the herb was currently in the possession of the kingdom''s royal family, presenting a daunting challenge to Laura''s quest. Nevertheless, her resolve remained unwavering, for her younger brother''s life hung in the bnce, and she was determined to save him at any cost.


    Fortunately, Laura''s royal status as the princess of the Elven Kingdom afforded her considerable power and influence, as she had awakened the rare bloodline of the ancient elven queen.


    This bloodline bestowed upon her the ability to sense the location of her Elven Kingdom and send them a signal for aid.


    Laura knew that her mother woulde to her aid with the strength of the elves, and the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng would be within their grasp.


    However, Laura was not in a hurry to act, for she also had to consider her lover, who had entrusted her and herrades with the formidable task of rescuing him.


    In this task, all of Azaroth''s retainers would require great influence, and Laura knew that now that she was in the Kingdom of Cemetia, it would be best to spread out herwork.


    The easiest way to aplish that was by setting uprge scale businesses.


    She chose talents among the people from the slum area while introducing them all to individuals whom she was interacting with for the past few days.


    It was just a group of seven women who had found Laura near the shores, adrift by the waves of the ocean.


    Laura informed them that she wished to set up a trade union which would conduct trade about everything. She had already seen an example of that working in the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    But the execution part was a bit challenging.


    Laura had to get the permits in a particr town before setting up a building for business.


    However, it was good that Laura had lots of wealth considering she had helped her fair share of people in the Glerian Kingdom as the leader of the Noble Guardians.


    Many people would donate generously to her faction so that they could continue to do the good work.


    It was surprising just how greatly the people were willing to donate for such a service. Perhaps it was because such an act caused them to feel good about themselves.


    In any case, Laura had acquired a lot of wealth, so she was running around, setting up businesses in the entire Kingdom of Cemetia.


    Naturally, her movements caught the attention of the local gangs and even some sects. After all, the wealth she had spent was astronomical. And there didn''t seem to be any signs that she would stop.


    Within just three months, Laura had bought business location in about every major city of the Kingdom of Cemetia, even a couple of prosperous towns.


    Soon came the goods and the business began.


    Sirena''s parents, one of the seven women who found Laura ashore, had helped Laurae into contact with local cksmiths.


    Laura''s organization, the Trade Union, would buy the weapons directly from the cksmiths and deliver that stuff across all her branches one by one.


    If the weapon gets sold, well enough. But if the weapon can''t be sold, it would be returned to the cksmith to recycle it and use the materials to create some other sword with another design.


    Another thing that the Trade Union sold from the start is clothing. She discovered some local talents in the city who were creating unique designs with rather rugged material.


    She hired them the next day and informed them to create their set of teams focused on creating designs for clothing. Once a few designs werepleted, they soon began the process of manufacturing.


    This clothing business was a huge sess, especially among thedies.


    Once this trend began, the Noble Families and even members of the Royal Family became clients of the Trade Union.


    At this moment, the other merchant guilds could see how quickly the Trade Union was growing.


    Actually, it wasn''t their fault. After all, the Trade Union had created a significant boom byunching all its stores in all major cities at the same time.


    It was as if the individual whounched this organization possessed immeasurable wealth!


    However, the other merchant guilds soon coborated and hired mercenaries to target the caravans carrying the Trade Union''s deliveries.


    Laura naturally came to know of this information. She frowned and wondered what she should do.


    Thus, she decided to contact Sargan and Yrellea. She was sure the two would have the solution to her problem. And sure enough, they did.


    Thus, a couple of shocking events urred in the uing days.


    Huge taxes were levied upon the merchant guilds that had coborated to act in the Trade Union''s way. In fact, many influential members of the guilds had been captured by the authorities.


    When the guild tried to investigate the matter, they discovered the reason.


    It appeared that the owner of the Trade Union had informed the Noble Families about these mercenary attacks.


    The Trade Union''s owner had even set up a deal with the Noble Families. They would provide a special credit to the Noble Families as lords of their region if they could deal with the other merchant guilds.


    This meant a priority in getting a special weapon, dresses, and even special discounts.


    Once these merchant guilds were getting weaker, Laura took action swiftly as she expanded the range of items the Trade Union trafficked.


    Even the raw materials of the herbs, the raw ores, resources, raw vegetables and fruits, and many other things.


    While this was going on, Laura also set up a small informationwork in each city that would report to some of her chosen subordinates, who would report to her.


    Yrellea had actually suggested her to have a couple of subordinates keep watch over her second-inmand. If she messes up or tries something clever, Laura had to find out immediately.


    This was a good idea, so Laura informed her three members of her team of the incentives of ratting out a traitor. Naturally, she informed them individually, not collectively, as she didn''t want them to know there was another individual she had asked to keep watch for a traitor.


    However, just as Laura''s organization was expanding nicely, she came across a grave news.


    The Monarch had discovered all three herbs and his experts were on the move to grab hold of the final herb.


    Once the Monarch acquires this herb, he could easily create a paste by mixing all the herbs and finally ingest the Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    Laura was caught in a dilemma. She could summon her Elven Kingdom immediately and snatch the herb from the Monarch. However, this would meanpromising on her organization that was still developing.


    She didn''t want to do that.


    Thus, she asked Sargan for assistance.


    Sargan gave her two words of advice, "Create chaos."


    That advice certainly struck home for Laura as she understood what he meant.


    The next person she contacted was her subordinate who was currently leading the Noble Guardians group.


    She informed her, "Spread the news that the Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom will be on the Silver Moon Mountain. Also, notify the General stationed near the borders of the Cemetia Kingdom of the weak points that I inform you."


    And thus¡­mes of war spread over thend between the Cemetia Kingdom and the Sinyalian Kingdom!

 Chapter 613 The Death of the Cemetian Monarch

    <h4>Chapter 613 The Death of the Cemetian Monarch</h4>


    The Silver Moon Mountain, a region lying at the intersection of the Cemetia and Sinyalian Kingdoms, was often a source of tension between the two nations.


    The ambiguous border markings made it all too easy for either army to overstep the boundaries and provoke a conflict.


    Recently, the Sinyalian Kingdom received news that the Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom was on the Silver Moon Mountain.


    Fueled by their desire to capture the Cemetian Monarch, the Sinyalian Kingdom swiftly mobilized a massive force, determined to im their prize.


    However, they didn''t stop there.


    Upon receiving intel from a reliable source about the Cemetia Kingdom''s weak points, the Sinyalian Kingdom alsounched a coordinated assault on these vulnerable areas, with the aim of weakening their foe''s defenses and seizing the upper hand.


    These two brazen attacks by the Sinyalian Kingdom''s army represented a significant threat to the Cemetia Kingdom, and the situation was teetering on the brink of all-out war.


    In the midst of the brewing conflict between the Cemetia and Sinyalian Kingdoms, Laura was racing up the treacherous slopes of the Silver Moon Mountain, driven by her determination to acquire the precious Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng.


    Drawing upon her ancestral elven abilities, Laura called forth the wind element to assist her ascent. With effortless grace, she merged with the air currents, evading the watchful eyes of the mountain''s sentries, and slipping past their defenses undetected.


    As Laura made her way up the Silver Moon Mountain, she suddenly heard sounds of a distant battle raging in the distance.


    Curious and wary, she cautiously approached themotion, taking care to conceal herself in the form of arge rock so as not to draw attention to herself.


    Peering out from behind her rocky facade, she surveyed the chaotic scene before her.


    A fierce battle was raging between the Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom, nked by their loyal army, and a massive force hailing from the neighboring Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The nging of swords and the roar of battle cries echoed through the mountain pass as the two sides shed in a deadly struggle for supremacy.


    Laura''s heart pounded with anticipation as she whispered to herself, "This is my only chance." She reached out to touch her ring, which glowed with a faint blue light in response to her touch.


    Noah had provided all of hisrades with Sword Qis, imbuing them with the power to take down a King Ranked Expert.


    However, it was a risky move, as it only worked if the opponent was caught off-guard.


    Taking a deep breath, Laura transformed into an ethereal wind and moved silently across the battlefield.


    All of the King Ranked experts were engrossed in their battle, oblivious to the danger that was lurking nearby.


    Laura crept closer and closer, her heart pounding with each passing moment.


    She knew that any sudden movement or noise could give her away, so she moved slowly and cautiously.


    Finally, she was within striking distance. "This is it," she whispered to herself, ready to make her move.


    Laura, despite the tempting opportunity to strike the Monarch, was wise enough not to act impulsively.


    She knew that any attempt to attack him at this moment would be fruitless, as he would be able to either evade or counter her attack.


    Moreover, even if she managed to inflict a serious wound or even kill him, themotion would immediately alert the other warriors on the battlefield to her presence.


    Therefore, Laura chose to bide her time and wait for a more opportune moment to strike.


    She watched the battle unfold carefully, analyzing the movements and patterns of eachbatant, searching for a weakness to exploit.


    After a grueling five-hour battle, the Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom had finally managed to suppress his opponents.


    Feeling confident in his victory, he lowered his guard.


    It was precisely at this moment of vulnerability that he sensed an attack so close to his body that it attempted to pierce his head.


    Reacting swiftly, the Monarch raised his sword and attempted to block it.


    However, to his horror, the sword qi passed through his de with ease and pierced straight through his head, ending his life in an instant.


    With a swift movement, Laura appeared out of nowhere and snatched the rings from the Monarch''s fingers and escaped.


    The warriors of the Sinyalian Kingdom were stunned to see this happen, but some of the King-Ranked experts tried to pursue her.


    However, their injuries were too severe to allow them to catch up.


    The soldiers of the Sinyalian Kingdom, who were on the verge of defeat just a while ago, were now filled with renewed energy and began cheering.


    The soldiers of the Cemetia Kingdom, on the other hand, lost their moralepletely when they saw the Monarch''s lifeless body copse on the ground.


    Laura fled at her fastest speed, her heart racing as she put more and more distance between herself and the battlefield where she had in the king. Finally, she came to a halt and copsed onto the ground, panting heavily.


    Once she caught her breath, she carefully inspected the king''s rings, her heart racing with anticipation. And there it was, the treasure she had been searching for: the Mysterious Jade Spring Ginseng, a powerful spiritual herb.


    With a sense of triumph coursing through her veins, Laura carefully tucked the ginseng into her pouch and set off once again.


    The Cemetia Kingdom was thrown into turmoil for several days following the news of the Monarch''s demise, sparking a struggle for the throne within the Royal Family.


    One faction was led by the Monarch''s brother, while the other was headed by the Crown Prince himself.


    The power struggle came to a head in the capital, where a fierce and bloody battle raged on, painting the ground with crimson stains.


    When the fighting finally subsided, it was the Crown Prince who emerged victorious and ascended to the throne as the new Monarch of the Cemetia Kingdom.


    Immediately after being crowned as the new monarch, the Crown Prince issued an aggressive order to attack the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    The move was quite unexpected, and the Lamhilhan Theocracy, which had previously maintained neutrality, decided to forge an unlikely alliance with the Cemetia Kingdom, adding to the Sinyalian Kingdom''s woes.


    The war between the three nations raged on for months, and the Sinyalian Kingdom suffered heavy territorial losses.


    However, this changed when an army of powerful warriors emerged out of nowhere, turning the tide of the war in favor of the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    Not only did they manage to reim their lost territories, but they also managed to seize some of their enemy''snd.


    It waster revealed that these warriors were from the former Glerian Kingdom, which had been defeated and absorbed into the Sinyalian Kingdom.


    David Valliadis, who had been secretly training these warriors for a long time, had nned to use them as a surprise weapon to deal a massive blow to the enemy kingdoms. With their skills honed to perfection, these warriors were able to turn the tide of the war.

 Chapter 614 Back To The Main Story

    <h4>Chapter 614 Back To The Main Story</h4>


    Ten years have passed since the death of Azaroth, and in this time, the continent of Frascoia has seen dramatic changes.


    Many countries have expanded their territories, while others have splintered into smaller regions. During this period, a new generation of experts has risen to prominence, and among them are Azaroth''s former retainers.


    One of the most formidable among them is Noah, who has earned the moniker of the "Enlightened Void Sword Emperor."


    His mastery of the sword has made him a force to be reckoned with, and he leads a significant faction within the most powerful human empire on the Frascoia Continent, known as the Heretical Pdins of the Great Qin Empire.


    In contrast, Laura, the princess of the Elven Kingdom, has harnessed her Ancient Elven Bloodline Abilities, earning her the title of the "Legacy Inheritor of the World Tree."


    Her powers have undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to her mother, the Elf Queen''s recognition.


    In addition to her royal responsibilities, Laura also leads a group called the Noble Guardians, an organization that has a widespread presence across all countries.


    Some even view the Noble Guardians as a quasi-religious group, as they advocate for justice and tirelessly work for the well-being of themon people.


    Theirmitment to fairness has earned them a ster reputation, and even monarchs seek their favor.


    Ralph''s destiny has taken him on a different path, as he has been chosen as the crown prince of the Woltensian Empire.


    The reason for his selection is straightforward: he inherited the legacy of one of the Divine Beasts, the Divine White Tiger.


    Consequently, he now bears the title of the "Ancient Sabertooth Tiger" due to the transformation of his bloodline after inheriting the Divine White Tiger''s legacy.


    Tiana has be the sect matriarch of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect, a position of great influence. This sect also oversees a vassal sect known as the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect.


    Her authority extends to limited nations, including the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Empire of Qian Guo, the Pinhian Republic, and the Republic of Raleroma.


    It was Tiana''s power as the Emperor Realm expert that allowed her to easily manage her sect. Due to her powerful and unique ice abilities, she was known as the "Sacred Aurora Ice Empress" to the world.


    Tiana''s sects hold the top positions in these nations, except for the Empire of Qian Guo. Her leadership has solidified her as one of the most prominent figures in her realm.


    Two other remarkable leaders in this ever-changing world are Sargan and Yrellea, both of whom share a unique characteristic - they are demons.


    After establishing an informationwork in the Sinyalian Kingdom, Azaroth instructed Sargan to return to Purgatory and assume his role as the sessor to the Bach n.


    Over the past decade, Sargan has greatly elevated the prestige of the Bach n by consistently defeating their rivals, the Olmer n.


    His strength has also reached the Emperor Realm, earning him the title of the "Nether Evil Eyes Devil Emperor." He is now considered one of the major devils in Purgatory.


    Sargan''s informationwork in the Frascoia Continent has been passed down to William.


    Yrellea, on the other hand, leads the renowned Misty Flower Pavilion, an enterprise that straddles the realms of entertainment and politics.


    Her strength has reached the Emperor Realm, earning her the title of the "Heavenly Poison Empress".


    Under her guidance, the Misty Flower Pavilion has be one of the wealthiest business enterprises in the world.


    However, Yrellea''s selfless support of Noah, Laura, William, and asionally Tiana''s organizations has impacted the business''s profitability.


    As a result, the Misty Flower Pavilion cannot im the title of the wealthiest organization globally, despite its substantial earnings.


    Last but not least, William, the final retainer epted by Azaroth, has taken the reins of Sargan''s informationwork and expanded it across the various nations.


    His informationwork, aptly named the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), boasts an unassable presence in almost every nation, except the Empire of Qian Guo and the Great Qin Empire.


    William''s unique gift to see the providence of other individuals allowed him to have form connections with many individuals with impressive providence.


    He possesses the most diverse range of abilities among Azaroth''s retainers, earning him the moniker of the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor.


    This honor was bestowed upon him due to his exceptional proficiency in spearbat and his inheritance of the true legacy of the Golden Dragon''s Bloodline.


    In the ever-changing world of Frascoia, these remarkable individuals have carved out their own legacies and contributed to the bnce of power on the continent.


    Each one of them was trying their best to enhance their powers, develop connections with powerful talents and experts, while growing their own factions to make it rise to prominence. This was all because they wished to free their master from his captivity.


    Although the world thought that Azaroth was dead, each one of his retainer knew that he was still alive.


    Initially, it was merely their blind faith.


    However, soon, Noah heard rumors of a powerful devil god being kept in a secret and extremely powerful dungeon of the Great Qin Empire.


    He was sure that this individual could be none other than his master!


    In fact, hisrades also agreed with his words.


    The Emperor of the Qin Empire, Qin Lei, was a man who wished to keep his Empire at the top and ensure that it ruled over all the other human nations on Frascoia Continent.


    However, the Empire of Qian Guo was resisting their rule greatly. And at this moment, one of the experts of Empire of Qian Guo was advancing towards the Transcendent Saint Realm, which would allow the Empire of Qian Guo to properly resist the might of the Qin Empire and engage in a battle of hegemony!


    It was due to this reason that Qin Lei hadn''t killed Azaroth, when he heard about his presence and about the fact that this was a Devil God that had made his name known even two million years ago.


    He wanted to acquire the knowledge and abilities that Azaroth possessed.


    Thus...Qin Lei had ordered the Nine Yin Saintess to kill Azaroth''s body and extract his spirit from the corpse.


    This spirit was now being restrained by special artifacts, which were Spirit Restricting Chains that prevented Azaroth''s spiritual body from moving.


    Right now, they were employing extremely rare and powerful soul technique to extract all of the knowledge and abilities within Azaroth''s mind and spirit.


    Azaroth''s spirit experienced great pain as this process urred. And this process had urred for thest ten years.


    During this time, Qin Lei had managed to acquire a lot of knowledge of Azaroth that was very useful in subduing the demons and also defeating the Celestials.


    Unfortunately, Qin Lei failed to find what he really wanted. Which was a way to advance to the Transcendent Saint Realm.


    Just when he was wondering whether Azaroth even possessed such knowledge, the lips of Azaroth''s spirit curled into a smug smile as he spoke, "¡­Looks like your prowess in spirit abilities is verycking. What you have received from me is merely a droppared to what I know. I know what you want, but you need to try a lot harder to get it."


    This was actually a bluff. Azaroth truly didn''t know the method that would allow a human to reach the Transcendent Saint Realm. This was because no human during his era had aplished it.


    However, Qin Lei didn''t know about this fact. If he had known, he would have most certainly extinguished Azaroth''s spirit by now. But he was holding onto a hope. A hope of bing the Transcendent Saint and making himself the same as his family''s ancestor and be invincible in the world.

 Chapter 615 The Initiation Of The Plan To Free Azaroth

    <h4>Chapter 615 The Initiation Of The n To Free Azaroth</h4>


    The n to free their master from the confines of the Great Qin Empire was put into notion by the final retainer that Azaroth had chosen. William, the one known as the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor!


    It began as the SIS, the secret intelligence service, which was the intelligence organization that had spread across the entire world tried to contact him and inform him news about theirtest findings.


    The main branch of this intelligence organization was situated in the Principality of Aseca.


    They tried to contact William. Unfortunately, he was in another region as of this moment.


    William was travelling with his three beautiful wives into the Prohibited Jungle between the Republic of Rea and the Principality of Aseca.


    The Beast Emperor in this Prohibited Jungle was known as the Heavenless Fiery Monkey. This Beast Emperor possessed a rare skill through which it could increase or decrease its size.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey had also gained a deep insight into the Strength Law. In terms of pure strength, it could even fight against a God-Ranked Expert.


    The bloodline of this Heavenless Fiery Monkey is of the mythical grade. His Bloodline is strong enough to suppress all beasts and even the individuals of other races.


    Lastly, the domain of this Heavenless Fiery Monkey summons a world of pure mes. His attacks are augmented with fiery properties that directly targets the opponent''s spirit.


    The man who hade to subdue this Heavenless Fiery Monkey knew about these abilities. Yet, he remained fearless.


    His confidence was so high that he hade along with his wives.


    The four warriors gave off such a dense aura that not a single beast dared to attack them.


    The beasts felt a faint terror from the very depth of their souls. They felt that their lives would be forfeit the moment they attack this group.


    The weak-willed beasts, unable to withstand the strain for very long, passed out.


    As the day was about to end, the group stopped and decided to get some rest.


    However, the group suddenly paused and looked in the western direction.


    The group could sense a frightening aura heading towards them at an unreal speed.


    "That monkey finally decided to visit us," A woman in this groupmented.


    "It saved quite a bit of our time," the second woman added.


    "Yeah. But the assistance of this monkey is necessary to achieve our objective," the third woman spoke.


    In the meantime, the man silently focused on this iing Beast Emperor.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey soon stood ahead of this group.


    "How dare you humans trespass on my forest?!" The Heavenless Fiery Monkey roared with an intimidating deep voice.


    However, his voice failed to scare anyone in this group.


    "Shut it! Can''t you speak normally?! Or are you just looking for a beating?!" A woman in this group shouted.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey seemed startled that a human dared to talk to him in such a tone. Moreover, it was even more surprised as it sensed that this human was only a peak King-Ranked Warrior.


    In fact, the women in this group were at the peak of the King Rank.


    "Our reason for entering this forest is pretty simple. We were looking for you," Another woman spoke out.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey seemed puzzled to hear those words and asked, "Why are you looking for me?"


    "I want your assistance regarding an important matter," the man suddenly spoke out. His voice seemed very polite and melodious.


    "Why should I help you, human?! Do you not understand your position, human?! You actually dare to bring such an absurd proposal?!" The Heavenless Fiery Monkey shouted. It was furious to hear this human''s words.


    "I will kill you for this insolence!"


    The women next to this man were also furious as they heard the Heavenless Fiery Monkey.


    "You stupid baboon?! I knew we shouldn''t have expected much from a monkey-brain!"


    "Maybe we were too impatient. Ralph might have sessfully convinced this beast into joining our side."


    "True. But it seems that a fight will ur soon. Let''s set up a barrier quickly."


    In the meantime, William also appeared extremely infuriated upon hearing the Heavenless Fiery Monkey''s words. He was angry that this monkey threatened to kill his wives for such a small matter.


    "¡­I was a fool to think we coulde to an agreement without a fight," He spoke slowly while releasing his true power. A golden aura emanated from his body that even suppressed the Heavenless Fiery Monkey.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey was utterly shocked to witness that golden aura. Moreover, this terrifying sense of suppression indicated that this man actually possessed an even stronger bloodline than his own.


    "This¡­This is the Golden Dragon''s Bloodline?! How can a human like you possess this legendary bloodline?!" The Heavenless Fiery Monkey was truly shocked.


    In response, the man slowly spoke, "It''s because I am the True Inheritor of the Golden Dragon."


    The next thing that urred was a great battle thatpletely transformed their surroundings. A mountain was destroyed, and nearly half of this Prohibited Jungle was cleared due to this battle!


    A massive storm enveloped this entire Prohibited Jungle and it only subsided when the result of this battle became evident.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkeyy on the ground, bleeding heavily. He had dyed the ground with his blood.


    Naturally, the human who fought him didn''t remain unharmed. He was also heavily injured and was on his knees while holding an exquisite spear in his hand.


    He asked, "So, what do you say to the proposal now?"


    "¡­I agree," The Heavenless Fiery Monkey responded while enduring terrifying pain. This human targeted his body, mind, and soul.


    "Good. You won''t regret it," The man responded.


    "¡­Who are you, human?" The Heavenless Fiery Monkey asked.


    The man smiled in response and spoke, "My name is William. The Wild Dragon Spear Emperor."


    "Y-You are the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor?!" The Heavenless Fiery Monkey muttered with a dazed look.


    "That''s correct."


    Even the beast such as itself had heard rumors of the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor. His prestige was nearly on the same level as that of the Enlightened Void Sword Emperor of the Great Qin Empire and the Ancient Sabertooth Tiger of the Woltensian Empire.


    "You are much stronger than the rumors about you," The Heavenless Fiery Monkey muttered.


    "You aren''t bad yourself. The battle could have gone either way. You just missed a couple of opportunities that could have turned the tables," Willian responded casually.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey seemed a bit happier as he received this praise.


    William gave him a calm smile while adding, "It''s great to have such a powerful ally. I will contact you after a month. Our task will be to kill a Celestial Goddess."


    "A Celestial Goddess?!" The Heavenless Fiery Monkey seemed shocked to hear this statement.


    "Yes. A Celestial Goddess. You should be familiar with her title: The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. Herbat power can''t be considered impressive among the God-Ranked Experts," William spoke calmly.


    "¡­Even if she is the weakest God-Ranked Expert, the two of us can''t win against her," The Heavenless Fiery Monkeymented in a rare moment of humility. He was confident of his power, but not foolish.


    "I am happy to see that you haven''t lost your mind to your arrogance. Yes. The two of us can''t win against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. But I never said that only the two of us would fight her. I need your assistance to strengthen the formation," William spoke.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey was startled to hear these words, but slowly nodded. He understood that Willian had prepared a full-proof n to fight the Celestial Goddess.


    After conducting this deal with the Heavenless Fiery Monkey, William returned to his wives'' side.


    He talked to them for a bit beforementing, "We are done here."


    "That''s great. I am surprised that the monkey put such a great fight," One of his wives spoke.


    "Yeah. For a second, I thought our husband would lose. I was ready to summon Noah," His second wife spoke. She showed off a ck jade in her hand.


    The third wife spoke, "It''s a good thing that we didn''t need to resort to that."


    She approached her husband and started wiping the blood on his body. The cloth with which she wiped his body seemed magical. William''s wounds shone with a blue light, and they were slowly healing rapidly.


    William spoke seriously, "We can''t summon Noah for such matters. Don''t forget that he is in the Great Qin Empire. Even though he has gained a deep insight into the Laws of the Void, it''s best to not use the Spatial Movement too actively. The Great Qin Empire might lock onto his spirit. This will disrupt our uing n."


    In response, his second wife snorted and spoke, "Hmph. These are just excuses. You just don''t want Noah toe and save you because of your ego."


    William blushed in response. His wife was right. This was the true reason he wanted to prevent them from summoning Noah.


    The four started walking towards the nearest town.


    At this moment, William''s Voice Transmission Array Stone started beeping.


    He noticed the main branch of his organization was trying to contact him.


    He spoke, "What''s the matter, Katrina?"


    "Master. We have news for you. Our contacts in Zhongxing Kingdom informed us of a very talented warrior. He is a talented prospect that fits the basic requirements we are looking for," A feminine voice exined calmly.


    William seemed delighted to hear this information, "Zhongxing Kingdom? That''s right next to the Great Qin Empire. This is a great news. What is the location of this warrior?"


    "He belongs to Suqui Town. However, he wasst seen in Dongchun City of the Zhongxing Kingdom."


    "Thanks, Katrina. I will personally verify it. If he turns out to be the individual I am seeking for, I''ll reward you and everyone else who helped find him."


    "Thank you, Sir. As for the reward. I-I would be more than happy if you join me to a dinner. There won''t be any greater reward than that, Sir," Katrina responded coyly.


    "I will see what I can do," William spoke quickly. He noticed the furious looks of his wives and quickly cut off the connection.


    "This fucking harlot! Isn''t she too daring?! She is even making moves on a married man!" William''s first wife shouted heatedly.


    William spoke jokingly, "It''s all because your husband is too incredible."


    "Hmph!" William''s wives red at him and pinched his waist.


    William didn''t experience any pain, but he still winced and backed away.


    "Let''s go to the Zhongxing Kingdom," William spoke.


    He covered his wives with his Ardor and flew at a quick speed. In the blink of an eye, William had crossed the nearest town and city.


    After flying for half a day, William had already crossed the border and entered the Alinginian Kingdom. It would take him two more days to reach the Zhongxing Kingdom.

 Chapter 616 Influence Of Time Laws On A Warrior With Great Providence

    <h4>Chapter 616 Influence Of Time Laws On A Warrior With Great Providence</h4>


    Nearly six years earlier, the Kingdom of Jorailia split apart into two territories. The Zhongxing Kingdom and the Qishan Kingdom. The reason this was important was because Kingdom of Jorailia was one of the nations who shared its borders directly with the Great Qin Empire.


    And now¡­It was the Zhongxing Kingdom that shared its borders directly with the Great Qin Empire.


    Meanwhile, the upper half of the Jorailia Empire that had split off and formed the Qishan Empire enjoyed its direct connection with the ocean and all the inds near it.


    Both the Zhongxing and Qishan Kingdoms were fierce rivals as they tried to seize each other''s territory to expand their own. Unfortunately, they soon realized the consequences of weak foundation in their respective territories.


    They immediately signed a peace treaty for the next twenty years and were focused on setting a solid foundation that could withstand any difficulties for the next hundred years.


    Well, it was in Liyang City, which was the Royal Capital of Zhongxing Kingdom, that William and his wives hade.


    Before long, they went to a city known as Dongchun City.


    Three women apanied this warrior. They flew in the sky while staring at a specific vi in Dongchun City.


    This group obviously belonged to William and his three wives.


    Anny Macher is the name of his first wife.


    Vivi tz is his second wife.


    Andstly, Regina Lerch is the name of his third wife.


    These women all belonged to distinct tribes in Eastern Glerian Mountain Range. Well, the name of this Mountain Range had changed to Eastern Sinyalian Mountain Range after the Sinyalian Kingdom took over the Glerian Kingdom''splete territory.


    Anny asked, "¡­Did you receive the exact location of that individual we are searching for?"


    "I doubt I need it," whispered William. There was a sense of surprise in his eyes.


    "What happened? Why do you seem bewildered?" Vivi asked a bit worriedly.


    "Is this person a threat? Let''s deal with him now!" Regina asked while also providing her solution.


    Regina is a King-Ranked Warrior and easily enveloped the entire city with her Ardor. Not even the most sensitive warriors could sense her probing because she utilized the Metal Elementalws to probe the warriors.


    After probing everyone, she became confident that they could kill anyone in this city. In fact, it wouldn''t be challenging for them to destroy the entire city.


    William replied, "We don''t need to go so far. He isn''t a threat yet. Well, actually we need to confirm whether he is the same person that our organization informed us of." He then faced Vivi and added, "Also, I was dazed earlier because I was nearly blinded."


    "Blinded?!" All three of his wives were bbergasted by his statement.


    "Yes," William added seriously.


    "You know the power of my eyes. Master was kind enough to grant me these Abyss Eyes. And one such power of these eyes is to witness the providence of all humans in this world."


    "After reaching this city, I activated these eyes to gaze at Dongchun City. And I noticed a spot shining brightly. It''s shine was different from the rest. Even a Royal Prince doesn''t usually possess such an impressive providence."


    "I utilized the phase two of these eyes and focusedpletely on him. I wished to see the depth of his fate."


    With a serious tone, William spoke, "The brightness and intensity of his providence, however, proved too much for my eyes. This implies that his providence is like mine. It is immeasurable."


    "But your providence became immeasurable afterpletely activated the Golden Dragon Bloodline within your body? Are you suggesting that this warrior possesses fate with a power as powerful as the Golden Dragon Bloodline?" Vivi asked with a bbergasted tone.


    William''s other wives also wished to know the answer to this question.


    "No. It might be something else entirely. Let me examine him using myws," William spoke.


    For the next three minutes, four of them remained entirely silent.


    William broke this silence with his whisper, "I see now¡­This warrior''s soul is under the influence of Time Laws."


    "What?! The Time Laws?!" His wives were once again startled by this statement.


    "But how can a human gain insight into the Time Laws when they haven''t even advanced to the King-Rank?!" Anny wondered aloud.


    William shrugged in response, "Maybe he was blessed by someone skilled in Time Laws."


    Regina spoke up, "But such a warrior must be renowned. So, howe we haven''t heard about this warrior when our informationwork has already spread across the entire Frascoia Continent?"


    William nodded, "Hmm. You are right. It''s indeed strange that this warrior could remain concealed from our organization. We should know of him even if he is a demon in Purgatory."


    At this moment, Vivi spoke, "Maybe this warrior was sealed and has escaped only recently. That would exin why he could remain hidden from our organization."


    William agreed with her guess, but he added, "There is another possibility. He was blessed with Time Laws. And the person who did that could most likely be a Celestial God."


    An ashen look appeared on his wives'' faces. The Celestials and the Heavens remained inessible for William and his organization.


    The Heavens was the residence of all Celestials just as the Purgatory was the residence of Demons.


    "¡­It will be wonderful if this warrior is rted to a Celestial God. The chances of saving my master will increase tremendously," William spoke with an optimistic tone.


    His wives gave him a smile and even patted his shoulder. They knew of his ardent desire to free his master and wished to support him in any way they could. It was Regina who spokefortingly, "Don''t worry. Everything will be fine."


    William nodded with a smile as he spoke, "Hmm."


    "¡­Let''s gather more information about this guy," William spoke decisively.


    Very soon, the four were seated in a caf¨¦ within Dongchun City. They were slightly tired after that long journey.


    William ordered green tea while his wives ordered coffee.


    "How are you nning to handle this warrior?" Anny asked.


    "Still thinking about it. Will n it in detail after getting the information from the SIS. It''s important to know his mentality, his strengths, and his weaknesses. Also, what sort of abilities he possesses and how he came across the Time Laws," William answered casually.


    "And how will you find that out?" Vivi asked.


    William replied while rolling his eyes, "I am still thinking about it."


    His wives snorted upon hearing those evasive words.


    "How about we meet him?" Regina suggested.


    William shook his head negatively, "I don''t want to meet him yet. We still don''t know his ability. It will be risky to reveal ourselves to him so quickly. His great providence could make thingsplicated for us."


    Anny snorted and spoke, "We have met and manipted other warriors who possessed great providence like him. They were all much stronger than this warrior so why do we need to be so apprehensive of this weakling?"


    William spoke, "It''s precisely because he is a weakling that we need to remain apprehensive. A Royal Prince''s providence is great enough to affect the world and alter the situation in his favor. And this individual''s providence is already greater than that of a Royal Prince even though he is so weak. This proves that he can affect the world to a greater degree than a Royal Prince."


    With a somber tone, he added, "I suspect that an Emperor-Ranked Warrior will appear if I antagonize this warrior with great providence. The Emperor-Ranked Warrior won''t be stronger than me. In fact, there is a good chance that I can easily kill him. However, this event will make my providence sh against this warrior''s. This is not my aim."


    With a determined tone, William spoke, "My goal is tobine his providence with mine for a single purpose. To free my master. And I can only do so if my existence remains aplete secret to this warrior."


    "If manipted right, this warrior can be the final piece to free my master," William finished speaking with a smile.


    His wives cheered upon hearing those words.


    Regina suggested, "Let''s have some SIS members interrogate hisrades."


    Vivi rejected that suggestion while speaking, "No. Using our personal organization for this task would be bad. If this warrior catches a hint, it might antagonize him and pit his providence against us."


    William agreed with Vivi''s statement and asked her, "You are right. Do you have a good n in mind?"


    Vivi half-expected this question, so she replied enthusiastically, "I think its best if we make our move when he is facing a great disaster."


    "Hmm. That''s a good n. This will allow us establish a good rtionship with this warrior," Willian smiled as he heard his wife.


    Thus, after eating at the caf¨¦, William summoned his subordinates of SIS in Dongchun City in a hotel room near that restaurant.


    The hotel room was extremelyrge as it was supposed to amodate six individuals. William''s wives seemed impressed with the room. Thus, William booked it for an entire week.


    Two subordinates of SIS had been summoned to provide this information. The two were actually very nervous. Their superior had ordered them to be on their best behavior because this man is a high-ranking official in the SIS.


    To prevent anyone from identally leaking his presence, William kept his identity a secret within this branch of SIS.


    "Tell me about this warrior you informed me of. Start from where his current location is," Wang Jian instructed calmly.


    "¡­We have narrowed his location to the Upper Street Avenue in Dongchun City. His exact location is a mystery even for us," spoke one of the subordinates of SIS.


    "Mark that location on this map and leave," Williammanded.


    The SIS subordinates marked the location on the map.


    William stared at the marked location and felt that it was the same area from where he felt that special providence.


    "This verifies it. The warrior I sensed is him," William spoke. He then spoke, "Alright. Now start from the beginning.?What is his name? And tell me everything that the SIS has gathered about him."


    "Sir, t-the target''s name is L-Long Chen. He was initially a clerk in prison at Suqui Town¡­" Thus, the two began to narrate every bit of information they had about Long Chen.

 Chapter 617 William Decides To Meet The Warrior With Great Providence

    <h4>Chapter 617 William Decides To Meet The Warrior With Great Providence</h4>


    William and his wives heard about this warrior named Long Chen.


    Apparently, this guy used to work in Suqui Prison, but one day, something shocking urred in that prison.


    The array formation that controlled the doors to each prisoner''s chamber malfunctioned and all the doors of the prisoners opened. Although no high-profile prisoners were supposed to have escaped, one did manage to aplish it.


    ording to the information of SIS, Ren Yue, the heiress to the Ren Family who managed Dongchun Town, had escaped at that time.


    Apparently, her escape was being kept under tight wraps by the prison authorities.


    And then, it was after this event that Long Chen was seen visiting Ren Yue''s hideout in Suqui Town. It has been verified that Long Chen is a part of Ren Yue''s faction, which was the Ren Family.


    And most recently, Long Chen, who was a Three Star Warrior, had revealed his unusual battle prowess and killed a warrior at the Fourth Star Rank, who was a member of the Noble Shadows'' Organization!


    The abilities he disyed were his proficiency in Wind Element and conjuring Illusions that seemed impossible to detect.


    It was after this battle that the SIS took note of Long Chen and began to gather information about him. This was all the information they had gathered when they came to know about his presence.


    Well, this was all because each branch of the SIS organization was instructed to keep an eye on talents who could aplish or fight beyond their limits, or someone whose fighting prowess was much greater than what the public knew.


    A few members of the SIS believed that Long Chen fit the category of being a talent who could fight beyond his limits. It was for this reason that this information had reached William''s ears.


    "¡­Is all this information true?" William asked calmly.


    "Yes, sir. All the rumors have been verified and only then this data about Long Chen waspiled," one of the members of the SIS spoke respectfully.


    "Alright. You can leave now," William spoke rather offhandedly.


    Soon, the two members of the SIS left the hotel room.


    As they were gone, William was soon engaged in discussions with his wives.


    Anny spoke, "Husband, this is quite strange. The information about this Long Chen doesn''t seem to suggest that he would possess such special providence."


    Regina agreed with that statement and further added, "That''s right. We havee across all sorts of talents and warriors. Their providence pushes them to aplish some impossible tasks. And as for this warrior, all he has done is barely defeat a 4 Star Warrior as a 3 Star Warrior. I don''t think it''s anything worth obsessing over."


    William remained quiet as he heard his wives'' words. After they were done, he spoke, "You are right. But there is a chance that this individual is trying toy low. A powerful spirit might be guiding him, or he might have received an inheritance of an ancient expert. That would exin his prowess in timews and special providence."


    His wives seemed temporarily satisfied upon hearing this guess.


    Vivi suddenly spoke, "In any case, the information does relieve us that this warrior isn''t a threat for us. Hisbat prowess is at most at the Fourth Star Rank."


    "¡­Hmm. I think we should change our n. Although directly meeting him might antagonize him, I am ready to take this risk. I have a feeling that meeting him as soon as possible would be the best," William spoke.


    Anny spoke a bit worriedly, "Oh, but you need to be careful, Husband. We can''t underestimate an individual who might know of ways to ess Time Laws. He could cause irreparable injury to you."


    William nodded his head and responded, "Don''t worry. I am not going to antagonize him purposely. I need his assistance, after all. Besides, you should trust be a bit more. Even though Time Laws are exceptionally mysterious, it''s not as if my Golden Dragon''s Bloodline ispletely helpless against it."


    As the discussion with his wives soon came to an end, William soon left the room and flew towards the residence where he had witnessed that blinding light of this warrior''s great providence!


    Within the house, apparently, Long Chen and Ren Yue were having a discussion. It was about managing their faction and bribing some powerful members of the factions in Dongchun.


    Well, William was soon standing ahead of the house and knocked on the door.


    Both Long Chen and Ren Yue were startled as they heard this knock. Apparently, the two weren''t expecting visitors at this moment.


    Long Chen spoke up at this moment, "Maybe it''s the Twin Cold Sabers. They must have thought about the proposal and havee to inform us of their decision."


    "Hmm. You might be right. Open the door for them and invite them inside. I will get ready in the meantime," Ren Yue spoke.


    "Sure," Long Chen nodded as he stood up and moved towards the door of the house.


    As he opened the door, he didn''t see the two beautiful women who were known as the Twin Cold Sabers.


    No¡­What he saw was a handsome man who appeared to have a steady yet intense aura. It was such an intense aura that Long Chen felt like backing away. But he could sense it that it would be futile. It would be impossible to escape from such a powerful warrior!


    "¡­So, you are Long Chen, huh?" William asked as he nced at him.


    Even though Long Chen didn''t want to, he unconsciously nodded his head when he was asked that question. This was the pressure of this individual.


    Noticing that Long Chen wasn''t speaking, William added with a slight smirk, "Aren''t you going to invite me inside? I wanted to have a talk with you."


    "Pleasee, sir," Long Chen spoke while he gave way for William to enter the house.


    "Thank you," William spoke before the two soon headed towards the living room.


    Just as the information had stated, Long Chen had brown hair and blue eyes. He could be considered to have an elegant yet handsome appearance.


    However, it still fell shortpared to William''s looks and most importantly, his charm.


    William''s original blue hair had transformed into Blonde Hair after he inherited the Golden Dragon''s True Bloodline, while his eyes transformed from Silver Color to that of Ruby Red Color.


    His physique also experienced a tremendous change that gave him a domineering aura of the dragon.


    But in any case, the two soon sat on the sofa in the living room and began to talk.


    "Can you please tell me who you are, sir?" Long Chen asked a bit respectfully.


    "I am William," after giving his name, William observed Long Chen''s reaction.


    And apparently, the reaction that Long Chen gave him pleased him quite a bit. It was as though Long Chen recognized him from his name!

 Chapter 618 Long Chen Is A Regressor

    <h4>Chapter 618 Long Chen Is A Regressor</h4>


    "You know and recognize me, don''t you?" William asked with calm yet sly countenance.


    Long Chen remained silent as he heard that question. He was about to speak, but William''s ruby eyes remained locked on him, and he added, "I will know if you lie to me. And honestly, the consequences won''t be pretty."


    Those words caused Long Chen to gulp down a mouthful of saliva before he slowly nodded and spoke with a bit of terrified tone, "¡­Yes. If my guess is right, you are the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor. This is the only individual named William I know who has such a domineering presence with those striking blonde hair and red eyes."


    "Your guess is correct," William confirmed with a smile on his face.


    Long Chen couldn''t help but speak with a terrified and respectful tone, "¡­It is my fortune to greet you, Sir William. Please tell me how I can be of assistance to you."


    "I was passing by this area and sensed your spirit has traces of the rare Time Laws. Now, why don''t you truthfully share why that is the case?" William got straight to the topic with a calm look on his face.


    When Long Chen heard those words, his eyes widened in shock. But when he thought a bit deeply about this matter, he felt it was only natural for an expert like William to have sense this.


    At that moment, Ren Yue, the inheritor of the Ren Family, emerged from her bedroom. She appeared to be dressed rather casually, but conservatively.


    Ren Yue was a gorgeous woman who was 5 feet 7 inch tall and has a rather meek feel about her. She had hip-length blonde hair. She also had bright,rge, light turquoise eyes, a lean face, smooth cheeks, and a straight nose. She had arge chest, a thin waist, and wide angr hips.


    All in all, Ren Yue truly had an alluring and seductive figure.


    When she came out, Long Chen''s eyes suddenly turned towards Ren Yue. There was a worried and anxious look on his face.


    William naturally noticed this.


    "¡­W-Who is this man, Chen?" Ren Yue asked a bit confusedly. She had been expecting to see the two women who were known as the Twin Cold Saber to be present here, and not this unknown man.


    Long Chen turned his eyes back at William and saw him nod slightly as if giving him permission to speak freely.


    Long Chen then uttered in a terrified tone, "¡­He is Sir William, the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor."


    "Who is that?" Ren Yue asked in a confused tone. She had never really heard of such an expert in the Zhongxing Kingdom.


    Long Chen decided to exin a bit clearly, "Miss Ren, Sir William is one of the strongest Emperor Realm experts of the human race. His power is considered to be on par with the Enlightened Void Sword Emperor of the Great Qin Empire."


    Ren Yue''s eyes widened in disbelief. "An Emperor Realm expert? N-no way!" she eximed.


    She was right to be shocked; an Emperor Realm expert was a rarity, and most kingdoms wouldn''t have a single one directly associated with them.


    The power of an Emperor Realm expert was so immense that they could potentially take over entire kingdoms like Zhongxing or Qishan if they wished to.


    Ren Yue found it hard to fathom that a warrior of this caliber was sitting in her own home.


    "Sir William, what can we do for you?" Ren Yue immediately bowed respectfully to William.


    It was at this moment that Long Chen realized something. Even after he had recognized William''s identity, he hadn''t bowed to him.


    However, fortunately for Long Chen, William wasn''t someone who minded these formalities. He waved off his hands and spoke rather calmly, "Stand up and please return to your room. I wish to talk with this man about an important matter."


    "¡­Yes, Sir," Ren Yue muttered as she worriedly gazed at Long Chen.


    In response, Long Chen returned a reassuring smile as though he was trying to tell her that everything would be alright.


    Once Ren Yue had returned to her room, William spoke, "Let''s continue our conversation from before. I want to know why your spirit has traces of Time Laws."


    Long Chen remained silent upon hearing those words. He was silent because he could sense that if he spoke a lie or half-truth, it wouldn''t bode well for him or Ren Yue.


    This meant that he had to speak the truth.


    But Long Chen really didn''t want to share his secret.


    Noticing that Long Chen was really worried right now, William spoke softly, "¡­I havee to be your ally, not an enemy. I promise to support you as long as you tell me the truth. You have my word as the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor."


    Long Chen''s eyes shed with disbelief, and then excitement as he heard and registered William''s words in his mind.


    "Sir William, you are really going to support me if I tell you the truth?" This question was rhetoric. It was just an instinctive question since Long Chen had trouble believing his ears that he had heard this.


    However, when William nodded subtly with that reassuring smile, Long Chen feltpelled to believe him.


    "¡­Sir William, can you please create a soundproof barrier around us?" Long Chen spoke seriously.


    William nodded and raised his palm. Soon enough, apletely soundproof barrier around was conjured.


    "Sir William¡­The truth is that my spirit hase from the future. Thirteen years of the future to be exact," Long Chen spoke seriously.


    William''s eyes widened in shock at this moment as he heard this bit of information. Even he hadn''t expected such a twist.


    "The future? How did you send your spirit to the past?" William asked, trying to maintain a calm tone. In the meantime, he was thinking to himself, ''Did he gain insights into the Laws of Time? No¡­Even an Emperor Realm expert who is skilled in utilizing Laws of Time can''t possibly send someone to the past.''


    Long Chen responded with a somber tone, "¡­It was with the assistance of a Supreme Artifact known as the Heavenly Discus."


    "How did youe across it?" William frowned upon hearing that name. He had never heard of something like this despite travelling across many nations on Frascoia Continent.


    "Heavenly Discus is one of the Supreme Artifacts of the Celestials. This Supreme Artifact used to be one of the artifacts that belonged to the previous Primordial God of the Celestials," Long Chen spoke somberly.


    William asked, growing even more curious, "¡­How did a human like youe across this Supreme Artifact of the Celestials?"


    "For that, I must tell you of what happens 13 Years in the future," Long Chen spoke. After taking a moment to recollect his thoughts, he began to speak, "¡­Nearly 12 Years in the future, a terrifying Devil God will be released in the Great Qin Empire. He is an ancient devil god that shook the era and the entire world millions of years ago."


    "When this Devil God was released in the Great Qin Empire, all hell went loose on Frascoia Continent. The Frascoia Continent was connected to the Purgatory and demons endlessly poured on the continent. Even though the Celestials tried their best, they couldn''t restrain the demons or that Devil God."


    "It was at that moment that the Celestials unveiled some minor worlds all across the Frascoia Continent. These were the minor worlds that had been captured and maintained by the Celestials. Inside these minor worlds were great treasures, legacies, weapons, and resources. The Celestials had unveiled these minor worlds in hope that the human race would take advantage of the resources inside and quickly grow stronger to confront and weaken the Demon Race."


    "However, what they didn''t know was that among these minor worlds, there was one particr minor world where the legacy of their former Primordial God was hidden. It was the ce where I discovered the Heavenly Discus," Long Chen finished speaking.

 Chapter 619 William Helps Long Chen Tremendously

    <h4>Chapter 619 William Helps Long Chen Tremendously</h4>


    Long Chen''s revtion left William utterly astounded.


    They rified some things for him but also raised a multitude of new questions.


    "Do you happen to know the name of the Devil God who broke free in the Great Qin Empire and who his allies were?" William inquired after some reflection.


    "As far as I know, this Devil God was called the Tyrannical Asura Devil God, Azaroth," Long Chen responded.


    The mention of that name sent a thrill of excitement through William. It was confirmation that, in the future, they had managed to rescue their Master, Azaroth!


    Long Chen continued, "As for his allies, many devils from Purgatory came forth to support him, but Ick precise information about them. During that time, I was still in the Zhongxing Kingdom, not on the frontlines battling against this Devil God and his allies."


    This response piqued William''s curiosity, and his brows furrowed in confusion.


    ''If any of us ¨C Me, Noah, Laura, Tiana, Yrellea, or Ralph ¨C had publicly supported our Master, it should have made big headlines. After all, it would be seen as a betrayal of the human race and assistance to the demons. So, does this mean none of us openly supported our Master? But that doesn''t seem quite right.''


    William set aside these questions forter and refocused on the matter at hand.


    He offered Long Chen a friendly smile and said, "Thank you for sharing this information. I have friends in the Great Qin Empire, and I''ll inform them to keep an eye out for the release of this Devil God."


    "What''s your n going forward?" William asked with genuine curiosity.


    Without hesitation, Long Chen replied, "I want to grow stronger as fast as I can and prepare Zhongxing Kingdom for the impending demon attack from the Great Qin Empire."


    William raised an eyebrow and then grinned. "That''s quite a challenging mission you''ve set for yourself."


    "I don''t have much of a choice. At the very least, I want to save mypanions this time," Long Chen spoke with unwavering determination.


    William''s smile persisted as he nodded, "Good. Then I''ll lend you a hand."


    Long Chen was taken aback but couldn''t help but feel an overwhelming sense of happiness. This was the response he had been hoping for after sharing the truth with William and revealing the state of the future.


    Knowing that William was an Emperor Realm expert, Long Chen recognized his immense value for the journey ahead.


    "You probably don''t need a cultivation technique from me," Williammented absentmindedly. "The aura I sense from you indicates that you''re already cultivating one of the top-tier techniques, even though it doesn''t exude power and seems to have a versatile skill set."


    Long Chen''s eyes widened momentarily before he reminded himself that it was only natural for someone of William''s caliber to pick up on such details. William was, after all, renowned as one of the most powerful Emperor Realm experts among humans.


    "Sure thing. I hope you can assist me in getting rare and potent spiritual herbs to boost my cultivation quickly. I also need help in obtaining Holy Artifacts, typically found in churches or temples, and blueprints for some Array and Battle Formations," Long Chenid out his requests candidly.


    William took a moment to ponder Long Chen''s requests. Luckily, all of them were quite doable.


    "In two weeks, visit the branch of the Misty Flower Pavilion in this city," William suggested. "I have some connections there, and I''ll arrange for regr deliveries of spiritual herbs that can boost your cultivation, serve as healing remedies, or enhance your strength and elemental power."


    Long Chen''s excitement was palpable. William wasn''t just meeting his demands but going above and beyond, providing items that would prove incredibly valuable.


    But William wasn''t finished. He added, "As for the Holy Artifacts, I can''t send them right away. I don''t have a substantial number in my storage. However, since you don''t need them immediately, let''s dy that for a few years. Then I''ll supply you with a hefty amount."


    Long Chen agreed without hesitation, understanding that Holy Artifacts wouldn''t be of immediate use.


    And William continued, "Regarding the Battle and Array Formations, I''ll dispatch three Array Masters and four Alchemy Masters to your group. They will remain with your team and follow your orders. These experts are highly knowledgeable in their respective fields, and they''re all at the King Realm, which means they can also serve as your bodyguards."


    Long Chen was genuinely taken aback by William''s offer. He was aware that Alchemy Masters and Array Masters often had strong egos. The idea that three Array Masters and four Alchemy Masters would willingly follow his orders and even provide protection was beyond his expectations.


    In the Zhongxing Kingdom, not even the Monarch could boast having seven King Realm experts under theirmand, especially when three were Array Masters and four were Alchemy Masters. This level of support would certainly ensure his safety.


    "Thanks a lot, Sir William," Long Chen expressed his genuine delight.


    William responded with a friendly smile, "This is all because I want you to grow quickly and ensure your safety. It wouldn''t bode well for me if you suddenly kicked the bucket one day."


    Long Chen grinned confidently, replying, "Don''t worry, Sir William. If nothing else, I think I''ve got a talent for surviving even the direst situations."


    William had a sly glint in his eye as he thought, ''I have no doubt about that, especially with your incredible providence.''


    "Now, why don''t you tell me more about that youngdy who appeared earlier? Who is she?" William inquired.


    He had some information about her but wanted to maintain the pretense that he didn''t know too much.


    Long Chen offered an offhand exnation, "Her name is Ren Yue, and she''s the heir of the Ren Family, who used to govern this region of the kingdom. Unfortunately, her family lost power, and it''s now the Jin Family in control. I''m helping Ren Yue to defeat the Jin Family and reinstate her Ren Family as the rulers of this area. Then, I n to use the Ren Family as aunching point to establish an organization that will span across the Zhongxing Kingdom, preparing for the future demon invasion."


    William nodded with seriousness. "Very well, take down my contact details from the Voice Transmission Array Stele. I''m sure it wille in handy someday. Don''t hesitate to reach out if you need anything. I''ll do what I can to help."


    "Yes, sir," Long Chen muttered in a daze.


    With that, he could now contact one of the most powerful Emperor Realm experts. Long Chen really felt as though this day was getting better with each passing moment.


    Unfortunately for Long Chen, he had no idea that this was just the sweetness of the poison. He had made a huge mistake by sharing all his information with William. Especially about the release of Devil God Azaroth.


    It didn''t take long before William took his leave. He was in a rush actually. This was because William wanted to activate the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring to contact all hisrades and share this wonderful news with them.


    They had finally acquired solid proof that their master Azaroth was alive!

 Chapter 620 William’s Discussion With Other Azaroth’s Retainers

    <h4>Chapter 620 William''s Discussion With Other Azaroth''s Retainers</h4>


    William shared all that he knew with his wives and then told them that he nned to contact hisrades about this information.


    His wives knew that William wanted them to stay quiet while that conversation goes on.


    Soon, six holographic figures appeared ahead of William. They belonged to Laura, Tiana, Yrellea, Sargan, Noah, and Ralph.


    All of them were a bit startled since it was rare for them to use this mode ofmunication between them. They would normally only utilize the voice transmission to converse with each other.


    The Mystical Spiritual Connection Rings were reserved for the time when there someone wanted to have an important discussion.


    "¡­Why did you initiate this meeting, William?" Noah asked. He was the leader among them.


    "Everyone, I have discovered proof about our Master''s Status. He is alive in the Great Qin Empire. Not only that, but thirteen yearster, he will be released back into the world as the Devil God," William spoke with a smile.


    Those words caused each one of Azaroth''s retainers to exhibit shocked expressions. Even Noah was no different.


    Yrellea, Laura, and Tiana, let out breaths of relief and excitement.


    It was Sargan who asked at this moment, "How?"


    Then, William shared what he knew about Long Chen and everything he had told him. All of Azaroth''s retainers remained silent and let William finish speaking everything he knew.


    Once he was done speaking, Noah seemed to utter, "¡­You have done a great job, William."


    "Thanks, Noah," William muttered. Even he felt really happy as he heard Noah''s praise.


    Sargan spoke out at this moment, "William, you mentioned that no news of us fighting alongside with our master was known to that time traveler. Everyone, what do you think that means?"


    Laura was the one who spoke up ahead with a puzzled tone, "Yeah. I was a bit confused by that as well. I am sure that if Master does get released, I will do my utmost to support him. Although the Elven Kingdom won''tpletely support him, but me and my younger brother are going to do our best to use our status to support him. I think the fact that an Elf Princess, and an Elf Prince, supporting a Devil God, will be a huge news. If this had happened, that time traveler would have known this bit of news."


    Tiana added, "You are right. But he couldn''t have lied to William. This means that our affiliation with our Master wasn''t leaked. But how?"


    It was Noah who spoke up, "I don''t understand that as well. If Master had been released, me and my entire Heretical Pdins would have done our best to support him no matter who stood in our way!"


    Ralph added, "Maybe something happened to us that prevented us from helping out our master. We might have helped release him back into the world but lost our lives in the process."


    Yrellea muttered, "That might be possible. I can see myself losing my life like that."


    All the other retainers of Azaroth, including William, agreed with Yrellea. Soon, a brief silence seemed to fall over them.


    And suddenly, Sargan''s eyes shed with realization as he spoke out, "¡­Wait. We are forgetting something. What if it was our master Azaroth who ordered us to not help him out or reveal our affiliation to him?"


    Those words caused all other retainers of Azaroth to have a shocked expression on their faces.


    Tiana asked aloud, "No way¡­Why would Master prevent us from helping him out?"


    Ralph spoke, "Something could have gone wrong. Or it might have been a trap."


    "You are right¡­I didn''t think about that. I was just too excited after hearing the news that master was released," William spoke as he considered these possibilities.


    At this moment, Sargan''s holographic face stared at William and spoke, "I think its more than that. I think Master might have realized that the time will rewind due to that Supreme Artifact Heavenly Discus. His future sight can see much more than mine, and there is a chance that he might have foreseen something, so he wanted to prevent us from revealing our affiliation to him in case it turned against us."


    Noah''s eyes shed with realization, "¡­I see now. There must have been some limitations of that Supreme Artifact Heavenly Discus that turned back time. Experts like the Primordial God, Demon Venerable, or the Transcendent Saint might have retained their memories of that future. No, not just these three. Perhaps there are God Realm experts who have artifacts that could resist the influence of Time Laws. Our Master didn''t want any of these experts to know of our affiliation with him."


    But then, Laura spoke out a bit worriedly, "Wait. Doesn''t that mean our Master is in danger now since the Demon Venerable, Primordial God, and the Transcendent Saint, might have the memories of him being released in the Great Qin Empire?"


    Sargan spoke confidently, "No. Not yet at the least. The Ruler of the Qin Empire has kept Master alive for so long so he must have a specific reason for that. Perhaps something he needs. And as long as the Great Qin Empire is adamant on restraining our Master, there is nothing that the Primordial God or the Demon Venerable can do."


    Noah spoke a bit resolutely, "This means that we need to be even quicker and more intelligent this time."


    "Yeah," all of the other retainers agreed with his reasoning.


    Soon, Noah turned to William and inquired, "How did the taming of that Heavenless Fiery Monkey go? Is it ready to join us in the battle against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess?"


    William nodded confidently. "Yes, it''s ready."


    "Great. Let''s n for the battle in a month''s time. We need to defeat her to obtain her Celestial Spark, Blood Essence, and Divine Corpse. Be prepared," Noah dered with determination.


    "I will be," William assured.


    Laura chimed in with a question, "How many of these items have you gathered so far, Noah?"


    Noah paused for a moment before responding, "For now, I have one Celestial Spark, two drops of Blood Essence from different Celestial Gods, and three Divine Corpses. I only managed to defeat one of the Celestial Gods by sheer luck. The other items I found in ruins that were likely left behind by a powerful Celestial God. It''s a shame that the Celestial Spark had already dissipated, and most of the Blood Essence had dried up."


    Those words sent a chill down the spine of each one of Azaroth''s retainers.


    It reminded them of how absurdly powerful Noah was. He had managed to kill a Celestial God while being at the peak of the Emperor Realm expert! This was a tremendous achievement!


    Noah downyed it, mentioning that it had been the toughest battle of his life and that he''d won by sheer luck. Still, the magnitude of his aplishment couldn''t be understated.

 Chapter 621 William Meets Up With Ren Yue Secretly

    <h4>Chapter 621 William Meets Up With Ren Yue Secretly</h4>


    Now¡­After some more discussion with hisrades, the meeting ended.


    Once the meeting was over, William gathered his wives for a private discussion.


    Luckily, they had been keeping tabs on the entire meeting and were well-informed.


    Regina, wearing a thoughtful expression, voiced her concerns, "How do we really maximize the use of this guy? We''re offering him a lot of help considering his current strength and status."


    Anny joined in, "True, we should use him wisely. But how can he be of use to us when his strength is stillcking? Plus, that Supreme Treasure Heavenly Discus he lucked into is apparently in one of the minor realms of the Celestials."


    Vivi added, "Exactly. He doesn''t even know which minor realm belongs to which Celestial God. If he did, we could have targeted that specific Celestial God. Given that Noah''s truebat prowess is still hidden from the Celestials, such an attack might have a good chance of sess."


    William chimed in, "There''s no need to be overly ambitious about exploiting him. Let''s just keep an eye on him through our organization. Remember, even though he''s weak now, his exceptional providence will ensure his rapid growth, especially with our assistance."


    "But what if he turns on us once he''s stronger?" Vivi questioned, her expression slightly skeptical. She added, frowning, "It wouldn''t be the first time we''ve been betrayed by someone with high providence that we genuinely wanted as an ally. Remember what happened three years ago."


    "I haven''t forgotten. I''ll take necessary precautions if he does be our enemy," William assured, his tone serious. He added, "It''s good thing that his weaknesses are all rather evident."


    Anny voiced her concern, "Actually, I think it''s inevitable that he''ll be our enemy. He''s a time-traveler who came back to prevent your Master Azaroth from being released into this world. Yet, we''re the ones trying our best to set Master Azaroth free."


    William nodded with a serious expression, "Yeah, I''ll keep that in mind."


    Regina pondered for a moment before stating, "Well, in that case, maybe it''s time we leave this Kingdom and head towards the Celician Theocracy. We''ve got a lot to prepare before facing off against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess."


    The consensus among William and his other wives was an agreement with Regina''s suggestion.


    William added, "Let''s set out tomorrow. I need to arrange a few things and gather some more information today."


    "Alright," came the collective nod of eptance from his wives.


    After spending some more quality time with them, William left the hotel room. He soared through the air, heading towards the house where Long Chen was staying.


    This time, he chose not to knock on the door or use the front entrance. Instead, he positioned himself in the fields near the house.


    Before long, Ren Yue emerged from the house through the back gate, sporting a somewhat anxious yet startled expression. She had received a mental message urging her toe to the fields without alerting Long Chen.


    Having experienced the power of William firsthand, Ren Yue had no intentions of opposing him. The voice in her head had distinctly conveyed the message to exit the house and make her way to the fields.


    Standing amidst the fields near her house, Ren Yue wore a lovely nightdress in a light purple shade.


    It clungfortably to her buxom figure, adding a touch of elegance to her presence in the moonlit surroundings.


    "Hmm. It''s good that you are here," William spoke with a rather light-hearted smirk. "Now, let''s talk about why I summoned you here."


    "Yes, sir. What do you require of me?" Ren Yue asked anxiously and a bit curiously.


    "¡­From what Long Chen told me, he mentioned that you wish to reinstate your Ren Family and takemand of this entire region of the Zhongxing Kingdom. Also, you wish to take revenge against the Jin Family that effectively destroyed your Ren Family and brought it to the brink of destruction," William spoke.


    Ren Yue was a bit startled that Long Chen had informed William about her situation. But she soon nodded, "Yes, Sir."


    "I am sure you know of my strength and even my status considering what Long Chen had informed you at that time," William spoke. He then added with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "I can very easily achieve your wish. However, I have a couple of conditions for that."


    Ren Yue asked a bit too excitedly, "W-What is it?"


    How could she not be excited at this moment. This was because William was giving her a chance of achieving her heartfelt wish.


    "¡­Come closer then," William spoke with a hint of a smile on his face.


    Ren Yue gulped down a mouthful of saliva but did as he asked for. When she was close enough, William suddenly pulled her into an embrace.


    Although it was a bit of a forceful embrace, Ren Yue didn''t resist it all that much. Instead, she soon took in the pure masculine scent of William and found herself getting a bit intoxicated by it as she blushed madly.


    "W-What are you doing, Sir William?" Ren Yue spoke a bit fidgety and nervously. She didn''t want to offend William but didn''t feel that what he was doing was something very appropriate.


    William looked into her eyes and spoke with a smile, "I will be destroying a Noble Family all to achieve your wish and then reinstating your family into bing the overlords of this region. Do you think what I am doing right now is anything excessive right now?"


    Ren Yue didn''t even need to think for a second before answering with a soft mutter, "No. Please use me however you want to."


    William let out a chuckle as he heard those words. He then suddenly released her and spoke, "¡­Good. It seems you understand your position now. That''s all I wanted you to realize."


    He then pulled out a rather beautiful ring and spoke ahead, "Now¡­The task that I have for you is very simple. All you have to do is wear this ring at all times. This is a ring that will allow you tomunicate directly with me. From now on, I want you to inform me any important news and information about Long Chen that you discover."


    "¡­I need to spy on Long Chen?" Ren Yue was seemingly startled as she heard the words.


    "Yes," William spoke. His red eyes seemed to shine for a faint moment before they returned back to their normal state. He asked Ren Yue, "Is that going to be a problem?"


    Ren Yue soon answered, "N-no, sir! This is the least I can do for you. In fact¡­I wish to do more for you."


    "Good, I am happy with your intentions," William spoke. He added, "¡­If you do your task properly, I will think about epting you as one of my mistresses."


    "That will be a huge honor for me, Sir! I will certainly do my best," Ren Yue spoke excitedly.


    At those words, William chided her lightly, "Don''t be apparent about it. Don''t ever let Long Chen find out about this."


    "Yes, sir! You can trust me that he will never discover about this!" Ren Yue responded confidently and a bit excitedly.


    Once she had spoke all those words, William ordered her to return.


    What William had done earlier was utilize his Abyss Eyes to cast a very weak-powered Charm Vision ability on her.


    Charm Vision was an ability that worked only against women. It was a very weak ability that enhanced the user''s favorability with a woman.


    Initially, this favorability wasn''t permanent. It would barelyst a couple of days and the target''s favorability towards the user would soon return to normal.


    However, if the woman on whom this ability was used would experience a huge increase in favorability for the man in the next few days, this ability would ensure that the woman''s favorability would not fall and would permanently be fixed.


    Well, as long as the user doesn''t do anything drastic enough topletely antagonize the targeted woman.


    Well, the most important thing about this ability was that this weak-powered Charm Vision waspletely undetectable by any means. In a sense, it was not actively influencing the mind like a hypnotic skill.


    William was sure that after aplishing what Ren Yue wanted, her favorability would increase tremendously to the point that she would have no qualms of doing anything he wanted her to do.

 Chapter 622 Overturning The Zhongxing Kingdom Within A Single Night

    <h4>Chapter 622 Overturning The Zhongxing Kingdom Within A Single Night</h4>


    In just one night, the Zhongxing Kingdom witnessed a seismic shift.


    The Jin Family, rulers of Dongchun City and its surroundings, found themselves under a surprise attack.


    The shocking part?


    The Jin Family''s mansion and all their structures remained untouched and secure.


    In that fateful night, however, all the top leaders and experts of the Jin Family met their demise. William spared the survivors¡ªchildren, women, and weaker warriors.


    His reasoning wasn''t born out of newfound kindness, but rather a calcted move. He wanted the seeds of vengeance to sprout in their hearts, ensuring that Long Chen and the Ren Family faced ongoing challenges.


    Having encountered numerous warriors with exceptional providence, William understood that it was adversity, not a surplus of resources, that fueled rapid growth. The danger, the struggle¡ªthese were the catalysts for remarkable advancement.


    After executing the Jin Family''s leaders and experts, William swiftly soared towards Liyang City, the Zhongxing Kingdom''s Royal Capital.


    The aura surrounding William surpassed that of a King Realm warrior, making all attempts by royal guards to halt him futile.


    Entering the Royal Pce unimpeded, William confronted the bewildered and befuddled Monarch, who had moments ago been sleeping peacefully on his bed within his chambers.


    "Now... I can see the confusion and shock on your face. But I''m sure you can sense the power I''m radiating. And just to answer the question brewing in your mind, yes. I am indeed an Emperor Realm expert," William dered with a hurried yet authoritative tone.


    The Monarch, barely able to fathom the reality before him, hastily rose from his bed and bowed respectfully.


    He humbly said, "It is our honor to meet a warrior of your caliber, Sir. What can we do for you?"


    William didn''t stop him. Instead, he continued to speak, "I have personally eliminated the leaders and all experts of the Jin Family. I want you to relinquish the wealth,nd, and status of the Jin Family to the Ren Family. Moreover, you need to support and protect them from any internal or external threats for one year. After that, leave them to fend for themselves."


    The Monarch of the Zhongxing Kingdom found himself in a whirlwind of shock and confusion. The Ren Family, a once-ruined n, had somehow be entangled with an Emperor Realm warrior of unparalleled might. The monarch struggled to reconcile this improbable connection.


    In the face of such overwhelming power, the monarch knew that refusal wasn''t an option. The fact that this formidable warrior had annihted the top echelons of the Jin Family made it clear ¡ª he was resolute in his intent to ce the Ren Family at the helm of Dongchun City and its surrounding territories.


    As the monarch delved into contemtion, he concluded that while the internal politics of his kingdom would undergo substantial changes, the overall strength of the Zhongxing Kingdom would only experience a minor dip.


    With newfound confidence, the Monarch of the Zhongxing Kingdom spoke, "Yes sir. It shall be done."


    "Good. I want you to begin the official preparations starting from tomorrow," William spoke calmly. He then added, "You will bepensated appropriately for this."


    The monarch, anxious and humbled, responded, "We don''t dare to ask for anypensation."


    "I am not asking or requesting you; I am telling," William retorted coldly.


    "Yes, sir!" The monarch relented immediately.


    With his departure, the Zhongxing Kingdom found itself on the cusp of internal transformation.


    Upon returning to his hotel room in Dongchun City, William found his wives patiently awaiting his arrival. Briefly sharing the details of his recent endeavors, the wearied group settled onto the bed, seeking much-needed rest.


    As the new day dawned, William, calm and collected as ever, decided to pay a visit to Long Chen and Ren Yue.


    Seated in thefortable living hall, William faced Long Chen and Ren Yue, both looking up to him with a respectful air.


    "Hey, I''ve got some news that might interest you two," William began casually, a serene expression on his face.


    Long Chen, ever respectful, inclined his head, waiting for the tidings. Ren Yue, her eyes revealing a silent gratitude, maintained aposed demeanor.


    "I took care of the Jin family, wiped out their top brass," William disclosed, his tone almost nonchnt.


    Long Chen''s eyes widened in surprise, "You did? That''s... unexpected."


    A sly smile yed on William''s lips as he continued, "Yeah, had a chat with the Monarch too. Soon enough, the Ren Family is getting a promotion. Dongchun City and its surroundings will be yours. For a year, the Royal Family will be your safety, guarding against any troubles."


    Long Chen, genuinely pleased, responded, "Wow, William, I can''t thank you enough for doing this for the Ren Family. This means a lot."


    William, waving off the gratitude, replied in aid-back manner, "Hey, no big deal. Just doing what I can, you know? I need you to grow quickly and start working on your dream."


    Long Chen nodded with a smile and spoke resolutely, "I will definitely repay this favor in the future."


    "Sure, sure," William spoke. He then cast a nce at Ren Yue.


    While Long Chen expressed his gratitude openly, Ren Yue remained silent. Yet, her eyes conveyed a gratitude that words couldn''t capture. Unbeknownst to her, William''s Charm Vision subtly worked its magic, solidifying his influence over her. He could sense the burgeoning favorability in her gaze, an assurance that loyalty was taking root.


    As the conversation reached its natural conclusion, William leaned back, a subtle hint of satisfaction on his face, "Well, folks, it''s time for me to hit the road. But worry not, Long Chen. Your estate will receive all those promised gifts soon."


    Long Chen nodded appreciatively, "Thank you, William. Your support means a lot to us."


    Getting up from his seat, William strolled towards the door, signaling the end of his stay. "It''s been a pleasure, truly. Take care, both of you."


    Long Chen and Ren Yue followed him to the door, expressing their farewells. "Goodbye, William. And thank you again," Long Chen said sincerely.


    Ren Yue added her gratitude, "Safe travels, William. We''ll make the most of the opportunities you''ve provided."


    With a nod and a final wave, William stepped out into the open air, leaving Long Chen and Ren Yue at the doorway. The door closed behind him.


    Once the door shut, Ren Yue turned to Long Chen with a thoughtful expression. "I think I need a new dress for the uing ceremony. You know, the reinstatement of the Ren Family as the rulers of this region. I want to look my best as I also take on my new role as the ruler."


    Long Chen smiled, understanding her desire to make a statement. "Sure, Ren Yue. Take your time. I''ll be here when you get back."


    With that, Ren Yue exited the house, her steps quickening as she made her way to the market. Little did Long Chen know that this wasn''t just about a new dress ¨C it was a well-crafted excuse. Ren Yue had received a mentalmand, a subtle suggestion from none other than William himself.


    Near the market, William waited patiently, a knowing smile ying on his lips.


    It didn''t take long before he spotted her approaching. With a subtle confidence, he closed the distance and pulled her into an embrace, his demeanor carrying a hint of dominance.


    "Let''s go and enjoy a bit, my dear," William whispered, a yful glint in his eyes.


    Ren Yue sensed an undertone of desire in William''s actions, but she found herself willingly swept away by his somewhat dominant advances. Sumbing to the maic pull, she allowed him to lead the way.


    As they walked, William''s grip on Ren Yue''s arm tightened, his fingers digging into her soft skin.


    The two soon entered a nearby inn and William took Ren Yue to one of his private rooms there.


    As they entered the room, William''s desire grew even more intense.


    With one swift movement, he pinned Ren Yue against the wall, his hardened body pressed against her soft curves.


    His lips found hers in a hungry kiss, their tongues tangling together as they explored each other''s mouths.


    His hand roamed across her supple skin, tracing the outline of her perfect breasts before reaching lower to grasp at theces of her dress.


    With a fierce determination, he tore apart the delicate fabric, revealing Ren Yue''s voluptuous form in all its glory. Her full breasts jutted out from her chest, topped with pink, erect nipples begging for his attention. His gaze roamed lower, taking in the soft curve of her stomach and the tantalizing V of her dark curls.


    Ren Yue was breathless, her heart pounding against her chest. She felt a mixture of fear and excitement as William''s dominance took hold of her.


    She was powerless to resist his advances, her body responding to his touch with an intensity that took her by surprise.


    Despite her initial shock, Ren Yue could not deny the primal desire coursing through her veins. Her hands roamed up William''s chest, tracing the lines of his muscles as they explored each other''s bodies further.


    As he imed her mouth in another deep, passionate kiss, she surrenderedpletely to him, whimpering in pleasure.

 Chapter 623 William’s Secret Mistresses

    <h4>Chapter 623 William''s Secret Mistresses</h4>


    After indulging in the early morning pleasures with Ren Yue''s voluptuous form, William finally left the hotel room, leaving Ren Yue with a few more instructions.


    His time with Ren Yue had been marked by unrestrained passion and intensity. There was no trace of gentleness in his actions; instead, he thoroughly enjoyed every inch of her body, from the tender curves to the passionate kisses.


    Ren Yue, far from resisting, embraced the roughness with equal fervor, relishing in the primal connection they shared.


    As William departed the inn room, Ren Yuey on the bed, her naked form a testament to the passionate encounter. Her chest rose and fell in rhythmic breaths, and a satisfied smile yed on her lips. The room still lingered with the lingering scent of their escapade.


    Gathering herself, Ren Yue rose from the bed and noticed a selection of dresses neatly ced in the closet by William.


    The fabrics were luxurious, a stark contrast to the passion that had unfolded moments ago.


    Choosing one of the dresses, Ren Yue adorned herself, the fabric cascading over her curves.


    As she looked in the mirror, a mix of emotions yed on her face ¡ª satisfaction, desire, and a hint of uncertainty.


    Deciding to explore the market further, Ren Yue left the inn room. She meandered through the lively streets, her mind still tingling with the memory of William''s touch.


    Entering various shops, Ren Yue indulged in purchasing more dresses, each one carefully chosen to enhance her allure.


    The vibrant colors and luxurious fabricsplemented her radiant beauty, reflecting a mix of elegance and sensuality.


    With a collection of new attire in hand, Ren Yue made her way back to her house.


    The anticipation of the uing ceremony and her newfound position as the ruler of the region added a spring to her step.


    Little did she know that the actions in the early morning hours would set the course for more significant transformations in her life, intertwining her fate with William.


    Back in the hotel room, William rejoined his trio of wives¡ªRegina, Anna, and Vivi¡ªwhose affectionate greetings filled the air.


    "Husband, you''re back. How did everything go?" Regina inquired with genuine concern, her eyes reflecting affection.


    William took a seat, sharing a casual smile with his wives. "Everything went smoothly. Long Chen is now under some discreet surveince measures I''ve put in ce. We''ll know if he tries anything fishy."


    Anna expressed her relief, "That''s a relief to hear, dear. We don''t want any surprises."


    Vivi nodded in agreement, "Indeed. It''s crucial to ensure our ns move forward seamlessly."


    Naturally, William omitted any mention of Ren Yue and his escapades from the conversation. She was just one of many secret mistresses scattered across the continent, each linked to warriors with Great Providence.


    There were multiple reasons for William''s involvement with these women.


    Firstly, by engaging in illicit affairs, he could siphon a portion of the Great Providence possessed by the warriors. It was a subtle, yet effective, way of strengthening his own providence.


    Secondly, the bonds formed through these encounters solidified the loyalty of these women, regardless of how William treated them¡ªwhether with cruelty or kindness.


    The third and perhaps most strategic reason was that these women, once intertwined with William, acted as effective pawns.


    They maintained contact with the warriors who considered them love interests but refrained from any inappropriate engagement, physical or emotional.


    Even if those warriors were deeply in love, these women would exploit their influence for William''s benefit.


    With their conversation concluded, the group prepared to leave the hotel room. Bags were packed, and the trio of wives stood by William''s side, ready for the journey ahead.


    Their destination: the Celician Theocracy, situated at a considerable distance from their current location.


    The journey toward the Celician Theocracy unfolded with a vibrant mix of adventure and camaraderie. William, along with his wives Regina, Anna, and Vivi, traversed diversendscapes, passing through the Sinyalian Kingdom, the Principality of Ascea, and finally arriving at the shores of the Celician Theocracy.


    The Sinyalian Kingdom held a special ce in William''s heart, and that evoked nostalgia and memories of his final meeting with his master, Azaroth. As they journeyed through, William couldn''t help but reflect on the pivotal moments that transpired in this realm.


    Navigating through the Principality of Ascea, the group encountered variousndscapes, from lush forests to sprawling ins. The journey became a tapestry of sights and experiences, each contributing to the vivid mosaic of their travels.


    Finally, as they approached the Celician Theocracy, the southern side revealed a connection to the vast sea. The distant waves whispered tales of unexplored possibilities, adding an air of anticipation to their arrival.


    The Celician Theocracy weed them with its unique charm, a blend of coastal beauty and spiritual resonance. The sea breeze carried the promise of new beginnings, as the group ventured into the heart of this enigmatd.


    Throughout the journey, the interactions among William and his wives were filled with light-hearted banter and sharedughter.


    As they set foot in the Celician Theocracy, William wasted no time in initiating preparations for the impending confrontation with the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. The air crackled with anticipation as hisrades readied themselves, the collective energy of the group focused on this celestial challenge.


    Now, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess is a Celestial Goddess whose beauty and abilities mesmerized those who followed her religion. Her celestial aura radiated a captivating charm, drawing devotees into her enchanting embrace.


    As a Celestial God, she dwelled in a realm one step beyond the Emperor Realm, wielding powers that transcended mortalprehension.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess possessed a unique ability ¨C the creation of life forms within her minor world.


    Among these ethereal beings were the Seraphic Sirens, celestial maidens with voices that could soothe even the most restless souls. Their harmonious melodies echoed through the celestial realm, a testament to their divine origin.


    The Seraphic Sirens'' abilities extended beyond mere music. Their celestial voices possessed the power to influence emotions, calming turbulent spirits or instigating passionate fervor. In the celestial hierarchy, these angelic maidens were revered as the embodiment of beauty and grace.


    In addition to the Seraphic Sirens, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess had crafted Celestial Nymphs, beings of pure essence with the ability to manipte water. These ethereal creatures danced upon the celestial waters, weaving intricate patterns that mirrored the Goddess''s control over the liquid element.


    As formidable as these celestial entities were, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess herself focused on a more subtle yet potent approach.


    Unlike other Celestial Gods relying on sheer force, her strengthy in the art of charming and manipting spirits along with the control of water element. She could weave illusions that ensnared the minds of her adversaries, leading them into a captivating dance of enchantment.


    This unique skill set made her a formidable opponent, especially against those unprepared for the subtleties of spiritual warfare.


    However, it also rendered her vulnerable to a group of experts like William and hisrades, who specialized in countering such mystical arts.


    This made her one of the few Celestial Gods within their reach, despite their cultivation being at the peak of the Emperor Realm.


    The strategic decision to target the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess was further motivated by her close ties with the Great Qin Empire. Her minor world, nestled on one of the inds of the Celician Theocracy, had remained untouched by human Saint Realm experts due to the diplomatic rtions she maintained.


    This presented a unique opportunity for William and hisrades to strike a blow against a Celestial God.


    As William and his wives immersed themselves in the preparation for the imminent sh with the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, their approach was a strategic blend of intellect and logic. They initiated aprehensive information-gathering process about the deity and her religious following.


    The religion devoted to the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess was known as the Enchanting Aquilo Religion, a faith that thrived on the divine allure and beguiling charm she wielded along with her divine control of water element.


    William''s group probed into the intricacies of this religious sect, delving into their scriptures to unveil critical details.


    They sought information on the location of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s minor world, the specific ind it resided on, the security measures in ce, the goddess''s weaknesses, her strengths, and any notable miracles or actions associated with her.


    The gathered intel became the cornerstone of their strategy, providing invaluable insights into the nuances of their celestial adversary.


    Armed with this knowledge, William set out to gather array formations and alchemic pellets specifically tailored for the impending confrontation.


    It didn''t take long before William had gathered five good array formations that he felt would be useful against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    Celestial Veil Barrier Array: This formation created an invisible barrier that disrupted the celestial energy manipted by the goddess, making her charm-based attacks less effective.


    Serpentine Illusion Matrix: An array that generated illusions resembling serpentine creatures, distracting the goddess and creating openings for strategic strikes.


    Ephemeral Harmony Net: This formation wove a of harmonized energy, disrupting the celestial connection of the goddess and limiting her ability to summon celestial beings.


    Abyssal Mirage Shroud: A shrouding array that enveloped the battlefield in an abyssal mirage, confusing the goddess and distorting her perception of reality.


    Divine Seclusion Ward: This defensive formation created a secluded space within which the goddess''s divine influence was weakened, giving the users a temporary sanctuary.


    Other than these five array formations, he gathered many pellets that would be useful against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. Some of them were as given below:


    Aetherbane Elixir: An elixir infused with Aetherbane essence, disrupting the celestial energy flow in the vicinity and weakening the goddess''s ability to manipte charm.


    Serenity Quencher: A pellet that emitted calming vapors, countering the emotional maniption caused by the goddess''s celestial melodies.


    Eclipsing Veil Powder: A powder that, when dispersed, created a temporary veil against celestial sight, shielding the users from the goddess''s probing gaze.


    In addition to their array formations and alchemic pellets, William summoned the support of the Heavenless Fiery Monkey, a formidable allymitted to assisting in the battle against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.

 Chapter 624 Manipulating Warriors With Great Providence

    <h4>Chapter 624 Manipting Warriors With Great Providence</h4>


    As the moment of action approached, William''s strategic mind set his intricate n in motion. To bolster their forces against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, he called upon the aid of not only his wives and the Heavenless Fiery Monkey but also his secret mistresses, each with connections to formidable warriors.


    The first secret mistress hailed from the Republic of Rea. Known for her alluring charm, she went by the name Seraphina Nightshade.


    With her buxom figure and enchanting prowess, she held sway over an Emperor Realm warrior with great providence named Aurelius Moonfire.


    William''s message to Seraphina was explicit. He needed Aurelius to travel to Veilstorm Isle and confront the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    The excuse she crafted revolved around a legendary celestial herb, the Ephemeral Serenade Blossom, rumored to bloom only once in a millennium on the mystical ind. She assured Aurelius that acquiring this herb would greatly enhance his cultivation.


    Seraphina''s alluring charm extended beyond physical allure, and Aurelius, captivated by the promise of such a celestial treasure, readily agreed. Little did he know that his journey would lead him into the imminent sh with the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    The second secret mistress, a sultry beauty named Lysandra Emberze, hailed from the Kingdom of Cemetia.


    Her allure was matched only by the Emperor Realm warrior under her influence, Maximus Stormforged, renowned for his control over celestial thunder.


    Intrigued by tales of a celestial artifact hidden on Veilstorm Isle¡ªan artifact rumored to amplify the power of thunder-based techniques¡ªLysandra wove apelling narrative to lure Maximus into the fray.


    She painted a picture of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to harness the true might of celestial thunder, hidden within the mystical boundaries of the ind.


    Maximus, a warrior ever hungry for power, couldn''t resist the temptation. He agreed to embark on this seemingly auspicious quest, unaware that the artifact was but a guise leading him toward the enigmatic Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    The third secret mistress, a stunning enchantress named Liliana Starwhisper, also hailed from the Kingdom of Cemetia. Her charms entwined the powerful Emperor Realm warrior known as Argentius meheart, whose mastery over fire could rival the very heavens.


    Liliana tailored her excuse around a fabled heavenly ore, rumored to exist abundantly beneath the surface of Veilstorm Isle. She painted a vivid picture of Argentius forging celestial-grade weaponry imbued with the ind''s unique ore. The prospect of acquiring such heavenly materials for his fiery arsenal proved too enticing for Argentius to resist.


    As the three secret mistresses set their respective ns in motion, William''s borate web of deception unfolded.


    The unsuspecting warriors, enticed by promises of divine herbs, celestial artifacts, or heavenly treasures, embarked on journeys that would inevitably converge on the mystic Veilstorm Isle.


    With the chess pieces in ce, William and hisrades awaited the grand showdown against the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, confident that their carefullyid ns would tip the scales in their favor.


    As the orchestrated scheme unfolded, the three warriors, each driven by the promise of elusive treasures, set forth on their individual journeys towards Veilstorm Isle.


    Aurelius Moonfire, the warrior affiliated with Seraphina Nightshade, arrived on the shores of the mystical ind.


    However, as he approached, the vignt guards of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, d in celestial armor, intercepted his path.


    An argument ensued, fueled by Aurelius''s insistence on reaching the rumored location of the celestial herb.


    The guards, unwavering in their duty, rebuffed his advances. Tensions escted, and what started as a war of words transformed into a fierce sh between Aurelius Moonfire and the guards.


    Meanwhile, Maximus Stormforged, influenced by Lysandra Emberze''s narrative of a thunderous celestial artifact, set foot on the shores of Veilstorm Isle.


    The guards, loyal to the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, perceived his presence as a threat to their sacred haven. Arguments red, echoing with the sh of thunder and celestial energy.


    The altercation spiraled into a full-fledged battle, with Maximus unleashing bolts of celestial thunder upon the celestial-armored guards. The air crackled with energy as the sh intensified, drawing the attention of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess herself.


    In a secluded corner of the ind, Argentius meheart, under the influence of Liliana Starwhisper''s enchantments, sought the fabled heavenly ore said to lie hidden beneath Veilstorm Isle. His arrival, however, did not go unnoticed by the guardians of the ind.


    As Argentius attempted to bypass the guards and delve into the ind''s depths, the conflict reached a tipping point. Words were reced by the roar of mes and the sh of celestial weapons, echoing through the mysticalndscape.


    Sensing the disturbance, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, her celestial beauty unparalleled, emerged from her sanctum in her minor world. Her eyes, pools of enchanting radiance, surveyed the unfolding chaos.


    Deciding to intervene, she summoned her ethereal creations¡ªa legion of angels and enchanting life forms¡ªto join the skirmish on the ind.


    The battlefield became a tapestry of celestial shes, as Aurelius Moonfire, Maximus Stormforged, and Argentius meheart confronted both the celestial-armored guards and the otherworldly beings summoned by the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    Aurelius shed des with the guards, their celestial armor gleaming in the sunlight.


    Maximus, wielding the power of thunder, faced off against the guards'' celestial shields with thunderous roars.


    Argentius, his mes dancing in a symphony of destruction, engaged in a fiery duel with both guards and the celestial beings.


    Amidst the chaotic sh on the Veilstorm Isle, Aurelius Moonfire, Maximus Stormforged, and Argentius meheart individually discovered the absence of the treasures they sought. The realization dawned upon them that the coveted celestial herb, thunderous celestial artifact, and heavenly ore must be concealed within the minor world of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    As fate would have it, the trio, approaching from different directions, converged at the entrance of the portal leading to the Celestial God''s hidden realm. The shimmering entrance stood before them.


    Amidst the chaotic sh on the Veilstorm Isle, Aurelius Moonfire, Maximus Stormforged, and Argentius meheart individually discovered the absence of the treasures they sought. The realization dawned upon them that the coveted celestial herb, thunderous celestial artifact, and heavenly ore must be concealed within the minor world of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    As fate would have it, the trio, approaching from different directions, converged at the entrance of the portal leading to the Celestial God''s hidden realm. The shimmering entrance stood before them, a gateway to untold mysteries.


    Aurelius, adorned in celestial armor, locked eyes with Maximus, whose thunderous presence crackled through the air. On the other side stood Argentius with mes dancing around him in rhythmic patterns.


    Realizing themon thread that bound their quests, the three warriors exchanged nces and chatted with each other. Soon, an agreement urred between them. In a moment of collective understanding, they forged a temporary alliance, vowing not to harm each other until their shared objectives were met and they emerged from the Celestial God''s minor world.


    Meanwhile, in another corner of the Celician Kingdom, William, the orchestrator of this intricate n, convened with hisrades¡ªRalph and Noah. The trio hade together with a singr mission: the annihtion of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    In a ndestine meeting, the three discussed the impending battle.

 Chapter 625 Azaroth’s Retainers Enter A Celestial God’s Minor World

    <h4>Chapter 625 Azaroth''s Retainers Enter A Celestial God''s Minor World</h4>


    "Alright, spill the beans, William. What''s the game n?" Noah inquired with a curious tilt of his head.


    A decade had breezed by, marking him at the ripe age of around twenty, showcasing a short crop of ck hair and the piercing gaze of brown eyes. An invisible aura exuded from him, casting a palpable pressure that even impacted Ralph and William.


    William, his demeanor as calm as a tranquilke, shared his strategy, "I''ve dispatched some warriors to do the legwork in the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s Minor World. They''ll handle the defensive dance, allowing us to save our energy for the main event ¨C the showdown with the Goddess herself."


    "And where''s that monkey of yours?" Ralph interjected, his fiery mane and vibrant yellow eyes giving him a distinct presence.


    Casually, William responded, "On its way, my friend. It''ll swing into action in about three hours. After that, it''s showtime. We''ll be crashing the party in the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s hood."


    "Sounds like a n. Let''s hustle to the rendezvous spot," Noah dered, and the trio embarked on their journey.


    As William, Ralph, and Noah reached the Veilstorm Isle, the aftermath of Aurelius, Maximus, and Argentius''s rampage greeted them. The once-guardians of the indy defeated, paving the way for the trio''s unhindered advance toward the Minor World.


    "Damn, William, looks like your secret squad went all out," Ralph remarked, his fiery hair flickering in the wind. Noah nodded in agreement.


    William, with his trademark humility, responded, "Just a little insurance. We''ve got a party to crash, after all."


    As the conversation unfolded, a distant silhouette appeared in the sky, growing closer with each passing moment. The Heavenless Fiery Monkey had arrived, a peak Emperor Realm entity. Its size was impressive, dwarfing even thergest of primates, and its fiery aura painted the air with an ethereal glow.


    As the monkey''s wary gaze fell upon Noah, Ralph, and William, it reflected a mix of recognition and surprise.


    Familiar with William from their previous encounter, the Heavenless Fiery Monkey sensed the Golden Dragon''s True Bloodline within him¡ªa force that effortlessly subdued the monkey''s own presence.


    However, what caught the monkey off guard was the formidable aura emanating from Ralph, embodying the might of the Ancient Sabertooth Tiger.


    This ancient beast''s strength rivaled that of the Golden Dragon, leaving a profound impression on the Heavenless Fiery Monkey.


    Yet, the grand revtion awaited as the monkey tuned into Noah''s presence. There, amidst the trio, Noah emanated an otherworldly power. His aura, imbued with a razor-sharp edge, surpassed even the Golden Dragon''s True Bloodline and the Ancient Sabertooth Tiger''s Bloodline in its lethal intensity.


    In the silent exchange of energies, the Heavenless Fiery Monkey recognized Noah''s extraordinary strength.


    "You''re up first, monkey. Endure three rounds of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s attacks, then make a run for it," Noah stated calmly.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey, uncertain if it could withstand three onughts from the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, reluctantly nodded. "Alright. When are weunching this assault?" it inquired.


    "It''s been about an hour since those three infiltrated the Minor Realm of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. They''ve probably wrapped up their part, dealing with the defenses inside. Time for us to jump in," William dered, setting the n in motion.


    As the quartet swiftly moved towards the portal, the Veilstorm Isle''s atmosphere buzzed with anticipation. The portal itself stood tall, a shimmering gateway intricately connected to a Minor World crafted by the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    Stepping through the portal, the quartet found themselves in a surreal world¡ªa blooming garden set amidst an endless ocean. The fragrance of countless flowers filled the air, the embodiment of the goddess''s powers.


    "Quite the flowery entrance she''s got," Ralph remarked, surveying their surroundings.


    "No doubt. This ce reeks of her influence," William added, eyeing the picturesque yet eerie garden.


    Heavenless Fiery Monkey chimed in with a nonchnt shrug, "Monkeys prefer jungles, but sure, I can appreciate the effort."


    As they ventured deeper, signs of a fierce battle unfolded. The ground was strewn with the remnants of defeated spirits¡ªwater and flowery angels. These ethereal beings, created by the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, nowy defeated, their names etched in the quartet''s memories¡ªAqua Seraphim, Petal Nymph, and Torrential Sylph. Each spirit had unique abilities that matched their names, reflecting the goddess''s mastery over water and flowers.


    "Looks like our predecessors had a real party here," Ralph observed, stepping over the defeated angels.


    William nodded, acknowledging the remnants of the earlier skirmishes. "Aurelius, Maximus, and Argentius certainly made their presence felt."


    Their journey through the surreal garden continued until a gentle yetmanding voice echoed through the air. It was the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, asserting her authority.


    "Turn back and return to the Frascoia Continent," the goddess''s voice resonated.


    Noah scoffed, "Looks like she''s trying to scare us off. Nice try."


    Ralph grinned, "Sorry,dy, but we''re here to stay."


    The quartet pressed on, determined to confront the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. As they moved deeper into the surreal garden, the atmosphere grew denser, a tangible sense of the goddess''s presence enveloping them.


    Suddenly, the surroundings shifted, and they found themselves in an opulent pce, its design reflecting the goddess''s dominion over water and flowers. The quartet stood in the grand hall, awaiting the goddess''s appearance.


    In a moment of shimmering radiance, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess materialized before them. Her beauty was ethereal, a captivating allure that held a maic charm. Cascading water-like robes adorned her figure, and a crown of blooming flowers crowned her head.


    "Wee, intruders," she greeted, her voice weaving through the air like a gentle melody.


    William, undeterred, addressed her with casual confidence. "We''re not here for a social visit, goddess."


    The goddess chuckled, herughter echoing through the hall. "Bold words. Let''s see if you can match them with actions."


    Without hesitation, she extended her hand, and water and flower spirits materialized around her¡ªa formidable array of Aqua Seraphim, Petal Nymph, and Torrential Sylph, each restored to full strength.


    Ralph cracked his knuckles, a smirk ying on his face. "Looks like the real party is just getting started."


    Noah added, "Hope you''re ready to dance, goddess."


    The quartet faced the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, ready to confront the celestial being and ovee the charm of her flowery domain.

 Chapter 626 Fighting and Killing A Celestial Goddess

    <h4>Chapter 626 Fighting and Killing A Celestial Goddess</h4>


    The battleground pulsated with energy as the sh between mortal and divine unfolded. The quartet faced the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess with determined gazes, ready to challenge the celestial being.


    William surged forward, raw strength emanating from every stride. His golden eyes glinted with the power of the Golden Dragon''s True Bloodline as he brandished his spear. Elements of Gold and Metal enveloped him, creating an aura of dominance.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess responded with elegance, her movements akin to a dance. Illusions weaved around her as she controlled the water and flower spirits, orchestrating a mesmerizing symphony of celestial power.


    William lunged at the goddess with formidable spear techniques, each strike resonating with the power of the Golden Dragon. The sh of metal against divine forces echoed through the surreal garden.


    Meanwhile, Ralph blurred across the battlefield, activating his Ancient Sabertooth Tiger''s Bloodline. ws elongated, and mes flickered around him. His agility and speed made him a whirlwind, striking at the water and flower spirits with precision.


    Noah, with sword in hand, became a blur of silver light. His mastery over the sword transcended the norm, cutting through the fabric of space itself. The Sword Domain he created disrupted thews of the Minor World, rewriting reality in his favor.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey unleashed its clones, creating a chaotic battlefield. Clones mimicked its powerful physique, overwhelming the spirits with sheer brute force. The celestial creature moved with unmatched agility, its consciousness shifting between clones.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, though surrounded, maintained an air of grace. She manipted illusions to confuse her adversaries, while her control over water and flowers addedyers ofplexity to the battle.


    As the sh intensified, a symphony of shes, roars, and elemental forces resonated through the surreal garden.


    William''s spear shed against divine illusions, Ralph''s ws met ethereal resistance, and Noah''s sword cut through the fabric of the Minor World.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey''s clones faced the water and flower spirits, a chaotic dance of blows and evasions. The battlefield became a tapestry of celestial and mortal might colliding.


    In the midst of the chaos, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess focused her attention on Noah. A shiver ran down her divine essence as she witnessed the unfolding terror of the Sword Domain.


    "You pose a true threat, mortal," she acknowledged, her voice carrying a mix of curiosity and concern.


    Noah, engrossed in the battle, responded with a smirk. "Hope you''re ready for the encore, goddess."


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess countered with an array of illusions, attempting to distract Noah from maintaining the Sword Domain.


    However, Noah''s focus remained unwavering as he continued to overwrite thews of the Minor World.


    William, sensing an opportunity, intensified his attacks, exploiting openings in the celestial being''s defenses.


    His spear techniques, empowered by the Golden Dragon''s Bloodline, aimed for vulnerabilities within the illusions.


    Ralph, with mes dancing around his ws, targeted the weakened water and flower spirits. His strikes, a seamless blend of fire and primal force, disrupted the goddess''s control over her celestial minions.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey''s clones coordinated their attacks, overwhelming the remaining spirits. The surreal garden echoed with the sounds of celestial and mortal forces colliding, creating a symphony of chaos.


    As the battle reached its crescendo, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, sensing the impending danger of Noah''s Sword Domain, gathered her celestial powers. The very fabric of her Minor World began to shudder.


    "No more games, mortal," she dered, unleashing a torrent of water and illusions.


    Noah, undeterred, intensified the Sword Domain, the silver light of his de cutting through the divine illusions.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, now recognizing Noah as her primary adversary, faced the imminent threat of an overwriting Sword Domain.


    As the battle reached its zenith, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess unleashed a surge of Celestial Ardor energy, infusing it with illusions and water elemental techniques. The celestial aura radiating from her intensified, signaling a shift in the tide of the conflict. She was no longer toying with her opponents; she had decided to end the skirmish decisively.


    Pure Celestial Ardor energy cascaded like a celestial waterfall, merging seamlessly with her illusions and water elemental attacks. The ethereal garden, once a serene backdrop, transformed into a battleground where celestial and mortal forces shed with unparalleled intensity.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey, along with its clones, stepped forward, bracing themselves against the onught of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s attacks aimed at Noah. William and Ralph positioned themselves strategically, deflecting and countering other celestial assaults.


    Noah stood at the epicenter of the chaos, his gaze unwavering. His Sword Domain expanded with each passing moment, the silver light of his de cutting through illusions and rewriting thews within the Minor World. The celestial and mortal realms collided in a breathtaking dance of powers.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, despite her initial shock, adapted swiftly. Her celestial powers, amplified by Celestial Ardor, sought to regain control of thews within her realm. The surreal garden trembled under the celestial strain as the goddess attempted to reassert her dominance.


    Yet, the celestial forces were in flux. Noah''s Sword Domain continued to grow, its influence expanding relentlessly. The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, while formidable, faced a formidable challenge in maintaining her grasp on thews of the Minor World.


    Seizing the opportune moment, Noah decided to take decisive action. He gathered the full might of his Sword Domain into a single, resplendent strike¡ªthe Heaven Rending Stance. The celestial energy within the de crackled with intensity as he directed it towards the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    The Heaven Rending Stance aimed to create a tear in the fabric of the Minor World, a rift that transcended the goddess''s illusions and celestial defenses. The very essence of the celestial realm quivered in response to Noah''s transcendent attack.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, realizing the imminent danger, concentrated her remaining celestial powers to counteract the impending assault. The sh between the Heaven Rending Stance and the goddess''s celestial defense unleashed a cataclysmic burst of energy, illuminating the surreal garden with ethereal radiance.


    The celestial battleground hung in suspense, the oue teetering on the brink of revtion.


    As the goddess met her demise, the Minor World, no longer sustained by her celestial powers, began to copse. Illusory flowers withered, celestial waters evaporated, and the surrealndscape faded into nothingness. The celestial and mortal realms entwined within the Minor World unraveled, returning to the chaotic currents of the cosmic order.


    Quick to respond to the unfolding events, Ralph swiftly stepped forward. With a sense of urgency, he gathered the remains of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. Meanwhile, William moved to Noah''s side, supporting the injured warrior along with the Heavenless Fiery Monkey.


    Their objective aplished, the trio hastened toward the portal that connected the Minor World to the Veilstorm Isle on the maind. The copse of the celestial realm elerated, and the trio navigated the disintegratingndscape with calcted speed.


    With each step, they distanced themselves from the vanishing remnants of the celestial confrontation. The portal, a shimmering gateway between realms, beckoned them back to the familiar grounds of the Veilstorm Isle.


    Through sheer determination, they emerged from the copsing Minor World just in time. The celestial garden disintegrated into cosmic fragments, and the portal closed behind them. They stood once again on the Veilstorm Isle, the echoes of their celestial exploits resonating in the aftermath.


    One of the Celestial Gods of the Celestial Race had met her demise, altering the cosmic bnce in unforeseen ways. The repercussions of this celestial confrontation rippled through the fabric of the celestial realms, marking a pivotal moment in the celestial order.


    As they caught their breath on the Veilstorm Isle, the trio processed the magnitude of their actions. The death of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the Celestial Race.

 Chapter 627 Interrogating the Divine Goddess

    <h4>Chapter 627 Interrogating the Divine Goddess</h4>


    In a hurried retreat from the remnants of the celestial confrontation, the quartet made their way through the vibrantndscapes of the Veilstorm Isle.


    The Heavenless Fiery Monkey, having fulfilled itsmitment, bid farewell with a wave of its fiery tail before bounding away into the horizon.


    William, Noah, and Ralph, however, took a different course of action. Their footsteps echoed through the city streets as they entered the bustling main city of the Celician Theocracy.


    As they entered the main city, they could already sense the tremors of impending chaos that would grip the Celician Theocracy in the wake of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s demise.


    The trio, however, remained indifferent to the brewing turmoil. Their focus rested squarely on the Divine Imprint of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, still pulsating with a fragment of her consciousness.


    Seeking refuge, they found themselves within the branches of the Misty Flower Pavilion.


    Entering the hallowed halls of the Misty Flower Pavilion, the trio sought refuge in a secluded chamber. With the body of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess in their possession, they sensed the lingering presence of her consciousness within the heart of the lifeless form.


    Amidst the chaos that was sure to ensue in the Celician Theocracy following the goddess''s demise, the trio remained focused on their immediate concern¡ªthe Celestial Spark, the ethereal tether connecting the consciousness of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess to her deceased body.


    The divine imprint had the potential to transform an unwitting host into a celestial being, perpetuating the influence of the fallen goddess.


    Seated around a small table, the trio focused their energies on the Celestial Spark before them. The residual spirit within the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s heart emitted a faint celestial glow, signifying thest vestiges of her consciousness.


    "Now¡­ You are going to answer our questions," William remarked, his eyes narrowing as he addressed the consciousness within the Divine Imprint.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s consciousness, though confined, retained an air of arrogance. "You may have defeated my physical form, but you cannotprehend the consequences of your actions."


    Ignoring her defiance, Noah leaned forward, his gaze piercing. "Tell us about the Great Qin Empire. What do you know?"


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess smirked, her celestial voice dripping with condescension. "The Great Qin Empire, a nation of humans feared even by the Primordial God of the Celestial Race."


    William''s expression darkened at the confirmation of the Great Qin Empire''s formidable strength. "How do they pose a threat to the Celestial Race?"


    The consciousness within the Celestial Spark chuckled, "Their power, unknown even to us, stems from secrets buried in the annals of time. They possess artifacts of unimaginable might and their Saints are merely the tip of the iceberg."


    William pressed further. "Tell us about the Heavenly Discus. In whose Minor World is this treasure concealed?"


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s consciousness recoiled, genuine surprise piercing her ethereal demeanour. "How do you mortals know of the Heavenly Discus? That sacred treasure is guarded closely, not even the Celestial Gods are fully aware of its whereabouts."


    Ralph chuckled at her astonishment. "We have our ways. Now, the details."


    The consciousness in the Celestial Spark hesitated, realizing the stakes of withholding information from these relentless mortals. "Even I am not aware of precisely which Minor World this Supreme Treasure is concealed in as it wasst seen nearly millions of years ago. However, ording to what I know, it is in the possession of the Eternal Temporal Warden''s Minor World."


    "¡­How do we gain ess to it?" Noah asked.


    The consciousness of the goddess snorted in disdain, "You can''t. The Heavenly Discus is a Supreme Treasure which won''t make itself known if it doesn''t consider you worthy."


    William then asked ahead, "Tell us about the Celestial Race''s current state, their alliances, and any weaknesses we can exploit."


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, realizing the gravity of her situation, yielded more information. She spoke of celestial alliances, internal conflicts, and vulnerable points within the Celestial Race. The trio absorbed every detail, preparing to use this newfound knowledge to their advantage.


    As the interrogation continued, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s once defiant tone waned.


    Noah, with a sly smirk, revealed his audacious n to the consciousness of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess. "I''m going to use your divine corpse, blood essence, and Celestial Spark to empower a formation. With it, I n to make the entire Great Qin Empire fall. How about lending a hand in that, huh?"


    The celestial consciousness of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess was visibly shocked. "That''s a bold n, even for my Celestial Race!


    Noah''s audacity, however, left an impression.


    Considering the overwhelming talent that she had witnessed from him, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess feltpelled to entertain the idea that he might be up to something.


    Noah, seizing the moment, initiated a binding agreement.


    The celestialws of the world itself bore witness to the agreement ¨C a pact that tied the goddess''s cooperation to specific conditions. Only when her power reached the level of a Primordial God could she break free from this binding pact.


    As the agreement solidified, Noah exined his next move. "I''ll take you inside the Great Qin Empire. You''ll inhabit the body of a human. I want you to slowly build up your power. When the timees, I''ll call upon your assistance."


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s consciousness reluctantly epted, realizing that her destiny had now be intertwined with the audacious mortal before her.


    While the binding agreement settled into the fabric of the celestialws, Noah carefully stored the divine corpse and the immense blood essence of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    The celestial remnants were safely secured, waiting for the day when their potential would be unleashed upon the unsuspecting Great Qin Empire.


    With the celestial remnants securely stored, Noah turned to William, issuing instructions with a casual demeanour, "Keep an eye on that warrior who used the Heavenly Discus to time-travel into the past. He might be the chosen inheritor of that Supreme Treasure once again."


    William, grinning in response, nodded. "I''ve got it covered."


    The nod of acknowledgment passed between them, emphasizing the well-coordinated efforts of their ndestinework. With the pieces in ce, the trio prepared for the next phase of their journey.

 Chapter 628 Discussion In Celestial Realm

    <h4>Chapter 628 Discussion In Celestial Realm</h4>


    After finalizing their business in the Misty Flower Pavilion, the trio parted ways to embark on their respective journeys.


    Noah, with the divine corpse of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess tucked safely into the spatial pocket of his Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring, opened up a Spatial Tunnel leading back into the heart of the Great Qin Empire. Emerging on the other side, he was met with the familiar faces of his trusted subordinates, the Heretical Pdins.


    Their loyalty unwavering, they awaited his return. The corpse''s mystical energy emanated faintly, a secret yet to be revealed.


    Ralph, with swift determination, rushed back to the Woltensian Empire. The distance from the Celician Theocracy wasn''t a significant hurdle for his impressive speed.


    William, wearing a satisfied grin, returned to reunite with his wives. The tender assurance in his words washed away any lingering worries as he shared the oue of their mission.


    ~~


    In the vast expanse of the Heavenly Realm, where the Celestial Gods resided, the news of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s demise caused ripples of surprise and concern. The divine beings, each adorned with unique titles that echoed their celestial essence, gathered in an otherworldly assembly.


    Illustrious Radiant ming God, with a countenance of shimmering brilliance, spoke first, his voice echoing like distant firelight, "Did you hear about the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess? She met her end."


    Ineffable Tranquil Soaring God, a figure of serene grace, nodded, "Yes, I caught whispers in the celestial winds. It''s quite the mystery."


    Vivid Ethereal Harmonious God, her aura a symphony of colors, chimed in, "No Devil God or Celestial God could be involved. Qin Lei''s presence on the Frascoia Continent ensures that."


    Mystic Luminous Zephyr God, a figure wrapped in an ethereal breeze, agreed, "Exactly. Our kin can''t traverse without Qin Lei''s notice. So, who could it be?"


    Celestial Gods discussed theories, grappling with the enigma of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s death.


    Ethereal Lustrous Celestial God, his form adorned with celestial light, spected, "Perhaps a human Saint Realm expert? They''ve grown formidable."


    Rhapsodic Effulgent Celestial God, radiant with celestial fervor, added, "But which one? The Frascoia Continent houses many formidable individuals."


    Radiant Astral Resplendent God, a celestial embodiment of shining stars, sighed, "Our realm faces unforeseen challenges. We must tread carefully."


    As the Celestial Gods continued their discourse, the dynamics between them shifted, revealing glimpses of camaraderie, rivalry, and mutual respect.


    Thunderous Echoing Dominion God, his voice reverberating like celestial thunder, asserted, "The humans have enjoyed their peace for far too long. It''s time for us to weave our divine influence into the fabric of their existence."


    Soothing Celestial Murmuring Goddess, her words a gentle breeze, added, "But we must tread lightly. Qin Lei''s vignce is unyielding. We can only send our clones to sow the seeds of chaos."


    Radiant Cascade Enthroned God, adorned in splendour, chimed in, "Let our religions be tools to subjugate them. They will be pawns in our celestial games."


    Resplendent Ethereal Enigma God, veiled in mystery, spoke with an air of intrigue, "The humans will unknowingly dance to our celestial melodies, each note yed to further our cosmic ambitions."


    The Celestial Gods, masters of their divine domains, agreed to subtly employ their respective religions as instruments of influence. Each clone, empowered with the pinnacle of Emperor Realm cultivation, would descend upon the Frascoia Continent.


    Lustrous Celestial Weaver God, his voice a tapestry of ethereal threads, cautioned, "Our actions must be calcted. Too much interference could draw unwanted attention. Qin Lei''s watchful eyes spare no one."


    Harmonious Celestial Serenity God, her aura a tranquil sea, nodded, "A delicate dance, indeed. Let our divine plots unfurl like petals, captivating the hearts and minds of the unsuspecting humans."


    As the Celestial Gods forged their ndestine alliance, the delicate bnce between gods and mortals teetered on the brink of celestial maniption, setting the stage for an orchestrated symphony of chaos.


    Radiant Cascade Enthroned God''s clone manifested in the Sinyalian Kingdom, subtly fanning the mes of discord among the unsuspecting popce.


    Soothing Celestial Murmuring God''s ethereal duplicate wafted through the Principality of Ascea, sowing seeds of dissent and uncertainty.


    Meanwhile, Resplendent Ethereal Enigma God''s divine avatar whispered enigmatic prophecies in the Kingdom of Cemetia, leaving the mortals bewildered and apprehensive.


    Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone, akin to celestial thunder, roared through the Zhongxing Kingdom, causing ripples of unrest among the people.


    Back in the Celician Theocracy, William, the shrewd tactician, received rming reports from his SIS Organization.


    The Celestial Gods'' clones, disguised amid the chaos they orchestrated, had infiltrated multiple nations on the Frascoia Continent. The once serenends were now marred by celestial meddling.


    "Boss, it''s chaos out there!" eximed one SIS operative, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "The Celestial Gods'' clones are wreaking havoc, manipting religious orders and instigating conflicts."


    William, leaning back in his chair, surveyed the reports with a measured gaze. "Good," he remarked nonchntly. "Maintain our vignce. Let them y their divine games. We''ll dance to a different tune."


    As chaos unfurled in distantnds, the Great Qin Empire, the Empire of Qian Guo, and the Woltensian Empire stood as bastions of stability.


    Theirck of religious fervour became an unexpected shield against the celestial turmoil, leaving the trio unscathed amid the tempest stirred by the gods.


    A few weeks had passed since William received reports about the Celestial Gods'' clones causing a ruckus on the Frascoia Continent. With a nonchnt swagger, he decided it was high time to check on the status of affairs in the Zhongxing Kingdom.


    "Hey,dies," William called out to his trio of wives, Regina, Anna, and Vivi, who were busy discussing the intricacies of the Great Qin Empire''s politicalndscape. "How about a quick trip to Zhongxing? Gotta see how our friends are doing there."


    The wives, ustomed to William''s whims, nodded in agreement. The quartet, the embodiment of both power and charm, set forth on their journey. They traversed through the vibrantndscapes, bypassing the realms affected by the Celestial Gods'' divine meddling.


    Upon arriving in the Zhongxing Kingdom, William immediately sensed an undercurrent of tension. The celestial disturbance caused by the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone lingered in the air. With an easy stride, William led his entourage to Dongchun City.


    The city, under Ren Yue''s newfound rule, disyed a semnce of order amid the celestial chaos. The influence of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone had yet to reach these parts, leaving Ren Yue''s faction in rtive peace.


    Making his way through the city, William noticed the subtle changes since hisst visit. Ren Yue''s followers, once embroiled in political skirmishes, now wore a veneer of authority. The Royal Family, bound by the celestial decree, had thrown its weight behind Ren Yue''s faction. Despite the delicate bnce, William sensed a brewing storm.


    Approaching the quarters of Ren Yue''s faction, William found the atmosphere charged with anticipation. Guards stood vignt, and officials scurried about, managing the affairs of the growing dominion. It seemed Ren Yue''s influence had taken root.


    Ren Yue, adorned in regal attire, weed William with a respectful nod, "Sir William, it''s been a while."


    William returned the gesture with a wry smile. "I''m pleased to see the progress. But, Ren Yue, there''s a celestial ruckus stirring in the Zhongxing Kingdom."


    Ren Yue''s eyes widened in concern. "A celestial ruckus? What do we do?"


    William''s gaze held a glint of determination. "We face it head-on. Let''s see what the heavens have in store for the Zhongxing Kingdom. Are they going to back away easily or are they nning something sinister?"

 Chapter 629 Having A Bit Of Fun With Ren Yue Again

    <h4>Chapter 629 Having A Bit Of Fun With Ren Yue Again</h4>


    As William''s wives gracefully excused themselves to seek much-deserved rest, they sauntered away, the door gently closing behind them.


    Theirughter lingered in the air, echoing the camaraderie they shared. With a shared nce, they disappeared into the room, the soft shuffle of silk marking their departure.


    As the door closed, leaving only William and Ren Yue in the room, the atmosphere shifted. A sly grin appeared on William''s face, setting a yful tone between them. The chamber''s ambiance took on a subtle tension, an unspoken understanding between the two.


    Ren Yue, maintaining a mix of respect and curiosity, spoke, "Sir William, what''s on your mind?"


    William''s eyes twinkled mischievously. "Ren Yue, my dear, we''re close, aren''t we? Why stay so far away? Come closer, let''s discuss matters more intimately."


    Without hesitation, Ren Yue approached. Suddenly, William''s arms enveloped her, pulling her onto hisp in an intimate embrace. His hands ventured beneath her top, and he took in a deep breath of her alluring scent.


    "Now, let''s talk ahead," William said with a depraved grin, his hands dancing on Ren Yue''s form.


    Ren Yue, caught in a mix of moans and agreement, nodded.


    "Y-yes, sir," she stammered, her words ying a symphony of bothpliance and anticipation.


    As William continued to y with Ren Yue''s body, he brought up the matter of Long Chen, a mischievous glint still lingering in his eyes.


    "Ren Yue, sweetheart, where''s our dear Long Chen? I couldn''t find him anywhere in Dongchun City."


    Ren Yue, her breath catching a bit from William''s attention, whimpered, "He went to the cities near that Celestial God''s Clone. Something about saving someone. He took three of my Four Star Guards with him."


    A chuckle escaped William''s lips at the thought of Long Chen''s audacity. "Oh, that fool," he remarked, his hands yfully tracing patterns on Ren Yue''s form.


    "Does he really think a trio of Four Star Guards can take on a Celestial God''s Clone? Quite the daredevil, isn''t he?"


    Ren Yue''s eyes took on a condescending glint as she spoke about Long Chen. "That man, always thinking he''s invincible. It''s as if he has a death wish. So foolish."


    With a swift movement, William leaned in, capturing Ren Yue''s lips in a passionate kiss. Their connection deepened, the room filled with a mixture of heated emotions and the faint sound of yfulughter.


    As they lingered in each other''s embrace, William, still in the throes of intimacy, spoke between breaths, "Well, my dear, I think it''s about time I pay a visit to this little spectacle Long Chen has cooked up. I don''t want him to get too carried away."


    "You are right, sir," Ren Yue whimpered out.


    William soon smirked. He felt that the time was now right to have a bit of fun.


    As William''s hands continued to roam over Ren Yue''s body, his eyes locked onto her chest. He couldn''t resist the temptation any longer. With a quick tug, he ripped open her dress, exposing her ample bosom to his hungry gaze.


    Ren Yue gasped at the sudden movement, her eyes widening in surprise. "Sir William!" she eximed, her cheeks flushing red.


    But William didn''t stop there. He pulled Ren Yue closer, pressing his lips against hers again as his hands began to explore her bare skin. He leaned in, his hips grinding against Ren Yue''s in a possessive manner, his erection clearly throbbing against her lower stomach.


    Ren Yue moaned into their kiss, her body yearning for more of this intense connection. William''s dominance awakened something deep inside her, and she could feel his cock pressed against her core, begging to be released. As William broke the kiss, Ren Yue looked at him with pleading eyes, her lips parted in anticipation.


    "Yes, sir," she whispered breathlessly. "Take me."


    With a devilish grin, William lifted Ren Yue off hisp and turned her around. He yanked down her torn dress, revealing her bare ass and smooth back. He guided her to the bed, gently pushing her down on all fours. Without further ado, William positioned himself behind Ren Yue and thrust deep into her wet heat, filling herpletely.


    Ren Yue let out a loud moan as William''s thick cock stretched her tight entrance. Her body trembled with each powerful stroke, her juices coating his member. William held onto her hips, controlling the pace and depth of their union.


    "You''re mine," he growled against her ear. "Take my seed."


    Ren Yue felt a surge of dominance course through her, igniting a fire inside her. She arched her back, pushing her ass back against William, urging him to take her harder. Their union became a symphony of moans and grunts, of flesh colliding and skin pping against skin.


    As William approached his climax, Ren Yue felt his cock throb within her, signalling its impending release.


    With a primal cry, William thrust onest time, filling Ren Yue with his seed. The sensation was overwhelming, and she let out a loud scream of pleasure.


    But William wasn''t finished yet. He pulled out of Ren Yue, his cock still twitching, and quickly turned her around.


    He positioned her on all fours again, this time facing away from him. With his hands firmly gripping her hips, William thrusts back into her, burying himself deep once more.


    Ren Yue let out a moan of pleasure as William began to pound into her from behind. The position allowed him to control the depth and speed of his thrusts, and he took full advantage of it. With each stroke, Ren Yue felt a wave of pleasure wash over her, leaving her weak in the knees.


    As they continued their passionate encounter, William reached around and cupped Ren Yue''srge breasts, squeezing them roughly. He pinched her nipples, eliciting a sharp cry from her.


    "You like that, don''t you?" he asked, his voice thick with lust.


    Ren Yue nodded, unable to speak through her gasps for air.


    William pulled out of her again and turned her onto her back. He straddled her hips, his cock still hard and ready. He positioned himself at her entrance and thrust into her with force.


    Ren Yue let out a loud moan as William''s thick cock stretched her tight entrance. Her body trembled with each powerful stroke, her juices coating his member. William held onto her hips, controlling the pace and depth of their union.


    He reached around and spanked her sexy buttocks, leaving a red mark on her creamy skin. Ren Yue let out a loud cry, her body shuddering with pleasure.


    William pulled out of her again and turned her onto her back. He straddled her hips once more, his cock pointing towards her face. Ren Yue opened her mouth, and William positioned his cock at her lips.


    "Suck," hemanded.


    Ren Yue''s eyes widened in surprise, but sheplied, taking his thick cock into her mouth. She bobbed her head up and down, sucking on him hungrily. Herrge breasts jiggled with each movement, begging for attention.


    As Ren Yue deep-throated William, herrge breasts swayed enticingly before him. He reached down and cupped them, squeezing them roughly.


    "You''re such a good girl," he growled, his voice thick with lust.


    Ren Yue moaned around his cock, her eyes closed in pleasure. She continued to bob her head up and down, her tongue swirling around the head of his cock.


    William couldn''t help but admire her submissive nature. It turned him on even more. He pulled out of her mouth and positioned her on all fours again.


    "Time to give me a tittyfuck," he said, his voicemanding.


    Ren Yue''s eyes widened in surprise, but sheplied, lowering herrge breasts to his cock. He guided his thick member between her cleavage and began to thrust, grunting with each powerful stroke.


    As he fucked her tits, he reached around and pinched her nipples again, eliciting more cries of pleasure from her. Ren Yue''s body shook with each thrust, her pussy dripping wet with anticipation.


    William couldn''t hold back any longer. With a loud moan, he sprayed a hot load of cum onto Ren Yue''s face and sexy body. He continued to thrust until he emptied his balls, covering her in his thick seed.


    Ren Yue whimpered as she felt William''s cum dripping down her face and chest. She had never felt so humiliated or used before. But still, she couldn''t help but feel a slight tingle of arousal.


    William didn''t stop there. He lifted Ren Yue up by her hair and pushed her onto her hands and knees. He then roughly mounted her from behind, his cock sliding easily into her wet pussy.


    "You''re such a dirty little slut," he growled as he began to pound into her.


    Ren Yue bit her lip to stifle her cries of pleasure. She couldn''t believe how much William was taking from her, both physically and emotionally. But despite her humiliation, she couldn''t deny the intense pleasure that coursed through her body.


    Throughout the entire night, William showed impressive stamina, fucking Ren Yue in every position imaginable.


    He spanked her ass, pinched her nipples, and even pped her face. Ren Yue''s body ached from the constant onught of pleasure, but she couldn''t bring herself to stop him.


    As dawn broke, William finally copsed on top of Ren Yue, his cock still inside her. He was sweaty and panting but satisfied.


    "You''re mine now," he said, his voice hoarse.


    Ren Yue whimpered, her body trembling from exhaustion and a mixture of emotions.

 Chapter 630 Finding Out About JRA And Long Chen’s Motives

    <h4>Chapter 630 Finding Out About JRA And Long Chen''s Motives</h4>


    After a night of passionate escapades that stretched into the early hours, William finally pulled himself away from Ren Yue''s chambers.


    With a grin on his face, he departed from the mansion apanied by his wives. The lingering satisfaction from the night''s endeavours energized him for the challenges that awaited.


    The trio set out, and William couldn''t help but ponder about Long Chen''s intentions.


    As they moved northward, William''s sharp senses, honed by years of experience, were on the lookout for Long Chen''s distinctive aura signature.


    He was confident that if Long Chen was within his range, he''d find him sooner orter.


    Their journey led them to the troubled north of Zhongxing Kingdom, where the presence of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone stirred unrest.


    Oddly, the clone wasn''t wreaking havoc in the typical sense.


    No destruction ensued in its wake.


    Instead, the clone was orchestrating a more insidious n ¨C the strengthening of its own religion, ''The Order of the Eternal Rhythm.''


    Rather than wielding destructive force, the clone employed subtle psychological tactics, drawing followers with promises of eternal harmony and rhythm.


    The people of Zhongxing Kingdom, unaware of the hidden dangers, were gradually swayed by these tactics.


    The strategy, though not overtly destructive, was proving to be more perilous for the kingdom as a whole.


    William observed these events with a discerning eye, realizing the threaty not in the immediate chaos but in the sowing of blind faith.


    The citizens were being drawn into a web of allegiance, and it was evident that more followers were being added to the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s cult-like following.


    As William moved through the cities, the influence of ''The Order of the Eternal Rhythm'' was palpable.


    The people, captivated by the promises of a utopian existence, fell deeper into the grasp of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s influence.


    It was a subtle conquest, one that used belief as its weapon.


    With a smirk, William couldn''t help but appreciate the cunning approach. After all, conquering minds often proved more effective than conqueringnds.


    In the bustling city of Jinling, William and his wives, strolled through the crowded streets. The air buzzed with tension as news of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone spread like wildfire.


    A local fruit vendor, wiping sweat from his forehead, nced at William andmented, "You folks from the south must''ve heard about the chaos. Things have gone haywire since that godly clone appeared. The gangs are fightin'' like mad dogs."


    William, intrigued, leaned against the fruit stall, "Mad dogs, you say? Any idea why they''re fighting so fiercely?"


    The vendor shrugged, "It''s more than just gangs now. There''s this group, the Jorailian Resistance Association, or JRA, stirring the pot. They aim to bring back the Jorailian Kingdom. Crazy, right?"


    Anny chimed in, "Jorailian Resistance Association? Sounds like a handful. Anyone know who''s leading them?"


    The vendor scratched his head, "Nah, mate. They''re like ghosts. No one''s seen their leaders. But folks say they''re the remnants of the Jorailian Kingdom loyalists."


    As they continued their stroll, the group reached the city square, where a heated discussion was underway.


    A local cksmith, hammering away at a piece of metal, shared his thoughts, "The Royal Family''s doin'' its best, but the JRA''s causin'' more trouble. They''re rebels, trying to resurrect the Jorailian Kingdom."


    William, feigning ignorance, asked, "Jorailian Kingdom? I thought it was history."


    The cksmith nodded, "Aye, it was split into Zhongxing and Qishan Kingdoms ages ago. But these Jorailians want it back. They''re cunning, working from the shadows."


    Amused, William remarked, "Sounds like a plot from a bad novel. Reminds me of the intrigue in those old tales."


    His wife, Regina, smirked, "Well, we''re living it now, aren''t we?"


    As they reached the outskirts of the city, William pulled out his Voice Transmission Array Stone. The small, crystalline device gleamed in his hand as he initiated contact with one of the higher-ups from the SIS branch in the Zhongxing Kingdom.


    After a moment of connection, a familiar voice echoed through the magical stone, "Sir William, what can we do for you today?"


    William leaned against a nearby wall, a faint grin on his face. "I need thetest on the Jorailian Resistance Association, JRA. Anything you''ve got, spill it."


    His SIS contact, Agent Wace, began sharing the juicy details. "We''ve been tracking their movements. Recently, there were meetings between the JRA leaders and envoys of ''The Order of the Eternal Rhythm'' Religion. Seems like an alliance of sorts."


    Intrigued, William raised an eyebrow. "Religion and rebellion ¨C a ssicbo. Who are the brains behind the JRA, Wace?"


    Agent Wace hesitated for a moment. "The JRA''s main figurehead is known ¨C the sole survivor of the Jorailian Kingdom''s Royal Family, Ninth Princess Hong Mei. As for the other leaders, they''re still elusive."


    William nodded thoughtfully. "Hong Mei, huh? Keep digging for more details. Now, any news on Long Chen?"


    Agent Wace took a moment, presumably consulting thetest intelligence reports. "He''s in a town called Fengshui City, currently residing there."


    William''s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Fengshui City, huh? Thanks, Wace. Keep me posted."


    With a flick of his wrist, William ended the transmission and turned to his wives. "We''ve got our next destination ¨C Fengshui City, where Long Chen is currently holding the fort. Let''s pay him a visit and see what''s cooking."


    After a brisk journey thatsted only a few days, William, Anny, Vivi, and Regina reached Fengshui City. The city''s atmosphere was tainted by the subtle unrest caused by the presence of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone. Yet, amidst the chaos, William''s sharp senses picked up on Long Chen''s distinctive aura.


    Navigating through the bustling streets, William found himself standing before an inn. It didn''t take a genius to guess that this was the hub of Long Chen''s activities. His wives exchanged nces with a mix of curiosity and anticipation.


    The inn, a modest establishment with a quaint charm, held an air of normalcy that contrasted sharply with the upheaval outside. William pushed open the creaking door, revealing amon area adorned with simple wooden furniture and a hearth flickering with warmth.


    Instead of approaching, William and his wives decided to keep a discreet distance. Their intention wasn''t to initiate a meeting but to observe Long Chen''s actions and unravel the threads of his current ns.


    Days rolled by as William shadowed Long Chen, and gradually, a clearer picture emerged. Long Chen was closely monitoring a woman named Zhan Xinyi, one of the subordinates of the Third Prince. She had be entangled with the followers of ''The Order of the Eternal Rhythm.''


    The narrative woven by the Order of the Eternal Rhythm proimed the appearance of their god, promising to fulfil the desires of devoted followers. Zhan Xinyi, swayed by this narrative, had be a fervent devotee.


    Intrigued by this development, William turned to Agent Wace for more information on Zhan Xinyi. The SIS agent took an entire day to delve into her background and unearthed the story.


    "Zhan Xinyi is the younger sister of Zhan Kun, the former overlord of the Grey Fang Gang. However, he was discreetly assassinated, leading to the dissolution of the gang by their rivals, the Green Snake Gang. The Green Snake Gang, with a formidable Six Star Rank warrior in its ranks, proved too powerful for Zhan Xinyi to confront directly. Now, she is on a journey, seeking someone capable of exacting vengeance. Most recently, she left the Third Prince of Zhongxing''s faction in favour of the Order of the Eternal Rhythm."


    Armed with this knowledge, William had a sly smirk on his face as a devilish n formed in his head.

 Chapter 631 Noah Talks To The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess’s Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 631 Noah Talks To The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s Spirit</h4>


    Seated on the plush hotel bed in one of Fengshui City''s rooms, William and his wives engaged in a thoughtful discussion.


    Regina, leaning against a set of plush pillows, initiated the conversation. "Considering Long Chen''s vignce toward this woman, it''s likely she holds some significance in his future."


    Anny, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, chimed in, "Perhaps they shared a romantic entanglement in times toe."


    Vivi, her expression carrying a trace of scepticism, interjected, "Or, inversely, she might pose a threat as one of his formidable enemies. Long Chen could be attempting to neutralize that threat before it esctes. But why now, especially with the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone in the mix?"


    William, sitting cross-legged at the centre of the bed, shared his insights, "I''ve pondered that aspect as well. Zhan Xinyi possesses a unique gift¡ªa Spiritual Voice. My deduction is that this ability brings tranquillity to the mind, dulls pain, and amplifies thebat prowess of warriors. It''s a perfect fit for the Order of the Eternal Rhythm. Recognizing her potential, they could use her talents to elerate the growth of their followers. These followers might even include influential warriors ormanders within the kingdom."


    As William spoke, he observed the reactions of his wives. Regina nodded in agreement, acknowledging the usible connection between Zhan Xinyi''s abilities and the Order of the Eternal Rhythm''s objectives. Anny''s eyes widened with realization, while Vivi, her brow furrowed, processed the information.


    Regina, crossing her legs, contributed to the discussion. "So, Long Chen''s surveince might not be driven solely by personal connections. It could be a pre-emptive move to curb the potential influence Zhan Xinyi might exert on behalf of the Order of the Eternal Rhythm."


    Anny, a contemtive expression on her face, added, "It''s a strategic y. By monitoring her, Long Chen could mitigate the risks posed by a powerful ally or adversary."


    Vivi, leaning back against the headboard, raised an eyebrow. "If that''s the case, we need to figure out how deeply involved she bes with the Order. The extent of her influence will determine the scale of our involvement."


    "Well, considering Zhan Xinyi''s recent recruitment into the Order, it''s likely they aren''t fully aware of her talents yet. Long Chen''s audacity in bringing just three Four Star Warriors suggests he''s banking on that," William exined, his tone confident.


    Vivi, nodding in agreement,mented, "That makes sense. He''s probably nning to act before the Order fully understands her potential."


    While Vivi grasped the concept, Anny and Regina seemed to be wrestling with uncertainties. Regina voiced her concerns, "So, what''s our move then?"


    A mischievous smile graced William''s face as he replied, "I''ve got a n. Right now, we wait for the right moment."


    Perplexed, Vivi asked, "What moment are we waiting for?"


    William, still wearing that enigmatic smile, divulged, "The moment when Long Chen and Zhan Xinyi cross paths. I want to see how Long Chen deals with her. If he decides to eliminate her, it implies she bes a formidable adversary in the future. If he tries to recruit her, well, that might suggest a more personal connection."


    With a quizzical expression, Vivi inquired, "And what do we do when that momentes?"


    William''s eyes gleamed with determination, "Depending on Long Chen''s actions, we''ll decide our course. If he goes for elimination, we intervene, save Zhan Xinyi, and recruit her into the SIS. Once her contributions are substantial, we''ll take care of that gang leader from the so-called ''green gang.'' On the other hand, if Long Chen aims to recruit her, I''ll approach her discreetly, strike a deal, and turn her into our informant. We promise her assistance against the gang leader when she proves her worth."


    The room buzzed with a calcted energy as the intricate n unfolded.


    ~~


    In the opulent halls of Balgett House, nestled in the heart of the Great Qin Empire, Noah found himself surrounded by the echoes of his recent triumph. The Divine Spark of the vanquished Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess was now in his possession, as was her lifeless form, a testament to the power he wielded.


    ''Who would have thought that a decade could bring such a transformation,'' Noah mused, his gaze sweeping across the assembly of formidable warriors thatprised the Heretical Pdins, his personal group. The once weakest link now stood as a King Realm Warrior, a testament to the growth that had transpired.


    Themanders of the Heretical Pdins, each a formidable Emperor Realm warrior, held their positions with a quiet confidence. Though they couldn''t match Noah''s might, their strength was undeniable.


    ''Leading this group is no small feat,'' Noah thought, a wry smile ying on his lips. ''But it''s a responsibility I''ve grown into.''


    Yet, Noah''s responsibilities extended beyond the Heretical Pdins. As an integral figure in the esteemed Balgett House, one of the preeminent Noble Houses in the empire, he found himself entangled in the intricate web of noble politics.


    ''Who knew managing a house could be as challenging as facing celestial beings?'' Noah reflected, a wry smile ying on his lips.


    The recent proliferation of Celestial God clones across the Frascoia Continent had thrust the Great Qin Empire into a state of heightened alert. The Royal Family, recognizing the gravity of the situation, issued a directive to all Noble Houses ¡ª a mandate to address the celestial incursion.


    ''Just what I needed, moreplications,'' Noah thought, his thoughts a mix of irritation and amusement. The impending noble assembly loomed, and decisions needed to be made.


    In the aftermath of the noble assembly, the Balgett House found itself bestowed with the stewardship of a dukedom within the vast expanse of the Alinginian Kingdom.


    ''Just what I needed, morends to oversee,'' Noah thought, a wry smirk ying on his lips as he contemted the additional responsibilities thrust upon his already burdened shoulders.


    With the meeting concluded, Noah retraced his steps to the territorial confines of Balgett House.


    The weight of decisions lingered, but a more immediate matter demanded his attention ¡ª the captive spirit of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    ''Let''s have a little chat, shall we?'' Noah thought, his expression a blend of curiosity and determination.


    With a deliberate motion, he withdrew the Divine Spark from his storage ring. But Noah was no stranger to caution, especially when dealing with artifacts of celestial origin. Before exposing the ethereal essence within, he unfurled his Sword Domain with a masterful flourish.


    ''Can''t be too careful. Celestial God energy tends to be a bit of a beacon,'' he mused, his mind racing through the potential consequences of his actions.


    The Sword Domain, a manifestation of Noah''s formidable prowess, rippled in the air, creating an invisible shield that veiled the Celestial God energy.


    The reason for this cautiony in the peculiar nature of a Celestial God''s Divine Spark ¡ª it emitted an unmistakable energy signature that could not escape the notice of Saint Rank Warriors within the Great Qin Empire.


    ''Wouldn''t want unwanted guests dropping by,'' Noah thought, envisioning the chaos that could ensue if the wrong eyes caught wind of his possession.


    Moreover, there existed the ever-present risk that the Celestial Gods themselves might sense a lingering trace of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess and discern that her Divine Spark remained intact. Such a revtion could act as a beacon, drawing the attention of celestial beings to Noah''s very doorstep.


    ''Keeping a low profile has never been my style,'' Noah mused, his eyes narrowing with a mixture of determination and anticipation. With the Sword Domain enveloping the delicate procedure, Noah prepared to engage in a dialogue with the captive spirit.


    The ethereal voice of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess echoed within the chamber, a melodic yet eerie resonance that hinted at the supernatural. "Releasing me openly so soon? Did you find a body for me?" she inquired, her words hanging in the air like an otherworldly mist.


    ''As if it''s that simple,'' Noah thought, a bemused expression crossing his face. The intricacies of divine resurrection were far from a casual affair.


    "I have a question for you," Noah began, his tone a calm veneer concealing the deadly undertow beneath. "Following your death, all the Celestial Gods have released their clones over the entire Frascoia Continent. Why would they do that? Is there something you haven''t told me?"


    In the face of Noah''s inquiry, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, seemingly unfazed by thetent threat in his voice, responded with a surprised lilt. "¡­They did that? No way! I don''t believe that they would do that for me. I don''t have that sort of importance for the Celestial Race. In fact, if I was so important, those old fogies wouldn''t let me ce my Minor World over this continent and also not let me make that alliance with the Great Qin Empire. They are probably using my death to achieve their own ambitions."


    ''Always ying the victim,'' Noah mused inwardly, a cynical smile ying on his lips. The machinations of celestial beings were a convoluted dance, and the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess appeared to be just a pawn in their cosmic game.


    "Can you guess what the Celestial Race wants?" Noah probed, his curiosity cutting through theyers of divine intrigue.


    The Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess pondered for a moment before responding, "I think the first thing they want is the death of that Transcendent Saint Qin Lei. But that can''t be simple. Even thebined might of the Cerberus, the Three Headed Demonic Devil Hound, and Raiju, the Great Thunder Beast, failed at this task of killing that Transcendent Saint even though both these entities can go toe-to-toe with experts like the Primordial God or the Demon Venerable."


    ''Qin Lei, huh?'' Noah''s thoughts lingered on the enigmatic figure.

 Chapter 632 Shun Gordon Investigates The Death Of Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess

    <h4>Chapter 632 Shun Gordon Investigates The Death Of Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess</h4>


    In the midst of this tumultuous period, an extraordinary event unfolded.


    The Great Qin Empire, recognizing the escting chaos within the Celician Theocracy, decided to dispatch a seasoned expert to investigate the upheaval surrounding the Enchanting Aquilo Religion. The demise of their Divine Goddess had sent shockwaves through the religiousndscape, causing a cascade of power loss among the followers who had once enjoyed the blessings of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess.


    As a consequence, rival religions, long overshadowed by the dominance of the Enchanting Aquilo Religion, seized the opportunity to rise in prominence within these regions.


    Tasked with unravelling the mystery behind the Divine Goddess''s death and addressing the ensuing religious turmoil, the emissary chosen by the Great Qin Emperor was none other than Shun Gordon. He was none other than the possessor of the coveted Star Prince Physique.


    A decade earlier, Shun had yed a pivotal role in the demise¡ªor rather, the sealing¡ªof Azaroth. Following this triumph, he seamlessly integrated into the Great Qin Empire, courtesy of the dark violet token bestowed upon him by the Nine Yin Sect.


    Given that the Nine Yin Sect held a significant position among the Great Qin Empire''s four great sects, Shun faced no opposition or trouble within the empire due to his possession of the sect''s dark violet token.


    Remarkably, Shun achieved a unique status as the sole male to enter the Nine Yin Sect.


    His encounter with the Sect Mistress, the Nine Yin Saintess, led to a groundbreaking decision ¨C Shun became the first male disciple in the sect''s history. This unexpected development sent shockwaves through factions of all sizes, including the Royal Family.


    In response to the raised eyebrows, the Nine Yin Saintess justified her decision, citing Shun''s exceptional talent in mastering the ice elemental arts.


    She exined that she aimed to prevent the Great Qin Empire from losing a potential powerhouse and, therefore, personally took him under her wing.


    Despite the unusual reasoning, everyone acquiesced. The Nine Yin Sect operated privately, and the Sect Mistress held the authority to set and modify rules as she saw fit. No interference could be justified.


    However, the Nine Yin Saintess harbored a secret ¨C Shun possessed not only mastery over ice elemental arts but also a talent for reaching the pinnacle in all existing elemental arts.


    She kept this information concealed from the empire, desiring to bind Shun exclusively to her sect.


    Recognizing Shun''s potential as a future God-Ranked expert due to his Star Prince Physique, she aimed to secure his loyalty to the sect.


    While Shun was aware of the Saintess''s ulterior motives, he chose to ept the situation. Recognizing the opportunity to grow swiftly under the guidance of such an expert, he prioritized his own strength over any concerns about the Saintess''s intentions.


    Under the Nine Yin Saintess''s guidance, Shun flourished over the years. Recognizing his unique physique, she bestowed upon him rare treasures spanning various elemental domains, enhancing his connection with the stars associated with each element.


    Fast forward a decade and Shun had earned the moniker of the Silver Ice Emperor throughout the Great Qin Empire. His reputation as a formidable expert rivaled that of the Enlightened Void Sword Emperor.


    What set Shun apart even further was his affiliation with the prestigious Nine Yin Sect, with the formidable Nine Yin Saintess as his patron.


    In this regard, Shun''s standing surpassed that of the Enlightened Void Sword Emperor, making him a figure of unparalleled influence within the empire.


    After spending nearly five days in the Celician Theocracy, Shun gathered crucial information about the recent events.


    "There were two groups," he reported, wearing an expression of boredom. "The first, three guys who seemed unfamiliar with each other, arrived first. They effortlessly dismantled the Celestial Goddess''s defenses before entering her Minor World. Following them, the second group arrived, consisting of three individuals working in unison. It''s likely they were the ones dealing with the goddess herself."


    Shun''s fellow disciples, all beautiful women from the Nine Yin Sect, reacted with evident shock to his revtion. One of them couldn''t contain her curiosity and asked, "How did you uncover all this, Junior Brother Shun?"


    With a nonchnt smile, Shun turned his head and replied, " If my guess is correct, the first group was likely hired by the second. Mere pawns. The real yers were in the second group. Unfortunately, they didn''t duke it out on the ind; they shed within the destroyed Minor World of the Celestial Goddess. If they had fought on the ind, I might have figured out their identities based on their abilities. Killing a Celestial God indicates extraordinary strength ¨C the kind that would mark them renowned experts in the world atleast on the same level as me."


    "Junior Brother Shun, can you take down a Celestial God?" inquired one of the beautiful disciples.


    Shun pondered briefly before responding, "...It depends. If it''s someone on par with my Master, then no. But if we''re talking about someone at the level of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, then most likely."


    Upon hearing Shun''s response, a murmur of awe and surprise rippled through the group of beautiful Nine Yin Sect disciples. Their eyes sparkled with a mix of admiration and curiosity.


    "Junior Brother Shun is truly formidable," one of them whispered, her voice tinged with awe.


    Another chimed in, "Imagine being able to take down a Celestial God even though he is at the Emperor Realm stage. That''s beyond incredible!"


    Shun chuckled at their reactions but remained focused on the task at hand. The adoration from the women was a familiar urrence, and he deftly ignored their fawning. His mind, however, delved into deeper thoughts.


    While the disciples exchanged nces and admired Shun, he mentally sifted through potential individuals capable of such a feat and contemted the motives that might drive someone to target a Celestial God.


    Even after spending so much time, Shun couldn''te up with the answer to the questions within his head. In fact, it just caused him to have more questions.


    "Well, let''s deal with the clones of the Celestial Gods in this region and then investigate this incident further," Shun suggesting, eliciting nods from hisrades.

 Chapter 633 Strategy To Fool Shun Gordon

    <h4>Chapter 633 Strategy To Fool Shun Gordon</h4>


    Days passed in Fengshui City as William and his wives observed the unfolding drama surrounding Long Chen, Zhan Xinyi, and the mysterious Order of the Eternal Rhythm. Meanwhile, a seemingly unrted notification arrived, shifting their focus abruptly.


    One day, as William reclined in the hotel room, he received a transmission on the Voice Transmission Array Stone. This time, it wasn''t Agent Wace but Katrina, the efficient manager of most SIS affairs.


    "William," Katrina''s voice crackled through the magical stone, "there''s something you need to know."


    Intrigued, William leaned in, "What''s happening, Katrina?"


    With a hint of urgency, Katrina conveyed, "The Silver Ice Emperor has been dispatched to the Celician Theocracy. His mission is to investigate the death of the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess and restore order within the Celician Theocracy."


    The news hit William like a bolt of lightning. Even his wives, who were engaged in their own activities, turned their attention to the conversation. A hushed silence settled in the room as the implications sank in.


    The Silver Ice Emperor, Shun Gordon, was a name synonymous with power and reputation. His prowess in the Emperor Realm cultivation was on par with the legendary Noah. The shock on William''s face mirrored the disbelief in Anny, Vivi, and Regina''s expressions.


    Their unease deepened as the realization dawned ¨C Shun Gordon was not only formidable but had yed a pivotal role in the sealing of Azaroth, William''s master. The fear associated with the Silver Ice Emperor was a tangible force in their lives.


    Attempting to quell the unease, William reassured himself, "No, he can''t possibly have discovered our identities. We fought the Celestial Goddess in her Minor World, which has already copsed by now."


    The unsettling feeling continued to fester within William. The formidable analytical prowess of Shun Gordon loomed over him like a shadow. He couldn''t shake off the nagging suspicion that it might not be long before the Silver Ice Emperor discovered the true identities of Aurelius Moonfire, Maximus Stormforged, and Argentius meheart. Their connection to the unfolding events was a ticking time bomb.


    As the weight of the situation settled on William''s shoulders, he couldn''t help but imagine the domino effect that would follow the unearthing of this tangled web. A relentless chain reaction that would lead straight to him. If Shun Gordon delved into their backgrounds, William''s name would emerge as themon thread binding the three of them together.


    In a hushed tone, William expressed his growing concern to his wives, "This doesn''t bode well. If Shun Gordon digs deep and connects the dots, it won''t take him long to unearth my involvement in this matter. Soon enough, we might find ourselves on the run from the Great Qin Empire''s experts, dispatched to hunt us down."


    Anny, Vivi, and Regina exchanged wary nces, the gravity of the situation sinking in. Regina, always the realist, voiced her apprehensions, "Running from the Great Qin Empire''s experts won''t be a walk in the park. We need a n, William."


    William nodded, his mind already racing to find a solution. "You''re right, Regina. We can''t afford to be caught off guard. We need to be steps ahead. Let me think this through."


    As William delved into contemtion, the room was shrouded in a palpable tension, the impending threat casting its shadow over their once-confident demeanour.


    In the midst of the apprehension that filled the room, Vivi''s thoughtful expression brightened with a glimmer of a solution. She cleared her throat before addressing the group, her voice measured and resolute, "Alright, guys, listen up. We can''t just sit here and wait for trouble to find us. It''s time to take control of the narrative."


    Her eyes met each of herpanions'', the determination in her gaze reflecting the gravity of their situation. "We need a diversion, something that will draw Shun Gordon''s attention away from our trail. And I''ve got just the idea."


    Vivi leaned forward, her hands gesturing animatedly as she began to outline her n. "We orchestrate a scenario that directs Shun Gordon''s attention towards a false lead. We feed him information that implicates someone else entirely. Someone with a vendetta against the Great Qin Empire or even an internal faction seeking chaos. It needs to be convincing enough to distract him while we slip through the cracks."


    Anny chimed in, her analytical mind adding depth to Vivi''s n. "And we can''t just make it up. It has to be rooted in reality. Find a disgruntled group or a potential enemy of the Empire. Stir the pot enough to make it usible."


    Regina, always the voice of caution, voiced her concern, "But won''t Shun Gordon see through a hastily fabricated scheme? He''s not exactly a pushover when ites to unraveling plots."


    Vivi smirked, revealing a glimmer of confidence in her strategy, "That''s where the Miss Yrellea''s Misty Flower Pavilion wille in. We''ll use her organization to manipte that enemy and ensure his actions fits our narrative. Then¡­Drop just enough breadcrumbs for Shun Gordon to follow. He''s analytical, but even the best detective can be misled if the trail is cunninglyid."


    William, contemting the n, acknowledged its potential. "Alright, Vivi. I see where you''re going with this. It''s a gamble, but it might just work. I do have a person in mind who would fit this situation. It''s a pity that we would have to sacrifice him. I wanted to make more use of him. But getting this Silver Ice Emperor off our trails is important."


    Vivi nodded, "That''s right."


    In the days that followed, William, Vivi, and the rest of the group put their n into motion. William utilized his contacts, pulling strings to create a narrative that would lead Shun Gordon astray. The Misty Flower Pavilion, with its intricatework, yed a crucial role in manipting the perceived enemy.


    As they orchestrated this borate ruse, Shun Gordon, the Silver Ice Emperor, delved into the twisted threads of information. His sharp mind dissected the details, analyzing every piece of the puzzle meticulously. Yet, the group hoped that the intricacies of their n would be enough to mislead the seasoned investigator.


    However, they underestimated Shun''s acumen.


    Despite their efforts, Shun discerned the subtle traces of deception. While he couldn''t pinpoint the involvement of the SIS or the Misty Flower Pavilion, he recognized the crafted illusion.


    In a twist of irony, Shun found himself amused by the attempt to mislead him. The challenge of unravelling the intricateyers of deceit fueled his curiosity. As the false lead crumbled under Shun''s scrutiny, he remained undeterred, determined to uncover the truth.


    The situation escted, and William, Vivi, and the others found themselves locked in a mental chess match with the Silver Ice Emperor. Every move, every calcted step, became a delicate dance as they sought to outwit one of the most formidable figures in the Emperor Realm.


    Tensions mounted, and the group was forced to reevaluate their strategy.


    Thus, to resolve this situation, William contacted Sargan and requested for his assistance.

 Chapter 634 Sargan’s Plan

    <h4>Chapter 634 Sargan''s n</h4>


    Sargan Bach, a cunning devil hailing from the Purgatory Realm, possessed the notorious Evil Abyss Eyes.


    As one of Azaroth''s retainers, Sargan was no stranger to deceit and maniption.


    In the intricate dance of power among the devil ns, he had sessfully conquered the Olmer n, their sworn rivals.


    His method was both cunning and seductive, as he manipted Rhea Olmer, a stunning heiress, to be the leader of her n by eliminating any potential opposition. Rhea was not just a pawn; she was utterly infatuated with Sargan, granting him control over her and her n.


    Today, Sargan found himself contacted by arade, William. The nature of the request intrigued him - fooling Shun Gordon, the Silver Ice Emperor.


    As he listened to William''s predicament, Sargan delved into deep contemtion, pondering a n that could outsmart one of the most formidable figures in the Emperor Realm.


    After careful consideration, Sargan crafted a cunning strategy. He shared the details of his n with William.


    ording to Sargan, the key was to manipte the situation by involving Yrellea, a renowned figure with vast influence.


    William needed to ask Yrellea to nt misleading information about a devil faction in the region.


    By shifting the me onto this devil faction, they could make them appear as the masterminds behind the chaos.


    This would lead Shun Gordon to pursue the devils, uncovering traces that would implicate the Olmer n of the Demons.


    Sargan exined the steps, "You see, we create a false trail leading to the devils. Make them seem like the orchestrators of the entire plot. Shun Gordon, being the meticulous investigator he is, won''t be able to resist the temptation of hunting down these devils. But here''s the twist - the devil faction we implicate should have connections to the Olmer n. Once Shun starts following this trail, he''ll inevitablye across traces of the Olmer n''s involvement. It will divert his attention and create enough chaos to keep us off his radar."


    William, intrigued by the n, nodded in agreement. "That''s devious, Sargan. But it just might work. We need to get Yrellea on board and ensure the information is convincing enough to lead Shun astray."


    Sargan grinned, his Evil Abyss Eyes gleaming with mischief. "Leave that part to me. I''ll have Rhea arrange a secret meeting between Yrellea and our devil contact. The devil faction will unknowingly y their part in this grand scheme."


    As the n took shape, William felt a sense of relief.


    While Sargan worked his devilish machinations behind the scenes, William made the necessary arrangements with Yrellea.


    The formidable woman, known for her intelligence and vastwork, agreed to participate in this borate ruse.


    Yrellea understood the gravity of the situation and the importance of diverting the Silver Ice Emperor''s attention.


    Days passed, and the intricate n unfolded seamlessly.


    Yrellea orchestrated a ndestine meeting with the devil faction, nting misleading information that would set the stage for Shun Gordon''s pursuit.


    Meanwhile, Sargan ensured that Rhea yed her part in manipting the devil faction, keeping them unwittingly entangled in the web of deception.


    As Shun Gordon followed the fabricated trail, he was not oblivious to the fact that he was being led astray. His analytical mind, honed by years of experience, allowed him to see through the illusion. Yet, during this chase, Shun Gordon found himself engaged in a dual investigation.


    What he uncovered left him genuinely shocked and troubled. The shadowy organizations attempting to deceive him were concealed too deeply, eluding even his formidable deductive skills. It became clear to Shun that these organizations wielded immense power, possibly with the backing of entire nations.


    The realization weighed heavily on Shun Gordon''s mind.


    The entities manipting events from the shadows were formidable, their influence reaching far beyond what he had anticipated.


    The mystery surrounding them only deepened, leaving Shun Gordon with a profound sense of unease about the true extent of their power.


    As the intricate n unfolded on one front, another chapter was evolving in the Zhongxing Kingdom.


    Long Chen, in his pursuit of influencing Zhan Xinyi to leave the Order of the Eternal Rhythm, had a covert meeting with her.


    William''s spies, shadowy figures adept at observing without being noticed, documented the encounter.


    During this covert rendezvous, Long Chen poured out his efforts to convince Zhan Xinyi to sever ties with the Order.


    However, to Long Chen''s dismay, Zhan Xinyi remained resolute in hermitment to the Order of the Eternal Rhythm.


    This revtion made the situation clear for William.


    The persistence with which Long Chen tried to sway Zhan Xinyi hinted at a connection beyond casual acquaintance. It signified a deeper bond, a realization that prompted William to take a more direct approach.


    Alone, William made his way to The Sanctum of Melody, the dwelling ce of Zhan Xinyi within the Order.


    The room, while simple, carried an air of sanctity befitting the religious order. Its walls adorned with symbols and murals, reflecting the ethos of The Order of the Eternal Rhythm.


    Zhan Xinyi''s personal chamber, though modest, held an aesthetic charm.


    The white-coloured nightshirt she wore did little to conceal her alluring silhouette, emphasizing the curves that could easily captivate a man. Her ck hair cascaded over her shoulders, adding an enigmatic allure to her serene appearance.


    With her eyes closed, shey in peaceful slumber, oblivious to the approaching presence.


    A sly smile graced William''s face as he entered the room, his gaze lingering on Zhan Xinyi''s form. The simplicity of the room,bined with the sensual aura emanating from her sleeping figure, set the stage for the subtle tension that hung in the air.


    Moving closer with predatory grace, William savoured the anticipation that lingered in the room. His lips curled into a sly grin, and a depraved glint sparkled in his eyes.


    As he approached the bed, the dim light casting a soft glow on the scene, William''s intent became palpable. He licked his lips, his gaze fixated on the vulnerable yet enticing form before him. The room seemed to hold its breath, caught in the ndestine moment that unfolded between the mastermind and the unsuspecting sleeper.

 Chapter 635 Conversing with Zhan Xinyi

    635 Conversing with Zhan Xinyi


    As William silently approached the bed, the sanctum''s quietude enveloped the room. He smoothly slid onto the bed beside Zhan Xinyi, a predator closing in on its prey. The tranquillity of the room was disrupted only by the faint rustle of fabric as he settled.


    It wasn''t until his hands, with a serpent''s grace, snaked around Zhan Xinyi''s waist that she stirred, awakening with a start. Her eyes widened in startled surprise, and her immediate instinct was to free herself. However, William''s grip, firm as a vice, prevented her escape.


    Startled and indignant, Zhan Xinyi demanded to know who he was and why he had intruded into her room. Her attempts to break free were met with the unyielding restraint of William''s hold.


    With a sly smile ying on his lips, William responded to her inquiries, "Well, well, Zhan Xinyi. You''re an interesting one, aren''t you?" His voice was a low murmur, suggestive of the secrets he held. "I know about your desires, your wishes. The longing for vengeance that simmers within you. I know you want to make the one who killed your brother pay."


    Zhan Xinyi, now ceasing her struggle, stared at him with a mix of curiosity and wariness. "How do you know all this?" she asked, her voice a mixture of defiance and uncertainty.


    "Oh, my dear," William chuckled, his tone dripping with a blend of amusement and desire. "A man in my position has his ways of learning things. But enough about that. I''m here to offer you a proposition."


    As William spoke, his hands continued their exploratory journey, navigating the contours of Zhan Xinyi''s body with a deliberate sensuality. His touch held a maic pull, and Zhan Xinyi, caught in a swirl of emotions, found herself momentarily captivated.


    The sly grin never leaving his face, William continued, "I can help you get your revenge, Zhan Xinyi. I have the means, the resources. All you have to do is agree to cooperate with me. A simple arrangement, wouldn''t you say?"


    Zhan Xinyi, torn between the desire for vengeance and a wariness of this enigmatic figure, hesitated. The room seemed to pulsate with tension, the unspoken negotiation hanging in the air.


    The dim lighting cast shadows that danced on the walls as William leaned in, his voice a whispered promise. "Consider it, Zhan Xinyi. A partnership that could lead you to the justice you seek. The choice is yours."


    Zhan Xinyi, still held in the grip of William''s firm embrace, couldn''t shake off the uncertainty clouding her expression. "Who are you?" she demanded once more, her voice a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.


    A sly grin danced on William''s lips as he chose this moment to unveil his identity. "I am William, the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor," he dered with an air of confidence.


    Zhan Xinyi''s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. The revtion seemed too fantastical to be true. An Emperor-ranked expert standing before her, making audacious promises of vengeance? It felt like an improbable tale.


    To dispel her doubts and authenticate his im, William channeled a surge of his potent Qi into Zhan Xinyi''s body. The overwhelming force instantly subdued every ounce of her strength, leaving her breathless and convinced of his formidable prowess.


    Staring up at him, Zhan Xinyi whispered, "You''re really an Emperor?" The realization had settled, and her gaze held a mix of awe and submission.


    With a smirk, William acknowledged her eptance, "Now that we''ve established that, let''s talk about our little partnership." His tone wasced with a wicked promise.


    Zhan Xinyi, her voice barely above a whisper, murmured her agreement, "Do whatever you want. Just make sure to kill the one who took my brother from me."


    William''s grin widened at herpliance. The room, shrouded in dim light, became a stage for the unfolding desires. He leaned in, nting kisses along her neck, each one a calcted move to intensify the connection between them.


    Her breath hitched as the sensations deepened, and the initial resistance faded into a mingling of consent and curiosity. The gentle caress of William''s hands traversed the contours of her body, eliciting responsive shivers.


    Their lips met in a long, lingering kiss that traversed the realms of passion and surrender. Zhan Xinyi, caught in the whirlwind of conflicting emotions, surrendered herself to the desires ignited in that dimly lit sanctum.


    The night was a whirlwind of passion, an exploration of desires where Zhan Xinyi willingly surrendered herself to the relentless dance of pleasure that William orchestrated. Her every whimper, every sigh, became notes in the symphony of their union. The room bore witness to the intensity of their desires, a fleeting connection forged in the crucible of need and satisfaction.


    As dawn painted the sky with hues of pink and gold, the fervor of the night began to settle. The aftermath lingered in the air, a silent testimony to the secrets shared in the sanctum.


    As the first rays of morning light streamed through the window, marking the end of their passionate encounter, William found himself content. Zhan Xinyi, her body bearing the marks of their shared desires,y beside him, seemingly sated and yet uncertain.


    With a casual stretch, William sat up, letting the sheets fall away. "Now that we''ve had our fun, let''s talk business," he said with an air of nonchnce.


    Zhan Xinyi, her expression a mix of post-pleasure and confusion, nodded in agreement.


    William wasted no time in detailing his n. "You''ll get close to Long Chen, the man you met earlier. I don''t want any physical involvement, just a friendly connection. Help me make use of him."


    As Zhan Xinyi processed the information, she couldn''t help but express her confusion, "Why is this Long Chen so important to you, an Emperor-ranked expert?"


    William, veiling his true intentions, responded vaguely, "Let''s just say he''s a key yer in arger game. Your involvement is crucial for reasons you need not concern yourself with." He shifted the focus back to the task at hand, "Remember, our goal is to get close to him, nothing more."


    With a lingering sense of uncertainty, Zhan Xinyi agreed to abide by William''s n.


    Curiosity bubbling within her, she questioned, "How do you n to kill my brother''s killer when I have no information about them?"


    To this, William leaned back, his confidence undeterred. "My intelligencework spans the entire Zhongxing Kingdom. We''ve already uncovered the identity of your brother''s killer, along with concrete evidence to confirm that he is indeed your brother''s killer. All that''s left is for me to take care of the rest."


    Zhan Xinyi couldn''t help but feel a tinge of uncertainty about the task at hand. She turned to William, her eyes filled with curiosity and concern. "How am I supposed to get close to Long Chen? I''ve already rejected him quite harshly. He might not even like me now."


    William, exuding confidence, reassured her with a knowing smile. "Oh, my dear, Long Chen ispletely infatuated with you. He won''t give up that easily. Trust me; he''lle back."


    As Zhan Xinyi pondered over the n, William rified, "You don''t have to rush things. Act as if your impression of him is gradually changing. Let it unfold naturally. Your acting needs to be seamless and align with your usual demeanour."


    Zhan Xinyi, disying newfound confidence, nodded in agreement. "I can handle that. I''ll make sure to y my part convincingly."


    In a gesture of assurance, she hugged William tightly. "Just make sure you fulfil your end of the bargain. I''ve entrusted you with more than just information. My trust, my body... don''t let it go to waste."


    William reciprocated with a kiss, the promise ofmitment lingering in the air. "I won''t betray your expectations, Zhan Xinyi. You''ve taken a step into the shadows with me, and I''ll make sure it leads to the vengeance you seek."

 Chapter 636 Making Zhan Xinyi In Eternal Debt of William

    636 Making Zhan Xinyi In Eternal Debt of William


    The days rolled by, marked by the routine of life in the Sanctum of Melody. Zhan Xinyi seamlessly blended into the Order of the Eternal Rhythm, acting as if her opinion of Long Chen was slowly evolving. As she participated in various ceremonies and gatherings, she maintained a demeanour of gradual eptance.


    During one of the Order''s visits to spread their gospel in a distant vige, events took an unexpected turn. The group, including Zhan Xinyi, found themselves ambushed by bandits. Chaos ensued, and the followers of the Order faced imminent danger.


    It was in this moment of peril that Long Chen and three skilled warriors materialized out of nowhere, swiftly dealing with the bandits. Their intervention not only saved the followers but also added ayer of mystique to Long Chen''s character in the eyes of Zhan Xinyi.


    As the dust settled, Zhan Xinyi seized the opportunity. She approached Long Chen, a mixture of gratitude and admiration in her eyes. "Thank you for saving us. I... I never expected you toe to our rescue."


    Long Chen, ever the charismatic figure, offered a reassuring smile. "It''s only natural to lend a helping hand when someone''s in trouble. I''m just d we arrived in time."


    Zhan Xinyi, ying her part meticulously, responded with a bashful smile. "Well, I may have misjudged you before. You''re not as bad as I thought."


    Long Chen chuckled, "People often have misconceptions. I''m just a wanderer, trying to do some good in the world."


    Their conversation continued, and Zhan Xinyi subtly steered it towards the spiritual teachings of the Order of the Eternal Rhythm. She portrayed herself as genuinely interested, seeking guidance and understanding from Long Chen. The gradual change in her attitude didn''t go unnoticed, and Long Chen couldn''t help but be intrigued by this newfound openness.


    In the following days, Zhan Xinyi continued to subtly build rapport with Long Chen, attending gatherings and ceremonies with an apparent sense of curiosity. She strategically positioned herself to be noticed without seeming too eager. As the vige visits and spiritual sessions unfolded, Long Chen found himself drawn to this woman who seemed to be reconsidering her opinions.


    William, from his discreet vantage point, monitored these interactions closely. His n was unfolding, and Zhan Xinyi was proving to be a skilled performer in this intricate charade.


    One evening, after a particrly moving spiritual ceremony, Zhan Xinyi found herself engaged in a private conversation with Long Chen. The moonlit backdrop added a touch of romance to the scene, enhancing the atmosphere.


    Zhan Xinyi, feigning vulnerability, expressed, "Long Chen, I''ve been having doubts and questions about my beliefs. Can we talk? I feel lost."


    Long Chen, ever the empathetic listener, nodded. "Of course, Zhan Xinyi. I''m here to help. Let''s find a quiet ce to talk."


    They strolled away from the group, heading towards a serene area near a small pond. The conversation shifted towards deeper matters, with Zhan Xinyi skilfully intertwining her personal struggles with the teachings of the Order.


    Long Chen, unaware of the intricate threads being woven around him, became the unwitting confidant. As their talk continued, Zhan Xinyi strategically let hints of her vulnerability surface, creating an emotional connection with Long Chen.


    Meanwhile, in the shadows, William received updates from his SIS operatives who were closely monitoring the situation. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into ce, and the illusion of a genuine connection between Zhan Xinyi and Long Chen grew stronger.


    With Zhan Xinyi wlessly executing her part in the intricate charade, William deemed it fitting to fulfil his end of the deal. The time hade to eliminate the leader of the whatever "green gang".


    As night nketed the jungles of the northwestern side, William moved with the grace of a shadow, navigating the terrain with a silent efficiency honed through years of experience. The sounds of nocturnal creatures provided a symphony to his ndestine mission.


    Approaching the gang leader''s hideout, William observed the guards patrolling the periphery. His movements were swift and calcted, eliminating each guard without a hint of disturbance. The element of surprise was his ally as he infiltrated deeper into the heart of the gang''s territory.


    The gang leader, unaware of the impending threat, sat in the rather lit tent of his hideout, surrounded by his loyal subordinates. The air was tense with an ominous anticipation.


    In a seamless sequence of calcted strikes, William swiftly incapacitated the guards, leaving them unconscious on the floor. The element of surprise was maintained until the final moment when he confronted the gang leader.


    A brief struggle ensued, but William''s skills outmatched the gang leader''s prowess. In a matter of moments, the deed was done. The once formidable leader of the Green Snake Gangy lifeless on the floor, his reign of terror extinguished.


    With the taskpleted, William gathered the remains of the gang leader, ensuring there was no trace left behind. The jungle, witness to the silent ballet of life and death, seemed undisturbed by the events that had transpired.


    Returning to Fengshui City with the corpse, William presented the gruesome evidence of his sess to Zhan Xinyi. The leader''s lifeless body, a macabre trophy,y at her feet.


    Zhan Xinyi''s eyes, filled with a mix of satisfaction and lingering hatred, gazed upon the lifeless form before her. Without a word, she took a de from her belt and proceeded to mutte the corpse, cutting it into small, unrecognizable pieces. The act was both a symbolic and visceral expression of her vengeance.


    The moonlight cast eerie shadows as Zhan Xinyi tossed the dismembered remains for the dogs to devour. The cold night air carried the scent of justice and retribution.


    Witnessing this gruesome disy, William couldn''t help but acknowledge the depth of Zhan Xinyi''s pain and the intensity of her desire for vengeance.


    As thest remnants of the leader were consumed by the voracious canines, Zhan Xinyi, her face stained with blood, turned to William.


    She bowed low, a gesture of submission and gratitude. "I can never repay this favor, Sir William. From this moment on, I am yours tomand."


    William, with a sly yet depraved grin, gestured for her to rise. "There is one more thing you can do for me, Zhan Xinyi."


    As she stood, he pulled her into a seductive embrace, his intentions evident in the glint of his eyes.


    Her loyalty now bound by more than just a debt, Zhan Xinyi''s journey took an unexpected turn, intertwining her fate with that of the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor.

 Chapter 637 Dealing With The Clone Of Thunderous Echoing Dominion God

    637 Dealing With The Clone Of Thunderous Echoing Dominion God


    William grasped Zhan Xinyi''s waist and pulled her closer, his eyes drilling into hers. Without warning, he pressed his lips to hers, fiercely devouring her mouth in a wild kiss. She gasped at the intensity, her body melting under his touch.


    He trailed his hand down her back, letting his fingers linger along the curve of her hip. His other hand came up to cup her jaw, tilting her head to deepen their kiss. She moaned softly, letting her hands drift to his shoulders as she arched into him. With a hungry growl, he broke the kiss and shoved her against the nearby wall. He grabbed fistfuls of her hair, pushing her head back as his lips found the soft flesh of her neck. Zhan Xinyi sighed in pleasure, a shiver running down her spine at the dominance in his touch.


    He pulled at her clothes, ripping the fabric to expose her body. He roughly took her breasts in his hands, pinching and tugging her nipples until they were hard and aching. Zhan Xinyi whimpered and writhed against him, desperate for release. His hand travelled down her body, pressing against the damp warmth between her legs. He pushed her thighs apart and thrust a finger deep inside her. Zhan Xinyi cried out, her whole body tensing as the pleasure threatened to overwhelm her.


    William slid two fingers in and out, pumping them relentlessly as he sought to drive her wild with need. She clutched at his shoulders, her head spinning from the force of his attack.


    He gave her no respite, his lips finding hers once more as he continued his assault on her body. Zhan Xinyi moaned into the kiss, her hips bucking against his hand as she came in a shattering release.


    William pulled back; his face flushed with lust. He grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head as he thrust inside her roughly.


    Zhan Xinyi cried out; her body wracked with pleasure as the Wild Dragon Spear Emperor took her with brutal force.


    William grabbed her by the waist, lifting her off her feet. He walked backwards, pressing her up against the wall as he buried himself inside her again. Zhan Xinyi wrapped her legs around his waist, crying out as he drove deep.


    He set her down on the floor, positioning himself above her. He lowered his body, grinding against her as his tongue teased her earlobe. Zhan Xinyi arched into him, moaning as he pinned her wrists above her head.


    William pulled her into a sitting position, pressing her back against the wall. He straddled her hips, leaning down to kiss her passionately as he slid inside her once more. Zhan Xinyi whimpered into his mouth, her hands grabbing his hair as he thrust hard. He moved onto his knees, grabbing her by the hips as he buried himself to the hilt. Zhan Xinyi cried out, her body convulsing in pleasure as he began pounding into her at a furious pace. He reached down, squeezing her breast as he drove her towards a second climax. Heid her down on the bed, spreading her legs wide. He took one breast in his mouth, sucking hard as he thrust into her with a roughness that brought her to the brink yet again. Zhan Xinyi''s breath came in ragged gasps, her hands clutching the sheets as she was carried along by his relentless assault.


    He pulled out of her and turned her onto her hands and knees. He grabbed her hips, pushing roughly inside her as he spanked her bare ass. Zhan Xinyi cried out, the sharp sting mingling with the pleasure coursing through her body. William continued to spank and thrust, bringing her to yet another orgasm as he drove deep within her.


    After a couple of hours, he copsed beside her on the bed, both breathing heavily. William gazed down at the naked beauty beneath him with a look of lust and possession. "Mine," he said roughly, pulling her into a possessive embrace.


    Following their intense encounter, William and Zhan Xinyi separated, each carrying the lingering sensations of their passionate rendezvous.


    Zhan Xinyi,mitted to her mission, continued fostering ties with Long Chen while diligently sharing information with William.


    Meanwhile, seizing the opportune moment, William, along with his wives, embarked on a journey to another city in Zhongxing Kingdom.


    On the other hand, William, apanied by his trio of wives, seized the opportunity to venture to another city within the Zhongxing Kingdom. Their objective was to confront the clone of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God that had be a potential threat. With William being the only one at the Emperor Rank, he alone faced the daunting task of taking on the formidable opponent. His wives, one level lower at the King Rank, wisely stayed at a safe distance from the battlefield, ready to offer support if needed.


    In the fierce battle that ensued, William''s skills were put to the test as he engaged in a monumental struggle against the peak-level Emperor Rank clone. The sh of power echoed through the city, drawing attention from those nearby. Meanwhile, his wives observed the conflict with a mixture of concern and confidence in their husband''s abilities.


    After a hard-fought battle, William emerged victorious, having sessfully neutralized the clone. With the threat eliminated, the group proceeded to execute their nned actions. The trio of wives contributed their efforts to activate the Yin Vein in the region, a crucial step towards their overarching goal.


    Setting their sights on the next phase, William and his wives established a teleportation formation connecting the activated Yin Vein directly to the purgatory. However, the activation of the teleportation formation remained pending, awaiting an opportune moment.


    The strategic move to deal with the clone of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God held paramount significance for William. By preventing the Great Qin Empire from sending experts to Zhongxing Kingdom in response to the clone''s activities, William aimed to safeguard the secrecy of his schemes and maintain the advantage of surprise.


    As the group continued to navigate through their intricate ns, the delicate dance of political and strategic manoeuvring unfolded.


    In the quiet aftermath of the battle, as William and his wives regrouped to assess their next steps, the city stood witness to the repercussions of their actions.


    As dawn approached, the future remained uncertain.


    ~~


    [A/N:


    The clone was not designed to fight powerful opponents like William. It was only sent to Frascoia Continent to spread the influence of the religion.


    It only held 3% of the power of the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God. This is why William could so easily defeat it.

 Chapter 638 The World Wages War On The Great Qin Empire

    638 The World Wages War On The Great Qin Empire


    After resolving the issue with the Thunderous Echoing Dominion God''s clone, William and his wives decided it was time to depart from the Zhongxing Kingdom. Their objectives had been achieved, and the need for their presence had waned.


    True to his promise, William arranged for four renowned King-ranked Alchemists and three King-ranked Array Masters to join Long Chen.


    This support greatly pleased Long Chen, who expressed his gratitude to William for the valuable assistance.


    In the Zhongxing Kingdom, Long Chen''s progress, with William''s assistance, soared to unprecedented levels.


    Not only Long Chen but also Ren Yue and Zhan Xinyi experienced rapid growth rates that surpassed even Long Chen''s remarkable advancement.


    This remarkable growth was attributed to the exceptional cultivation techniques that Long Chen generously shared with them, enhancing their cultivation speed to extraordinary levels.


    For Ren Yue, it was a supreme cultivation technique known as the Revolving Yin Merit Law. When William saw this cultivation technique, he was a bit startled because this technique had eaten up Ren Yue''s old meridians and provided her with a set of new meridians that possessed divine talent.


    Moreover, there seemed to be powerful abilities present within Ren Yue''s new meridians that could probably only be unleashed by her since she cultivated the Revolving Yin Merit Law.


    Comparing Ren Yue''s cultivation technique to what their master Azaroth had granted Tiana, William acknowledged the significant power embedded within the Revolving Yin Merit Law.


    However, he also noted that Ren Yue''s potential didn''t quite match Tiana''s, as thetter possessed a unique and special physique that synergized seamlessly with her cultivation technique, facilitating an exceptionally swift cultivation journey. It was due to this reason that her cultivation had been abnormally quick.


    On the other hand, Zhan Xinyi embraced the power of the Divine Storm Scripture. This cultivation technique empowered her to enhance her control over the Wind and Lightning Elements. Additionally, she could absorb and cultivate Wind and Lightning Essence Familiars, formidable allies in her battles.


    Zhan Xinyi''s potential mirrored that of Ren Yue, and her cultivation speed equaled her peer''s rapid progress.


    As for Long Chen, his chosen cultivation path led him to the Moonlit Phantasm True Scripture. Unlike techniques focused on raw power, this scripture delved into the mystic realm of illusions, offering a unique set of abilities.


    As the trio delved into their respective cultivation paths, the synergy between the unique techniques and their wielders became increasingly apparent.


    As the years passed, William and his wives embarked on a journey to traverse the world, focusing on connecting more Yin Veins to the Purgatory Realm using the teleportation array.


    Their journey took them to various corners of the globe, where they harnessed thetent energies and channeled them through thework of Yin Veins, expanding the reach of the Purgatory Realm.


    Meanwhile, Azaroth''s loyal retainers diligently prepared their respective forces for the impending assault on the Great Qin Empire. Yrellea, leveraging the Misty Flower Pavilion''s extensive political influence, orchestrated a diplomatic campaign to foster alliances and sow the seeds of conflict against the Great Qin Empire among the nations.


    In the Empire of Qian Guo, Tiana strategically employed her Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect and the Elemental Aurora Valley Sect to incite conflict with the Great Qin Empire. Given the historical rivalry between the two nations, the brewing tension seemed par for the course.


    In regions where William had sessfully connected Yin Veins to the Purgatory Realm, Sargan took charge. Activating the teleportation arrays, he unleashed a formidable onught of demons and devils upon the world, creating chaos and unsettling the bnce of power.


    Ralph, the crown prince of the Woltensian Empire, rallied the entire beast race within his dominion to wage war against the Great Qin Empire. The call to ascend to the pinnacle of the world fueled the beast race''s determination for conquest.


    Drawing on his vastwork and alliances, William strategically selected warriors possessing significant providence, all at the Emperor Ranked stage, to mount a formidable assault on the Great Qin Empire. Long Chen, not yet having reached the Emperor Rank, was excluded from the direct confrontation.


    Within the Great Qin Empire, Noah, acting as one of their subordinates, led his Heretical Pdins into battle against the Empire of Qian Guo. Concealed behind the guise of allegiance, Noah''s true objective was to eliminate the Saint Realm expert engaged inbat against the Empire of Qian Guo''s forces.


    Meanwhile, Laura''s Elven Forest remained vignt, adopting a wait-and-see approach. Positioned on the sidelines, the elves observed the unfolding events, ready to act ording to the evolving circumstances.


    Six years had passed since the grand conflict against the Great Qin Empire erupted, and the intricate scheme behind the perfectly timed assault remained veiled in the chaos of unfolding events. The rapid pace of developments left little room for contemtion, as nations found themselves plunged into the maelstrom of war.


    Chronologically, the sequence of events unfolded as follows:


    Empire of Qian Guo''s Offensive:


    The initial move was made by the Empire of Qian Guo,unching a forceful assault against the Great Qin Empire.


    Great Qin Empire''s Response:


    The Great Qin Empire, in turn, marshaled formidable forces, including two Saint Ranked experts, to counter the unexpected aggression.


    Alliances Unleash War:


    The Pinhian Republic, Berian Kingdom, Granian Kingdom, and Feindesian Republic joined forces, collectively dering war on the Great Qin Empire.


    Borders Reinforced:


    In response to the multi-front conflict, the Great Qin Empire fortified its borders against thebined onught of allied nations.


    Demon Race Emergence:


    A sudden emergence of the demon race across the bordering nations intensified the pressure on the Great Qin Empire, as these demonic forces advanced towards its territories.


    Great Qin''s Swift Response:


    With strategic agility, the Great Qin Empire promptly reinforced its border defenses to counter the encroaching demonic threat.


    Woltensian Empire''s Deration:


    A shocking turn of events urred as the Woltensian Empire dered war on the Great Qin Empire. The Beast Race''s formidable forces, including Saint Ranked experts, were unleashed at the Great Qin Empire''s borders, catching them off guard.


    Providence-Manipted Warriors Strike:


    Adding anotheryer ofplexity, warriors possessing great providence, manipted by William,unched a relentless assault against the powerful experts of the Great Qin Empire.

 Chapter 639 Shuns Investigations And Noah Takes Action

    639 Shun''s Investigations And Noah Takes Action


    In the grand hall of the Royal Pce of the Great Qin Empire, Emperor Qin Lei addressed his advisors with a grave expression. "Gentlemen, the situation has taken an ominous turn. We find ourselves beset on multiple fronts, with nations conspiring against us and a demonic incursion at our borders. What insights do you have to share?"


    The advisors gathered around the central table, maps and strategic documents spread before them. General Jiang Shou, the seasoned military strategist, spoke first. "Your Majesty, the attacks on Frascoia Continent by seven human nations and the unexpected assault by the Woltensian Empire are coordinated and precise. The timing is suspicious."


    Qin Lei''s brow furrowed. "Are you suggesting a conspiracy, General Jiang?"


    Jiang Shou nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. The simultaneous nature of these attacks seems orchestrated. It''s as if someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes."


    Another advisor, Minister Li Wei, countered, "Your Majesty, with all due respect to General Jiang, orchestrating such a vast conspiracy involving numerous nations and races is nearly impossible to conceal. Our intelligence department would have detected any such plotting."


    A heated debate ensued, with the advisors expressing differing opinions. The one advocating the conspiracy theory presented arguments to support his im, pointing out the peculiar alignment of events. However, those opposing the theory emphasized the imusibility of coordinating so many entities without detection.


    Amidst the escting tension, Emperor Qin Lei intervened. His voice resonated with authority as hemanded, "Enough! We shall not waste time on spective arguments. Let us focus on developing a n to counter our adversaries. What insights do you have for our defence?"


    The advisors shifted their attention to strategic considerations. General Zhang Wei proposed reinforcing the borders with designated defensive groups, each led by a seasoned general at the peak of the Emperor Rank. He outlined the deployment of the Crimson de Guard, Thunderbolt Legion, and Azure Sky Battalion to key positions, emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts.


    Minister Li Wei suggested forming alliances with neutral nations to divert attention and potentially gain allies against the aggressors. He rmended dispatching emissaries to negotiate diplomatic resolutions and garner support.


    General Jiang Shou focused on the internal front, urging the mobilization of local militias and recruitment of powerful mercenaries to bolster the Great Qin Empire''s strength. He named renowned generals like Lin Qian and Yu Feng as leaders of these mercenary groups.


    Emperor Qin Lei listened attentively, absorbing the diverse perspectives. He then issued decisive orders to implement the proposed defensive measures. The Crimson de Guard, Thunderbolt Legion, and Azure Sky Battalion were dispatched under themand of Generals Lin Qian, Yu Feng, and Wang Hao, respectively.


    Diplomatic emissaries set out to neutral nations, seeking solidarity against themon threat. Internal security was fortified with the activation of local militias and the recruitment of mercenaries.


    Amidst the bustling activities of mobilization across the Great Qin Empire, orders from Emperor Qin Lei reached not only the military but also the Noble Families, the Array Association, the Alchemy Association, and the various Sects. Their mandate was clear - utilize all avable resources to protect the empire from the impending threats.


    In the bustling headquarters of the Nine Yin Sect, Sect Mistress Nine Yin Saintess coordinated with her disciples and elders to execute Emperor Qin Lei''s orders. The atmosphere was tense yet determined as the sect mobilized its resources for the imminent conflict.


    Amidst the organized chaos, Shun Gordon, a prominent disciple of the Nine Yin Sect, approached the Nine Yin Saintess with urgency in his eyes. The Sect Mistress, recognizing his formidable analytical skills, weed him to her private chamber to discuss the unfolding situation.


    Nine Yin Saintess, her silver hair cascading down her shoulders, regarded Shun Gordon with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "What news do you bring, Shun? Your expression suggests something significant."


    Shun Gordon nodded solemnly. "Mistress, the situation is more intricate than we thought. The forces aligning against us aren''t acting independently. They are coordinated."


    The Nine Yin Saintess raised an eyebrow. "Coordinated? How can that be? Exin yourself."


    Shun Gordon took a deep breath before borating, "I''ve been discreetly investigating these recent developments. My suspicions arose when I detected collusion between a demon race member and a human operative concealing the truth about the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s killers."


    The Nine Yin Saintess leaned forward, her interest piqued. "Continue."


    Shun Gordon continued, "My investigation led me to an organization named the SIS. It operates in every nation on Frascoia Continent, except the Empire of Qian Guo and the Great Qin Empire. The SIS monitors and maniptes talented warriors and politicians, keeping track of their dark deeds."


    He paused for emphasis before revealing, "Financially, the SIS is backed by another organization ¨C the Misty Flower Pavilion. The leader of the Misty Flower Pavilion is known to us all: Yrellea, the Heavenly Poison Empress."


    Nine Yin Saintess absorbed the information, her expression transitioning from curiosity to disbelief. "Yrellea? That''s unexpected. Where is she now?"


    Shun Gordon sighed, "Mistress, her current whereabouts are unknown. Yrellea possesses an ability to conceal herself effectively. Finding her, if she doesn''t want to be found, is nearly impossible."


    The Sect Mistress processed the revtion, her mind racing with implications. "So, the SIS and Misty Flower Pavilion are pulling the strings behind these attacks. What is their endgame?"


    Shun Gordon responded, "That remains unclear. The SIS''s leader is still unknown, and their motives are concealed. However, if I have to guess, they wanted to concentrate all our battle forces on the borders. This is the true nature of their scheme I believe."


    Deep in thought, Nine Yin Saintess pondered the implications of this revtion. "Thisplicates matters further. We must inform Emperor Qin Lei about this immediately."


    "That''s right," Shun spoke.


    As the Nine Yin Sect grappled with this startling information, the wheels of conspiracy turned, revealing hiddenyers of maniption and intrigue that threatened the very foundations of the Great Qin Empire.


    As the wheels of conspiracy turned, the foundations of the Great Qin Empire were dealt a significant blow. The news of the demise of a Saint Ranked warrior, ostensibly at the hands of a counterpart from the Empire of Qian Guo, reverberated through the capital. However, the reality behind this incident was far more sinister, with Noah being the true culprit behind the targeted assassination.


    The official information masked the true nature of the attack, and Noah, the mastermind orchestrating this ndestine assault, was ready to escte the conflict. Through the Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring linking him to hisrades, he issued a decisivemand, "It''s time for us to attack the capital!"

 Chapter 640 Noah’s Attack On Royal Palace

    <h4>Chapter 640 Noah''s Attack On Royal Pce</h4>


    Noah, leading his Heretical Pdins, had a cunning strategy up his sleeve. While most of the Great Qin Empire''s forces were upied at the borders, Noah orchestrated a covert teleportation to Luoyang, the capital city. Their destination was a secluded area within the city, strategically avoiding the primary concentration of the empire''s defenses.


    As soon as they appeared in Luoyang, Noah barked orders to his subordinates. The Heretical Pdins swiftly assumed a battle formation they had meticulously trained for.


    This formation was no ordinary setup; it was named the "Azure Surge Array," a formidable arrangement with the ability to summon a massive Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar. This powerful entity was fuelled by ten peak Emperor Level Dragon Beast cores, each obtained through relentless hunting.


    The defensive prowess of the Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar was exceptional. Even an assant at the Saint Realm cultivation stage would struggle to breach its resilience. The defensive aspect of the formation was under the control of Noah''s first wife, Aria.


    On the offensive side, the formation harbored a second ability. This allowed the Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar to unleash a destructive beam, equivalent to an attack from a Saint Realm expert.


    Noah''s second wife, Luna, skilfully manipted this devastating capability.


    With this formidable force at their disposal, Noah and his Heretical Pdinsunched a relentless assault on the Royal Pce. The Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar, with itsbined defensive and offensive abilities, carved a destructive path through the walls, creating an opening for the Heretical Pdins to breach the inner sanctum. The element of surprise and the overwhelming power of the formation yed a crucial role in their advance.


    As the sh intensified within the Royal Pce, Noah''s tactical brilliance became evident. He strategically directed his forces, exploiting the chaos within the capital. The Azure Surge Array, augmented by the Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar, wreaked havoc upon the imperial defenses.


    In the midst of the chaos, Luna''s controlled destructive beamshed out, obliterating strategic points within the Royal Pce. The calcted strikes added to the disarray, as the defenders struggled toprehend the unpredictable assault.


    Within the tumult, Noah''s Heretical Pdins disyed remarkable coordination. Each member adhered to their assigned roles within the battle formation, creating a seamless and formidable assault force. Noah himself led the charge, his powerful attacksplementing the array''s destructive capabilities.


    The n unfolded with precision, catching the defenders off guard. The element of surprise, coupled with the overwhelming might of the Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar, allowed Noah and his Heretical Pdins to prate deeper into the heart of the Royal Pce.


    The audacious attack on the Royal Pce sent shockwaves throughout the Great Qin Empire. Such a bold move had never urred in its storied history. The very idea of an assault on the heart of their power structure was inconceivable to many.


    Within the empire, experts and leaders, including Emperor Qin Lei, were left reeling from the realization that one of their own, the Enlightened Void Sword Emperor, had orchestrated the unprecedented attack. The shockwaves reverberated even more when it became apparent that Noah, along with his Heretical Pdins, was leading the assault.


    Emperor Qin Lei, fueled by anger and determination, made a resolute decision. He, along with his Royal Guards, would personally confront Noah and his Heretical Pdins. The Royal Pce, the symbol of their imperial might, had been breached, and the emperor was not about to let this act go unanswered.


    As Emperor Qin Lei prepared to lead the charge, an unexpected twist unfolded. Three Saint Realm experts from the Woltensian Empire materialized in Luoyang, aligning themselves with Noah and his Heretical Pdins. This development added an entirely new dimension to the unfolding conflict.


    The shock deepened for Emperor Qin Lei. Despite having two Saint Realm experts within the capital, along with himself, the arrival of three counterparts from the Woltensian Empire leveled the ying field. The once-anticipated sh now hung in a precarious bnce.


    With both sides boasting an equal number of Saint Realm experts, Emperor Qin Lei recognized the imminent challenge. The impending battle promised to be arduous, with the fate of the Royal Pce hanging in the bnce.


    Just when tension reached its peak, another unexpected entrant joined the fray.


    Nine Yin Saintess, a prominent figure within the Great Qin Empire, emerged in Luoyang. Her sudden appearance tipped the scales, reinforcing Emperor Qin Lei''s forces in the ongoing conflict against Noah and his Heretical Pdins.


    Noah''s eyes widened in shock as the Nine Yin Saintess materialized in Luoyang. Confusion clouded his mind. ''Wasn''t she supposed to be on the Eastern Borders?'' The unexpected appearance of this formidable figure hinted at deeperplications.


    ''If she''s here, he must be too.''


    A sense of foreboding settled over Noah. The connection between Nine Yin Saintess and a certain individual lingered in his thoughts, a puzzle waiting to be solved.


    As the battle raged on, a powerful attack targeted Noah''s Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar. Acting swiftly, he countered with his own technique, the Azure Essence Strike. The sh of powers reverberated in the air as Noah redirected the force aimed at the formidable avatar.


    Soon, Noah turned his head to look in the direction from where the attack had beenunched.


    And there, standing confidently ahead, was Shun Gordon, the Silver Ice Emperor. A subtle smile yed on Shun Gordon''s lips as he greeted Noah. "Well, well, if it isn''t the Enlightened Void Sword Emperor himself. I did deduce that an attack on the Royal Pce was imminent, but I certainly didn''t expect you and your Heretical Pdins to be the culprits."


    Noah tightened his grip on his sword, a mixture of anger and hatred burning in his eyes. He took a deep breath, centering himself before muttering, "It seems fate has given me an opportunity I''ve been waiting for. I always wanted to kill you, Shun Gordon, and the Nine Yin Saintess. "


    The tension in the air escted as the two formidable figures faced each other amidst the chaos of battle.

 Chapter 641 Battle On All Fronts

    <h4>Chapter 641 Battle On All Fronts</h4>


    Shun Gordon''s gaze bore into Noah as he spoke, "Now that I know you''re the one targeting the Royal Pce, everything clicks into ce. You''re one of Azaroth''s retainers, aren''t you? And it seems you''ve got wind of your master''s lingering spirit, trapped by the Great Qin Empire. I''m not sure how you found out, but I''m convinced that the chaos befalling the empire is all thanks to you and your crew."


    Noah red back at Shun Gordon with pure disdain, his hatred evident in his eyes. Shun continued, "You''re probably tied to that SIS intelligence outfit. That Heavenly Poison Empress, Yrellea, must be your ally. I wouldn''t be surprised if she orchestrated the attacks from the nations south of the Great Qin Empire."


    He wasn''t finished, though. Shun Gordon added, "And the Woltensian Empire? Ralph, the one who took in the White Tiger''s Divine Inheritance, likely ordered the attack. None of this would have happened without him."


    Silence enveloped both sides of the conflict¡ªNoah''s contingent, assisted by the three Saint Realm experts of the Woltensian Empire, and Emperor Qin Lei''s forces, fortified by four Saint Realm experts, including the emperor and the Nine Yin Saintess.


    The revtion had left them all dumbfounded, exposing the intricate web of organizations Azaroth''s retainers had woven over the past sixteen years.


    Emperor Qin Lei erupted, "This is outrageous! My empire is under attack because of him!"


    Noah finally spoke, his voice cutting through the tension, "You''ve nailed it. But don''t think you''ve uncovered all our cards. If you believe this is the extent of our preparations, Silver Ice Emperor, you''re sorely mistaken."


    A new presence red within Luoyang¡ªthe unmistakable aura of a powerful Saint Realm expert. The shock registered on Emperor Qin Lei''s side, including the Nine Yin Saintess and Shun Gordon.


    It was none other than the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, now inhabiting a human body named Hu Ning''er. Her rapid ascension to the Saint Realm in just six years was fuelled by the countless Celestial God corpses and Divine Sparks gathered by Noah. The knowledge she retained as a Celestial God expedited her breakthrough as a human.


    Approaching the battlefield with determination, Hu Ning''er joined Noah''s side. Noah spoke confidently, "If you can, then give us a decent fight."


    The revtion had intensified the stakes of the conflict, turning the battlefield into a stage for the sh of powerful entities and long-standing grudges.


    The sh erupted in a ze of power and fury as both sides unleashed their most potent techniques. Saint Realm experts created their Minor Worlds, each a unique battlefield resonating with their elemental prowess.


    Noah and Shun Gordon faced off at a distance, exchanging furious strikes and energy waves. The air crackled with intensity as their powers collided.


    In the midst of the chaos, the Heretical Pdins maintained their formation, facing off against the Royal Guards of the Great Qin Empire. A deadly dance unfolded as both sides engaged in a fierce battle.


    The Royal Guards formed their own Battle Formation, summoning a massive Crimson Vajra Bear Avatar to confront the Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar wielded by the Heretical Pdins. The sh of titanic avatars echoed through the battlefield.


    However, the Crimson Vajra Bear Avatar, powerful though it was, found itself outmatched.


    The Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon Avatar, fuelled by the Heretical Pdins'' battle formation and powered by the cores of peak Emperor Level Dragon Beasts, held the upper hand with its Saint Realm prowess, a stage higher than the Emperor Realm.


    As the avatars shed, the sheer force of the Gigantic Blue Horn Dragon overwhelmed the Crimson Vajra Bear, driving it back. The ground trembled under the impact, and the Heretical Pdins pressed their advantage.


    Meanwhile, within their respective Minor Worlds, the Saint Realm experts engaged in aplex dance of power. Each expert harnessed the unique characteristics of their Minor World, creating a dynamic and unpredictable battlefield.


    The intense battle raged on, with Noah and Shun Gordon continuing their personal vendetta. Energy crackled between them as they exchanged blows.


    As chaos unfolded within the capital of the Great Qin Empire, word of the internal strife reached the experts defending the borders. The revtion had a profound impact on the morale of the Great Qin Empire''s forces, casting a shadow over their defences.


    Seizing the opportunity, the Empire of Qian Guounched an all-out assault. With the internal conflict diverting the attention of the Great Qin Empire''s defenders, the forces of the Empire of Qian Guo broke through the defensive array barrier. Infiltrating the capital, they unleashed chaos upon the unsuspecting city.


    In the south, the Pinhian Republic and its allies capitalized on the situation. Emperor Realm experts, including Aurelio Vulso and Rueben ke, surged forward, targeting the Great Qin Empire''s borders.


    The peakbat prowess of these warriors wreaked havoc, iming the lives of many underlings.


    The ughter continued until the top Emperor Realm experts of the Great Qin Empire intervened, engaging in fierce battles to stem the tide.


    Simultaneously, the Devil Raceunched an assault from the northern and western fronts. Led by Sargan, the Bach n and Olmer n unleashed their might upon the Great Qin Empire''s forces.


    The devilish onught aimed to overwhelm the defenders and carve a path of destruction through the borders.


    Within the capital, the sh between Noah''s faction and the Great Qin Empire''s forces escted.


    As the battle raged on, the internal conflict within the Great Qin Empire provided ample opportunity for external forces to exploit the weakened defences.


    The once unified empire now faced threats from all directions, with expert warriors engaged in life-or-death struggles on multiple fronts.


    At this moment, Shun was fighting against Noah and in the middle of the fight, he spoke out, "¡­I have always wondered how my abilitiespare against yours."


    Noah responded calmly, "Don''t forget to use your full might, Prince of Stars or else, you won''t know when you will die!"


    "Since you already know about that, I guess there is no point hiding my real abilities against someone like you," Shun spoke out with a smile on his face.

 Chapter 642 The Ultimate Battle (Noah vs Shun)

    Chapter 642 The Ultimate Battle (Noah vs Shun)


    Noah faced off against Shun Gordon in a dazzling disy of prowess, eachbatant unleashing their unique abilities in a battle that would determine the course of the conflict within the Great Qin Empire.


    Noah''s sword gleamed with ethereal light as he initiated his first technique, "Void Severance sh." The de sliced through the air with unparalleled precision, leaving behind faint ripples in the spatial void. Shun dodged gracefully, his body moving like a wisp of wind.


    Shun retaliated with the "Ster Confluence." Elemental stars materialized around him, swirling in a mesmerizing dance. Each star emitted a different elemental power¡ª


    me, Wind, Metal, Wood, Water. Shun channeled their energies, preparing to unleash a fusion of elemental might.


    Noah, undeterred, activated his spatial prowess. He employed the "Dimensional Whirlwind," creating a vortex of spatial void that twisted and distorted the battlefield. Shun maneuvered swiftly, relying on the elemental stars to shield him from the spatial distortions.


    The Prince of Stars, not to be outdone, harnessed the "Elemental Nova." mes, gusts of wind, metallic shards, wooden vines, and cascading water coalesced into a magnificent burst of elemental force. The onught aimed to overwhelm Noah''s defenses.


    Noah responded with the "Spatial Mirage," a technique that projected illusions across the battlefield. Multiple illusions of Noah appeared, making it challenging for Shun to discern the real target. The spatial distortions yed tricks on Shun''s perception, forcing him to recalibrate his attacks.


    Shun, resilient and adaptable, executed the "Astrofusion Cyclone." Elemental stars converged into a spiraling vortex, drawing in Noah''s illusions. The cyclone crackled with thebined power of me, wind, metal, wood, and water, creating a tempestuous onught.


    Noah, seizing the moment, utilized the "Void Laceration." His sword moved with unparalleled speed, cutting through the elemental cyclone and disrupting Shun''s fusion. The spatial void enhanced the de''s sharpness, leaving Shun momentarily vulnerable.


    The Prince of Stars, determined to turn the tide, activated the "Celestial Resonance." Elemental stars aligned in perfect harmony, emitting a resonant frequency that disrupted Noah''s spatial control. The battlefield quivered under the celestial force, challenging Noah''s stability.


    Noah, unfazed, executed the "Spatial Rupture." He tore through the celestial resonance with controlled spatial anomalies, creating fractures in the elemental harmony. Shun, caught off guard, struggled to maintain the coherence of his elemental fusion.


    Shun, showcasing his mastery of the stars,unched the "Supernova Surge." Elemental stars exploded in a brilliant burst of energy, engulfing the battlefield in dazzling radiance. The surge aimed to overpower Noah with sheer elemental force, leaving no room for spatial maniption.


    Noah countered with the "Void Shield." He erected a barrier of spatial void, absorbing and dispersing the elemental onught. The sh between celestial power and spatial mastery created a spectacr disy of lights and energies.


    The battle reached a crescendo as both warriors pushed their limits. Noah and Shun engaged in a dance of des and elemental forces, each striving for dominance.


    The battlefield crackled with tension as Noah and Shun Gordon entered the next phase of their fierce confrontation, each determined to outmaneuver the other in this cosmic sh of powers.


    Noah, focusing his spatial mastery, unleashed the "Abyssal Whirlpool." A spiraling vortex of spatial void manifested around Shun, threatening to ensnare him within its abyssal depths. The Prince of Stars responded swiftly, drawing upon the elemental stars to shield himself from the impending spatial assault.


    Shun countered with the "Supernova Cyclone," a dynamic fusion of celestial forces and elemental might. Elemental stars spun around him in a tempestuous cyclone, unleashing bursts of me, wind, metal, wood, and water. Thebination of celestial and elemental energies created a cataclysmic surge.


    Noah, undeterred by the celestial tempest, executed the "Void Annihtion." His sword carved through the celestial forces, disrupting the cohesion of Shun''s elemental fusion. Spatial anomalies warped the very fabric of reality, challenging the stability of the Prince of Stars.


    Shun, sensing the impending danger, invoked the "Ster Shroud." Elemental stars enveloped him in a protective barrier, warding off the spatial disturbances. The shroud flickered with the resilience of me, the swiftness of wind, the solidity of metal, the flexibility of wood, and the fluidity of water.


    Noah, anticipating Shun''s defensive maneuver, employed the "Phantom Warp." Spatial illusions materialized around him, creating myriad copies that mimicked his every move. The battlefield became a kaleidoscope of shifting illusions, making it difficult for Shun to discern Noah''s true position.


    Shun, relying on his keen perception, activated the "Starlight Perception." Elemental stars emitted radiant beams of light, piercing through the illusions and revealing Noah''s actual location. The Prince of Stars prepared tounch a counterattack infused with celestial radiance.


    Noah, acknowledging the effectiveness of Shun''s technique, opted for the "Dimensional Mirage." He manipted the spatial fabric to create illusions that extended beyond mere visuals¡ªthese illusions carried tangible distortions. Shun found himself navigating abyrinth of warped reality, unsure of the true nature of his surroundings.


    Shun, determined to regain control, channeled the "Elemental Rebirth." Elemental stars underwent a transformative process, rejuvenating and amplifying their elemental energies. The Prince of Stars emerged from the spatialbyrinth, his elemental prowess enhanced and radiating newfound strength.


    Noah, recognizing the intensified celestial and elemental aura, initiated the "Void Eruption." Spatial void erupted in cascading waves, disrupting the celestial rebirth. The sh between spatial void and celestial forces created shockwaves that reverberated across the battlefield.


    Shun, exhibiting his resilience, utilized the "Ster Reckoning." Elemental stars aligned in a celestial pattern, forming a protective constetion that absorbed the shockwaves. The Prince of Stars stood resolute, ready to counter Noah''s next move.


    Noah, acknowledging Shun''s adept defense, enacted the "Spatial Eclipse." He manipted the spatial fabric to create a localized eclipse, plunging the battlefield into darkness. Shun found himself shrouded in spatial shadows, his celestial radiance dimmed.


    Shun, adapting swiftly, invoked the "Luminous Nova." Elemental stars emitted brilliant luminosity, dispelling the spatial shadows and restoring celestial radiance. The battlefield transformed into a celestial canvas, illuminated by the sh of spatial void and elemental brilliance.


    Noah, determined to intensify the spatial struggle, executed the "Void Convergence." Spatial anomalies converged upon Shun,pressing the celestial forces and elemental stars. The Prince of Stars grappled with the spatialpression, resisting the impending copse.


    Shun, unleashing the "Nova Surge," countered the spatialpression with a surge of celestial and elemental energies. The battlefield became a crucible of conflicting forces, eachbatant vying for supremacy in this cosmic sh.


    As the battle between Noah and Shun Gordon reached its zenith, the sh of spatial mastery and celestial elementalism painted a mesmerizing tableau.

 Chapter 643 Clash Of Saint Realm Experts

    Chapter 643 sh Of Saint Realm Experts


    The Minor World resonated with the sh of mighty powers as the Saint Realm experts on Emperor Qin Lei''s side confronted the formidable trio of Beast Gods and Hu Ning''er. The celestial battleground pulsed with energy, eachbatant unleashing their most potent techniques.


    Emperor Qin Lei, embodying imperial might, invoked the "Imperial Convergence." Radiant waves of imperial energy emanated from him, forming a majestic aura that sought to dominate the battlefield. The very essence of authority andmand surged forth, challenging the elemental prowess of the Beast Gods.


    The Fire Lion God, representing the ferocity of mes, retaliated with the "Inferno Roar." A scorching wave of me erupted from its colossal form, shing with the imperial waves. The battlefield became a crucible of searing heat and imperial authority, each force vying for dominance.


    Nine Yin Saintess, mistress of ice, employed the "Frostbound Embrace." Icy tendrils extended from her, enveloping the Brimstone Panther God in a frigid shroud. The sh between frost and brimstone created a spectacle of opposing elemental forces, leaving the very air crystallized in their wake.


    Zhuan Feng, the Spear Saint, brandished the "Cyclone Thrust." His spear became an extension of the wind, a cyclonic force that assailed the Frost Wolf God. The cyclone''s whirlwind shed with the frosty tempest, creating a tumultuous battlefield where air and ice contended for supremacy.


    General Adamantus, an earth-wielding powerhouse, channeled the "Titanic Quake." Tremors surged through the Minor World as he unleashed seismic upheavals, targeting the Fire Lion God. The sh of earth and me manifested in cascading shockwaves that reverberated across the celestial battleground.


    Hu Ning''er, embodying the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess''s spirit, harnessed the "Celestial Harmony." Elemental stars danced around her, merging celestial radiance with the profound power of water. The celestial and aquatic forces shed with the imperial, fiery, icy, and earthen energies, creating a harmonious yet chaotic symphony.


    Emperor Qin Lei, sensing the intensifying sh, unleashed the "Imperial Decree." A radiant decree emanated from him, imposing imperial authority on the entire Minor World. The celestial forces resonated with hismand, momentarily subduing the elemental onught of the Beast Gods and Hu Ning''er.


    The Frost Wolf God, undeterred, initiated the "Hoarfrost Howl." A bone-chilling howl echoed through the celestial realm as frigid gusts emanated from the wolf deity. The sh of frost and imperial might intensified, creating an ethereal battlefield where frosty tendrils sought to encroach upon the imperial domain.


    Nine Yin Saintess, adapting swiftly, cast the "Absolute Zero Barrier." A crystalline shield formed around her, neutralizing the Hoarfrost Howl and creating a localized zone of absolute zero. The battlefield became a tableau of frozen energy, eachbatant navigating the icy intricacies of the elemental struggle.


    Zhuan Feng, seizing the opportunity, executed the "Tempest Lance." His spear became an ethereal cyclone, piercing through the frost and challenging the Brimstone Panther God. Cyclonic winds shed with brimstone ferocity, creating a dynamic spectacle of elemental forces colliding.


    General Adamantus, unyielding in his resolve, employed the "Earthen Bastion." Stone barriers emerged from the ground, intercepting the fiery onught of the Fire Lion God. The sh of earth and me transformed the battleground into a fortress of elemental contention.


    Hu Ning''er, attuning herself to the celestial and aquatic forces, invoked the "Starlit Cascade." Elemental stars descended like celestial rain, merging with the water element to counter the earthen and fiery energies. The celestial cascade shed with the elemental maelstrom, creating a harmonious yet tumultuous fusion.


    As the battle in the Minor World reached its zenith, the sh of imperial, elemental, and celestial forces painted a mesmerizing tableau. The fate of the Great Qin Empire hinged on the oue of this celestial confrontation, where eachbatant pushed the boundaries of their extraordinary abilities.


    As the celestial battle unfolded in the Minor World, Emperor Qin Lei''s side decided to escte the conflict by deploying their most potent resources ¨C talismans, array formations, and artifacts. The atmosphere crackled with arcane energy as each expert prepared to unleash these ancient tools of war.


    Emperor Qin Lei, the embodiment of imperial authority, initiated the "Heavenly Edict Seal." He produced a majestic talisman adorned with celestial glyphs, imbued with the essence of imperial might. The talisman radiated a brilliant glow as it soared towards the opposition, seeking to impose the heavenly edict upon them.


    Nine Yin Saintess, a master of mystical arts, activated the "Absolute Frost Script." Her talisman, inscribed with intricate ice symbols, manifested a frigid aura that permeated the celestial battlefield. Frost tendrils extended from the talisman, encasing the Brimstone Panther God in an absolute frost, momentarily restraining its fiery prowess.


    Zhuan Feng, the Spear Saint, unleashed the "Windstorm Array." Array formations materialized around him, creating a cyclonic barrier that intercepted the Frost Wolf God''s hoarfrost howl. The sh of elemental energies within the array intensified, creating a localized tempest where wind and frost vied for dominance.


    General Adamantus, an earth-wielding behemoth, invoked the "Titanic Bastion Array." The ground beneath him resonated with the activation of powerful array formations, manifesting colossal stone barriers. These barriers surged towards the Fire Lion God, forming a titanic bulwark against its fiery onught.


    Simultaneously, the three Beast Gods responded with their awe-inspiring Bloodline Abilities, tapping into the primal forces that coursed through their divine lineage.


    The Fire Lion God unleashed the "Inferno Sovereignty." A crimson inferno enveloped its form as it ascended to a higher state of divine power. Fiery tendrils extended from its mane, creating an aura of absolute sovereignty that sought to incinerate all opposition.


    The Brimstone Panther God, embodying the ferocity of brimstone, manifested the "Brimstone Rampage." A molten surge of brimstone erupted from its colossal figure, transforming the celestial battlefield into a sea of molten fury. The brimstone rampage aimed to engulf everything in its path, leaving only scorched remnants.


    The Frost Wolf God, master of frigid tempests, invoked the "Hoarfrost Tempest." A bone-chilling gust emanated from its icy form, creating a tempest of hoarfrost that shed with the windstorm array. The celestial battleground became a frozenndscape, where frost and cyclonic winds waged a tumultuous war.


    Amidst this elemental chaos, the Bewitching Droplet Divine Goddess, now embodied in Hu Ning''er, harnessed her divine power ¨C the "Celestial Harmony." Elemental stars converged around her, radiating a celestial aura that harmonized with the celestial forces on the battlefield. The celestial cascade merged with her divine power, creating a synergistic surge that counteracted the opposing array formations.


    The sh of talismans, array formations, and divine bloodline abilities painted a kaleidoscope of elemental chaos. Emperor Qin Lei''s side, with their strategic employment of mystical artifacts, sought to turn the tide against the formidable trio of Beast Gods and Hu Ning''er.


    As the celestial confrontation intensified, the celestial battlefield became a canvas of unparalleled spectacle, where the sh of divine powers and ancient artifacts determined the fate of the Great Qin Empire.

 Chapter 644 Trump Card of Great Qin Empire

    644 Trump Card of Great Qin Empire


    Emperor Qin Lei, feeling the urgency of the battle, tapped into his most potent resource ¨C a legendary sword artifact known as the "Imperial Edict de." This treasured weapon had been passed down through generations of the Qin imperial lineage, its de infused with the profound power of imperial authority.


    With a resolute expression, Emperor Qin Lei channeled his Blood Essence, allowing the crimson energy to surge into the Imperial Edict de. The de resonated with the emperor''s life force, glowing with an otherworldly radiance. As the Blood Essence burned, the Imperial Edict de transformed into an ethereal manifestation of imperial supremacy.


    With a mighty swing, Emperor Qin Lei unleashed the "Crimson Imperial Edict sh." The de cleaved through the air, leaving trails of imperial symbols in its wake. The sh carried the weight of imperial decree, aiming to sever the connection between the Beast Gods and their bloodline abilities.


    Simultaneously, Nine Yin Saintess, recognizing the need for a decisive move, delved into the forbidden depths of her mystical repertoire. With determination in her eyes, she invoked the "Rime Divine Embodiment" ¨C a technique that summoned a colossal Divine Ice Goddess Avatar.


    The air around Nine Yin Saintess crackled with forbidden energy as her spiritual strength and vital essence intertwined with the divine invocation. The celestial battlefield shuddered as the Rime Divine Embodiment took form, towering over thendscape in all its cial majesty. The avatar emanated an aura of absolute cold, freezing the very essence of the atmosphere.


    The Divine Ice Goddess, an embodiment of frigid divinity, raised its arms,manding the elemental forces at its disposal. cial tempests surged forth, encasing the Beast Gods and Hu Ning''er in an unyielding frost. The very air itself crystallized, bing a testament to the forbidden power harnessed by Nine Yin Saintess.


    However, the Beast Gods and Hu Ning''er, resilient and formidable in their own right, faced these challenges head-on. The Fire Lion God unleashed torrents of searing mes, attempting to melt the encroaching frost. The Brimstone Panther God roared, its molten mane radiating an oppressive heat that sought to counteract the icy onught. The Frost Wolf God howled, intensifying the hoarfrost tempest to resist the encasing cold.


    In response, Hu Ning''er utilized the Celestial Harmony, harmonizing the divine power of her avatar with the elemental forces at y. The Divine Ice Goddess, despite its colossal form, seemed to dance in synchrony with the celestial cascade, weaving a counterbnce against the onught.


    The celestial battlefield now bore witness to an unparalleled sh ¨C the resolute might of Emperor Qin Lei''s Crimson Imperial Edict sh and the forbidden prowess of Nine Yin Saintess''s Rime Divine Embodiment against the indomitable force of the Beast Gods and Hu Ning''er.


    As the battle unfolded, the Forbidden Ice Goddess Avatar, fueled by Nine Yin Saintess''s sacrifice, continued to exert its icy dominion. The celestial cascade, empowered by Hu Ning''er''s connection to the divine, acted as both a shield and a conduit for counterattack.


    Emperor Qin Lei, his eyes aze with determination, pressed forward with relentless shes, each strike carrying the weight of imperial decree.


    The Crimson Imperial Edict sh sought to sever the Beast Gods'' connection to their bloodline abilities, disrupting their elemental harmony.


    Despite the formidable resistance, cracks began to appear in the Beast Gods'' defenses. The Fire Lion God''s mane flickered as the searing mes waned.


    The Brimstone Panther God''s molten aura struggled against the encasing frost. The Frost Wolf God''s hoarfrost tempest, while resilient, showed signs of strain.


    However, the Beast Gods, fueled by their primal bloodlines, refused to yield. The Fire Lion God roared defiantly, reigniting its mane with renewed vigor.


    The Brimstone Panther God surged forward, molten energy radiating with an intensified fervor. The Frost Wolf God, embodying the relentless cold, howled with an undying determination.


    In this cosmic sh of forbidden techniques and primal bloodline abilities, the celestial battlefield became a symphony of elemental chaos and imperial supremacy.


    As the celestial sh unfolded within the Minor World, the looming threat of the approaching Saint Realm experts from the Empire of Qian Guo added an extrayer of urgency to the battlefield.


    Emperor Qin Lei, recognizing the dire straits his empire faced, swiftly reached into the folds of his royal robes and retrieved a jade talisman adorned with intricate symbols.


    With a determined gaze, he activated the talisman, unleashing a beacon of energy into the vast expanse of the celestial battlefield.


    This signal held a ndestine message, one that only the initiated wouldprehend ¨C a call to the hidden force, the shadowy trump card of the Great Qin Empire.


    Within moments, as the celestial chaos raged, twenty figures materialized on the outskirts of Luoyang.


    Cloaked in an aura of mystique, these figures bore the emblem of the Great Qin Empire, signifying their allegiance to the imperial cause.


    However, there was an enigmatic quality to them, an uncanny resonance that hinted at their unconventional nature.


    These twenty individuals were the culmination of Emperor Qin Lei''s ingenuity, drawing upon the forbidden knowledge gleaned from his readings of Devil God Azaroth''s soul.


    Although not authentic Saint Realm experts, theirbative prowess had been artificially elevated through intricate battle formations and tactical synchronization.


    Individually, they might not match the might of a genuine Saint Realm expert, but together, their collective strength exceeded conventional expectations.


    Emperor Qin Lei, as the orchestrator of this covert force, issued silentmands through the jade talisman.


    The twenty pseudo-Saint Realm experts responded with an uncanny cohesion, forming a seamless battle formation that blurred the lines between illusion and reality.


    On the opposing side, the Saint Realm experts of the Empire of Qian Guo hastened their advance toward the capital. Their formidable presence loomed on the horizon, heralding a potential catastrophe for the Great Qin Empire.


    Emperor Qin Lei, recognizing the critical moment at hand, addressed the twenty pseudo-Saint Realm experts with a resolute tone, "Our empire faces an unprecedented threat. These are not ordinary times, and our survival hinges on the strength we muster. Fight with the valor befitting the defenders of the Great Qin Empire!"


    The pseudo-Saint Realm experts, thoughcking the innate cultivation of genuine Saint Realm practitioners, absorbed the gravity of the situation. With synchronized determination, they entered a battle formation known as the "Phantom Sovereign Array." This formation harnessed illusions, mirages, and spatial distortions to confound and mislead their adversaries.


    As the Saint Realm experts of the Empire of Qian Guo closed in, the celestial battlefield became a tapestry of conflicting energies. The Phantom Sovereign Array, shrouded in an ethereal glow, created illusions that confounded the perceptions of the approaching Saint Realm experts. Spatial distortions weaved through the battlefield, creating pockets of instability that disrupted the fluidity of their movements.


    The twenty pseudo-Saint Realm experts, acting as a cohesive unit, channeled their artificial strength into a concerted defense.


    The battlefield now bore witness to a sh between the authentic might of the Empire of Qian Guo and the strategically fabricated strength of the Great Qin Empire.


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